Douluo: When the piano sounds, the hidden weapon returns to the factory

Chapter 66 Return to Origin
The following day, in the soft light of dawn, the Heaven Dou Empire's convoy slowly departed from Spirit City. The shadows cast by the city walls under the rising sun, and the sound of wheels rolling over gravel, were exceptionally clear in the quiet morning.

Just as the convoy rounded a bend in the mountain, two figures slipped away quietly under the cover of the morning mist.

Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, watched the figure disappear.

Half a month later, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Kid, your requirements for spirit rings are too demanding." Dugu Bo kicked aside a hundred-year-old spirit beast blocking his way and complained, "Let's not even talk about whether a spirit beast like the Soul Bamboo can grow to 30,000 years old. Even if it could, those Soul Emperors and Soul Saints would have already snatched them up. What chance do you have?" He stroked his beard and said earnestly, "I suggest you consider other spirit beasts, or choose spirit skills with different effects."

Feng Yao smiled and nodded, saying, "What you say is true, senior. It's just that we haven't encountered a suitable one yet, not even a decent old plant-type soul beast."

"Hmph!" Dugu Bo snorted coldly. "Most plant-type soul beasts lack mobility, making them easy to hunt, and they have abundant soul power, so naturally they're in high demand." He glanced sideways at Feng Yao. "I must have owed you something in my past life, spending half a month with you in this godforsaken place."

Feng Yao shook his head with a wry smile, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Please bear with us, senior. We've been wandering around for days and haven't even seen a shadow of a 30,000-year-old soul beast."

However, Dugu Bo's words reminded Feng Yao that sticking to this is not a solution. Soul beasts cannot grow according to their own development path. The ability of a soul master must ultimately be reflected in their cultivation level. Soul rings are more like transitional equipment before reaching the end of the game.

"If it were you, senior, what would you choose?" Feng Yao humbly asked for advice.

Dugu Bo stopped, a glint of light flashing in his emerald eyes: "The most important factor for soul rings is their age, especially those over ten thousand years old. Every thousand years brings a qualitative leap." He held up his withered fingers. "The first five rings can be carefully selected because there are many low-level soul beasts. After that, it depends on luck." He paused, then added, "Actually, you don't need to worry the most. Your self-created soul skills don't rely on specific soul rings. As long as the age is high enough, the basic attribute bonus alone will be enough to greatly increase your strength. As for soul power amplification..." He shook his head, "High-level soul beasts' abilities are often complex and varied; simple amplification skills are indeed rare."

Feng Yao nodded in deep agreement. The two continued deeper into the forest, where the surrounding trees grew increasingly tall and dense, allowing only sparse sunlight to filter in.

Feng Yao and Dugu Bo stepped into a dark, dense forest. Ancient trees towered all around, and thick vines coiled around the trunks like giant pythons. A strange, fresh scent of grass and trees filled the air, and the humus underfoot was soft and damp, making a slight "crunching" sound with each step.

"Wait!" Dugu Bo suddenly reached out to stop Feng Yao, his emerald pupils shrinking to slits. He crouched down, his fingertips gently brushing aside a fallen leaf to reveal vines beneath, shimmering with an eerie emerald light. "This...it has already discovered us. To be able to see the vines from this distance, it must be at least thirty thousand years old."

Before he could finish speaking, a strange, creeping sensation suddenly came from the ground. Feng Yao instinctively leaped backward, and dozens of sharp vines shot out from where he had been standing, each one gleaming with a metallic cold light.

"Kid, watch out!" Dugu Bo instantly completed his Martial Soul Possession, and the phantom of the Azure Phosphorous Serpent Emperor appeared behind him. The giant serpent opened its mouth, unleashing a stream of emerald green breath that temporarily blocked the attacking vines. However, the golden patterns on the surface of those vines suddenly shone brightly, and they actually began to absorb the soul power in the breath!
"Hmph! It can even absorb energy attacks; my poison isn't so easy to digest." Dugu Bo sneered.

Feng Yao, cradling "Fuxi," unleashed a barrage of invisible sonic blades, shredding the incoming vines into fragments. But even more terrifying, the severed vines quickly took root upon hitting the ground, sprouting new ones in the blink of an eye!
"Devour, regenerate, do all plants have these tricks?" Feng Yao thought to himself.

"Kid, stand back and protect yourself," Dugu Bo said calmly. The vines around Dugu Bo had already formed an impenetrable circle, each one wriggling and making a chilling rustling sound.

Dugu Bo silently sensed everything around him. Soon, he suddenly noticed a detail—all the vines' attacks deliberately avoided the thickest ancient tree not far ahead. "The main root system must be there!" A glint flashed in his eyes, and powerful soul energy surged around him.

With a mere wave of his hand, his powerful soul force shattered the vines surrounding him.

Dugu Bo seized the opportunity, his figure flashing, his eighth spirit ring instantly lighting up: "If it weren't for this kid, I wouldn't need this move at all! Eighth Spirit Skill: Time Freeze!" The Azure Phosphorous Serpent King behind him spewed out a stream of emerald light, instantly closing in on the ancient tree. However, just as he was about to succeed, the ground suddenly rose up, and a giant net made of vines descended upon him!
Dugu Bo didn't care at all, neither dodging nor avoiding. The giant net of vines was unable to move under the stream of light spewed by the Azure Phosphorous Serpent King. In fact, the vines gradually turned green and began to melt like mud.

"The ability to control time, and even the venom of the Azure Phosphorous Serpent King, this eighth soul skill is a bit buggy. And this hasn't even used Medusa's skull yet," Feng Yao thought to himself.

With a piercing shriek, the entire vine forest convulsed violently. The golden veins quickly faded, and the vines withered and decayed at a visible speed.

"Kid, use your skills to attack the roots of that big tree!" Dugu Bo said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Feng Yao's wrist tensed instantly, and as his five fingers precisely traced the strings, one, two, or three soul rings around his body lit up.

Zheng!
An invisible sonic blade, like a shooting star, instantly sliced ​​through the roots of the ancient tree, causing it to collapse and kick up a cloud of dust. A deep, solid black spirit ring slowly emerged, hovering silently in the air, radiating powerful energy fluctuations.

Upon seeing the spirit ring, Dugu Bo and Feng Yao approached the ancient tree and discovered a giant vine entwined around its roots, with golden patterns shimmering on it.

"You're lucky, kid. The vine has golden patterns, which means your bloodline power is extraordinary. Judging from its thickness and attack strength, it should be even stronger than a 30,000-year-old one." Dugu Bo said, squeezing the giant vine with his hand.

"Senior, do you recognize this soul beast?" Feng Yao asked softly.

Dugu Bo shook his head and said, "I don't recognize it. Why would I study plant spirit beasts for no reason? I might recognize that dead eunuch from Chrysanthemum Pass, though. Kid, even if you recognize a high-level spirit beast, you might not be able to encounter it. As long as the attributes of a high-level spirit beast you don't recognize are not particularly incompatible, you can absorb it."

Dugu Bo continued, "Plant-type soul beasts possess immense and gentle soul power, which is of great help to any soul master who absorbs it. This is because soul power and vitality are indispensable for soul masters. However, the resulting soul skills will tend to be more functional. Nevertheless, this is not a big problem for you."

Feng Yao nodded, then sat cross-legged before the dark spirit ring, his spirit power swirling around him like a vortex. The dark spirit ring hovered above his head, radiating a powerful life force.

"Are you ready?" Dugu Bo stood to the side, his emerald eyes filled with solemnity. "A 30,000-year-old plant-type soul beast is no joke. If anything goes wrong, I'll protect your life."

Feng Yao took a deep breath and nodded. He slowly extended his right hand, his soul power wrapping around the soul ring like threads. The instant they made contact—

"Boom!" A violent torrent of energy surged through his arm and into his body. Feng Yao's entire body trembled violently. His meridians cracked inch by inch under the impact of this power, but were rapidly healed by the life force contained in his soul ring. The pain of this tearing and rebirth distorted his face.

"Hold on!" Dugu Bo's voice seemed to come from a great distance, "Guide it with the elixir within your body!"

Feng Yao gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain to circulate his Mysterious Heaven Technique. Using the elixir within his body as the core, he formed a tiny vortex and began consciously guiding this raging energy. However, the energy within his soul ring suddenly changed, transforming into countless tiny vines that grew wildly within his body!

"ah--!"

Feng Yao cried out in pain, and strange emerald green patterns appeared on his skin. Those "vines" rampaged through his body, seemingly trying to completely take over him from the inside out.

At this critical moment, the elixir within his body shone brightly. Upon contact with this light, the rampant "vines" immediately subsided and began to follow a specific trajectory.

Feng Yao's consciousness suddenly entered a wondrous state. He "saw" his meridians transform into transparent channels, through which flowed not just pure soul power, but a vibrant, liquid energy. Wherever this energy passed, the cells rejoiced, radiating unprecedented vitality.

Outside, Dugu Bo was shocked to see that Feng Yao's body was undergoing an astonishing transformation—his wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, his already fair skin had become even more translucent, and even the ends of his hair were shimmering with a faint luster.

Suddenly, Feng Yao opened his eyes. His eyes, which were originally amber, had turned emerald green, with tiny golden lines flowing within the pupils.

Dugu Bo instantly sensed the surge in Feng Yao's aura. "It succeeded?"

Fifth Soul Skill: Return to Origin.

With a soft shout from Feng Yao, his fifth spirit ring suddenly lit up, and in an instant, a soft halo enveloped his body, as if he were bathing in a fountain of life. His tired muscles were filled with strength again, his depleted spirit power was instantly replenished, and even his consumed mental energy was restored to its peak. Even more miraculously, the small wounds left from absorbing the spirit ring were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Dugu Bo involuntarily took two steps back, scrutinizing Feng Yao, and murmured, "This is..."

Dugu Bo clearly sensed that the only difference between Feng Yao now and before he absorbed the soul ring was that his soul power had broken through and his aura had grown stronger.

"This kid couldn't possibly absorb a spirit ring beyond his age without any problems. He must have needed to recover beforehand. Could it be..." Dugu Bo's pupils shrank, and a terrifying answer suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Goodness, you're incredibly lucky. I've helped you hunt for soul rings twice, and once we encountered a pill bead. This time, you didn't gain the ability to instantly recover from that vine, did you?" Dugu Bo asked Feng Yao.

The fluctuations in soul power gradually dissipated. Feng Yao smiled slightly, feeling the surging power within his body, and nodded to Dugu Bo. His fifth soul skill, like Feng Xiaotian's from Shenfeng Academy, could restore him to his peak condition after release, including soul power, physical strength, and mental strength.

"I'm even a little jealous of you, kid." Dugu Bo knew clearly the terrifying power of this ability in actual combat. Whether it was one-on-one or one-on-many, it could have a huge impact on the battle. As long as Feng Yao wasn't killed in one move, there was a chance of survival and escape.

Feng Yao chuckled and said, "Senior's luck is not bad either. That control skill just now was probably an extremely rare time ability. Combined with Senior's poison, even a Title Douluo of the same level would not dare to be hit easily."

"That's... this is an ability I obtained from Medusa, the Queen of Snakes." Dugu Bo revealed a hint of pride, then paused and asked curiously, "What level are you now after absorbing this soul ring?"

"The competition is taking up too much of my cultivation time. I've been stuck at level 50 for so long, and I'm only level 55 now," Feng Yao said with slight dissatisfaction.

Seeing Feng Yao's dissatisfied look, Dugu Bo's old face couldn't help but twitch. If he remembered correctly, Feng Yao was at most fourteen years old. You have to know that the golden generation of the Spirit Hall were basically all over twenty years old, and this guy had only just entered the Soul King realm.

Dugu Bo snorted coldly: "Alright, stop acting innocent after getting such a good deal. If you hadn't come to participate in this Soul Master Competition, would you have such good fortune?" He rubbed his chin, but a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

Feng Yao touched his nose, a sly smile playing on his lips, but wisely refrained from replying.

"It's been half a month, it's time to go back." Dugu Bo looked up at the sky, his tone suddenly becoming serious. "Tian Dou's caravan should be arriving at the capital soon, any further delay..."

Before he could finish speaking, Feng Yao felt a sudden tightening around his waist, followed by a dizzying, weightless sensation. Dugu Bo's withered hand gripped his shoulder like an iron clamp, and emerald green soul power instantly enveloped the two of them.

"Senior! Please grant me permission."

“Stop talking nonsense!”

In an instant, the two figures transformed into streaks of emerald light, swiftly traversing the forest. Towering ancient trees rushed past in their field of vision, and a gust of wind howled past their ears.

Dugu Bo's figure appeared and disappeared as he sped along, each leap covering hundreds of meters. A smug smile played on his lips; he clearly enjoyed toying with his junior.

"Kid, hold on tight!" With a long shout, the two figures soared into the sky and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)