Chapter 487: Bibi Dong's Gift
Staring at the familiar yet strangely distant man before her, Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes brimmed with murderous intent and fury. Her voice cold and commanding, she demanded, "Who are you?!"
Her tone was harsh and intimidating, carrying an oppressive force that left no room for defiance. It felt as though any hint of rebellion would be met with overwhelming wrath.
The 'evil' Dai Yao showed no fear. He reached out his hand, attempting to grip Bibi Dong's delicate chin, only for eight sharp spider spears to emerge instantly from her back, their deep-purple tips halting just an inch from his skin.
A ruthless glint flashed across Bibi Dong's face, enhanced by the menacing spider spears behind her, giving her an aura of intense, almost sinister strength.
"I'll ask you one last time! Who are you?! What have you done to Dai Yao?!" Her voice, cold as pearls dropping onto a hard surface, echoed through the vast hall.
Facing the deadly spider spears, which were laced with potent poison, the 'evil' Dai Yao remained unfazed. In fact, he examined the spears closely, even reaching out to touch them. "An external soul bone... Impressive," he remarked with curiosity.
While external soul bones were rare, both Tang San and Bibi Dong had possessed the same type—soul bones from spider-type soul beasts. In this life, however, Tang San's external soul bone had fallen into Dai Yao's hands, so he was curious to see how Bibi Dong's external soul bone compared to his own.
The evil personality's complete disregard for her threat thoroughly enraged Bibi Dong. Her sharp spider spears edged closer to Dai Yao, eventually pressing against his skin.
The evil personality raised an eyebrow and met her gaze with a challenging smile. "What's the matter? Don't dare to pierce me? Haven't you figured it out yet? I am Dai Yao. Dai Yao is me!"
Bibi Dong's teeth clenched, her crimson lips trembling slightly as she struggled to speak. "No… impossible! You can't be Dai Yao!"
Though she questioned the man before her, deep down, Bibi Dong knew he was indeed Dai Yao. As the inheritor of the Rakshasa God, she could sense the overpowering aura of malevolence radiating from this 'evil' Dai Yao, a darkness so profound it unsettled even her.
This was not the Dai Yao who had once saved her.
"In a way, I'm indeed not the Dai Yao you once knew," the evil personality responded indifferently.
Hearing this, Bibi Dong's heart relaxed a bit, but his next words struck her like a fatal blow—piercing her heart as if with a thousand arrows.
"But the reason I exist is all thanks to you. If it weren't for you delivering the most painful, cruel strike when he was at his weakest, most exhausted, most in need of support, there wouldn't have been so many negative emotions in him."
"You gave me the foundation to be born."
With a smug smile, the evil personality watched Bibi Dong, his expression brimming with satisfaction. This twisted delight was like a sword stabbing into Bibi Dong's heart, robbing her of her breath.
The evil personality savored Bibi Dong's anguish, as though her suffering was his most precious feast.
Though he glossed over some facts, there was a grain of truth in his words. Had it not been for Bibi Dong's betrayal, Dai Yao would not have harbored so many negative emotions. This buildup of emotions, influenced by the Dark Devilgod Tiger's spirit ring, had eventually birthed another personality.
Just then, the evil personality's black pupils flickered with a few golden sparks, and he paused, muttering, "Tsk, this guy can't stand seeing women cry..."
In an instant, the golden light within his eyes flared up, quickly overtaking his pupils, turning his dark hair back to its original gold.
The 'normal' Dai Yao had returned.
"...Are you okay?" Dai Yao asked softly, looking into Bibi Dong's tear-filled, heart-wrenching eyes. His hand hesitated in the air before reaching out to comfort her.
During the time when his evil personality had control, he was still able to sense everything around him. That evil personality had ruthlessly stabbed at Bibi Dong's heart with every word.
Bibi Dong's life had been tragic enough, and Dai Yao was currently the only person she trusted. If he allowed his evil personality to keep blaming her for her past mistakes, it would trap Bibi Dong in an endless cycle of self-blame, eventually leading her to close herself off and follow the tragic path she had in the original story.
Bibi Dong's gaze remained fixed on Dai Yao, her body tense and trembling, her teeth biting into her lip so hard that blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"That other personality… was born because of me, wasn't it? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a trembling voice.
With her purple-gold crown removed and her long, purple hair flowing freely, her previous authority seemed to fade, leaving behind a broken vulnerability.
Dai Yao sighed, a bit helpless. His anger at being manipulated by soul beasts had triggered the evil personality's emergence. Now, seeing the remorse in her eyes, Dai Yao felt a pang in his heart and responded with a sigh, "No, his existence has nothing to do with you."
"It happened in Star Dou Forest when I was absorbing a soul ring. The evil personality was a coincidence—part of the power contained in the Dark Devilgod Tiger's ring. While he's caused me some troubles, he's also brought me some advantages. The most obvious one is that I now have a third martial soul."
"The Dark Devilgod Tiger martial soul."
"Dark Devilgod Tiger?" Bibi Dong repeated, astonished.
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, she understood well how terrifying a Dark Devilgod Tiger could be. Possessing the power of an Evil God, it sat at the top of the soul beast hierarchy.
Generally, no human could possess the Dark Devilgod Tiger martial soul because its pure evil energy would overwhelm a human's body.
However, if someone did possess such a martial soul, it would be equivalent to an angelic-level martial soul, comparable to the Six-Winged Angel, or possibly even stronger...
Dai Yao already possessed a divine-level martial soul, the Sacred White Tiger, as well as an even more terrifying spear martial soul. Back in the City of Slaughter, that spear had allowed him to fight his way out despite lacking a single soul ring, proving its formidable power.
Now, Dai Yao had acquired yet another divine martial soul, allowing him to bond with nine more soul rings. It seemed the heavens truly favored him.
"Yes, it's the Dark Devilgod Tiger martial soul. That evil personality emerged because of the uncontainable evil energy from the Dark Devilgod Tiger's soul ring. It's not your fault," Dai Yao said gently, attempting to comfort her.
Though he had explained the cause of the other personality's existence, Bibi Dong still clung to the belief that she had brought Dai Yao harm. Even if he had been fortunate enough to gain a martial soul on par with the Six-Winged Angel, the presence of the evil 'Dai Yao' stirred up an intense unease within her.
That wasn't the Dai Yao she knew.
If she hadn't driven him away, he wouldn't have ventured into Star Dou Forest to hunt that 50,000-60,000-year-old Dark Devilgod Tiger, and that alternate personality would never have been born.
This guilt gnawed at her, cutting into her soul like a blade, leaving her mind in a haze of pain.
After several deep breaths to shake off the suffocating feeling, Bibi Dong quietly looked at Dai Yao, gasping for air.
"Dai Yao, actually, I have a gift for you," she said.
She didn't want to use words to express her resolve—she'd let time prove it instead.
"A gift?" Dai Yao blinked in surprise.
"Follow me," Bibi Dong murmured gently.
With a gentle tap of her Pope's scepter, a ripple of pale purple energy spread from the center, and Bibi Dong and Dai Yao instantly disappeared from the Pope's palace.
The next moment, Dai Yao found himself in mid-air, soaring above a vast stretch of mountains. With each leap, the terrain beneath them shifted, as though they were headed toward a specific destination.
"Where are we going?" Dai Yao asked, looking down at the changing landscape, a faint sense of familiarity stirring in his mind.
A smile played on Bibi Dong's lips, and with a final flash of light, a breathtaking scene appeared below.
It was a grand valley, with a waterfall hundreds of meters high crashing onto a dark rock below, filling the air with a deafening roar.
"This is...!" Dai Yao's eyes widened with astonishment, a look of joy crossing his face.
This valley was the place he had once lived during his years in Spirit Hall, holding countless memories from four or five years ago. Everything appeared just as it had back then, unchanged.
"Come with me. This isn't the gift I prepared for you," Bibi Dong said, noticing the change in Dai Yao's expression and relaxing slightly. Her smile grew as she gestured for him to follow.
Intrigued, Dai Yao felt a growing sense of anticipation for Bibi Dong's gift.
Moments later, they were standing within the valley.
As he took in the scene, Dai Yao's face transformed from awe to shock.
The massive waterfall stretched for hundreds of meters, as if connecting the sky to the earth, producing a thunderous roar that never failed to amaze him. Yet, it wasn't the waterfall that left him speechless.
On either side of the waterfall were two imprisoned soul beasts.
On the left side was a snake-like soul beast, with a body as thick as a barrel and length extending well over a hundred meters. Thick, purple chains bound its midsection, holding it against the cliff, their length nearly matching that of the waterfall itself.
The most striking feature was its bovine head. White steam puffed from its nostrils, and its massive, copper-bell-sized eyes were devoid of life, filled only with exhaustion and weakness.
On the right side of the waterfall was a colossal ape.
Its granite-like limbs were shackled tightly to the cliff, with black-purple scars marking the spots where the chains met its skin.
Its four limbs hung limp, a clear indication of its poor state.
"The Sky Blue Bull Python?! The Titan Giant Ape?!" Dai Yao exclaimed.
The soul beasts bound to the cliff were none other than Da Ming and Er Ming, Xiao Wu's closest companions.
Once the formidable kings of the Star Dou Forest, they were now trapped against the rock wall, unable to move, caught in a wretched state between life and death.
Sensing intruders, both divine beasts opened their eyes, filled with a weary animosity as they glared at Bibi Dong.
"Human woman, just grant us a quick death! You've kept us imprisoned here for so many years without killing us or absorbing our spirit rings. What is it you want?" the Sky Blue Bull Python asked coldly.
Leaning on her scepter with an air of grace and authority, Bibi Dong glanced at the Sky Blue Bull Python, her purple chains emanating an evil aura tightening suddenly, scorching the skins of the two great beasts.
"Silence," she replied calmly.
Then, turning to Dai Yao with a faint smile, she said, "Dai Yao, this is the gift I prepared for you."
"These two soul beasts, you've seen them before—they're friends of that rabbit. I initially thought you were a twin martial soul user, and finding suitable spirit rings for such a soul master is no easy task. So, I went through considerable effort to capture these two soul beasts from the Star Dou Forest and imprison them here."
"But I never anticipated that you would evolve into a triple martial soul user. Now, it'll be even more challenging to find suitable spirit rings."
"Go ahead. Kill them and absorb their spirit rings."
The sincerity in Bibi Dong's eyes moved Dai Yao deeply.
In the original story, Bibi Dong had scoured the continent to gather suitable spirit rings, even mobilizing most of Spirit Hall's forces to hunt down Da Ming and Er Ming in Star Dou Forest, though her efforts ultimately benefited Tang San. But now, Bibi Dong was willing to gift these two hundred-thousand-year-old spirit rings to him. It was almost inconceivable.
"No need. I know how much you desire a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—there's no reason to be this generous," Dai Yao said with a faint smile.
Bibi Dong quickly stepped forward, speaking with urgency. "No! It's not about being generous! These two soul beasts were prepared just for you. In my heart, no matter what I do, it cannot make up for the pain I caused you! And, the gift you left me before you departed is far more precious than these two spirit rings."
To Bibi Dong, the gift Dai Yao left behind before he left—the gift of Level 99 soul power—allowed her to inherit the position of the Rakshasa God without resorting to bloodshed. That was worth more than any two spirit rings.
Dai Yao chuckled, shaking his head. "I appreciate the thought, but I still cannot accept these two spirit rings…"
Just as he spoke, the Sky Blue Bull Python's thunderous voice cut him off.
"It's you!"
The Sky Blue Bull Python scrutinized Dai Yao standing beside Bibi Dong, recognizing him as the man who had killed Xiao Wu, the figure he loathed beyond words.
The exhaustion in its eyes vanished, replaced by a raging fire of hatred.
"You killed Xiao Wu. I will kill you! Kill you!" The Sky Blue Bull Python struggled fiercely, straining against its chains, desperate to tear the man before it apart.
Spurred on by its words, the Titan Giant Ape also recognized Dai Yao, its chest swelling with fury, muscles bulging, and an enraged roar reverberating from its throat.
The two divine beasts thrashed violently, driven by a desire to die alongside Dai Yao. The seal over the entire valley trembled as they struggled. If not for Bibi Dong's godly restraints preventing them from self-destruction, they would rather have exploded in a final act of defiance than hand over their spirit rings to their enemy.
"Enough noise!" Bibi Dong's voice rang out sharply, and her mighty Level 99 spirit power filled the valley. Under the immense pressure, the already weakened divine beasts fell silent, their cries turning into painful groans.
"I've said it before: both your spirit rings and bones belong to him!" Her cold voice echoed through the valley like a divine proclamation.
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