Chapter 1119: Memory Confusion and Lingering Resentment

Xu Xiaoshou fell down.

A heavy thud echoed inside the dim, quiet hall, causing Mei Siren, Xiao Kongtong, and Mu Zixi to turn their heads in surprise.

"Are you okay?" The young girl rushed over. Her subconscious instinct wasn't to help him up, but to pull out her memory pearl, though she managed to resist. It was just too amusing.

Xu Xiaoshou actually fell in?

Even she could walk steadily through that spatial passage, so had Xu Xiaoshou's spatial understanding gone to the dogs?

"I'm fine..."

Xu Xiaoshou stood up, rubbing his forehead, still a bit disoriented. Once he had recovered, his first question was directed at Mr. Siren, who was incapable of joking: "Teacher, how long have you been in here?"

"Just entered," Mei Siren replied, his expression shifting slightly. "You bear not only traces of spatial traversal but also the scent of time. What did you encounter?"

Time?

Xiao Kongtong paused for a moment, then sensed carefully and realized Mr. Siren's words were true. It was as if Xu Xiaoshou, upon entering the hall, had passed through not just a spatial passage like everyone else, but a spatiotemporal one.

Those who had practiced Phantom Sword Art and Nine Sword Art would inevitably have insights into the two major elements: time and space. The traces on Xu Xiaoshou were not very obvious, but if one paid attention, some indications could still be discerned.

"Scent?"

Mu Zixi, on the other side, also froze for a moment, then wrinkled her delicate nose and sniffed a few times, a suspicious look appearing on her face. Did time really have a scent? What kind of noses did they have...?

"Just entered, which means I fell at almost the same time as Teacher and the others, with no pause in between." "Yet, I clearly stayed for such a long time in Kong Yuhen's Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion." "Time..."

Xu Xiaoshou shook the water out of his head, feeling as if everything that had just happened was incredibly unreal. It was like a fleeting dream, and after waking, from an outsider's perspective, nothing had changed at all?

"What's this?" Mu Zixi suddenly pointed to the staff in Xu Xiaoshou's arms and asked.

To Mei Siren and Xiao Kongtong, it was quite normal for Xu Xiaoshou to produce a treasure for self-defense upon entering an unfamiliar place. But Mu Zixi was certain that Xu Xiaoshou had never possessed this staff before. Even in the Yuanfu World, she had never seen any trace of this staff or its unique aura. A very powerful aura!

Mei Siren and Xiao Kongtong looked over at the sound, and the next second, they both realized with a start that the scent of time on Xu Xiaoshou was actually derived from this staff.

"A time-attributed treasure?" Xiao Kongtong was somewhat surprised; after all, these were rare.

"The Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor, have you heard of it?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't hide it, boldly raising the staff and stating clearly that those in front of him were his own people, so there was no need to be vague.

As soon as he spoke, Mei Siren and Xiao Kongtong's pupils simultaneously constricted.

"Heard of it," Mu Zixi also nodded emphatically.

"You've heard of it?" Xu Xiaoshou was surprised in turn. It was normal for Teacher and Senior Brother to know, but did his junior sister also know the origin of this item?

"What have you heard about it?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"Its name," Mu Zixi blinked her large eyes. "The Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor, you just said it yourself."

It took Xu Xiaoshou quite a while to react, realizing his junior sister was playing a trick on him. This silly girl clearly knew nothing!

"You..."

He angrily tried to tap the staff on his junior sister's head, but she dodged it with giggles. "Xu Xiaoshou, you've met your match today! This is all thanks to you!"

"Teased, Passive Points, +1."

"Let me see," Mei Siren extended his hand.

Xu Xiaoshou handed it over without a moment's hesitation.

Unexpectedly, the staff, which was solid in his hands, suddenly became illusory as he was about to pass it to Mr. Siren, passing right through the old sword immortal's hand. It seemed like a spatiotemporal distortion; the staff, which should have fallen to the ground, returned to Xu Xiaoshou's arms, just as it had been when he first fell, clutching it.

This scene shocked Xu Xiaoshou, as if he had been targeted by some curse. It also left Mei Siren and Xiao Kongtong with grave expressions.

"What did you encounter?" "Have you met Kong Yuhen?" Two questions came out simultaneously, the first from Xiao Kongtong, the second from Mei Siren.

Xu Xiaoshou, as if encountering a savior, stared at Mr. Siren in surprise, just like Xiao Kongtong.

"Kong Yuhen?" Xiao Kongtong was incredulous.

"Teacher, you know him?" Xu Xiaoshou gripped the Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor, truly understanding the saying, "To have an elder in the family is like having a treasure."

"Who... uh, the Kong Yuhen from the Ten Seats?" Mu Zixi didn't react immediately, but then a light burst into her eyes as she thought it through.

Mei Siren withdrew his gaze from the illusory and real staff in his student's arms, then swept his eyes over the three children brimming with curiosity, and said gravely:

"The Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor has been lost for a long time. The last time, and indeed the only recent time, it appeared was during the Battle of the Ten Seats, brought by Kong Yuhen." "However, after that battle, everything about him seemed to have been erased, and many people have forgotten him." "I remember because there were many geniuses among the Ten Seats of that generation." "I have always been following Ba Zun'an, so I knew a bit about figures like the suddenly emerging Kui Leihan among the Ten Seats, and the enigmatic Kong Yuhen, due to my attention at the time." "The reason I guessed you met Kong Yuhen is entirely based on the above deduction, because it's impossible for anyone to take the Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor from Kong Yuhen; it can only be that you happened to meet him, and he..."

Mei Siren suddenly paused. He had intended to say "given to you by him," but then he reconsidered, thinking that if it was Xu Xiaoshou, there might be another outcome: "taken by you." So, he dropped the subject and the old sword immortal continued: "As for Kong Yuhen, he completely vanished without a trace after the battle. No one could find him, as if he were merely a transient visitor in the mortal world, arriving when pleased and leaving when his interest waned."

Arriving when pleased, leaving when interest waned... It must be said, this eight-character description perfectly matched the Kong Yuhen Xu Xiaoshou had encountered in the Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion. His talk of "worry-free," his talk of "friends," his talk of "many things have no 'why'," and doing what he wanted, were all things Xu Xiaoshou found incredible and enviable. Regardless of whether this was genuine, such a state of being was indeed what Xu Xiaoshou aspired to. However, his current strength and the broader environment simply did not allow him to achieve such detachment as Kong Yuhen.

Anxiety... it's normal! Anyone in his current position couldn't help but doubt the motives behind everything; how could one not be anxious?

Xu Xiaoshou squeezed the constantly shifting illusory and real Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor in his arms, his anxiety intensifying.

He quickly recounted his recent encounter to his teacher and the other two, finally asking in confusion: "I still don't understand why he gave me this item. It's one of the Ten Great Psychic Weapons. I feel he has ulterior motives."

Mei Siren furrowed his brow, pondering for a while, and then finally said: "What level do you personally think he's at right now?"

"Combat strength?" Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head, considering for a moment. He felt that with the combination of time and space attributes, and Kong Yuhen's masterful application of these two abilities, no one could surpass him. "I didn't sense any Saint Force fluctuations on him, but I think even if he isn't a Half-Saint, that person from the Jiang clan probably couldn't defeat him." "Hmm..." After a pause, Xu Xiaoshou felt this might be a bit exaggerated, lacking some influencing factors, so he immediately added, "At least, in his Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion, on his turf, a Half-Saint probably couldn't defeat him... Yes, that's just a hunch."

Xiao Kongtong murmured from the side, "Just because you didn't sense Saint Force fluctuations doesn't mean he isn't a Half-Saint. There's another explanation: he might have overcome the Four Half-Saint Tribulations, and his strength is already close to a Saint Emperor, or perhaps he *is* a Saint Emperor."

Xu Xiaoshou was thunderstruck: "That terrifying?"

Xiao Kongtong stared at him for a long time, then chuckled, saying, "Don't doubt the geniuses of the previous era, Xu Xiaoshou. Among the Ten Seats back then, most should have already reached... or rather, their realm might still be restricted by subjective and objective reasons, preventing a breakthrough, but their combat power must be at the Half-Saint level." "And given the extent of Kong Yu... that person, spatial attributes are inherently incredibly strange, so it's really hard to say what level he's at now." At this point, Xiao Kongtong's brows furrowed, and he tilted his head towards Mei Siren: "Mr. Siren, what attribute do you recall Kong... having?"

Hearing Xiao Kongtong hesitate to even utter the full name, Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had been asking for death by saying "Kong Yuhen" so many times earlier. What couldn't be said here had, however, reached his ears.

"Time," Mei Siren said with absolute certainty after glancing at the Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor.

"But I remember him having a spatial attribute?" Xiao Kongtong said after a moment of stunned silence, feeling a chill run down his spine. "In your memory, was he truly time-attributed?"

"I am absolutely certain," Mei Siren nodded.

"This feels like I've been given the answer I least wanted to hear..." Xiao Kongtong suddenly fell silent and spoke no more.

"Oh, this..." Mu Zixi bit her finger. What, were everyone's memories messed up? Time was time, space was space; how could they be confused? Hadn't Xu Xiaoshou just said Kong Yuhen had both time and space attributes?

"You..." As the young girl turned her head, Xu Xiaoshou's terrifying gaze shifted to her. "I am certain he has both time and space attributes!" Mu Zixi suddenly shivered and shrunk back into the middle of the three people, only then feeling a little sense of security.

"Space-time..." Xu Xiaoshou suddenly thought of Huang Quan. The leader of the King of Hell seemed to also possess both space and time attributes. "Could they be the same person? Time and space are so rare; surely there aren't two people in the world who possess both attributes?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't explicitly name anyone, but Mei Siren seemed to already know whom he was referring to.

"Based on the disposition of the person you described, it doesn't seem like Huang Quan, the King of Hell; he's very open-minded..." Mei Siren gently twirled his paper fan, pondering, "What did you say about his appearance earlier?"

"A scholar," Xu Xiaoshou replied without hesitation. "He looked very refined and handsome, dressed in luxurious, rich scholar's attire, which suited his temperament... yes, it fit well, giving the impression of vast erudition." Mei Siren took a deep breath: "I had actually forgotten his appearance and temperament among the Ten Seats before, but I also vaguely feel that among those ten individuals, there was absolutely no one who resembled or carried himself in the way you described."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt that this world was truly terrifying. Even Mr. Siren had forgotten Kong Yuhen's former appearance? Didn't this imply that the face beneath Huang Quan's mask could indeed be Kong Yuhen's? After all, with both space and time attributes, how could such a coincidence exist in this world? But...

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at his junior sister, feeling very uneasy. He remembered that facing Huang Quan didn't feel anywhere near as stressful as facing Kong Yuhen. Was it due to the environmental bonus of the Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion? Or were they simply two unrelated people, each going their own way?

"From now on, don't trust anyone but me," Xu Xiaoshou said, patting his junior sister's head.

"Oh," Mu Zixi nodded, then looked up and asked, "What if he can change too, and turn into you?"

Xu Xiaoshou was immediately speechless. That was truly an unanswerable question.

"Haha," Mei Siren chuckled upon hearing this. "Overthinking is pointless. At least for now, he shows no ill will towards you and even gave you this Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor. As he said, things might not always turn out for the worst, so you don't need to be overly anxious."

It was precisely because he didn't know if the Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor was a blessing or a curse that holding it made him uneasy... Xu Xiaoshou rubbed the staff in his arms, then suddenly mustered his strength and threw it into the sky.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of light cut across, capturing the trio's attention. The next second, their gazes returned from the distance, falling back to Xu Xiaoshou's arms. The staff lay there quietly, unthrowable, ungiveable, like a maggot in the bone, an unshakable curse.

"Good thing, hehe..." Xu Xiaoshou forced a dry laugh. "Even a Half-Saint couldn't take my Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor. This truly is a great thing!"

Xiao Kongtong looked on with a sigh, impressed by Xu Xiaoshou's ability to find enjoyment in adversity.

"Regarding this person, I think you'll have to ask Teacher," Xiao Kongtong said. "Teacher, back in his era, was exceptionally gifted, rebellious, and arrogant, seeing no one as his equal. I refuse to believe that upon learning of such a mysterious figure, he wouldn't find an excuse to pick a fight." "And during the Battle of the Ten Seats, they were at least in the same world, so they must have had some contact."

Xiao Kongtong pondered, finding no good solution, and could only instruct Xu Xiaoshou: "Find Teacher, and perhaps you'll have your answers. There's no need to be afraid; my teacher is standing behind you. Who can he not beat?"

"Comforted, Passive Points, +1." Xu Xiaoshou felt much relieved upon hearing this.

Indeed, no matter how formidable Kong Yuhen was, could he be more formidable than Ba Zun'an in his youth?

Without delay, Xu Xiaoshou pulled out his communication pearl, only to find that inside the First Sin Hall, his communication pearl couldn't connect with Ba Zun'an at all.

"Walk forward, don't look back." Mei Siren chuckled, tapping Xu Xiaoshou's head with his paper fan. "If he truly wants to harm you, he'll have to get past me first. Even if his time attribute is unfathomably unpredictable, and even if I can't beat him, he's not invincible. We can always summon someone who *can* fight him." Xiao Kongtong also laughed.

He found it hard to imagine Mr. Siren calling for backup after failing to defeat someone. Given how long this elder had lived, his influence was immense. What kind of scene would that be? A world-ending battle?

"Mr. Siren is right. For now, let's get back to the First Sin Hall," Xiao Kongtong said, nodding.

"Okay," Xu Xiaoshou felt significantly more at ease. Thinking that he had so many people supporting him, and even the will of a Saint Emperor on his person, it was unlikely he would suddenly die. Kong Yuhen had a point: he was too anxious. One shouldn't always think of the worst-case scenario. Perhaps now was the time to consider, with the Shadow Staff of the Time Ancestor in hand, regardless of its complexities, how to use it was the immediate priority!

"Let's explore the First Sin Hall first," Xu Xiaoshou agreed.

Looking around, the interior of the First Sin Hall, enveloped in a dim mist, was tens of thousands of times larger than the Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion. It was indeed a labyrinth. Yet, even a single path within this labyrinth was tall and wide enough for several large Void Attendants from the outside world to walk abreast.

This magnificent and imposing environment, even with the obscuring dim mist, offered a more refreshing sense of relaxation than the cramped and suffocating space of the Ancient and Modern Worry-Free Pavilion. Xu Xiaoshou felt much of his anxiety dissipate.

Suddenly, his gaze settled, and his "Perception" also pierced through the mist, glimpsing a tiny figure at the far end of a labyrinthine path. The figure wore luxurious robes, his black hair tied into a topknot, his face exquisitely handsome, his eyes sparkling like stars. Around his neck hung a gate-shaped wooden ornament. He sat before a tea table, raising a cup high towards Xu Xiaoshou and nodding in greeting. With a faint smile, the shadowy figure disintegrated into light, like a bubble, and vanished into nothingness.

"Friend..."