A Sea of Blood coalesced, reforming Chu Fei’s body once more.
Ghost Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and even Bibi Dong—none of them moved to attack Chu Fei again.
Bibi Dong knew well that the Soft Bone Rabbit before her was adept at constructing illusions. Who was to say they hadn't already fallen into one without realizing it?
No, that couldn't be right! There were no fluctuations of Soul Power in the surroundings; how could they be trapped in an illusion?
Bibi Dong snapped back to reality and looked toward Xiao Wu's Mother.
The aura of self-detonation was gone. In its place, starting from her waist, nearly transparent blue Soul Power intertwined with pink, radiant light, swirling like a long rainbow.
It was clearly a sacrifice. The beast was actually planning to offer herself to this child!
"Yue Guan! Ghost! Stop her!"
The green-armored Death Spider Emperor lunged forward, raising its dual scythes to strike down. She would not stand by and watch her prey grow wings and escape!
As the light of the sacrifice pulled Chu Fei off the ground, the long, low murmurs of the forest echoed hauntingly in the air. It sounded like a gentle voice whispering in sorrow for a life passing away.
"Bang—!"
The Death Spider Emperor’s attack was deflected, striking with a sharp clang as if it had hit solid steel. For the first time, her infallible assault had failed. The light of the sacrifice had repelled all attacks from the three Titled Douluo!
The strength within her body was fading rapidly. Her form began to shimmer like illusory light, dissolving into foam starting from her fingertips. After such a long chase, for the first time, Xiao Wu's Mother laughed aloud.
She looked down at the gnashing Bibi Dong, feeling an immense sense of relief. At the very last moment of her life, she was at least able to make her own choice. "Bibi Dong, even if I bestow my Soul Ring upon a human child I have never met, I will never let you have your way!"
"All your preparations, your painstaking efforts—everything will fall short here!"
Xiao Wu's Mother’s voice was resolute. As the soaring chant of the sacrifice reached its peak, her illusory figure opened her arms, wrapping them around Chu Fei.
Chu Fei’s sudden appearance had also been unexpected for her. Yet, in that brief moment, the child had bought her a chance to breathe, preventing her from being executed by Bibi Dong on the spot.
Watching the light of the sacrifice gradually merge, Bibi Dong ground her back teeth, her eyes splitting with rage. This damned creature was actually gifting everything she had to an eight-year-old child. It was a complete waste of a treasure!
And yet, Bibi Dong found herself helpless against the current situation.
A life sacrifice was the total release of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast. The energy barrier generated by that hundred-thousand-year radiance was something neither she nor the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo could break. They could only watch helplessly as it unfolded.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance, their hearts trembling. They knew how long Bibi Dong had prepared for this hunt. To have it all fail now—her restraint in not losing her mind on the spot was remarkable.
Seeing Bibi Dong’s ice-cold expression, they tentatively asked, "Your Holiness, what shall we do now?"
"Wait."
Bibi Dong spat out the word with icy finality. To ask her to give up? That was impossible! If she couldn't obtain the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, then once the barrier fell, she would kill the child and take the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone—that would at least make the trip worthwhile.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo went silent, holding their breath as the energy barrier began to fade.
Inside the barrier:
The ground bloomed with life, all things growing and clustering around Chu Fei. He stared blankly at the halos appearing on his body and the surge in his Soul Power. Had Xiao Wu's Mother really chosen him as the target for her sacrifice?
The tangible increase in his Soul Power and the hundred-thousand-year radiance surrounding him confirmed it beyond a doubt. With no one left to explain, all Chu Fei could do was absorb the power.
The light of the life sacrifice continuously pushed Chu Fei’s Soul Power level higher. Within the dense blue radiance, a lead-white left arm bone slowly manifested. Unlike other violent and difficult-to-absorb spirit bones, this one slipped silently into Chu Fei’s body, feeling like smooth, warm jade.
The spirit bone replaced his original bone, bringing with it not only a Soul Skill but also a further enhancement to Chu Fei’s strength.
As Xiao Wu's Mother completely dissipated, the barrier of the life sacrifice began to fade. Blue particles drifted far into the forest, eventually returning to the Star Dou forest.
Bibi Dong pointed at the center of the barrier, signaling the two Douluo to begin condensing their Soul Power.
Unaware of the danger outside, Chu Fei exhaled a long breath.
Level seven.
After obtaining the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, his Soul Power had surged directly to level twenty-seven! While that might count as outstanding among his peers, it was far from enough for the current situation.
Chu Fei twitched his mouth as he watched the exterior of the forest reveal itself through the vanishing barrier.
Outside stood the Pope of Spirit Hall and two full-fledged Titled Douluo. Bibi Dong had done so much to hunt Xiao Wu's Mother, and now that he had absorbed both the Soul Ring and the Soul Bone, he feared things wouldn't end so easily.
"Hum—"
The moment the barrier dissipated, before Chu Fei could even get a clear look at the situation, his field of vision was filled with black ghost hands, golden chrysanthemum petals, and bloodthirsty spider spikes.
The collision of their surging Soul Power created a shockwave that twisted Chu Fei’s facial features. His skin tore open, exposing raw flesh beneath. The wind pressure alone was enough to flay him alive.
Even if his first Soul Ring was a hundred-thousand-year ring and he possessed a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone that greatly enhanced his physical constitution, he was, in the end, only level twenty-seven. Facing the enraged Bibi Dong joined by two Titled Douluo, all he could do was stand in place and wait for death.
Soon, however, Bibi Dong noticed something wrong.
She intended to kill Chu Fei to retrieve the bone, but no matter how she killed him, this guy would always revive from the sea of blood at his feet. Even when she used the Death Spider Emperor’s scythes to mince him into shreds, it made no difference. Not even an earthworm had such regenerative capabilities.
This wasn't just regeneration!
After a while, the figure solidified out of the sea of blood once more. Chu Fei didn't even know how many times he had died. At first, he tried to count, but eventually, as Bibi Dong began to kill him with increasingly desperate measures, he couldn't be bothered anymore and just let her do it.
*Go ahead and kill me,* he thought. *If you manage to keep me dead, consider it my loss.*
"ROAR!"
A deafening roar from the depths of the forest shook the wilderness.
Broken trees and clouds of dust erupted as something charged, the direction pointing straight at Bibi Dong. The two massive waves of Soul Power signaled only one thing:
Fury!
Chu Fei knew the arrivals must be Daming and Erming.
Bibi Dong’s face turned leaden. It had come to this; she couldn't return empty-handed. "Ghost, Yue Guan!"
"Stop those two beasts."
"I am taking this brat. We shall study him at leisure once we return to Spirit Hall."