Chapter 1039: Void Island's Big Bodyguard, One Punch for Each Kid

The Void Island, silent for countless years, saw a blazing white sun fall today. Even thousands of miles away, some still noticed the phenomenon.

"Dragon Melting Realm..."

The eyebrowless Mu Lin finished writing his name below Sang Qiye's on the Void Suppression Tablet, receiving a criminal number. He then silently chose to begin exploring Void Island, vowing not to be tricked again. This time, his main objective wasn't to find the rumored opportunities for sanctification on the island. While priceless to others, this meant little to Mu Lin. The Saint Palace was merely a base for cultivating saints. What Mu Lin truly wanted was to quickly find his disciple, Bai Lian. Because even with his Dao Severing cultivation and numerous treasures, Bai Lian faced an estimated ten percent risk of death on Void Island.

Bai Lian couldn't die! His disciple, Hua Ying, hadn't matured yet. If Bai Lian died, Mu Lin knew without a doubt that the authority of the Cinderflame lineage would fall back into his hands. In short, he would lose his freedom. After finally cultivating a disciple and handing off the mess to him, having achieved the same carefree joy as his master, Long Rongzhi, how could Mu Lin possibly take back troublesome work he hadn't done in decades?

"But this Dragon Melting Realm doesn't look like something Bai Lian could unleash..." Mu Lin gazed into the distance, lost in thought. How long had it been since Bai Lian last fought? That guy now only knew how to rely on smashing people with treasures. Why would he be willing to use the meager spiritual energy from his Dao Severing cultivation, which was meant for survival, to unleash such a high-cost spiritual technique? The key was... the fundamental power of this Dragon Melting Realm far exceeded ordinary Cinderflame White Flame. Even from a great distance, Mu Lin could faintly detect a hint of the "Cinderflame Origin Seed" from this shared power. He had never consumed this himself, only sensed it from his master, Long Rongzhi. If his senior brother, Sang Qiye, wasn't currently in the Dead Sea of Saint Mountain Prison, Mu Lin would be certain this was Sang Qiye flaunting himself again. But clearly it wasn't...

"Bai Lian hasn't consumed a Cinderflame Origin Seed either. In that case, this Dragon Melting Realm technique could only have been unleashed by Xu Xiaoshou."

"Is he in danger?"

"No, that's not right. Xu Xiaoshou is only a Grandmaster, how could he possibly perform a Dragon Melting Realm of this magnitude?"

Black flames suddenly surged in Mu Lin's hand. He felt that the level of this Dragon Melting Realm was almost approaching his own power.

"Regardless, I'll go take a look."

"No one from the Cinderflame lineage, even on Void Island, can be bullied!"

"What a tremendous explosion!"

Somewhere on Void Island, Decay, the orange-masked man, silently gazed at the distant white light. After being forcibly pulled into Void Island by the Void Gate, he lost track of Huang Quan and the Half-Saint Jiang Buyi, finding himself alone. However, the strange gravity and rule restrictions here, combined with the various anomalies of the Sky City above the Eastern Heavenly King City before entering the deep sea, made it easy to conclude that this was indeed Void Island.

"So, where would the so-called foundation for sanctification be?"

Decay tugged at the mask on his face; it seemed to bother him, so he took it off. But after a moment's thought, he put it back on.

"Just a little bit more."

According to the original plan, the deep sea would have been the best time to hunt Half-Saint Jiang Buyi. At that time, he also had Huang Quan, a powerful space-time ability user, assisting him. The probability of slaying a saint would have been many times greater than now. Unfortunately, plans don't always keep up with changes. Arriving on Void Island, finding a "foundation for sanctification" might be easy, but obtaining a "Half-Saint position" would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Of the hundred and eight Half-Saint positions, aside from those scattered outside that might be stumbled upon, anyone else wishing to achieve sanctification must first slay a saint and take their Half-Saint position..."

"How incredibly difficult is that?"

Decay seemed somewhat troubled, staring at the persistent white light in the distance, his gaze unmoving for a long time.

"Cinderflame White Flame... right?"

"Also, upon first arriving on Void Island, everyone wants to avoid risk. Even I, for a time, didn't want to encounter Huang Quan or Jiang Buyi again."

"Which fool dares to be so ostentatious, announcing their arrival with an explosion?"

Thinking this, Decay suddenly chuckled, then strode quickly towards the white light. Regardless, since he had left the deep-sea world, Void Island was his last chance to acquire a "foundation for sanctification" and a "Half-Saint position." If he couldn't obtain it here, returning to the Saint God Continent would make it even harder than ascending to heaven! And now... With everyone else in hiding, such an explosion drew everyone's attention. Undoubtedly, everyone would flock to it. Not to seek treasures, but to gain information about Void Island to better survive. Since that was the case... The hunting hour would begin at the center of the explosion!

"Explosion..."

Decay understood this point, and his steps quickened, finally taking flight as a dark stream of light, swiftly heading towards the target's center.

"A familiar explosion, truly nostalgic..."

"Boom!"

With a single finger, he shattered the eerie ghost in front of him, acquiring its core, but Jiang Buyi's expression was grim.

"Nether Ghost City..."

"Damn it, how did I end up in this cursed place?!"

Outsiders might not understand Void Island, but as the master of a Half-Saint noble family, how could Jiang Buyi not know? Nether Ghost City, one of Void Island's nine forbidden zones, was a place on par with absolute death zones like the Sin One Hall. Normally, these nine zones weren't very dangerous; one wouldn't even see living creatures. But once someone triggered a certain mechanism, the nine forbidden zones would activate, turning into a gluttonous abyss that devoured lives, from which no one, not even a Half-Saint, could escape. Jiang Buyi was panicking now... Because to this day, no one on Void Island had discovered where the mechanism that activated the nine forbidden zones was, or how exactly it was triggered. But now that he saw the ghosts of Nether Ghost City, it meant that the forbidden zone properties of Nether Ghost City were slowly recovering. Once the forbidden zone properties were fully activated, he might truly be trapped here.

"I need to find a way out, to leave this place."

The foundation for sanctification was an unattainable dream for others. Jiang Buyi scorned it like old shoes! He was a Half-Saint already! He also had no desire for a "Saint Emperor position"! Because the Jiang clan of Northern Region's Puxuan had no Saint Emperor position passed down, meaning he would need to hunt a Saint Emperor to succeed in becoming one. —How could that possibly succeed?

"I had no intention of rebellion, yet I was slandered."

"It's bad enough I came to Void Island, but I directly entered Nether Ghost City. What kind of luck is this?!"

He hadn't even obtained the Tears Family's pupil yet, but was now in peril. Jiang Buyi was infuriated. But this place was like a labyrinth, and he didn't specialize in soul or spiritual paths, so he couldn't find his way out. Unless there was external intervention, Jiang Buyi felt he would keep hitting dead ends here.

Just then... "Boom!" A point of white light bloomed in the distant sky, like a blazing sun falling to earth, bringing a beacon of hope.

"This way!"

Jiang Buyi's eyes instantly lit up. Someone on Void Island was definitely fighting. Although it certainly wasn't to save him, such a large commotion was visible even to him, far away in Nether Ghost City.

"My benefactor!"

"Whoever you are, once I find you, this Saint will surely reward you handsomely!"

Jiang Buyi deeply memorized this location and its energy signature, fearing that he might get lost again in the various traps of Nether Ghost City, as he had many times before. Then, with his saint power protecting him, he charged straight ahead. "Bang, bang, bang..." Wherever he passed, be it solid walls, ancient trees, or ghosts, all exploded and scattered on the spot. Fearing further complications, Jiang Buyi intended to rush out of Nether Ghost City in the shortest possible time! As for obstacles... Before a Half-Saint, everything was an illusion. Jiang Buyi charged wildly!

"Puff, puff"

White flames spurted from cracks in the earth. "Boom!" The next second, the active volcano behind him spewed large amounts of white lava towards the sky. Before the Absolute Cinderflame Domain, breathing the scorching wind, Mei Siren's fan-waving motion no longer seemed as ethereal. He sat cross-legged on a large rock, eyes closed, seemingly having waited here for a century. Beside him lay two stone swords he had personally carved. The stone swords were plain and unadorned, with no intricate patterns or special abilities whatsoever; they couldn't even be considered tenth-grade spiritual artifacts. But these were what Mei Siren had prepared for himself and his next disciple.

"Sigh."

He didn't know how long passed, but realizing the white lava was about to reach his feet, Mei Siren had to get up and move.

"Xu Xiaoshou, when will you arrive?"

At Sijiang Bank, at Bazun An's request, Mei Siren, holding a Void Token, had already ascended to Void Island unnoticed. But after waiting so long, Xu Xiaoshou still hadn't arrived. Thinking further, for Xu Xiaoshou to find his way to Void Island, then to the Absolute Cinderflame Domain, and finally meet him — who knew how long that would take? Mei Siren regretted it. Wasting so much time sweating profusely before the Absolute Cinderflame Domain was completely inconsistent with his identity as "Mr. Siren." Was there ever a teacher waiting for students to come to class? His actions were severely devaluing himself! Mei Siren already wanted to leave Void Island. He gazed into the distance, pinpointed the city gate's location, and decided to wait three more days. If no changes occurred within these three days, it would mean Xu Xiaoshou and he were not destined.

Just then, a white light brightened in the distant sky within his sight. Then, a low rumble sounded in the distance.

"This is..."

Mei Siren's expression froze. Was it that precise? It came just when he thought of leaving. From such a great distance, Mei Siren had no idea what was happening there. Yet, even from so far away, the explosion and white light reached his ears and eyes. One could imagine how tremendous the commotion was at the epicenter of the blast.

"Explosion..."

Mei Siren murmured to himself, and after a long time, his gaze, which had almost withered from waiting, subtly brightened. He recalled his conversation with Bazun An at Sijiang Bank.

"'After entering Void Island, how will this old man find Xu Xiaoshou?'"

"'No need to search; you just need to wait before the Absolute Cinderflame Domain, and Xu Xiaoshou will naturally go there.'"

"'Absolute Cinderflame Domain... But what if I wait too long?'"

"'If you wait too long, then just look for the site of an explosion.'"

"'Explosion?'"

"'Yes, wherever there's an explosion, there's Xu Xiaoshou.'"

"Truly absurd..." Mei Siren scoffed inwardly again, yet he bent down, picked up the two stone swords, and then rushed frantically towards the direction of the explosion. Although it felt too preposterous and ridiculous, since Bazun An had said so, even the most unrealistic things needed to be personally verified. Of course, the more important reason was that Mei Siren could no longer wait.

"'With just a word from this old man, You Tu would come to a chess match in less than a day.'"

"'You, Xu Xiaoshou, have such gall, making this old man sit here withered for so long?'"

The more Mei Siren thought about it, the angrier he became. Forget Bazun An's method of teaching Xu Xiaoshou swordsmanship through fighting. Now, simply from his indignation, it was impossible for him to properly teach Xu Xiaoshou ancient swordsmanship. Without thoroughly disciplining him, he couldn't resolve the frustration in his heart!

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

On the path to the Forest of Miracles, Xu Xiaoshou kept sneezing.

"Did you catch a cold?" Lei Xier glanced at Abing below them, who commanded ice-type profound truths, and couldn't help but ask.

"Joking... How could I, being so strong, catch a cold?" Xu Xiaoshou wiped his nose, sometimes truly annoyed by these sudden inspirations. "Why can't it just be a racing heartbeat, or at least a palpitation? What's with all the sneezing? If such inspirations struck during battle, wouldn't I, the dignified Holy Slave Xu Xiaoshou, die at the hands of snot?"

"Then what happened?" Lei Xier looked with slight disgust as Xu Xiaoshou flicked his snot into the white flame in Ah Huo's eyes, deciding that out of sight was out of mind, and turned her head to ask.

"Ho ho ho"

Poor Ah Huo was too big to know what his master on his head had flicked at him, but thankfully he didn't swallow it and burned it all clean with a blaze.

"It's just a very ordinary sudden inspiration..." Xu Xiaoshou said without turning his head, taking out water to clean his hands.

Lei Xier heard this and fell silent. After a long pause, she said, "Your 'ordinary' sudden inspirations seem to come with unordinary frequency."

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, "Sometimes it's just hard to understand. I reckon it's because the commotion from the fight just now was too big, attracting attention."

"I told you not to fight like that," Lei Xier mumbled.

Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands, "That was a Tai Xu. If I didn't pull out some trump cards, could I have kept them?"

"Even so, it's too ostentatious."

"If I'm not ostentatious, would I be Xu Xiaoshou?"

This time, Lei Xier was speechless. After a long moment, she said, "Didn't you say everyone here is at least Tai Xu? When people arrive, you'll learn how to write the word 'death'!"

"Heh heh."

Xu Xiaoshou, however, was fearless. Standing on Ah Huo's head, he surveyed the landscape, looking down upon the ancient forest.

"Crowds are great; more people means more fun. One-on-one means fighting with your body, and it's too easy for people to die. But against multiple opponents, you can use your brain. Things like diverting disaster, shedding a golden cicada's shell, then driving tigers to devour wolves, killing with a borrowed knife, later watching from across the river, fanning the flames, and finally reaping the benefits as the biggest winner... Are these tactics you can use in a one-on-one fight? In a word, I'm no good at fighting alone, but against many, I'm incredibly fierce!"

Lei Xier: "..."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at Xu Xiaoshou. What kind of bizarre thought process was this? The battle hadn't even started, and he had already set up the entire "watch tigers fight from the mountain" play? The problem was, who would cooperate with him?

"You don't even know who's coming, do you think you'll succeed?" Lei Xier's tone was more mocking. She felt Xu Xiaoshou was treating her like his junior sister, bragging.

Xu Xiaoshou waved dismissively, "Who waits for people to set up a play for them? Who has such great prestige that I'd personally choreograph a play for them? This show in the Forest of Miracles is first come, first served. As long as they dare to come, I'll arrange it for them!"

"I'm waiting for something to happen to you!" Lei Xier was a little annoyed, but ultimately worried, "Don't forget, there are Half-Saints on Void Island!"

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow high, looking at the annoyed Lei Xier, who was acting like a junior sister, and chuckled, "But don't forget, we have a big bodyguard on Void Island who can knock out little kids with one punch."

"Who?" Lei Xier looked around. Abing? Ah Huo? The Four Swords? Impossible, none of these are enough to stop a Half-Saint!

"The Void Attendant." Xu Xiaoshou pointed ahead, "It just went this way. I told you to remember. Did you forget so quickly? Do you have amnesia?"

Lei Xier: "..."

"Received 'Cursed,' Passive Points, +1, +1, +1, +1..."

"When did the Void Attendant become your big bodyguard?" Lei Xier was somewhat speechless; this was clearly their biggest upcoming enemy. Because, according to Xu Xiaoshou, their next step was to go to the Shennong Herb Garden in the Forest of Miracles to pick herbs. Even the "treasure/crisis" indicated by the Fiery Python was to be put on hold for a bit. Xu Xiaoshou looked ahead, vaguely able to smell a stronger herbal fragrance. Hearing this, he let out a chuckle.

"In a bit."