After the enemy slipped underground, no matter how much soul power or spiritual force Flender poured out, he couldn't sense a thing.
Whoever it was their strength was at least Soul Saint level.
In the sky, he was the hunter. But underground… he was powerless.
And the way Xiao Wu had looked at him before leaving, with those unwavering eyes and combined with the fact that she'd once been taken by the Titan Giant Ape and yet returned unharmed…
Flender couldn't shake the feeling that Xiao Wu possessed some kind of secret.
The excuse she gave when she came back was far from convincing. With Flender's cunning, he'd already found her story suspicious.
Could it be that Xiao Wu had her own hidden identity? Maybe someone powerful secretly protecting her, who saved her from the Titan Giant Ape's hands?
It was the most logical explanation he could come up with.
And since Xiao Wu cared so deeply for Tang San… maybe, relying on that same protector, she could save him too.
"Dean, are we really just letting Xiao Wu go alone?" Oscar asked uncertainly.
"With her and Little San's relationship, do you think we could stop her even if we tried?" Flender replied calmly. "We'll stay here and wait for her return."
His tone surprised everyone!
The first time Xiao Wu was taken by the Titan Giant Ape, Flender had thrown himself into battle like a madman to save her.
But now, Tang San was kidnapped by an unknown soul master. After his initial rage, Flender had grown strangely composed the moment Xiao Wu went after him.
Could she really bring Tang San back?
Doubt filled every heart.
After leaving the others, Xiao Wu released her aura in all directions.
She hadn't yet left the Star Dou Forest. The Titan Giant Ape and Azure Bull Python couldn't have gone far.
Within moments, she turned sharply, two massive figures were already rushing her way.
"Xiao Wu Sister, this way! I sensed everything that happened!"
Er Ming's deep voice echoed directly into her mind.
Xiao Wu's heart leapt. She sprang forward, landing smoothly on Er Ming's lowered shoulder.
They moved together in perfect sync.
Meanwhile, deep underground—
A dim space surrounded by the enormous roots of a dead ancient tree.
The roots were thick, with each as wide as a man's torso and tangled together, forming a hollow cavern in the center.
Tang San lay there, unconscious, his arms bound tightly to one of the roots.
"Young Master, it's time." The old scorpion's gravelly voice sounded.
It was he who had acted earlier, using his Fifth Soul Skill – Earth Escape to drag Tang San beneath the ground.
He'd chosen the perfect moment, right after Tang San retracted the Eight Spider Lances, when Flender and Zhao Wuji had relaxed their guard.
One strike, one capture.
After bringing Tang San down here, the old scorpion had knocked him out cold and tied him in place, waiting for his young master's move.
"You little bastard," Dugu Feng muttered, a sneer twisting his lips. "Every time I think of you in the original story, always pretending to be righteous while doing the filthiest things…it makes my blood boil."
"Your so-called 'external spirit bone' devours life force like a demon's curse, even worse than an evil soul beast. And yet you go around preaching about only hunting evil beasts for rings."
"At the Soul Master Tournament, you drained your opponents' life while 'detoxifying' them and still had the gall to act self-righteous afterward. How thick can your skin be? How can one man be so hypocritical?"
With a soft growl, he whispered, "Jade Phosphorus Serpent—Possession!"
A green, diamond-shaped scale appeared on Dugu Feng's forehead, his pupils turning a venomous violet.
His shoulders rippled and crystalline emerald pincers erupted from his body, the external spirit bone of his own martial soul.
The sharp tips of the pincers thrust directly into Tang San's back.
The moment they pierced in, Dugu Feng sensed it—eight ribs along Tang San's spine, glowing faintly with the residual power of the Eight Spider Lances.
That energy… was rich, violent, and distinct.
As someone who also possessed an external spirit bone, Dugu Feng was intimately familiar with that unique energy signature.
External spirit bones, when manifested, appear as extensions of the body, like a soul beast's own limbs. But when dormant within the body, they are pure energy, fused into the bones of the host.
His own scorpion pincers fused with his shoulder bones. Similarly Tang San's spider lances were fused into his eight ribs.
"Just as I thought," Dugu Feng muttered coldly. "He's only just obtained them and the fusion's shallow, the boundary clear."
"Perfect. Devour it!"
The emerald pincers drove deeper, locking precisely onto two of the ribs.
With the aid of the Pearl, an overwhelming suction force erupted.
Rings of green light shimmered along the pincers.
Tang San's body convulsed violently, trembling as though it would shatter apart.
Even unconscious, his body struggled instinctively but he was powerless before Dugu Feng's external bone.
The twin pincers began to glow a deep purple-green as waves of violet energy were drawn out of Tang San's body, flowing into Dugu Feng.
The energy coursed through his arms, sank into his shoulders, then descended along his spine, slowly merging perfectly with two of his ribs.
Dugu Feng's heartbeat quickened. Years of planning—every scheme, every provocation, even forcing Clear Sky Douluo and Spirit Hall into conflict, all to reach this moment.
If he hadn't created that rift, Tang Hao might've secretly guarded his son on this trip.
But his gamble had paid off.
The Eight Spider Lances… were becoming his.
Tang San's body shuddered harder, his ribs softening under the strain. The marrow itself was being drawn out, devoured by the scorpion's energy.
"Continue!"
Dugu Feng withdrew the pincers, then stabbed into the next set of ribs.
Behind him, his own back began to bulge.
Two purple lumps swelled rapidly and then split open!
From within burst two dark purple spider legs, gleaming like polished obsidian.
At that moment, Dugu Feng's grin spread.
The plan to steal Tang San's external spirit bone was a complete success.
Beside him, the old scorpion could only stare blankly.
Following the young master meant witnessing miracles…every single day.
External spirit bones, things spoken of only in legend, had appeared twice, and both times, his young master had claimed them for himself.
Who would ever believe such a tale?
The old scorpion cast a pitying glance at Tang San.
Serves you right, boy… unlucky enough to be noticed by the young master.
Tang San truly was miserable.
He was trapped in a nightmare—one where the elders of Tang Sect had captured Xiao Wu, standing atop the Cliffs of Despair, threatening to throw her off unless he surrendered.
He knew clearly he was no longer in Tang Sect's world. He was in the Douluo Continent.
This… this had to be a dream.
But the horror of it was that he knew it was a dream, yet he couldn't wake up.
His body convulsed violently, every muscle twitching.
And behind Dugu Feng, six spider legs had already sprouted in full, with the last two bulging rapidly.
Tang San's back sank inward, collapsing without support.
"Ah… this feels good."
Dugu Feng's grin turned feral.
"Tang San… look at you now."
He threw back his head and laughed wildly, the sound echoing through the underground cavern.