Ah Rou's Sacrifice

Above the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Roar—howl—"

Before that provocative Dragon Roar had faded, wave after wave of beastly roars erupted like a powder keg being lit, instantly engulfing the entire area.

"Damn it!"

Bibi Dong's composed Facial Expression turned livid the instant she heard the furious roars of those Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts.

She had calculated everything—calculated that they could not escape, calculated the overwhelming strength of three Titled Douluo—but she had failed to account for what kind of lunatic her own disciple was!

"That little bastard... How could he dare?!"

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth in fury.

Hu Liena had indeed reported to her earlier that Xuan Hao's newly acquired Second Soul Skill, Golden Dragon Roar, could not only stun enemies, but also carried Dragon Might. It could greatly intimidate Beast Spirits and Soul Beasts, even triggering that small-scale Beast Tide.

But she had never imagined that Xuan Hao would dare use this move in a region packed with Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts!

And this move actually had such powerful taunting effects? It could even enrage Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts?!

Bibi Dong ground her teeth, an inexplicable irritation rising within her.

She had originally agreed to let Xuan Hao come for two reasons. First, she had softened when she saw how pitiful he looked. Second, she wanted him to personally experience the brutality between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts, to use their hands to teach him a lesson and make him understand just how dangerous such childish sympathy was.

With Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow's Two Poles Stillness Domain as a safeguard, even if they took hostages, they would not be able to cause much trouble.

It had been a straightforward plan that killed two birds with one stone.

But now...

"Humans! You want my Soul Ring? Then come and take it!!"

Ah Rou's shrill howl and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast aura she deliberately released were like a massive target, incomparably conspicuous amid the chaotic Beast Tide.

Bibi Dong knew perfectly well that this was a diversion, sacrificing the rook to save the king.

But what could she do?

In this chaotic forest, filled everywhere with rampaging Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, if she did not pursue this obvious "big fish," was she supposed to search like a headless fly for that "small shrimp," which might have long since hidden somewhere unknown?

Besides, Xuan Hao was still in That Woman's hands!

"Stinky boy, when we get back, I'll skin you alive!"

Bibi Dong snorted coldly. The nine Soul Rings around her lit up at once, and the External Soul Bone, Six-Winged Purple Light Wings, abruptly unfurled. She transformed into a streak of purple lightning, tearing through the air as she shot toward the direction of Ah Rou's voice.

"Yue Guan! Ghostly Shadow!"

"Forget the little one! Save him first! Take down the big one for me!"

Elsewhere.

Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow, who had been cutting off the rear, were also stunned by this sudden turn of events.

"Lao Gui, over there!" Yue Guan pointed toward the direction Ah Rou had fled. Not only was there an immensely powerful Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast aura there, but there was also a familiar figure being held in someone's hand.

"This kid really knows how to stir up trouble."

Ghostly Shadow's Facial Expression beneath his Black Robe changed as well. "This is troublesome... We probably can't spare any attention for the other little one. Save him first!"

The two exchanged a glance, helplessly abandoning their original encirclement plan. They changed direction and became two afterimages as they pursued Ah Rou.

The chase did not last long.

Although Ah Rou was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form and had recovered the strength of a Level 70 Soul Sage, before three Titled Douluo erupting at full speed, even with her familiarity with the terrain and interference from the surrounding Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, she could only struggle on the verge of death.

Half an hour later.

At the end of a valley ravaged by several Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts stood a sheer cliff.

Ah Rou stopped.

"For the sake of that little one, you really are willing to go all out."

Bibi Dong hovered in midair, her Six-Winged Purple Light Wings beating behind her.

"Unfortunately, this is as far as you can go."

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two tearing sounds cut through the air as Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow appeared on rocks at opposite sides of the valley, forming a pincer formation that completely sealed off every route of escape.

"Let him go." Bibi Dong looked coldly at Ah Rou. "In consideration of how difficult your cultivation has been, I can let you die without pain."

Ah Rou did not speak. She only gripped Xuan Hao's shoulder tightly.

Every second she delayed was another sliver of hope she won for Xiao Wu.

However, Bibi Dong's patience had run out.

If this continued and drew out the two Forest Kings from the Core Zone, things would become troublesome.

The fighting strength of those two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts was not something ordinary Titled Douluo could compare to. According to Spirit Hall's past intelligence, the Titan Giant Ape was strong enough to suppress a Level 96 Titled Douluo, while the Sky Azure Bull Python would only be stronger!

To hunt those two, she would need to wait until she reached Level 99 and gather more Titled Douluo Elders for it to be safe.

Now was not the time to clash head-on with those two.

Delay could bring disaster!

A cold glint flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes. Her lips moved slightly, and an extremely concealed transmission of Soul Power instantly entered Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow's ears.

"Don't wait! Attack directly! Use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill to immobilize her! I'll kill her and take the bone!"

Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow, who had long been poised to strike, sharpened their gazes. All eighteen Soul Rings on their bodies shone at once. One gold and one black stream of entirely different Soul Power intertwined wildly in the air, rapidly forming a strange fluctuation that seemed capable of freezing space and time.

However, at that very instant.

"You want my life? Dream on!!"

A shrill, resolute pink light suddenly erupted from Ah Rou's body without warning!

Its radiance instantly overwhelmed the yet-to-form glow of Yue Guan and Ghostly Shadow's fusion skill. Destructive, violent energy surged like a volcano on the verge of eruption, causing the surrounding space to twist violently.

"Not good! She's going to self-destruct!!"

Bibi Dong's expression changed drastically.

The self-destruction of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was powerful enough to flatten everything nearby! Xuan Hao was so close to her that he would surely die! And after self-destruction, both the Soul Ring and Soul Bone would vanish with it, leaving her with nothing!

"Ninth Soul Skill, Undying Body!!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Bibi Dong's ninth Soul Ring—the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring from the Death Spider Emperor—suddenly lit up.

Her body instantly transformed into energy. At the same time, she became a purple-black afterimage and charged desperately toward Ah Rou, trying to kill her before she could self-destruct!

Yet when Bibi Dong rushed to within three meters of Ah Rou, it was as though she had crashed into an invisible wall of sighs.

Bang!

It was a layer of blood-red magnetic field, indestructible and repelling all external force.

"This is..."

Bibi Dong stared at the strange pink magnetic field, her eyes filled with astonishment and shock. "Not self-destruction?! This is... Sacrifice?!"

At the center of the magnetic field.

Time seemed to slow at that moment.

Ah Rou looked at Xuan Hao, so close before her. In her eyes, once filled with resolve, there now remained only endless tenderness and gratitude.

"Little one..."

Ah Rou's voice was soft, yet it reached Xuan Hao's ears clearly. "Thank you for saving Xiao Wu."

Xuan Hao lowered his head. His body could not move beneath the pressure of that immense energy, and he could not respond either. His heart trembled, his eyes burned, yet he could not even say a single word.

He had only done it because he did not want to owe anyone anything.

But now...

"Don't be sad."

Ah Rou reached out and gently brushed Xuan Hao's cheek from afar. Her body had already begun to burn.

"I do not hate humans, but I hate greedy people."

"Since they want my Soul Ring and Soul Bone, then I simply will not give them to them."

"As thanks, and so this cultivation does not fade away for nothing..."

Ah Rou slowly closed her eyes. The flames of life burning within her instantly ignited the source of her hundred thousand years of cultivation.

"This gift is for you."

"Boom—!!"

The instant her words fell.

All of Ah Rou's life force, soul, and cultivation burned away completely and without reservation.

A blood-red pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth shot into the sky, completely enveloping Xuan Hao.

It was not the flame of destruction, but a furnace of rebirth.

Sacrifice!

At the cost of one's life, ignoring the recipient's physical limits and the restrictions of Soul Power Level, forcibly and perfectly fusing one's Soul Ring, Soul Bone, and all cultivation into the other's body!