21: Dragon and Phoenix - A Swan Song

In Saint Spirit Village, Tang Hao, reeking of alcohol, kicked open the door.

He lay drunkenly on the bed, the smell of his sweat almost marinating the bedboards.

The soundly sleeping Tang San felt as if he were experiencing ghost pressing.

Pressed down by the sweat-stinking Tang Hao, he couldn't muster any strength; no matter how he struggled, he couldn't get up.

“Dad...”

Tang San's short legs flailed incessantly, his face gradually turning flushed from lack of oxygen.

Just as Tang San felt he was about to suffocate, Tang Hao suddenly opened his eyes, his previously cloudy gaze becoming sharp.

He stood up, pulled up his pants, and glanced at the exhausted Tang San.

Tang Hao was stunned for a moment.

Then he walked out of the room.

In the sky above Saint Spirit Village, Ye Yuaner flew past openly.

Sensing an aura chasing after her.

The corners of her mouth beneath the cloak curled up slightly, but a trace of worry lingered between her brows.

I hope Little Wen's mission goes smoothly!

“Thinking of running!”

Tang Hao chased after her, holding the Clear Sky Hammer.

He never imagined that Spirit Hall would actually find this remote, backwater place.

No matter what, he had to kill her.

If she escaped, she would inevitably bring the experts of Spirit Hall.

“Where do you think you're going!”

Tang Hao held the Clear Sky Hammer as nine spirit rings rose sequentially beneath his feet.

Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red.

When the ninth spirit ring appeared, his power as a Titled Douluo erupted in full.

Tang Hao accelerated, and just as he was about to catch up to Ye Yuaner, he swung the Clear Sky Hammer heavily toward her.

Ye Yuaner hadn't intended to run away in the first place; if they didn't exchange a few blows, it would surely arouse his suspicion.

With a loud roar, as the nine spirit rings manifested.

The seventh spirit ring lit up instantly.

A powerful aura radiated from Ye Yuaner.

Tang Hao was momentarily shocked upon seeing the opponent's red spirit ring.

But the arrow was on the string and had to be fired; when the hammer fell, it struck the flames, which instantly scattered and then quickly reconvened. With a Phoenix cry, a Blazing Fire Phoenix flew out from the flames.

As the Phoenix spread its wings and soared, the violent force of the resulting tornado knocked Tang Hao back a hundred meters.

“Who are you?”

After stabilizing himself in the air, Tang Hao looked at her in surprise.

Fire Phoenix Spirit!

Spirit Hall had never seen such a person, let alone a Titled Douluo who possessed a red spirit ring just like his own.

“And who are you?”

Ye Yuaner transformed back into human form, still wearing the cloak, with only flames dancing in her pupils.

The hood concealed her figure, and a mask hid her face.

“Playing tricks, take off your hood!”

Tang Hao didn't care anymore, whether she was from Spirit Hall or not.

Since she had seen his Clear Sky Hammer, she would soon guess his identity, which would still draw Spirit Hall's attention.

“Heh, you're seeking death!”

Ye Yuaner shouted angrily and instantly engaged him in battle.

Using stalling tactics, she tried to move as far away from Saint Spirit Village as possible.

On the other side.

Su Wen noticed the sounds of battle and quickly headed to the back mountain of Saint Spirit Village.

He remembered that the Blue Silver Emperor and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone were both kept by Tang Hao in a cave behind a waterfall.

A place with flowing water was easy to find.

Su Wen arrived below the waterfall; with a flick of his hand, the red oiled paper umbrella appeared in his palm.

As he opened the red umbrella, a cloud of red mist drifted out.

“Hongdou, give me a lift and send me into the cave inside.”

The Ghost Bride floated before Su Wen, holding Nether-colored iron chains, her aura eerie and cold.

When her first spirit ring lit up, the chains grew rapidly and wrapped around Su Wen's waist. The flames that could normally ignite anything had no reaction when wrapping around Su Wen; the chains gently lifted him and sent him into the cave.

The Ghost Bride turned into a cloud of mist and drifted back into the red oiled paper umbrella.

The damp and cold cave was very dark.

Only a small hole allowed a tiny bit of light to shine in from outside.

The light happened to fall on a stalk of Blue Silver Grass in the center of the cave.

Su Wen stepped forward and found that this Blue Silver Grass was slightly different from those outside; there were golden patterns on the inside of the grass, and a faint aura of life surrounded it.

“This should be the Blue Silver Emperor!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, truly remarkable. For a plant to be grown in a place like this, only catching light for a brief moment at sunset—it's lucky it's the Blue Silver Emperor; any ordinary Blue Silver Grass would have withered long ago.”

“I really don't know if Tang Hao planted you here hoping you'd recover to 100,000 years, or hoping you wouldn't.”

While Su Wen muttered under his breath, his eyes scanned the surroundings.

The Blue Silver Emperor's Spirit Bone should be nearby.

Tang Hao hadn't absorbed it.

Entirely because his Spirit Bone slots were already full.

Su Wen called Hongdou out to help him search.

When Hongdou appeared, the leaves of the Blue Silver Emperor visibly shrank back.

“Oh, it still has consciousness. Is this instinctive awareness, or the consciousness of the Blue Silver Emperor?”

Su Wen reached out and yanked the Blue Silver Emperor; the latter immediately lashed the back of Su Wen's hand with its leaves.

Su Wen simply uprooted it from the ground.

The Blue Silver Emperor struggled fiercely, its leaves flapping incessantly.

But it seemed very weak.

Su Wen stuffed the Blue Silver Emperor into his spirit tool, and Hongdou floated over holding a lead box.

Su Wen's eyes lit up, and he impatiently opened the box.

Inside lay a piece that was blue-gold all over.

A Spirit Bone emitting a strong aura of life.

“The 100,000-year spirit bone is ours. Hongdou, let's go.”

Just as Su Wen turned around, he suddenly thought of something.

He took out a pre-prepared stalk of Blue Silver Grass from his spirit tool, planted it in the Blue Silver Emperor's former spot, and restored the surroundings to their original state.

With the Spirit Bone taken, he put the lead box back in its original place.

If this Blue Silver Grass could deceive Tang Hao, that would be best; if not, Su Wen wouldn't lose anything either.

Leaving the cave, Su Wen sped away, distancing himself from Saint Spirit Village as fast as possible.

Hongdou, in her blood-red wedding dress, floated behind him, looking extremely eerie.

At this moment, Tang Hao was still dealing with Ye Yuaner.

As Ye Yuaner's sixth spirit ring shone, a massive phantom of a Fire Phoenix appeared above Tang Hao's head, the Phoenix breathing out a pillar of flame.

With the flapping of its wings, it stirred up tornadoes, instantly forming a high-temperature sea of fire around them at a terrifying speed.

“Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique!”

Tang Hao swung the Clear Sky Hammer left and right, using the momentum to redirect the force, dispersing the incoming tornadoes and fire pillars the moment they hit; each strike was stronger than the last.

Ye Yuaner felt that the time agreed upon with Su Wen had arrived.

But she worried it wasn't enough time, so she lingered and tangled with Tang Hao for another half an incense stick's time before leaving.

Seeing Tang Hao fighting more and more bravely, Ye Yuaner's caution grew more serious.

“Ninth Spirit Ability: Dragon and Phoenix · Swan Song!”

Boom!

As Ye Yuaner's red spirit ring flashed, a violent flame suddenly rose, forming a sun-blotting Fire Phoenix, with the phantom of a Fire Dragon entwined around its body.

With the appearance of the Fire Phoenix, the sky was filled with red clouds burning with fire; the domineering, violent, and cruel aura emanating from the Phoenix swept across heaven and earth.

The Fire Phoenix spread its wings and soared, turning everything in its path into a sea of fire.

It let out a Phoenix cry toward Tang Hao, its eyes burning with flames of mutual destruction and a resolve to face death.

“Ring Explosion!”