Chapter 488: Resolving Inner Turmoil, the Weakness of Divine Beasts
"These two spirit rings are my gift—my penance for past mistakes. If you don't accept them, I'd rather let these spirit rings dissipate into the world than see them wasted." Bibi Dong looked at Dai Yao calmly, her expression resolute.
A faint, feverish blush colored her exquisite face.
Dai Yao was silent for a moment, meeting Bibi Dong's gaze, which held a trace of desperate determination. Finally, he replied, "Alright, I'll accept your gift."
He could sense the unyielding obsession in her eyes; if he refused, she truly might kill the two soul beasts, letting their spirit rings fade away.
Although Dai Yao now had dual martial souls and knew that the strongest soul beasts on this continent exceeded the commonly acknowledged 100,000-year level, with some beasts at least 200,000 years old, he didn't have excessively high requirements for his spirit rings.
Dai Yao didn't insist that all his spirit rings must come from beasts at the 200,000-year level or higher. Even during the events of Peerless Tang Sect, truly powerful soul beasts were scarce. For instance, Zi Ji, ranked tenth among fierce beasts, had only recently reached 300,000 years.
A few beasts of 200,000 years existed, but not many. If Dai Yao's requirement was that each of his rings had to be from beasts at this level, he'd end up decimating nearly all high-level soul beasts on the continent, dealing a fatal blow to the soul beast lineage.
Although Dai Yao harbored grievances against Di Tian and the soul beasts, he had no intention of driving the entire species to extinction. His retribution would take a different form.
Thus, he set his target level for spirit rings around the 100,000-year mark.
Both the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Blue Bull Python had spirit rings of excellent quality. Although their ages were just 100,000 years, their power rivaled that of 200,000-year beasts. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been chosen by Di Tian as the guardians of the Lake of Life.
Their rings were more than sufficient for Dai Yao.
Seeing Dai Yao agree, Bibi Dong's lips curved into a faint smile, her stern expression softened somewhat. Leaning on her crystal scepter, she urged, "Then go on—absorb their spirit rings."
Upon hearing this, Da Ming and Er Ming bore the agony in their bodies and growled in fury, "Human, don't even think about it! If you dare to absorb our spirit rings and bones, we'll make sure you die without a trace!"
Their voices, filled with rage, echoed through the valley like thunder.
"Beasts, how dare you!" Bibi Dong snapped coldly.
Nine spirit rings rose around her feet, radiating an oppressive force that weighed down like the heavens themselves, bearing down on all beneath them.
Under this immense pressure, the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Blue Bull Python both let out pained groans, blood oozing from their skin. The Sky Blue Bull Python's enormous eyes were bloodshot, enduring the searing pain as it roared, "Human woman, no matter how much you torture us, we will not submit! If this boy has the power to absorb our rings and subdue our spirits, so be it. But if he doesn't, he'll explode under the pressure of our rings!"
The Titan Giant Ape echoed, "Same here!"
After Dai Yao had finally agreed to her offer, these two soul beasts kept provoking her, leaving Bibi Dong frustrated and humiliated in front of him. Finally, her patience broke, and she unleashed her spider spears.
The purple, venomous spider spears glared at the two divine beasts like deadly snakes, poised to strike and torture them.
"Another word, and I'll ensure you can neither live nor die!" Bibi Dong snarled, her eyes glinting with cold fury as she glared at the two divine beasts.
Under her intense soul power, a fierce wind whipped around her, her unbound hair billowing like seaweed, giving her an eerie and fearsome appearance.
It was as though she embodied a specter from hell.
"Enough, don't get angry. Don't you know my strength by now? No matter how much they resist, it won't change the fact that I'll absorb their spirit rings," Dai Yao said as he stepped beside her, gently nudging her spider spears away with a smile.
Bibi Dong started at his voice, hastily retracting her external soul bone. Her face returned to normal, losing the sinister edge she'd shown while using her Rakshasa God powers, and she forced a small smile. "Al… Alright."
Only now did she realize how her violent display must have looked to Dai Yao, who had been standing nearby. Her unrestrained emotions had led her to lose control.
Dai Yao noticed her subtle discomfort and, in a teasing tone, turned to look at the two restrained divine beasts, then back to Bibi Dong. "Bibi Dong, don't worry. I have a way to make them willingly sacrifice themselves to me. However, I'll need you to leave us alone for a bit."
Bibi Dong agreed immediately, without a hint of objection. She looked at him once, then averted her gaze, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something.
"What is it?" Dai Yao asked, noticing her hesitation.
"I… I…" Bibi Dong still hesitated.
"Just say it," Dai Yao encouraged with a smile.
"My… My appearance just now… Was it very ugly?" Bibi Dong finally forced herself to ask, her voice getting softer as she spoke, not daring to look him in the eye.
Dai Yao felt a jolt in his heart, realizing what was troubling her. She was concerned about how she had appeared in his eyes.
Despite her position, her beauty, and the suffering she had endured, transforming her character, she still cared deeply about how she appeared in the eyes of those she valued.
In the original story, Bibi Dong had asked a similar question of Yu Xiaogang on her deathbed.
Dai Yao gazed quietly at Bibi Dong for a moment. Steeling himself, he hesitantly reached out, his hand trembling as he moved it close to her face, intending to gently tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.
It was the first time he had initiated such an intimate gesture with her.
Even during their closest moments after emerging from the Rakshasa God trials, the most intimate action Dai Yao had taken was resting his head on her lap.
At that time, Bibi Dong was the lofty Pope, while he was a young prodigy who had just joined Spirit Hall from the Heaven Dou Empire. Dai Yao, though sympathetic to her suffering and aware of her feelings toward him, had never dared to overstep his bounds.
He understood well that, back then, she saw him as a source of emotional solace, a brief reprieve in her turbulent life.
Most of the time, it was Bibi Dong who had initiated any intimacy between them.
But as Dai Yao's hand neared her face, Bibi Dong's expression changed. She looked at him with a trace of fear, her body trembling slightly as she took a small step back, avoiding his touch.
"What's wrong?"
Dai Yao paused, puzzled by the hint of fear in Bibi Dong's eyes. What was she holding back?
He knew, however, that sometimes actions were more convincing than words. Moving his hand forward, he noticed her tendency to retreat, and he spoke in a firm tone, "Don't move."
Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes trembled as she froze, her body tense but motionless.
Gently, Dai Yao reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. After a long pause, he said in a steady voice, "No, you're beautiful."
"It's just a shame I never knew you in your youth. Perhaps you were even more beautiful then, but in my heart, I'd rather be by your side as you are now."
"Because, now, you belong to me."
"From this moment on, you're no longer alone in this world…"
Bibi Dong's mind felt like it exploded, her eyes reddening, her body trembling. Her gaze stayed locked on Dai Yao, unwavering.
She wanted to embrace him tightly.
But she felt unworthy; her body felt tainted. To touch him seemed like it would only defile him.
After emerging from the Rakshasa God's trials, she had once felt a sense of dependence on Dai Yao. But back then, she hadn't dared to acknowledge those feelings.
In her mind, conflicting images of Yu Xiaogang's graceful figure at the Lantern Festival in Yelin City, Qian Xunji's twisted smile in the dark chamber, and Dai Yao's steady presence beside her in the Rakshasa trials all intermingled, contorting and merging into something terrifying.
When she ascended to the position of Pope, the cheers of the crowd felt like the wails of countless souls, reaching out with cold hands to drag her back into hell.
Qian Xunji laughed coldly from above, his golden boots pressing down as if to crush her bones, threatening to kick her back into the abyss.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang's departing figure stood by, watching her suffering with detached indifference.
She had struggled, but everyone seemed determined to push her down, until she plunged into hell.
Having spent so long in hell, she'd become accustomed to it—numbed to the searing pain and the law of survival where only the strong thrived.
Her heart had long since died; she'd become desensitized to her suffering.
But Dai Yao's presence had stirred a faint glimmer of life in that deadened heart.
He had reached out his hand, shouting urgently for her to "Come quickly!" to escape this infernal place. Yet, she had feared that trusting him would only lead to further betrayal. Would Dai Yao, like her former teacher who had once seemed so kind, reveal a hidden monstrous side?
The mere thought terrified her. She'd rather remain in hell than risk being deceived again.
Thus, she'd chosen to sever all ties with Dai Yao, aiming to cut off any complex entanglements between her, Nana, and her adopted daughter, Qian Renxue.
Yet, just as she was about to end Dai Yao's life, he had left her a gift.
That gift of Level 99 soul power had granted her a choice—the choice to rise above her despair.
Even as she faced death, Dai Yao had harbored concern for her. But by then, it was too late. She had already killed the part of herself that could remain at his side.
Determined to make amends, she'd longed to bring Dai Yao back, waiting desperately for his forgiveness.
When she finally summoned the courage to invite him back to Spirit City, she'd prepared herself for a long journey of redemption. Yet, all it took was a demonstration of her sincerity, and he agreed to her request.
Dai Yao's forgiveness only deepened her guilt.
She tightly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, feeling that sharp pain as if it could somehow atone for her past sins.
"From now on, I will trust you—forever…" she began, her voice shaking.
Before she could finish, the mocking laughter of the Sky Blue Bull Python echoed through the valley. "Ha! The grand Pope of humanity, treating a young man like her master! What a joke!"
The Titan Giant Ape joined in, rumbling with laughter.
Bibi Dong merely turned her head slightly, giving the Sky Blue Bull Python a brief look, saying nothing.
After all, it wasn't worth denying the truth.
But if they dared insult Dai Yao further, they would face her wrath.
Ignoring the beasts' taunts, Dai Yao calmly gathered her purple hair, securing it with the purple-gold crown symbolizing her status as Pope. Smiling, he said, "I know, and I will cherish your trust."
"Alright, leave this to me. Go back to Spirit City and tell the third consecrator that I'm safe. Otherwise, he'll demand an explanation. Once I've absorbed their spirit rings, I have an important matter to discuss with you—something that concerns the entire continent."
Bibi Dong nodded.
She infused her soul power to seal off the entire valley. Then, with a tap of her Pope's scepter, she vanished in a ripple of purple light.
"Human, don't get any ideas! If you try to absorb our spirit rings and bones, don't blame us if they tear you apart!" the Sky Blue Bull Python snarled, steam hissing from its nostrils in fury.
"Yeah, let's see your spirit rings blow him to bits!" the Titan Giant Ape bellowed in agreement.
Dai Yao smiled slightly, and with a flicker of thought, four spirit rings rose around his feet.
Red, black, red, red.
With just these four rings, the massive waterfall surged upward in reverse, and the two divine beasts felt a crushing suffocation.
"Curse you, human! How many of our kind have you slaughtered?" the Sky Blue Bull Python raged, shocked.
"Hold on," Dai Yao replied. "Notice anything different about my spirit rings?"
"What do I care about your changes? Human, you've slaughtered our kin—we will never yield!" the Titan Giant Ape roared.
Ignoring its stubbornness, Dai Yao turned his gaze to the Sky Blue Bull Python.
Though seething with fury, the Sky Blue Bull Python sensed a deeper meaning in Dai Yao's words. Studying the rings closely, it suddenly noticed something amiss.
"Wait… you only have four spirit rings. Where's Xiao Wu's ring?!" The Sky Blue Bull Python's expression turned from anger to shock.
Unlike the Titan Giant Ape, the Sky Blue Bull Python was more perceptive, and it could sense the truth. Dai Yao grinned slyly.
"You're not mistaken. Xiao Wu's ring is gone—she's been resurrected."
Da Ming and Er Ming were thunderstruck, stunned by the revelation.
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