"Old poison, your toxins might work on me, but against Old Ghost? You're way out of your league." Yue Guan, seeing his close friend gaining the upper hand, sat down to recover his soul power and expel toxins while taunting.
Although Dugu Bo was furious, he knew Yue Guan was right. Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei, was simply too fast. Dugu Bo couldn't aim his deadly toxins at a fixed point. If he wanted to hit Gui Mei, he'd have to rely on area-wide poisoning.
However, area-wide toxins lacked precision and potency, making it difficult to harm a Titled Douluo significantly.
"Old Ghost, Old Chrysanthemum, if this were before, I might have had no choice but to admit defeat against the two of you together. But now, I have the ultimate treasure given to me by that little monster." Dugu Bo gritted his teeth. Being suppressed like this wasn't his style. It was time to reveal his trump card.
Dugu Bo flipped his hands and pulled out a flower from his Hundred Treasures Pouch. Using it as a medium, he spread his Jade Phosphor Snake Emperor poison in all directions.
"Is that... the Snow Swan Kiss?!" Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan trembled with fright upon seeing the flower. Forgetting his recovery, he urgently shouted, "Old Ghost, retreat now! That thing is extremely dangerous!"
If anyone in the world besides Tian Lin and Tang San could recognize the Snow Swan Kiss, it would likely be only two people: one was Yang Wudi, the patriarch of the Breaking Clan, an alchemy fanatic with deep knowledge of all kinds of herbs. The other was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, whose martial soul itself was an immortal-grade herb, leading him to extensively study other immortal hers.
"What?!" Gui Mei was startled. Having worked with Yue Guan for years, he didn't doubt his warning for a second. He immediately ceased his attack and withdrew from the poisonous area.
It was then that he noticed something unusual. Despite Dugu Bo spreading his toxins broadly, the potency of the dispersed toxins was just as strong—if not stronger—than when he had concentrated them on Yue Guan earlier. In mere seconds, the area within a hundred-meter radius of Dugu Bo had turned into a barren wasteland.
Had he remained in his previous position, he would have already succumbed to the poison.
"Old poison, how do you have the Snow Swan Kiss?!" Yue Guan demanded. Such an immortal treasure had fallen into the hands of someone it should never have—Dugu Bo.
In anyone else's hands, the Snow Swan Kiss would be useless. But in Dugu Bo's hands, it was akin to a divine weapon.
"Heh, Old Chrysanthemum, afraid now? Let's settle all our old and new grudges here today. Ninth Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Divine Light!"
Dugu Bo raised the Snow Swan Kiss, using its petals as a medium to unleash his most powerful and terrifying Ninth Soul Skill.
Even under normal circumstances, the Jade Phosphor Divine Light could annihilate an entire city in an instant. With the amplification of the Snow Swan Kiss, it was no exaggeration to call it apocalyptic and life-ending.
This was why Dugu Bo had deliberately chosen a desolate battlefield devoid of humans and soul beasts—to avoid unnecessary slaughter.
If not for the fact that Tian Lin had re-cultivated the Snow Swan Kiss, significantly reducing its potency, Dugu Bo wouldn't have dared to use it.
Even so, Dugu Bo refrained from unleashing the full power of the Snow Swan Kiss. He only infused his toxins into the moderately potent petals, amplifying his poison's strength by about five times. The artifact was far too dangerous; using its full power would likely harm Dugu Bo himself and possibly turn the entire Sunset Forest into a lifeless forbidden zone.
Five times the toxicity was the limit Dugu Bo could control.
"Old Ghost, we have to strike together! We won't survive otherwise!" Yue Guan roared. His final soul ring lit up as he unleashed his ultimate move: "Ninth Soul Skill: Withered Chrysanthemum, Scattered Petals, Broken Heart!"
"Ninth Soul Skill: Hell Wraiths!"
The two Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall unleashed their strongest attacks. Yue Guan transformed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum into a storm of destructive petals, forming a powerful tornado. Meanwhile, Gui Mei summoned countless ghostly wraiths, which launched devastating suicide assaults on their enemy.
The three ultimate moves clashed, but the result was shocking. Despite their combined efforts, the two higher-level Titled Douluo were still suppressed by Dugu Bo alone.
"Yue Guan, what is that flower? The Jade Phosphor Divine Light doesn't have this kind of power!" Gui Mei roared in frustration.
"No time for explanations, Old Ghost! Increase your soul power output, or we'll both die here!" Yue Guan coughed up blood. He was already at his limit. His martial soul, corroded from earlier, hadn't fully recovered, and now he was straining himself to unleash his Ninth Soul Skill. He wouldn't last much longer.
"Old Chrysanthemum's martial soul can no longer resist my poison. I might as well finish him off first!" Dugu Bo noticed Yue Guan's vulnerability and focused his attacks on him.
The Jade Phosphor Divine Light, far more potent than the regular Jade Phosphor Snake Emperor poison, corroded Yue Guan's Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum at an alarming rate. The once radiant, golden flower now appeared withered and lifeless, its petals turning green and decayed.
"Old Ghost, I can't hold on anymore. Run! With the Snow Swan Kiss in his hands, we're no match for him!" Yue Guan's martial soul dissipated. In his final moments, he only wished to save his dearest friend.
"Don't talk nonsense! We still have one last move!" Gui Mei stopped resisting. The Jade Phosphor Divine Light engulfed the two of them in an instant.
However, at that moment, Yue Guan and Gui Mei's combined eighteen soul rings suddenly encircled each other, forming a barrier that completely blocked the poison. Even the toxins that had already entered the barrier stopped spreading, as though frozen in time.
"The Two-Pole Static Domain—a martial soul fusion skill?" Dugu Bo sneered. "Impressive, but it's just a defensive technique with no offensive power. Let's see how long you can hold out."
Dugu Bo intensified his soul power output. Gui Mei growled, "Dugu Bo, we admit defeat this time. Stop now! If you kill us, Spirit Hall will relentlessly hunt you down."
"Ha! Do you think I fear Spirit Hall? With the Snow Swan Kiss, even your Pope wouldn't intimidate me!" Dugu Bo showed no intention of stopping. The humiliation of being hunted in the past fueled his determination for revenge.
However, Dugu Bo underestimated Spirit Hall's strength. If he knew what the fully unleashed power of Bibi Dong was like, he wouldn't dare speak so boldly.
"You're strong in direct combat, but what about sneak attacks? Don't forget, you're a control-type Soul Master. If an agility-type ambushes you, you might not even have time to use that flower. And don't forget your granddaughter." Gui Mei struck Dugu Bo's weak spot.
Indeed, Dugu Bo didn't fear direct confrontation, but he did fear Spirit Hall sending agility-type Titled Douluo to assassinate him repeatedly. More importantly, his granddaughter—helpless and defenseless—would be vulnerable.
Furthermore, having already agreed to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, killing two Spirit Hall Titled Douluo would undoubtedly bring disaster upon his new allies.
As a Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo knew Spirit Hall's strength wasn't to be underestimated.
"Fine. Yue Guan, Gui Mei, I'll spare you today. But the grudge from your attack on me years ago won't be written off so easily. Give me two soul bones, and we'll call it even." Dugu Bo seized the opportunity to demand soul bones for his granddaughter's cultivation.
"Fine, we agree. We swear on our martial souls to deliver two soul bones within a month. If we fail, our souls will shatter and we'll die." Gui Mei and Yue Guan didn't hesitate. No matter how precious soul bones were, they valued their lives more.
Hearing this, Dugu Bo withdrew his poison. Without daring to linger, Yue Guan and Gui Mei fled immediately, not even sparing a threat.
"Hahaha!" Watching their retreating figures, Dugu Bo couldn't help but laugh heartily. Today brought him immense satisfaction. Defeating Yue Guan and Gui Mei together had finally swept away years of humiliation.