Pope Palace, Side Hall garden.
The night breeze was cool, stirring the leaves in the garden with a soft rustling.
"Mom, look how bright that star is!"
Nestled in Nan Feng's arms, Qian Renxue pointed at the brightest star in the night sky, her face lit with a blissful smile she had never worn before.
"Mm, it is."
Nan Feng gently rocked the swing, resting his chin on Qian Renxue's soft hair. A tender smile played on his lips, but in the depths of his purple eyes, the gathering darkness in the distance was reflected.
"Xue'er."
Nan Feng suddenly spoke, a hint of confusion and curiosity in his voice. "There's something Mom's always wanted to ask you."
"Hmm? What is it, Mom?" Qian Renxue turned her head, her big eyes blinking.
"Although I can't remember what happened before, I vaguely heard the palace maids mention that your father... is the current His Holiness the Pope?"
Qian Renxue's body stiffened, and her little hand instinctively clutched Nan Feng's lapel.
"And isn't His Holiness the Pope alive and well in Pope Palace? Why did you tell Mom that day... that he was dead?"
"Th-this..."
Qian Renxue panicked.
These past few days, she had been so immersed in the happiness of "having a mom" that she had completely forgotten about this fatal flaw in her story.
Grandpa had told her that Mom must never find out that Dad was still alive, or Mom would turn back into the cold, frightening person she used to be!
Qian Renxue stammered, her eyes already misting over, stubbornly clinging to the lie. "Dad... Dad really is dead! He died a long, long time ago!"
"That Pope... he isn't... isn't my dad!"
"Really?" Nan Feng pressed.
"Really! Xue'er wouldn't lie to Mom!" Qian Renxue cried out, her voice breaking.
To hold on to this hard-won motherly love, the poor child had no choice but to curse her own father again and again.
Hidden in the shadows, Qian Daoliu heard their exchange, his heart a tangled mess.
He sighed and was about to send Xue'er a telepathic message telling her not to panic when, suddenly—
Thump!
His heart gave a violent beat.
An unprecedented sense of dread struck without warning, as if something incredibly important, something bound to him by blood, had just been severed forever!
"This is bad!"
As a Peerless Douluo, Qian Daoliu's instincts were incredibly sharp. He abruptly turned toward Pope's Bedchamber. It seemed peaceful, but to his eyes, an intensely evil, oppressive aura was slowly rising there!
That was... Bibi Dong's aura!
"A diversion?!"
Qian Daoliu's expression changed dramatically. He no longer cared about concealing himself, and didn't even have time to speak to Qian Renxue. He turned into a golden streak of light and vanished in an instant!
"All right, all right, don't cry."
Nan Feng quickly pulled Qian Renxue close and gently patted her back, soothing her softly. "Mom believes you. I'll take your word for it."
"If he's dead, then he's dead. It doesn't matter if someone like that dies."
"As long as Mom is here, no one will ever bully Xue'er again."
Qian Renxue sniffled, buried her face in Nan Feng's arms, and nodded hard. "Mm! As long as I have Mom, that's enough!"
Yet Qian Renxue had no idea that, at that very moment, her words—"It doesn't matter if he dies"—were coming true in the most brutal way imaginable, inside Pope's Bedchamber just a few hundred meters away.
Through the link of the Soul Blood Pact, Nan Feng clearly felt the emotions coming from Bibi Dong.
There was utter madness, exhilaration, and... the release of finally avenging herself!
"Looks like it's already begun over there."
Nan Feng lowered his head and looked at Qian Renxue, still sobbing in his arms. A meaningful glint passed through his eyes.
"Xiao Xue, congratulations."
"Your prophecy came true."
"Your dear dad... really is dead."
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced the clouds and fell across the swing in the Side Hall garden.
Qian Renxue rubbed her sleepy eyes and nuzzled against Nan Feng like a lazy kitten.
"Mom... good morning."
"Morning."
Nan Feng's voice was terribly hoarse. His purple eyes were utterly vacant, and he looked as exhausted as if he'd been hollowed out.
Only heaven knew what he'd been through that night!
As a spirit, he really didn't need to sleep.
But last night, the mental waves coming from Bibi Dong through the Soul Blood Pact had been like an endless psychic tsunami!
As Bibi Dong devoured Qian Xunji and entered the Rakshasa Secret Realm, the Evil God's malice surged through their Soul Blood Pact, flooding Nan Feng's consciousness without restraint.
It wasn't ordinary murderous intent. It was the most primitive, direct, and nauseating evil imaginable!
Violence, greed, lust, destruction...
Countless frenzied voices howled in his mind, magnifying the darkest parts he'd buried deep inside.
He felt like a drunk being tossed around in a washing machine—one full of broken glass, at that. His brains felt like they were about to be shaken into mush!
The most absurd part was that he'd only been caught in the crossfire as a "bystander," and he was already on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Yet Bibi Dong, at the very heart of the maelstrom, had not only endured the onslaught of that malice, but even had enough strength left to use it to break through her bottleneck!
That woman was fucking incredible!
"Mom, what's wrong? You look so pale..." Now fully awake, Qian Renxue saw Nan Feng's pallid, slightly twisted expression and immediately grew worried.
"It's nothing. Mom just... had nightmares all night."
Nan Feng forced out a smile and reached over to stroke Qian Renxue's head. The agitation threatening to overwhelm him told him he had to leave at once. Otherwise, this avatar might explode on the spot from his unstable mental state.
"Xue'er, Mom's tired. I need to go back and rest."
"Th-then should I walk you back, Mom?" Qian Renxue asked reluctantly.
"No need. Stay here and cultivate like a good girl."
Nan Feng got to his feet and hurried out of the garden as if fleeing for his life. "Mom will come see you another day."
As soon as he rounded the corridor, confirming that he was out of Qian Renxue's sight—
Bzzz—
The Spider Emperor Avatar controlled by Nan Feng instantly disintegrated, dissolving into countless purple-black specks of light that faded into the air.
At the same time, his main consciousness crossed space in an instant and plunged back into his true body in Saintess Hall's bedchamber!
Saintess Hall, bedchamber, secret chamber.
The still air suddenly rippled violently. A pitch-black spatial fissure split open out of nowhere, emanating a heart-chilling aura.
Tap.
A foot in a purple high heel stepped out, followed by a long, shapely calf and a purple robe tainted with a trace of blood and the Evil God's aura.
Bibi Dong.
She had returned.
At that moment, faint purple-green mist swirled around her. Her originally cold, beautiful face now carried an even more bewitching, sinister allure.
Her eyes were as deep as a bottomless abyss. Just meeting her gaze made one's soul tremble.
Level ninety-seven!
After devouring Qian Xunji and enduring a night of the Rakshasa Secret Realm's evil thoughts, her Soul Power had not only fully stabilized but had also advanced another step, bringing her into the ranks of the Level 97 Peak Douluo!