Unbeknownst to them, the dark clouds in the sky were being pierced open by the dawn's light, creating a huge hole through which sunlight poured down.
The sunlight streamed through the gaps between the lotus flowers, scattering golden patterns on the clear lake's surface.
A gentle breeze blew by, making the light and shadows dance and flicker, creating a dazzling and ethereal scene.
Su Cheng stood in the lotus pool, observing the figure before him prostrated and weeping in sorrow, and felt a pang of emotion in his heart.
The beautiful lotus lake they were in, seemingly like a painting, was the manifestation of Bibi Dong's soul.
Of course, the filthy mire they had just left was also a reflection of her inner world.
Before this, when they had exited the Hell Road, the killing intent born from the Shura God's power had been suppressed by Su Cheng's innate power, which caused it to fall back into dormancy without further troubling them.
However, the Rakshasa's malevolent thoughts were not so easily cast off.
As the heir of the Rakshasa God, Bibi Dong bore the mark of the Rakshasa God's power on her body, and the nature of this power was exceedingly elusive and hard to dispel. Ordinary innate powers alone were insufficient to eliminate it.
Originally, Su Cheng had planned to use the second stage of his Martial Soul True Body to completely obliterate it through an overwhelming power gap.
After all, they were no longer in the Hell Road, and there were no more lingering concerns.
Yet, when the massive Rakshasa malevolence attacked, Su Cheng distinctly sensed something unusual in Bibi Dong's soul.
The familiar yet elusive fluctuation from the past and Bibi Dong's soul itself became extremely clear under the intense stimulation of the evil divine power.
Without hesitation, he abandoned his initial plan and decided to split a part of his soul power to follow it into Bibi Dong's spiritual world.
What he witnessed there left him in silent contemplation.
Decay, desolation, death…
This was no place for a living person's soul.
The sense of decay was so profound that even someone who had just passed away, their soul not yet fully dissipated, could not have exhibited such extremity.
Even the last flicker of hope within her had been gradually extinguished by the Rakshasa God's relentless erosion from their Hell Road journey.
Then Su Cheng discovered the source of the familiar aura.
It was a glimmer of starlight, within which was the same aura he had.
More precisely, it was the aura of "Cheng Xue" from another world, a spiritual beacon in Bibi Dong's heart.
And when he touched that lotus seed-like starlight, Su Cheng understood why the "Starry Water Soul" reward had appeared within Bibi Dong's soul instead of falling into his hands.
Because the starlight created after the simulation ended was incomplete.
It could only be called "Starlight" at best.
To truly become the so-called "Starry Water Soul," it required extreme emotional fulfillment to fully form.
Humans, as the spirits of all things, naturally experience emotions more intensely than other beings.
However, there are differences among people.
This "emotion" is not limited to love alone; joy, anger, sorrow, and joy are all emotions.
Some people might be extremely passionate in one aspect but very limited in others.
For instance, Qian Renxue's emotions are actually quite subdued.
Whether joy or sorrow, they are not very extreme.
Sometimes she might forsake past grudges for interests or other goals, rarely being swayed by emotions.
But Bibi Dong was different.
She could push her emotions to the limit, often sacrificing better situations and opportunities for her emotional release.
She might even drag the entire world down with her in her hatred and resentment.
For her, status, wealth, and even life itself were less significant compared to the emotional expression.
Whether she was aware of her issues or not, she made the same choices when faced with them.
The starlight's role was not to cleanse her past completely but to help her face it and move forward.
The starlight was meant to catalyze and help her take this step.
Today, with Su Cheng's appearance and the presentation of that glimmer of starlight in the form of a lotus seed, Bibi Dong had begun her first step towards self-reflection and transformation.
For Su Cheng, Bibi Dong's current spiritual world was also quite beneficial.
The swordsmanship insights he had gained were incredibly profound and terrifying.
Even with a firm heart, he had to be cautious, as these profound truths could unknowingly erode his own emotions.
This was not what he wished to see.
He wanted to remain a "person" with feelings and not become a "god" who is indifferent to everything.
Fortunately, the swordsmanship insights from his initial soul skill creation were based on emotional guidance, so the issues were not too severe.
But as his cultivation deepened, concepts like extinction and eternity would inevitably threaten his human side.
Bibi Dong was different.
Her emotional intensity and deep-seated obsessions far exceeded imagination.
This endless lotus pool was a testament to that.
The mire at the bottom reflected the extreme emotions she harbored.
As the fragrance of the lotus flowers flowed into his lungs and the gentle water mist enveloped his skin, Su Cheng felt his soul power, which had entered Bibi Dong's body, being greatly nurtured.
The balance of Yin and Yang is a timeless truth.
The past is easily broken.
Deep within Bibi Dong's soul, the formation of this water soul had an extraordinary effect on his advancement.
Of all the different energies that composed innate power, which aspect was the hardest to improve?
Undoubtedly, it was soul power.
There was no need to mention soul power itself. As long as one absorbed the free-floating soul power from the outside world and continuously added soul rings, it could be accumulated steadily.
The power of blood and qi wasn't particularly difficult either. With his foundation built upon the five elements and integrated with the Blue Silver Emperor's hundred-thousand-year soul bone, his physique was exceptional.
However, the improvement of soul power could only be achieved through painstaking effort, with no shortcuts available in the past.
The comprehension of sword intent couldn't help him improve his soul power.
On the contrary, he needed a sufficiently strong soul foundation to support his sword intent.
Otherwise, the experience of almost having his sea of consciousness torn apart by the powerful sword intent after the first simulation ended was a lesson.
But how could he continue to use the "water soul" deep within Bibi Dong's soul for cultivation in the future?
Su Cheng was momentarily troubled.
As time slowly passed, Bibi Dong's sobbing gradually subsided.
The scene fell into silence.
After a while, Bibi Dong stood up, her skin like snow and her features exquisite, no longer in her previous state of disarray.
"Huh, who are you, and why are you here?"
She looked at Su Cheng in front of her with a face full of surprise.
"…" Su Cheng showed a moment of astonishment in his eyes. "I..."
He immediately noticed the faint smile in her eyes and understood at once.
Shaking his head with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, he said, "It seems you're fine now. Adjust yourself and come out quickly."
With that, his figure flashed and disappeared.
Bibi Dong stared blankly at the spot where he had vanished.
The words she truly wanted to say were left unsaid before he departed.
She sighed softly, her face tinged with a blush.
She had spoken like that just to ease the awkwardness.
She wasn't entirely unconscious of the scenes that had unfolded after entering the Hell Road.
Although her body was difficult to control and her mind was in disarray, she hadn't completely lost consciousness and had a general impression of what had happened.
Despite promising to protect them in the City of Slaughter, she had been the first to falter and had to rely on Zhu Zhuqing for protection, leaving her feeling ashamed.
Of course, what made her feel most humiliated was her uncontrollable outburst of weeping.
When Su Cheng opened his eyes, a surge of murderous intent came from beside him.
It was Zhu Zhuqing.
At this moment, she had already awakened, and apart from the faint red glow in her eyes, there seemed to be no other issues. Clearly, she had it well under control.
The layer of murderous aura around her was also very pure, and it wouldn't take her long to dispel it effortlessly.
Although it seemed they had spent quite some time in Bibi Dong's soul world, in reality, only a moment had passed outside.
The sense of time in the sea of consciousness is entirely different from reality.
Noticing Su Cheng's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing nodded but felt puzzled.
No matter how she looked at it, he shouldn't have awakened later than her.
He shouldn't have lost consciousness at all.
After all, the profound energy Su Cheng had used to envelop them earlier could completely isolate the intense killing intent at the end of the Hell Road.
Even she had only lost focus momentarily due to her own heavy murderous aura.
How could Su Cheng awaken later than her?
Just as she was about to ask, Bibi Dong also opened her eyes.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced sideways and was surprised to see that Bibi Dong seemed greatly changed.
Although still slightly disheveled with loose hair and messy clothes, her eyes and expression no longer held the previous viciousness and cruelty, instead showing calmness and grace.
Compared to her past false sense of authority, she now seemed genuinely transcendent.
Su Cheng also looked over, his eyes shifting slightly. "Your Holiness, you look very different."
"No one stays the same forever." Bibi Dong said calmly, "But, I am still who I was."
They both understood each other's situations.
But for various reasons, they remained silent about it, not breaking that layer of understanding.
"Perhaps it's better this way." Su Cheng thought silently, saying nothing more.
"It won't always be like this," Bibi Dong thought to herself.
Unlike when they had come, Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan were left in the City of Slaughter to train.
Returning with them was Zhu Zhuqing.
Amidst their varied feelings—silence, anticipation, confusion—they quickly headed towards Spirit City.
Though their mindsets differed, none of them showed it outwardly.
Bibi Dong, however, had changed significantly.
Even on the road, she surprisingly drew closer to Zhu Zhuqing, her newly accepted disciple, explaining various cultivation details.
She even taught and introduced her to the current division of powers within the Spirit Hall and various living details in Spirit City.
Though puzzled, Zhu Zhuqing, with her intelligence and acumen, clearly wouldn't miss the opportunity to strengthen this relationship, nor would she mention what had happened in the Hell Road.
She wisely refrained from saying anything unnecessary, behaving very obediently.
Apart from the interactions between master and disciple, Su Cheng was also busy, taking time to guide Zhu Zhuqing on the aspects of domain transformation and her key training focus for the future.
He also taught her the cultivation method for the second volume of the Innate Skill.
As for the first volume, there was no need to teach it.
The current technique Zhu Zhuqing practiced, the Nirvana Sutra specifically for the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul, was far superior to the general Innate Skill first volume.
All three of them were quite powerful.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, the weakest among them, had reached the peak of Soul King level after her experience in the City of Slaughter and could advance to Soul Emperor at any time, thus traveling quickly.
In less than a week, they returned to the Spirit Mountains, nearing Spirit City.
Just as they reached the city gate, Zhu Zhuqing immediately felt a gaze fall upon her.
She looked up silently, seeing a tall figure standing proudly on the city wall.
Zhu Zhuqing had never seen Qian Renxue in this state.
No longer dressed in black, she had shed her previous dark and fierce aura.
Though identical in appearance, Zhu Zhuqing could tell that this was not the woman she remembered.
Dressed in white like snow, her golden hair shimmered under the sunlight, making it hard to discern her eyes' expression.
As the wind blew across the high walls, lifting her clothes and hair, even Zhu Zhuqing, who harbored no goodwill towards her, couldn't help but be moved by her grace.
In the next moment, the figure flashed and appeared before them.
Those golden pupils stared at her.
Her gaze was arrogant and indifferent, like a lion surveying its subjects, exuding exceptional dignity and coldness.
"I wondered who could have the honor of having our Spirit Hall's Pope and Elder personally invite them."
Qian Renxue's voice was clear, revealing no emotion.
"So, it's you, the defeated one."
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