The boost granted by the Sacred Cloth was comprehensive. It increased not only her recovery ability but also her mental strength, by twenty percent.
With this boost, the dispirited Qian Xunji forced himself upright and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
To his delight, he discovered that the Aries Sacred Cloth could even heal injuries to his Martial Soul.
The power unleashed when Tang Hao detonated his Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring had dealt irreversible damage to his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, leaving it on the verge of shattering.
But the Sacred Cloth's healing ability did not just affect the wearer. It worked on the Martial Soul as well.
"Heh, looks like I owe that little one a favor. He was willing to risk exposing the secret of his Martial Soul to help me at a time like this. It seems he has no ulterior motives toward Spirit Hall. He's a promising talent worth cultivating. That hidebound old man actually did something right for once!"
"And besides the basic boost, these Soul Skills are also..."
As he marveled at it, Qian Xunji hurried to heal the injuries to himself and his Martial Soul. As a man of such high standing, being unable to use his Martial Soul was agony.
Meanwhile, Bibi Dong, who was not far away, had gone dozens of days without seeing Qian Xunji return to Pope Hall to handle state affairs. She was certain he had indeed been seriously injured.
An idea slowly took shape in her mind, then turned into an icy chill that sank to the bottom of her heart.
Don't disappoint me, Qian Xunji.
The next morning, after visiting her father as usual, Qian Renxue returned to Douluo Hall to complete her daily training.
Bibi Dong, meanwhile, carried a bowl of medicinal soup into Qian Xunji's quarters.
"Teacher..."
"Hmm?"
Qian Xunji slowly emerged from his cultivation and looked at Bibi Dong, his expression complicated.
His feelings toward this disciple were tangled: the closeness they had shared as father and daughter in her childhood, the anguish of her betrayal, and the desperate abandon that had followed in the secret chamber.
Ever since Qian Renxue's arrival, he had wanted to mend his relationship with his disciple, but every attempt had ended in failure. Even the Blue Silver Emperor incident had happened because he wanted to secure a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for Bibi Dong's ninth slot.
He had never expected Bibi Dong to come visit him of her own accord, carrying medicinal soup. Mixed in with his conflicting emotions, a trace of wariness stirred in his heart.
"Dong'er, what brings you here?"
"I heard that you were badly injured during the Soul Hunt. I felt guilty, so I brought you some medicinal soup. I hope it helps."
Wary, he glanced at the steaming soup in her jade-white hand. As a Titled Douluo, Qian Xunji could naturally tell whether it was poisoned, but after examining it several times, he found it to be nothing more than ordinary soup for pain relief and blood nourishment.
Could she really have just come to show concern after a change of heart?
Qian Xunji kept his guard up and, enduring the pain in his meridians, channeled a wisp of Soul Power into the Sacred Cloth.
Then he forced a smile onto his stern face.
"It's kind of you to think of me, Dong'er. I regret that I wasn't able to bring you the Blue Silver Emperor this time."
"That's all right. We can plan another hunt for a Soul Ring after you've recovered, Teacher."
Bibi Dong glanced at the golden armor covering Qian Xunji and, for some reason, found it familiar.
Seeing Qian Xunji gradually lower his guard, Bibi Dong clenched her fingers in excitement. The drug in the soup was the Soul-Locking Potion the Rakshasa God had told her about. No matter how perceptive Qian Xunji was, he would never detect anything amiss.
Qian Xunji slowly took the soup and drank it all in front of Bibi Dong, partly to show his disciple that he trusted her.
"Don't worry. Once I've recovered, I'll take people to help you hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
"Good. Then I'll thank you in advance, Teacher."
Seeing that Bibi Dong still had no intention of leaving, Qian Xunji sighed.
"What's past is past. As long as you stop thinking about that good-for-nothing, I can still leave Spirit Hall in your hands. I'll need to recuperate for a while, so you can handle Spirit Hall's affairs in the meantime."
"Heh, the past?"
Judging that the medicine had begun to take effect, Bibi Dong finally dropped her mask. She had been forcing herself to stomach Qian Xunji's company, but now she sneered, her eyes bloodshot.
"You say the past is past? My dear teacher, I'll never forget what you did to me. Only your blood can wash away the humiliation in my heart."
"Hmm?"
At her words, Qian Xunji immediately sensed danger. He instantly realized that there had to be something wrong with the soup he had just drunk. Otherwise, even knowing he was injured, Bibi Dong—with only Soul Douluo cultivation—wouldn't dare behave so brazenly.
"You poisoned me?"
"Of course!"
"You could never detect a formula from the Rakshasa God. Now you can only let me devour you."
Bibi Dong's beautiful face twisted with wild delight. She had waited nearly ten years for this moment.
Eight spider legs slowly extended from her back. She took measured steps toward Qian Xunji.
Qian Xunji tried to move his Soul Power without drawing attention, but to his shock, no matter what he did, he couldn't make contact with it. Bibi Dong's triumphant voice slipped into his ears the next moment.
"Qian Xunji, don't waste your strength. You won't be able to use your Soul Power for an entire day. Does this scene seem familiar?"
His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. With no other choice, Qian Xunji could only try his luck. The precaution he had taken earlier now came in handy: the Soul Power remaining in the Sacred Cloth formed a Crystal Wall that slowly appeared in front of him.
"Hmph. Even if I had to choose ten thousand times over, I still wouldn't let you be with that good-for-nothing."
"My only regret is that I didn't slap that toad dreaming of eating swan meat to death before you two ever met."
"Shut up! You disgusting bastard, you have no right to judge him. Die!"
Incensed, Bibi Dong no longer had the patience to waste words with Qian Xunji. Her eight spider legs fused into one and stabbed viciously toward him.
But a moment before the attack could reach Qian Xunji, golden ripples shimmered between them, rippling like water.
Bibi Dong's gaze sharpened. At last, she remembered why the armor on Qian Xunji looked so familiar.
Together with the Soul Skill before her, wasn't this the same armor and Soul Skill used by the boy who had once stood in front of her daughter?
"Hmph, Qian Xunji, you really have gone backward with age. You think a snot-nosed child can save your life?"
As she searched everywhere for Lin Beiya, Bibi Dong increased the force behind her spider legs and kept driving them forward.
But to Bibi Dong's disappointment, she couldn't find Lin Beiya, and her attack failed to land.
Worse, the wall returned her attack in full, with even greater force. It slammed into her chest and sent her flying into a stone pillar inside the hall.
"Ugh."
With a groan of pain, Bibi Dong slid down the pillar to the floor. She spat out a mouthful of blood, looking utterly deranged.
"Why? Why can you still use Soul Power? Were you lying to me this whole time?"
Qian Xunji stared coldly at Bibi Dong. Struggling to his feet, he slowly made his way to the hall's entrance.
He brushed one hand over the Soul Power barrier shrouding it. With the last of the Soul Power left in his Sacred Cloth, Qian Xunji unleashed Starlight Extinction.
As golden light surged, the Soul Power barrier Bibi Dong had released when entering the hall shattered on the spot, marking the failure of her plan.
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