Chapter 1312: Rao Wangze, with such a me, how will you respond?

The Shengdi’s passage through the Yunlun Shanmai brings deep sorrow. The great battle in Sky City has only just begun, filling people with dread. Yet, away from the battlefield, at the Baihu Gate among the four gates of this giant kingdom, some are still searching for a way out, struggling to survive.

"Can't get out, completely stuck..."

Han Ye, the little white weasel now shrunk to the size of a fist, wore a face full of bitterness. He had already wasted too much time at the Baihu Gate.

He had tried every method imaginable! After breaking away from the Zui Yi Dian and parting ways with Shou Ye, as the noble Hantian Zhi Weasel with his super Sheng Dun ability, he should have been able to escape through any gate without needing a Xukong Ling. Then, the sky would be open for birds to fly freely, and the sea vast for fish to leap. But ever since the chaos erupted in the Duoyuan, with the Water Ghost wielding his spear and Xu Xiaoshou channeling the Shengdi’s power... Han Ye had exhausted his lifelong strength without finding a breakthrough. Instead, he uncovered a rule that everyone on the island had overlooked:

"Xukong Island, you can only enter, not leave?"

With the Sheng Nian still present, Han Ye could vaguely sense that smugglers were still getting in from outside, proving that entry from the external world wasn't an issue. But leaving was impossible... What did that mean? Han Ye didn't dare think too deeply; it was terrifying to ponder. Even with his intelligence, he could see that this made Xukong Island a sealed prison. Even if a Bansheng or Shengdi died here without calling for help, they'd truly be gone for good! So... Who set this "only in, not out" rule? How was it done? And what was the real purpose? Han Ye could only pray that it was An Daren of the Eight Zuns who had set it. That way, he'd still have a chance at survival and wouldn't be wiped out by the Sheng Shen Dian Tang people in some future reckoning.

Han Ye didn't dare approach the battlefield anymore. Without a call from Shou Ye, he just waited quietly, keeping his form as small as possible to hide himself. The outer island's battles were even more thrilling than the inner island's, with people like Zhan Dao and Taixu bold enough to watch. But as a Bansheng, Han Ye trembled in fear, feeling like he was back on the inner island, surrounded by enemies on all sides, every rustle like a crane's cry in the wind. He maintained this state of quivering until the Juejin Fire Domain, where Xu Xiaoshou channeled the Shengdi’s power for the second time.

"Buzz..."

Just then, a corner of the Shen Yu in his chest jumped out on its own. This was a gift from Qing Shi Daren of the inner island's Shen Yu; after seeing Xu Xiaoshou in Zhen Huang Dian, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't taken it, so it had stayed with Han Ye.

"What is this thing?"

Han Ye was startled by his own lifesaving token, breaking out in a cold sweat. Once he realized what it was, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but soon grew anxious again. Because this corner of the Shen Yu was fluctuating wildly, its aura strengthening continuously, as if deepening in power in response to Xu Xiaoshou channeling the Shengdi’s power in the Juejin Fire Domain. In the end, Han Ye clearly sensed that this piece of Shen Yu, which had never stirred before, now radiated the purest and strongest aura of Qing Shi Daren.

Thud!

Han Ye's tiny knees hit the floor at once, and he bowed his head in fear, saying, "Qing Shi Daren?"

He couldn't see where Qing Shi Daren was. But the aura was so intense, as if the great one was right there, making him tremble with terror. Getting no response, Han Ye let out a long breath, finally relaxing. He pressed his hands on the ground to steady his body, which felt like it was melting into a puddle. But just then, a massive surge of misty power flew in from outside the Baihu Gate and injected itself into the corner of the Shen Yu.

This floating greenish stone trembled and emitted Qing Shi Daren's voice:

"Prepare to contain it."

Han Ye prostrated himself fully, kowtowing in worship, and let out a piercing shriek:

"Ah, yes!"

At the Zhuque Gate.

The Tianren Wu Shui, clad in orange robes, hid within the Death Avenue, like a true spirit of the dead, unnoticed by anyone. People at the gate were trying desperately to leave, exhausting every method, but forever failing. Tianren Wu Shui had been hiding for a long time. He had already figured out that Xukong Island was impossible to escape from! After being discovered by the Water Ghost and nearly killed, then begging Xu Xiaoshou for his life, Tianren Wu Shui had withdrawn from the battlefield. The most terrifying thing about the Xue Shi Zhu wasn't guiding others to death—it guided its host there too. Huang Quan's task was just to stay on Xukong Island and wait, but using the Xue Shi Zhu for schemes? Tianren Wu Shui wanted no part of it! He was afraid of dying here and regretting it for eternity. But now that he wanted to leave, he couldn't.

Tianren Wu Shui was forced to stay near the Zhuque Gate, keeping an eye on the battlefield while waiting for an opportunity to flee first. Yet, Xukong Island had become a sealed jar—the gate to the other side was in the Water Ghost's hands, likely his doing. Tianren Wu Shui had a premonition that he wouldn't get his chance; he'd only get an accident. The battlefield's pace was fast. Xu Xiaoshou went from receiving the Shengdi’s power once to doing it again. Then, when Xu Xiaoshou became the array eye for Si Wu Zhen, turning into one of the channels for the Shengdi’s power... The Xue Shi Zhu hidden within Tianren Wu Shui in the Death Avenue suddenly leaped out from his head and appeared.

"Buzz!"

A red light flashed, and a stabbing, pounding pain invaded his mind.

"Urgh ah—"

Tianren Wu Shui clutched his head, in agony, and his form emerged from the avenue. His power instantly went out of control, with terrifying decay mist combining the rampant forces from the Xue Shi Zhu, causing the dozen or so people gathered at the Zhuque Gate to drop dead on the spot.

"Pa pa pa!"

Streams of blood burst forth. Waves of power surged into the Xue Shi Zhu. It devoured, refined, and fused... like some kind of sacrificial rite.

"Boom!"

Soon, the Zhuque Gate burst open with a roar. The massive, misty power poured unceremoniously into the Xue Shi Zhu, and Tianren Wu Shui immediately stopped all his pained movements. He hung his head, like a walking corpse. In an instant, he lifted his head again, his faceless orange mask overrun by surging blood.

"I... return."

From Tianren Wu Shui came a voice that wasn't his, nor Night Owl's, nor anyone else he had devoured—it was an incredibly ancient, weary, and deep murmur.

As this Sheng Yin sounded, Tianren Wu Shui's aura rose from Bansheng to Shengdi level. The sky turned red. The area around the Zhuque Gate sank into a scene like one of the nine great absolute realms, the Blood Realm, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood. At the heart of it all was the blood-soaked Tianren Wu Shui. Behind him stood seven towering blood trees, twisted and withered, hung with corpses.

"Xu Xiaoshou, I can't hold on... anymore..."

In the skies above the Juejin Fire Domain, after Mu Zixi emerged from the Yuanfu World, her power grew even more violent. She finally couldn't hold out, her eyes rolled back, her body floated and flipped like she was sinking into a sea of power, and she fainted. But as she spun in the air like a fish, a massive life aura spilled out. Mu Zixi's black hair turned silver, her figure became slender and graceful, and when she opened her eyes again, one was black and one white, returning to infinite coldness.

"Town!"

A light shout rang out. Black and white mist flowed from her pupils. With a turn of the Shenmo Tong, the divine and demonic ancestral forces merged, forcefully suppressing the rampaging Shengdi power within her. Though it couldn't fully control it, it could temporarily hold back the chaos. Lei Xier was still enduring pain that Mu Zixi couldn't bear, but she ignored it completely, not even furrowing her brow.

"Xu Xiaoshou, what's going on?" Suppressing her own agony, Lei Xier turned her head toward Xu Xiaoshou. She desperately needed an explanation—her body had become a channel for the Shengdi’s power. When had this seed been planted? But as she turned, Lei Xier saw Xu Xiaoshou convulsing all over, like a balloon about to burst. The pain he was enduring far exceeded hers; he couldn't spare a moment to explain.

"Shenmo Tong?!"

Undoubtedly, Mu Zixi's sudden transformation shocked everyone, even drawing a sidelong glance from Wang Ze Shengdi. It wasn't just because of her unique Zhi Sheng Mo Ti's stunning evolution; it was also because she had perfectly inherited the Shenmo Tong's power. So young, yet mastering two ancestral forces.

"Lei family survivor?"

Only someone with the Lei family bloodline could inherit the Shenmo Tong's power without loss. And this silver-haired girl's eyes were the very detail that had been overlooked when the Dao Yi Clan exterminated the Lei clan. Wang Ze Shengdi was truly moved. At the Zui Yi Dian ruins, Dao Qiong Cang, who was watching from afar, also showed a strange expression. What he saw was merely Xu Xiaoshou becoming the array eye, opening the channel, and drawing in power. The process was so brief it could be ignored. But when the Yuanfu cracked open a spatial passage and out came this transformed Lei clan descendant, Dao Qiong Cang never expected it. He hadn't anticipated that Xu Xiaoshou's connection to the inner island and channeling of the Shengdi’s power didn't use the sword left by the Eight Zuns An. That meant the Duoyuan sword intent he and Wang Ze Shengdi had confidently erased was just a joke! The real key was the Yuanfu, and this silver-haired girl!

"The aura of the Bai Ku Small World..."

"She swallowed the world source point; she's the true master of Bai Ku."

"And for channeling the Shengdi’s power, the Eight Zuns An must have foreseen it couldn't start from Xukong Island or Si Wu Zhen."

"So, all the setups from the beginning were hidden in this seemingly unimportant girl?"

Dao Qiong Cang seemed to grasp it. With just one glance, he connected everything. The inner island's Shengdi power wouldn't break the seal from Xukong Island; instead, it would use the authority of Bai Ku's master—that is, this silver-haired girl—in Bai Ku...

On the Sheng Shen Continent, changes should be happening now; one of the seven broken bans, Jin Zhao Prison Sea, must be breaking its seal. They would emerge from Jin Zhao Prison Sea, pierce through time and space, and rush to Yunlun Shanmai's Gu Yin Cliff at top speed. —Taking the longest route, the safest path, and finally landing on the island to aid Xu Xiaoshou!

"As expected of you..."

Dao Qiong Cang looked toward the figure outside Miracle Forest, his eyes flickering as he clicked his tongue in admiration. This move was hidden too deeply! So deeply that it must have been planned before he, Dao Qiong Cang, took office... perhaps even before the Eight Zuns An appeared, the inner island's ghost beasts were scheming this. All the Eight Zuns An did was go with the flow, creating multiple distractions to confuse and utilize. But there's no doubt, he succeeded. He deceived everyone's sight, including Dao Qiong Cang and Wang Ze Shengdi, guiding them toward the wrong way to break the situation. One wrong step, and every step after is wrong. Now, with the inner island's Shengdi power borrowed, it's impossible to stop; that means Wang Ze Shengdi will face four opponents?

"Indeed, a losing battle—even a Shengdi couldn't turn it around."

"Ming Yi was right; luckily, I didn't get involved. The Eight Zuns An owes me a way out now, right?"

"Yu Lao hasn't made a move yet; with his speed, he should have arrived..."

Dao Qiong Cang's thoughts raced, mixing relief with contingency plans. While others were shocked by the Lei family survivor, he remained unfazed and started thinking about self-preservation. He extended his Sheng Nian toward Xukong Island's four gates, only to find all four sealed, with power unable to seep out.

"Can't get out, and probably nothing can get in from outside, so Yu Lao is blocked..."

"Of course, if I were in charge, in such a great situation, how could I let even one escape?"

"Everything... except me, must die!"

Dao Qiong Cang narrowed his eyes, glanced at Rao Yao Yao, and opened his mouth as if to say something. But just then, he sensed four powerful Shengdi auras surging onto Xukong Island.

"Ah." Dao Qiong Cang sighed deeply.

"Why are you sighing?" Rao Yao Yao was on high alert, her gaze steady and unafraid.

Dao Qiong Cang glanced at her, lips parting, and sighed again, "Ah..."

"Luan Tian Gang!"

At that moment, Wang Ze Shengdi's face lost all playfulness, and he pointed directly at the Feng Li Jing. He truly hadn't expected that Xu Xiaoshou's use of the Shengdi’s power would bypass the Duoyuan sword intent and take another path. This sudden change caught even Wang Ze Shengdi off guard. When he struck again, he held nothing back. Because by then, Wang Ze Shengdi had sharply sensed another Shengdi aura arriving, signaling his own great crisis.

"Rumble!"

Vast wind energy surged from the Feng Li Jing, with green wind gang dragons sweeping through, shattering even the Tian Dao and absorbing its power. This strike wasn't aimed at Xu Xiaoshou himself, but at the other key figure—Lei Xier, the master of the Bai Ku World who had opened the power channel! Xu Xiaoshou had the protection of the four Shengdi powers, though weak and temporary, making him unkillable for now. But if he cut down this silver-haired girl, the channel would break, and perhaps the situation could still be salvaged. Yet, just as the green wind gang gathered, dark clouds pressed in, and a dragon's roar shattered the scene.

"Roar—"

From outside the Qinglong Gate, black power surged in. The undigested Shengdi dragon scale power within the Water Ghost seemed to gain sentience and awaken. He paused, then roared, "Eight Zuns An, you filthy... Roar—"

His mouth puckered, and he echoed a dragon's roar. The Mo Di Black Dragon's power came from the Qinglong Gate and infused into this Ouyi Bansheng's body. The Water Ghost's body erupted with endless demonic breath, transforming him into a dragon, no longer illusory. His form, already shapeless, turned into flowing water, dyed black, with dragon scales emerging, becoming a massive, winding black water dragon. As Wang Ze Shengdi's Luan Tian Gang power was still forming, this black water dragon under the Mo Di Black Dragon's control swung its tail in a dragon sweep.

"Boom!"

Demonic breath covered everything, and the enormous dragon tail acted like a black wall blocking the world, boldly standing before Xu Xiaoshou and Lei Xier, using physical force to block the Shengdi's strike.

"Bang bang bang—"

Space shattered. The Juejin Fire Domain was ravaged by the violent power. From this single clash, this remnant of one of the nine great absolute realms lost all trace of its volcanic form, even the lava pulverized by the terrifying forces.

"Hiss!"

Everyone watching from Zui Yi Dian inhaled sharply. The Mo Di Black Dragon... had returned? By parasitizing the Ouyi Bansheng, the Water Ghost?

"How could this be..." Rao Yao Yao's gaze flickered with shock as she murmured in disbelief. But the reality was far more shocking.

As Wang Ze Shengdi's strike failed and he tried to act again... The blood-red sky from the southern Zhuque Gate was already visible to the crowd far away in the Juejin Fire Domain and Zui Yi Dian. Under the raised hands of a floating blood-orange figure...

"Shh shh..."

The shadows of seven massive blood trees swayed, their canopies rustling as blood spread wildly. The arrival of the Shengdi seemed to declare that the mountains of corpses and seas of blood had come.

"Is that... Tianren Wu Shui?"

Someone recognized the strange figure but couldn't reconcile this version with the one previously crushed by the Water Ghost.

At the western Baihu Gate.

"Screech!"

A piercing cry echoed as a massive Hantian Zhi Weasel, spanning thousands of li, leaped across the sky. It was pure white, with ghost beast wings like those of a Kunpeng, descending from the heavens, wrapped in enormous green chains. As soon as it appeared, the world felt like a prison. Everyone who glimpsed the Hantian Zhi Weasel felt fear in their hearts, as if they had fallen into an endless sea of suffering, becoming mere morsels in its belly, unable to escape.

"This..."

"Isn't this the ice-type ghost beast that Yan Lao toyed with before? How did it mutate too? It has a Shengdi aura?"

A boundless sea of fire soared through the air. A figure, bound in shackles on all limbs and looking somewhat disheveled, flew straight toward Xu Xiaoshou. But at the last moment, the figure veered, redirecting all its power into Lei Xier's body.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

White flames ignited on Lei Xier, nearly consuming her. But in the next second, the Shengdi aura burst forth. Lei Xier's painful eyes snapped open, her Zhi Sheng Mo Ti fully unleashed, draining the life force from tens of thousands of li around her in an instant. Her previously depleted state returned to its peak in a flash.

"I..."

Lei Xier lifted her hands, gazing at the brilliant white flames that Mu Zixi had always envied, feeling the agony only Xu Xiaoshou knew, her expression strange. Parasitized? But that will didn't dominate her; instead, it chose to let her take control? What was going on? The only one clueless, Lei Xier stood frozen. In mere moments, the gate to the other side opened at her feet, teleporting her to the northern Xuanwu Gate. The Water Ghost, parasitized by the Mo Di Black Dragon, still had enough will to wrestle with it.

"Get out, I'll take control!"

"Mortal, what do you know?"

"You know how to open the 'Four Shen Zhu'? If you do, then you do it!"

The Mo Di Black Dragon fell silent for a moment, and the Water Ghost seized the chance, using the gate to the other side to transport his powerful black water dragon form to the Qinglong Gate. He remotely activated the gate, drawing the four strands of Shengdi power scattered at Xukong Island's four gates and linking them to Xu Xiaoshou in the Juejin Fire Domain! Just like Wang Ze Shengdi, even if the inner island's Bai Mai Three Ancestors or Mo Di Black Dragon were here, they couldn't act freely. But Xu Xiaoshou was different! He was the Tianzu heir! As long as the four Shengdi powers reached him, he would be the only one on Xukong Island capable of slaying gods and emperors!

Flipping open the Tianji Array Disk left by Wuji Laozu, infusing it with Sheng power, the Water Ghost endured the pain of being parasitized and roared:

"Four Shen Zhu, open!"

With a thunderous boom, at Xukong Island's four gates... From the eastern Qinglong Gate, the black water dragon; from the western Baihu Gate, the green-chained ice weasel; from the southern Zhuque Gate, the blood-red sky; from the northern Xuanwu Gate, the nameless sea of fire—all surged with four beams of Shengdi light, crossing the void and injecting into Xu Xiaoshou's body.

Xu Xiaoshou, sunk in the agony of power, suddenly found a guiding compass, only to be bombarded by the four raging, clashing forces, driving him into Qi deviation. But deviation? He was used to it! Awakening in沉沦, reviving in deathly silence. The moment Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes, the Shengdi power overwhelmed Xukong Island, plunging heaven and earth into darkness with a full moon hanging high.

Whoosh! He rose, standing atop a tower of ninety-nine stacked layers. As he pointed into the air under the moon's shadow, his entire outfit was completely blackened by boundless demonic energy. Perched at the peak of the lonely tower, he looked down disdainfully, coldly eyeing Wang Ze Shengdi and said with menace:

"Rao Wang Ze, I have cracked the Si Wu Zhen."

"But with me like this, how will you respond?"