Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Shadow Monarch

"Teacher Qin, is something the matter?" After the other members of the Emperor Battle Team gradually left the Spirit Soul Mimicry Training Grounds, only then did Yu Tianheng ask the question that had been on his mind. Cheng Xiao stood beside him, silently observing.

Qin Ming sighed and said, "Tianheng, have you heard back from your father and grandfather? Are they willing to let you go to Shrek Academy and train under your uncle?"

"Uh… Teacher." Yu Tianheng scratched his head awkwardly and replied, "The family hasn't given me a response yet, but I heard that they've convened a family meeting because of this matter."

"A family meeting?" A gleam flashed in Qin Ming's eyes before he smiled and said, "Alright, since they haven't replied yet, there's no need to rush."

"Understood, Teacher." Yu Tianheng nodded before leaving the training grounds as Qin Ming had indicated.

Watching Yu Tianheng's figure fade into the distance, Qin Ming turned to Cheng Xiao and playfully scolded, "You sly devil, you've been hiding your strength! With your abilities, I doubt the entire Emperor Battle Team could defeat you."

"It's not that impressive. It's just that my spirit is rather unique, which has made my body far more resilient than my spirit power level would suggest," Cheng Xiao responded with a smile.

"Oh right, Cheng Xiao, Yan's grandfather might be coming here soon. I've heard that he's quite interested in you," Qin Ming remarked.

"Interested in me?" Cheng Xiao was puzzled and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "Is it because I managed to neutralize Dugu Yan's poison?"

Qin Ming nodded slightly. "That's probably it. After all, Yan's grandfather is a master of poison. Since you could neutralize his prized Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison, it makes sense that he'd be curious about you."

After finishing the conversation, Qin Ming and Cheng Xiao casually left the mimicry training area.

After having dinner, Cheng Xiao reflected on the situation. Since Dugu Bo was interested in him, why not take the initiative to meet him? After all, his body was immune to all poisons and negative effects, so Dugu Bo's famed poison techniques wouldn't affect him at all.

However, Cheng Xiao didn't seek out Dugu Yan directly. Instead, he found Ye Lingling, one of the two girls in the Emperor Battle Team. Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan were very close, and Cheng Xiao had a good relationship with Ye Lingling.

Cheng Xiao told Ye Lingling that he wanted to meet Dugu Yan's grandfather. Although Ye Lingling was confused by his request, unsure of why he wanted to see Dugu Bo, she passed the message to Dugu Yan and asked for her opinion.

To Ye Lingling's surprise, Dugu Yan agreed right away—very decisively, in fact. She even offered to immediately contact her grandfather to arrange the meeting.

When Ye Lingling pressed for more details, Dugu Yan explained that it was actually Dugu Bo who wanted to meet Cheng Xiao, but he had been unsure of how to approach the matter. Upon learning this, Ye Lingling became even more curious. Why would a Titled Douluo like Dugu Bo take such interest in a Spirit Elder?

...

With Ye Lingling's help, Cheng Xiao easily made the connection with Dugu Yan and learned from her that Dugu Bo was waiting for him in the Sunset Forest.

To make sure Cheng Xiao didn't get lost, Dugu Yan even gave him a rough map of the Sunset Forest, marking the location of Dugu Bo's poison formation.

Thus, after receiving the map, Cheng Xiao immediately set off for the Sunset Forest.

The distance between Heaven Dou City and the Sunset Forest wasn't too far. The Sunset Forest was considered a spirit beast forest centered around Heaven Dou City, with spirit masters from surrounding cities often coming here to hunt spirit beasts. Compared to the Star Dou Forest, the Sunset Forest differed not only in size—Star Dou Forest was the largest spirit beast forest in the entire Douluo Continent—but also in environment. The Star Dou Forest was located in the central part of the continent and produced more powerful spirit beasts.

The Sunset Forest, on the other hand, was located further north. Though it wasn't a cold region, the temperature here was noticeably lower than in the Star Dou Forest, which resulted in the flora consisting mostly of temperate plants.

Most strong spirit beasts preferred the tropical rainforest environment of the Star Dou Forest. Therefore, in the relatively colder Sunset Forest, spirit beasts with over 10,000 years of cultivation were rare, though not completely absent. Most of the spirit beasts here with such long cultivation were under 50,000 years old.

After spending a few hours in the Sunset Forest, and with the help of Dugu Yan's map and clear markings, Cheng Xiao encountered mostly thousand-year-old spirit beasts along the way. Thanks to his shadow soldiers, these beasts remained well-behaved, not daring to challenge what appeared to be a weak human.

Following the map's instructions, Cheng Xiao soon found himself at the outer perimeter of Dugu Bo's poison formation.

The poisonous miasma spread through the formation like a mist, a thick green fog permeating the forest. The entire scene looked as though it was shrouded in light clouds and smoke.

Because of the dense poison fog, Cheng Xiao couldn't see what was inside the formation. The unknown can be terrifying, and as they say, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

"This poison fog is peculiar—it even smells a bit sweet," Cheng Xiao murmured to himself, rubbing his chin as he inhaled the air filled with toxins.

To test the power of the poison formation, Cheng Xiao casually sent one of his shadow soldiers inside. To his surprise, the shadow soldier wasn't affected at all. Perhaps due to its energy-based nature, the poison didn't have any effect on it.

Unable to assess the formation's true danger, Cheng Xiao shrugged and walked into the poison formation himself.

As soon as his body entered the formation, the surrounding green miasma rushed toward him, enveloping him like a storm. Inside the poison formation, Cheng Xiao could clearly feel the toxic gas trying to flood into his body, seemingly intent on dissolving him into a puddle of goo.

However, thanks to the Great Wizard's Blessing, which granted him immunity to all poisons and negative states, the fierce toxins had no effect on him.

With the poison proving ineffective, Cheng Xiao continued forward. After passing through the poisonous area, a dense forest without any poison came into view.

Upon entering this area, Cheng Xiao immediately felt an intense heat. There was no need to guess—it was undoubtedly coming from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Following the scorching waves in the air, Cheng Xiao's lips curled into a smile as he walked toward a mountaintop.

Soon, he reached the summit, and from there, he saw that the terrain ahead formed an inverted cone, with Cheng Xiao standing at the edge of the depression.

Thick waves of heat rose from the valley below, the air humid and carrying the distinct scent of sulfur.

"Not far from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well now." A gleam of excitement flashed in Cheng Xiao's eyes as he summoned his shadow soldier, the Man-Faced Demon Spider. He then stepped onto the spider and used it to descend the mountain.

The terrain was treacherous, and it would be difficult for an ordinary person to reach the valley floor. However, for the Man-Faced Demon Spider, it posed no challenge.