Evil-Repelling Sword Formation

Su Chen stepped into the Papal Hall.

Several plates of pastries sat on the table, untouched.

Bibi Dong sat at the head of the hall, listening to a red-robed deacon report on the progress of the Martial God Hall's implementation.

Seeing that he had returned safely, Bibi Dong waved the deacon away.

Hu Liena emerged from behind a pillar and looked him over from head to toe.

"The Grand Consecrated Elder didn't keep you?"

"He did."

Su Chen walked over, sat down, and picked up a pastry.

"We exchanged a few pleasantries. The Grand Consecrated Elder thought I made sense, so he let me come back."

Hu Liena stepped closer.

"You really didn't fight?"

"The Grand Consecrated Elder values his status. Why would he fight a child?"

Su Chen took a bite of the pastry.

"A little too sweet. Tell the kitchen to use less sugar next time."

Bibi Dong descended the steps.

"The Hall of Consecrated Elders will no longer interfere with the Martial God Hall?"

"They won't meddle anymore. From now on, the Papal Hall will decide how the Elite Camp trains."

Bibi Dong did not ask about the process.

He had emerged unscathed from the pressure of a Peerless Douluo and even forced the Hall of Consecrated Elders to yield. The process did not matter.

Seeing Su Chen eat with such relish, Hu Liena swallowed.

"What are you doing this afternoon?"

"Something important."

"What important business? Didn't you say you would guide me in spiritual control?"

"Tomorrow. I have something more important to do today."

Su Chen brushed the pastry crumbs from his hands and looked at Bibi Dong.

"Teacher, seal the Papal Hall. No one can come near."

Bibi Dong's gaze sharpened slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"Treating your illness."

The hall doors slammed shut.

The stone doors blocked out the light and sound from outside.

Hu Liena was sent to a side hall.

Only the two of them remained in the main hall.

Su Chen pulled over a chair and sat a little closer to Bibi Dong.

"Teacher, let's begin."

Bibi Dong frowned faintly.

"I am not ill."

"You are, and quite seriously."

Su Chen pointed at Bibi Dong's shadow.

"I saw it last time. That purple mist tortures you every day. What kind of divine inheritance is that?"

Bibi Dong's eyes snapped open, a frightening violet gleam flashing within them.

"What do you know? This is Rakshasa Divine Sense."

"I know trash belongs in a trash bin."

"I've accepted the Spirit Hall's benefits and called you teacher. Today, we're washing this Rakshasa God filth clean."

Bibi Dong looked at the boy before her, barely six years old, and a hint of struggle appeared in her eyes.

"Rakshasa Divine Sense is no ordinary poison. It is a god's malevolent thought. Touch even a trace of it, and you will be dragged into the abyss. Do not gamble with your life."

"Whether it is a gamble or not, we will know after trying."

Su Chen rose to his feet.

"Circulate your soul power and release it."

Bibi Dong remained silent for a long while. Su Chen had already brought her too many miracles.

In the end, she closed her eyes and obediently mobilized the soul power within her.

The temperature in the hall plummeted.

A wisp of dark violet mist crawled upward from her ankles.

More and more purple mist gathered, carrying a violent, greedy scent of blood.

Bibi Dong gripped the armrests tightly, her expression twisting slightly from pain.

Before everyone else, she always had to maintain that cold facade that kept strangers away.

Only when this power ran out of control did she reveal such vulnerability.

"Leave..."

Bibi Dong's voice was hoarse.

She did not want her only direct disciple to see her looking like a monster.

Su Chen did not move.

His eyes remained fixed on the roiling mist as he carefully observed the paths along which the purple mist clashed with her soul power.

That mass of purple mist was filled with despair and hatred.

It was evil accumulated over countless years.

If an ordinary soul master encountered even a trace of it, they would become a madman who knew only slaughter.

Yet the mighty Pope of Spirit Hall was eroded by this thing every day as though she were its nourishment.

And it was even glorified as a divine inheritance.

Rakshasa Divine Sense was like a swarm of parasites. It gave no power, only distracting thoughts.

It could not be suppressed by force.

Filthy evil had to be burned away with the fiercest light.

The Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent he had just comprehended in the Hall of Consecrated Elders was perfectly suited for it.

But sword intent was meant for attack. If he slashed at it directly, he could easily harm her meridians.

He needed to turn the sword intent into a sword formation.

In his mind.

[Observing the operation of Rakshasa Divine Sense, detected the poisonous origin of its sinister evil.]

[Combining Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent with Formation Dao Origin, enlightenment successful.]

[Self-created technique: Grand Radiance Evil-Warding Sword Formation]

The method spread through his sea of consciousness.

Use the body as the formation core.

Draw upon True Solar Flame as swords.

Bind the sinister evil, burn only malevolent thoughts, and leave flesh and blood unharmed.

Su Chen raised his hand and formed a sword gesture with two fingers.

"Let the Great Sun become the edge; let evil-repelling form the array."

Pale golden sword light bloomed from his fingertips.

Rather than retreat, he stepped directly into the purple mist.

He turned himself into the formation.

A golden formation diagram lit up beneath his feet.

The formation was not large, just enough to enclose the two of them.

The sunlight overhead seemed drawn by some force, streaming through the cracks in the hall's dome and flowing into the golden light.

True Solar Flame.

It carried the purest, most unyielding yang energy in heaven and earth.

The moment the purple mist touched the golden light, it writhed wildly as though it had struck scorching coals.

It made no sound.

Yet its shrill, near-death struggle could be felt with perfect clarity.

The purple mist fought back desperately, trying to burrow deep into her sea of consciousness to hide.

But the golden sword light followed it like a shadow, sealing every route of escape.

Bibi Dong's body suddenly trembled.

"Don't move."

Su Chen pressed his fingers against Bibi Dong's glabella.

"Drop your soul power defenses."

Bibi Dong instinctively wanted to resist.

The corrosion of the divine sense and the scorching heat from outside struck at once, pushing her reason to the brink of collapse.

"Trust me."

Two words.

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and forcibly dispersed the soul power protecting her body.

Golden formation light surged in through her glabella.

The True Solar Flame transformed into countless tiny golden sword energies that traveled through the twelve primary meridians.

They did not touch her soul power, only pursued the purple mist.

Scorching it inch by inch.

Purifying it strand by strand.

The purple mist fled through her meridians, but the golden sword energy blocked every escape route.

Su Chen's face turned slightly pale.

With his current cultivation, forcibly enduring the formation's backlash while drawing upon True Solar Flame placed him under enormous pressure.

Golden light flowed across Bibi Dong's body, forcing the final trace of purple energy out through her fingertips.

The moment the purple mist left her body, it was reduced to nothing beneath the True Solar Flame's burning.

The bloody smell in the air faded.

The temperature in the hall gradually warmed again.

Su Chen withdrew the sword light from his fingertips and stepped back half a pace.

The formation beneath his feet slowly faded away.

"It's done."

Su Chen let out a breath and collapsed into the chair.

Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes.

A trace of weariness lingered on her beautiful face, but her gaze had never been clearer.

There was no violence.

No distracting thoughts.

Nor was there that chill of being swallowed by the abyss at any moment.

A long-lost warmth spread through her body.

Bibi Dong lowered her head and looked at her hands. Her soul power flowed smoothly, and the oppressive sensation of Rakshasa Divine Sense had vanished completely.

She raised her head, her gaze falling upon the short-haired boy before her.

"This formation..."

"The Grand Radiance Evil-Warding Sword Formation."

Su Chen picked up the cold tea on the table and took a large gulp.

"It burns dirty things."

Bibi Dong looked at Su Chen's slightly pale face.

The cold hardness in her eyes that belonged to the Pope quietly melted away, replaced by an impossible-to-conceal gentleness.

How many years had it been?

She had endured the Rakshasa God's torment alone from this lofty position, guarding against the Hall of Consecrated Elders and the elders, never daring to sleep too deeply.

Before everyone else, she always had to maintain that cold facade that kept strangers away.

Yet now, she was being protected by a six-year-old child.

"Su Chen."

"Yes?"

"How much soul power did that consume?"

"More than half, probably. A night's rest will restore it."

Bibi Dong stood and walked to the table, reaching for the cup of cold tea.

"It's cold. Don't drink it."

Su Chen paused in surprise.

Bibi Dong poured him another cup of warm water and handed it over.

Her movements were gentle.

Her eyes were full of tenderness and dependence.

"Do not force yourself like this again."

"I wasn't showing off. I've been eating the Papal Hall's food, so I should take care of the people doing the work."

The corner of Bibi Dong's lips lifted slightly.

It was neither a sneer nor a lofty smile.

It was a very genuine smile.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little. That took some physical effort just now."

Bibi Dong looked toward the outside of the hall.

"Someone."

The hall doors opened, and the red-robed deacon waiting outside hurried in.

"Your Holiness."

"Tell the kitchen to send over several portions of roasted meat."

"With extra cumin."

Su Chen added from the side.

The red-robed deacon froze and instinctively looked at Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong nodded.

"Add plenty of cumin."

The red-robed deacon bowed and withdrew, his face full of confusion.

For the grand Papal Hall to suddenly order roasted meat with cumin, the scene looked strange no matter how one viewed it.

But no one dared disobey the Pope's orders.

Only the two of them remained in the hall.

Bibi Dong returned to her chair and quietly watched Su Chen.

"How many more times can this Evil-Repelling Sword Formation be used?"

"As many times as I want. As long as the sun remains in the sky, the true fire won't go out."

Su Chen leaned back against the chair.

"For now, it can only suppress it. Once my cultivation improves a little more, I'll burn this Rakshasa Evil Thought until not even ashes remain."

Bibi Dong nodded gently.

"Good. I'll wait for you."

As for the Rakshasa God position, she had once had no other choice but to passively endure it.

But now, there seemed to be another path.

A path that did not require compromising with the abyss.

Su Chen closed his eyes and began circulating the Supreme Guidance Art to restore his spiritual energy.

Although drawing the true fire into his body consumed a great deal of energy, it also made the spiritual energy within him purer.

His meridians had widened slightly, and there were faint signs of a breakthrough.

He was not far from level twenty.

Bibi Dong did not disturb him. She merely sat beside him, silently using her soul power to guard the surroundings.