Pope Palace

His current strength was at the Dao Entry Peak, equivalent to a level-twenty Quasi Soul Grandmaster.

In his previous life, constrained by heaven and earth, the world's spiritual energy had already grown thin by the time he began cultivating. Even with his talent, it had taken him a full ten years to enter the Dao.

Without any unexpected opportunities, he would have reached no higher than the Purple Mansion in this life, and that was without considering the steadily declining spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Left with no alternative, he studied forbidden arts in hopes of breaking the restrictions imposed by heaven and earth.

What were forbidden arts? Naturally, they were techniques that either harmed one's virtue or possessed enormous flaws.

He had once practiced many forbidden arts. One of them was called the Soul Origin Scripture, which could absorb the essence of ghosts to strengthen the Primordial Spirit. Not only did it damage one's virtue, it also carried the risk of causing a mental breakdown.

However, he had never considered himself a good person, so he felt no psychological burden whatsoever about absorbing the essence of ghosts.

The chaotic era had been filled with slaughter, so ghosts were plentiful. Moreover, Shang An's will was firm enough to preserve his true self, and after continuously refining the technique, he had finally succeeded in practicing it.

To cultivate forbidden arts, he had also accumulated quite a bit of bloody karma. He had even unleashed a Hundred Ghosts Night Parade in some small Eastern island nation.

However, he rarely practiced or used forbidden arts in Huaxia. On one hand, it was his homeland; on the other, he did not want the various Daoist sects coming after him.

Unfortunately, there was no wall that could keep out all rumors. His secret cultivation of forbidden arts and the killings he had committed were eventually discovered.

From then on, he was branded a practitioner of the Evil Path. Many great Daoist masters even descended from their mountains carrying the sect-protecting artifacts left behind by their ancestors to vanquish demons and evil.

After that, he was forced to hide and flee everywhere until he broke through to the Pure Yang Realm and suppressed the major sects.

He then seized the cultivation manuals of the various Buddhist and Daoist factions, learned from their strengths, supplemented his weaknesses, and tempered a hundred scriptures together. Only after enduring countless hardships did he create the first version of the Great Freedom True Scripture.

In the end, during the Age of Dharma Decline, he cultivated to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

It was also because spiritual energy was lacking that his physical body could not transform into an immortal body. Otherwise, he might have attained immortality directly in the Age of Dharma Decline. Why would he have needed the Teleportation Array atop Kunlun Mountain?

Although he had lost the cultivation and magical power of his previous life, his talent had improved. Moreover, this world possessed abundant spiritual energy. The immortal path was within reach, as was longevity. It could only be said that fortune and misfortune went hand in hand—where there was gain, there was loss.

While Shang An was thinking, a black-robed figure, seeming both real and illusory, strode in through the doors of the Holy Temple. No one could make out his face, but they could feel his gaze sweeping across the hall before finally settling on Shang An.

This should be Ghost Douluo, one of Spirit Hall's Heng and Ha Generals, Shang An silently thought.

"Are you Shang An?"

Ghost Douluo's voice rang out. He had already tried his best to restrain it, yet his words still sounded cold and sinister, enough to make one's hair stand on end. A more timid child might have been frightened on the spot.

However, this was also due to the influence of his Martial Soul.

Shang An knew that Ghost Douluo's Martial Soul, Gui Mei, was actually his own soul. Therefore, calling him a "living dead man" was an accurate description.

In his childhood, Ghost Douluo had possessed extremely poor talent. His Martial Soul had only been a useless ghost flame.

No one had held any expectations for him. The other children bullied him, and even his family disliked him.

This made Ghost Douluo's childhood exceptionally miserable. Yet, in such an environment, Ghost Douluo encountered a fortuitous opportunity.

One day, during a bout of play, the children in the village deliberately made him jump into a great lake.

He died, yet he did not die completely. Somehow, he returned from Ghost Gate Pass.

His soul fused with his body once more, awakening the special Martial Soul, Gui Mei.

At that point, he was no longer the weak and easily bullied boy he had once been. Instead, he became a genius.

After undergoing an experience akin to being reborn, he killed all his relatives and friends, and even killed himself. Only one belief remained in his heart: become stronger.

After Gui Mei became his Martial Soul, it granted him immense power, and he eventually became a Title Douluo.

Looking back, he had already become neither human nor ghost. The boy he once was no longer existed in this world; only the powerful and mysterious Ghost Douluo remained.

In Douluo Continent, Ghost Douluo and Gui Mei were characters Shang An remembered quite clearly.

After all, dying and being reborn, with one's soul becoming a Martial Soul, bore some resemblance to his Primordial Spirit. They had great research value.

With that thought, Shang An nodded and looked at Ghost Douluo with two innocent, "curious" eyes.

"Then come with me. His Holiness the Pope wishes to see you."

After saying that, Gui Mei waved at Shang An, signaling him to follow, then turned and headed toward the Pope Palace.

For some reason, he felt that the way this child looked at him was strange, giving him an inexplicable chill.

Shang An obediently followed behind Ghost Douluo. In Spirit City, there was an ironclad prohibition: no flying!

Within Spirit City, all Spirit Masters were forbidden from flying through the air.

Anyone who flew in Spirit City was showing disrespect toward the Pope. It was a grave crime!

Even though Gui Mei was an elder of Spirit Hall, he would not fly over Spirit City unless there was an urgent matter.

Walking behind Gui Mei, Shang An occasionally looked around. Spirit City was orderly, and its architectural style blended ancient and modern elements.

The streets were clean and tidy, with rows of neatly arranged streetlights along both sides. Some people rode horses, some traveled in carriages, and there were even vehicles resembling the automobiles of his previous life.

Shang An could not help clicking his tongue in amazement. As expected of Douluo Continent, where the technology tree had gone completely off course.

Before turning six, Shang An had basically remained in the orphanage. Since he was too young, the teachers would not allow the children to go out freely.

Therefore, most of Shang An's understanding of this continent came from the novels of his previous life, as well as the books belonging to the orphanage's dean and teachers.

However, after today, he would become a Spirit Master and truly integrate into this world.

Ghost Douluo remained silent throughout the journey, and Shang An did not mind. He followed behind Gui Mei while observing his surroundings on his own.

Before long, they passed through layer upon layer of buildings and arrived before the Pope Palace.

Holy Imperial Warriors stood one after another before the Pope Palace. In Shang An's perception, every one of them possessed an aura surpassing that of Dean Qin from the orphanage.

Although Dean Qin was old, he was still a genuine Five-Ring Soul King. In other words, these Holy Imperial Warriors were likely Spirit Emperors or even Spirit Saints.

"Open the door."

Ghost Douluo took out his Elder Token. The Holy Imperial Warriors bowed slightly, then stepped forward and pushed open the massive doors more than ten meters high.

Ghost Douluo led the still-looking-around Shang An into the Pope Palace.

Upon entering the main hall of the Pope Palace, Shang An's first impression was that it was huge—enormous. Then came the ancient, majestic weight of history that washed over him. Angel reliefs adorned every part of the Pope Palace, lending it a sacred atmosphere.

Looking toward the upper end of the hall, he saw an exquisitely beautiful figure seated upon the Pope Throne. She wore a purple robe and a Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown.

This was Bibi Dong, the current Pope of Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong sat with elegant poise, her entire body radiating majesty that made others involuntarily feel inferior.

Naturally, Shang An was not among those who felt inferior. He was looking at Bibi Dong seated above him with innocent eyes.

Bibi Dong was not particularly tall, around 1.7 meters. Her dazzling golden ceremonial gown fit perfectly from head to toe, its resplendent fabric glittering with treasure light and adorned with more than a hundred red, blue, and gold gemstones.

The Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown atop her head shone with countless rays of light. In her hand, she held a scepter nearly two meters long, inlaid with innumerable jewels.

Her fair skin and near-perfect features made her seem utterly extraordinary.

Especially the intangible nobility and sacredness she exuded—it made people unable to resist the urge to bow down and worship her.

Bibi Dong was astonishingly beautiful, noble, elegant, and serene. It seemed that every beautiful word could be used to describe this woman.

Although she was no longer young, time appeared to have left no trace upon her.

What a beautiful woman.

Shang An praised her inwardly. In his previous life, aside from cultivating, Shang An had encountered quite a few women and experienced several relationships.

Although he had once been a Daoist of the Quanzhen Sect, he would not rigidly cling to its rules like Third Brother.

He believed in balancing work and rest. Outside cultivation, one should also experience more of life's beauty.

Unfortunately, Shang An had ultimately watched every one of those women grow old and die before him. Mortals' lifespans were simply too short. Not one of them could accompany him to the end, and afterward, he stopped seeking out such short-lived beings and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

But Douluo Continent was different. This was a world brimming with spiritual energy, where longevity was possible. Moreover, many women, including Bibi Dong before him, possessed the potential to become gods.

Well, it was fine to relax a little while cultivating and please the body and mind. Nothing shameful about that.

"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope. This subordinate has brought him."

Gui Mei knelt on one knee beside him and spoke to Bibi Dong. At the same time, he reached out and touched Shang An, signaling for him to kneel. Staring at Bibi Dong like that was truly impolite, and Spirit Hall placed great importance on etiquette.

Shang An did not dwell on it and immediately prepared to kneel on one knee. He could just treat it as kneeling before his wife.

He actually admired Bibi Dong quite a bit. In her, he saw traces of himself.

Moreover, as someone others called a practitioner of the Evil Path, he would not view the villains of the original story through tinted glasses. She was merely a pitiful and tragic woman, though perhaps hateful to some people.

But what did that have to do with him? It was not as if he were a good person.