"Don't you know my Spirit is a plant-type?" Yue Guan purred, a confident smile gracing his features. This forest environment was simply too advantageous for him. Unless Dugu Bo had an army hiding among the trees, he stood no chance. But upon arriving, Yue Guan had already scanned the area. There was nothing. The forest was completely undisturbed.
"You sissy," Dugu Bo grumbled. "Don't be in such a rush. This old man will let you know what true power is soon enough." He took out the strange, carved dice Ye Yin had given him. "Look closely. What is this?"
Yue Guan frowned. "A dice?"
With a flick of his finger, Dugu Bo tossed the lucky dice towards him. "Then you can take it and see for yourself."
As the dice spun through the air, a subtle, imperceptible energy settled over Dugu Bo. Yue Guan caught it effortlessly.
"A dice?" he repeated, examining it with disdain. "Just an ordinary dice?" He casually threw it away, letting it clatter onto the forest floor. "You're not trying to mess with me, are you?"
The unlucky dice rolled to a stop, and a wave of misfortune washed over Yue Guan. As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach suddenly rumbled violently. It felt like the dinner he'd eaten hours ago had gone horribly bad.
"Something's not right," he muttered, clutching his abdomen. "What's going on? Suddenly my stomach hurts… Old Poison, wait a moment. Let me go to the restroom first!"
Just as Yue Guan was about to retreat, a loud crack echoed through the clearing. A once-tall tree trunk snapped and crashed heavily toward him.
"What is going on?!" he yelped, twisting his body to quickly dodge the falling timber. The sudden movement, however, came at a cost; his internal valve seemed to open just a little. "Oh!" His eyes widened in horror. "Why is my luck so bad today?!"
A grin spread across Dugu Bo's face. He hadn't expected the dice to be so ridiculously effective. "You sissy," he called out, crossing his arms over his chest in a very calm manner. "Don't say this old man is bullying you. Go on, go to the restroom."
"Alright!" Yue Guan's figure flashed as he disappeared into the darker parts of the woods. The moment he was gone, Dugu Bo tossed the black garlic into his mouth.
"Ugh!" A dry retch escaped him, and he almost spit the foul-tasting thing out. Don't you dare trick me, kid! he thought, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to swallow it.
Instantly, Dugu Bo felt his entire strength surge by a large margin. More importantly, a bizarre transformation took place. His whole body turned pitch black, becoming completely non-reflective. He raised his arm but couldn't see it in the moonless night. Even the color of his spirit rings had changed, becoming voids of blackness.
He chuckled twice, imitating Ye Yin's sinister laugh. Something's not right, he thought. Why am I laughing like this? That Ye Yin kid is too sinister; he's even affecting this old man! However… you sissy, today, I will definitely make you suffer!
Dugu Bo's figure flashed, and he silently found Yue Guan, who was squatting on the ground and vigilantly observing his surroundings. He didn't see Dugu Bo, who was now standing only a meter away from him, a perfect hole in the darkness. Dugu Bo reached out and pushed Yue Guan firmly on the forehead. A heavy force descended, and Yue Guan sat down hard with a shout. His eyes widened in shock and agony.
"Ah!" a scream tore from his lips.
[Resentment from Yue Guan +50!]
"Who ambushed me?!" he shrieked, scrambling to his feet. "Dugu Bo, was it you?!" He looked around wildly but found nothing. Still, he had clearly felt the force of the push. "This is really strange." He quickly changed to another spot.
Dugu Bo's fourth spirit ring moved, and a non-reflective black snake slithered slowly along the ground toward Yue Guan, making no sound. The blackening effect even seemed to block perception. Perception was like echo-location; if there was no reflection, one couldn't sense anything at all. Dugu Bo controlled the black snake to bite Yue Guan's backside. Just as it struck, Yue Guan shifted his position slightly. Ten rings, bullseye!
"Ah!" A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the forest.
[Resentment from Yue Guan +99!]
[Resentment from Yue Guan +99!]
[Resentment from Yue Guan +99!]
The intense pain made Yue Guan tremble all over. He suddenly activated his spirit power, launching a blind attack backward. The black snake was shattered with a bang, but even its fragments were a non-reflective color. He still couldn't see a thing.
"Damn it, is there a ghost?!" he yelled in frustration. No, wait, isn't Old Ghost a ghost? What exactly is going on?
Not far away, Dugu Bo was suppressing his laughter so hard his shoulders were shaking. He was a Titled Douluo who had lived for many years; not much could cause his emotions to fluctuate so greatly, but today he really couldn't hold it back. You sissy, don't rush. This night is still very long.
Yue Guan, completely baffled, quickly changed to another spot. Dugu Bo followed him like a shadow. This time, before Dugu Bo could even make a move, the ground beneath Yue Guan, for some unknown reason, suddenly collapsed.
"Ouch!"
[Resentment from Yue Guan +30!]
"What in the world is going on?!" he cursed angrily. "Can't I even just go to the restroom properly?!" He scrambled out of the hole and changed to another spot, now almost five hundred meters away.
Dugu Bo's mouth curved upwards. "Of course not." His fourth spirit ring moved again. This time, two invisible snakes went towards Yue Guan, attacking from both the front and the back simultaneously. They bit down at the exact same moment. The one in front, infused with more spirit power, was poised to bite something off.
You sissy, this time, this old man will grant your wish!
A scream even more bloodcurdling than before ripped through the night. "Ah!"
Yue Guan roared in pain, then watched in horror as a part of his body was dragged away along the ground at an extremely fast speed, dripping blood as it went, before it suddenly vanished into the darkness.
"Stop!" he shrieked, enduring the pain to give chase, but it was gone. He was stunned, unable to find where it went. "What in the world is going on?!" His spirit power surged wildly, shaking the surrounding trees violently. The next second, the agitated trees all crashed down on him at the same time. He raised his hands, and his spirit power exploded, blasting the tree trunks away.
"Who is ambushing me?!" he bellowed into the night. "Dugu Bo, was it you?!"
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