Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing sensed a surge of Soul Power from Zhu Zhuyun beside her and exclaimed joyfully, "Sister, you've broken through!"
"Yes, level 38 now. The consecutive Soul Duels during this period have condensed my Soul Power remarkably. This meditation session lasted unusually long, but I just shattered my limits!" Zhu Zhuyun was equally thrilled.
Her cultivation speed was already the fastest among her peers in the family. Now with another level up...
A peculiar glint flashed in her eyes. Dai Wei is one year older than me with level 39 Soul Power. At this rate, I'll surpass him soon.
As Zhu Zhuyun broke through, a massive wave of Soul Power surged throughout her body, and the Core Pearl seized the opportunity to absorb a portion. This caused the energy within this particular Core Pearl to surpass the other three.
But the marvel of Core Pearls doesn't end there!
The four Core Pearls rotated gently, seemingly breaking spatial constraints as the energy between them rebalanced. Surprisingly, some energy from Zhu Zhuyun's Core Pearl flowed into the other three.
Dugu Feng was astonished.
When he previously possessed two Core Pearls, their energies had always progressed and elevated simultaneously. Back then, the two pearls were in close proximity, mostly residing within his body. Now with four pearls separated by distance, they still maintained this connection.
"Treasures, oh treasures!"
Dugu Feng's eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness.
These are truly treasures!
Evolve, evolve quickly! I need more Core Pearls! Dugu Feng inwardly roared as he embarked on his northward journey of cultivation.
Traveling northward...
He passed through the densely populated Liman Plains, where cities clustered together amidst vast farmlands and settlements. Further north, the terrain transitioned into hilly regions with increasingly sparse human presence.
After crossing a great mountain range...
The temperature dropped abruptly, and the vegetation shifted from towering, lush trees to stunted woodland.
"Three days without seeing a single person!" Dugu Feng marveled. They had entered uninhabited territory.
"Young Master, your true trial begins now!" Old Scorpion remarked from beside him.
Surveying the savanna-like landscape dotted with occasional dwarf trees where unknown birds and beasts called, Dugu Feng listened as Old Scorpion continued with a sinister smile, "This place is dangerous. It's best you activate your Martial Soul Avatar. From now on, I'll protect you from the shadows. Unless your life is in peril, I won't intervene."
With those words, Old Scorpion vanished abruptly.
Dugu Feng felt uneasy. Dangerous? From humans or Spirit Beasts? He trusted Old Scorpion wouldn't joke about such matters.
Immediately activating his Martial Soul Avatar, Dugu Feng scanned his surroundings warily.
Snakes?
Rabbits!
Wolves!
All manner of grassland creatures registered in Dugu Feng's perception, along with some Spirit Beasts. So the danger came from Spirit Beasts then.
Advancing cautiously, Dugu Feng hunted various animals, storing them in his Soul Tool. As dusk approached without encountering any threats, his vigilance heightened instead—the absence of danger often signaled its imminent arrival.
"Screeeech!"
A piercing bird cry made Dugu Feng look up just as a massive raptor swooped down. His eyes widened in shock.
"Snake King Vulture! So the danger Old Scorpion mentioned was a Snake King Vulture!"
He was stunned. On the open grassland, there was nowhere to hide. The Snake King Vulture's vision rivaled his own snake-gallbladder-enhanced eyes—it could spot even a tiny snake from kilometers away.
The Snake King Vulture was a large carnivorous spirit beast of the grasslands, extremely aggressive and famous for preying on serpent kings. Of course, it wouldn't hesitate to attack humans either.
This particular vulture had wings spanning three meters, indicating it was roughly a three-thousand-year spirit beast.
As the natural predator of snakes, it particularly favored snake meat—was it mistaking him for one?
Damn it, it wants to eat me?
Dugu Feng looked up and saw the creature's distinctive long legs. He remembered how soul masters jokingly described these beasts as "all legs below the neck."
The legs were armored with brown scales, providing complete protection.
Under the intense airflow, every hair on Dugu Feng's body stood on end as he tensed.
In that split second, his Blue Phosphorous Twelve Fingers shot out instinctively, aiming straight for the vulture's eyes.
After practicing this technique countless times daily, his execution had become faster than even his self-created soul skills.
The fastest Jade Phosphorous Serpent could spray venom in one-sixth of a blink—but as their natural predator, the Snake King Vulture was even quicker.
Its massive wings barely moved as its body accelerated just enough to evade Dugu Feng's initial volley.
Of course, Dugu Feng wasn't done. Twelve more projectiles followed as he retreated to create distance.
Finally, the vulture touched down.
"Screeeech!"
The predator began its deadly display.
Amid Dugu Feng's barrage, the five razor-sharp claws on each of its legs gleamed ominously.
Moving with Lingbo Micro Steps-like precision, it dodged every attack while closing in relentlessly.
"No wonder they're snake killers. What serpent could escape those talons?" Dugu Feng cursed inwardly.
Then he unleashed two astonishing bursts of soul power from his pinky fingers.
The energy streams collided explosively right before reaching the vulture, detonating across its path.
From the expanding Azure Phosphorus Violet Venom cloud, two emerald-green streaks shot forth like daggers—his hidden allies striking.
Though small, the Nine-Section Emerald Snakes were lightning-fast with steel-like durability, now matured into two-thousand-year spirit beasts.
Concealed by the poison mist, they darted straight for the vulture's wings.
Dugu Feng's first soul ring flashed as he spewed a massive purple cloud, instantly blanketing the area.
His timing was perfect—the earlier explosion's residual toxins had already made the vulture hesitate.
Accustomed to venomous serpents, even this experienced predator recoiled at the potency of this humanoid opponent's poison.
Digging its claws in, the vulture attempted an evasive leap.
But at that moment, the Nine-Section Jadeite viciously bit into its wing, causing the Snake King Vulture's body to momentarily freeze.
Immediately after, Dugu Feng's first Soul Skill, Azure Phosphorus Violet Venom, completely enveloped it.
At this point, if he still let it escape, Dugu Feng might as well find a block of tofu to crash into and die.
Under the combined effects of the Nine-Section Jadeite's toxin and the Azure Phosphorus Violet Venom, the massive Snake King Vulture plummeted to the ground, losing consciousness.
Seeing this, Dugu Feng quickly controlled the toxins within the Snake King Vulture's body. This was excellent food—it couldn't go to waste.
Dugu Feng slowly approached the Snake King Vulture.
Its three-meter-long wings sprawled across the ground, its eyes lifeless but not yet completely dead.
The Snake King Vulture probably never expected to die at the hands of its natural predator.
"Hehe, we can have roasted vulture wings tonight!"
He stretched out his hands, and the Nine-Section Jadeite slithered back to his wrist from the dense feathers of the Snake King Vulture.
The Nine-Section Jadeite's crimson eyes were lively, as if proudly showing off its accomplishment.
Reflecting on the battle, the turning point had been when the Soul Power from two fingers in his Blue Phosphorous Twelve Fingers collided, creating a small area of Azure Phosphorus Violet Venom.
He had used this move when fighting Hei Tian as well.
The twelve main meridians in the body operated at completely different distances and speeds.
This resulted in the finger strikes each having their own unique characteristics.
The Soul Power released from the little finger was erratic and unpredictable, full of variations.
Meanwhile, the thumb and middle finger strikes were bold and sweeping, carrying earth-shattering force.
Dugu Feng felt enlightened.
His Blue Phosphorous Twelve Fingers Soul Skill was about to advance further.
This was crucial for his combat prowess.
With this in mind, he executed the Blue Phosphorous Twelve Fingers several more times according to his new understanding.
The effects were indeed vastly different.
Hidden in the shadows, Old Scorpion was utterly shocked. He had thought this three-thousand-year Spirit Beast would pose some danger to Dugu Feng.
Yet it had been dealt with so effortlessly.
Moreover, judging from Dugu Feng's Soul Duel in Suotuo City and this battle, his mastery of the second stage of Azure Phosphorus Violet Venom was already highly refined.
Dual-finger strikes, swift as sharp swords—that was the foundation.
The true enhancement to combat ability came from understanding the unique characteristics of each finger's strike and applying them flexibly, reaching a level of perfection.
The young master had already grasped this.
With such genius, the young master left no room for him to be of use. Old Scorpion sighed, feeling somewhat speechless.
(End of Chapter)