Chapter 1273: The Earliest Pawn, The Farthest Scheme, The Deepest Concealment

"Patta patta patta..."

The sky was like a faded ink wash painting, and the raindrops were as large as beans, falling like broken strands of black pearls, hitting with such force that they stung the cheeks.

The black rainwater flowed into the post-war ruins, quickly gathering in low-lying areas and craters.

Once pools formed, the black color on the surface quickly faded.

Ripples spread in circles across the rain-pocked puddles, reflecting the stunned and disoriented figures on Kong Xu Island.

A thunderous boom echoed.

In the storm, fierce winds and torrential rain swept endlessly, carrying away the island's pervasive silence. "Call me Shui Gui..."

"Shui Gui..."

As this voice echoed and truly reached everyone's ears, Kong Xu Island erupted in turmoil amid another thunderclap.

"Shui Gui?!"

"Is Yu Ling Di the Shui Gui?"

"He's the traitor? And Yan Wuse is innocent?"

"I'm stunned, totally stunned! Yu Ling Di, Yu Mo, Shui Gui... Who on earth is he?"

In an instant, the battlefield on Luo Yuan underwent a shocking reversal that no one had anticipated:

The Tian Ji Shen Shi self-destructed, taking Rao Yaoyao with it...

Yan Wuse appeared as the traitor, but the Ci Mian Gate swallowed nothing...

Yu Ling Di burst out from Luo Yuan, shouting for revenge for "my Rao Yaoyao"...

Each of these events was utterly shocking.

While mourning the tragic death of Fairy Rao, the crowd secretly mocked Yu Ling Di as that repressed type—a secret admirer of Fairy Rao for ages, pining without reciprocation.

But just as they were struggling to accept Yan Wuse's betrayal, in the blink of an eye, Yu Ling Di underwent another identity shift!

He donned the golden beast mask and drew the Yu Hai Shen Ji.

With one strike, he pierced the nearly depleted Yan Wuse through the chest and seized the Ban Sheng Wei Ge...

This lightning-fast turn of events was more astonishing than everything that had happened before combined!

Moreover, right up until he emerged, Shui Gui was still playing his role, fully embodying Yu Ling Di's identity.

He had deceived everyone so thoroughly that even Yan Wuse, after the accident with the Ci Mian Gate prevented him from saving Rao Yaoyao, never suspected the true identity of his companion "Yu Ling Di"...

"Is this the Shui Gui?"

Even now, the many Ling Lian Masters on Kong Xu Island struggled to accept this shock from the Gui Yan, which nearly shattered their worldview.

Some pondered, others discussed:

"The ink-colored rain, water-element mysteries... Yu Mo the Great Demon King? But isn't he dead?" "The golden beast mask, Yu Hai Shen Ji... I know who he is—he's that guy from Da Lang Tun Yun Lun, the one with the Ji Mie Xie Zui Gong!"

"Who?"

"You don't know? You must have joined later."

"Deep sea, below Gu Yin Cliff—that's his doing... Definitely him!" "No, I heard there's a Shui Gui in Dong Tian Wang City, the hidden leader of Ye Mao... They even have a saying inside: A smile from Shui Gui means life or death is uncertain."

"What's Ye Mao? Never heard of it—definitely not that one!"

"I do know about the Gu Yin Cliff one. I went later, just to check it out, no Black Gold Bounty involved, but as soon as I arrived, I was trapped in a water sphere and thrown into the deep sea—I never even saw who did it."

"So it was him!"

"So he's been hiding on Sky City all along!"

As the discussions spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred, even reaching Xu Xiaoshou at Luo Yuan,

On the dragon head, the dumbfounded Xu Xiaoshou finally seemed to regain his senses.

He clutched the dragon horn, staring blankly at the distant figure—the man adjusting his soaked hair and the golden beast mask on his face.

"You're Shui Gui?!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked even more shocked than Yan Wuse. After blurting it out, his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "...Senior?"

Yu Ling Di is Shui Gui, Shui Gui is Yu Mo the Great Demon King, Yu Mo is Yu Ling Di's father—Yu Ling Di is the head of the Ling Department in Sheng Shen Hall, and his father is the fifth seat of Sheng Nu...

Xu Xiaoshou's mind fractured, and he felt like he was on the verge of breaking apart. His head already ached terribly!—Cracking the countless nested Tian Ji arrays on the Tian Ji Shen Shi was nothing compared to this brain-teaser!

Facing Yan Wuse's battered body, Shui Gui held the Yu Hai Shen Ji, gently twirling the Ban Sheng Wei Ge in his hand, as if stripping away some power from it.

Hearing the voice, he slowly turned his gaze, his serene eyes showing no emotion.

Yet, to Xu Xiaoshou, it felt like the stare of the Grim Reaper.

"I prefer your disrespectful, defiant attitude." Shui Gui's lips curved up. He didn't answer directly.

But how could Xu Xiaoshou not catch that this guy was referring to the incident in the deep sea where he pulled down his pants?

"Impossible, still impossible... How could you be Shui Gui, Senior? When did you make the switch?" Xu Xiaoshou still couldn't believe it.

His eyes were his measure!

How had he failed to see through Shui Gui's disguise?

He had even beaten Yu Ling Di senseless before—if that was already Shui Gui...

At the thought, Xu Xiaoshou felt a surge of panic and horror.

He analyzed when Shui Gui might have possessed and devoured Yu Ling Di like a tiger consuming its cub—probably after the explosion of Zui Yi Hall, on the way to Luo Yuan?

Meanwhile, he eagerly awaited Shui Gui's response.

Shui Gui lifted his head, letting the ink-colored raindrops patter down, flowing over his golden mask and the contemplative eyes beneath. After a long pause, he said:

"Long ago."

"Long ago?" Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat. "How long?"

"About... when you first met me." Shui Gui paused. "A day before!" First met... A day before...

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw dropped wider and wider, nearly hitting the ground.

His memory was sharp; he recalled first seeing Yu Ling Di on Kong Xu Island, at the weak spot in Zui Yi Hall's space, during the Tian Ren Wu Sui battle against Ye Xiao.

That early?

Xu Xiaoshou's heart plummeted.

"That was... too early! You're lying, it has to be! My junior sister beat up that useless Yu Ling Di back then—he couldn't have been you." Xu Xiaoshou shook his head desperately.

Shui Gui smiled: "So, I remember your junior sister."

Xu Xiaoshou's shaking stopped abruptly.

Don't smile!

What do you mean by that smile?

"You're lying—it must have been the second time, after I broke through to Wang Zuo and went to beat Yu Ling Di, that's when you became Shui Gui." Xu Xiaoshou shook his head again.

"So, I remember you too." Shui Gui smiled once more.

Damn it!

Xu Xiaoshou's back broke out in chills.

"Shui Gui, Senior, I—I mean... Listen, I didn't mean to... Ah, forget it, I have..."

"Shut up."

"Yes!!!"

Xu Xiaoshou instantly clamped his mouth shut and hid behind the demon emperor black dragon's horn.

Then, his eyes glazed over as he recalled, amid layers of disbelief, every miserable state of Yu Ling Di that he had beaten or seen from Zui Yi Hall onward!

All fake?

All an act?

Who could handle this crap!

Even after his breakthrough to Wang Zuo, when he single-handedly defeated Yu Ling Di and thought the Ling Department head was nothing special—that was all a sham?

Shui Gui, holding back?

No way!

If he was already Yu Ling Di by then, what he held back wasn't just water? "I was wrong..." At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou, fully enlightened, even sounded like he was about to cry. "I was terribly wrong!"

"Pah!"

High in the sky, Yan Wuse spat out a mouthful of blood, and the holy power from his final surge faded away.

He turned deathly pale, hanging like a man on the brink of death.

The battle on Kong Xu Island had drained him completely.

Xu Xiaoshou's terrifying punch, Xiao Kong Dong's second realm, the Tian Ji Shen Shi's counterattack that blew his head...

Most fatally, the energy surge that utterly pulverized his body.

After that attack, Yan Wuse was already destroyed.

Yet, for Rao Yaoyao, he squeezed out his last bit of strength, gripping the Ci Mian Gate like a returning god.

In the end, the Ci Mian Gate was the Yu Hai Shen Ji, and Yu Ling Di was Shui Gui...

Total defeat!

How desperate was that?

Yan Wuse's condition was already at zero.

His remaining reflexes and thoughts couldn't even control his body to move or resist Shui Gui taking his Ban Sheng Wei Ge.

This showed just how severe the problem was!

Now, right in front of him, Shui Gui was severing the connection between the Ban Sheng Wei Ge and him. The pain of that long-standing blood bond being peeled away bit by bit was like a slow, torturous flaying with knives and ants gnawing at the heart—agony beyond endurance.

But that physical pain was nothing compared to the torment in his heart.

"I don't understand..."

Yan Wuse lifted his drooping eyelids with great effort, his eyes vacant as he spoke.

As the bond with the Ban Sheng Wei Ge faded, his hair had turned completely white, and his once robust body became gaunt, withered, and aged.

Forcibly stripped of the Ban Sheng Wei Ge!

This was worse than the consequences of failing to seal sainthood!

What's more, Yan Wuse was so weak now that even speaking was a struggle.

Shui Gui toyed with the Ban Sheng Wei Ge in his hand, glanced at him, and smirked:

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand—you won't die."

"Once the Ban Sheng Wei Ge is mine, you can destroy this body, and your will will reappear in the Ban Sheng Hua body on Gui Zhe Sheng Mountain."

"It's just going to hurt a bit now, but I believe you can bear it."

"Life is full of pain—who hasn't suffered?"

The people on Kong Xu Island, and even Xu Xiaoshou on the dragon head, shuddered, their gazes dull.

Shui Gui's words were full of life philosophy, but his actions were those of a demon.

"Revival..."

"Heh, hehehe!"

"Hahaha... Cough! Cough!"

Yan Wuse started with a weak laugh, then burst into laughter, finally coughing up blood in his frailty.

Of course, he knew he could revive.

No matter how reckless he was, he wouldn't truly die on Kong Xu Island—as long as he chose not to.

But as one of the Three Emperors, as the Light of Ling Lian, he couldn't accept this humiliation. To be manipulated from start to finish without realizing it, played like a fool, performing desperately until the end, only to collapse in blood...

"This emperor is the Light of Ling Lian!"

Yan Wuse rallied for a final outburst, tilting his head back in a furious roar.

This roar inexplicably made hearts tremble and laughter fade.

Everyone's faces grew heavy.

Yes!

He was the Light of Ling Lian.

Yet now, forced to this point—how tragic?

Shui Gui frowned, scratched his ear, and flicked away something: "I know, so what?"

"I don't understand—tell me, tell this emperor... Everything! All of it!" Yan Wuse stretched his neck forward, his face twisted in rage, as if offering it for the kill. "This emperor can die with clear eyes, but not live in ambiguity and compromise!"

His voice echoed under the rainy sky, wave after wave.

Far off, Xu Xiaoshou watched this desolate scene, his scalp tingling.

He vaguely understood Yan Wuse's choice.

"Because of that sliver of pride..."

Shui Gui murmured to himself and smiled: "So, you mean I tell you everything I've done, and then you die with clear eyes?"

Yan Wuse stared intently, his eyelids drooping in exhaustion, his head lowering with them. "Mm."

A faint sound,

That should have been lost in the raging wind and rain.

Yet it resounded in the hearts of all Ling Lian Masters on Kong Xu Island within the storm's reach. "Elder Yan..."

Everyone felt an inexplicable sadness.

This was the dignity of a true powerhouse, a choice indifferent to life and death.

Some couldn't understand.

Some could.

Regardless, at this moment, Yan Wuse had made his decision—and even had the crowd on Kong Xu Island bear witness.

Shui Gui adjusted the half-hollow golden beast mask on his straight nose, nodded slightly, and his tone carried a touch of respect:

"This is a fair deal. I trust you, Yan Wuse, won't go back on your word, and when you die, I'll play the mourning song for a saint's fall."

Yan Wuse drew in a long, uneven breath, lifted his head, and maintained eye contact, facing Shui Gui squarely.

As if that made them equals.

On Kong Xu Island, everyone watching this scene straightened up, eager to uncover the truth.

Even Xu Xiaoshou on the dragon head widened his eyes—he had thought endlessly but still couldn't figure out how Shui Gui had hidden so deeply.

And now, the man himself was explaining!

So arrogantly, in front of everyone on Kong Xu Island, risking unknown dangers afterward, just to trade for the life of a half-saint, revealing his entire scheme!

"My game started from Zui Yi Hall..."

Amid the roaring rain, Shui Gui spread his hands, feeling the black chill in his palm, and glanced at Xu Xiaoshou:

"As I said earlier, from the day before you first met 'Yu Ling Di,' I was already Yu Ling Di."

"But what you don't know is that even you and Ye Xiao being assigned to Bu She Hall was my arrangement."

Bu She Hall...

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shook as he recalled how he, his junior sister, Yi Ren Mister, and Xiao Kong Dong were separated shortly after entering Zui Yi Hall.

That separation stemmed from a spatial tremor.

His memory linked back to the giant statue in Zhen Huang Hall, where he had asked a question:

When was the Ci Mian Gate exchanged?

The answer was "a day before"!

So, even then, he had already obtained the Ci Mian Gate and hidden his true identity? Xu Xiaoshou's eyelids twitched.

Shui Gui kept his smile, stroking the Ban Sheng Wei Ge as he continued:

"The conflict on Kong Xu Island began with inner and outer islands and ends with the Ci Mian Gate."

"So, before Ye Xiao, Yu Ling Di—and you, Xu Xiaoshou—entered Zui Yi Hall one after another, I had already secured the Ci Mian Gate and initiated the first spatial transfer."

"This transfer sent you and Ye Xiao together because Bu She Hall had Han Tian Zhi You waiting for you."

"As for me..."

Shui Gui withdrew his gaze and looked at Yan Wuse before him, saying softly: "I was with Yu Ling Di, and..."

He stopped.

"But he's your son!" Yan Wuse suddenly grew agitated, coughing heavily twice. "You killed him?"

"How could I?" Shui Gui laughed.

"Because he's my son, I hid him and shielded him from all the dangers that followed."

"How to put it..."

A flash of fury crossed Shui Gui's eyes, and his words turned gritted: "The suffering I've endured in my whole life doesn't compare to what I went through as his son."

That was true... Xu Xiaoshou nearly burst out laughing; he remembered how many times Yu Ling Di had been beaten to a pulp.

Thinking about it, that person was actually Shui Gui...

Xu Xiaoshou's lips curled up, but then he couldn't laugh anymore.

Realizing it was Shui Gui, he found it utterly terrifying!

To endure such humiliation, even risking his life while keeping up the act—who else could pull off great deeds like him?

"Where is the real Yu Ling Di?"

Yan Wuse closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh.