After crossing the tribulation, he would enter a recovery period, the time when he was at his weakest, and he would need someone to stand guard and protect him.
Bibi Dong was not in the study, so Jiang Chen went straight to her bedroom.
Due to his special status, even at night, the maids would not stop him when he came to see Bibi Dong alone.
Jiang Chen knocked on the door and called out a few times, but there was no response from inside, so he pushed the door open and walked in.
After searching the room and still not seeing Bibi Dong, he closed the door and opened the secret passage leading to Bibi Dong's cultivation place.
He guessed that Bibi Dong was probably cultivating down there.
He did not bring any lighting; the pitch-black environment could not block his vision.
A few minutes later, he descended to the grand hall at the very bottom and saw a scene that shocked him.
At this moment, Bibi Dong's upper body was covered in a layer of purplish-black armor, her face also concealed by a piece of carapace, and beneath her eyes grew four small additional eyes.
Her long, straight legs had vanished; from her abdomen downward, she had transformed into a massive spherical body, and from the edges of this sphere sprouted eight thick, sturdy legs.
These eight spider legs were covered in thick green fur and carried a nauseating slime; when the drops fell to the ground, they continuously emitted a sizzling sound, extremely corrosive.
At this time, her appearance had completely turned into that of a gigantic venomous spider.
The Bibi Dong he held beautiful in his heart had now become this terrifying form, and Jiang Chen was stunned.
Perhaps this was exactly why Bibi Dong had always been unwilling to reveal her martial soul in front of others. After her martial soul possessed her, she really was too ugly.
Jiang Chen truly could not connect this hideous and ferocious spider image with the peerlessly beautiful and noble Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong seemed to be immersed in some kind of state and had not noticed Jiang Chen's arrival.
Strands of evil aura flowed out from the statue, then seeped into Bibi Dong below and were absorbed by her.
After the initial shock, Jiang Chen calmed down, found a spot to sit, and patiently waited.
Martial souls are innate and cannot be chosen by oneself. Even though the current Bibi Dong was so ugly, she was still the beautiful teacher in Jiang Chen's heart.
During cultivation, Bibi Dong occasionally let out painful moans, making Jiang Chen unable to help feeling some worry.
Suddenly, Bibi Dong's gaze cleared, and her eyes shot toward Jiang Chen's direction.
Jiang Chen could clearly see an incomparably complex emotion flash through Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Sigh." Bibi Dong let out a soft sigh, her melodious voice sounding: "Turn around."
Jiang Chen obediently turned away.
Moments later, light footsteps approached, and Bibi Dong had already come behind him.
"Turn back now."
Jiang Chen turned around and stood up.
The current Bibi Dong had returned to her peerlessly beautiful and noble appearance, though her brows were slightly furrowed and her expression somewhat complicated.
"Little Chen, did Teacher frighten you?" she asked rather bitterly.
She felt extreme inferiority about the appearance of her two martial souls; even in front of her two beloved disciples, she had never revealed her martial soul.
Now that Jiang Chen had unintentionally seen it, how could her mood not be complicated?
To her surprise, Jiang Chen instead showed a brilliant smile.
"Teacher, martial souls are innate; no one can change them. In my heart, you will forever be the most beautiful."
Bibi Dong looked at Jiang Chen, her eyes brightening, a strange light flashing in her beautiful pupils.
Once upon a time, a man had said the same words to her.
She could tell that when Jiang Chen spoke those words, the sincerity and truth in his eyes were absolutely not feigned.
Her heart was filled with incomparable comfort, having such a disciple in life; what more could one ask for?
"Good, it was worth all the care the teacher has given you." Bibi Dong finally broke into a smile.
"You came back so quickly. What skill did you obtain this time?" she asked curiously.
"Teacher, I absorbed a thirty-thousand-year Thousand Eyed Demon Toad soul ring. The fourth skill is a mental-type illusion skill. I call it: Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood."
"An illusion skill." Bibi Dong became interested.
"Then use it on me—let me experience it."
"Alright." Jiang Chen immediately released his martial soul.
The soul rings on his body had already become four black soul rings, which shocked Bibi Dong for a moment, though she quickly understood.
She knew that divine power could elevate a spirit master's soul ring in years.
"Teacher, be careful." Jiang Chen reminded her, and his fourth soul ring lit up.
"Stinky brat, are you afraid you'll actually hurt Teacher?" Bibi Dong laughed.
Immediately after, she found Jiang Chen's eyes shining with blood-red light, and her own eyes could not help but be drawn to them.
With her vast spiritual power, she could instantly break free from Jiang Chen's illusion, but she did not resist, allowing him to pull her into the illusion.
After a moment of daze, she found herself no longer in the grand hall but on a beach.
What astonished her was that this boundless ocean was entirely composed of blood, with densely packed corpses floating across the sea.
The waves crashed against her, the thick blood dyeing her entire body red; the intense stench of blood assaulted her nose, actually making her feel a touch of nausea.
She turned back, and her spirit jolted. Behind her, the ground was likewise covered with countless human corpses, each in an incomparably miserable state of death.
Towering mountains rose high, formed entirely from piled-up human corpses.
An overwhelmingly intense resentment emanated from these corpses, surging toward her spirit.
This level of resentment posed no threat to Bibi Dong, yet a trace of fear involuntarily arose in her heart and rapidly began to amplify.
Even though she had killed countless people before, how could that compare to the incomparably realistic scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood in this illusion?
"What an excellent skill," she thought, somewhat amazed.
Only with her powerful spiritual strength could she remain clear-headed in this illusion; if it were someone with cultivation similar to Jiang Chen's, they would have long since fallen into boundless terror, allowing Jiang Chen to slaughter them at will.
She released her formidable spiritual power and easily shattered Jiang Chen's illusion, returning to reality.
With the illusion broken, Jiang Chen's face paled, his breathing somewhat unsteady.
Though this illusion skill was powerful, using it consumed a great deal of his soul power.
Moreover, the skill had a restriction; it could only be used once per day.
"Are you alright?" Bibi Dong asked with concern.
"I'm fine; I'll recover after resting a bit," Jiang Chen said.
"Teacher, after absorbing the soul ring, I'm about to face another tribulation. I came this time specifically to ask you to protect me during it."
Bibi Dong immediately recalled the terrifying scene from Jiang Chen's previous tribulation.
"I really don't know how you end up with such terrifying tribulations. Could it really be that heaven is jealous of geniuses?"
"Maybe my talent is just too monstrous," Jiang Chen chuckled.
After Bibi Dong had revealed her martial soul in front of Jiang Chen earlier, the relationship between the two had become even closer without them realizing it.
She laughed and scolded, "I've never seen anyone praise themselves like that."
"Tomorrow morning, come to my study. We'll go to the same place as last time."
"Alright."
"Mm, you go back first. I still need to continue cultivating."
...
After returning to his own room, Jiang Chen's left eyelid suddenly began to twitch.
"Weird, I'm clearly about to get struck by lightning again. Why is my left eyelid twitching?"
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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