Life Drain, An Acquaintance from Memory

The environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was ultimately too extreme; prolonged stays were harmful rather than beneficial for ordinary people. Therefore, after confirming Xie Biyan's condition was stable, everyone quickly returned to Dugu Bo's mansion in Heaven Dou City.

Inside the mansion, Bai Shu did not rest much. He merely instructed Xiao Wu a few words, telling her to suppress her Spirit Power and not to condense a Spirit Ring for the time being.

Afterward, led by Xie Biyan, his figure transformed into a stream of light, and they sped towards Notting City overnight.

On the other side, Dugu Bo also did not pause for a moment. As soon as he returned to Heaven Dou City, clutching the Ninth-Grade Purple Ganoderma that could stir up continental affairs, he strode towards the Heaven Dou Auction House.

With a Level 97 Super Douluo providing flight, how terrifying was their speed? In just one night, as the sky began to show the first light of dawn, the low silhouette of Notting City appeared beneath them.

"Old Xie, head to Notting Academy," Bai Shu's voice was exceptionally calm amidst the whistling wind. "That Spirit Sage hiding in the shadows to protect Yu Xiaogang, don't alert him."

"Young Master, rest assured," Xie Biyan's voice carried a hint of disdain. "A mere Spirit Sage. Even if I kill him, he won't know how he died."

"Killing him is fine. Someone has to deliver a message to Bibi Dong," Bai Shu added indifferently.

"Yes."

That's right. As early as when he first summoned Xie Biyan, Bai Shu knew there was a Spirit Sage secretly protecting Yu Xiaogang. It was obvious this was Bibi Dong's arrangement.

With Spirit Hall's intelligence network spread across the continent, it wasn't difficult for the Pope to find someone.

The two infiltrated Notting Academy like ghosts, silently finding Yu Xiaogang's room.

The sky was dimly lit, and the room's owner was clearly still asleep.

Looking at the mountains of books piled up in the room, a hint of mockery flashed in Bai Shu's eyes. Possessing such a background and resources, yet living like a theoretical joke—he was truly peculiar.

Bai Shu gave Xie Biyan a look.

Xie Biyan understood, and with an almost imperceptible flick of his fingertip, a wisp of barely visible, faint gas, precisely controlled by Spirit Power, slowly drifted towards Yu Xiaogang on the bed, merging into his breath.

This was not a potent poison, but a fragrance refined from over a dozen calming spirit herbs, designed only to induce the deepest sleep.

After all, Bibi Dong was also an expert in poisons; any true toxin might reveal traces she could detect.

After confirming Yu Xiaogang was sound asleep, Bai Shu slowly raised his hand.

A lotus, like a work of art, quietly bloomed in his palm. This time, he did not allow the aura of the Chaos Green Lotus to spread but contained it within his palm as much as possible, leaving no trace.

"First Spirit Skill, Life Link."

A vine thinner than a chopstick materialized out of thin air. Like a living snake, it silently coiled around Yu Xiaogang's wrist, exposed outside the blanket.

"Absorb!"

Following Bai Shu's icy command, a stream of invisible life essence began to be drawn continuously from Yu Xiaogang's body, flowing through the green vine and into the Chaos Green Lotus in Bai Shu's palm!

Even in the deepest slumber, the pain of his life force being forcibly plundered caused Yu Xiaogang's body to react instinctively.

His brows furrowed painfully, and his body twitched slightly, as if he were experiencing a terrible nightmare.

But ultimately, he could not break free from the "calming incense" personally prepared by a Level 97 Super Douluo.

Gradually, visible changes began!

Yu Xiaogang's once dark hair rapidly turned gray and withered, then fell out strand by strand, scattering across the pillow.

The skin on his face also quickly lost moisture and luster, becoming loose and sagging, with deep wrinkles covering his forehead and the corners of his eyes.

Concurrently, a Chaos Lotus Seed, radiating a majestic life aura, began to take shape within the pistil of the Chaos Green Lotus.

When the appearance of the person on the bed transformed from a dejected middle-aged man to an old man around seventy years old, Bai Shu withdrew his Spirit, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"A pity, Yu Xiaogang's life force quality is too poor. Nearly twenty years of life force didn't even condense a complete lotus seed," Bai Shu said, shaking his head slightly as he felt the feedback from his Spirit.

However, Bai Shu also knew that as his Spirit Power increased, the quality of the Chaos Lotus Seed also improved. To quickly condense lotus seeds through this method of plundering, one would either need to find Spirit Masters with higher Spirit Power Levels, or... find a large number of ordinary people.

But the latter method touched his bottom line; he wasn't that insane. He could be ruthless towards enemies, but there was no need to be so towards unrelated ordinary people.

"Let's go," Bai Shu said, glancing at the "masterpiece" on the bed, his heart undisturbed. Tang San and he were destined to be enemies, and as Tang San's teacher, Yu Xiaogang was the same.

"The bait has been cast. Now, let's see if the Pope in Spirit City will lose her mind for her 'moonlight'."

A Bibi Dong who could suppress Rakshasa Divine Power was calm and terrifying.

But what would a Bibi Dong, driven mad by her beloved aging overnight and having Divine Power exploit her vulnerability, do?

She wouldn't dare vent her anger on outsiders and had to maintain her papal dignity. Therefore, those around her... like Ju and Gui, the two Douluos, would likely bear the brunt of a thunderous rage that did not belong to them.

Cracks often began to accumulate from such small matters.

After leaving Notting Academy, Bai Shu returned to Holy Soul Village and left Old Jack a thousand gold soul coins.

His original intention was to bring Old Jack to Heaven Dou City, but Old Jack absolutely refused. In the end, Bai Shu could only give up.

And after the two figures vanished like a stream of light, a shrill wail filled with terror and disbelief finally echoed in the morning of Notting Academy.

When Bai Shu and Xie Biyan returned to the sky above Dugu Bo's mansion, night had fallen once more.

But the once deserted, even somewhat eerie mansion, was now bustling with visitors!

Dozens of luxuriously decorated carriages had almost completely blocked the entire street. Countless nobles and wealthy merchants, dressed in fine clothes, were quietly queuing outside the mansion. Despite the crowd, it was surprisingly quiet; not a single person dared to speak loudly.

"It seems Dugu Bo's publicity was quite effective. Let's go directly to the courtyard; there seem to be some distinguished guests there."

"Young Master, wait!" Just as the two were halfway down, Xie Biyan's voice suddenly rang out. "The strength of the person sitting in the courtyard is somewhat unusual. Moreover, there are two rats outside this courtyard, though their strength isn't great, not even as good as Dugu Bo's."

"Oh?" Bai Shu swept his gaze across the area, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly. "Don't worry about them; I can already guess which families they belong to."

His gaze landed on the stone table in the courtyard of the manor. He was, in fact, quite familiar with these people.

Qian Renxue, disguised as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, sat there, conversing with Dugu Bo.

Beside her sat two other men of extraordinary bearing.

One had a handsome face and an elegant, easygoing temperament, with a gentle, unchanging smile on his lips—it was none other than the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi.

The other sat with his eyes closed, his posture straight as an arrow. He was like an unsheathed, peerless sword; even without intentionally releasing his aura, the sharp, piercing sword intent made the surrounding air grow stagnant. Without a doubt, this had to be Sword Douluo Chen Xin!

Therefore, the two "rats" lurking in the shadows were undoubtedly Qian Renxue's personal bodyguards, Stingray and Snake Spear Douluo.