Soul Hunting Operation Begun Early by Bibi Dong

The Papal Hall in Spirit City was so quiet that the faint crackling of the candlelight could be heard.

The black-armored guard knelt on the ground, his sweat staining a small dark patch on the marble floor.

After the intelligence report was read aloud, the entire hall fell into a silence heavier than death itself.

No one dared to look up, no one dared to breathe.

Even Yue Guan, who was standing next to Bibi Dong, kept his head down as low as possible, wishing he could shrink himself into his collar.

Bibi Dong leaned back on the throne, idly twirling her scepter.

The refracted light spots from the gemstones drifted across the dome, like a lazy wild beast sharpening its claws.

"Tang Hao has gone mad, destroying three branch palaces in a row, and you can't even predict where he'll step next." Her voice was light and airy, without any anger.

The hairs on the back of the kneeling guard's neck stood on end.

Where is Tang San?

"Reporting to Your Pope, Tang San has completely disappeared since the incident in Heaven Dou City, and our spies in various places have reported nothing."

"What about that Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast?"

"That Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast escaped into the Star Dou Great Forest, and our search team... was completely wiped out."

"They were killed by the Titan Giant Ape, the king of the Forest!"

The guard pressed his forehead to the ground, not daring to say another word.

The temperature inside the entire hall was dropping, and no one doubted that someone's head would roll in the next second.

But Bibi Dong smiled.

The laughter was extremely soft, like a blade grazing silk, even carrying a hint of pleasure.

"A bunch of useless trash."

She slowly stood up, her long, elegant dress sliding down the steps.

"Even waste has its uses; at least you've made me certain of one thing."

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan couldn't help but raise his eyelids. "What is it?"

"Tang Hao is already a wild beast cornered."

She descended the platform step by step, her scepter tapping out a slow and steady rhythm on the stone steps.

"And the Titan Giant Ape that killed the Spirit Hall's tracking Soul Master."

Bibi Dong's gaze swept across the dim skyline outside the palace, her lips curved into a smile, her eyes icy cold.

"Two Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring."

Do you know what this means?

The cardinals in the audience exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock.

They understood that the Pope didn't care about retaliation or encirclement at all.

She intends to turn the entire Star Dou Great Forest into the Spirit Hall's hunting grounds.

"If the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest thinks he can protect that rabbit with his 100,000 years of cultivation, then so be it."

Bibi Dong's voice echoed in the hall, carrying an unyielding authority. "So I don't have to go looking for them one by one."

"Pass on the order."

All the cardinals and paladins knelt down in unison, the clanging of their armor heavy and rhythmic.

"Gather all the elites of Spirit City. Titled Douluo, except those with missions, are to return to the team. Soul Hunting Operation is officially launched!"

"This time, I want both the Soft Bone Rabbit and the Titan Giant Ape!"

"Whoever obtains the Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring will be richly rewarded."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the hall paled.

Bibi Dong leaned back on the throne and closed her eyes.

"Get out of here. I'll give you fifteen days to prepare."

The people inside the hall retreated like a tide, their footsteps hurried and subdued.

Once the last door closed, the entire Papal Hall was empty, leaving her all alone.

She opened her eyes and stared at the enormous angel mural above the dome, her expression utterly indifferent.

"Tang Hao."

Her lips moved slightly.

"You were the scapegoat back then, but today I thank you for bringing me information about Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

The sound dissipated in the empty space, and no one heard it.

On the vast ocean.

Ye Qing stood on the Green Lotus Sword, having not seen land for four days.

The sun is overhead, the sea is beneath my feet, and the sea is all around me.

From the very first sight of a century-old sea shark, everyone was excited to observe it.

Even now, the Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast that leap out of the water don't bother to lift their eyelids, and it's only been four days since then.

"Snow Empress."

His voice was weak and feeble.

"Tell me the truth, does this Sea of Buried Corpses actually exist?"

There was a two-second silence in my mind's Sea of Consciousness.

The Snow Empress's voice came through, carrying a barely perceptible hint of guilt. "Of course it exists, but..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that the marine landscape has changed too much."

"The location I sensed back then is tens of thousands of years old."

"The movement of seafloor plates, changes in ocean currents, and shifts in deep-sea whirlpools can all potentially alter the coordinates I obtain."

Ye Qing opened her mouth.

"So you weren't confident from the beginning?"

"Well..." Snow Empress paused for a rare moment, "It's not that I'm completely without confidence."

"At least I'm certain that the Sea of Buried Corpses is located in this area, but as for its exact extent... I can't pinpoint it."

Ye Qing rubbed his temples.

He glanced down at the sea below.

Deep blue, dark, and bottomless.

A mental scan revealed an increase in the number of Sea Soul Beast.

"This place is strange."

Ye Qing frowned as she surveyed her surroundings.

"The density of Sea Soul Beast is too high."

According to common knowledge in the Douluo Continent, there is a clear boundary between the distribution of Soul Beast in the near sea and the open sea.

But this sea area has no transition zone at all; it's like plunging headfirst into the lair of some Sea Soul Beast.

Snow Empress's tone regained some of its coldness. "Your perception is correct."

"The water temperature here is nearly 40% lower than the surrounding sea, and the direction of the ocean currents is also changing."

"All indications suggest that there is a large submarine fault zone nearby."

Ye Qing's eyes flickered. "A fault line? Related to the Sea of Buried Corpses?"

"If the Sea-Current Narwhal is right, the entrance to the Sea of Buried Corpses was torn open by a deep-sea trench."

"That place is the graveyard of ancient Soul Beast, and also the most chaotic place in terms of the energy of heaven and earth."

Ye Qing let out a breath, feeling slightly more refreshed.

In other words, the direction wasn't entirely wrong.

"I guess so."

What does "approximately" mean?

He hadn't finished speaking.

The sea below exploded.

A giant vortex with a diameter of over fifty zhang appeared.

The seawater seemed to be swallowed whole by something on the seabed, then violently squeezed out from both sides, producing a dull, bone-deep crushing sound.

Ye Qing's nerves were stretched to their limit in a fraction of a second.

From the depths of the sea, a beam of light shone forth.

Half scarlet, half azure.

The two extreme properties of water and fire were twisted together by an almost brutal method, tearing and distorting the air along the way.

Target: His chest!

"Open!"

Ye Qing gave a low shout, Second Soul Ring lit up in response.

A phantom of a blue lotus bloomed beneath his feet, its petals closing in layer upon layer, completely enveloping him.

The sneak attack came extremely fast, crashing into him almost at the same moment the vortex formed.

A sharp tearing sound, like a knife scraping against the eardrum.

Water and fire energies frantically eroded the surface of the Azure Lotus Barrier, with red and blue intertwining to form a menacing curtain of light.

The blue lotus screen remained completely still.

Ye Qing stood at the center of the flower and looked down at the seabed.

The vortex is still expanding.

Two points of light gradually emerged in the deep blue sea.

One eye was fiery red, the other a deep, clear blue.

"Oh."

Ye Qing raised an eyebrow. "A two-colored eye Soul Beast? It actually dared to ambush me!"

Ice Empress snorted in his Sea of Consciousness, "Be careful, this guy is not simple."

"Possessing both water and fire attributes, and with at least 100,000 years of cultivation."