"Die here?"
Dugu Bo looked as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. The muscles in his gaunt cheeks twitched, and near-mad fury and killing intent erupted from his emerald-green snake eyes.
"Junior, do you really think you can do whatever you please with a rank ninety-three turtle shell protecting you?"
His voice was shrill and grating, like an owl's cry at night:
"How could you possibly imagine what a Titled Douluo can do? If I set my mind on leaving, who under heaven could stop me? Him?"
Dugu Bo's gaze was like a blade, scraping fiercely across Shi Mo's face, which was as placid as an ancient well.
"Can a lump of iron that only knows how to take a beating catch up to my snake's tail?!"
He admitted that the defenses of a Defense System Titled Douluo were often monstrously strong, but so what?
If he couldn't win, couldn't he still run? If he wanted to, he had hundreds of ways to escape, and then... the Star Luo Empire would face a nightmare that would never let it know peace!
No empire could easily bear a Titled Douluo's revenge.
"Is that so?"
The smile on Dai Weisi's face did not change. His unhurried bearing made it seem as though he had not taken Dugu Bo's threat to heart at all.
He didn't even turn around, merely snapping his fingers.
Snap!
The crisp sound echoed through the valley.
In the next instant, wind and clouds changed color!
Endless earthen-yellow light suddenly burst from Shi Mo's burly figure, and a heavy, boundless presence surged into the sky!
The ground trembled violently, as though a primordial behemoth that had slumbered for countless ages were awakening.
"Martial Soul Avatar!" Dugu Bo's pupils contracted to their limits.
Shi Mo's body rapidly swelled and changed shape in the light, his plain gray robe shattering inch by inch.
His flesh, bones, and skin all turned into the hardest basalt, and deep patterns spread across the rock.
A colossal lava beast, so huge it blotted out the sky, appeared in the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
Its four legs were like pillars holding up the heavens, rooted deep in the earth, and on its tortoise shell it bore a towering mountain range!
Dugu Bo felt as though an invisible mountain were bearing down on him.
He had no doubt that within the Mountain Black Tortoise's domain, his advantage in speed would be weakened to an immeasurable extent.
And on the other side, a Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill would probably grant them combat strength comparable to a Soul Saint or Soul Douluo!
They could probably cause him some trouble, too!
Run? That probably wouldn't be so easy!
"Roar-!"
A roar that refused to be outdone rang through the valley. Dugu Bo could no longer remain calm.
Jade-green flames of light burst from his body as he likewise transformed into a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor dozens of meters long, confronting the lava beast from a distance.
But his imposing presence was clearly a notch weaker.
More importantly, he didn't want to fight here!
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was the foundation of his livelihood, a treasured place where he suppressed the deadly poison in his body, and his own backyard garden where he cultivated countless rare medicinal herbs.
If two Titled Douluo activated their Martial Soul Avatars and fought to the death here, never mind the Immortal Herbs-the entire valley would probably be razed to the ground!
He feared smashing the vase while trying to hit the rat!
"You little bastard, are you really going to make the fish die and the net split?!"
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor spoke in a human voice, full of brutality and an outward fierceness that concealed inner weakness.
"If you force me today and destroy this treasured place, I will one day come to your Star Luo Empire in person and slaughter countless cities!"
This was an unabashed threat.
Zhu Zhuqing's heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively edged half a step back.
Her body was taut as her gaze swept back and forth between the Mountain Black Tortoise, which towered between heaven and earth, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, whose ferocity seemed to flood the sky. Her mind raced.
What should they do?
Had Dai Weisi gone mad?
To bring Dugu Bo to heel, he was actually willing to risk the entire Star Luo Empire suffering retaliation?
What if... what if Shi Mo failed to keep Dugu Bo here? The consequences...
For the first time, she realized she could not predict what Dai Weisi was thinking at all.
This man was arrogant one moment and restrained the next, but now he looked like a gambler through and through, staking every chip he had.
Yet at this tense moment, with swords drawn and crossbows bent, on the verge of eruption, Dai Weisi once again did something that left everyone dumbstruck.
"Hahahaha..."
He laughed again, even more heartily than before, as though enjoying a splendid play.
He waved a hand, signaling Shi Mo to hold his temper.
The lava beast, as massive as a mountain, actually reined in its presence somewhat, though it kept its cold gaze fixed on the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.
"Dugu Bo, you really do flare up at the slightest spark."
Dai Weisi shook his head, a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Who said I wanted to fight you? I merely wanted to show you whether I had what it takes to keep you here."
"What do you mean?"
The enormous snake eyes of Dugu Bo were full of wariness and doubt.
"It's very simple."
Dai Weisi strolled forward, ignoring the terrifying clash of energy between the two Martial Soul Avatars, and walked straight beneath the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's enormous head.
He raised his head to meet those poisonous eyes that could melt steel, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"I merely wanted to remind you that you just made a move, and now you've activated your Martial Soul Avatar, mobilizing Soul Power on such a massive scale..."
Dai Weisi paused, his voice cutting toward Dugu Bo's most vulnerable nerve like a precise surgical blade.
"If you really start fighting, can you still suppress the poison in your body?"
Boom!
Those words shook Dugu Bo even more than the Mountain Black Tortoise's Martial Soul Avatar!
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's enormous body shuddered, and even the jade-green flames of light around it flickered unsteadily.
"You... how could you know?!"
All the brutality had vanished from Dugu Bo's voice, leaving only endless shock and horror.
This was his greatest secret!
It was the fundamental reason why, despite his great strength, he could only hide away here year after year!
Other than himself, only that Little Monster Tang San, who had suggested a way to ease it, knew!
How did this crown prince of the Star Luo Empire know?!
"How do I know?"
Dai Weisi smiled, and in Dugu Bo's eyes, that smile became unfathomable.
"Was it hard to guess?"
He spread his hands, as though it were obvious.
"You are a dignified Titled Douluo, with poison arts unrivaled under heaven, yet you live in seclusion all year round in this valley where few people ever set foot. If there weren't something seriously wrong with your body, who would willingly live like that?"
"Besides, that Tang San is young but deeply scheming. I'm afraid the so-called method he gave you to cure the poison is just drinking poison to quench your thirst, isn't it?"
Dai Weisi's voice was full of seduction, each word striking Dugu Bo's heart.
"Let me guess. His method was to have you use the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, along with some medicinal herbs, to temporarily neutralize and suppress the toxins in your body, making you feel a little better?"
"But whenever you fight with all your strength, especially when you activate your Martial Soul Avatar like you have now, the suppressed toxins strike back even harder, leaving you in unbearable agony. Am I right?"
Dugu Bo fell silent.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's enormous head slowly lowered, its emerald-green snake eyes fixed on Dai Weisi. Shock, doubt, fear... all sorts of emotions mingled together.
Dai Weisi was right down to the last detail!
Tang San's method did work, but it treated the symptoms, not the root cause!
According to Tang San, the toxins in his body had already become one with his Martial Soul, bloodline, and even his soul. Trying to purge them would be no different from suicide!
Dai Weisi signaled Shi Mo to dismiss his Martial Soul Avatar, and the terrifying pressure in the valley immediately dispersed.
"You..."
Seeing this, Dugu Bo spoke in a hoarse voice. He even temporarily dismissed his Martial Soul Avatar and returned to human form, though his face was paler than before.
He looked at Dugu Bo and cast out his last and deadliest bait.
"I also know that if you submit to me..."
"I can completely resolve that hidden danger of yours!"