Bibi Dong: "Why could Liu Erlong marry Xiao Gang with her virtue intact, while I could only watch helplessly?"

"Something's wrong. Why do these Soul Beasts seem to have fallen into some kind of mental illusion?"

Chen Fan, who had been dodging, also noticed the situation with those frenzied Soul Beasts. Alarm bells rang in his mind. "The work of a mental-type Soul Master?"

"But..."

When had he ever crossed a mental-type Soul Master?

He had spent the first eighteen years of his life cooped up in the Seven Kill Sect, a complete shut-in, and hadn't gone out with Chen Jianjun until three days ago.

Chen Fan searched his conscience. He hadn't offended any mental-type Soul Master, so why would one seek revenge on him?

However.

While Chen Fan was distracted, he made a careless mistake. An Iron-Back Dragon Rhino suddenly slammed into his mount.

In an instant.

The horse let out a shrill cry and reared up on its hind legs, throwing Chen Fan from its back.

"Ah—!"

Chen Fan grunted and crashed heavily to the ground, finally coming back to his senses.

Right after that, two more Soul Beasts lunged at him.

Fortunately, these two ten-thousand-year-old rhinoceros-type Soul Beasts had dazed, glassy eyes and moved as if drunk. Chen Fan rolled across the ground, barely managing to dodge their attack.

But in the next moment!

A chill ran down Chen Fan's back. A burst of pain shot through his brain, and his body stiffened against his will. Then he collapsed helplessly to the ground, his consciousness sinking into darkness as the chaotic tide of beasts swallowed him.

At that moment.

More and more Soul Beasts began converging, and the scene grew utterly chaotic.

Roars from the Soul Beasts and furious shouts from the elders filled the air. Dust billowed everywhere, blurring everyone's vision. No one noticed Chen Fan lying on the ground.

Even so.

The many elders fought at full strength, but with the situation as bad as a beast tide, it still took them two and a half minutes to bring things somewhat under control.

"Reporting to the elder: none of the bride's betrothal gifts are missing or damaged."

"Elder, the bride's sedan suffered no mishaps."

"Elder, the Soul Beasts over here have all been cleared!"

The Third Elder, who was leading the group, was drenched in sweat. He panted heavily, his face slightly pale.

He had been one of the main forces in clearing out the beasts. After all, among the entire wedding procession, his Soul Power Level was the highest.

Hearing the Seven Kill Sect disciples' reports one after another, he let out a sigh of relief. But Elder Shan beside him seemed to remember something and cried out, "Wait, where's the Sect Master?!"

Huh?

At those words, the many elders who had just relaxed, along with the Seven Kill Sect disciples who had given their reports, all froze. They instinctively looked ahead and saw only a horse adorned with festive red decorations, its body covered in wounds as it leaned against a tree, barely alive...

In an instant!

Several elders' faces turned deathly pale.

"Impossible! How could the Sect Master just disappear?!"

"We're finished. They were targeting the Sect Master!"

Several elite Seven Kill Sect disciples went pale and nearly fell over.

"What are you standing around for?!"

Fortunately.

The Third Elder quickly regained his composure. His face turned livid. "Everyone except those absolutely necessary, start searching right now!"

"Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find him!"

"Seven Kill Sect Vanguard Unit One, search east with me!"

"Unit Two, come with me!"

Elder Shan also swiftly pulled himself together and barked, "We need to find him alive or find his corpse!"

"Yes!"

The elders answered in unison and immediately began a thorough search.

"Third Elder, should we..."

An elder assigned to guard the sedan hesitated. "Should we send a carrier pigeon to inform the Grand Sect Master?"

"Inform him of what?"

Before he could finish, the Third Elder rebuked him. "That beast tide just now was clearly caused deliberately."

"They didn't dare confront us head-on, which proves they're weaker than us. That's why they resorted to such despicable tricks!"

"All we need to do is find him!"

After a pause, the Third Elder said gravely, "Guard the sedan and the betrothal gifts. I'll join the search."

"If anything happens, fire a signal flare immediately!"

"Yes!"

About three kilometers away.

A purple figure, resembling the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, raced into the distance, carrying a human-shaped silhouette in her grasp.

'The Seven Kill Sect's Sect Master... Heh, you and Qian Xunji are birds of a feather!'

'You're no good person either!'

'But it doesn't matter. As long as you can sully Liu Erlong too...'

After a low murmur, the figure swiftly disappeared.

And the direction she was heading was none other than the little wooden house where Flender and the others had been earlier!

At that moment.

The little wooden house had also been decorated with plenty of bright red paper, giving it a wonderfully festive air.

But...

For some reason, Liu Erlong, who was lying inside the wooden house, felt her left eyelid twitching incessantly. Her whole body felt especially uneasy, and her unease kept growing.

'What in the world is going on...'

'Or am I simply nervous because I'm getting married tomorrow...'

Liu Erlong had a room to herself, and she had never had many friends, so there was no one she could ask.

And so.

She didn't sleep at all that night.

Before long.

The following evening arrived.

As the three of them had arranged beforehand, the wedding was to take place at night.

As luck would have it, the stars in the night sky shone especially brightly. The countless stars looked as though someone had scattered handfuls of diamonds across the heavens, densely carpeting the sky and lighting the earth as bright as day.

A few red silk streamers hung in front of the wooden house. The decorations were shabby, but they managed to lend the place a little festive cheer.

Flender personally officiated the wedding between Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang.

He stood in the open space in front of the wooden house, wearing a faded blue-green robe. His hair was combed neatly without a strand out of place.

"First, bow to Heaven and Earth."

His voice was a little hoarse, but he still raised it as much as he could.

Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong stood side by side and bowed deeply beneath the starry sky.

"Second, bow to the elders."

The two of them bowed to the empty seats.

"Third, bow to each other."

Facing one another, they bowed deeply.

"The ceremony is complete—"

When Flender finished speaking, his eyes grew slightly red, but he quickly forced the emotion down.

After the ceremony, the three of them drank together.

Flender brought out a jar of wine from inside and poured a bowl for each of them. "Come on, it's your big day. Let's have a drink, the three of us."

Yu Xiaogang took the bowl and looked at Flender, wanting to speak but stopping himself. "Boss Fu, I..."

"You don't have to say anything."

Flender cut him off and raised his bowl. "Once we've had this drink, you're still my brother, and Erlong is still my little sister."

"Bottoms up!"

The three of them tipped back their heads and drained their bowls.

Liu Erlong drank too quickly and choked.

Yu Xiaogang hurriedly patted her back. "Slow down."

Liu Erlong's face turned red. "I'm fine," she murmured.

Flender watched them and smiled. Then he poured himself another bowl and drained it in one go.

"The ceremony is complete. Off to the bridal chamber!"

After saying that, Flender paused and pointed toward the inner room. "All right, go on in."

"Don't let the auspicious hour pass."

Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong exchanged a glance. Liu Erlong's face grew even redder. With her head lowered, she let Yu Xiaogang lead her by the hand into the inner room.

After speaking, Flender staggered out of the wooden house and sat on a rock, drowning his sorrows in drink all alone.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

He stared blankly at the sky, then suddenly raised the wine jar in his hand and downed the entire thing in one go.

Perhaps deliberately, he didn't use his Soul Power to sober up. He stared blankly at the night sky, his mind involuntarily drifting back to the happy times the Golden Iron Triangle had shared over the past year and a half...

Even now.

Wine trickled from the corners of his mouth and soaked his clothes, but he didn't notice at all.

"Gulp, gulp—"

The jar was empty in no time.

What Flender failed to notice was this.

A figure resembling a spider slipped silently into the wooden house.

Inside, the two people who should have been consummating their marriage were now sprawled apart, their faces tinged purple and their features twitching.

"Heh..."

The figure raised her head, and the starlight shining in through the window revealed her face.

It was none other than Spirit Hall's Saintess, Bibi Dong!

At that moment.

She displayed Martial Soul Possession, the spider legs behind her spread wide, making her look like the Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

And clinging to those spider legs was Chen Fan, still dressed in his wedding attire.

But.

His red robe with gold patterns was now covered in mud and grass. His face was also an unusual shade of red.

He was completely unconscious, his breathing labored.

"Good thing the Seven Kill Sect was so overconfident that they didn't send a Titled Douluo. Otherwise, this would've been difficult..."

Bibi Dong murmured, glanced at the unconscious Chen Fan, and casually tossed him onto the bed.

That's right.

The attack on the wedding procession yesterday at noon had been Bibi Dong's doing!

As mentioned earlier.

Bibi Dong had reached Soul Power Level eighty after absorbing a second [Red God-Bestowed Spirit Ring] and a Soul Bone.

The Soul Bone she absorbed was a mental-type Head Soul Bone.

At the same time.

After her Second Martial Soul, the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor, absorbed this [Red God-Bestowed Spirit Ring], it seemed to undergo some kind of transformation. The spider venom it carried actually gained hallucinogenic properties.

The Soul Beasts had absorbed her spider venom. Under her control, they had attacked the wedding procession.

At the same time.

She had taken advantage of the chaos to ambush Chen Fan and quietly take him away.

Bibi Dong's Soul Power Level had now reached eighty. With two hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings and the power of her Twin Martial Souls, her actual combat strength could already be called invincible beneath the Titled Douluo level.

Now look at the Golden Iron Triangle.

Yu Xiaogang was firmly stuck at level twenty-nine, Liu Erlong was a Soul King above level fifty, and Flender was a Soul Emperor above level sixty.

With a lineup like that, forget about fighting Bibi Dong—they couldn't even dream of discovering her while she kept herself hidden.

Therefore.

Though Flender outside the house hadn't been poisoned by the spider venom, he hadn't noticed Bibi Dong slipping inside at some unknown point.

"Liu Erlong, heh..."

After exhaling a breath, Bibi Dong used a spider leg to detoxify Yu Xiaogang.

He wouldn't wake up immediately after being detoxified, which was why Bibi Dong dared to do it right in front of him.

Once she had finished, she turned her gaze to Liu Erlong, her eyes clouded with resentment. "Why could Liu Erlong marry Xiao Gang with her virtue intact, while I... could only watch helplessly?"