Chapter 38: Ginseng Fruit

"Even if I am to die, as an Emperor, I must die with the dignity of an Emperor!"

"Besides, it is far from certain who will emerge victorious today!"

Hearing these words, the nobles and officials sneered, dismissing them as the delirious ravings of a dying man. At this stage, what possible means of counterattack could the Douling Emperor have left? They had long anticipated the Golden Cavalry Douluo’s rebellion and had naturally prepared countermeasures to suppress him.

The old woman, currently locked in a struggle with the Soul-Eater Spider Empress, suddenly retreated explosively. She looked up and roared, "How much longer do you old fossils intend to watch from the sidelines!"

As her voice fell, streaks of light flashed through the wind and rain, and several aged, decaying figures appeared. They were all drawn by the rumors of the secret to immortality. No one had expected that, even after the Douling Emperor had slaughtered a portion of their kind, others remained hidden within the city, seemingly having struck some sort of deal with the old woman.

The moment they appeared, their gazes locked onto the Ginseng Fruit Tree. Sensing the vast, ocean-like vitality emanating from it, their eyes were filled with both trepidation and greed.

"This form... is it truly related to that Apothecary?"

"Our teacher’s methods were never something we could fully grasp. We can only barely discern that this plant follows a path entirely different from the alchemy we have learned."

"...Which means the Apothecary possesses at least two methods to achieve immortality."

The group whispered among themselves, showing no intention of intervening in the battle below. They had survived this long not because of overwhelming strength, but purely because they had lived long enough, possessed keen instincts for reading the situation, and were truly running out of life—naturally, they would not commit acts of suicide.

Seeing this, the old woman gritted her teeth. Had she not been forced into this position, she would never have chosen to cooperate with such cowardly old fools. She shouted angrily, "If you keep watching, none of you will have an easy end either!"

"If we fail, you will only share the fate of those previous fools and become withered bones beneath this tree!"

Hearing this, they exchanged glances and moved in unison. By tacit agreement, they all chose to target the Golden Cavalry Douluo. Having stagnated at the Soul Douluo level for centuries, their strength had long reached a state of perfection. Even though the Golden Cavalry Douluo was a level-95 Titled Douluo, nearly forty percent of his combat prowess relied on his Day-Feather Golden Cavalry. Now that his entire unit had betrayed him, his remaining strength was barely equal to that of an average Titled Douluo.

Their combined efforts, supported by the numerous soul master troops in the rear, were sufficient to pin him down for a long time. Yet, even so, the soul master troops suffered heavy casualties, which astonished the old woman—she had not expected the Golden Cavalry Douluo to maintain such combat capability without his cavalry. Then, looking closer, her fury surged.

The men had not been fighting with their full strength from the start. Every time the Golden Cavalry Douluo launched a soul skill, they dodged quickly, and without anyone to block him, the soul master troops were unable to put up a real fight. In contrast, they remained full of vigor, their stamina and soul power barely depleted.

The old woman was incensed, but she could not abandon the Soul-Eater Spider Empress to go and save the situation. She had assumed this operation was foolproof, especially since the Douling Emperor had almost no one left to command, while she had brought many helpers. She had not foreseen the accident of the Soul-Eater Spider Empress, nor that her recruits would exert so little effort.

The battle seemed to have reached a stalemate.

The old woman felt a weary exhaustion. Suddenly, her mind flickered. When she regained her senses, she saw the Soul-Eater Spider Empress standing right before her, its eight spider spears plunging down!

She gasped in shock, manipulating her Martial Soul Avatar to dive low, then rotated her wings in mid-air to create a vortex, folding back to attack.

"Skreeee—!"

Stung by the pain, the eight eyes of the Soul-Eater Spider Empress revealed intense rage. It opened its mouth wide, emitting a series of bizarre, insectile cries. As it shrieked, the brood of Soul-Eater Spiders it had birthed joined in the chorus. The overlapping sounds, originating from the same source, formed a symphony so haunting that anyone who heard it felt as if they were being devoured by ten thousand insects, their heads splitting with agony.

Those with weaker mental fortitude lost their sense of self in an instant, becoming puppets controlled by the symphony, turning to attack their own comrades!

Seeing this, the old woman spread her wings and fired countless fine, sharp feathers, striking every spider with pinpoint accuracy in an attempt to break the symphony.

"Hahaha! It's useless! Even if the symphony stops, the demonic sound has already pierced your ears and echoes in your minds. It is impossible to recover!" The Soul-Eater Spider Empress laughed, then suddenly asked in surprise, "How..."

Among the elderly Soul Douluos, one had remained unaffected by the demonic sound. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone else was distracted, he suddenly bypassed the battlefield and headed toward the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

The disheveled Douling Emperor’s eyes widened, his pupils turning blood-red as he roared, "How dare you!"

He spread a pair of wings, similar to the old woman’s but stained a deep crimson, and launched himself into the air, determined to intercept the intruder.

However, the man did not even spare a glance for the Douling Emperor, casually releasing a soul skill that sent him flying. At that moment, he was less than ten meters away from the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

The infant-shaped fruit was right before his eyes.

"Fruit of Immortality, you are mine!"

Seeing the hope he had awaited for hundreds of years within reach, the man couldn't help but laugh, his eyes filled with excitement and agitation.

The Douling Emperor, struggling to rise, screamed, "No!"

But it was too late. Before everyone's eyes, his hand touched the Ginseng Fruit.

Upon making contact with the skin—which felt no different from that of a living creature—the man’s excitement reached a breaking point. Yet, the next moment, his laughter ceased abruptly, and his body went completely still.

What kind of eyes were those?

Turbid, insane, desperate, angry... and innocent...

A darkness like an bottomless abyss imprinted itself into the man’s mind, and then, like a bomb, it detonated.

A mist of blood appeared in everyone's vision. The Douling Emperor, closest to the scene, touched the warm blood splattered on his face and suddenly erupted into laughter.

"My treasure! Truly worthy of being my treasure! You belong to me, and no one can take you away!"

The manic laughter did not affect the others; they simply stared blankly at the infant, fear rising in the depths of their eyes.

"Umm... Waaaaah—"

The Ginseng Fruit blinked its pitch-black eyes as if it were a real infant, opened its mouth slightly, and let out a wail.

As it cried, the Ginseng Fruit Tree itself began to tremble, and the ghastly faces on its trunk let out a heaven-shaking howl!

"Aaaaaah—!"

Like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, despair, pain, and collapse—countless negative emotions surged into everyone’s hearts along with the cries.

Those with weaker wills, their eyes vacant and dull, slowly raised their weapons and brought them down upon their own necks.