Spirit Hall Sanctuary, Formulating a Plan

Su He and Dugu Bo first circled around the grand Spirit Hall Sanctuary to scout it out, rather than entering through its doors directly.

There was an enormous flow of people during the day, with ordinary soul masters coming and going endlessly to handle affairs at the Spirit Hall Sanctuary. Seeing this, Su He decided to enter the sanctuary at night and meet Salas, the Heaven Dou Empire's Spirit Hall Platinum Bishop—a level 89 Soul Douluo.

The two casually found an inn to stay at. Su He did not waste his time there, instead cultivating to absorb the residual medicinal power of the two Immortal Herbs.

At midnight, Su He opened his eyes.

Seeing Dugu Bo already waiting nearby, the two nodded and darted out under cover of night, arriving at the entrance to the Spirit Hall Sanctuary.

"Who goes there?" The guards at the entrance immediately stepped forward to inspect them. Upon seeing the Elder Token Dugu Bo took out, they promptly dropped to one knee and cupped their fists. "Greetings, Elder. We did not know you were coming and have offended you greatly."

"No matter." Dugu Bo casually waved a hand. He had always been a free-spirited man and did not care much for such worldly formalities.

But petty villains should not mistake Dugu Bo for a soft target because of that. If he truly wished to act, a mere wave of his hand could leave soul masters below the rank of Soul Douluo without even bones remaining.

"Please ask Bishop Salas of the Spirit Hall Sanctuary to come out. By His Holiness the Pope's secret decree, we have come to discuss an important matter with the bishop," Su He said to the guards at the entrance with a smile.

So long as his interests were not involved, Su He was always as pleasant as a spring breeze.

"Yes!" The captain leading the group nodded. "You must be weary from your journey. Please enter the sanctuary and rest for a while." He then ordered his subordinates to lead Su He and Dugu Bo to a reception room.

Before long, he came to the reception room and indicated that Bishop Salas had been notified, inviting the two to discuss matters in a secret chamber.

The two arrived in the secret chamber.

"Salas greets Elder Dugu." At this moment, Platinum Bishop Salas was exceedingly respectful toward Dugu Bo. An elder at the level of a Titled Douluo held authority above his own.

"Young Master Su." Salas also nodded to Su He. Seeing the token at Su He's waist bearing the image of a majestic lion, it was not difficult for Salas to guess his identity. Given Salas's position, the existence of the Worship Hall was no longer a secret to him.

After the three exchanged greetings, Su He did not waste any more words and went straight to the point.

"Bishop Salas," Su He said. "By the secret orders of the Great Enshrined and His Holiness the Pope, my purpose in coming to the Heaven Dou Empire is simple: to help Young Master Highness swiftly take control of Heaven Dou's imperial power. The lords of the Worship Hall all believe that Young Master Highness's talent surpasses her entire generation, and that she should not waste too much time on worldly affairs. I believe Bishop Salas must be someone closely informed of the progress of Young Master Highness's undercover mission. Could you explain the mission's current progress to Elder Dugu and me?"

"Certainly." Salas's expression turned serious upon hearing this.

"The Usurpation Plan currently relies on cooperation between Young Master Highness and me, working from within and without, but its progress has been far too slow."

He let out a long sigh. "As everyone knows, Emperor Xueye has four sons and one daughter: First Prince Xue Luochuan, Second Prince Xue Qinghe, Third Prince Xue Haicang, and Fourth Prince Xue Beng. Young Master Highness spent two painstaking years infiltrating as Xue Qinghe's maid, striving to learn his habits and daily life. Only then did she find an opportunity during an outing for a hunt to kill Xue Qinghe and replace him. Over the past two years, Young Master Highness has successfully used the slow-acting poison prepared by His Holiness the Porcupine Douluo to poison First Prince Xue Luochuan to death—the greatest obstacle on the path to usurping the throne. Her greatest obstacle now is Third Prince Xue Haicang, who commands military power at the border."

Salas paused before continuing.

"As for Xue Beng, that useless fool was very close to his elder brother. After Xue Luochuan's death, he became utterly despondent and even more of a debauched wastrel. He is not worth taking seriously and can be disposed of at any time. So long as that old man Xueye isn't blind, he should know whom to pass the throne to."

Su He's eyes shifted, but he did not immediately tell Salas that Xue Beng was concealing his true abilities. After all, it sounded far too absurd. A wastrel prince who spent every day indulging in wine and women, accomplishing nothing at all, was actually enduring in silence as he waited for his moment to astonish the world?

Who would believe that? Any normal person would scoff upon hearing it. Even if Su He told him today, Salas would not take it seriously. Thus, Su He could only assist Qian Renxue in gradually forcing Xue Beng to reveal flaws. Perhaps he could even leave Emperor Xueye with the impression that Xue Beng was deeply scheming.

"I basically understand the situation now, Bishop Salas," Su He said. "The reason I brought Elder Dugu along this time is that he is one of the foremost poison experts in the world."

"Invisible poison and leaving no trace of the body—those are Elder Dugu's specialties." Su He teased, earning a glare from Old Poison.

"If Elder Dugu and His Holiness the Porcupine Douluo can formulate an even more untraceable poison, killing the Third Prince would be a very simple matter," Su He said seriously. "But the problem is that killing one person is easy. How do we clear Young Master Highness of suspicion for killing two princes?"

"The inferior strategy would be to destroy the evidence. For example, arrange for the Third Prince to suffer an accident during a hunt and ensure that he is never found again." Su He smiled.

"But the superior strategy would be to pin the matter on Xue Beng and the Star Luo Empire. In three months, it will be the Heaven Dou Empire's Annual Banquet. Third Prince Xue Haicang will return to Heaven Dou City then as well. It would be perfectly normal for Prince Xue Beng to poison the wine of the Second Prince and Third Prince in order to eliminate his rivals for the throne, wouldn't it? At that time, our Elder Dugu will step forward to save the poisoned Second and Third Princes. Once the Third Prince recovers, he can return to the front lines, only to be assassinated by Star Luo Empire assassins on the way. I think that would be perfectly reasonable as well."

"Young Master Su's words make sense, but Xue Beng is merely a wastrel. Over the years, although Xueye has always been frustrated by Xue Beng's failure to live up to expectations, he has never suspected Xue Beng in the First Prince's death. On the contrary, the Xue Qinghe played by Young Master Highness is the one under the greatest suspicion." Salas wore a grave expression as he revealed the difficulty of the matter.

"Then force him to reveal a flaw," Su He said, taking a sip of water. "First, if both the Second and Third Princes fall ill, Xue Beng, as the only remaining prince, will certainly come under considerable pressure from Xueye. Whether he can continue to endure remains unknown.

"Furthermore, in the field of poison, Elder Dugu and Elder Porcupine are evenly matched, but their areas of expertise seem to differ."

"Correct. This old man specializes in poisons that kill, while that old ghost Porcupine is better at absorbing poisons and turning them into his own neurotoxins." Dugu Bo spoke up, interrupting Su He. "That is also why this old man is restrained by him."

"Elder, do you mean using neurotoxins against Xue Beng?" Salas asked.

Dugu Bo nodded and said, "Neurotoxins can produce countless effects. Even I do not know much about them, so we will have to ask that old ghost Porcupine."

"Excellent." Su He took out a bottle of red wine from his Soul Tool. "I will go to the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena to make a name for myself, then create an accident that will bring me to Young Master Highness's side to assist her. As for you, Old Poison, try not to show your face outside. We will still need your cooperation in the matters to come." Su He took out three glasses and filled them with red wine. "Bishop Salas, I will notify you immediately once there are further plans." With that, he raised his glass high. The three clinked glasses and drained them in one gulp.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"