Chapter 148 – The Underground Training Ground
Uncontrollably, Hu Liena's mind conjured the image of a shadowy figure.
Behind her, that dark silhouette devoured her external spirit bone.
She could almost feel the cruelty on its face, laughing as it consumed her treasure.
A violent shiver ran through her.
"It must have been an evil soul master," Yan spat, fury blazing in his eyes. "Once we return, we must report this to the Pope. We'll put this monster on the wanted list of the entire continent!"
The loss of an external spirit bone was immeasurable—it made his blood boil.
Hu Liena remained silent.
She fought to suppress the terror and pain clawing at her heart after that violation.
"He took my external spirit bone," she whispered bitterly, "he'll have to use it eventually."
"Liena, we'll avenge you," Xie Yue said, voice low and solid with promise.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression was dark and grim. If I ever find you, he thought coldly, you will face the wrath of the Spirit Hall itself.
Beyond the Star Dou Great Forest—
Old Scorpion and Dugu Feng had long since left its borders.
Without stopping, they rode the Emerald Serpents day and night, returning to the Sunset Forest in only three days.
There, Dugu Feng did not go to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, nor to the Dugu estate.
Instead, he split from Old Scorpion at the forest's entrance, descending deep into the underground zone hidden beneath the Nine-Heaven Centipede's secret region.
It was his private domain—a specialized training ground for cultivating external spirit bones.
The tunnel was dark and narrow, twisting endlessly until it opened before him—
A vast underground cavern, the size of a grand academy's training field.
Massive stone pillars supported its walls. At the dome's peak, soul-guide lamps glimmered like shards of glazed crystal, bathing everything in white light.
Only here could he truly feel safe.
He didn't dare return to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for fear of encountering Dugu Bo, nor to Heaven Dou City, where powerful undercover Titled Douluo lingered.
An unrefined external spirit bone was a temptation no one could resist.
So, Dugu Feng resolved to remain hidden here indefinitely—until his newfound strength fully merged into his body.
He stripped off his upper garments, revealing a body of honed muscle—not bulky like a power-type master's, but dense and flexible, filled with serpentine durability and the strength of steel beneath.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
A rhombus-shaped scale pattern shimmered into existence on his brow, four colors pulsing from within, radiating calm authority.
Scorpion claws and Eight Spider Lances emerged simultaneously.
The eight limbs pierced the earth, lifting his body from the ground until he hovered effortlessly, supported in mid-air.
The spider legs flexed, and with a metallic clang, Dugu Feng shot upward.
His body clung to the cavern wall like some phantom beast.
Then, with alternating thrusts of each spider leg, he began darting along the vertical surface—skimming, leaping, twisting.
Wind whistled in the chamber as dust and stone rained down.
Bit by bit, the cavern widened—the training field itself was being expanded through his movements.
It had been shaped over time by his constant cultivation.
Moments later, his speed reached its peak—a red streak blazing through the shadows.
The fire-red tail behind him cracked like a whip as he slammed straight into the central stone pillar.
The fox tail coiled once around it, then stiffened sharply like a spring under tension.
He shot upward like a launched cannon shell, crashing into the cavern ceiling before dropping headfirst.
This time he didn't use the spider legs—the twin scorpion claws braced against the floor instead.
With a twist of his claws, he spun like a wheel, rebounding straight back into the wall.
"Exhilarating!"
"Exhilarating!"
Laughter echoed through the cavern, bouncing back in layers.
His movements had blurred to impossibility—he was everywhere at once, a living streak of speed.
The three external spirit bones rotated in perfect harmony, responding as naturally as the movement of fingers.
Only down here, in this hidden sanctuary, could he move so freely—his absolute freedom of power.
No one else knew its design or depth—not even Old Nine knew more than the fact that Dugu Feng had dug out a private training ground here.
This session continued for hours on end.
Using external spirit bones consumed enormous spirit power—especially three at once. Yet Dugu Feng could withdraw and deploy them fluidly, switching as needed to reduce strain.
With his meridians' channels long since opened by absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, his spirit energy flowed like a surging river, recovering rapidly.
The pearls within him aided further—of the eight, only one remained by his side now.
The others had been expended.
He kept this last one rotating between him and the Emerald Serpents, cycling energy back and forth.
This method produced a remarkable effect: the pearl's returning warmth grew stronger each time, bathing him in streams of revitalizing heat.
His body grew sturdier, tougher—a necessary preparation for absorbing his fifth spirit ring.
That ring, he had already decided, would come from a poisonous beast—one potent enough to form the Tyrant Venom, the next evolution of his power.
No one could predict what might happen when that energy fused within him.
Thus, he had to refine his body to endure the venom's bite.
With three external spirit bones and the Blue Silver Emperor bone already fortifying his frame, his resistance was immense.
But Dugu Feng still felt something missing.
Yes—he lacked a top-tier skull bone.
His mental power had increased after consuming the Dew of Autumn Sight, and the shock from absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul beast's spirit ring had honed it further.
Yet his psychic defenses still lagged behind his physical strength.
He'd need to continue cultivating the Bi Phosphor Scarlet Poison technique as well.
He sorted his thoughts clearly: in the days ahead, his primary focus would be threefold—external spirit bones, Bi Phosphor Scarlet Poison, and spirit power itself.
So began his seclusion.
Time faded, meaningless.
Within the depths of his underground training hall, Dugu Feng vanished from the world's noise, dedicating himself solely to cultivation.
Meanwhile—
In Spirit City, atop the towering Pope's Hill, Chrysanthemum Douluo led Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan step by step toward the mid-slope of the grand Pope's Palace.
His expression was grim—he looked like a man walking to execution.
The hunt for the spirit ring had failed spectacularly.
Hu Liena had lost her external spirit bone, and her prolonged weakness would take months of recovery before she could train again.
He could only hope the Pope's punishment wouldn't be too severe.
Summoning what courage he had left, Chrysanthemum Douluo stepped inside the grand palace.
"What happened?"
Bibi Dong's voice filled the hall, cold and commanding.
Seated upon the Pope's throne, her black robe trimmed with gold, she exuded absolute authority.
Lately, her mood had been excellent—the Spirit Hall's influence grew steadily, and the rift between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Haotian Sect threatened to fracture the Upper Three Sects completely.
Triumph lingered in her air.
But now, seeing Hu Liena frail and pale, her brow furrowed sharply.
Hu Liena's mission into the Star Dou Forest—had something gone terribly wrong?
Why did her beloved disciple look so weak?
(END CHAPTER)
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