Chapter 1077: Brainwashing Technique I Wash, I Wash, I Wash, Wash...

"Roar."

The Void Guard looked at its good brother, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Heaven knows how many distress signals it had sent out when it was being beaten after miscalculating the Half-Saint's strength. Yet, its companions were either trapped in other desperate situations, hadn't yet woken up, or had received the signal but also detected the Holy Power fluctuations of the great battle here, and not a single one dared to come!

Having acted on the Holy Realm Barrier (air) for so long, the Void Guard had actually long since despaired. Its only hope was that the opponent's target wasn't itself, but another human. Perhaps they would fight to the point of self-oblivion and genuinely forget about "me," allowing it to survive.

To its utter surprise, when human assistance arrived, it, the Void Guard, was also able to wait for its companion to come and provide support. It was incredibly powerful; while all the other stone giants dared not venture forward, its companion, all alone and heedless of danger, rushed up and dragged it away. When the battle finally ended, all the cowardly stone giants died – what a relief! And it and its companion were still alive, which was the power of mutual aid and loyalty!

"Roar!" The Void Guard expressed its gratitude to its companion in the language of the Void Guards. However, while grateful, it also harbored a small doubt—a doubt it had had since this companion first appeared.

For example, why did it look so much like itself? To humans, most Void Guards might look the same, but to themselves, the differences were significant. Yet this companion, who had risked its life to save it, not to mention being a "twin," the Void Guard even felt that its internal qi, strength, and physical structure were almost identical to its own... or rather, from the same origin? After all, just as no two leaves in the world are exactly alike, there are no two identical Void Guards on Void Island. Was it a long-lost sibling, a distant relative, or perhaps an elder from its own lineage, a venerable senior? The Void Guard could only speculate.

Furthermore, it also had another question: why did this Void Guard companion have a faint scent of spiritual herbs from the Shennong Herb Garden on its body? This question was crucial! And quite deadly! Of course, not deadly to its companion, but to itself... At that time, the Void Guard was trembling in the aftermath of the Half-Saint's battle, so naturally, it didn't dare ask many questions, allowing its companion to save it. One of the rules of Void Island was that guardians would not steal each other's guarded items. Based on this rule, the Void Guard had reason to believe that its companion could absolutely not be the thief who stole from its Shennong Herb Garden. Regarding the scent, its companion would explain it, now that the battle was over and both guards were alive.

"Roar." Xu Xiaoshou, having left the three humans and come before the Void Guard, was stroking the giant's head to comfort it, while speaking in the Void Guard language, saying things like, "We're all brothers, no need to be polite, and you don't need to think about how to repay me." The greatest advantage of the Imitator was that as long as it obtained blood, the imitation could even be indistinguishable from the real thing. It could even gain the target's cultivation insights, so mastering a mere Void Guard language and understanding what the giant in front was saying was no problem for the Imitator's wielder. From the moment he risked transforming into a Void Guard and appearing, Xu Xiaoshou knew that since this big fellow hadn't detected his true identity, this situation was largely stable.

"The Imitator is too strong!" Xu Xiaoshou thought. "For an all-attribute spiritual master, it's practically invincible; and if you get blood, it's like adding wings to a tiger!" Only when truly facing a Half-Saint did Xu Xiaoshou directly feel the immense power of a Half-Saint's full-strength attack. Naturally, he once again realized the true value of the Water Ghoul who, on the Yunlun Mountain Range that day, wielding the Trident of Sea Control, could destroy the arrows from the Evil Sin Bow of Love All Beings with a single strike!

Both being among the Ten Great Divine Weapons, the Trident of Sea Control's power lay in its combat strength amplification for water-attribute spiritual masters, while the Imitator's strength was entirely expressed in its auxiliary functions.

"A Void Guard could only recognize me as Void Island's sinner, number 800820, who had his name carved on the Suppressing Void Stele, through my human face or special sensory perception before my disguise. But with the Void Guard's blood, the Imitator could change all my internal properties, as exaggeratedly as it could change a spiritual master's attributes! Even a powerful Void Guard could no longer sense through any means that my true self was actually number 800820." This was the information Xu Xiaoshou had summarized after appearing and simultaneously saving the Void Guard.

What was the use? The use was immense! This meant that in the future on Void Island, Xu Xiaoshou, having obtained Void Guard blood and using the Imitator, could essentially move freely and unhindered in this giant body, as long as he wasn't directly facing a Half-Saint. Between a "sinner" and a "warden" in a prison, which status was higher? One glance was enough to know! Most importantly, when he could transform into a Void Guard, it meant that when interacting with other Void Guards again, there would no longer be any status difference between them.

What kind of creatures were Void Guards? First, they possessed formidable combat strength but simple minds; second, they had simple minds; finally, they had very simple minds! Based on these three points, in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, these creatures were simply adorable and foolishly cute, infinitely more amusing than Jiang Buyi! Even Teng Shanhai was harder to fool than them!

Thus, Xu Xiaoshou began his deceptive talk. He had to extract every last bit of remaining value from this adorable giant, making it repay him for his so-called "life-saving grace."

"Brother, you must have noticed, there's something special about me..." Xu Xiaoshou, in his Void Guard form, spoke gravely, without specifying what was special.

"Roar..." The Void Guard nodded. Of course, it understood that its good brother was about to explain the whole situation to it, and asked, "Why do you have the scent of the herb garden on you?"

As expected, the Imitator couldn't erase the scent... Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed inwardly, yet also felt it was perfectly logical. The Imitator could change a person's essence. But he had emptied the Shennong Herb Garden, and the scent was from external contamination. This was like changing one's body and genes, but not changing clothes, so the emitted scent would naturally remain the same. Thus, the Void Guard must have long since detected the scent on him. It was just that the situation had been critical earlier; clearly, its life was more important than the truth, so it hadn't dared to ask more, fearing he wouldn't save it. It had asked this question with a testing intention...

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't expected this test to truly reveal something. At this moment, he immediately brought out the words he had prepared in his mind. A "frank" confession would always be more convincing to "humans" than waiting for an interrogation, let alone to a "Guard."

"My good brother, my condolences..." Xu Xiaoshou patted the big giant's hand, sighed deeply, covering his face, "On my way to rescue you, I saw a human running from this battle area, and I also sensed the scent of the herb garden you guard on him, so I intercepted him."

"Human!" The Void Guard's attention was indeed diverted; it spoke in anger. As expected, the one its companion caught should be the thief it had been thinking about for a long time. "He, where is he?" The Void Guard's rage flared, wishing it could instantly appear before that person and crush him to death.

Xu Xiaoshou shook his unaccustomed large head. Without explaining, he changed the topic, and said, "He used this scent to lure you here, then enticed that human Half-Saint as well, causing you two to battle fiercely, so he could profit from it, or escape."

"Humans! Cunning! Detestable!" The Void Guard suddenly understood. It had thought something was off; it had clearly been only following the scent, only to be inexplicably attacked by a Half-Saint.

"He was a Great Void human. I subdued him with one kick and then gave him a good beating." Xu Xiaoshou observed the other party's reaction, constantly refining his story, subtly adding details, such as "Great Void" and "Void Guards like to use 'kicks' to attack"—details that made the story more realistic.

"Good beating!" The Void Guard rejoiced, "Humans deserve a lesson!"

"You know, in human eyes, we Void Guards look pretty much the same," Xu Xiaoshou continued. "After I beat that human, he clearly mistook me for you. He knelt down and begged for mercy, saying he was willing to return all the spiritual herbs stolen from the herb garden."

With a flash, the Void Guard's two large eyeballs, like sun-sized lightbulbs, lit up, "You agreed?"

"We Void Guards value integrity. Although I wanted to kill him, for the sake of your herb garden, my brother, I chose to agree to his terms." Xu Xiaoshou said righteously.

The Void Guard was moved: "What happened next?"

"He kept his promise and handed over all the spiritual herbs stolen from the Shennong Herb Garden to me..." Xu Xiaoshou said, suddenly seeming enraged by something, his expression becoming agitated. "But! He actually! Only gave this!" He quickly rummaged in his Yuan Mansion World and pulled out a single Grade One spiritual herb. Handing over the spiritual herb, Xu Xiaoshou frantically clutched his head, stomping his feet incessantly, the booming sounds echoing all around. "He only had this left!"

The Void Guard was stunned. Such a vast herb garden, and only... only this much was left? "What about the Saint Medicine?" It asked blankly.

"That's what I asked him!" Xu Xiaoshou roared, "But he said that his deal with that human Half-Saint fell through, and the Half-Saint stole all the spiritual herbs he had, all of them! He only had this one... 'weed' left!" With a thud, the Void Guard's knees hit the ground, its mind completely blank. Xu Xiaoshou felt he might have overdone it and stimulated the other party too much, feeling a bit alarmed, but he insisted, "I don't understand! I'm furious! I feel it's not fair to you, my brother! In my anger, I broke my promise... and kicked him to death!" Dead men wouldn't wake up to explain. Furthermore, this so-called "dead man" only existed in the story itself, not in reality.

"Whimper..." The Void Guard whimpered softly, its eyes unfocused, then suddenly raised its head and roared, "Roar!" "Good kill!" It stood up excitedly, grabbed Xu Xiaoshou's shoulders, tears streaming down its face.

"After I killed the human who moved... uh, stole your spiritual herbs, I didn't believe it, so I searched his body and his ring. It turned out he wasn't lying; he really... only had this one spiritual herb left. The rest are all on that Half-Saint!" Xu Xiaoshou cried sympathetically, his hand trembling as he pointed behind him. "It was that Half-Saint just now, he, is the real culprit..."

"His name is Jiang Buyi! He is a Half-Saint of the Puxuan Jiang Clan from the Northern Region of the Holy God Continent! Remember him, my big adorable one, that detestable human emptied your Shennong Herb Garden. You must remember him, and never again think about any spiritual herb scents, or about that little human 'Xu Xiaoshou' who might appear before you again in the future. Jiang Buyi is your target for revenge. Become enraged for this! Grow! Break through to Half-Saint, and kill him!" Xu Xiaoshou roared madly in his heart but didn't say it aloud. Some things were best left unsaid; making the story too explicit would make it seem less real—like he was inciting trouble. He sobbed and whimpered, patting the Void Guard's shoulder, trying his best to comfort it.

"Roar—" The Void Guard finally lost its patience, put its hands on its hips, and roared, its cry shaking the heavens and tearing the earth, startling the three humans behind them, who all trembled simultaneously.

"Good heavens, what exactly is Xu Xiaoshou doing?" "What kind of bewitching potion did he pour into that Void Guard? How did the other party's emotions get out of control with just a few words?" Mei Jiren and the other two felt a chill in their hearts as they watched. They had long known that Xu Xiaoshou's intentions were not good, but the two giants were communicating in the Void Guard language, which they couldn't understand at all.

Just then, that wildly roaring Void Guard suddenly spoke in human language: "Humans! Detestable! Roar roar roar—"

Xu Xiaoshou froze for a moment, then also turned his head, like a mad dog, roaring with all his might: "Humans! Bullshit! Roar roar roar—"

Mei, Xiao, Ye: ???"Xu Xiaoshou, are you mad?""How could you forget your roots?""Have you forgotten that you are also a human?"

The Void Guard's heart was filled with hatred; it wished it could rush over and tear apart those three little human ants not far away, but then it remembered that one of the old men among them was someone who could slay a Saint. It held back. "Whimper whimper whimper..." Leaning on its good brother's shoulder, the Void Guard wept helplessly. If the Shennong Herb Garden had been emptied by a Half-Saint, how would it ever get it back in the future!

"My condolences, perhaps there will be an opportunity later," Xu Xiaoshou hugged it, patted its back, and lightly kissed the Void Guard's big head, silently "retching" a little.

The Void Guard was still crying. It was too wronged! Used by humans, tricked, and beaten... after being strong for so long and escaping death, facing its savior, it couldn't help but indulge its emotions, whimpering and crying bitterly.

At this moment, the Void Guard finally understood the whole truth. No wonder Half-Saint Jiang Buyi came out to save Teng Shanhai when it was fighting that human; they really were in cahoots. No wonder Half-Saint Jiang Buyi was so weak when saving people, like a novice; it turned out he was suppressing his cultivation, wanting his companion Teng Shanhai to die by its hands! No wonder after it didn't kill Teng Shanhai, Half-Saint Jiang Buyi personally killed him; it turned out he had already embezzled all the spiritual herbs from his third companion, and now he wanted to take Teng Shanhai's share. No wonder the Half-Saint's strength varied so exaggeratedly before and after; apparently, it was all an act...

The Void Guard cried loudly. It had been kept in the dark all along; a dignified giant race, yet forcibly played like "drum-beating fools" by humans. If its good brother hadn't appeared, it would have been used and then abandoned, without even knowing who to seek revenge on.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck the Void Guard, and it noticed something wasn't quite right. Yes! The Half-Saint Jiang Buyi's strength varied greatly before and after, which could be understood as him suppressing his cultivation. But... the initially weak Jiang Buyi clearly had the scent of Shennong Herb Garden's spiritual herbs on him; but when he became stronger later, the scent on him disappeared.

"What's going on with this?" The Void Guard clutched its good brother's chest, asking the doubt in its mind.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't flustered in the slightest, only surprised. Impressive! You actually thought of that point, you have some intelligence! But it's not important anymore... "I've given you a perfect and complete story; these so-called minor details aren't even flaws. If I, Xu Xiaoshou, could be stumped by your question, would I even deserve the surname Xu?"

Xu Xiaoshou let out a long sigh, his large hand stroking the Void Guard's round head, and said mournfully: "My good brother, you really are foolish. In the early stage, he suppressed his cultivation, so of course, he didn't have extra power to conceal the scent; but once he regained his full Half-Saint power, what scent couldn't be erased? You can't defeat a Half-Saint, yet you're dwelling on what method he used to erase the scent—is that important? That's completely unimportant!"

Xu Xiaoshou showed disappointment. The Void Guard froze for a long moment, then burst into loud sobs again. It was too realistic! These words were brutal, tearing open the biggest wound in its heart. Yes! I can't defeat a Half-Saint, so why am I dwelling on this minor detail? Knowing how he erased the scent would enable me to defeat a Half-Saint? What I should be thinking about... is how to use the power of Void Island to either erase that detestable, treacherous, and punishable Half-Saint Jiang Buyi within the Nine Great Forbidden Lands, or banish him to the inner island of Void Island!