Zhu Zhuqing: The Actor's Path to Enlightenment

"Logically speaking, that Demon Emperor was arrogant by nature. To break through our encirclement of Titled Douluos, it would have spared no cost to its own essence to escape."

"That it eventually exhausted its strength in the southwest of Star Dou, detonated its body to release a terrifying toxic barrier, and died near this girl—it sounds reasonable enough."

"But I always feel that something is off."

Chrysanthemum Douluo said as much.

"Could it have been a sacrifice?"

Hu Liena asked, lost in thought.

Upon hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo dispersed the Chrysanthemum Martial Soul in his hand, paced around twice, and then spoke slowly.

"We considered that possibility the moment it happened, but we immediately dismissed it."

"Do you know what kind of background that Demon Emperor had?"

"It was an existence of supreme evil and malice. It didn't just slaughter a vast number of human soul masters; it didn't even spare its own kind."

"The two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts the Pope had previously targeted, the Death Spider Emperor and the Purple Wing Spider Emperor, were both devoured by it."

"It even devoured its own kind?"

A flash of shock crossed Hu Liena's eyes.

She had long heard of the Demon Emperor's notoriety, but she hadn't expected it to be this savage.

It was no wonder it had provoked both human soul masters and the Star Dou Great Forest to join forces in a siege.

"And that is only the intelligence we have gathered; its cruelty went far beyond that."

Chrysanthemum Douluo sneered, "How could such an existence ever be willing to sacrifice its own essence to a little human girl to serve as her soul ring?"

"Then what if it was a contract?"

Hu Liena suggested, "For example, if it made an agreement with Zhu Zhuqing to sacrifice itself to help her grow, so that she might avenge it in the future—is such a possibility not there?"

"Absolutely not."

Chrysanthemum Douluo denied it outright. "If it were a sacrifice or a contract, why would it detonate its body at the very end, releasing a lethal poison that even Titled Douluos must fear?"

"If we hadn't arrived in time, and if that old poison-master Dugu Bo hadn't been there, this little girl would have long since melted into a puddle of toxic sludge."

"What kind of logic is there in having someone avenge you while trying to kill them first?"

"But you still insisted on bringing her back, and you are still suspicious of her, aren't you?"

Hu Liena said with certainty.

Chrysanthemum Douluo raised an eyebrow, not at all stingy with his praise.

"The Saintess is truly as clever as ice and snow; she is worthy of being the disciple the Pope values most."

Chrysanthemum Douluo did not hold back his admiration.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, you flatter me. I am not yet the Saintess."

Hu Liena said this quite modestly.

"Rest assured, the Pope values you highly; your investiture as Saintess is only a matter of time."

As Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke, he returned to the main point. "Just as you said, how could we elders of Martial Hall act without caution?"

"Naturally, we had to bring this girl back to rule out every possible contingency."

"Now that this girl has conveniently lost her memory, it is hard not to be suspicious."

"I have already made arrangements."

Hu Liena nodded. "We will arrange a soul power test for her later. If it was a sacrifice, a simple check will naturally reveal the truth."

With these words, the two turned and walked slowly away along the long corridor.

They never cared whether the girl had lost her memory or not; from beginning to end, the only thing they cared about was the trail of the Demon Spider Emperor that had vanished into thin air three days ago.

Inside the room, Zhu Zhuqing confirmed from Gu Chensha that Chrysanthemum Douluo and Hu Liena had completely walked away.

She finally let out a sigh of relief.

Gu Chensha, within her sea of consciousness, teased her.

"Honestly, I am impressed by your acting skills."

"It's a good thing the Douluo world doesn't have an entertainment industry, otherwise you would have ascended to the throne of an Acting Emperor."

"Eh, really?"

Although Zhu Zhuqing did not understand the meaning of "entertainment industry" or "ascended to the throne of an Acting Emperor," she could hear the praise in his tone, and her face was instantly filled with joy.

From childhood to adulthood, she had lived under the shadow of her sister and the pressure of her family, and she had never been affirmed so directly by anyone.

She subconsciously whispered.

"Thank you, Senior."

"...Tsk, how many times do I have to say it? Don't call me Senior."

Gu Chensha clicked his tongue helplessly, "It seems I have to remind you every single day."

"I'm sorry..."

Zhu Zhuqing's voice dropped instantly, like a kitten that had done something wrong.

"Forget it, it's fine."

Looking at her like this, how could Gu Chensha possibly stay angry?

He had lived for five hundred years and was used to being alone; usually, apart from telling blind soul beasts or soul masters to "get lost," he rarely spoke properly to anyone, let alone patiently teaching a young girl how to do things.

Yet, thinking back to that narrow escape during the sacrifice three days ago, a glimmer of dark light flashed in the depths of Gu Chensha's eyes.

The moment that sacrifice ended, the scent of blood in the wind had become thick and impossible to disperse.

Beyond the lingering aura of his Demon Spider Emperor blood, there were several Title Douluo auras so powerful they distorted the air, approaching this location at an astonishing speed.

These fellows who had been hunting him for days would never pass up any chance to confirm his death.

In just a few breaths, several figures hovered in unison above the forest.

The pressure of the Title level merged into one, forcing the vegetation of the entire dense forest to tremble and rustle.

Although Gu Chensha had deliberately masked his core fluctuations before the sacrifice, the trail of blood he dragged while fleeing was, by its nature, the most conspicuous road sign.

The sacrifice was dangerous, but the true trial of life and death always came after it.

If he could not survive this tribulation, the outcome would be the scattering of his soul!

The two figures in the lead were none other than Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Ghostly from the Martial Soul Hall.

Yue Guan twirled a golden exotic chrysanthemum between his fingertips, lowering his eyes to scan the area below, which was shrouded in thick, black poisonous miasma, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Could he already be dead? I can't sense a shred of life."

Beside him, Ghostly was half-hidden in the shadows, his body surging with ghostly energy, his voice hoarse and cold.

"Could it be just a clone? Has the real body hidden and escaped right under our noses?"

"If it were only a clone, the poisonous miasma released after its death would be far too astonishing."

A tall, thin old man with dark green hair and beard shook his head from the side.

His eyes, like emeralds, flashed with a sharp light; he was none other than Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

He stared at the poisonous miasma below, showing no fear, but rather a competitive spirit.

"In my opinion, this is the corpse of that arrogant Demon Emperor himself."

As soon as these words were spoken, the several Title Douluos present exchanged glances, yet no one moved first.

Everyone knew that even if the Demon Emperor were dead, its body remained a priceless treasure!

Even if it hadn't been hunted and failed to condense a soul ring, a Demon Spider Emperor of over one hundred thousand years might still have top-tier soul bones remaining.

But no one dared to step down first.

The thick, black poisonous miasma was still churning; even from dozens of feet away, they could feel that terrifying toxicity capable of eroding both flesh and soul simultaneously.

Even though they each had their own protective measures, the ferocity of the Demon Emperor was already carved into everyone's bones, and no one knew if it had left behind a final trap to drag them down with it before it died.

Just as the group reached a stalemate, Dugu Bo suddenly let out a cold snort, and the Jade Phosphorus Purple Fog around his body instantly spread out.