Ah Rou's Sacrifice

Above the Star Dou Great Forest.

"ROAR—!"

The provocative dragon roar had barely faded when beastly howls erupted one after another, as though a powder keg had been lit beneath the entire region.

"Damn it!"

Bibi Dong's composed expression turned ashen at the furious roars of the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts.

She had accounted for everything: their target had no escape, and three Titled Douluo held an overwhelming advantage. The one thing she had failed to account for was just how insane her own disciple was!

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

Bibi Dong ground her teeth in fury.

Hu Liena had told her that Xuan Hao's newly acquired Second Soul Skill, Golden Dragon Roar, could stun enemies and carried Dragon Might. It could intimidate Beast Spirits and Soul Beasts, and had even triggered that small Beast Tide.

But Bibi Dong had never imagined Xuan Hao would dare use it in an area teeming with Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts!

And how could its provocation be this powerful? It could enrage even Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts?!

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

She had agreed to let Xuan Hao go over partly because his pitiful look had softened her heart, and partly because she wanted him to experience the cruelty between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts firsthand. She had meant to use the woman to teach him how dangerous such childish sympathy could be.

With Yue Guan and Gui Mei's Two Poles Stillness Domain as a safeguard, even a hostage would not change much.

It had been a plan that served two purposes at once.

But now...

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

Ah Rou's shrill cry and the aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast she deliberately unleashed made her stand out like a vast target amid the chaotic Beast Tide.

Bibi Dong knew perfectly well that this was a diversion. Ah Rou was sacrificing herself to save the other.

But what choice did Bibi Dong have?

In a forest full of frenzied Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, if she did not pursue this obvious prize, was she supposed to search blindly for the little one, who might already be hiding anywhere?

Besides, Xuan Hao was still in that woman's hands!

"You little brat. When we get back, I'm going to skin you alive!"

Bibi Dong snorted. Her nine Soul Rings lit up at once, and her Six-Winged Purple Light Wings spread behind her. She became a streak of purple lightning that tore through the air toward Ah Rou's voice.

"Yue Guan! Gui Mei!"

"Forget the little one! Save Xuan Hao first! Bring down the older one!"

Elsewhere.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who had been moving to cut off the escape route, were also stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Lao Gui! Over there!" Yue Guan pointed in the direction Ah Rou had fled. Alongside the powerful aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he could see a familiar figure being carried in her hand.

"That kid really knows how to cause trouble."

Gui Mei's expression shifted beneath his black robe. "This is bad... We can't worry about the little one now. Save him first!"

The two exchanged a look and reluctantly abandoned their plan to seal off the area. They turned into twin blurs and chased after Ah Rou.

The chase did not last long.

Though Ah Rou was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast whose strength had recovered to that of a Level 70 Soul Sage, she faced three Titled Douluo moving at full speed. Even with her knowledge of the terrain and the interference of the surrounding Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts, she was only delaying the inevitable.

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.

"You're willing to give up everything for the little one."

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

"Too bad this is as far as you'll get."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures cut through the air. Yue Guan and Gui Mei landed on rocks to either side of the valley, covering each other's positions and sealing off every escape route Ah Rou had left.

"Let him go," Bibi Dong said coldly. "Considering how hard you've worked to cultivate, I can give you a painless death."

Ah Rou said nothing. She only gripped Xuan Hao's shoulder tightly.

Every second she delayed bought Xiao Wu another chance to survive.

But Bibi Dong's patience was gone.

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

Those two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were beyond the strength of ordinary Titled Douluo. According to Spirit Hall's records, the Titan Giant Ape could overpower a Level 96 Titled Douluo, and the Sky Azure Bull Python was even stronger!

To hunt those two safely, she would have to reach Level 99 and gather more Titled Douluo Elders.

Now was not the time to confront them head-on.

Any further delay could change everything!

A cold glint flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes. Her lips moved, and a discreet Soul Power transmission entered Yue Guan's and Gui Mei's ears:

"Don't wait! Strike now! Use your Martial Soul Fusion Skill to immobilize her! I'll kill her and take the Soul Bone!"

Yue Guan and Gui Mei had long been ready. Their eyes sharpened as all eighteen of their Soul Rings blazed. Golden and black Soul Power intertwined wildly in the air, rapidly forming a strange force that seemed to freeze space and time.

But at that very instant—

"Want my life? Dream on!!"

A fierce, resolute pink light burst from Ah Rou without warning!

It shone so brightly that it eclipsed Yue Guan and Gui Mei's incomplete fusion skill. Destructive energy surged within it like a volcano on the verge of eruption, violently distorting the surrounding space.

"No! She's going to self-destruct!!"

Bibi Dong's face changed.

The self-destruction of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could level everything nearby! Xuan Hao was so close that he would certainly die. The Soul Ring and Soul Bone would vanish as well, leaving her with nothing!

"Ninth Soul Skill: Undying Body!!"

Without hesitation, Bibi Dong's ninth Soul Ring—the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring from the Death Spider Emperor—flared to life.

Her body became energy, and she shot forward as a purple-black blur, throwing caution aside to kill Ah Rou before she could self-destruct!

But when Bibi Dong came within three meters of Ah Rou, she struck what felt like an invisible wall.

Bang!

A blood-red field surrounded Ah Rou. Impenetrable, it repelled all outside force.

"This is..."

Bibi Dong stared at the strange pink field, shock and disbelief filling her eyes. "She isn't self-destructing?! This is... a Sacrifice?!"

At the center of the field.

Time seemed to slow.

Ah Rou looked at Xuan Hao, close enough to touch. The resolve in her eyes had given way to boundless tenderness and gratitude.

"Little one..."

Ah Rou spoke softly, yet her words reached Xuan Hao clearly. "Thank you for saving Xiao Wu."

Xuan Hao lowered his head. The immense pressure of the energy left him unable to move, much less respond. His heart trembled and his eyes burned, but he could not get a word out.

He had only wanted to avoid owing anyone a favor.

But now...

"Don't be sad."

Ah Rou reached out and gently brushed at Xuan Hao's cheek as her body began to burn.

"I don't hate humans. I hate the greedy ones."

"If they want my Soul Ring and Soul Bone, I refuse to give them either."

"To thank you, and to keep everything I've cultivated from going to waste..."

Ah Rou slowly closed her eyes. The fire of life burning within her ignited the essence of her hundred thousand years of cultivation.

"This gift is yours."

BOOM—!!

The moment her words fell.

Ah Rou's life force, soul, and cultivation burned away without reserve.

A blood-red pillar of light shot into the sky, enveloping Xuan Hao completely.

It was not a flame of destruction, but a crucible of new life.

Sacrifice!

At the cost of her life, she bypassed the recipient's physical limits and Soul Power Level, forcibly and perfectly merging her Soul Ring, Soul Bone, and all her cultivation into him!