The crisp words did not shatter the beautiful moonlight, but they robbed Bibidong of her appreciation for the scenery.
Soul Masters possessed excellent eyesight. At her level of cultivation, as long as the distance wasn't too great, her vision was as clear as daylight.
The voice came from an Emerald Swan, and beside it were several massive Soul Beasts.
A bear about fifteen meters tall, a tree over twenty meters high emitting faint ghostly light, a three-headed hound roughly seven to eight meters tall, and... a dragon?
Since when had so many 100,000-year Soul Beasts appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest?
At this moment, Bibidong had no other thoughts, only a series of questions.
"Your Excellency..."
Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice when he saw Bibidong seemingly frozen mid-air, his voice carrying a barely noticeable tremor.
He could feel the power of those Soul Beasts. The terrifying aura they constantly emitted made him involuntarily fearful.
It wasn't that he was cowardly, but even the weakest among them—the purple dragon and the three-headed mastiff—didn't seem like opponents he could handle alone.
As for the remaining three Soul Beasts, each gave Chrysanthemum Douluo the illusion that they could rival Pope Bibi Dong in battle.
It wasn't just Chrysanthemum Douluo; the other Titled Experts were also on high alert.
Bibidong had brought eight Titled Experts with her this time. Aside from Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, who were Super Douluos, experts like Ghost Leopard Douluo and Spirit Kite Douluo were ordinary Titled Douluos.
Bibidong snapped back to reality and calmly looked at Bi Ji. "Where did you come from? What happened to the Soul Beast that was originally here?"
"We've always been here, just never revealed ourselves until now."
Bi Ji spread her wings and flew to a position level with Bibidong. "Our appearance now means you humans can no longer enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Beasts as freely as before."
Ten Thousand Demon King had been startled when it first sensed Bibidong and her group. These people had come with aggressive intent, clearly aiming to hunt 100,000-year Soul Beasts, so it hastily gathered the other Soul Beasts.
If it were an ordinary team, even with many Titled Experts, they would have launched an attack to teach the humans a lesson.
But Bibidong's aura was formidable. Aside from Bear Monarch and itself, none of the others present were a match for her. If the two of them were tied down, the rest would face siege from numerous human experts.
The Beast God was still hibernating to recover from its injuries. Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to disturb it. After discussion, they decided to deter and drive the humans away.
"Fine, we'll leave."
Bibidong's gaze swept over the Soul Beasts one by one. She raised her hand and signaled to the Titled Experts, then slowly retreated.
The Spirit Hall elders immediately understood and quickly followed suit, retreating as well.
These Soul Beasts were too powerful. Although they outnumbered them, if a battle broke out, every one of them risked falling.
"Bi Ji, do you think we could keep all these humans here if a fight broke out?"
Bear Monarch watched the retreating Bibidong and the others with a fierce glint in its eyes. It had been restraining itself since the beginning.
"It's possible, but unless the Beast God awakens, there's still a risk of casualties among us. We might even face a full-scale retaliation from the humans."
Bi Ji landed lightly by the lakeside, soothingly saying, "This is the best possible situation now. Ten Thousand Demon King, please detect again to confirm if they have truly retreated."
Ten Thousand Demon King's surrounding eerie light extended toward the direction Bibidong had departed. After a moment, he reported, "They've reached the outer perimeter. Judging by their speed, they'll soon leave Star Dou Great Forest."
"That's good." Bi Ji nodded and returned to the bottom of the lake.
The night grew tranquil, and the central lake returned to its original state as the Soul Beasts settled down to rest.
Above the outer reaches of Star Dou Great Forest, several streaks of light swiftly passed through the sky.
At this moment, Bibidong remained silent at the forefront of the group, causing the Spirit Hall elders behind her to tremble with fear.
Even Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo dared not speak a word, fearing they might provoke Bibidong's wrath.
No one had anticipated the mission would fail in such a manner, nor had they expected Star Dou Great Forest to conceal such powerful Soul Beasts.
From what that Soul Beast had implied, it seemed Soul Masters would be forbidden from entering to hunt for Spirit Rings in the future.
The prohibition against Soul Masters entering Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Spirit Rings made all the elders frown deeply.
The group moved swiftly, returning to Spirit City in less than half an hour.
As they reached the Pope's Hall, Bibidong suddenly halted, causing the Spirit Hall elders' hearts to tremble.
"Your Excellency?"
Some elders quickly signaled to Chrysanthemum Douluo with their eyes. Though initially inclined to ignore them, he steeled himself and approached Bibidong.
"Go summon all the elders from the Hall of Offerings."
"Your Excellency... Elders Guang Ling, Qian Jun, and Xiang Mo would be manageable, but the other offerings..." Chrysanthemum Douluo lowered his head hesitantly.
"No matter. I'll speak with Qiandao Liu myself."
"Yes."
Standing before the Hall of Offerings, Bibidong felt an unexpected trace of hesitation. She frowned, suspecting it might be related to being rejected earlier when she brought Huliena here.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before her, and Bibidong quickly dismissed her distracting thoughts.
"What brings you here?" Qiandao Liu's eyes showed puzzlement.
The movements of so many Spirit Hall elders couldn't possibly go unnoticed, though he hadn't had time to learn the details of their hasty departure.
"Several 100,000-year Soul Beasts suddenly emerged in Star Dou Great Forest, declaring that humans are forbidden from setting foot there again..."
Bibidong briefly recounted the events. I need to mobilize all the offerings from the Hall of Offerings.The offerings she referred to were Golden Alligator Douluo and the third and fourth offerings. Unlike the lower-ranked offerings, these three typically wouldn't accept her commands except for matters crucial to the Spirit Hall.
After hearing the full story, Qiandao Liu fell into silence.
From her brief account, he deduced much, primarily that Bibidong was preparing to add the final two Spirit Rings to her Second Spirit.
As the former carefully groomed Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, Qiandao Liu knew Bibidong's talents and qualifications better than anyone.
Yet her growth to this extent still surpassed his expectations.
Emotion urged him to suppress Bibidong's development to buy time for Qian Renxue, given Bibidong's unpredictable temperament.
But reason told Qiandao Liu that Bibidong's decisions regarding the Spirit Hall's development over the years had been correct.
Moreover, he couldn't hinder Bibidong forever. With the authority available to the Pope, Qiandao Liu feared that if refused, Bibidong might plunge into madness and mobilize the entire Spirit Hall to forcibly attack Star Dou Great Forest.
Seemingly sensing Qiandao Liu's hesitation, Bibidong felt gloomy inside, her face bearing a faint, ambiguous smile as she said, "Qiandao Liu, I can understand if you were truly powerless regarding Nana's matter, but this concerns the future development of Spirit Hall. Do you still intend to refuse?"
Bibidong could guess the turmoil in Qiandao Liu's heart at this moment, so she had prepared her rhetoric upon returning. If it were solely for her own sake, she felt Qiandao Liu might not necessarily offer assistance.
But when it came to the future of Spirit Hall, it was different. This place bordered the Star Dou Great Forest, where so many Soul Beasts now roamed. Not only she herself, but even Qiandao Liu would surely lose sleep over it.
Hah, in the end, humans are selfish creatures. What bullshit angelic glory.
"How do you plan to deal with these Soul Beasts?"
After pondering for a long time, though reluctant to see Bibidong grow stronger again, Qiandao Liu acknowledged that the words spoken by those few Soul Beasts were indeed inappropriate.
"A few self-righteous beasts. A good beating will make them behave."
Thinking of those Soul Beasts, Bibidong let out a contemptuous laugh.
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