"Master, I brought back the Dragon King Origin."
"Mm."
Luo Chen's gaze was resolute. "Don't worry. I can take it."
"Then Na'er will begin. Master, you must hold on."
Na'er answered in a trembling voice, then drove all the life force she possessed into the blood-red power lurking within Luo Chen.
Boom!
In an instant, Luo Chen felt as though his entire body were being torn apart.
The blood-red power turned into blades, tearing through his meridians and piercing his blood and Qi acupoints one after another.
"Pfft!"
Luo Chen spat out a mouthful of black blood. His vision went dark, and he collapsed.
"Xiao Chen?"
Bibi Dong cried out and rushed to Luo Chen, gathering him into her arms without caring that the filthy black blood stained her clothes.
"Black blood?"
Probing Luo Chen's body with her Soul Power, Bibi Dong immediately discovered the culprit responsible for his condition. "This is Death Spider Emperor Poison."
"How could this happen? Why is this happening?!"
Feeling Luo Chen's life force steadily draining away, Bibi Dong trembled all over.
At the thought that Luo Chen might die like this, pain, fear, despair, and every other emotion seemed to become a tsunami threatening to swallow Bibi Dong whole.
"My poison was still inside Xiao Chen. It never disappeared."
Bibi Dong poured everything she had into producing an antidote, then injected it into Luo Chen to neutralize the poison. "I knew Xiao Chen's body was weak, yet I made him use his Martial Soul again and again."
The Sun Disc, which could grant Ascension, had successively created someone with innate full Soul Power and someone with a super Martial Soul.
How could Luo Chen possibly have borne no burden?
Thinking of how Luo Chen had dragged his exhausted body and mind here to repair Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul for her sake, despite having already exhausted himself twice, Bibi Dong felt as though she were suffocating. "I... I hurt this child again."
Tears slipped down Bibi Dong's cheeks. She had once sworn never to cry again, but now she could no longer hold them back.
In all these years, Luo Chen was the only person wholeheartedly devoted to her.
He knew the truth about his poisoning, yet did not hate her.
His body was exhausted, yet he insisted on keeping her company, solely so she could enjoy herself.
He clearly loathed Yu Xiaogang, yet still forced himself to come here.
All of it, every last bit, had been for her!
"Bibi Dong..."
"Get lost!!!"
The blood-red Divine Slaughter's Domain expanded outward from Bibi Dong, and her powerful Soul Power instantly blasted Yu Xiaogang away.
At that moment, memories of the past surged into her heart, but they no longer brought warmth or longing.
It was her fault. This had only happened because she had made Luo Chen come repair Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul.
"Yu Xiaogang is a walking disaster!"
Bibi Dong's life had only become unhappy after she met him.
She had originally been Spirit Hall's esteemed Holy Maiden, a peerless genius with twin Martial Souls.
Yet she had blindly fallen for Yu Xiaogang, then come into conflict with Spirit Hall, which had raised her, before finally being violated by her teacher, Qian Xunji, ruining her life.
Bibi Dong's eyes were bloodshot, her entire being like a rakshasa from hell. She looked at Yu Xiaogang, who had been knocked unconscious, without a trace of tenderness left in her eyes.
"Your Holiness!"
Sensing the fluctuations of Bibi Dong's Soul Power, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo hurried over, bringing Hu Liena and Wang Sheng respectively.
The four of them saw Luo Chen lying in Bibi Dong's arms, his fate unknown, and were utterly horrified.
"Teacher, what happened to Xiao Chen?"
"Xiao Chen! Xiao Chen, wake up!"
The moment Hu Liena landed after leaving Chrysanthemum Douluo's arms, she rushed to Luo Chen's side. The little fox's eyes filled with tears, both anxious and distressed.
"Your Holiness, this child has been poisoned."
Chrysanthemum Douluo hurried forward, but with his first glance, he discovered that the poison afflicting Luo Chen was none other than Bibi Dong's exclusive Death Spider Emperor Poison.
For a moment, Chrysanthemum Douluo was utterly bewildered. He could not begin to guess what had happened here.
Ghost Douluo, however, spotted Yu Xiaogang lying to one side. "Why is this trash here?"
"Old Ghost!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo hurriedly spoke up, and Ghost Douluo also realized he had misspoken.
Yu Xiaogang was Bibi Dong's first love. Back then, she had poured untold effort into this piece of trash.
Even if their old love was gone, she would not tolerate others insulting it.
The two Titled Douluo had followed Bibi Dong for years. They knew her feelings for Yu Xiaogang very well, and she normally would not allow anyone to say even half a bad word about him.
Today, however, Bibi Dong's tone was ice-cold.
"Forget that trash!"
If not for their past affection, and the fact that Yu Xiaogang was not at fault in this matter, Bibi Dong would absolutely have made that trash pay.
"Huh?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo looked as though they had seen a ghost, unable to imagine Bibi Dong saying such a thing.
She had actually called Yu Xiaogang trash!
Normally, those words were taboo to Bibi Dong.
What exactly had happened to cause such an enormous change in their Pope?
"Ghost Elder."
"At your command!"
"Go to Heaven Dou City and find Ye Renxin. Tell him the Pope of Spirit Hall requests his presence!"
Bibi Dong picked Luo Chen up. "Elder Ju, bring Nana and Wang Sheng. Return to Spirit City with me immediately."
Spirit City had a large number of healing-type Soul Masters. Although Bibi Dong could neutralize the Death Spider Emperor Poison within Luo Chen and keep him alive, she could do nothing about his injuries.
"As you command."
Ghost Douluo understood the importance of this mission.
Luo Chen's value exceeded imagination. With him, no one in the world would be a match for their Spirit Hall.
Not to mention that Bibi Dong genuinely cared for Luo Chen.
The stunning Pope was indeed utterly insane, but she was also the most emotional woman on the entire Douluo Continent.
For those she cared about, Bibi Dong's favoritism had virtually no limits.
Titled Douluo flew extremely fast. Although Bibi Dong had not yet obtained her ninth Soul Ring and broken through to the true Titled realm, she was no slower than Gui Mei.
In just six hours, Bibi Dong brought Luo Chen back to Spirit City and summoned several healing-type Soul Masters at the Soul Douluo level to treat him.
"Hiss..."
Meanwhile, Luo Chen's consciousness awakened within the Martial Soul Space.
Luo Chen lay within a cosmos of swirling galaxies. He held his forehead and sat up, feeling mentally drained and utterly weak all over.
"Master, are you all right?"
Na'er was kneeling beside Luo Chen, holding both hands level before her as wisps of pale green life-type power flowed into him, repairing his foundation.
"That really hurt."
Despite saying this, Luo Chen wanted nothing more than to burst out laughing. "Na'er, you made the right choice. I can feel the changes in my body."
Although he was weaker now than ever before, this was only temporary.
From now on, The Star Forger's Celestial Power would grow stronger without end.
In short, his foundation for ascending to godhood had been reforged, and the road ahead lay wide open!
"Congratulations, Master."
Na'er was happy for Luo Chen. She gently smoothed his furrowed brow and smiled. "There's another piece of good news, Master. Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang have broken ties."
"Really?!"
Luo Chen was pleasantly surprised, thinking that his efforts had finally not been in vain.
It hurt. His entire body hurt.
Yet rather than feeling miserable, Luo Chen was exceptionally happy.
"Look, Master."
Na'er shared her memories of what had happened after Luo Chen lost consciousness, and he savored the sight of Bibi Dong unleashing her Divine Slaughter's Domain to blast Yu Xiaogang away.
Before Luo Chen could celebrate, however, that blood-red Divine Slaughter's Domain made his expression darken instantly. "This power!"
"Did you notice, Master?"
"Mm."
Luo Chen's voice carried killing intent. "Asura God!"
Bibi Dong's Divine Slaughter's Domain was extremely similar to the blood-red power. Both shared the same root and origin, yet there was still a fundamental difference.
"The Divine Slaughter's Domain is like a lower form of the blood-red power, and Bibi Dong's Divine Slaughter's Domain came from a place called Slaughter City."
Having watched the animated series in his previous life, Luo Chen knew that Slaughter City was actually Asura God's inheritance ground.
By that reasoning, even if the person who had struck at Luo Chen in secret was not Asura God, they must have been connected to him.
To borrow Tang Xiaosan's famous words:
Asura, you have already courted death!
Could it be Rakshasa God, you ask?
What does the Divine Slaughter's Domain have to do with Rakshasa God?
Besides, even if the mastermind was not Asura but Rakshasa, it made little difference to Luo Chen.
At most, he would add one line: Rakshasa, you have courted death too!
"Where are we now?"
Luo Chen did not know how long he had been unconscious, and he dared not leave the Martial Soul Space carelessly.
The injuries to his physical body were far more severe than those to his mind.
If he rashly chose to wake up, he might pass out from the pain on the spot.
"Bibi Dong has already brought you back to Spirit City, Master. She's having healing-type Soul Masters treat you now."
Na'er told Luo Chen about Bibi Dong's anxiety and worry. "You're amazing, Master. You got Bibi Dong firmly wrapped around your finger in one stroke."
"..."
Luo Chen admitted that his methods were somewhat underhanded, deceiving a foolish woman starved of love like this.
"Sigh..."
Luo Chen sighed inwardly. I'll find a way to make it up to her in the future.
"What exactly is my body's condition? How long will it take to recover?"
"If nothing is done, Master, you'll need at least a month before you can get out of bed and walk."
Na'er's plan of destruction followed by reconstruction carried considerable risks in itself, and she had arranged it according to their current circumstances.
First, Luo Chen had already latched onto Spirit Hall's powerful thigh, and he had Wang Sheng, someone he could trust absolutely, at his side. His daily needs and safety would both have a measure of protection.
Not to mention that Bibi Dong had neutralized Luo Chen's Death Spider Emperor Poison at the very first opportunity.
"Without Teacher, although the Death Spider Emperor Poison wouldn't truly harm me, the suffering I'd have to endure afterward is easy to imagine."
Precisely because of this, Na'er's impression of Bibi Dong had improved considerably.
"Bibi Dong found many healing-type Soul Masters to treat you, Master."
"Na'er thinks you'll be able to get out of bed in three days at most."
Na'er added, "With crutches."
"..."
Luo Chen did not particularly mind. "Then can I wake up now? I won't pass out from the pain?"
"You can."
Na'er quietly told Luo Chen that he had already been unconscious for a day, and during that time, Bibi Dong had scarcely left his side.
"Teacher is a pitiful woman too."
Luo Chen could not help sighing. His heart ached for Bibi Dong, and he unconsciously felt the desire to give her happiness.
"Ahem! Cough!"
Hurriedly banishing that thought, Luo Chen shook his head. Although Bibi Dong is very big, very fair, and very luscious, I can't. At least, I shouldn't...
"You seem quite happy, Master."
Na'er did not know what Luo Chen was thinking, but she understood his emotions perfectly. "Dawn is almost here. Na'er is going out for a while."
"Huh?"
Luo Chen froze, somewhat confused. "Where?"
It turned out that after absorbing the Dragon King Origin from Yu Xiaogang, Na'er had gained a new ability-Dawn Avatar.
"Dawn Avatar can create a dragon soul phantom with no combat power but extremely powerful concealment."
This phantom had no combat abilities whatsoever, only concealment so powerful that even god-level experts would struggle to detect it.
Not only that, at dawn each day, the avatar could transform into a streak of light and escape.
It was so fast that it could cross a thousand miles in an instant.
"I need to control the phantom personally."
The specific principle was somewhat like mobile phone communication, using the ionosphere to exchange information between the main body and the avatar.
Of course, the "ionosphere" here referred to the starry sky.
"In addition, Dawn Avatar can serve as an anchor to teleport you precisely to its location, Master."
Na'er said, "Conversely, the avatar can also return to my body instantly."
Of course, this was not the most crucial point.
The reason Na'er wanted to send Dawn Avatar out was that she had discovered a special life signature near Nuoding City.
The instincts Na'er retained from her time as the Silver Dragon King told her that this life essence was a treasure, and that it would be an enormous help in Luo Chen's recovery.
"Life essence? What's that?"
"I don't know."
Na'er said, "But Na'er can bring it back."
The Dawn Avatar had another advantage: it could put anything it found straight into a separate space.
This separate space was called the Astral Realm, Luo Chen's exclusive Martial Soul Space.
"Is this really the Dawn Avatar, or is it Travel Frog?"
The Silver Dragon King had turned into Travel Frog, going out to scavenge trash to support the whole family.
"Won't anyone notice?"
"Don't worry, Master. No one will notice."
Bibi Dong would not pay much attention either. At most, she would sense a wisp of Divine Power fluctuating from Luo Chen's body.
But Luo Chen already possessed a God-Level Martial Soul, so that was no problem at all.
Sure enough, in the real world, inside the bedchamber of the former Saintess Hall, Bibi Dong, who was tending to the unconscious Luo Chen, merely sensed a trace of Divine Power circulating before she saw Luo Chen slowly awaken.
"Xiao Chen!"
Bibi Dong had not noticed Na'er's departure at all.
Dawn was just breaking, and the sky was still somewhat dim. The Soul Tools used to light the room gave off a warm orange glow.
"Teacher..."
Unlike the freedom he enjoyed within the Martial Soul Space, Luo Chen's body was in an extremely weakened state. Even saying a few words was very difficult.
"I'm here. How... how do you feel?"
Bibi Dong held Luo Chen's little hand, overjoyed to see her disciple awake.
Yet Bibi Dong was very afraid-afraid Luo Chen would be angry with her.
"Does your body hurt badly?"
Bibi Dong could not have been more humble. "It's all my fault. I've wronged you."
"It's all right."
"Xiao Chen..."
Bibi Dong truly had not expected these to be Luo Chen's first words after waking.
"Why are you so good to me?"
"I've hurt you again and again, and even cost you your life."
Bibi Dong felt that her earlier thoughts had been utterly laughable. What right did a woman like her have to be Luo Chen's mother?
"This has nothing to do with you, Teacher."
Luo Chen shook his head slightly. "I didn't expect something like this to happen either."
Yet these words not only failed to reassure Bibi Dong, but made her heart ache for Luo Chen even more.
"Teacher."
"I'm here!"
Hearing her disciple call, Bibi Dong hurriedly raised her head.
"I'm a little hungry. Could you get me something to eat?"
Luo Chen had been unconscious for a full day and night. His already frail body urgently needed nourishment.
"I'll have it arranged right away!"
Soon, Bibi Dong had someone bring over some plain congee that would be easy to digest.
She carefully helped Luo Chen sit up, then blew on the rice porridge to cool it before feeding it to her disciple, spoonful by spoonful.
The doting look in her eyes, mingled with guilt, stirred pity.
Especially whenever Luo Chen looked at her, Bibi Dong would unconsciously lower her head, like a young girl who had done something wrong, waiting at any moment for Luo Chen to punish her.
(End of chapter)