A few days later, in Spirit City.
"Reporting to the Pope, the Holy Son requests an audience. He is waiting in the Pope's Hall." A guardian knight came to Bibi Dong's residence to deliver the message.
Moments later, from the side door of the Pope's Hall, Bibi Dong walked in. Seeing only Yang Yunhai inside, her brows knitted slightly, but she continued forward until she sat on the main seat. Her face remained calm as she cast him a glance and said indifferently:
"Speak. What do you want from me?"
Yang Yunhai waved his hand, and two custom-made soul tools appeared—a pair of wings modeled after the flying soul tool he had once obtained while studying at Sun Moon Imperial Academy, and a 30-centimeter-long handgun, constructed with reference to the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. Mechanism-based hidden weapons were still mechanism-based; with his spiritual power and penetrating vision, understanding the structure was not difficult. Combined with soul tool principles and his past-life knowledge of electronics, he managed to build a gun.
It was somewhat bulky. He had no choice—lacking precision, he could only make up with size. After all, he wasn't a professional.
"This is a pair of soul tools—one for flight, one for attack." As he spoke, Yang Yunhai demonstrated on the spot.
He strapped the wings onto his back, infused them with soul power, and lightly flapped to float into the air. Then, raising the handgun, he injected soul power; the core sphere lit up quickly, the barrel segments glowed in succession until the muzzle shone bright. A light press of the trigger, and a soul power bullet shot forth.
Boom! A hole the size of a thumb appeared in the marble floor, cracks radiating outward.
A trace of surprise flickered in Bibi Dong's eyes. She naturally saw the value of these two soul tools.
Yang Yunhai slowly landed, withdrew the wings, and said, "With these two soul tools, Hu Liena will surely have more confidence in passing through the Slaughter City."
Being able to fly—whether dealing with the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent, or crossing the sea of lava formed by the final Bloody Mary barrier—would undoubtedly make things much easier.
"Consider it compensation for my earlier request that Your Holiness go to the Slaughter City once every year." He continued.
"To think you'd value a defeated opponent so highly." Bibi Dong said coldly.
"I simply dislike leaving behind trouble or hidden threats for myself." Yang Yunhai's expression was calm as he pushed the soul tools toward her.
Since this concerned the safety of her personal disciple and the success of passing the Hell Road, Bibi Dong had no reason to refuse. She reached out and took them.
"The second matter." Yang Yunhai continued, opening his palm to reveal a thick stack of records.
"This is a year's worth of Yu Xiaogang's daily life. If Your Holiness is interested, you can take a look. He now lives with Liu Erlong in Sol City, within Fasno Province."
"What do you mean by this?!" Bibi Dong's face instantly darkened.
"Nothing much." Yang Yunhai's expression remained calm. "Yu Xiaogang is not someone I care to evaluate. I only hope Your Holiness will take the time to see for yourself what he's been doing these past twenty years, and what he is doing every day now."
"Think carefully about the past. Reflect once more on this person. Consider whether the one you still keep in your heart is truly Yu Xiaogang, or only the memory of who he was twenty years ago. Memories can be perfect. Reality, perhaps not."
"Insolent!" Bibi Dong's face sank to its extreme as she let out a cold shout. Violent pressure burst forth.
Yang Yunhai frowned slightly as his vast spiritual power erupted, directly canceling her oppressive aura.
'He's grown this much already…' Bibi Dong's pupils shrank. Yang Yunhai, as the Holy Son of the Worship Hall, was someone she did not dare strike down here. Still, she had released considerable pressure to vent her fury. Yet it was completely neutralized.
"All decisions lie with Your Holiness." Yang Yunhai's expression smoothed again. He bent down, placed the records on the floor, and turned to leave the hall.
"Yang Yunhai, am I to be your next target?" Bibi Dong's face also returned to calm, her voice faint. His earlier words clearly hinted at something more, a deliberate provocation.
"I only don't want to make things harder for her." Yang Yunhai replied.
"Still, I can tell you plainly: if I were Qian Xunji back then, I wouldn't have killed you outright. I would have imprisoned you, forced you to couple with Spirit Hall elites until you could no longer bear children, then personally ended you—or crippled your martial soul and cast you aside."
"The simplest logic of transaction: there is no such thing as a free meal. Every choice demands a price. Your Holiness, I was once naïve, too. But whenever I think of those who supported me to reach this point, my heart must be harder than anyone's. That is the price! Otherwise, the ones hurt would never just be me alone." With that, he pushed the door open and strode out.
"So that's why you wiped out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Clear Sky Sect without leaving a single survivor." Bibi Dong clenched her fists tight. "Yang Yunhai, I truly underestimated you."
Though furious, she could not refute him.
Lowering her head, she looked at the records. Her anger gradually cooled. With a wave of her hand, the records flew into her palm.
She drew in a deep breath, opened them, and began to read. Her expression shifted again and again, until finally it froze. The records were exceedingly detailed—down to every single day.
Yu Xiaogang's days wasted in idleness. Liu Erlong's bitter toil, her weariness, her declining spirit. The evaluations of neighbors. For an entire year, Yu Xiaogang had not helped Liu Erlong even once with daily chores.
A useless man. Irresponsible. Not like a man at all. All such comments fell on deaf ears. Yu Xiaogang never responded, never lifted a finger, only sat in dazes day after day.
Unbidden, she suddenly felt a trace of pity for Liu Erlong.
When she finally finished the records, Bibi Dong sat motionless, silent for a long time.
After half an hour, she clenched her teeth, rose, and walked toward the side door.
Meanwhile, Yang Yunhai had already arrived at the Worship Hall.
"Xue'er is still in the first trial." Gazing at the angel statue, Qian Daoliu spoke.
Yang Yunhai nodded. "Grandfather, with this matter done, I should be leaving as well."
"Mm." Qian Daoliu nodded slightly.
"Grandfather, if Bibi Dong truly changes, you may tell her this: in Star Dou Forest, there are three Thousand Ton Ant Emperors nearing 100,000 years of cultivation. I have a way to help them break through. If she requires them, she may seek me out. Of course, in return, I'll ask only for the soul bones they drop."
"Xiao Hai, you are thoughtful." Qian Daoliu sighed.
"I only do this for Xue'er and the children." Yang Yunhai said. "But if she cannot awaken, then Grandfather, I have no choice."
"I understand." Qian Daoliu nodded.
Yang Yunhai inclined his head, gave the angel statue another look, then turned and left.
The next day, Bibi Dong emerged from her room after a day and night in seclusion. She rose into the air, disappearing swiftly into the night sky.
"Ah… I only hope you can find your way out." Qian Daoliu sighed, then said nothing more.
A few days later, Yang Yunhai and Chrysanthemum Douluo returned to the imperial palace, resuming normal life. Other than returning to Yunhai Academy to cultivate under lightning when necessary, he seldom left the palace.
Elsewhere, the powerful Bibi Dong arrived at the village where Yu Xiaogang lived. Concealing herself, she quietly watched through a window.
Inside, Yu Xiaogang reclined on a chair, eyes lifeless.
A pang tightened in her chest. Her gaze flickered.
Soon, Liu Erlong came carrying buckets of water. Bibi Dong's pupils shrank. Hollow eyes, wrinkles carved into her forehead, strands of white in her hair, her spirit extinguished—she resembled a walking corpse.
The woman before her was utterly unlike the bold and radiant woman she remembered.
Fetching water, chopping wood, washing clothes, cooking, tending the garden—task after task, Liu Erlong moved like a machine.
Yu Xiaogang paid her no mind. Even when Liu Erlong returned drenched in sweat, he remained indifferent.
To Bibi Dong, it seemed as though Liu Erlong carried out her duties like an obligation—keeping Yu Xiaogang alive, nothing more.
Grinding her teeth, Bibi Dong stayed hidden, watching silently.
'If I had no talent, no cultivation, what would become of me?' The thought surfaced unbidden.
With her beauty, an odd fear crept into her heart. She dared not imagine such a fate.
'If I had chosen to leave with Yu Xiaogang back then, would I truly have found happiness? How would I repay Spirit Hall's nurturing grace? If I had crippled my cultivation to return everything and become an ordinary woman, would Yu Xiaogang still have wanted me? Did he approach me back then only because of my talent?' One by one, endless possibilities and choices flooded her mind.
Time passed. Days slipped by. Bibi Dong remained in hiding, watching and thinking.
On the fourth day, she saw Liu Erlong again, expression numb, carrying water buckets out of the house. The same motions, the same routine.
Bibi Dong clenched her fists, then strode out. With a flash, she shattered the wooden door and stepped inside.
With a wave of her hand, the door slammed shut.
(End of Chapter)
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