Chapter 1016: Two Underworlds? Two Pairs of Tearful Eyes?

I can't move at all!

Xu Xiaoshou struggled to move, hoping to use his spatial abilities to quickly teleport himself and Situ Yongren away from the danger.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even twitch an eyelid.

The pressure from a Throne realm cultivator wasn't as pronounced on a Grandmaster, especially with Xu Xiaoshou's array of passive skills.

However, a Half-Saint's pressure on a Grandmaster was a qualitative suppression.

"Damn it!"

His body was immobilized, but his mind was not.

Under the spell-nullifying barrier, a Half-Saint's power wasn't so absurd that they could forcibly control someone's thoughts.

Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to reveal some of his trump cards.

He could only hope that some of his trump cards, based on their external manifestation, couldn't be fully discerned by mere sight and experience.

Therefore, Half-Saint Jiang Buyi shouldn't be able to deduce his true identity from them.

And so...

"Disappearing Act!"

With a thought, Xu Xiaoshou's figure vanished on the spot!

If there was one major reason Xu Xiaoshou dared to act so recklessly, it was largely due to this awakened skill.

But he had vanished.

Beside him, Situ Yongren, in his state of tension, caught a fleeting glimpse of Yama Huang Quan seemingly abandoning him in the face of disaster, disappearing without a trace, completely disregarding him.

"You motherf***er!"

Situ Yongren's composure shattered, his handsome face contorted like a rabid dog.

What about the promise to leave together?

What about the so-called honesty?

What about the trust between people?

So, all of that is out the window, right?!

All those solemn assurances we made just now were ultimately for naught. I...

...misplaced my trust?

After raging internally, Situ Yongren stood dumbfounded.

Staring at Half-Saint Jiang Buyi, who stood in the water unaffected by its pressure, he felt his death was imminent.

"Insulted, Passive Point, +1."

"Censured, Passive Point, +1."

The information panel was flooded with pop-ups.

Xu Xiaoshou clearly hadn't anticipated that his escape attempt would provoke such a strong reaction from Situ Yongren.

But he had no intention of abandoning Situ Yongren.

After all, he was a very useful life-saving charm.

"Situ Yongren, come in!"

While invisible, Xu Xiaoshou materialized a spatial teleportation vortex, then projected a finger connecting reality and void, simultaneously casting his voice and the spatial vortex in front of the distraught young man.

Of course, he could have directly brought Situ Yongren with him without speaking.

But that wouldn't do.

He believed in seeing his schemes through to the very end.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to permanently link Situ Yongren and Yama Huang Quan's collusion in front of Half-Saint Jiang Buyi.

"You're still here?"

Situ Yongren didn't think much of it at first.

Seeing a glimmer of light in his abyssal despair, he stepped into the spatial vortex without hesitation, fearing that any delay would allow Half-Saint Jiang Buyi to stop all his movements.

Until the barrier's dazzling light was triggered...

Until the spatial vortex disappeared, and he was teleported away...

Situ Yongren did not encounter any obstruction from Jiang Buyi.

In his final glance before teleporting, he looked at the old man nearby and was surprised to see Half-Saint Jiang Buyi's face also showing bewilderment and a hint of disbelief.

Situ Yongren was initially confused, then understood something, and his mind raced again.

"Damn, damn, damn!

"Why did you have to call out my name?!"

Jiang Buyi had clearly forgotten their previous encounter at the Half-Saint Clan Celebration.

After all, no matter how talented Situ Yongren was, he was still an insignificant junior to a Half-Saint, so it was normal for Jiang Buyi not to remember him!

Moreover, his current destitute appearance was a stark contrast to his former splendor, and Jiang Buyi's attention was fully on Yama Huang Quan, so it was perfectly reasonable that he didn't recognize his face!

But just before teleportation, Huang Quan's shout of his name...

Didn't that effectively put Situ Yongren on a fiery spit?

Even if he genuinely escaped, if the Jiang Half-Saint didn't die, he would relentlessly pursue him with every means possible in the future!

"Why?"

The process of calling out a name and teleporting away via the vanishing act's spatial vortex was incredibly swift, taking only an instant.

Having escaped a deadly trap, Situ Yongren finally couldn't tolerate Yama Huang Quan's repeated acts of torment and angrily questioned, "Why did you expose my identity?!"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, "If I hadn't called your name, the Jiang Half-Saint wouldn't have been stunned. Do you think you would have been able to enter the spatial vortex and teleport away?"

Situ Yongren's anger briefly faltered, but his fury didn't subside. He sharply retorted, "You could have used another method!"

Xu Xiaoshou replied, "In a moment of urgency, this was the only viable plan."

With a few "crack-crack" sounds, Situ Yongren clenched his fists, his knuckles popping. His entire face was green, clearly fuming with rage.

"Glared At, Passive Point, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze shifted from the man's fists to his face, and his tone became serious. "What, do you have a problem with that?"

"Feared, Passive Point, +1."

"Ah, haha...

"A pro-problem? What problem?"

Situ Yongren gave two dry laughs, his complexion returning to normal. His clenched fists moved to his chest, naturally forming a cupped-fist salute as he bowed a full ninety degrees, then he gritted his teeth and sincerely said:

"Many thanks, Senior, for saving my life.

"Situ... will never forget!"

***

Meanwhile, in the deep sea.

Half-Saint Jiang Buyi's face was clouded with thought. He remained motionless for a long time, choosing not to pursue them.

"Situ Yongren..."

He murmured softly, his tone filled with intense disbelief.

Clearly, Huang Quan's shout just before teleportation had shocked him far more than Huang Quan himself had anticipated.

"Isn't Situ Yongren Dao Qiongcang's disciple, a member of the Holy Divine Palace?

"How could he be involved with Yama Huang Quan?"

Jiang Buyi didn't continue the pursuit because he had to stop and ponder the profound implications.

From the Northern Domain's Puxuan to the Eastern Domain's Yunlun, Jiang Buyi had used a contract summoning, traversing two domains to manifest his true body.

His goal was to achieve his objective in the shortest possible time, then return to his Northern Domain lair without anyone noticing.

This operation was not expected to last more than three days in total.

And for most of those three days, Jiang Buyi intended to remain hidden, undetected by anyone from the Holy Divine Palace.

After all, this was a clandestine operation.

Regarding the "Tears of the Jiang Family," some matters were inconvenient for the Holy Divine Palace to know.

So, strictly speaking, the time from the Holy Divine Palace discovering his actions to the operation's completion would not even exceed three hours.

It was possible that by the end of the operation, the Holy Divine Palace wouldn't even realize Jiang Buyi had ever been to the Yunlun Mountains.

But what was happening now?

"I just entered the water, and Huang Quan had already found Situ Yongren?

"From the looks of it, the two have even formed an alliance, and their common enemy is clearly me..."

Jiang Buyi pondered, motionless for a while.

With his intelligence, he could deduce most of the truth simply from Situ Yongren's inexplicable fear of him.

Why would someone from the Holy Divine Palace inexplicably fear a Half-Saint so much? They were supposed to be on the same side.

"That boy was used!

"Huang Quan must have promised Situ Yongren some benefit... No, it might not just be a benefit; it could be me he promised.

"...A brilliant scheme!"

Jiang Buyi mused, smiling silently.

He figured Huang Quan only needed to assign him a baseless crime, and given the intelligence asymmetry, Situ Yongren would surely believe that his clandestine actions, bypassing the Holy Divine Palace, harbored a significant conspiracy.

Which was also true.

He was indeed coveting the "Tears of the Jiang Family."

But would that "crime" truly be so simple?

Jiang Buyi immediately considered the worst-case scenario: that in Huang Quan's words, he had become an audacious usurper coveting the "Holy Emperor's Dignity."

That's why Situ Yongren had been so terrified the moment he saw him.

Even if his deduction was slightly off, it was likely not far from the truth.

So, returning to the core issue...

"How could Huang Quan know of my actions in such a short time and respond so cleverly?"

Jiang Buyi squinted slightly, his fingers lightly tapping, feeling his abilities completely sealed and his sacred energy constantly draining after entering the deep sea.

Soon, he had the answer.

—The Water Ghost!

"Heh, a petty villain playing both sides for profit.

"If you had obediently served as my pawn, you could have gained more, but since you're so ignorant, coveting merely meager profits from selling information..."

A murderous glint appeared in Jiang Buyi's eyes.

After clarifying everything, he didn't care about these minor details at all.

Human calculations, after all, couldn't compare to divine calculations.

This operation experiencing so many unexpected turns truly exceeded his initial expectations.

However, as long as these variables were casually eliminated after his mission was complete, all disadvantages to him would be nullified.

"Originally, it was just a minor Yama. Now there's an additional Situ Yongren, plus a night cat water ghost..."

Jiang Buyi looked up, a corner of his lip curling into a murderous smile.

Killing one person.

Killing three people.

For a Half-Saint, since he had personally intervened, a few extra lives wouldn't change the outcome.

What Jiang Buyi feared was that someone from the Holy Divine Palace knew about his actions. If the matter dragged on, Situ Yongren would simply need to find Rao Yaoyao and report that "crime."

The aftermath would then become much more troublesome.

"Time to clear the board..."

Jiang Buyi sighed and pulled a swirling, misty bead from his clothes.

The Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb, a cloud-element holy artifact, could trace the trajectories of all people, events, and objects through the Heavenly Dao.

This "Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb," personally refined by Jiang Buyi, was specifically imbued with the intent to track those with spatiotemporal abilities and the Tears of the Jiang Family.

This way, even deep underwater where sacred energy couldn't be used,

He could still use the Heavenly Dao to trace Yama Huang Quan's whereabouts and the locations of all Tears of the Jiang Family holders.

"Activate."

His will flowed into it.

The fist-sized Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb gently emitted a white glow.

Inside, four lines appeared: two golden and two red.

"Four lines?"

Jiang Buyi gazed at the sacred orb, slightly stunned.

When he was tracking in the Yunlun Mountains, there were only two faint lines. How did two more appear after entering the deep sea?

Golden lines represented those with spatiotemporal attributes, and red lines represented the Tears of the Jiang Family...

"Two Huang Quans?

"Two sets of Tears of the Jiang Family?"

This was an unexpected bonus!

Jiang Buyi quickly realized that even if the Water Ghost sought petty gains, they wouldn't dare fabricate information about Yama members.

So, the orange-robed Yama member he drove into the deep sea also possessed the Tears of the Jiang Family?

As for two Huang Quans...

This was easy to understand. In the scenes traced by sacred energy on Lonely Sound Cliff, another Yama Huang Quan had appeared.

Therefore, these two golden lines pointed, one to the first Huang Quan clone who entered the deep sea, and the other to Huang Quan's true body.

"If there are two sets of Tears of the Jiang Family, then this operation won't be a loss.

"He only needed to capture Huang Quan; the remaining Yama members could be sought out leisurely later."

Jiang Buyi made up his mind.

Because of Situ Yongren's sudden appearance, he had to guard against being betrayed by the Holy Divine Palace.

So, after dealing with Huang Quan, it would be best to quickly return to the Northern Domain and proactively report his clandestine actions to the Holy Divine Palace.

As for the nature of the matter...

Could a mere junior like Situ Yongren's words outweigh an entire Half-Saint family? A casual excuse would suffice.

And the remaining Yama members...

Without their leader, they would be a disorganized mess.

Even if he returned to the Northern Domain and couldn't act for a short time, his subordinates could likely find many Tears of the Jiang Family.

The most troublesome aspect of Yama was only Huang Quan, the spatiotemporal attribute wielder, who was invincible below the Half-Saint realm. That was all.

His thoughts cleared.

Jiang Buyi's gaze returned to the Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb.

On the sacred orb, one golden and one red line overlapped, pointing to the deep sea below.

This should be the Huang Quan he had just encountered but who had been teleported away.

Though it was just a brief encounter, Jiang Buyi had seen a cat huddled at the back of that Huang Quan's head, emitting the familiar aura of the "Three Aversions."

With the two individuals and the cat teleporting simultaneously, it was natural for the two lines on the Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb to overlap.

As for the remaining two lines...

The red one pointed to the left side of the deep sea.

The golden one was rapidly approaching the red one; the two lines were almost overlapping.

Unless unexpected, this indicated the location of another Yama member, and Huang Quan's true body was rapidly closing in, seeking to find his organizational member.

"So, the fact that the slightly weaker Huang Quan I just encountered was immobilized by a single glance from me can also be explained...

"He was the Huang Quan clone who went underwater in advance!

"His purpose was to release spatiotemporal power elsewhere beneath the deep sea, disrupting my vision!"

Jiang Buyi withdrew the Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb, a confident smile appearing on his face.

At this point, he had only one remaining question.

Why could Huang Quan's clone use spatiotemporal power under the deep-sea spell-nullifying barrier?

"One of the Ten Great Abnormality Weapons...

"Or another unknown ancient relic stele divine artifact...

"However, even if Huang Quan possessed such treasures, he wouldn't have many. He gave a treasure to a clone to disrupt my vision, which means his true body is currently at its weakest!"

Jiang Buyi smiled and looked up. He flicked his pinky finger, which detached from his left hand and transformed into an exact replica of himself.

This was the "Half-Saint Avatar" he had spent fifteen minutes creating in the Yunlun Mountains after realizing he would enter the spell-nullifying barrier!

"Go," Jiang Buyi said to the Half-Saint Avatar. "The task of capturing Huang Quan's clone is yours."

The avatar nodded slightly and shot downwards.

As for his true body...

Jiang Buyi's true body looked up, gazing towards the location indicated by the Dao-Seeking Sacred Orb, which was the second scenario where the golden and red lines were rapidly approaching, about to overlap.

"Thump."

His heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Buyi's brows furrowed.

A sudden premonition?

Why?

Was there danger... in that place?

After a brief deliberation, Jiang Buyi did not retreat but quickly approached.

Before long, he stopped, and looking at the vast thunder tribulation ahead, his understanding suddenly dawned.

"Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation?

"There's actually a Dao-Severing cultivator who can endure until the late stages of the Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation within the spell-nullifying barrier? Who could it be?"