"What?!"
Bibi Dong was aghast.
A rod of high-purity tungsten-titanium alloy came crashing down on her head!
Bang!
The alloy rod, as thick as a bucket and carrying tremendous kinetic energy, slammed into Bibi Dong just as she regained physical form!
Bibi Dong had no time to react. It struck her squarely, instantly driving her underground!
Hiss~
A cloud of bloody mist burst from Bibi Dong as the tungsten-titanium alloy pierced straight through her torso, entering through her back and emerging from her chest before striking the ground and throwing up a vast cloud of dust!
"Gasp!"
Kong Deming's mouth twitched. "That must have hurt a little."
The dust dispersed.
A huge crater had appeared. Bibi Dong lay pinned inside it by a metal rod, dust coating the massive puncture wound as blood poured out.
"Damn it!"
Bibi Dong roared and struggled.
The next instant,
the tungsten rod suddenly exploded!
Boom!
Before Bibi Dong's horrified eyes, a dazzling white light erupted, and a terrifying mushroom cloud rose!
With a thunderous boom,
furious winds shook the space around them.
Even Kong Deming hurried farther away.
"Well done, lad! That blast nearly rivals a Class 8 Soul Tool Shell!"
Kong Deming chuckled despite himself.
After the explosion, the metal rod vanished, leaving a huge crater behind.
Bibi Dong's eyes were vacant. She knelt limply on one knee, her entire body devoid of vitality.
Meanwhile,
Chrysanthemum and Ghost, locked in a bitter struggle with Ji Juechen, felt the tremendous tremor from the tungsten-titanium alloy rod striking the ground and saw the mushroom cloud. Panic seized them.
"Your Holiness!"
Both erupted with power, unleashing their Martial Soul Avatars. They each endured a strike from Ji Juechen's sword and rushed to Bibi Dong's side.
"This..."
The enormous crater startled both Chrysanthemum and Ghost!
Such destructive power rivaled a Limit Douluo's!
Ji Juechen frowned and followed with his sword in hand.
"Your Holiness!"
Blood seeped from the corners of Gui Mei's and Yue Guan's mouths, but neither spared a thought for his own injuries. They immediately rushed down to check Bibi Dong's condition.
"This is bad!"
Yue Guan cried in alarm, "Her Holiness isn't breathing, and her heart has stopped!"
Gui Mei sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly took out a pile of Soul Guidance Milk Bottles.
These were Class 7 Soul Guidance Milk Bottles. Fully charged, each held enough soul power to replenish a Soul Sage twice.
Although they were merely a cup of water against a burning cartload of firewood for Bibi Dong, a rank 98 Peak Douluo, their sheer quantity still made some difference.
Gui Mei and Yue Guan frantically activated Milk Bottle after Milk Bottle, replenishing Bibi Dong's soul power in an effort to save her.
Shock and bitterness filled their hearts.
They had never imagined that their Pope, Bibi Dong, would suffer injuries this severe!
And even more ironically,
the things they were using to save Bibi Dong had come from the Sun Moon Sect.
"Mmgh~"
A little color suddenly returned to Bibi Dong's bloodless face. She opened her mouth and gasped violently, only to look down and discover that her chest had already been pierced through. Both lungs were gone. She could not breathe at all.
"Damn it~"
Veins bulged on Bibi Dong's forehead. She plunged both hands into the ground, blood spilling from the corners of her mouth as she howled, "Damn it!"
The next instant,
she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.
Even that simple movement made Bibi Dong vomit blood again, her spirit flagging to the utmost.
"Your Holiness!"
Chrysanthemum and Ghost breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness Bibi Dong was alive. That devastating injury must have sent her into a deathlike coma.
Bibi Dong clutched the wound across her chest and abdomen, turned, and stared venomously at Kong Deming.
Kong Deming feigned surprise and suspicion.
"It seems the Pope of Spirit Hall really does have some ability. Your recovery and vitality far exceed those of an ordinary Peak Douluo. Could you have received a Divine Examination inheritance?"
Bibi Dong was abruptly startled. Her Rakshasa God Trial was an even greater secret than her twin martial souls!
The people of the Sun Moon Sect actually knew about Divine Examinations?
"No matter. I'll give you another shot. Let's see how many you can withstand!"
Kong Deming sneered.
Then silver soul power circulated through both his hands, as though he were charging up.
At his words, Bibi Dong and the other two were frightened straight into a spider-sense alert, every hair on their bodies standing on end.
That terrifying attack just now...
"You two, cover me! Retreat!"
Bibi Dong no longer dared to linger in battle. That single shot from the Space-Based Kinetic Weapon had already damaged her very foundation. Another would surely kill her here!
The next instant,
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and forcibly activated a secret art. Her speed surged as she broke through the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield and fled into the distance!
"Trying to run?"
Ji Juechen, Kong Deming, and Jing Hongchen snorted coldly and immediately moved out.
Chrysanthemum and Ghost exchanged a glance, resolve welling in their eyes.
"Listen carefully. From this moment on, you aren't taking one step past this line."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei stood shoulder to shoulder, spreading their arms to block the three men from Bibi Dong.
"You think you can stop us?"
Ji Juechen thrust his sword forward with one hand!
After advancing to Titled Douluo, Ji Juechen possessed combat strength comparable to a Super Douluo in Douluo I.
The way these men from the Peerless era wielded soul power far surpassed that of Douluo I. In this era, with its abundant soul power, they were practically striking from a higher dimension.
"Yes, we can! Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Two Extremes Stillness Domain!"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei gritted their teeth, linking their soul power and unleashing it together!
A golden chrysanthemum soul fused with a black ghostly shadow, and an enormous domain unfurled, enveloping Kong Deming and the other two.
Golden chrysanthemum petals, shadows beneath the sunlight, leaves stirred by the wind-everything within the domain suddenly froze in an eerie fashion. Time stood still inside it!
In the instant before everything froze,
Yue Guan and Gui Mei turned to glance at the fleeing Bibi Dong and sighed inwardly.
Spirit Hall,
the two of us owe you nothing now!
The next instant,
Chrysanthemum and Ghost's bodies froze as well.
Even they could not escape their own Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Two Extremes Stillness Domain.
By unleashing it now,
Chrysanthemum and Ghost knew that once the domain's duration ended, neither of them would be able to escape.
Hum~
Within the frozen domain,
Kong Deming and the other two stood rigid as well.
Twenty seconds later,
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exhausted their soul power, finally freeing the three men. Ji Juechen snorted coldly and charged toward Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
But the two were slumped on the ground, panting heavily.
"Heh. If you're going to kill us, do it."
Yue Guan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His face, as delicately beautiful as a woman's, was calm.
"To die alongside you, old Chrysanthemum, leaves me with no regrets in this life."
Gui Mei smiled bleakly.
Over the past several decades, they had carried out countless tasks for Spirit Hall. Even they could no longer count how many lives they had taken or how much blood stained their hands.
Heaven's wheel of retribution turned; whom had the heavens ever spared?
They had long anticipated that they would one day die a violent death. They simply had not expected it to happen here, or so soon.
"You want to die? Then die!"
Ji Juechen could not be bothered to waste words. He raised his sword to kill the pair with a single slash.
Just then, Li Chen flew over wearing a Flying Soul Tool.
"Old Ji, wait."
Li Chen stopped him. "These two are still useful."
Ji Juechen paused, then snorted coldly. "Two defeated foes. What use are they?"
"Sword-Crazy Douluo, since they're already your defeated foes, wouldn't killing them merely dirty your sword? You should use this time to pursue Bibi Dong. You might still catch her."
The corners of Ji Juechen's mouth rose.
Being called Sword-Crazy Douluo had delighted him.
"Fine. Since you put it that way, this Douluo will spare these two for now!"
Ji Juechen snorted coldly and set off in pursuit with Jing Hongchen.
Chrysanthemum and Ghost had delayed them for twenty seconds. Perhaps Bibi Dong had not gotten far yet.
Kong Deming stayed behind. He had expended a fair amount of energy himself, and someone needed to guard this place.
"Li Chen, why aren't you killing them?"
Li Chen looked at Chrysanthemum and Ghost on the ground and chuckled. "We won't kill them. Our Sun Moon Sect cherishes life. We've never killed prisoners."
On the ground,
Chrysanthemum and Ghost looked at Li Chen's sunny, boyish smile and felt an inexplicable chill creep through their hearts.
Before you continue