A Heart-Piercing Question, Yue Guan's Wavering

"Hiss--"

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there a spectacular scene of rising dust and smoke.

The torrent of golden petals, sharp as blades, seemed to transform into truly fragile flowers the moment they collided with the giant palm interwoven with red and blue.

The golden light on the petals dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, then shattered inch by inch, ultimately dissolving into nothingness. They didn't even stir a ripple before being completely corroded by the ice-and-fire poison flowing across the giant palm.

On the other side, the soul storm that Gui prided himself on didn't even earn the right to approach the giant palm.

A spiritual force far beyond his imagination swept over, and the invisible storm was instantly and effortlessly erased.

"Pfft!" Gui let out a muffled groan, feeling as if his soul had been pierced by countless red-hot steel needles. Under the intense pain, the black mist shrouding his body contracted violently, nearly dissipating on the spot.

"Your courage is commendable, but unfortunately, your strength is lacking."

Xie Biyan's voice still echoed where he had stood, yet he had already appeared behind the two who were attempting to flee, a palm resting lightly on Yue Guan's shoulder.

As the icy touch took hold, Yue Guan's entire body stiffened. An unprecedented fear instantly seized his brain, rendering him unable to even condense his Soul Power.

"Senior... spare us!" Yue Guan blurted out without a second thought, his voice turning shrill from extreme terror. "We... we will go with you!"

"Hmph, wouldn't it have been easier to just do that from the start? You forced this old man to take action."

With that, Xie Biyan released his large hand from Yue Guan's shoulder and stood there leisurely, not the least bit worried that the two might escape.

Within this Blood Demon Poison Domain, he was the master. Unless these two could instantly teleport a thousand meters away, they were nothing more than turtles in a jar.

Yue Guan and Gui indeed extinguished any thoughts of escape.

Yue Guan's face was deathly pale, and he gasped for air, while the form of Gui, shrouded in black mist, appeared somewhat illusory and unstable for the first time.

The gap in strength was too vast—so vast that they couldn't even muster the slightest desire to resist.

If they were to anger this terrifying senior further and be killed on the spot, it would be a truly unjust end.

Before long, Xie Biyan brought the two dejected men before Bai Shu, who was leaning against a large tree, resting with his eyes closed.

Under the tree, a youth in moon-white robes leaned against the trunk. He looked no more than eleven or twelve, with handsome features and a temperament as gentle as jade, appearing completely out of place in this gloomy environment.

"Young Master, I have brought them," Xie Biyan said, bowing respectfully.

"Good, thank you for your trouble, Old Xie." Bai Shu opened his eyes, speaking as he examined the pair of Title Douluo who were quite popular in the original story with great interest.

Chrysanthemum Douluo was fine; although his temperament was somewhat effeminate, his appearance was handsome and his posture upright—he actually looked quite decent.

Ghost Douluo, however, was a bit absurd. His face was almost entirely hidden in the shadow of his hood, his exposed skin was even paler than Chrysanthemum Douluo's, and black smoke kept billowing off him, even without him releasing his Spirit.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Bai Shu," Bai Shu said with a warm smile. "The one who fought you earlier is my Guardian; you can just call him Old Xie."

Seeing Bai Shu speak in a gentle tone, seemingly devoid of hostility, the tightly wound nerves of Yue Guan and Gui finally relaxed slightly.

Yue Guan forced a smile that looked worse than crying and asked cautiously, "Young friend Bai Shu, may I ask why you went to such lengths to stop us?"

Bai Shu smiled slightly but did not immediately get to the point.

"Before answering that, I would like to ask Your Excellency Yue Guan two small questions, if I may?"

"This... please go ahead, young friend." Yue Guan naturally didn't know what Bai Shu was planning, but with his life in another's hands, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

"The first question," Bai Shu stood up straight and paced over to Yue Guan, meeting his gaze calmly.

"Your Excellency Yue Guan, you and Gui have served Spirit Hall faithfully for so many years. Have you ever received rewards that match your status as Title Douluo?"

As soon as this question left Bai Shu's lips, the corner of Yue Guan's mouth twitched. This was hitting a sore spot; if he had ever received even a single Spirit Bone from Spirit Hall, he wouldn't be so resentful of the Pope's unfairness today.

But he certainly couldn't say that. He was, after all, an Elder of Spirit Hall, and he wouldn't dare smear his own organization while out in the world. So, Yue Guan took a deep breath and replied:

"Young friend, you jest. Old Gui and I joined Spirit Hall in our youth, and it was through Spirit Hall's cultivation that we were fortunate enough to become Title Douluo. For such great kindness, I naturally dare not ask for anything more."

Bai Shu smiled playfully at these words. He didn't argue with Yue Guan, but instead continued, "The second question: you are very loyal to Pope Bibi Dong, but has she ever given you the respect due to Title Douluo?"

Once these words were spoken, not only did Yue Guan's expression change, but even the black mist surrounding the silent Gui surged.

"This..." Yue Guan wanted to blurt out "Yes," but in his mind, he saw the innocent, radiant smile of the young Bibi Dong.

Ever since Yu Xiaogang was driven away, Bibi Dong had become a different person. Especially after becoming Pope, her majesty grew, her temperament became increasingly perverse, and she treated the two of them as her personal punching bags. Respect? What was that?

"Heh, it seems Your Excellency Yue Guan is hesitant. Rest assured, no one else will know about today's conversation."

Yue Guan shook his head, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Young friend, if you have something to say, just say it. What you ask concerns the internal affairs of our Spirit Hall, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself."

Bai Shu chuckled, no longer beating around the bush. His goal had already been achieved; as long as he made Yue Guan recall his dissatisfaction with Bibi Dong, half the battle was won.

"My purpose is very simple: I wish to invite you both to leave Spirit Hall and join my ranks..."

"Impossible." Before Bai Shu could finish, Yue Guan interrupted him directly. As an Elder, he knew Spirit Hall's strength all too well.

Outsiders might only know of the Elders who were frequently active, like himself and Gui, but he knew in his heart that the Worship Hall was the true foundation of Spirit Hall. If he betrayed them, he would never escape the pursuit of the Worship Hall.

Even without the Worship Hall, Bibi Dong alone could likely defeat the two of them combined in under ten moves.

"Your Excellency Yue Guan, don't be so quick to refuse." As he spoke, Bai Shu took an exquisite wooden box from the bracelet-like Soul Tool on his wrist. "If you agree, I can gift this Immortal Herb to you directly."

"An Immortal Herb!" Yue Guan exclaimed. The moment Bai Shu took out the box, his Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Spirit began to throb wildly—it was a craving that originated from his very bloodline!

Hearing Bai Shu say it was an Immortal Herb, the answer was self-evident.

Bai Shu didn't keep him in suspense any longer; he handed the wooden box directly to Yue Guan and gestured for him to open it and see.

Yue Guan instinctively took the wooden box, looking at Bai Shu in astonishment; he seemed unable to believe that the other party had handed over such a precious item so easily.

Yet, he still could not resist that fatal attraction, trembling as he placed his hand on the box and slowly cracked it open.

In that moment, Yue Guan's emotions were complex as never before; he both hoped the box contained the Immortal Herb he had pursued his entire life but never seen, and hoped that Bai Shu was merely playing tricks so that he would not have to struggle with this choice.

However, when the wooden box was truly opened, and that aura of extreme hardness and extreme yang, mixed with a faint scent of chrysanthemum, drifted out, he wavered.

A mere wisp of that aura flowing into his body was enough to make him feel that the Soul Power bottleneck which had trapped him for years was showing signs of loosening!

At this moment, the thought of quitting Spirit Hall truly rose in Yue Guan's heart! For lying quietly inside that box was none other than the immortal treasure that shared the same origin as his own martial soul—the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!