Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 897: Let This Venerable One Do It

"Your Holiness, do you have a plan?"

Li Qingran scanned the immense forest, uncertain how to draw out the World Beasts. In the Cangyun Realm, specific scents could lure demonic beasts, but a comparable method hadn't yet been discovered in Canglan Realm.

"World Beasts possess extreme sensitivity to sound. If we engage in combat out here and create a disturbance, those World Beasts will perceive it as an intrusion into their territory by other beasts. They will emerge to investigate, and we shall seize this opportunity to annihilate them in a single decisive action!"

Bixixi's fist tightened, her declaration filled with unwavering confidence.

Chen Huaian's lips quirked; the strategy still struck him as dubious.

Based on Li Qingran's accounts, the Battle Soul Hall had earned notoriety, akin to cornered beasts, attacking anyone who crossed their path. Yet, the Battle Soul Hall undeniably possessed the might to make adversaries of all stripes. Bixixi alone was sufficient to deter the leading powers of several nations. The Battle Soul Hall cast a vast shadow across the continent, a pervasive gloom. And World Beasts, particularly those exceeding a hundred millennia, had already attained sentience. Their intellect frequently surpassed that of many humans, and they were repositories of extensive life experiences. Merely generating noise would likely prove insufficient to entice them into revealing themselves…

Nevertheless, he had accompanied Li Qingran solely to observe. The precise execution would hinge upon Bixixi's performance.

"World Bone Technique — Heaven Net Illusion."

Bixixi elevated her right hand; a silver-white ring adorning her index finger emitted a faint gleam.

With a resonant hum, the air warped like agitated water. An ethereal barrier, unseen, instantly enveloped the area occupied by herself and Li Qingran. Light bent unnaturally, and breathing was stifled. From an external vantage point, it continued to appear as a patch of sparse trees and weeds, with no soul present.

"Conceal yourselves effectively."

Bixixi's voice dropped to a murmur, the papal dignity tinged with an unsettling aura amidst the shadows.

"My spiritual presence is too potent. Intelligently refined beasts can detect it from eight hundred li away. Should they perceive me, they will merely feign death, burrowing into the earth."

She gestured towards the red-robed Deacons standing guard outside, a predatory smile curving the edge of her lips:

"But these individuals are different."

"Over the years, the number of World Beasts felled by their hands ranges from eight to nine hundred, perhaps even a thousand. The lingering scent of blood and their killing intent are, to World Beasts, akin to a beacon in the darkness, an inveterate enemy etched into their very beings."

"The moment combat commences, those short-tempered, hundred-thousand-year World Beasts will be utterly incapable of resisting the urge to emerge and rend these humans asunder."

Bixixi radiated absolute conviction.

"Commence!"

Upon her directive.

A thunderous boom echoed—!!!

Outside, several Peak Battle Masters immediately initiated a staged 'fierce confrontation'. This was no mere act; they were genuinely exchanging powerful blows. Flames, frost, and thunder—brilliant battle techniques were unleashed upon the surrounding woods with seeming disregard for cost. Ancient trees toppled, and the earth fractured. The clamor was as if the very forest was being torn asunder.

Bixixi bestowed a nod of approval, peering through a fissure in the illusion, her gaze fixed intently upon the depths of the woods, patiently awaiting the appearance of her quarry. Li Qingran, meanwhile, retrieved the World Bone she had secured as the previous day's champion, contemplating the potential culinary applications for her master. With merely two World Bones, the quantity felt rather paltry, scarcely sufficient to fill a single void.

Simultaneously.

Within the heart of the Starry Sky Great Forest.

A serene lake lay nestled here, its waters shimmering with an unusual jade-green luminescence, bordered by colossal ferns reaching heights of one hundred meters.

A sudden splash disturbed the placid surface. A colossal, single-horned head of a dark-green dragon breached the water, its golden, vertical pupils shimmering with an expression of humanlike bewilderment. It was a Jadewater Jiao of a hundred thousand years. On the bank nearby, a bear, standing ten meters tall with its body enshrouded in purple-gold flame, was irritatingly scratching its flank against a massive tree trunk. It was a Purple-Gold Flame Bear, also a hundred millennia old. Seated between the Jiao and the Bear was a diminutive girl. Dressed in a pink frock, her twin ponytails swayed behind her as she bit into an apple—none other than Little Rabbit, whom Tang Er considered his 'dearest'.

"Roar—"

The Purple-Gold Flame Bear grunted, its enormous paw gesturing towards the forest's periphery. Its voice, deep and guttural, articulated: "Such an irritant."

"Are humans engaged in conflict?"

The Jadewater Jiao flicked its tongue, a fleeting glint of ferocity crossing its gaze before vanishing: "This clamor… it portends mutual destruction. And that vexing aroma, it is potent…"

"Shall I investigate?"

The jiao was eager to engage. Even though World Beasts had attained intelligence, their inherent ferocity remained untamed. Especially when they detected the repugnant aura of Battle Soul Masters, instinct compelled them to either exploit the chaos or to devour the intruders whole.

"Bear Two, keep an eye on the young lady."

The jiao contorted its body, preparing to launch itself into the air.

"Wait!"

A clear voice cut through the air. Little Rabbit, casting aside her apple, sprang onto a large rock, her brows furrowed in a tight frown.

"Big Tiger, don't go!"

"It's a trap."

The jiao halted mid-leap, bewildered, turning back to look. "A trap? But it sounds like a fierce battle…"

"Precisely because it sounds too fierce."

Little Rabbit remained standing, her gaze fixed in that direction, a weariness and wariness in her eyes far beyond her years.

"I have dwelled in the human world for a considerable duration, and I am well-acquainted with those Battle Soul Masters."

"World Beast uprisings occur for reasons of survival or mating; their roars are deep and primal. This noise…"

She gestured towards the distant, continuous explosions: "That is a frequency exclusive to human combat techniques, not something World Beasts can produce."

"Furthermore…"

Little Rabbit drew a deep breath; her face grew slightly pale, a flicker of animosity flashing in her eyes: "The Battle Soul Hall has fully mobilized. They are actively seeking high-ranking World Beasts across the land. At this juncture, creating such a disturbance at the forest's edge – aside from luring us out, what other purpose could it serve?"

"Do not forget how you were targeted previously!"

At her declaration, the Purple-Gold Flame Bear and the Jadewater Jiao trembled. They had originally resided farther away, but due to persistent harassment from Battle Soul Masters affiliated with the Battle Soul Hall, they were compelled to relocate closer to the core. Within that core resided horrors they dared not provoke. Fortunately, whatever resided there seemed dormant and paid them no heed as they approached.

"Dastardly humans! So deceitful! Utterly devious!"

The Purple-Gold Flame Bear, in its wrath, snapped a massive tree in half with a single paw before settling back down, its colossal form receding into the shadows.

"Heed the young lady's words."

The Jadewater Jiao slowly submerged itself in the water, leaving only a pair of watchful eyes above the surface.

"We shall not venture out."

"Let us observe how long their charade can be maintained."

…

At the forest's periphery.

Half an hour elapsed.

Boom! Bang! Crack!

The combat persisted. The Peak Battle Masters, gasping for breath, found their battle qi nearly depleted, yet they compelled themselves to continue their feigned "pummeling" of one another. The surrounding woodland had been reduced to a desolate wasteland, in utter disarray.

However.

Apart from a few sightless thousand-year-old wind baboons and ten-thousand-year-old mandrake snakes that emerged and were effortlessly dispatched by them, not a single hair from any hundred-thousand-year World Beast was present. The deep forest remained as tranquil as a still pond, seemingly mocking their arduous performance with an absolute silence.

Within the illusion.

Bixixi's countenance visibly soured. She clenched her scepter with such force that her knuckles turned white. The sensation of her confidence being shattered by reality inflicted an old, unwelcome sting of humiliation and fury upon the pontiff. Especially since…

Her gaze fell upon the White-clothed Swordsman's battle soul beside her, arms crossed, a wry smile playing on his lips. Though silent, his expression clearly conveyed: *Is that all you've got?*

"A pack of cowardly turtles…"

Bixixi gritted her teeth, muttering curses under her breath.

"Since when did these beasts become so cunning?"

She found herself in a quandary. A retreat would result in a significant loss of face, and Li Qingran's enhancement plan had not yet commenced. To advance, however, meant venturing into the perilous core of the Starry Sky Great Forest – the very domain of the World Beasts. A rash advance could lead them into an ambush or an encounter with those legendary tyrannical beasts… an ordeal that would challenge even her considerably.

"Damn it."

Bixixi inhaled sharply, her brow furrowed.

"This presents a significant… complication."

If all other options failed, they would be forced to breach the defenses. She was on the verge of issuing the command.

But a figure clad in white landed before her first.

"It's merely a matter of luring out a few fiends… *cough*, World Beasts, isn't it?"

Chen Huaian's lips curved into a smile. "Allow this venerable one to handle it!"

…