The Death of Qian Xunji

"Hmph, do you think I dare not?"

Qian Xunji let out a cold snort, then, enduring the agonizing pain in his soul, he cast a glance at Ghostly behind him.

Ghostly understood immediately, nodded, and vanished into the shadows.

Bibi Dong, who had taken in every detail, had eyes cold to the extreme.

She had originally intended to let Qian Xunji suffer the pain of the Soul-Devouring Poison Insect for longer, but it seemed she would have to grant him a quick end today.

Using a special secret technique to communicate with the Soul-Devouring Insect, the poison parasite hidden within the target's soul instantly went berserk, intensifying its gnawing.

"Ah!!"

Qian Xunji, who had barely been able to endure until now, could no longer withstand the agony of his soul being devoured. After a shrill scream, he clutched his head and collapsed to the ground, wailing.

Chrysanthemum, who was responsible for guarding, and Ghostly, who had not yet gone far, were both struck with terror.

"Your Highness the Saintess, please do not ruin yourself; withdraw your methods."

"Otherwise..."

Ignoring Chrysanthemum's threat, Bibi Dong merely stared coldly at the writhing Qian Xunji, a trace of grim satisfaction in her eyes.

"Saintess..."

Just as Chrysanthemum prepared to strike, Qian Xunji stopped struggling on the ground, and everything fell into silence.

"This... this..."

As Title Douluo powerhouses, both Chrysanthemum and Ghostly could clearly perceive whether a person was alive or dead, and the Qian Xunji before them had clearly lost all signs of life.

Above the exquisite Pope Crown, a circular black insect egg slowly emerged.

As the egg ruptured, a butterfly with a bizarre luster broke out of its cocoon and slowly fluttered into Bibi Dong's hand.

After observing it expressionlessly for a moment, Bibi Dong pressed the butterfly against her own brow.

The butterfly instantly burrowed into her fair forehead and vanished without a trace.

A wave of black-purple radiance bloomed from within her body, and the Rakshasa God Trial was thus initiated.

"So this is the feeling of devouring a Six-Winged Angel? This aura is truly as nauseating as you sanctimonious hypocrites!"

Feeling the extreme evil aura emanating from Bibi Dong, both Chrysanthemum and Ghostly involuntarily stepped back, their eyes filled with horror.

"You..."

Bibi Dong ignored the two, her gaze fixed on the Sacred Cloth that had reverted to the form of a Golden Ram beside Qian Xunji's corpse after losing its soul power support.

This Sacred Cloth allowed Qian Xunji to unleash astonishing power even without the use of soul power, so it was surely no ordinary object; she wondered if it could be used by her.

Just as she slowly approached the Sacred Cloth and reached out to touch it, the Golden Ram turned into a streak of golden light, charging straight out of the cell and flying toward the Worship Hall.

Bibi Dong frowned slightly, feeling quite dissatisfied with the Sacred Cloth's escape, while simultaneously becoming more curious about Lin Beiya, the other user of a Sacred Cloth.

But none of that was the priority right now; she understood that whether she could survive depended on the will of Qian Daoliu.

After the Rakshasa God Trial was activated, the soaring evil aura quickly attracted the attention of Qian Daoliu.

With a flash of golden light, the old man's figure soon appeared before them.

His stern gaze swept over the group, making Ghostly and Chrysanthemum feel guilty; after all, as guards, the Pope had been turned into a soulless husk right under their noses, and they could not shirk the blame.

"G-Grand Pontiff!"

Qian Daoliu ignored Chrysanthemum, but when his eyes swept over the prone Qian Xunji on the ground, his pupils constricted, followed by boundless fury.

Even if this was a "failed project" of his own, he was not a lamb to be slaughtered. Before Qian Renxue grew up, his son still had some utility; furthermore, bound by blood, he was not entirely without affection for Qian Xunji.

"Did you do this?"

Qian Daoliu asked a redundant question toward Bibi Dong, yet she showed no fear, looking straight at him and saying:

"Yes. Does he not deserve to die?"

Bibi Dong did not have a particularly strong desire to survive. Living to take revenge on the Angel clan or to overthrow Martial Soul Hall would be fine, but dying like this held no regrets; the culprit had already been devoured by her.

Qian Daoliu's eyes flickered. As the High Priest of the Angel God, he was all too familiar with the aura of a deity.

The aura on Bibi Dong was clearly that which only a successor to a god could possess, but that did not stop Qian Daoliu from wanting to kill her; after all, this soaring evil aura was clearly contrary to the Angel God.

What truly made him hesitate was the fact that she was the mother of Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue had been raised under his care, and he knew deeply how much his granddaughter longed for the approval of the woman before him.

With a fierce internal struggle and a long silence, Qian Daoliu looked up at Bibi Dong with cold eyes and said:

"You shall act as the Pope for now. To the outside world, announce that the former Pope was wounded by Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect while hunting a soul beast and died of his injuries."

With a wave of his hand, Qian Daoliu took Qian Xunji's corpse and left the cell, leaving only Chrysanthemum and Ghostly to stare blankly at Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong sneered, feeling even more contempt for the hypocritical Angel clan; they were not even willing to avenge the murder of their own son, choosing instead to push the blame onto the Clear Sky Sect—it was hypocrisy to the extreme.

However, this suited her intentions well; she could now properly accumulate strength to completely destroy the Angel clan.

"Saint... no, Pope!"

"Your Holiness the Pope!"

Watching the two sensible men before her, Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm."

"You have both been diligent in your duties; I will not hold the past against you. Once I ascend to the throne, I shall rely on your support."

Yue Guan and Ghostly breathed a sigh of relief. They had feared that once Bibi Dong gained power, she would settle old scores, but it seemed the situation was looking favorable.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty the Pope, Old Ghost and I will support you."

After all, since the Grand Pontiff had already spoken, they would not be so foolish as to jump out and oppose her. Had they not seen how Qian Xunji had been drained into a soulless husk?

A streak of light cut across the Worship Hall and descended directly into the training grounds.

Lin Beiya, who was sparring with Lei Ying, felt his body shudder the moment the light merged into the top of his head.

He knew all too well what the autonomous return of the Aries Gold Cloth signified; a severely wounded Qian Xunji would never have voluntarily relinquished the Cloth.

Seeing Lin Beiya suddenly stop his movements with a grave expression, Lei Ying looked on in confusion.

"What is it, Beiya?"

Lin Beiya shook his head and retracted his soul power, clearly having no intention to continue honing his combat skills. He looked toward the distracted Little Angel in the distance, unsure of how to break the news.

After a long moment, Lin Beiya decided to tell the truth; after all, matters had already reached this point.

"Xiao Xue."

"Ah? What is it?"

Interrupted by Lin Beiya's call, the Little Angel let out a startled cry and turned her gaze toward him.

"Go see the Grand Pontiff. Something must have happened to the Pope."

"Ah?"

"That's impossible, right?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue and Lei Ying both cried out in alarm, their eyes filled with dread as they looked at Lin Beiya.

"Beiya, how do you know something happened to my father?"

Compared to Lei Ying's simple surprise, Qian Renxue appeared incredibly anxious; it was only natural for her to be tense when her father's safety was at stake.

Lin Beiya did not offer an explanation, instead summoning the Aries Gold Cloth right where he stood.

Looking at the all-too-familiar Cloth, Qian Renxue immediately understood the reason behind Lin Beiya's words. There was only one reason her father would ever let go of the Cloth...

Realizing this, Qian Renxue rushed toward the Angel Temple without a second thought, desperate to ask her grandfather exactly what had happened.