Spirit City, Pope Palace.
In the center of the hall, a man in an ornate robe, with a somewhat feminine air, knelt on one knee.
He was none other than the Martial Soul Hall Elder, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
On the lofty Pope Throne, a peerlessly beautiful woman lounged at an angle.
She held a Scepter of Power set with precious gems. A purple-gold crown adorned her head, and her stunning face bore an aloof indifference, as if she looked down upon all living things.
She was none other than the Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong.
At that moment, Yue Guan hardly dared to breathe. Fine beads of cold sweat covered his forehead.
He was reporting every last detail of what had happened at Listening Rain Pavilion in Heavenly Dou Imperial City.
"What did you say?"
As she listened to Yue Guan's report, Bibi Dong narrowed her long, phoenix-shaped eyes. Her voice revealed no hint of anger or pleasure.
"The Human Emperor of the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm could flatten Spirit City with a single finger?"
"Little One had his Supreme Bone dug out, yet not only did he survive, he could wield a hundred thousand jin of strength with one arm?"
Hearing this tale that sounded like pure fantasy, Bibi Dong's lips curled into an undisguised sneer.
"Absurd."
"He's nothing but a storyteller who spouts nonsense to attract attention. How dare he make wild claims about Spirit Hall?"
"Those nobles of the Tiandou Empire are truly going backward. They actually fell for a story with holes all over it."
But Yue Guan, still kneeling below, shuddered and continued his report through gritted teeth:
"Your Holiness, at first, I also thought Su Chen was bluffing."
"But later, he spoke of that so-called Shrouding the Heavens Universe."
Then Yue Guan went on to describe in detail the various heaven-defying physiques, including the Ancient Sacred Body, Divine King Body, and even the Innate Dao Fetus.
"Su Chen said the Ancient Sacred Body is impervious to all evils. Its golden blood qi is supremely yang, and a single drop can purify every evil and poison in the world."
"That old poisoner Dugu Bo refused to accept it and tried to test him with the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's venom."
"But then..."
At this point, Yue Guan swallowed, his voice carrying a trace of unconcealable horror:
"Su Chen didn't release a Martial Soul or a Soul Ring at all."
"He merely stood where he was, and a burst of golden blood qi erupted from his body."
"With just a wave of his sleeve, he shattered Dugu Bo's pillar of poison!"
"Then he reached across the void with one hand and slammed Poison Douluo, who had activated his Martial Soul Avatar, into the ground like a dead dog. The man passed out on the spot!"
At these words, Bibi Dong's jade-like hand tightened abruptly around the Scepter of Power.
He killed a Titled Douluo with one hand?
Without even using Soul Power?
At the thought, the sneer on Bibi Dong's face instantly froze.
Others might not understand the weight of a Titled Douluo's power, but as the Pope of Spirit Hall and a peerless expert standing at the peak of the continent, how could she not?
Even if she acted personally, killing Dugu Bo with nothing but her physical strength, without using even a trace of Soul Power, would be absolutely impossible!
"Are you certain he didn't use Soul Power?" Bibi Dong's voice suddenly turned cold, and an immensely oppressive force instantly enveloped the entire hall.
"I stake my life on it!"
Yue Guan was so frightened that he flattened himself against the floor. "The spies present saw it clearly. Su Chen showed absolutely no fluctuations of Soul Power. There was only that golden blood qi, as tangible as a physical thing!"
At this, Bibi Dong drew a deep breath.
Then she slowly rose and looked down over the empty hall.
"Dugu Bo is nothing but a poison-reliant weakling, with a frail body."
"If a brawler skilled in some ancient body-tempering technique got close to him, it's no surprise he'd be completely helpless."
Bibi Dong quickly attributed Su Chen's strength to some lost body-tempering art.
In her view, there was no such thing as an Ancient Sacred Body in this world.
Su Chen must have obtained some exceedingly powerful body-tempering inheritance. That was why he dared to act so brazenly in Heavenly Dou Imperial City.
At the thought, a flash of greed crossed Bibi Dong's eyes.
If Spirit Hall could obtain this body-tempering art, it could completely make up for its Spirit Masters' weakness in close combat!
However, before Bibi Dong could give an order, Yue Guan's trembling voice rang out again.
"Your Holiness, that's not all..."
"Later, Su Chen also spoke of a woman called the Ruthless Empress."
"He said she was originally an ordinary person without even the qualifications to cultivate, but she created an incredibly domineering technique herself, called..."
"The Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art!"
"This technique can forcibly devour the special physiques and origins within other people and turn them into nourishment for its user!"
"The Ruthless Empress relied on this Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art to devour countless prodigies, eventually proving the Dao and becoming an Emperor despite her ordinary physique, reigning supreme over the world!"
The instant the words "Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art" reached Bibi Dong's ears,
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted to their utmost, and even her breathing came to a complete halt.
Devour another person's origin and turn it into nourishment?
Such a technique actually existed in this world?!
Bibi Dong stared fixedly at Yue Guan below, her chest heaving violently.
No one knew what kind of dark past she had endured.
No one knew that part of her vaunted Twin Martial Souls and her unfathomable cultivation had come from devouring the flesh and soul of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji!
She had thought that her Death Spider Emperor's devouring ability was already the most sinister and domineering method in the world.
But now, the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art the storyteller spoke of could devour another person's very physical origin!
If this were true...
If she could obtain this so-called Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art!
Then why would she need to toil over finding a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to fill her Second Martial Soul?
She could simply devour the geniuses on the continent who possessed top-tier Martial Souls!
Devour the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon! Devour the Seven Kill Sword! Devour the Clear Sky Hammer!
If she fused the origins of every top-tier Martial Soul in the world into herself, wouldn't she, Bibi Dong, be able to break through the shackles of heaven and earth and attain the supreme realm of godhood?
At the thought, the ambition in Bibi Dong's eyes surged forth, almost tangible.
"What a Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art..."
What was more, the Ancient Sacred Body Yue Guan had mentioned earlier rose again in Bibi Dong's mind.
"Supremely yang golden blood qi. A single drop can purify every evil and poison in the world."
Her Rakshasa God Trial had long tormented her with the backlash of dark, evil resentment, bringing her unbearable pain and even affecting her mind.
If Su Chen's body truly held that golden blood qi, impervious to all evils,
then all she had to do was drain his blood...
Not only could she resolve the hidden danger of the Rakshasa God Trial, she could also force him to reveal the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art and the body-tempering technique!
Su Chen was practically a peerless treasure house sent to her by heaven!
Then Bibi Dong abruptly swung the Scepter of Power.
"Yue Guan!"
"Your subordinate is here!" Yue Guan jolted and hurriedly knocked his head hard against the floor.
"Carry out my order!"
"Summon Gui Mei at once!"
"You two will set out immediately for Heavenly Dou Imperial City!"
"Use whatever means you must. Even if you have to raze Listening Rain Pavilion to the ground, you must bring that man named Su Chen back to Spirit City alive!"
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