Spirit Hall
Bibi Dong returned to Spirit Hall at the fastest speed possible. Yet even as she traveled, her thoughts remained in turmoil.
'A gift left behind by Renxue… Something hidden close for eight entire years… What exactly could it be?'
Bibi Dong had even briefly considered the possibility that Rakshasa Goddess was merely playing with her emotions again.
But—Her heart could not reject even the slightest chance that it might be true.
The moment Bibi Dong stepped into the Pope's Hall, she froze.
A woman was already standing in the center of the hall with her sword planted upright before her.
Golden hair draped across her shoulders while her purple eyes quietly stared toward Bibi Dong. The atmosphere inside the hall became strangely heavy.
Although Bibi Dong had already stepped into the level of a true God and believed herself unmatched on the continent— The moment she looked at Julia, her instincts suddenly flared with warning.
It was an indescribable feeling. Julia lightly bowed her head.
"Your Holiness."
"I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Her calm voice echoed through the quiet hall.
"After all… I was entrusted with delivering a gift to you."
The moment those words entered her ears, Bibi Dong's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
Her heartbeat quickened slightly. Julia slowly approached her.
Then, with a flicker of light, a small jade bottle appeared within her hand. Inside the translucent bottle rested a single green pill.
The pill emitted dense vitality fluctuations along with a mysterious aura that seemed almost otherworldly.
Julia gently placed the jade bottle into Bibi Dong's hand. Almost unconsciously, Bibi Dong clenched it tightly.
As the two passed each other, Julia lowered her voice and softly whispered near her ear,
"Many years ago, pills like this evolved the martial souls of two geniuses."
"Perhaps these pills contain the secret to surpassing one's limits."
A faint smile appeared on Julia's lips.
"What kind of height do you think you can reach with them?"
While Bibi Dong's mind churned with thousands of questions, Julia quietly turned around and walked out of the Pope's Hall.
Bibi Dong remained standing in place, tightly holding the jade bottle in her hand.
Her thoughts moved rapidly. She had always believed that all of those mysterious pills had already been consumed long ago.
The first pill had been taken by Lin Yuan. It was because of that pill that his martial soul evolved into the Abyss Spider Emperor.
The second had been consumed by Jiang Mo, allowing his martial soul to mutate into the Heavenly Evil Breaking Cudgel.
As for the third—Bibi Dong had always assumed it was taken by Qian Renxue.
After all, Renxue's martial soul later became the mysterious Twelve-Winged Angel phantom.
At the time, Bibi Dong naturally concluded that the final pill must have caused that evolution.
What she never knew was that Qian Renxue had deliberately concealed the mutation of her martial soul after awakening it.
Thus, the misunderstanding remained for years.
Bibi Dong lowered her gaze toward the green pill inside the jade bottle.
Then, her thoughts unconsciously drifted toward another person.
Lin Yuan. The source of those mysterious pills.
A strange look appeared in her eyes.
'Come to think of it…'
'That Lin Yuan always felt somewhat strange since the first time I met him.'
She still remembered the boy's occasional absent-mindedness.
At times, it even felt as though he lived within some strange delusion of his own.
As though his mind wandered through another world invisible to everyone else.
Yet despite his eccentric behavior—The things she was able to take from him were extraordinary.
The wine, The scythe, The pills.
Every single item possessed unbelievable quality. Even now, Bibi Dong could not fully understand where he had obtained such things.
Her thoughts paused briefly before a cold smile appeared on her face.
'That bastard…'
'He clearly gifted those pills to Renxue because he wanted to impress her.'
Back then, Lin Yuan's attitude toward Qian Renxue was easily understood by Bibi Dong. She had actually wanted to kill him , but was on guard because of his mysterious divine backing. After all it is impossible for a beggar boy to have so many good things without some powerful backing which maybe divine.
However, the smile on Bibi Dong's face soon faded and a faint frown appeared instead.
'Still…'
'Ever since he returned from Heaven Dou City after investigating that scum Yu Ming… something has felt wrong with him.'
Her eyes narrowed slightly, Lin Yuan's mental state had clearly deteriorated since that mission.
' Maybe I need to investigate the origins of Lin Yuan. Does he has any connection with Renxue's disappearance?'
Lin Yuan who was depressed did not know that his days in the Spirit Hall would become more difficult.
----
Julia, who had just stepped out after meeting Bibi Dong, suddenly halted in the silent corridor.
Then—Her figure began to distort. The outline of her body blurred like a reflection rippling across water.
Golden strands of hair shimmered with faint dreamlike light while the surrounding space twisted slightly.
A moment later, Julia's appearance completely disappeared.
In her place stood a charming woman with flowing golden hair and purple eyes deep as nebulae.
The air around her felt strangely unreal, as though her existence itself did not fully belong to reality.
Qian Renxue softly whispered,
"Now I finally have enough control…"
"So long as people do not directly witness my true form, they will no longer suffer mental corruption."
Her voice carried slight exhaustion.
Although her power had increased tremendously after stepping onto the path of dreams, it also made her existence increasingly difficult for ordinary beings to comprehend.
Her true form had already begun approaching something beyond mortal cognition. Even a brief glance from weaker beings could cause fear, madness, or subconscious corruption, but the source of power inside her seemed to be waking up slowly.
Thus, she continuously used disguises to interact with others, but even then people were subtly affected.
However, after years of adaptation and increasing control over her authority, she could finally suppress most of those passive effects.
Still—Qian Renxue slowly clenched her fingers.
Her expression turned quieter.
"But time… feels like loose sand slipping through my hands."
"I do not have much time left."
(AN: Qian Renxue smartly made use of the Time difference between the Divine Realm and Douluo Continent, but that does not mean she can extend the time of seal breaking indefinitely)