Chapter 39

This was no simple treatment. He was pitting his own life force against Rakshasa Divine Power. Within a few breaths, a white hair appeared on Lan Changsheng's head, glaring even amid his silver hair.

Bibi Dong looked at him and asked in puzzlement, "Was it worth it?"

Lan Changsheng did not reply. Life Divine Power continued to flow from his palm, as though he were answering through his actions.

The unanswered question left Bibi Dong somewhat bored, and even more irritated.

She had asked herself this question many times, too. She also wanted to know whether becoming like this had truly been worth it.

"The Law of Life..." But she knew that this law, so far removed from her own, made her feel... disgusted.

She stopped devouring and instead hurtled straight at Lan Changsheng with pure, utterly unadorned speed.

There was no longer any all-encompassing suppression, nor the crushing force of a domain or the devouring of life. Instead, all her power was compressed into a single point, carrying an unstoppable will.

The Rakshasa Demon Scythe slashed down. Lan Changsheng twisted aside to dodge, and the scythe grazed his shoulder, taking a piece of flesh and several silver-white strands of hair.

Enduring the excruciating pain, he turned midway and thrust his spear back at Bibi Dong.

The spear tip pierced into a gap in the Divine Slaughter's Armor and lodged there.

Bibi Dong did not retreat. She reached out and seized the shaft, letting the energy on the Blue Silver Emperor Spear scorch her palm. With her other hand, she reversed the Rakshasa Demon Scythe and sliced upward at Lan Changsheng.

Lan Changsheng could only release the spear and retreat two steps, dodging the fatal blow.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and fell onto the grass beneath his feet, giving rise to another clump of Blue Silver Grass.

He looked at that clump of Blue Silver Grass and suddenly smiled.

He brought his arms together. In that instant, all the scattered power of the Law of Life gathered back into his body, then burst forth!

There was no sound of an explosion. Only "life" blossoming!

With Lan Changsheng at its center, everything within the surrounding area that had withered, dried up, or been devoured was replenished in that instant.

It was more than restoration. The grass grew taller than it ever had in its life. The beetles and moths brought back to life doubled in size, and even the depleted soil beneath his feet became fertile again.

[Warning! Warning! The host's current mastery of the Law of Life is declining. 25%...23%...20%...16%.]

The mastery he had painstakingly accumulated dropped to 16% in those few moments. But the effect was clear.

Bibi Dong began trembling all over. Bulge after bulge moved beneath her skin. Everything she had just swallowed had come "alive," rampaging through her body.

Even Bibi Dong could not suppress the "riot" inside her with the Soul-Devouring Pearl Emperor's devouring power or Rakshasa Divine Power.

As though receiving an order, all those auras tore bloody holes through her skin and emerged.

Then they returned to heaven and earth...

Once the dust had settled, two bedraggled figures faced each other.

Bibi Dong, however, had already collapsed to the ground. The rampaging auras inside her gradually subsided. She felt that her Soul Power was completely drained, leaving her too weak to move even a finger. She had never experienced this before.

Lan Changsheng stood a short distance away. Just as he considered whether to eliminate this threat for good, an immense sense of danger sent his heart pounding. Only when he abandoned the thought did that feeling slowly fade.

"Ah..."

He did not know where that feeling came from, but he knew that if he attacked Bibi Dong now, something terrifying would descend.

"Ah." He sighed. He knew that today, he could only let the tiger return to the mountains. What he did not know was whether he would regret it in the future.

System, what caused that feeling just now? Lan Changsheng still could not help asking inwardly.

[The host's foremost objective now is to repair the shattered path to godhood and recover the lost insights. These questions will have their answers in the future.]

Sure enough, the system had once again resorted to speaking in riddles.

"When will you ever give me a straight answer?!" Lan Changsheng sucked in a sharp breath with a hiss, whether from his wound or his anger at the system, he did not know.

Since he could not kill Bibi Dong anyway, he felt there was nothing more for him to do here. He simply put away the Blue Silver Emperor Spear and was about to turn and leave when Bibi Dong called out to him.

"Lan Changsheng."

He turned to look. Bibi Dong could already prop up her upper body. Her hair was disheveled, but her gaze remained lucid. "Why did you save me?"

"To get you to rescind your previous order to exterminate Blue Silver Grass." With that, he left without looking back.

Listening to Lan Changsheng's words, Bibi Dong felt they were somewhat unreal.

"What did you say?"

Lan Changsheng did not reply again, merely using Teleportation as steadily as he could. But before he had gone far, the Oath of Protection hovering at his side lit up, and Ah Yin's voice came from it. "Brother, are you hurt? I felt your energy weaken!"

"I'm fine," Lan Changsheng said, but his voice carried an exhaustion he could not conceal.

"You're saying you're fine again! The fluctuations of power coming from you through the Oath of Protection have clearly weakened! And-and there's a lot missing from the Life Divine Power you left behind, too!" Ah Yin's voice trembled as she spoke.

Lan Changsheng had not expected the punishment for sacrificing his path to godhood to come so quickly.

Only then did he tell Ah Yin the truth. After hearing it, however, Ah Yin had words of reproach on the tip of her tongue but could not say them. After all, Lan Changsheng had sacrificed so much to protect his beloved and child.

In the end, all she could say was, "Does it hurt?"

"It's all right. I've only forgotten those insights temporarily. One day, I'll remember them again," Lan Changsheng said.

"I'm asking whether it hurts! You're injured, and your wound hasn't healed yet! This isn't the time to think about insights!"

Lan Changsheng froze for a moment and looked at his left shoulder. The wound was still healing slowly, and beads of golden-red blood continued to seep out. He opened his mouth, but all he finally said was, "A little..."

"Really just a little?"

"Really..."

"Hmph, don't forget that we have the Oath of Protection. If you try to lie to me again, I won't speak to you."

"How are things on your end now?" Lan Changsheng had not forgotten that Spirit Hall had already discovered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and that the first clash had broken out there.

"A Titled Douluo tried to force his way in just now, but Brother Dugu kept him outside. He couldn't get in at all." Ah Yin's voice carried a trace of relief.

"They probably have reinforcements. You must be careful." Lan Changsheng had finally managed to change the subject.

"Mm-hmm, Brother Dugu said the same thing, so he went to plant even more poisonous flowers and poisonous plants."

Lan Changsheng froze for a moment, then brought up the system panel. Looking at the Second Trial of the divine trials, where the transformation progress had already dropped to 43%, he sucked in another sharp, hissing breath.