A Journey to Heaven Dou City

Bibi Dong's eyes flickered.

Lu Chen continued, "My Martial Soul tells me I need to go to Sunset Forest. It seems there's an opportunity waiting for me there."

As he spoke, he tried to sound as serious as possible.

He couldn't make it sound so certain that it seemed he already knew everything, but he couldn't be too vague either. Otherwise, Bibi Dong might not change their plans at the last minute.

So he attributed everything to his Martial Soul's sensing. That explained his unusual behavior without revealing too much.

Bibi Dong didn't answer.

She looked at Lu Chen, seemingly weighing the meaning behind his words.

A summons from his Martial Soul.

If another Soul Master had said this, Bibi Dong probably wouldn't have paid much attention.

But Lu Chen was different. His Martial Soul was already completely beyond the norm, and could even affect the malice left behind by the Rakshasa Divine Sense.

It wasn't entirely impossible to understand that such a Martial Soul might sense something in a particular place.

Bibi Dong pondered for a moment.

"Was this a hint from your divine-level Martial Soul?"

Lu Chen nodded. "Yes."

Bibi Dong asked again, "Are you sure it's Sunset Forest?"

Lu Chen replied earnestly, "I'm sure."

Bibi Dong looked at him, her eyes growing more thoughtful.

Sunset Forest wasn't far from Heaven Dou City. Going there from their current location wasn't exactly on the way, but it wouldn't take them too far out of their way either.

Their original plan was to head straight back to Spirit City, but since Lu Chen said there was an opportunity for him in Sunset Forest, she couldn't simply ignore it.

If this sense truly came from a divine-level Martial Soul, then the opportunity in question might be very important to Lu Chen.

There was no need to say how much Bibi Dong valued him now.

Whether as her disciple or for the sake of his future, she wouldn't pass up any opportunity that could help him grow.

She considered it for a while, then finally said, "There's still plenty of time, so let's make a trip to Heaven Dou City."

Lu Chen felt a quiet wave of relief.

Bibi Dong's tone was calm, but she had made her decision.

Outside the carriage, Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who were driving, received the order.

Yue Guan paused in surprise, then turned to look at Gui Mei.

Gui Mei didn't speak. He simply nodded. Since Bibi Dong had made her decision, they naturally wouldn't object.

Yue Guan acknowledged the order and drove toward Heaven Dou City.

Still, he couldn't help feeling curious.

What exactly was the opportunity Lu Chen had mentioned?

After leaving Star Dou Forest, he had suddenly claimed that his Martial Soul sensed an opportunity in Sunset Forest. It did sound rather far-fetched.

But when Yue Guan thought of everything that had happened to Lu Chen, he decided that even something stranger wouldn't be impossible to accept.

The carriage left the town and continued along the road.

The four of them spent the next several days traveling.

Lu Chen kept himself busy.

Having just obtained two Soul Rings, there were still many aspects of his abilities he wasn't familiar with.

Although he'd done a few simple tests with Yue Guan earlier, those had only provided a rough estimate of his combat strength.

To truly master his Soul Skills, he still needed to explore them on his own.

His first Soul Skill, Void Dragon Form, was especially important.

When he first acquired it, Lu Chen could only transform his entire body into a cloud of gas.

This form could indeed help him dodge attacks and hide his presence, but in actual combat, there weren't many situations where a complete transformation was ideal.

If he could transform only part of his body, his fighting style would become much more versatile.

So during those few days, Lu Chen kept trying to control the changes brought on by his first Soul Skill.

At first, he didn't get very far.

The transformation of Void Dragon Form was more like an all-or-nothing change. He either maintained Martial Soul Possession or turned into a cloud of gas.

Whenever Lu Chen tried to transform only his arm, shoulder, or another part of his body, his Soul Power often failed to flow smoothly.

Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry.

Each day as they traveled, he practiced quietly inside the carriage.

Sometimes he briefly turned one palm to mist; other times, the edges of his arm grew illusory.

The transformations didn't last long, and he couldn't control them steadily, but as he practiced more, he gradually began to get the hang of it.

After several days, Lu Chen could transform part of his body into gas in the middle of a fight.

He was still a long way from switching freely between forms, but at least he knew which direction to go. As long as he kept practicing diligently, he would continue to improve.

Besides that, he made another discovery.

Before, he had relied mainly on the cloud of gas from Void Dragon Form when using Devour.

But after practicing for the past few days, Lu Chen discovered that he could also channel the power of Devour while under Martial Soul Possession, without fully transforming into a cloud of gas.

It simply wasn't as efficient.

In this state, Devour was more like concentrating its power on one part of his body, which limited both its range and speed.

Even so, it was far more convenient than having to turn into a cloud every time.

And he soon put this ability to use on Bibi Dong.

Ever since Lu Chen discovered he could devour the Rakshasa Evil Thought, Bibi Dong had stopped refusing his help.

She didn't usually mention the matter, but Lu Chen could tell that the Rakshasa Evil Thought was still affecting her.

It was only because Leugocyte's presence could suppress those thoughts when he was near her that Bibi Dong seemed stable.

But the problem was exactly as Lu Chen had thought.

He couldn't stay by Bibi Dong's side forever.

As soon as he left, the Rakshasa Evil Thought in her mind could still affect her.

Now that he'd discovered his Devour power could deal with those thoughts, he naturally had to try as soon as possible.

So, with Bibi Dong's permission, Lu Chen carefully used Devour each night to consume the Rakshasa Evil Thought in her mind.

He was very cautious.

After all, he was acting on Bibi Dong's mental plane, and the slightest misstep could have caused needless harm.

So each time, he devoured only a tiny amount, never daring to take too much.

He didn't consume very much of the evil thought in a single night.

But the results were real.

The negative power that had once coiled around the depths of Bibi Dong's mind was slowly devoured by Lu Chen, then turned into nourishment that strengthened his own mental power.

After each session, Lu Chen could feel his mind growing clearer, while Bibi Dong felt more at ease.

This discovery made Bibi Dong very happy.

She never showed too much emotion in front of others, but over the past few days, she had clearly been in better spirits than before.

The change wasn't dramatic, but it was enough for Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who knew her well, to notice.

Yue Guan glanced at Bibi Dong several times, completely baffled.

He had no idea what had happened.

They were only traveling, yet His Holiness the Pope seemed to be in a much better mood.

Her attitude toward Lu Chen had always been different, and in recent days she had grown gentler in a way that was hard to describe. Yue Guan was curious, but didn't dare ask.

Gui Mei was even less likely to speak up.

He simply watched in silence, vaguely guessing that it might have something to do with Lu Chen.

After all, on the entire journey, Lu Chen was the only person who could bring about such a change in Bibi Dong.