The high-ranking deacon leading the way walked extremely slowly, each step feeling as if it were treading on Xiao Wu's heart.
The palaces on both sides are layered, and the columns are covered with reliefs of Six-Winged Angel, with a chilling divine power omnipresent.
The deeper one ventures into the inner city, the more stagnant and oppressive the air becomes; even ordinary Soul Master tremble with fear upon entering this place.
Xiao Wu remained calm, her gaze fixed on the Pope palace, a white jade structure standing at the highest point of Spirit City.
The palace doors were wide open, and the interior was dark, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering in from behind the throne, casting a cold silhouette on the seated figure.
Xiao Wu stepped over the threshold.
The hall was empty, and the sound of footsteps echoed on the stone walls.
The throne was high above, Bibi Dong sat alone, her purple eyes lowered as she watched the girl walk in.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo stood on either side, one with a smile on his lips, the other hidden in the shadows, both concealing their auras.
But that posture, ready to pounce at any moment, is more suffocating than any intimidating force.
The guard bowed and withdrew.
The palace doors slowly closed behind us with a bang, shutting out all light and sound from the outside world.
Bibi Dong remained silent.
She looked Xiao Wu up and down, her gaze moving from her plain white dress to her calm face, and finally settling on her pink eyes.
There was no fear, no pleading, not even the stubbornness she had expected in those eyes. Only a deep, still calm, like a deep pool.
"We meet again, why don't you kneel?" Bibi Dong spoke, her voice not loud, but in the closed hall, every word was like a stone hitting an iron plate.
"I won't kneel," Xiao Wu said.
Bibi Dong's lips curved slightly, but the smile was devoid of warmth.
This composure, when seen by Bibi Dong, caused a subtle ripple to cross her indifferent eyes.
"I'm somewhat surprised."
A cool, deep female voice pierced the deathly silence, carrying an indifferent and authoritative air of complete control.
"You escaped the Xingdou Dou Encirclement by chance with the help of two Soul Beast. You should have gone into hiding and lived in seclusion. I never expected that you would dare to step into my Spirit City and walk right into my trap."
Bibi Dong leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharp as a knife, fixed intently on Xiao Wu:
"Should I say you're naive, or overly arrogant?"
Xiao Wu was unafraid of the overwhelming pressure from the throne:
"Running away won't resolve any grudges, and I don't want to hide anymore. I shouldn't have entered the human world in the first place, indulging in pleasures."
Upon hearing this, Yue Guan's lips curled slightly, with a hint of mockery:
"You're quite perceptive. In that case, obediently surrender and hand over your Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone."
"Surrender?"
Xiao Wu gently shook her head, her eyes clear and bright, revealing an unprecedented level of clarity.
"I have come here today not to surrender, nor to face death."
Bibi Dong's eyes darkened slightly, and her tone became colder:
"You, a Soul King with no giant beasts to protect you, no advantageous location like Xingdou formation, stand alone in the Pope's Palace. What makes you think you can negotiate with me?"
"Your mother died here back then, what chance do you have?"
She deliberately brought up the past, using old grudges to pressure Xiao Wu, trying to break her spirit and replicate the outcome of the hunt for the Soft Bone Rabbit.
In her view, this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit, like her mother, could not escape its fate and could only serve as her Soul Ring.
But the next second, Xiao Wu's words shattered all her pretense and obsession.
"You never hated my mother, nor did you hate me."
Xiao Wu raised her eyes, her gaze calmly meeting the throne, her words eloquent and profound:
"What you hate is always the part of yourself that you have no control over."
The moment those words were spoken, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
Kiku and Kiku's expressions suddenly froze, and they subconsciously looked at Bibi Dong on the throne, feeling surprised.
Throughout the entire continent, no one dared to speak so bluntly and offensively in the Pope's Palace. The two regretted that they shouldn't have been there.
Bibi Dong Dong's dark purple divine power surged violently, the temperature inside the hall plummeted, and boundless malevolent energy erupted, causing the hall pillars to tremble slightly.
The calm in his eyes shattered completely, replaced by shock, rage, and a hint of panic at having his secret exposed.
"Presumptuous!"
A chilling rebuke echoed throughout the hall, the overwhelming pressure of Super Douluo surging and turbulent.
"How dare you, a mere ant, speak ill of me!"
Xiao Wu's body suddenly slumped, her bones aching slightly, and she collapsed to the ground.
Whether I'm speaking presumptuously or not, you know best in your heart.
Xiao Wu stared at the terrifying pressure and raised her head.
"Throughout your life, you have been bound by hatred and entangled by resentment. The world believes that you are in charge of the Spirit Hall, overlooking the continent, and are omnipotent."
But you are nothing more than a vessel for the Rakshasa God.
"You hunted down my mother and coveted the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. It seems like you're doing it for revenge and to become stronger, but it's all part of the gods' plan."
All your obsessions, all your killings, all your hatred—from beginning to end—were all for the sake of facilitating the arrival of the Rakshasa God!
These words were like a sharp blade, precisely piercing Bibi Dong's deepest taboo.
She carried the burden of a blood feud throughout her life, obsessed with revenge and aiming to become a god, believing she had control over her own destiny.
But now, when a younger girl exposes his lies in front of everyone, all his insistence instantly becomes absurd and laughable.
The Rakshasa Divine Sense hidden within her suddenly stirred, frantically eroding her consciousness and violently clashing with her remaining self.
"Elders, please step aside," Bibi Dong said.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the two replied as if they had been granted a pardon.
Two forces were tearing and battling deep within her soul, causing her soul Soul Power to become disordered, her eyes to shift between light and shadow, and a sense of bewilderment and wavering to gradually emerge from her extreme rage.
You were once just as innocent and carefree as I was, weren't you?
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong's imposing aura dissipated instantly, deeply touching the core of her being.
"You think you're in control of everything, but you're just a pawn chosen by the Rakshasa God."
Xiao Wu didn't stop.
" Tang San was ensnared by the Asura God and succumbed to the path of slaughter, while you were corrupted by the Rakshasa God and trapped in the obsession with revenge."
We are all pawns on the chessboard of gods. You are stronger than me, but you are also more miserable. At least I know who I am living for.
"For whom do I live?" Bibi Dong's voice finally wavered, as cold as ice.
"Whom are you living for? Tang San? Chen Jieqi? Or those two Soul Beast?"
"For myself," Xiao Wu said.
"It wasn't like that before. I used to live for Tang San, for Da Ming Er Ming, and for those who protected me."
But from this day forward, I will live for myself.
The hall remained quiet for a long time.
Bibi Dong looked at Xiao Wu, at those unwavering eyes.
She remembered a long time ago when she also had eyes like those, back when she wasn't yet the Pope.
Before even encountering the Rakshasa God, they still believed that the light of the Spirit Hall could illuminate everything.
"You think you've seen through me?" Bibi Dong's voice returned to its calm state, as calm as a frozen lake.
"You think saying these things will make me let you go?"
"I didn't expect you to let me go," Xiao Wu said.
"I'm not here to beg for your life, but to tell you that the closer you get to becoming a god after killing me and collecting all the Soul Ring, the more completely you will be devoured."
"If you don't even have yourself left, what will you have to hate? What will you have to take revenge on?"
Bibi Dong's fingertips tightened suddenly, digging into the armrest.
Dark purple Rakshasa Divine Power surged from her body, churning uncontrollably like a swarm of startled snakes.
Her eyes turned a deep purple, and something seemed to be writhing deep within her pupils.
The entire hall trembled, the candles went out, and the light of day was swallowed by darkness.
Bibi Dong raised her hand, a dark purple light gathering at her fingertips.
That light could completely extinguish Xiao Wu's life force in an instant.
Xiao Wu didn't retreat; she stood still, watching the light.
Bibi Dong's hand remained suspended in mid-air, not falling.
"Take him away." Bibi Dong withdrew her hand, her voice hoarse.
"Keep him in the side hall. No one is allowed to approach without my order."
Chrysanthemum Douluo outside the door was stunned for a moment. "Your Majesty?"
"I said, take him away."
Chrysanthemum Douluo dared not ask any more questions, pushed open the door and came in, gesturing for Xiao Wu to follow him.
Xiao Wu glanced at Bibi Dong, and the palace doors closed again.
Bibi Dong leaned back on the throne, her eyes closed.
The Rakshasa Divine Power around him was still surging, but it was much weaker than before.
She raised her hand and looked at her palm.
That hand had just gathered enough power to kill Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, yet it remained suspended in mid-air, unable to fall.
It wasn't that she didn't want to kill, it was that she realized she was afraid.
What he feared wasn't killing Xiao Wu, but rather that after killing her, he would truly become Rakshasa's puppet, with no way back.
Outside the hall, Chrysanthemum Douluo led Xiao Wu through the long corridor.
"You've got some nerve," Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced at her, "Aren't you afraid His Majesty really did strike with that palm just now?"
"I'm scared," Xiao Wu said, "But I have no other choice."