Chapter 1082: Fate? Ill-fated Bond

The city tower loomed, its walls covered in dark moss.

Within the ancient architectural district of the Giant Kingdom, spatial fluctuations rippled, and four figures—one large, three small—landed.

"We're out."

Ye Xiaotian's bare feet touched solid ground. He then slowly floated up, aligning himself with the two people beside him before glancing back at the direction of the Forest of Miracles, his mind finally at ease.

The nightmare was over... They had escaped danger, everyone was alive, and they had safely left that dreadful place, the Forest of Miracles, putting distance between themselves and the Half-Saint.

"Explain!" Mei Yiren and Xiao Kongtong landed, their eyes fixed on the black giant in front of them as it slowly shrank, finally transforming into Xu Xiaoshou's appearance. They weren't just curious about Xu Xiaoshou's tearful farewell to the Void Attendant in the final moments; they were even more curious about how the fight in the Forest of Miracles started and how Xu Xiaoshou provoked the Half-Saint.

After returning to his true form, Xu Xiaoshou subtly glanced at Mr. Yiren's curious gaze fixed on him, then mildly explained, "It was just a very ordinary... fight, I guess? Through a series of unfortunate coincidences, the process got a bit complicated, but thankfully, the final outcome was good." He paused, then finally looked directly back at Mr. Yiren and said, "This is my true appearance."

Mei Yiren smiled and nodded. "Much better looking than before." In his memory, Xu Xiaoshou's appearance was still that of Young Master Xu from the First Heaven Pavilion. Although he had seen various versions of Xu Xiaoshou's "true body," he had always been accustomed to the 'Xu Fook Kee' version during their daily interactions, so seeing this as Xu Xiaoshou's original appearance naturally felt novel.

"Ordinary?" Ye Xiaotian, standing beside him, scoffed, his face far from calm. "Xu Xiaoshou, are you getting a big head now? A Half-Saint that even your master wouldn't dare face in person, and you call that 'ordinary'?"

"Uh..." Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily speechless. He turned to the furious white-haired Taoist child, his eyes lighting up. "Greetings, Dean! Speaking of which, I haven't congratulated you yet on mastering spatial profoundness! In this world, there are probably only a handful of people who can reach this level... Dean, you are a genius, a role model for our generation!"

"Stop buttering me up!" Ye Xiaotian snorted, thinking to himself, 'You were quite arrogant and smug as the Void Attendant, even daring to trick everyone. Now that you've shrunk, why has your courage shrunk too?' "Quickly, tell us how you stirred up all this trouble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Yiren and Xiao Kongtong also looked over, clearly very curious about the full story behind the battle in the Forest of Miracles. After all, they had been drawn into the Half-Saint's vortex, and if they didn't understand the situation clearly, they might end up inexplicably injured or even killed as a result of the unfolding karma.

Seeing three pairs of eyes fixed intently on him, Xu Xiaoshou dared not be vague. He chuckled and said:

"Actually, it's quite simple. I'll give a brief summary; this is roughly how it happened..."

"I pulled up a few spiritual herbs from the Shennong Medicine Garden, which angered the Void Attendant. Thinking this big guy might be able to fight a Half-Saint, I impersonated that person from the Jiang family and started fighting the Void Attendant. Unfortunately, Teng Shanhai inexplicably showed up during this, and he recognized my identity through the Divine Spear of Xiao. So, I had to play along and trick him into the situation, making the Void Attendant mistakenly believe that he and Half-Saint Jiang were the ones stealing the spiritual herbs. Then I hid and watched the three of them fight. Later, Rao Yaoyao came out to rescue someone... well, to rescue Teng Shanhai, but she failed because of Half-Saint Jiang. Finally, you all appeared... The rest doesn't need repeating; you already know."

Xu Xiaoshou carefully chose his words, observing the expressions of the three individuals before him as he spoke... They showed no expression at all! The three old foxes listened in silence, remaining motionless for a long time, as if turned to stone.

The scene was too calm, excessively so. Only Xu Xiaoshou knew this was merely superficial tranquility, because his notification bar was furiously popping up messages: "Questioned, passive points, 3." "Condemned, passive points, 3." "Cursed, passive points, 3."

Ye Xiaotian's mouth twitched. Seeing that the two beside him remained silent, he was the first to speak, questioning the imprecise details in Xu Xiaoshou's account. "Shennong Medicine Garden, you pulled up 'a few' spiritual herbs?" He vaguely recalled seeing through the spatial mirror that the Void Attendant's guarded land had become a deep pit.

Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his hands, his gaze drifting skyward. "A large few!"

Ye Xiaotian took a deep breath, realizing that the Shennong Medicine Garden had indeed been emptied by Xu Xiaoshou, just like how the guy had almost caused that small world to collapse after entering the Heavenly Profound Gate. With so many spiritual herbs, how could he have simply pulled "a large few"? That "large" must have broadly referred to "the entire Shennong Medicine Garden"! However, the two people beside them looked friendly, but their intentions were unclear. Ye Xiaotian considered himself the elder closest to Xu Xiaoshou in the group, so he didn't press further. Yes, no matter what, Ye Xiaotian believed he could maintain composure and not act against his own junior. But he couldn't guarantee that others, upon learning Xu Xiaoshou possessed an entire Shennong Medicine Garden, wouldn't try to kill him and seize his treasures, even if the two people beside him seemed to have a good relationship with Xu Xiaoshou and were outwardly amiable.

"The Teng Shanhai you mentioned, is he Teng Shanhai, the Head of the War Department?" Ye Xiaotian subtly changed the subject, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes." Xu Xiaoshou nodded, his expression slightly graver. "He's from one of the six departments of the Holy Divine Palace. He's a bit special; although he did provoke Half-Saint Jiang, by rights, his crime wasn't punishable by death..." "I think Half-Saint Jiang had another reason for killing him, not just because I used him." Xu Xiaoshou recalled the demonic power that erupted from Teng Shanhai at that time. That power looked like an enhanced, 'intelligence-reducing' version of the demonic power from Lei Xier's Divine Demonic Eyes!

Xiao Kongtong thoughtfully interjected, asking, "Rao Yaoyao was there?"

"Yes."

"She openly tried to save Teng Shanhai, but Jiang... that person wouldn't give her face?"

"Yes!" Xu Xiaoshou nodded; this was precisely the point that puzzled him. He already knew Rao Yaoyao's identity was not simple, so he understood there was no reason for Jiang Buyi to have been so merciless and disrespectful at that moment. Though he was a Half-Saint, wasn't he afraid of death, or of being pursued by the Holy Divine Palace afterward? There must have been another reason!

Mei Yiren was also deep in thought. Suddenly, he stopped fanning himself, tapped his palm, and said, "This old man might know why."

"Why?" Three curious faces looked at him.

Mei Yiren glanced at the three of them, hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak:

"When I used 'Time-Space Leap,' this old man vaguely sensed that a power not belonging to Half-Saint Jiang had appeared in the surrounding time-space, its rank even higher than his." "At that time, this old man had some doubts, but now that I think about it, that might have been the cause of Teng Shanhai's death." The Holy Domain had isolated and shielded everyone's senses before they entered, yet Mei Yiren had inferred something based purely on conjecture. He looked at Xu Xiaoshou and asked, "Did Teng Shanhai possess a special power?"

Special power? Before Xu Xiaoshou could answer, Ye Xiaotian, who possessed a 'peeking' attribute and had secretly witnessed Teng Shanhai's entire death, suddenly remembered something. Connecting it with Mr. Yiren's remark, "its rank even higher than Jiang Buyi's power," he suddenly realized he had been misled by the Holy Domain and had underestimated the intensity of the power Teng Shanhai wielded at the time, his pupils constricting for a moment.

"Yes." Xu Xiaoshou, not understanding, glanced at the Dean and tried his best to describe it with his limited knowledge. "It seemed to be a... demonic power."

Xiao Kongtong raised an eyebrow high. 'Is this 'demonic power' the same as the 'demonic power' I know?'

Mei Yiren smiled. "To be precise, it's called 'Ancestral Source Power.'"

At that moment, Ye Xiaotian and Xiao Kongtong's expressions changed. Only Xu Xiaoshou, who had taken in all these reactions, still had confusion in his eyes.

"What is 'Ancestral Source Power'?" At his question, Ye Xiaotian and Xiao Kongtong also leaned forward, looking. Clearly, no matter how profound the knowledge those present believed they possessed, they wouldn't think they knew more than Mr. Yiren, who had lived for several eras. What he knew was certainly clearer and more comprehensive than their own understanding.

Mei Yiren hesitated whether to reveal all these matters to the three in front of him, because once you know certain things, you're in too deep to escape. But then he reconsidered: even if they didn't know, these three youngsters were already caught in the vortex. And once involved, the risks brought by ignorance would clearly be far greater.

So Mei Yiren began to speak:

"Ancestral Source Power is a force that only high-realm Saint Emperors are qualified to master, and it is the fundamental basis for apotheosis and becoming an Ancestor. It has multiple definitions; the most common ones you might know are... divine power and demonic power."

Saint Emperor... apotheosis and becoming an Ancestor... These terrifying titles made Xu Xiaoshou's head buzz, and his eyes involuntarily widened. And when "divine power, demonic power" were finally uttered, Xu Xiaoshou no longer paid attention to the reactions of the two beside him. What flashed through his mind were only Lei Xier's profound and extraordinary eyes.

'I think I understand something now...' Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and asked, "Mr. Yiren, do you mean that 'Ancestral Source Power' can exist in some form, even when one is not a Saint Emperor, and be slightly mastered by low-level spirit refiners?"

"Precisely." Mei Yiren nodded. "Just like 'Half-Saint Rank' and 'Saint Emperor Rank,' 'Ancestral Source Power' is also constant. There is only a fixed amount and a few types of it. Only when someone who masters it dies will it 'circulate' among those of the same realm, or be 'inherited' between those of higher and lower realms."

'Like the Divine Demonic Eyes?' Xu Xiaoshou didn't even dare to voice the question! He already knew the answer and finally realized... what was the true reason for the Lei family tragedy? How could Lei Xier's cultivation realm advance faster than even his own, which had a cheat? Wherever this power existed, there would be miracles, but also inevitable disaster!

"Your meaning is... Half-Saint Jiang was afraid, so he needed to eradicate the problem at its root? Since Teng Shanhai had offended him, he killed him before he could fully master this power?" Xu Xiaoshou tried to compose himself.

"You are very astute," Mei Yiren smiled.

"Can it be killed?" Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt terrified, because he too had offended Teng Shanhai, and if that guy hadn't died after all...

"Why wouldn't it be killed? That was a Half-Saint!" Mei Yiren chuckled. "Even if an infant could lift a giant sword, it couldn't defeat an adult. In fact, if there were no other adults present, even the giant sword would be taken away."

Xu Xiaoshou breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, he grew even more anxious. Teng Shanhai had merely exposed this power, and since Jiang Buyi couldn't seize it, he had no choice but to kill him. What if Lei Xier's Divine Demonic Eyes were seen by covetous individuals...? Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts suddenly froze.

On Solitary Sound Cliff, to create a diversion, Lei Xier had already displayed the power of her Divine Demonic Eyes before Rao Yaoyao... a comprehensive and very specific demonstration!

"Damn it!" Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but slap himself. It was over! Everything was ruined! Rao Yaoyao knew! Given her identity and status, how could she not recognize 'Ancestral Source Power'? As soon as she left the Void Island, she could take this information back to the Holy Divine Palace...

"No!" "There's one last way!"

A fierce look suddenly flashed in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. The next second, however, it withered. He couldn't kill her... While Rao Yaoyao might not be the sharpest, her combat prowess was undeniable. Her strategic thinking stemmed entirely from being the leader of the Yunlun Mountain Range, forcing her to consider the bigger picture and her subordinates.

Taking a step back, if pushed to a dead end, she would abandon all thought, draw the Profound Azure Divine Sword, and as one of the Seven Sword Immortals, who on the entire Void Island could confidently completely eradicate her? Mr. Yiren? Did Mr. Yiren have trump cards, but Rao Yaoyao didn't? From the night battle in the Royal City to the Yunlun Mountain Range and now the Void Island, Xu Xiaoshou had only seen Rao Yaoyao officially draw her sword once, and that one strike nearly... sent him "to the afterlife." And this was a strike Xu Xiaoshou considered negligible compared to those of Mr. Yiren or Bazun An. But was that all Rao Yaoyao had? Was that one sword strike her full power? Impossible! It might not even be one ten-thousandth of her true strength! Mr. Yiren, who had never drawn his sword, was just a harmless old senior in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, merely old and experienced. But who would have thought that a monstrous 'Sword Incarnation' resided within him? If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes—Mr. Yiren slaying a Half-Saint with a single sword stroke—who would believe it? Ancient sword cultivators either couldn't grow strong from the start, or once they did, every single one of them was a monster!

"Is it 'fate'...?" Xu Xiaoshou sighed heavily, feeling that 'ill-fated connection' was a more fitting term to describe the complex situation in his mind.

"What's wrong?" Ye Xiaotian, startled to see Xu Xiaoshou suddenly slap himself, asked with concern.

"Nothing, just thought of some unpleasant things." Xu Xiaoshou didn't explain. He paused, then looked at the three in front of him, bowed deeply in thanks, and then pulled something from his Yuanfu world. "Thank you for your help this time, esteemed seniors. This junior is poor and has nothing else, so please accept these freshly picked sacred herbs as a token of my gratitude," he said, pushing three Saint Relic Fruits forward.