Chapter 1014: Ignoring the Lame

"Ugh!"

Situ Yongren's face showed a fleeting look of intense struggle. Greedy God had to intensify its control, pushing its Three Aversions Eyes to their limit, and it was only with great difficulty that it managed to bring Situ Yongren under control.

"I have..."

"Bring it here."

"I... only have... some... left..."

Grudgingly, Situ Yongren pulled six exquisite, fingernail-sized jade boxes from his spatial ring. Each box contained golden sacred blood.

"Six drops!

"It truly is 'some'!"

Xu Xiaoshou was astonished. His own bottle of sacred blood still had a lot left; he hadn't used it all. But that didn't mean he thought sacred blood could be mass-produced! Many Path-Cutting and Void-Ascending cultivators he had encountered previously didn't even have sacred blood on them; only those of high status might possess a single drop as a life-saving charm. In contrast, this young man, Situ Yongren, had six such sacred blood life-saving charms, not even counting other items. Truly worthy of being a "Saint Son"! How extravagant!

With another spatial displacement, Xu Xiaoshou acquired the six drops of sacred blood.

"Whose sacred blood are these?" He noticed the varied energies of the sacred blood, golden yet mixed with different, vague colors, and realized it wasn't from a single source... Pfft, a single half-saint.

"Three drops... from... Dao..." Situ Yongren's words trailed off midway.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils contracted. He immediately added, "No need for the full name, just a respectful title will suffice."

With the last sliver of opportunity for resistance extinguished, Situ Yongren was in great pain and could only state helplessly:

"Three drops... from... Master. Two drops... from Xuanji... Half-Saint. One drop... from Lord Cangsheng..."

My heavens! This is a beloved favorite! Xu Xiaoshou was thrilled. He still remembered the Imitator's characteristics: although he rarely used it, as long as he had the blood of the target, he could transform into that person, possessing a percentage of their abilities.

Sacred blood, plainly speaking, is still blood. If Xu Xiaoshou wished, it would be a bit wasteful, but by dripping a drop of sacred blood onto the Imitator, he could temporarily possess half-saint abilities. He just didn't know how many layers of a half-saint's power the Imitator could replicate. Xu Xiaoshou had secretly harbored this terrifying idea, waiting for the opportune moment to give it a try.

"I already had the blood of Jinyang Half-Saint Long Rongzhi. Now I also have blood from Dao Qiongcang, Dao Xuanji, and Ai Cangsheng. My combat power... it will directly soar!

"Hmm, the only thing to consider is whether transforming with their sacred blood will trigger a sensing from their true forms, and then they'll cast down sacred punishment on me from afar?"

Half-saints are too powerful. The reason Xu Xiaoshou hadn't dared to act so recklessly before was purely out of fear of causing trouble. But one still needed to collect more trump cards. After all, when death truly looms, who cares about all that? Dropping four drops of sacred blood onto the Imitator simultaneously, acquiring four different abilities, might break the deadlock instantly. As for the subsequent mess, it would be fine to clean it up if he survived.

"Meow meow."

Greedy God's gaze followed the sacred blood, drool practically dripping from its mouth, expressing an intense desire to devour it. Xu Xiaoshou tapped the little white cat's forehead. "This is sacred blood! I can't let you waste it!"

However, to make the horse run without feeding it would clearly be inhumane. Xu Xiaoshou thought for a moment and pulled out a jar of crimson-gold liquid refined by Greedy God, handing it to Greedy God to replenish its energy, generously rewarding it for its significant contribution this time.

"Are there any other things? Like cash... um, things like Spirit Crystals or Spirit Fragments. And anything else you can give me. The kind that isn't bound to an owner..."

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He slapped his thigh in annoyance. "How foolish of me! Just unbind the spatial necklace and send it over to me, wouldn't that work?"

Acting on the thought, Xu Xiaoshou instructed Greedy God to relay this command. Greedy God froze, clearly astonished by its master's insatiable greed, which surpassed even its own. It didn't move for a long time.

"Ahem!" Xu Xiaoshou awkwardly cleared his throat. "Is my conduct a bit too unsightly?"

Greedy God: "Meow meow!" (Be more confident. Remove "a bit" and replace it with "very"!)

"Get to work!" Xu Xiaoshou impatiently lifted Greedy God, making it face Situ Yongren directly.

Soon, the necklace was in his hands... Xu Xiaoshou quickly inventoried the spatial necklace. It contained a vast and varied assortment of items: clothes, ancient texts, jade slips detailing Heavenly Secret Arts, various emblems, tokens, jade seals, and numerous strange, unfamiliar trinkets...

Fearing mishaps or being located and tracked, Xu Xiaoshou threw all the unfamiliar items into the deep sea. With the deep sea acting as a natural hydraulic pulverizer, everything without utilitarian value was pulverized into dust. After this clearing process, Xu Xiaoshou gained a vast quantity of spirit medicines, ancient plants, high-quality crystal ores needed for engraving Heavenly Secret Array Discs, and extensive insights into Heavenly Secret Arts. Among them were even items personally inscribed by Dao Qiongcang...

Xu Xiaoshou quickly skimmed through them, still fearing being located and tracked. So he threw all texts potentially related to half-saint powers into the deep-sea hydraulic pulverizer to be crushed. When it came to emergency avoidance, he was a professional.

Finally, having cleared out a large number of usable treasures, Xu Xiaoshou stuffed them all into his Yuan Mansion World. The Yuan Mansion World also had a second line of defense: Lei Xi'er, who nurtured flowers and trees there. She would likely go through them again, and if she asked him about anything unfamiliar, he'd just tell her to discard it. He couldn't afford to let greed cause problems. With this major premise in mind, Xu Xiaoshou's greed was conservative, steadfast, and discerning.

"Meow."

After all this was done, Greedy God was already weakly whimpering from waiting. The Three Aversions Eyes consumed too much energy. Situ Yongren, having studied Heavenly Secret Arts for years, also had high mental strength, so after a prolonged struggle, even Greedy God, a pure ghost beast, was beginning to struggle.

"Just a moment." Xu Xiaoshou still had one task to complete.

He displaced all the defensive spirit artifacts on Situ Yongren's person—various jade pendants, small pagodas, bracelets, and so on—and systematically shattered them one by one under the deep-sea pressure. If he couldn't take it, he'd destroy it!

"Alright, release your control." Convinced he had taken everything he could and destroyed everything he couldn't, Xu Xiaoshou naturally wouldn't let Greedy God continue to waste energy. He wasn't truly stingy; he even specifically retrieved a "Holy Origin Pill" from Situ Yongren's mountain of treasures—a mere fraction of the total value, yet incredibly potent—and fed it to Greedy God to restore its power. The deep sea was terrifying, and Greedy God still needed to maintain its combat strength at all times.

After receiving the Holy Origin Pill, Greedy God was instantly full of vigor once more. In this round, Greedy God had zero expenditure, Situ Yongren became utterly impoverished overnight, and Xu Xiaoshou became instantly wealthy.

"Ugh."

Recovering consciousness from the controlled state, although not much time had passed, Situ Yongren felt as if he had endured a long nightmare. After he awoke within the water sphere, he was shocked to find that all the luminous treasures on his person were gone. Aside from the clothes on his back, he was so utterly stripped that even the jade hairpin in his hair had been pilfered!

"What have you done to me?!" Situ Yongren's lips trembled, and his eyes turned red. His entire fortune! To cope with this operation in East Heaven King City, Situ Yongren had brought almost his entire fortune with him. But he wasn't a wasteful person; he meticulously calculated his gains and expenditures, always ensuring his assets appreciated. And now, he had suddenly encountered a robber... Everything was gone! All lost! Situ Yongren's composure shattered; he almost split apart on the spot!

"So much anger, over just a few things I took?" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, gazing at the young man who glared angrily at him. He extended a hand and indifferently commanded, "Shatter."

With a "pop." As the spatial force spread... The water sphere shattered!

"No—"

"Don't!!!"

Situ Yongren's eyes were about to burst from their sockets. The threat of death and the rage of instant poverty intertwined, causing his eyes to instantly become bloodshot. The crushing deep-sea pressure was well-known. Situ Yongren had personally witnessed too many people die when their spirit energy was drained, their water sphere shattered, and their bodies were crushed by the water pressure. All his defensive spirit artifacts... had been destroyed by this Yellow Springs! Losing the water sphere's protection, wouldn't he be buried in the deep sea?

"Senior, don't! I can give you anything, but I cannot die, truly cannot... Huh?"

One moment he was wailing, the next he realized that after the water sphere shattered, there was no crushing water pressure invading his body; in fact, the water flow was displaced from around him. Situ Yongren froze. King Yama Yellow Springs, could he even control the water flow beneath the deep sea?

"You should thank your good Master. Otherwise, you'd be dead now," Xu Xiaoshou said calmly. He could use "Transformation" to assume the appearance of King Yama Yellow Springs, and then, when necessary, freely switch between the abilities of the Water Ghost and Yellow Springs using the Imitator. This way, the Imitator's limitation of only imitating one person at a time was entirely bypassed.

"Many, many thanks, Senior... for sparing my life..." Situ Yongren was terrified, feeling like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of another. But even in this perilous situation, his mind quickly calmed, realizing that his identity was indeed still exploitable by outsiders. He immediately said nervously:

"Senior, rest assured, I, Situ, absolutely have no means or thought of notifying my Master, or even committing suicide to near death to summon my Master's Half-Saint will to descend. Nor do I have any intention of using a Half-Saint's will for self-protection or to counter you, Senior. These words are not a threat, Senior; please understand. I, Situ, also understand that you spared me because you have instructions. Please speak openly."

He lowered his head slightly, his tone humble, deeply understanding the principle that "when under someone's roof, one must bow one's head."

"You are quite clever, knowing to lay everything out in the open." Xu Xiaoshou marveled that those from powerful factions were indeed far from ordinary; there were no idiotic actions or words like, "Dare you touch me today and see what happens?" which meant he couldn't just "try it if he dared."

"Since you are a truly... understanding person, I will not beat around the bush with you." While continuously applying psychological pressure with "Spirit Devouring Mountains and Rivers" and adopting the tone of a major figure, Xu Xiaoshou calmly said, "Let us discuss 'cooperation.'"

"Cooperation?" Situ Yongren looked up.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. "I command you: do what you should, and what you shouldn't."

"...Very well." Situ Yongren was remarkably straightforward. Not a single irrational question like "why," "what," or "what do I get" was uttered, which made Xu Xiaoshou regard him with a bit more respect.

*He's a shrewd one! I need to be careful not to be outmaneuvered...* Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, his expression remaining calm as he said:

"I will not make you work for nothing. The exchange of benefits will be equitable. Even if you are currently under my control, what I ask you to do will also provide you with equivalent information. And this information, for you, should be a great merit."

"Information..." Situ Yongren mulled over the keyword. He showed no outward reaction and humbly replied, "This junior dares not covet any reward. I understand my current predicament."

*So self-preserving!* Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes inwardly. He hated this kind of self-preserving person the most, because as long as you reveal a weakness, he would absolutely strike you three times. But Situ Yongren could not be killed. The three characters "Dao Qiongcang" were Situ Yongren's ultimate life-saving charm; even half-saints dared not touch him. And since even half-saints dared not touch him, Xu Xiaoshou figured this person could be utilized.

"One thing." He became serious and asked, "You know about the Jiang family's Half-Saint, right?"

"Mm-hm." Situ Yongren nodded, not understanding why the topic suddenly shifted, but sincerely said, "I met him once during the Half-Saint Clan Celebration of the Puxuan Jiang Clan in the Northern Region."

*You really have met many Saints...* Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, *It's a good thing I was cautious. I didn't directly read his soul, otherwise, I might have skipped a second and seen nothing.*

"You're also aware of the Lei family tragedy, aren't you?" He asked again.

"Huh?" This time, Situ Yongren didn't respond directly. Instead, he raised his eyes in surprise, his heart shaken. Just now he mentioned the word "information." Then he mentioned the "Jiang family's Half-Saint." And now, the "Lei family tragedy"... Situ Yongren felt things were getting complicated. This King Yama Yellow Springs, surely he isn't about to drop some terrifying piece of information on me, is he?

"You may not believe me, but I will still speak." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand dismissively and said frankly:

"The Jiang family's Half-Saint is currently interfering with the reinvestigation of the Lei family tragedy and has set his sights on the Lei family's Pupils. As you should know, we, the King Yama, are collecting the Lei family's Pupils, but we are a dark organization, and we are not afraid of the Holy Temple knowing. However, the Jiang family's Half-Saint has bypassed the Holy Temple, intending to meddle with the Lei family's former authority as well as the matter of the Lei family's Pupils. I assume you are currently unaware of this, aren't you?"

Situ Yongren's eyes widened as he listened. The Lei family's authority? The Lei family's Pupils? A reinvestigation? Is this something I should even know about at my current level? His first reaction was, "He's lying to me." His second was, "There's no need." His third reaction was to become completely engrossed in King Yama Yellow Springs' words.

The Jiang family's Half-Saint has entered the fray? What for? The Lei family's Pupils? Is that all? That's hardly worth the effort! Half-saints generally stay secluded, seeking to preserve themselves. If they make a move, they must be aiming higher. And above Half-Saints, there is only the Saint Emperor... Could it be that the Jiang family's Half-Saint is after the "Saint Emperor's position"? Does he want to assassinate the Saint Emperor? What a joke! A tumultuous storm surged in Situ Yongren's heart. From King Yama Yellow Springs' calm words, he detected the scent of a world about to be engulfed in a wild surge.

"Senior, is this true?" Situ Yongren finally spoke, unable to conceal the turmoil in his heart.

"I never speak falsehoods. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Jiang family's Half-Saint will soon arrive here to verify my words." Xu Xiaoshou's tone was calm and unhurried, then he said with a slight smile:

"This information is both a great merit and a death sentence. Since you are now aware, it means you have entered the fray. I don't think I need to elaborate on what that implies. I only hope that you survive and convey this information to your Master, because the Jiang family's Half-Saint wanting to seize the Lei family's Pupils genuinely interferes with our King Yama's interests."

"Thump-thump..." Situ Yongren's heart raced; he instantly understood all the causes and effects. The Jiang family's Half-Saint wanted the Lei family's Pupils, and the King Yama had the same objective. So this time, the King Yama had been targeted by a Half-Saint and had been forced to seek him out for "official cooperation"? Indeed! Who wouldn't be wary of a Half-Saint? King Yama Yellow Springs had not yet reached the Saint realm, so it was normal to fear the Jiang family's Half-Saint. Was this why he had spared his life? And furthermore...

"This is a great merit!" Situ Yongren knew that the Jiang family's Half-Saint acting privately, bypassing the Holy Temple—if he reported this information, as it concerned a Half-Saint—it would absolutely be a great merit. Perhaps the position of "Head of the Dao Department" would directly fall into his lap!

"Thump-thump..." On his side, Situ Yongren's thoughts made his heart race, giving him a feeling that "misfortune can be a blessing in disguise."

On the other side, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly detected a heartbeat. He stiffened, and upon closer inspection, he found the source of the heartbeat was not only from Situ Yongren, but also from the Saint Emperor Dragon Scale... The Saint Emperor Dragon Scale?! A heartbeat... Signifying the arrival of a Half-Saint!

"Holy crap, he arrived so quickly?" At that moment, confirming that the Saint Emperor Dragon Scale had begun to beat and its beat was rapidly accelerating, Xu Xiaoshou understood everything. He almost had the urge to turn and run. But then he remembered there was still someone beside him he needed to fool...

Xu Xiaoshou could only steady his mind and calmly, gracefully, looked up towards the deep sea. It was unclear what he might be forgetting. Xu Xiaoshou looked nonchalant, suppressing any potential nervousness-induced stutter. With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke with serene composure and as concisely as possible:

"He's here."