Moments later—
Yu Yuanzhen slowly exhaled a deep, turbid breath.
That exhalation condensed in the air of the study, echoing like a low, dignified dragon's roar.
"Thanks to the Thunder Lotus Brew gifted by Zhexian…"
"My cultivation may break through yet another level."
"But even so, my speed still can't compare to that old poison."
He raised his head and drank boldly.
The immortal brew, thick as liquefied lightning, poured down his throat, and Spirit Power surged violently throughout his body.
"If the Heavenly Ridge Martial Tournament truly takes place, the battle between him and me will be a contest between the Dragon and the Serpent."
"Whether to deal with Spirit Hall, or for the future Heavenly Ridge Martial Tournament …
I must hasten my cultivation."
At that moment—
Yu Yuanzhen suddenly remembered something, a flash of lightning crossing his pale-blue eyes.
Boom—
A streak of lightning split open the study door as he shouted, voice rumbling like thunder:
"Where is Yu Xiaogang?"
The disciple outside looked troubled and lowered his head.
"Clan Head… he left this morning."
"Absurd!"
...
Under the open sky—
Flender and Liu Erlong were carrying the Grandmaster at high speed.
Wind howled past their ears.
Flender remained silent for a long time before finally rasping:
"Xiaogang… have you really thought this through?"
"Mm."
The Grandmaster's face was cold and rigid, devoid of emotion.
Only his tightly clenched fists betrayed the turmoil inside.
"Back then…"
"It was I who sent Zhao Wuji ahead to Heaven Dou City."
"He lived crippled for years, suffered torment, and now not even his bones remain."
"I must reclaim this justice from Li Zhexian."
"The Blue Lightning Clan is on good terms with him. With just the three of us, we cannot avenge him. Only by relying on Spirit Hall."
Liu Erlong's eyes flashed with a shade of anger.
She knew—
Yu Xiaogang's choice meant he would inevitably meet that woman.
"Erlong, rest assured."
Yu Xiaogang said firmly, his cold expression betraying nothing.
"She and I ended long ago."
"This return is solely for the sake of my position as Elder. Nothing else."
"Mm…"
Liu Erlong forced a smile and nodded.
...
Bibi Dong's enthronement ceremony proceeded grandly on schedule within Spirit Hall City.
She shed the majestic Pope's robes and donned a phoenix robe embroidered in gold and purple, majestic beyond compare.
During the ceremony—
Aside from the Upper Three Sects and the Clear Sky Clan, several forces from the Star Luo Empire were also absent.
But nearly all other clans and factions of the continent had arrived.
Vassals from every land came to pay homage — vast and overwhelming.
During the process, in addition to offering sacrifices to the heavens and worshipping her ancestors, Bibi Dong personally decreed the positions of the new Lower Four Sects, and no one dared to raise any objection.
That day—
The ceremony lasted until deep into the night.
Inside Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, dressed in the phoenix robe and crowned with an eighteen-strand jade beaded diadem, sat upon the imperial throne.
Imperial might filled the great hall.
Below the steps, all bowed with lowered heads, not daring to look directly.
"Your Majesty…"
"Li Zhexian and the Upper Three Sects did not attend."
"Mm."
Bibi Dong's lips curved slightly, revealing a faint, unreadable smile.
That smile softened some of her imperial authority —
yet made her appear even more terrifyingly beautiful.
No one below looked up.
Thus none saw the faintly deranged expression on the new Empress's face.
"I understand."
"How are the preparations I commanded?"
The officials below hastily knelt.
"Your Majesty, we have gathered more than half the craftsmen of the continent—they are forging armor and weapons day and night!"
"Additionally, an imperial decree has been issued to recruit Spirit Masters across the land…
At Your Majesty's order, all will respond as one to help you unify the continent!"
Bibi Dong lightly brushed her jade beads, about to speak—
When a Spirit Master rushed in from outside the hall and bowed:
"Your Majesty, Elder Yu requests an audience."
"Hm?"
For a moment, Bibi Dong didn't recall which "Elder Yu" this referred to.
"It is… Elder Yu Xiaogang."
"Yu Xiaogang… Elder?" She repeated the name playfully, resting her head on her hand, a trace of interest flashing in her eyes:
"Let him in."
"The rest may withdraw."
Once the hall was empty, Yu Xiaogang entered wearing plain grey robes, face expressionless.
He walked straight forward, stopping only ten steps from the throne—
already encroaching far past where a subject should.
From the imperial throne—
Bibi Dong remained silent.
Behind the veil of jade beads, her dark purple eyes were unfathomably deep.
Only her smiling voice drifted out:
"Elder Yu, for what matter have you come?"
Yu Xiaogang lifted his head, staring at the faint curve of her lips.
"I am willing to return to Spirit Hall and help you defeat Star Luo and Heaven Dou."
"But on two conditions."
"First, I want you to personally capture Li Zhexian and hand him over to me."
"Second…"
His tone grew even colder.
"You and I ended long ago. My return is strictly a transaction—do not harbor any further delusions."
His voice echoed clearly and decisively through the vast hall.
Bibi Dong was silent for a long time.
Only her slender fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
Tap.
Tap.
Slowly, confusion crept onto Yu Xiaogang's face.
This was not what he expected.
He had thought—
As long as he expressed willingness to return to Spirit Hall,
Bibi Dong would be ecstatic, unable to contain her joy.
Why wasn't she responding?
He frowned and said:
"This is the only chance I offer to return to Spirit Hall. If you miss it, there will not be another."
The moment he finished—
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed drastically.
The candles in the hall suddenly flickered wildly.
Amid the chaotic shadows—
Bibi Dong's tall silhouette stretched across the wall, twisting, swelling…
and countless spider legs sprouted from its outline.
The eighteen hanging jade beads rose despite the still air—
revealing the shattered, Rakshasa-like pupils behind them.
BOOM—!
A terrifying aura surged forth like a tidal wave.
Yu Xiaogang had no time to react before he was violently blasted away,
slamming into the distant wall a hundred meters away.
"Pff!"
He spat a mouthful of blood, collapsing limp on the ground, barely breathing.
"You still think…"
"I am the same Bibi Dong of the past?"
Bibi Dong descended the imperial steps slowly.
Each of her footsteps overlapped with a chilling clicking sound—
as if something with segmented limbs walked beside her.
Stopping a mere meter before him—
She looked down at Yu Xiaogang, who lay like a dying dog on the floor.
Her eyes held nothing but ridicule.
…How could she ever have been obsessed with such a man?
Rustle—
Rustle—
A greenish-purple "tide" spread from beneath her feet—
countless palm-sized venomous spiders.
The swarm rushed over Yu Xiaogang's lower body.
At once, sickening chewing sounds filled the hall.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH—!!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes bulged, his entire body convulsing violently as he rolled and screamed in agony.
Bibi Dong's smile only deepened.
"I remember you once said—your cousin was the one you loved most,
but due to her identity, you would never lay a hand on her."
"For old times' sake, allow me to help you."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Yu Xiaogang eventually fainted, dragged out of the hall like discarded trash.
Bibi Dong slowly returned toward her bedchamber.
At the moment she stepped inside—
She raised a finger and tapped the air.
Pop—!
A soft sound rang out.
Space broke like a shattering mirror—
Revealing a pitch-black rift.
A bloody wind howled out from within.
Using her own substantial killing intent
and her special status as the inheritor of the eighth Rakshasa Trial,
she casually opened the entrance to the Slaughter City.
Years ago, she passed through the Hell Road, earning the title of Slaughter God,
and obtained the Slaughter God's special privilege:
She could return to the Slaughter City at any time—
without suffering its restriction on Spirit Abilities.
Bibi Dong descended upon the Slaughter City.
Vast, overwhelming Spirit Power formed two colossal Spider Emperors phantoms behind her.
"Slaughter King… I trust you've been well."
Atop the mountain of bones—
The Slaughter King, sipping blood from a skull, slowly raised his pale face.
...
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