The environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was simply too extreme. Staying there for long periods did more harm than good for ordinary people. Therefore, after confirming that Xie Biyan's condition had stabilized, everyone quickly returned to Dugu Bo's residence in Heaven Dou City.
Inside the residence, Bai Shu did not rest much. He merely gave Xiao Wu a few instructions, telling her to suppress her Soul Power and refrain from condensing a soul ring for the time being.
Then, led by Xie Biyan, he transformed into a streak of light and sped toward Notting City through the night.
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo did not pause for even a moment. Upon returning to Heaven Dou City, he cradled the Ninth-Grade Purple Ganoderma—an item capable of stirring up the entire continent—and strode toward the Heaven Dou Auction House.
With a level ninety-seven Super Douluo carrying him through the air, their speed was terrifying. After only one night, just as the sky began to brighten, the low outline of Notting City had already appeared beneath them.
"Old Xie, go to Notting Academy." Bai Shu's voice was exceptionally calm amid the howling wind. "Do not alert the Soul Sage hiding in the shadows and protecting Yu Xiaogang."
"Rest assured, Young Master." Xie Biyan's voice carried a trace of disdain. "He is merely a Soul Sage. Even if I killed him, he would not know how he died."
"Forget killing him. Someone still needs to report to Bibi Dong," Bai Shu added blandly.
"Yes."
Indeed, Bai Shu had known from the moment he first summoned Xie Biyan that a Soul Sage was secretly protecting Yu Xiaogang. There was no need to think about whose arrangement it was—it had to be Bibi Dong's.
With Spirit Hall's intelligence network spread across the continent, it was not difficult for the Pope to find someone.
The two slipped into Notting Academy like ghosts and silently found Yu Xiaogang's room.
Dawn had only just broken, and the room's owner was clearly still asleep.
Looking at the mountain of books piled throughout the room, a trace of mockery flashed through Bai Shu's eyes. With such a background and so many resources at his disposal, Yu Xiaogang had somehow turned himself into a joke of a theorist. What a freak.
Bai Shu shot Xie Biyan a look.
Xie Biyan immediately understood. With an almost imperceptible flick of his fingertip, a wisp of faint gas, nearly invisible to the naked eye, slowly drifted toward Yu Xiaogang on the bed under the precise control of Soul Power and entered his breath.
It was not a deadly poison, but a fragrance refined from more than a dozen calming spirit herbs. It would only plunge someone into the deepest sleep.
After all, Bibi Dong was also an expert at using poison. Any genuine toxin might leave traces for her to notice.
Only after confirming that Yu Xiaogang had fallen into a deathlike sleep did Bai Shu slowly raise his hand.
A lotus as exquisite as a work of art silently bloomed in his palm. This time, he did not allow the Chaos Green Lotus's aura to spread. Instead, he controlled it as tightly as possible within his palm, leaving behind no trace of its presence.
"First Soul Skill, Life Link."
A vine thinner than a chopstick emerged from thin air. Like a living spirit snake, it silently coiled around Yu Xiaogang's wrist, which was exposed outside the blanket.
"Drain!"
At Bai Shu's cold command, an invisible stream of life essence began to flow continuously out of Yu Xiaogang's body. It passed through the green vine and poured entirely into the Chaos Green Lotus in Bai Shu's palm!
Even in the deepest slumber, the pain of having his vitality forcibly stolen caused Yu Xiaogang's body to react instinctively.
His brows twisted painfully into a deep furrow, and his body trembled slightly, as though he were suffering through a terrible nightmare.
But he could not possibly break free from the "sleep-inducing fragrance" personally prepared by a level ninety-seven Super Douluo.
Gradually, visible changes began to occur!
Yu Xiaogang's formerly dark hair rapidly turned grayish-white and withered, before falling out strand by strand and scattering across the pillow.
The skin on his face swiftly lost its moisture and luster, becoming loose and sagging as deep wrinkles crept across his forehead and the corners of his eyes.
At the same time, a Chaos Lotus Seed radiating vigorous life energy slowly began to take shape within the heart of the Chaos Green Lotus.
Only when the man on the bed had changed from a frustrated middle-aged man into an old man of around seventy did Bai Shu reluctantly withdraw his martial soul.
"What a pity. Yu Xiaogang's vitality is of such poor quality. Nearly twenty years of it could not even condense a complete lotus seed." Feeling the feedback from his martial soul, Bai Shu shook his head slightly.
However, Bai Shu also knew that as his Soul Power increased, the quality of the Chaos Lotus Seeds also improved. If he wanted to quickly condense lotus seeds through such plundering, he either needed to find Spirit Masters with high Soul Power Levels, or... a large number of ordinary people.
However, the latter method crossed his bottom line. He was not so deranged as to do such a thing. He could be ruthless toward enemies, but there was no need to target unrelated ordinary people.
"Let's go." Looking at his "masterpiece" on the bed, Bai Shu felt no ripples in his heart. Tang San was destined to be his enemy, and Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's teacher, was no different.
"The bait has been cast. Now let's see whether the Pope in Spirit City will lose her mind over her 'white moonlight.'"
A Bibi Dong capable of suppressing the Rakshasa Divine Power was calm and terrifying.
But what would a Bibi Dong, thrown into turmoil by the sudden aging of the man she loved and exploited by divine power while vulnerable, do?
She did not dare vent her anger on outsiders, and she had to maintain the Pope's dignity. So the people around her... such as the two Douluo, Ju and Gui, would likely have to endure Thunderous Fury that should never have been theirs.
Cracks often began to accumulate from such small matters.
After leaving Notting Academy, Bai Shu made another trip to Holy Soul Village and left Old Jack one thousand Gold Soul Coins.
He had originally intended to bring Old Jack to Heaven Dou City, but Old Jack refused no matter what. In the end, Bai Shu could only give up.
And after the two turned into streaks of light and vanished into the distance, a shrill howl filled with terror and disbelief finally rang out through Notting Academy that morning.
By the time Bai Shu and Xie Biyan returned to the skies above Dugu Bo's residence, night had fallen once more.
But the formerly deserted, even somewhat gloomy residence was now bustling with visitors!
Dozens of luxuriously decorated carriages had nearly blocked the entire street. Countless finely dressed nobles and wealthy merchants stood quietly in line outside the residence. Although there were many people, it was strangely silent, with no one daring to speak loudly.
"Looks like Dugu Bo did a fine job promoting it. Let's go directly to the courtyard. There seem to be some distinguished guests there."
"Young Master, wait!" Just as the two were halfway through descending, Xie Biyan suddenly spoke. "The person sitting in the courtyard is somewhat extraordinary in strength. There are also two rats outside the courtyard, though they are not very strong—not even as strong as Dugu Bo."
"Oh?" Bai Shu swept his gaze around, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly. "Ignore them. I can probably guess which families they belong to."
His gaze fell upon the stone table in the residence's courtyard. In truth, he was quite familiar with those people.
Qian Renxue, disguised as Heaven Dou's crown prince Xue Qinghe, was seated there, conversing with Dugu Bo.
Beside her sat two middle-aged men with extraordinary bearing.
One had handsome features and a refined, gentle temperament, with the same warm smile forever hanging on his face. He was Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The other sat with his eyes closed and his figure perfectly straight, like an unmatched divine sword still sheathed. Even without deliberately releasing it, the sharp sword intent spilling from him made the surrounding air seem to congeal. If nothing unexpected happened, he had to be Sword Douluo Chen Xin!
Thus, the two "rats" in the shadows were undoubtedly Qian Renxue's personal guards, Pufferfish and Snake Lance Douluo.
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