Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei exchanged a glance. Yue Guan continued to suppress Beiluo'er with his soul power, pinning him firmly to the ground. Gui Mei slowly raised his right hand, and a dark ghost claw phantom condensed in his palm before flying out.
The Shadow Ghost Claw precisely wrapped around the Blood-Colored Sword Tip in Beiluo'er's hand.
His Gui Mei eyes narrowed, and his five fingers loosely clenched.
"Rise!"
The Shadow Ghost Claw suddenly pulled— the Blood-Colored Sword Tip tip slipped from the hand, transforming into a dark red streak of light that flew towards the Gui Mei.
The instant the sword tip left his hand, a sudden change occurred!
Beiluo'er trembled violently, his skin visibly shriveling and cracking. In just three breaths, this powerful Soul Douluo had turned into a withered, dried-up corpse.
Even more bizarrely, the other Soul Douluo beside him also began to undergo the same transformation simultaneously, as if an invisible thread had connected their lives together.
"What?!"
Yue Guan's pupils constricted sharply. However, before he could react—
"Ugh--!"
The Gui Mei suddenly let out a muffled groan, freezing in place. The Blood-Colored Sword Tip tip lay quietly in his palm, its dark red glow flickering like breath.
A chilling killing intent surged into his mind like a flood bursting its banks!
"Kill... kill... kill!"
The roar echoed in the Sea of Consciousness. The Gui Mei eyes became bloodshot at a visible speed, and the expression on its face twisted and changed—sometimes ferocious and crazy, sometimes struggling to regain its senses.
" Old Ghost! Throw that damn thing away!"
Yue Guan shouted sharply. He saw the two Soul Douluo turn into dried corpses in an instant, and seeing that his friend was not in good condition, alarm bells rang in his mind.
But the Gui Mei seemed frozen in place, ignoring Yue Guan's calls.
Damn it!
Yue Guan no longer hesitated, and the phantom image of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum suddenly bloomed behind him!
Sixth Spirit Skill: Golden Stamens Overflowing with Rosy Clouds!
Countless golden petals transformed into sharp energy rays, raining down on the Blood-Colored Sword Tip in the Gui Mei's hand. Yue Guan deliberately controlled the angle, ensuring the attack was only aimed at the sword tip and would not harm his friend.
Ding ding ding--!
A series of impacts rang out. The Blood-Colored Sword Tip was blasted backward, drawing a dark red arc in the air before crashing to the ground with a thud.
The tip of the sword still emitted an ominous, eerie light.
The Gui Mei suddenly clutched its head, staggered back two steps, and gasped for breath:
"Damn it... Just now, something... tried to take over my Sea of Consciousness!"
His voice was hoarse, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Yue Guan withdrew her martial spirit and quickly stepped forward to support him. "Are you alright?"
"Thank goodness..." Gui Mei took a few deep breaths, the bloodlust in his eyes gradually fading. "That thing... is very sinister. Mere contact with it can corrupt Spirit Master's mind."
Both of them looked at the Blood-Colored Sword Tip on the ground in the distance.
It lay quietly on the scorched earth, its dark red glow like the heartbeat of a living thing, one beat after another.
"This is beyond our control," Yue Guan said gravely. " Old Ghost, go back to the Pope Palace immediately and give His Holiness the Pope a detailed report on the situation here."
The Gui Mei nodded. "Okay. Be careful, don't touch it, and don't let anyone get close."
"Rest assured."
The Gui Mei took one last look at the broken sword tip, then its form gradually faded, disappearing as if merging into the shadows.
Yue Guan then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He turned around and looked at the pale-faced Black-Clad Deacon behind him.
"Your Majesty, what are your instructions?" A Black-Clad Deacon stepped forward, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.
Yue Guan glanced at him. "Go to the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City and summon the Hall Master. I have some questions to ask him."
"Yes!"
The Black-Clad Deacon butler immediately turned and sped away.
After an incense stick has burned.
Ma Xiunuo, the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City, was brought before Yue Guan.
This man, who was usually quite a prominent figure in Nuoding City, didn't even dare to raise his head. He bowed deeply, his voice trembling slightly with excitement:
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Yue Guan waved his hand, too lazy to be polite. "Tell me in detail what happened in Nuoding City over the past two months. Were there any strange Spirit Master who suddenly appeared and then disappeared?"
Ma Xiunuo didn't dare to be negligent and quickly searched his memory. After a moment, he cautiously said:
"Your Majesty, indeed two major events have occurred. The first... is that Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang was utterly disgraced by a female scholar during a debate at the Nuoding Primary Spirit Master Academy half a month ago."
He paused, glanced at Yue Guan's expression, and then continued:
"It is said that the female scholar pointed out that Master Yu's theories were all plagiarized. Moreover... moreover..."
"And what? Speak quickly!" Yue Guan frowned.
"And he said... he was having an affair with his own cousin..." Ma Xiunuo's voice trailed off.
Yue Guan's expression changed, and he immediately raised his hand to stop him. "Alright, that's enough. Let's get to the second thing."
He had no intention of getting involved in Yu Xiaogang's past affairs with His Holiness the Pope.
Ma Xiunuo breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "The second thing is that a strange Spirit Master did appear in the vicinity of Nuoding City. He was a physician who used to be the resident physician at Luo's Herb Shop. However, one day, the Luo's Herb Shop's prized possession—a Thousand-Year Ginseng —was stolen, and the man, along with his wife and daughter, were escorted back to the main store by the shopkeeper."
He thought for a moment and added, "By the way, that doctor's wife is the female scholar who debated with Yu Xiaogang."
Yue Guan's eyes lit up.
Battle marks, a strange Spirit Master, the theft of Thousand-Year Ginseng, a female scholar...
Could these clues be connected?
"What's his name?" Yue Guan pressed.
"His name seems to be... Luo Yan. He spent some time with Steward Su Yuntao of the Benfen Hall, and their relationship seems to be quite good," Ma Xiunuo replied.
Yue Guan gave an order to the Black-Clad Deacon around him:
"Keep an eye on this area. Anyone who approaches will be warned. If they ignore the warning..."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Kill them directly."
"Understood!" the group of Black-Clad Deacon replied in unison.
"Similarly, you must not approach within ten meters of that Blood-Colored Sword Tip," Yue Guan added coldly. "Think about what happened to Beiluo'er."
Everyone looked at the two shriveled corpses and shuddered. They quickly promised not to go near them.
Nuoding City, Luo's Herb Shop.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the herbal medicine shop, Yue Guan stopped and gently sniffed the medicinal aroma in the air. In addition to the smell of ordinary herbs, he also detected the scent of several herbs that were quite old. He immediately thought to himself, "This herbal medicine shop is probably not as simple as it looks."
Only then did he step into the pharmacy. Without revealing his identity, he stood in front of each medicine cabinet like an ordinary customer, silently evaluating the medicinal herbs displayed on them.
" Red-Headed Fleeceflower, and a hundred years old at that, not bad."
"Oh? There's also a 500-year-old Ziyang Ginseng here."
"Huh! This is Snow Silkworm... of superior quality."
Finally, his gaze fell on the area behind the counter—where the store's prized possessions should have been displayed, but which was now completely empty.
Thousand-Year Ginseng was stolen...
Yue Guan sighed inwardly, regretting the loss. If that ginseng were still there, he would have been interested in buying it.
Just then, the shopkeeper Bai Chen came out from the inner room. He first glanced at Ma Xiunuo and saw that this branch hall master was standing respectfully behind the alluring man, and his heart immediately tightened.
A person who commands such respect from even the Spirit Hall Branch must be no ordinary individual!
Bai Chen suppressed his unease and put on a professional smile:
"What would you like to buy, sir?"
Yue Guan turned around, her gaze falling on Bai Chen. Her eyes were calm, yet carried an invisible pressure.
"I heard that your shop once had a Thousand-Year Ginseng?"
Bai Chen's heart tightened, but his face showed just the right amount of heartache. "Yes, it's a pity... it was stolen."
"What did you do with the person who was robbed?" Yue Guan continued to ask, his tone calm.
"Of course, we'll send it back to the head office and let them decide what to do with it," Bai Chen replied matter-of-factly.
Yue Guan nodded and slowly said:
"Then, could you take me to your main store?"
He paused, a half-smile playing on his lips, "This old man wishes to see... the thief."
These words struck Bai Chen's heart like a heavy hammer.