Medusa Spirit Bone Eroded, Dugu Bo's Spirit Power Drops to Level 85

"Understood." Bibi Dong lifted her beautiful eyes, though she did not press for further details.

Dugu Bo's origin was damaged and he was currently busy healing, so there was naturally no need to worry about him seeking revenge against Qin Xuan.

Seeing Bibi Dong's indifferent expression, Qin Xuan felt a flicker of surprise:

Bibi Dong didn't even dig for the truth or ask about my purpose in Tiandou City. This is quite unexpected!

Setting aside his thoughts, he still asked symbolically:

"Teacher, aren't you going to ask why I am going to Tiandou City?"

Bibi Dong replied calmly, "Everyone has their own secrets. If you don't want to say, why should I press you?"

"Once you have finished your business in Tiandou City, return to Spirit City as soon as possible."

"After all, the Spirit Hall branch stationed in Tiandou City doesn't have many top-tier experts. If an unexpected situation truly arises, they won't be able to fully protect you."

At this point, she murmured "Qian Renxue" under her breath, then closed her eyes and fell silent, bad memories surfacing in her mind.

That night in the secret chamber was a scar hidden deep within her heart that could never be healed.

When the luxurious carriage arrived at the outskirts of Tiandou City, Qin Xuan disembarked early to part ways with Bibi Dong.

He did not immediately double back; instead, after the carriage had traveled far away, he found a random hotel nearby and stayed for three days.

During these three days, he refined the energy of the Nether Demon Spirit Tiger, causing his spirit power to jump another level, reaching that of a level 34 Spirit Master.

Only then did Qin Xuan walk out of the hotel at a leisurely pace and return alone in the direction of the Sunset Forest.

He felt no panic at all; after all, judging by the severity of Dugu Bo's injuries, there was no way he could have fully recovered in just a few short days.

In a side hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Dugu Bo sat cross-legged on the bed. Although his complexion remained poor, it was significantly better than it had been in the Sunset Forest.

Beside Dugu Bo sat a young girl with short purple hair and a beautiful face, wearing a green, snake-scale patterned short skirt.

She looked deeply worried; she was clearly Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo's granddaughter.

Besides her, there were three other figures in the hall: Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Sword Saint Chen Xin.

Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin had only just arrived at the palace after receiving orders from Emperor Xue Ye, so they were unaware of what had happened to Dugu Bo.

Upon sensing Dugu Bo's aura, Chen Xin could not help but ask in surprise:

"Brother Dugu, why has your spirit power dropped to level 85?"

"Who on earth could force you into such a state?"

"Alas!" Dugu Bo let out a heavy sigh and said, "Bibi Dong!"

"How could it be the Pope?" Ning Fengzhi frowned, looking quite puzzled.

Hearing this, Dugu Bo recounted what had happened in the Sunset Forest to the two men, though he naturally embellished the story.

Bibi Dong had severely wounded Dugu Bo with a single strike, yet in his version, he had only been defeated after ten rounds.

"It seems that if Bibi Dong hadn't cared about that boy, Senior Poison would likely not have escaped with his life," Ning Fengzhi remarked, his gaze shifting to Emperor Xue Ye.

"I wonder why you summoned me and Uncle Sword here?"

Emperor Xue Ye said with a stern expression, "The influence of Spirit Hall is vast and growing increasingly rampant."

"As Pope, Bibi Dong actually wounded a guest elder of the Imperial family without so much as a greeting. This is a blatant disregard for the Heaven Dou Empire!"

"I invited you both here to assist me in teaching Spirit Hall a lesson!"

"This..." Ning Fengzhi looked hesitant.

Emperor Xue Ye added, "I do not intend to go to war with Spirit Hall directly."

"I merely wish to completely destroy the Spirit Hall branch they have built within Tiandou City!"

As he finished speaking, Just as Ning Fengzhi was about to say something, Xue Qinghe strode in:

"Father, that is not a wise move."

"Destroying a mere branch would be of no consequence to Spirit Hall."

"Furthermore, how many children in Tiandou City rely on Spirit Hall to awaken their spirits every year?"

"Wouldn't the losses outweigh the gains?"

"The Prince's words are exactly what I was thinking," Ning Fengzhi chimed in.

"Are we just going to let it go?" Emperor Xue Ye was so angry he pounded his chest, collapsing back into his chair.

Xue Qinghe pondered for a moment before saying:

"For now, we should prioritize expanding the empire's military strength."

"Wouldn't it be better to just launch a frontal assault on Spirit City once our forces outnumber theirs several times over?"

While responding, he cast his gaze toward Dugu Bo and asked with a puzzled expression, "Senior Poison, why do I sense that your soul power has dropped significantly?"

Recalling that great battle, Dugu Bo gave a bitter smile.

"Bibi Dong's strength is simply too terrifying."

"The scythe blades she unleashed so casually possessed a frightening level of destructive power."

"I used the head of my Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor to block one head-on, and I was instantly struck with dizziness and excruciating pain. At the time, I was only thinking of escape, so I assumed it was just blast damage and didn't think much of it."

"It wasn't until I returned to the imperial palace that I realized the injury was extremely severe."

"That scythe blade had carved a crack directly into my Medusa Skull, and then the Death Spider Emperor's venom flowed through that fissure and into the soul bone."

"To prevent the poison from spreading further, I had to endure the agony of soul bone extraction. I forcibly tore the Medusa Skull from my body just to save my own life."

"Losing that soul bone caused my soul power to plummet by four ranks, and subsequently, neutralizing the Death Spider Emperor's venom forced me to exhaust a massive amount of my life essence, which caused my soul power to drop another two ranks."

"Senior Poison has actually fallen from a level ninety-one Titled Douluo to a level eighty-five Soul Douluo!" Xue Qinghe feigned shock, though he mused inwardly, That woman actually has some skill; I truly underestimated her!

Following this, Dugu Bo shared more details regarding Bibi Dong's martial soul, as well as the matter of Qin Xuan absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

Only then did the others understand why Bibi Dong was so determined to protect this boy.

If what Dugu Bo said was true, and this child had absorbed a ten-thousand-year level ring for his third soul ring, then given time, who would ever be his match?

Upon hearing this, thoughts raced through Xue Qinghe's mind.

No wonder someone with Bibi Dong's strength let this weakest of Titled Douluos slip away. I really didn't expect her to personally accompany Qin Xuan to the Sunset Forest to hunt soul beasts.

After gathering the information, Xue Qinghe paid the others no further mind and turned to leave without looking back.

At midday, the sun was bright and clear.

Qin Xuan finally arrived at the core circle of the Sunset Forest.

By this time, the poisonous mist had been largely dispersed by Bibi Dong, with only a hundred meters of it remaining around the circular valley.

Qin Xuan attempted to probe the situation inside the valley with his spiritual power, but he found it impossible to penetrate the toxic fog.

"It seems the valley ahead is the legendary Herb Garden!"

"The Nine Nether Evil God Tiger possesses a body immune to all poisons, and the Evil Emperor Hook can devour everything. What can a mere poisonous mist do to me!"

As Qin Xuan spoke, his entire body was enveloped in a sphere of dark light.

A moment later, he transformed into a Nine Nether Evil God Tiger over six meters in length!