Half an hour later.
"Creak—"
The bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Qian Daoliu walked in alone. He glanced at Qian Renxue, who was keeping watch beside the bed, and said softly, "Xue'er, go outside for a while. Grandpa has something to ask your mother."
"Grandpa..."
Qian Renxue hesitated. Looking at Bibi Dong, who still hadn't woken up, she whispered, "Mom... she won't turn into that again, will she?"
"She won't." Qian Daoliu patted her head, his tone gentle. "Grandpa will help your mother get better. Go on. Grandpa Golden Crocodile is waiting for you outside."
"Mm." Only then did Qian Renxue reluctantly let go of Bibi Dong's hand. She walked out, looking back every few steps.
As the door closed again, the gentleness vanished from Qian Daoliu's face, replaced by a grave expression.
He walked to the bed and looked down at Bibi Dong. His golden eyes, seemingly able to see straight through one's soul, narrowed slightly.
"You don't need to pretend to be asleep."
Qian Daoliu spoke calmly. "I know you're awake."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes.
There was no longer any madness or confusion in those purple eyes, nor any of that strange tenderness. There was only fathomless coldness and exhaustion.
This was the real Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong pushed herself up with some difficulty and sat against the headboard. She glanced at Qian Daoliu without bowing or speaking, merely rubbing her aching temples before asking in a hoarse voice:
"Did the Grand Pontiff come to watch me make a fool of myself?"
"Make a fool of yourself?" Qian Daoliu let out a cold laugh. "The newly appointed Pope fought her own avatar until heaven and earth were turned upside down right outside her own home, then managed to knock herself unconscious. That really is a colossal joke."
Bibi Dong's hand paused slightly, then she gave a self-mocking smile.
"Yes... I think it's pretty ridiculous too."
"Bibi Dong." Qian Daoliu stared into her eyes. "Tell me, what exactly was going on with that avatar?"
"I don't know." Bibi Dong shook her head, a carefully measured trace of confusion and irritation showing in her eyes. "I really don't know."
"After I returned, I was cultivating in seclusion in the secret chamber, stabilizing my realm. Then that woman... that woman who looked exactly like me suddenly appeared and tried to take Qian Renxue away."
"At the time, I thought some reckless Soul Master had used a disguise Soul Skill, so..."
At this, Bibi Dong paused, a deep wariness and fear flashing in her eyes.
"Until... I tried to use my Eighth Soul Skill, Spider Emperor Avatar, to finish her off once and for all. That was when I realized..."
"In that instant, I felt as if my soul had been torn apart. That woman... she was my Spider Emperor Avatar!"
"But..."
"I never used that Soul Skill! Why did my avatar come out on its own? Why did she have a will of her own? And why... did she attack me?"
Seeing Bibi Dong's anxious, frightened expression, the last trace of doubt in Qian Daoliu's heart disappeared.
Just as he'd thought.
Even she didn't know.
This really was a mutation of her Soul Skill caused by the Evil God's power corrupting it, perhaps even... a split in her soul!
Qian Daoliu fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Can you deliberately activate Spider Emperor Avatar and release that unusual avatar?"
At his words, Bibi Dong's hand tightened slightly on the blanket, her eyes flickering uncertainly.
"What? You can't do it?" Qian Daoliu narrowed his eyes.
"No..." Bibi Dong took a deep breath. "I'll try. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to control her. That thing... is dangerous."
"It doesn't matter." Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, a faint golden light surrounding him. "With me here, she won't be able to make a scene. Go ahead and use it."
"Fine."
Bibi Dong slowly closed her eyes, and Soul Power began to surge around her.
"Eighth Soul Skill—Spider Emperor Avatar!"
Buzz—!
As that deep black Soul Ring lit up, a purple-black figure detached itself from Bibi Dong's body like a ghost, quickly taking shape in the open space beside the bed.
When the light faded, another "Bibi Dong," dressed in the Pope's usual robes, appeared.
As soon as Nan Feng's avatar touched down, before he could even make sense of his surroundings, his eyes were clouded with confusion. He rubbed them as if he'd just woken up.
But when his gaze swept across the room and finally landed on Bibi Dong's real body, who sat against the headboard with a cold expression, that confusion instantly vanished. In its place came the instinctive reaction of a beast facing its natural enemy!
"You again?!"
Nan Feng bellowed, his originally handsome features twisting into a fierce scowl.
"Hiss—!!!"
With a piercing shriek, the Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul instantly possessed him!
Sss—!
Eight enormous spider lances, sharp as purple crystal and emanating a nauseating aura of death, burst from his spine and whipped through the air, leaving afterimages in their wake!
"Impostor! Die!!!"
Nan Feng didn't hesitate for an instant. He pushed off the ground, shattering the carpet beneath him, and shot toward Bibi Dong on the bed like a purple cannonball, his spider lances thrusting at her!
"How dare you!"
An aged yet authoritative shout rang out.
Qian Daoliu didn't even summon his Martial Soul. He merely took a step forward.
Boom—!!!
The terrifying pressure of a level-99 Peerless Douluo crashed down like a mountain collapsing!
The air throughout the bedroom seemed to turn to solid iron in an instant.
Nan Feng's unstoppable charge was abruptly frozen in midair by that absolute force!
His eight spider lances trembled violently, creaking under the strain, yet he couldn't move an inch.
"Huh?!"
Nan Feng struggled to turn his head. His mismatched purple-and-green eyes fixed on Qian Daoliu, filled not with fear but with unbridled violence and insolence.
"Where did this old scruffy bastard come from?!"
Nan Feng ground his teeth and cursed viciously. "How dare you meddle in this old lady's business... I mean, this grand lord's business?! Believe it or not, I'll pluck out the few hairs you have left!"
"..."
Qian Daoliu's normally placid face stiffened at once.
An... old scruffy bastard?!
He was over a hundred years old, the Grand Pontiff of Spirit Hall, and one of the three Peerless Douluos of the age. Everyone who saw him treated him with the utmost respect.
Even Tang Chen had never cursed him with such vulgar words!
Was this really Bibi Dong's avatar?
What was with that personality? He sounded like some street-corner thug!
Just as Qian Daoliu stood there, stunned by the insult—
"Boom—!"
The bedroom door was smashed open once more.
Qian Renxue, who had been anxiously waiting outside, sensed the terrifying Soul Power surging from within and thought something had happened to her mother. She charged inside without a second thought.
"Mom!!"
Behind her, Golden Crocodile Douluo and Guangling Douluo hurried in as well, their faces tense. They feared the two elders might get carried away fighting inside and hurt Qian Renxue.
But when they rushed into the room and saw what was happening, everyone froze.
The atmosphere in the spacious bedroom was bizarre beyond words.
On the bed sat a Bibi Dong with a cold, haughty expression.
On the floor stood another Bibi Dong, with eight legs growing from her back and a fierce look on her face, confronting the Grand Pontiff.
Two identical Popes!
"Mom..."
Qian Renxue stared at the two utterly different versions of her mother, her little face pale with terror and helplessness. She called out instinctively, her gaze drawn to the one on the bed.
That was the mother she knew.
At Qian Renxue's call, Bibi Dong on the bed turned her head slightly. Her purple eyes swept coldly over Qian Renxue, a trace of an exceedingly complicated emotion flashing through them.
In the end, she simply turned away, coldly withdrawing her gaze without saying a word.
That icy aloofness, which kept everyone at arm's length, made Qian Renxue's heart sink halfway.
But just then—
"Xue'er?!"
The "fierce Bibi Dong" confronting Qian Daoliu saw Qian Renxue, and the violence in his eyes instantly faded away.
"Look out!!!"
Nan Feng suddenly broke free of Qian Daoliu's oppressive aura. In a flash, he appeared in front of Qian Renxue.
He spread his arms wide. The eight spider lances on his back still looked terrifying, but he carefully kept them clear of the girl behind him, forming an impenetrable protective circle.
Nan Feng glared at Bibi Dong on the bed and Qian Daoliu beside her, then called nervously to Qian Renxue behind him:
"Don't be afraid, Xue'er! Get behind Mom!"
"There's a demon pretending to be me, and an old scruffy bastard who bullies women! They're in cahoots!"
"Don't be afraid! As long as Mom's still breathing, no one's touching a single hair on your head!!!"