Putting her on the papal throne
had been nothing more than a temporary expedient.
Once Qian Renxue grew up and her wings were fully fledged, the day would come for Bibi Dong to abdicate. They might even kill her.
But Qian Daoliu would never have guessed that she had plans of her own, a god, and even a divine artifact.
The mere Great Enshrined was only a temporary potential threat to her.
It was only a matter of time before Spirit Hall took a different surname.
"Xiao Bai, this is no time to be thinking about slacking off. How can someone who does great things be lazy?"
Bibi Dong said with a smile.
"I'd rather be a salted fish," Bai Guyue said.
"A salted fish is fine too. Once we're married, I'll support you for the rest of your life."
Bibi Dong didn't mind, as long as they got married.
Bai Guyue fell silent. Every time she opened her mouth, it really was about getting married.
It seemed he couldn't escape it.
"Let's not talk about your grand plans yet. Let's talk about the present."
"If you want the Worship Hall's support, you need to get one person there to back you. Two would be even better."
Bai Guyue's idea was to get two people from the Worship Hall to support Bibi Dong.
"How do we get their support?"
"The Whale Rubber alone is more than enough."
Bibi Dong was convinced that the Whale Rubber and the fact that the two of them had broken through were enough on their own.
What else did they need to gain support?
Those seven worships could hardly wait to deal with her. Would they support her?
She couldn't quite understand what Bai Guyue had in mind.
"To be safe, we can bring out two Immortal Herbs and let two people from the Worship Hall make breakthroughs. That way, they'll appreciate what I've done for them, and they won't make things difficult for me or oppose you."
That was what Bai Guyue had in mind.
Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo might not like having Bibi Dong as Pope, but he could break through to level ninety-nine and enter the Peerless Douluo realm.
That would definitely be a good thing for him. Besides, Golden Crocodile Douluo was a few years older than even Qian Daoliu.
If they gained the support of two worships, the others naturally wouldn't dare object, and Qian Daoliu wouldn't say much either.
"Give them to them?"
"I'd rather feed them to dogs than let them have a bite. Not one of those seven is any good."
The thought of those seven made Bibi Dong's anger flare.
"Then do whatever you like. I don't care."
He had already come up with a solution, anyway. What to do about it was entirely up to Bibi Dong.
"Wait!"
Bibi Dong suddenly called him back.
"Xiao Bai, I think your plan is very good. I really do need the Worship Hall's support right now."
She was angry, but that didn't mean Bai Guyue's words didn't make sense.
She was weak and alone at present. If she could get two of the Worship Hall's worships to support her, things would be much easier for her going forward.
No matter what she did now, the Worship Hall wanted to stick its nose in. It was infuriating. She was the Pope, not some puppet.
She was very happy that Bai Guyue had given so much thought to her situation.
After all their time together, he really did have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He clearly didn't want to get involved, yet he still helped her make plans in private.
"Tsk, tsk, didn't you just say you didn't want to?"
"Now you do. I despise you, Bibi Dong!"
Bai Guyue rolled his eyes.
What a woman, saying one thing and meaning another.
One moment she said she'd rather feed them to dogs, and now she wanted to give them away.
"Xiao Bai, you'd better rein yourself in. Aren't you afraid I'll squeeze you to death when the time comes?"
Veins bulged on Bibi Dong's forehead as she threatened him.
She'd really been giving him too much face.
Did he really think she wouldn't dare lay a hand on him?
"Go ahead," Bai Guyue said disdainfully.
"Just you wait." Bibi Dong snorted coldly. "One of these days."
"All right, I'll wait for you."
With that, Bai Guyue stopped bickering with Bibi Dong and began refining the Nine-Leaf Soul-Devouring Grass.
Bai Guyue sat cross-legged where he was, holding the Nine-Leaf Soul-Baleful Grass in his palm.
Its nine dark, blood-red, sword-shaped leaves trembled faintly. Wisps of pure baleful energy seeped from between them, resonating subtly with the aura of slaughter surrounding him.
With a thought, his Nine Kill Soul-Devouring Sword martial soul appeared behind him. Dense black soul-devouring mist coiled around the pitch-black blade and slowly spread out, enveloping the entire herb.
He didn't dare rush in the slightest. Using his own Soul Power, he slowly guided it along the sword's markings, letting the medicinal power gradually seep through the blade.
Under the sword's power, the herb slowly melted. Its pure, blood-tinged medicinal power traveled through his meridians and throughout his body. Wherever it passed, the previously stubborn bottleneck at the peak of the Soul King realm loosened slightly.
The medicinal power of the nine leaves dissolved one by one, corresponding precisely to the nine layers of sword intent of the Nine Kill Soul-Devouring Sword.
With each leaf absorbed, the blade grew more substantial, and the source power of slaughter and soul-devouring grew purer.
"Such rich soul-devouring power. It truly lives up to its reputation."
"I suspected long ago that it was a Mutated Martial Soul of the Seven Kill Sword. This martial soul, the Nine Kill Soul-Devouring Sword, would make even Chen Xin admit his inferiority."
Bibi Dong crouched down and watched Bai Guyue before her. His snowy white hair fluttered, and soul-baleful power flowed faintly around him.
For so many years, he had silently stayed by her side.
Yu Xiaogang had long since faded from her heart.
At first, she hadn't been like she was now. Bai Guyue had cursed her awake and made her realize what a ridiculous figure Yu Xiaogang was.
Even his theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul had been stolen from Spirit Hall's records.
He was only a Soul Grandmaster himself. Where could he have gotten such outrageous theories?
Without Bai Guyue, she might still be resenting Qian Xunji and longing for Yu Xiaogang.
Now it was different. Her heart was full of Bai Guyue.
If Bai Guyue had cursed her awake and gradually made her see reality clearly,
then her repayment would be to marry Bai Guyue
and bear a child of their own.
Although her methods were rather forceful and Bai Guyue was unwilling, a forcibly twisted melon was still sweet.
At that moment, Yue Guan and Gui Mei each broke through one level as well.
"Have you both reached level ninety-five?"
A flicker of delight passed through Bibi Dong's eyes.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei breaking through to level ninety-five would certainly be a great advantage to her.
"Level ninety-five. We did it!"
The two opened their eyes, both beside themselves with excitement.
Cultivating to level ninety-five would originally have taken a long time, but now they had reached it.
They also had a feeling that reaching level ninety-six was only a matter of time.
If they could absorb Soul Bones, perhaps they could advance a little further still.
"Level ninety-five. The two of you haven't made this trip in vain, either."
Bibi Dong spoke.
"His Holiness is right," Yue Guan said respectfully. "We owe it largely to Brother Bai. Otherwise, we couldn't have done it."
"Now let's wait quietly."
"The Immortal Herb Xiao Bai is absorbing takes seven times seven, forty-nine hours."
Bibi Dong gestured for the two to stabilize their realms, lest their cultivation remain unstable.
Forty-nine hours later, the instant the medicinal power of the ninth leaf fully merged with the core of his martial soul, Bai Guyue's Soul Power surged, and the barrier that had blocked his realm for so long shattered with a crash.
A terrifying storm of Soul Power swept through the surroundings. Bai Guyue slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of blood-red sword light passed through them. He had reached the Soul Emperor realm.
The Nine Kill Soul-Devouring Sword hovered at his side, soul-baleful power flowing faintly along its blade. Not only was his realm stable, without the slightest sign of instability, but his martial soul's devouring and killing power had also increased by a full thirty percent.