Saintess Hall, back garden.
Qian Renxue nestled in Nan Feng's arms, nibbling at the mung bean cake. Her emotions had gradually settled.
"Such a good girl, Xue'er."
Nan Feng stroked her smooth golden hair, a loving maternal smile on her face. But his consciousness had already slipped silently into the Sea of Consciousness, directly connecting with Bibi Dong in her bedchamber.
"Hey, Little Dongdong, quit playing dead and get out here to do some work."
In the secret chamber of her bedchamber, Bibi Dong, who had been consolidating her cultivation, suddenly opened her eyes. A vein twitched at her temple.
"Nan Feng! What are you up to now? Can't you see I'm cultivating?"
"Cultivating my ass. There's something more important right now," Nan Feng said through their mental link. "Get out here, quick. We're going to put on a grand show. If we pull it off, I'll be able to throw my weight around the Spirit Hall from now on."
Bibi Dong didn't want to deal with him and was about to cut off the connection.
"Fine, so you're not coming out?"
Nan Feng drawled, "Then I'll take Qian Renxue in there myself. Who knows, maybe I'll use your body to make a little trouble."
"...You wouldn't dare!" Bibi Dong ground out.
"Let's see if I would. Give me a straight answer: are you coming out, or am I coming in?"
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, forcibly tamping down her anger.
"What are we acting out? Spit it out!"
"Simple."
Nan Feng's voice grew excited. "In a moment, you'll come out and we'll bump into each other. Then you'll look shocked, and I'll look shocked too. After that, we won't say a word—we'll just start fighting!"
"Fighting?" Bibi Dong was taken aback.
"That's right! And make it a real fight! The bigger the commotion, the better. Ideally, we'll draw that old geezer Qian Daoliu over," Nan Feng continued. "Once we've got an audience, you'll smash this clone of mine with one move. Then you'll roll your eyes back and faint. That's it."
"Are you insane?"
Bibi Dong couldn't make sense of that old spider's thought process. "I just took over as Pope. This is exactly when I need to establish my authority. If I fight my own clone in front of everyone and then faint, what will the elders think of me? They'll just think I'm deranged and unfit for the job!"
"Tsk, you just don't get it." Nan Feng sounded like he was sorely disappointed in her. "It's precisely because you're going to be Pope that you need to show them you're unpredictable."
"Why did Qian Daoliu let you become Pope?"
"Because he's afraid of you! He's afraid that a madwoman tainted by the Evil God's aura will lurk in the shadows and make trouble! So he wants you out in the open, using the duties and authority of the Pope to keep you in check, where he can keep an eye on you!"
"Since that's what he wants, let's give him exactly that—and throw in a little extra."
"Let him see that you're not only mentally unstable, but that your Soul Skills have mutated too, even giving rise to a separate personality! And this personality is fiercely protective and absolutely doting on Qian Renxue!"
"That way, whenever I use my clone to do anything outrageous, I'll have the perfect excuse. And you just need to faint or lose your memory at a crucial moment to pin the blame elsewhere."
"That's called—double insurance!"
Bibi Dong was silent for a moment.
She had to admit, though the plan sounded crazy, when she thought about it carefully... it did make some sense.
"If anything goes wrong, you'd better be ready to hide with me in the Rakshasa Secret Realm and go completely nuts!"
"Yes, yes, hurry up."
In the garden.
Nan Feng had comforted Qian Renxue and stood, taking her little hand.
"Xue'er, Mommy just remembered there's something I need to take care of. Shall we go back to the bedchamber?"
"Mm!" Qian Renxue nodded obediently. As long as she could be with Mommy, she was happy to go anywhere.
The two walked down the corridor and had just reached the entrance to the bedchamber.
Creak—
The heavy bedchamber doors suddenly opened from within.
Bibi Dong, dressed in black and wearing an icy expression, stepped out.
Their eyes met.
For an instant, the air seemed to freeze.
Bibi Dong looked at the woman in front of her, who had the exact same face as she did and was holding Qian Renxue's hand with a gentle smile. Her pupils contracted sharply, and her face showed shock and bewilderment so convincing it seemed utterly genuine.
"Y-You... who are you?!"
Bibi Dong barked. Her Soul Power surged in an instant, and a storm of purplish-black aura of death swept out around her!
Nan Feng, opposite her, looked just as bewildered. He instinctively shielded Qian Renxue behind him and pointed at Bibi Dong.
"Who are you?! Why are you impersonating me?!"
"Impudence!!"
Bibi Dong was furious. "I am the Pope of the Spirit Hall! You wretch, how dare you take on my appearance?!"
"Die!!"
Boom—!!!
Bibi Dong wasted no more words. The phantom of the Death Spider Emperor appeared behind her, and nine Soul Rings lit up in an instant. The crimson Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring radiated a terrifying pressure that left everyone breathless!
"Mommy?!"
Qian Renxue was completely dumbfounded.
Two mommies?
And... they were going to fight the moment they met?
"Don't be afraid, Xue'er! Mommy will protect you!"
Nan Feng shoved Qian Renxue out of the battle zone, sending her clear of the fight. Then he turned around, a resolute look on his face. "You dare hurt Xue'er, and I'll fight you to the death!!"
Though this clone had neither an eighth nor a ninth Soul Skill, and no Soul Bones, it was still no pushover with the strength of a Rank 97.
Nan Feng charged straight at Bibi Dong and punched toward her face!
"Fool!"
Bibi Dong sneered and struck out with her palm.
Bang!!!
Two terrifying forces collided with a thunderous crash in front of Saintess Hall!
The entire hall shook violently under the shock wave. Countless roof tiles flew through the air, and clouds of dust billowed everywhere!
"What happened?!"
Guangling Douluo, who had been standing guard in the distance, was startled by the sudden turn of events and shot over like a streak of light.
When he saw the two "Bibi Dongs" fighting fiercely amid the dust, he was completely dumbfounded.
"Am I seeing things? Why are there two Bibi Dongs?!"
And... they were fighting so viciously?!
"Bibi Dong! What's going on?!"
Guang Ling wanted to intervene, but the two were fighting too fiercely. They had the same face and identical auras; for a moment, he had no idea which one to help!
"Take Xue'er and get out of here!! Now!!!"
Nan Feng roared toward Guang Ling, then charged at Bibi Dong without hesitation!
Guangling Douluo didn't dare delay. He flashed forward and caught Qian Renxue as she was thrown clear. The Light Feather Divine Bow opened at once, and an icy-blue shield sprang up around the two of them.
"Grandpa Guangling! What's going on?!" Qian Renxue cried, watching the two "mommies" fight like the heavens and earth were coming apart.
"I... I don't know either!"
"Rumble—!!!"
In just a few breaths, more than half the garden at Saintess Hall had been destroyed.
The tremendous commotion instantly shook the entire Pope Palace!
"What happened?!"
From the Worship Hall atop the mountain, two terrifying auras shot into the sky.
Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo arrived at the scene as fast as they could.
When they saw the two identical-looking Bibi Dongs locked in a fight to the death, both men froze.
"Th-That's a clone?!" Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes widened.
"No! That clone has a physical body! It has consciousness! It even has... a soul fluctuation?" Qian Daoliu looked incredulous.
Even his demigod-level spiritual power couldn't tell them apart?
What was going on?!