Chapter 25: Bibi Dong Enters the Hell Road
Before long, Qi Tian had slain the final degenerate on the battlefield.
"Not bad—you've improved quite a bit," Bibi Dong exhaled softly in relief.
After all, it was her body on the line—any injury would be a loss she wasn't willing to bear.
Still, she noticed that Qi Tian wasn't ruthless enough. If it were her fighting, she would have obliterated her opponent to make an example out of them, so that those deranged spectators wouldn't dare attack while she was weakened.
But since this was already the final battle, it didn't matter anymore.
As Qi Tian's sword pierced through the last degenerate, the spectators in the Hell Arena erupted into a thunderous roar.
"Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!"
Even with Bibi Dong's poison-immune body, Qi Tian could feel his blood surging from the violent energy in the air.
This was the City of Slaughter—a place where even those who had never taken a life would feel no fear when killing.
After a hundred battles, Bibi Dong's killing intent had reached its absolute peak—
so dense it was almost tangible, uncontrollably radiating from her body.
At that very moment, a crimson radiance burst forth from the depths of the Hell Arena. The air grew thick with a sweet, nauseating scent of blood.
Those same degenerates who had been cheering for Qi Tian moments ago
fell into a frenzy under the crimson glow, turning their weapons on one another.
"Be careful!" Bibi Dong's worried voice echoed in Qi Tian's mind.
The scene was horrifying—countless degenerates slaughtering each other,
blood flowing like a river and gathering into the central blood channel of the arena.
When the scarlet light descended upon Qi Tian, it was instantly repelled by the killing intent surrounding him.
He let out a breath of relief. Even though Bibi Dong's body was immune to the toxins of the City of Slaughter, he still found the eerie phenomenon deeply unsettling.
The blood flowing from the stands converged at the center of the arena,
forming the shape of a long, blood-red sword.
"That's… the mark of the Asura Sword?" Qi Tian muttered, puzzled.
"Shouldn't it be a bat?"
Then realization struck.
"So the Dark-Gold Three-Headed Bat King hasn't yet taken control of the City of Slaughter?"
"Right… Tang Chen hasn't started his divine trial yet. He hasn't entered the City of Slaughter to begin the Asura Nine Trials."
"That means the Bat King never got the chance to possess him, and without a High Priest, the City of Slaughter is still operating purely under divine law."
The crimson light intensified. The blood pooled beneath Qi Tian's feet suddenly turned hollow—the ground vanished beneath him, and a powerful sense of weightlessness seized his body.
He was swallowed whole by the scarlet radiance.
Despite being protected by his near-solid killing aura, the overwhelming energy knocked him unconscious in an instant.
---
He didn't know how much time had passed.
When Qi Tian finally regained consciousness, he realized his body wasn't under his control—and was currently fighting a swarm of bats.
"What the—? I'm still inside Bibi Dong's body?" Qi Tian thought, stunned.
After Bibi Dong cleared away the bats, Qi Tian spoke up, "So… this is the Hell Road?"
Bibi Dong nearly jumped from surprise.
"You're still here?"
"Yeah," Qi Tian replied. "I don't even know what happened. After that red light swallowed me, I blacked out completely."
"Then you must've taken the brunt of it for me," Bibi Dong said with a mix of shock and gratitude.
"I stayed conscious the entire time. We've been transported to the entrance of Hell Road!"
Qi Tian hadn't expected such a development—but as his mind grew clearer, he discovered something even more shocking:
Even within the Hell Road, he could freely take control of Bibi Dong's body at will.
The power of his system was truly terrifying.
"Need me to lend a hand?" Qi Tian asked.
"No need," Bibi Dong replied calmly. "Just stay alert and keep watch for me."
Compared to Qi Tian, she still trusted herself more—after all, this was the body she had trained for over a decade.
Qi Tian nodded and shared everything he knew about the Hell Road, giving her some mental preparation in advance.
"Those bats are Dark-Gold Bats," he explained. "They can devour each other to evolve and grow three heads. Be careful not to let that happen."
Bibi Dong's eyes turned cold.
"Don't worry. I won't give them the chance."
At that moment, she released her Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul. A wave of deathly, annihilating energy erupted from her body, shrouding the air in decay and dread.
Qi Tian's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Wait—you've developed a Domain? When did that happen?"
"Just now," Bibi Dong said, her voice calm but proud.
"When your soul shielded me from the red light's invasion, I was able to stay fully conscious. Through observing the killing aura, death energy, and the aura of decay around me… I comprehended my martial soul's innate domain—the Death Domain."
Within the Death Domain, Bibi Dong's attacks became far stronger and carried the venom of the Death Spider Emperor.
The weaker bats were instantly corroded by her deadly toxin, their corpses tumbling off the cliffs into the blood river below.
With the Death Domain fully unleashed, her speed through the Hell Road increased dramatically.
"Impressive," Qi Tian admitted sincerely.
He had been trying to comprehend the Blue Silver Domain himself, but had only reached the initial stage.
At this point, he could barely form a spiritual link with ordinary Blue Silver Grass, and only while meditating in deep concentration.
As the saying goes, "When there's no tiger on the mountain, the monkey becomes king."
Among the Blue Silver Grass, Qi Tian's martial soul possessed a higher bloodline, a noble existence that commanded instinctive submission.
The reason he could even connect to them was because the lesser Blue Silver Grass yearned to evolve into soul beasts under his influence.
While keeping watch, Qi Tian quietly studied Bibi Dong's Death Domain, hoping to gain insights for his own cultivation.
Before long, Bibi Dong had cleared the entire Dark-Gold Bat territory.
"Next," Qi Tian warned, "is the domain of the Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent. I told you to bring realgar with you—try it, it might be effective."
He continued, "It has three main attack types: venom, fire, and brute force. You don't have to worry about the first two—your body's immune to poison, and your fire resistance will protect you. The only thing to be careful of is its physical strength."
Indeed, after consuming the Internal Delicate Apricot and cultivating near the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, Bibi Dong's body was resistant to both poison and fire. So all she needed to do was avoid the serpent's crushing power.
"I understand," Bibi Dong replied, treading carefully through the darkness.
As she advanced, a thought crossed her mind.
"Future soul masters really do have it easy… even the Hell Road has a strategy guide now."
Qi Tian continued, "If you manage to kill it, take its inner core—it can be used as a fire-attribute soul ring."
"An inner core?" Bibi Dong's eyes gleamed with interest.
"That's right," Qi Tian said.
"The Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent's inner core can serve as a powerful fire essence bead—or it can be absorbed directly, forming a tens-of-thousands-year soul ring."
"However," he warned, "that serpent is incredibly strong. You won't be able to use soul skills here, so defeating it head-on will be difficult. If things go south, don't hesitate to retreat. Once you reach the end of the Hell Road, you'll be able to condense the Death God Domain at the altar."
Bibi Dong snorted coldly.
"You underestimate me. Watch how I'll slay that beast myself!"
Having just awakened her martial soul's Death Domain, she was filled with confidence and pride. There was no way she would accept being looked down upon—especially not by a mere serpent.
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End of Chapter