Dugu Bo felt his strength surge and could not help letting out a long howl, its sound waves shaking the valley with a thunderous roar.
With Dugu Bo's current strength, even without using his Ninth Soul Skill, the Poison Dragon's pressure and dragon poison alone could suppress ordinary Titled Douluo.
If he went all out, Dugu Bo was confident he could remain undefeated even against a rank ninety-five Super Douluo!
Dugu Bo walked excitedly out of the cave, just as Tang Feng finished refining the Primordial Immortal Herb and opened his eyes.
"Little Monster! This Dragon Snake Fruit... it's simply divine!" Dugu Bo strode forward, his voice trembling with excitement. "I feel ten years younger now! My Martial Soul, Soul Power, and physique have all improved in every respect! I truly don't know how to repay you for this kindness!"
Tang Feng hurriedly said with a smile, "Old Monster, I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry just yet..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Feng brushed his palm over the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, and another extraordinary flower appeared in his hand.
The flower was hauntingly beautiful. Its white petals were as thin as cicada wings, nearly transparent, yet scarlet veins flowed across every one, as though threads of blood pulsed within them. Its center was an even more vivid, almost dripping scarlet, like a congealed drop of heart's blood suspended quietly amid the petals.
It was clearly nonpoisonous, yet the instant it appeared, Dugu Bo felt the toxins of the Jade Phosphorus Poison Dragon within him begin to stir and boil, as though they had encountered a supreme sovereign.
"This flower is called the Blood Swan Kiss." A hint of beguiling amusement colored Tang Feng's voice. "It's not poisonous itself, but it can amplify the potency of any toxin... a hundredfold.
"Your Martial Soul follows the path of poison. With this added to it, simply carrying it with you will greatly enhance your poison attacks. Among Super Douluo, you'll be invincible."
Dugu Bo accepted the Immortal Herb with trembling hands. His excitement at that moment was probably already beyond words, and he actually stood stunned for a long while.
"Hahaha, Little Monster... you've given me far too many surprises today. I'm starting to get a swollen head! I want to go settle the score with that stinking chrysanthemum right now!"
Dugu Bo's laughter shook even the mist above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well into billowing, and the valley resonated with it.
The old man and the youth exchanged smiles, their eyes filled with lofty ambition.
Early the next morning, the morning mist above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had yet to fully disperse.
When Dugu Bo stepped out of the cave, the morning light fell right upon his shoulders. Thirty percent of his withered white hair had actually regained its dark green luster, and even the wrinkles on his face had grown noticeably shallower.
The habitual sinister chill was gone from his eyes. Now their brilliance was held in check, like a venomous dragon lying dormant.
"Little Monster, let's go!" Dugu Bo's voice was full and strong, without a trace of its aged rasp.
Tang Feng had already finished packing and fastened the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse at his waist. He looked up and studied Dugu Bo, then smiled. "Old Monster, you look like a middle-aged man of forty now."
"Hahaha!" Dugu Bo swept his hand, and the pressure of the Jade Phosphorus Poison Dragon flashed out and vanished.
Their figures flickered, and they swept out of the valley like two streaks of light.
Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun, and the air was thick with a rank odor mingling rotting leaves and the musk of Soul Beasts. Sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of foliage, casting dappled light and shadow across the ground.
Dugu Bo spread the pressure of his Jade Phosphorus Poison Dragon without restraint. Wherever he passed, Soul Beasts under a thousand years old prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling. Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts kept their distance, not daring to approach.
"Little Monster, tell me your requirements." Dugu Bo came beneath a massive tree. "This Sunset Forest is my own back garden. There's no Soul Beast here I'm unfamiliar with."
Tang Feng considered for a moment, then slowly said, "My Clear Sky Hammer already had a fire attribute, and now it has fused the powers of ice and fire, possessing pure explosive strength. I need a top-tier fire-attribute, strength-type Soul Beast around five thousand years old."
Dugu Bo frowned at that. "Those conditions of yours... won't be easy to meet. Sunset Forest is a tropical rainforest. There are some volcanic areas, but not many."
Dugu Bo pondered for a moment. "As for something that fits, I do recall a place. Several years ago, I encountered a Lava Berserk Bear in a volcanic area. I don't know whether it's still there. I'll take you to have a look first."
Deep within Sunset Forest lay a volcanic region: Molten Fire Valley.
The pungent smell of sulfur was almost tangible. Dark red lava flowed slowly through cracks in the scorched black rock, sending up heat waves that warped one's vision. This was the Lava Berserk Bear's territory.
Dugu Bo brought Tang Feng down onto a towering pillar of volcanic rock and said gravely, "Look, that Lava Berserk Bear is on the rocky island in the center of the lava lake below. It's about five thousand five hundred years old. Little Monster, are you sure you want to try?"
Tang Feng gazed at the scorching domain below. The Clear Sky Hammer had already appeared in his hand, and his voice was firm. "I've spent over a year cultivating in seclusion at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Now I've finally got a chance to test my strength. If I don't even have the courage to try, how can I talk about becoming stronger? I'll try first. If I can't manage it, you step in."
Dugu Bo offered no further discouragement, merely nodding. "Go. Remember, safety comes first."
Tang Feng leaped down, his toes tapping lightly on the black rocks that occasionally emerged from the lava lake as though he were walking on level ground. In just a few bounds, he had come within a hundred zhang of the central island.
On the rocky island, that dark red "small mountain" moved.
The Lava Berserk Bear slowly opened its eyes, its lava-like vertical pupils locking coldly onto the intruder.
The Lava Berserk Bear was nearly nine meters long and over four meters tall at the shoulder. Its fur was dark red like solidified lava, with orange-red patterns flowing slowly through the gaps. Its paws were as large as millstones, and its claws bore a dark gold sheen, as though tempered in earthfire for a thousand years.
The Lava Berserk Bear did not attack immediately. It simply rose onto its hind legs and pounded its chest heavily with both paws.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The muffled, war-drum-like beats echoed through Molten Fire Valley. This was the Lava Berserk Bear's warning, as well as its way of declaring sovereignty.
Tang Feng drew a deep breath and circulated his Soul Power at full force.
"First Soul Skill, King Kong's Wrath!"
"Second Soul Skill, Dark Gold Berserk!"
Two yellow Soul Rings shone, his body swelled, and phantom dark gold claws covered the Clear Sky Hammer. Tang Feng took the initiative, leaping up, his hammer descending like Mount Tai crashing down!
A trace of contempt flashed through the Lava Berserk Bear's eyes. It casually swung its left paw, wreathed in lava flames, toward this human who did not know his own limits.
"Clang!!!"
Hammer met paw with the ringing clash of metal!
Tang Feng flew backward, flipping three times in midair before barely managing to land. His arms throbbed with pain and numbness, and the webs of his hands felt as though they were about to split. The Lava Berserk Bear merely shook its left paw. Three shallow indentations had been left on it, nothing more.
Such tough defenses... such immense strength... Tang Feng's heart sank. Dark Gold Berserk's thirty-percent armor penetration could only barely breach its defenses?
The Lava Berserk Bear seemed enraged. With a low growl, it charged forward on heavy strides, every step shaking the rocky island. Despite its massive size, it was not slow in the slightest!
Tang Feng dared not meet it head-on and used his movement technique to dodge. He swung the Clear Sky Hammer repeatedly, stacking the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer to twenty strikes, thirty strikes, forty strikes...
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The hammer blows rang out as densely as a rainstorm, but every hit on the Lava Berserk Bear left only a shallow dent in its dark red fur.
The Lava Berserk Bear's defenses were too strong. It already had thick hide and tough flesh, and after living in a volcanic environment for thousands of years, its lava-tempered fur was as hard as refined steel.
Even more troublesome was the Lava Berserk Bear's considerable combat intelligence. It soon discovered that Tang Feng's hammer technique needed to accumulate force, so it stopped giving him opportunities to execute it uninterrupted, frequently breaking his rhythm, charging him, and spitting lava projectiles to harass him.
The battle continued for an hour.
Tang Feng had already consumed more than half his Soul Power. His breathing was heavy, lava had grazed and burned several places across his body, and a claw wound on his left shoulder glistened with blood. Although the Lava Berserk Bear had also gained several wounds, its imposing presence had not diminished. In this volcanic environment, it recovered extremely quickly.
This can't go on... Tang Feng gritted his teeth, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.
Tang Feng suddenly leaped up, forcibly stacking the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer to the fifty-fifth strike!
The Lava Berserk Bear actually made no attempt to dodge. Instead, it opened its blood-filled maw, condensing a lava bomb that had been compressed three times!
Hammer and bomb collided head-on!
"Boom!!!"
The explosion's blazing light swept across half the rocky island! Tang Feng was blasted several zhang away, the blood and Qi within him churning.
Yet the Lava Berserk Bear merely retreated five steps. Several scorched wounds had appeared on its body, seeping blood, but it still retained its fighting strength! An extremely savage look had now emerged in its lava-like vertical pupils.
After an hour of battle, Tang Feng had roughly gauged his limits.