Chapter 1372: Dragon Rock Dual Attribute New Chief Seat, Annihilated in the Blink of an Eye

The Si Xiang Secret Realm is actually divided into four major sections.

Each section forms an incomplete, semi-independent space, yet they connect through the realm's core.

This connecting area originally consisted of a mountain range extending from the Qinglong Vein.

However, the pathways here are chaotic, with space frequently collapsing. As a result, while the Qinglong Vein mountains retain their shape, the rest has gradually formed deep chasms like sheer cliffs.

These chasms are perpetually shrouded in black mist, as dark waters with strange powers flow below, earning the place the name "Heishui Jian."

When Jin Ren, carrying Han Ye and Mo Mo, landed on the mountain peak, they could already sense the completely disordered Dao principles around them.

The strangeness here was no weaker than the nine forbidden zones on the outer islands of Void Island.

Even before leaping into the abyss below, the activity of spiritual energy in their bodies was restricted, like rusty gears slowly becoming sluggish.

"Zhan Shen Ling is guiding me."

The moment Mo Mo landed, she spoke up, confirming the sensation she'd felt during their multiple teleports.

She still held the half-person-tall Zhan Shen Ling.

Each time it tilted forward, it pointed in the direction Han Ye indicated and where Jin Ren's spatial jumps led.

She didn't dare delay, fearing she might have overlooked some minor detail.

"Guiding?"

Jin Ren's arm hairs stood on end.

In this chaotic place, he was highly sensitive to such specific terms.

The small white weasel, perched on Han Ye's avatar's shoulder, chimed in, "That means someone has entered the Ran Ming Site, and at least one Zhan Shen Ling has returned to its place."

"How so?"

Jin Ren turned his head to look.

The small white weasel paused before explaining:

"There are three Zhan Shen Ling tokens. The Ran Ming Site has its own special power that constantly calls out to the scattered ones, drawing them back through various means to activate the site and unseal the inheritance."

"Perhaps the first time I obtained a Zhan Shen Ling, I was influenced by this 'guidance'... Well, when one or more tokens return, this call becomes stronger!"

"In the worst case, even a half-saint holding a Zhan Shen Ling might come here without knowing why, but they'd still willingly jump into Heishui Jian below for some inexplicable reason—maybe just out of curiosity."

"Like you?"

Jin Ren smiled.

"Uh..."

The small white weasel scratched its head, its fluffy, chubby face showing a touch of embarrassment.

"He reminded me."

Mo Mo didn't take credit, interjecting to add an explanation.

She had only found it odd at first and hadn't paid much attention.

It was Feng Yu Jin who pointed it out, making her realize the strangeness and take it seriously.

"Someone has gone down there..."

Jin Ren wasn't concerned about who contributed this minor detail; he was alerted by Han Ye's information.

The "guidance" Mo Mo sensed was strong enough for Feng Yu Jin to warn about it, indicating the power was already intense.

Below, there was at least one person, or possibly two...

And when Han Ye first appeared in the Void Island's Unforgiven Hall, he had mentioned the locations of the other two Zhan Shen Ling tokens...

"The other two are in the hands of Sheng Shen Hall?"

Jin Ren confirmed.

"Yes."

The small white weasel nodded.

"So down there, it's either one person alone, or two with a group, and they've likely assembled even the half-saints, just waiting like hunters."

Jin Ren stared into the abyss, where Heishui Jian plunged into unfathomable depths.

The small white weasel's claws trembled at the words.

Said like that, jumping down would be like walking straight into a trap.

Mo Mo was a bit puzzled but didn't ask anything.

Feng Yu Jin couldn't hold back: "There are only three Zhan Shen Ling in total—excluding the one I have, it's either one or two. You've covered all possibilities... Xu Xiaoshou, you're really something."

Why was Feng Yu Jin holding a grudge?

Hadn't he tried to kill me back at Tianxuan Gate?

Jin Ren just smiled: "Then let me say something that's not just one or two—down there, there's probably only one, and it's unlikely to be Sheng Shen Hall's main combat half-saint, so it might not be a big issue."

"Oh? You can predict that?"

Feng Yu Jin sneered. "Then tell me, why?"

"I could explain, but why should I to you?"

"You!"

"Under scrutiny, passive value, 1."

"Why?"

Mo Mo's angry gaze softened just in time, as she spoke to cut off the words, stifling the budding verbal spat between the two.

Jin Ren said: "If I were the old Daoist, with one Zhan Shen Ling returned, I'd summon the lost one while holding onto the third..."

"That way, the initiative to open the Ran Ming Site would always be in my hands."

"And for that third one, either I'd hold it myself, or it'd be with one of my top elite fighters, like..."

Jin Ren paused, recalling the list of the ten-member council he'd seen before, and an answer formed in his mind.

"Like one of the newly appointed three half-saints."

I hope it's not Dao Xuan Ji.

It probably isn't—he seems to be a divination master too?

"Under curse, passive value, 1."

Mo Mo stayed silent, lowering her eyes as if resisting something.

Xu Xiaoshou instantly identified the new curse source as the Sealed Heaven Saint Emperor, Feng Yu Jin.

"Shall we go down?"

The small white weasel glanced around, feeling an unexplained chill on the mountaintop, as if someone was watching from behind, and was the first to suggest descending into Heishui Jian.

—For Xu Xiaoshou and Mo Mo, going down was fine, but for it, all abilities would be sealed!

"People are coming."

Mo Mo suddenly looked toward the distance. "They're almost here."

"What people?"

The small white weasel's claws froze as it followed her gaze.

"People from Sheng Shen Hall, a lot of them."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned upon hearing this, his eyes locking onto the half-person-tall Zhan Shen Ling.

At the same time, Feng Yu Jin muttered a curse: "You really are a jinx!"

—Could Dao Qiong Cang sense the position of the Zhan Shen Ling in Mo Mo's hands through some method?

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't think of any other reason for that flashy old Daoist to track their location.

He had arrived via spatial teleportation and had concealment.

How could the people around him—one a saint emperor, the other a fugitive great emperor—have their auras locked?

Yet Sheng Shen Hall's people were arriving so quickly, meaning apart from the time difference in spatial teleportation that they hadn't caught up with...

"The moment we entered the Si Xiang Secret Realm, our position was exposed."

Mo Mo stated the obvious, her voice growing heavier.

"Jump!"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare wait any longer.

Enter Heishui Jian, into the forbidden barrier.

Feng Yu Jin and his own combat strength would be fully unrestricted, while Sheng Shen Hall couldn't use swarm tactics— at most, only one could deal damage.

The advantage of timing and terrain was all below the cliff!

The two humans and one beast leaped together into Heishui Jian.

As long as they crossed a thousand zhang and broke through the black water barrier, they could enter the Ran Ming Site.

At the same time...

"Buzz!"

The cliff wall shifted, suddenly forming a thick, solid platform below, halting their fall.

Xu Xiaoshou stopped in midair just in time.

Mo Mo reached out to touch the air, somersaulting to avoid an awkward headfirst landing.

"Smack!"

The small white weasel, however, plunged headfirst into the rock layer, like diving into the ground, with half its body embedded, leaving only its hind paws and backside sticking up and wriggling above the rock.

"Who!"

After pulling itself out of the rock, the ice-type half-saint beast was both embarrassed and furious.

It didn't even dare look up at its companions overhead, venting its anger loudly:

"Which sneaky coward dares to toy with me like this!"

With a crack, the suddenly protruding rock layer on the cliff wall froze into ice crystals.

The small white weasel swatted down with a paw, shattering the rock into ice shards with a boom.

"Ye, let's go down!"

Clearly, someone was blocking their group from jumping into Heishui Jian, and even Han Ye had figured that out.

With a shout, it leaped down again.

"Smack!"

The rock layer on the cliff wall protruded once more, and the small white weasel smashed into it face-first, flattening itself like a weasel pancake.

Mo Mo held the small bronze furnace, her lips twitching slightly before she quickly suppressed it, her shoulders trembling faintly.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't hold back and burst out laughing with a "pfft."

This was a teammate!

Laughing like this wasn't right!

But it was hard to suppress...

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Feng Yu Jin laughed uproariously, his voice turning a bit hoarse. "I remember now—you're Xiao Han? The one from the inner island?"

He seemed to finally recognize this companion they'd traveled with for a month, pinpointing the source of that familiar feeling.

Who else could be this embarrassing except that pushover beast from the inner island that he'd met a few times years ago?

"Screeech—"

A high-pitched, piercing, unwilling, and shame-filled screech echoed through the cliffs.

The small white weasel exploded in anger, transforming into a massive monster!

It became a hundred-zhang-long Han Tian Zhi Weasel, pure white all over, with ghostly energy forming wings on its back, exuding an eerie aura.

"Get out of my way!"

The Han Tian Zhi Weasel glared with both eyes, sweeping its ghostly wings.

Whoosh...

A storm of icy, biting cold swept through the cliffs.

As the chill passed, the entire mountain peak in front of the cliff froze into ice crystals.

"Shatter!"

The Han Ye retracted its wings with a boom, and the cliff above Heishui Jian shortened by a hundred zhang, scattering ice crystal fragments everywhere.

Mo Mo watched with a start.

This small white weasel was adorable.

But a half-saint was still a half-saint— in its fury, without even finding a target, it had shattered everything around.

The cliff wall had grown out.

Now that the cliff was gone, could it regrow?

"Ye, get on quick, I'll carry you down."

The massive Han Tian Zhi Weasel turned its head, its eyes now free of anger, its tone incredibly gentle.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't jump directly onto the Han Tian Zhi Weasel's back; instead, he stared at the frozen and shattered ice crystals falling into Heishui Jian, his brows furrowing.

Logically, even if this was something formed by a person, it should have been utterly destroyed under a half-saint's strike.

Why did he feel that every fragment of those ice crystals still held a faint trace of life?

"You're the Han Tian Zhi Weasel?"

A curious voice drifted up from Heishui Jian below.

Han Ye looked down and was shocked to see the entire mountain peak it had frozen and shattered reforming from the ice with a boom.

The fragments reorganized and fused in midair, transforming into a tall, handsome young man.

The young man had bright, eager eyes with a hint of suppressed excitement at the bottom, his fists clenched as if anticipating a battle.

"Han Tian Zhi Weasel, half-saint level..."

"Combat strength isn't strong, but that's for ordinary people—it's best at evasion techniques..."

He recited one by one, his gaze quickly shifting from the Han Tian Zhi Weasel to another figure nearby, his eyes flashing with intensity:

"You're Xu Xiaoshou? The Saint Slave Ye?"

"Dao Hall Master said that if Xu Xiaoshou comes this time, he'll definitely have the Han Tian Zhi Weasel with him. He was spot on, as always."

"But this one..."

The young man's gaze fell on the serene woman beside them, and he paused slightly. "Who are you?"

"Mo Mo."

The cold wind rustled through the cliffs, and Mo Mo's long skirt rippled slightly as she calmly replied, holding the small bronze furnace.

By now, she could easily state her name.

Because Feng Yu Jin had said she didn't need to hide anymore; she could face anyone in the world fearlessly.

"You're called Ao Sheng?"

Xu Xiaoshou and Jin Ren switched mindsets.

He recognized this unfamiliar yet familiar face; he'd seen the portrait in the jade slip from Xiang Yi.

The new head of the Spirit Department, a rock-type refinement master, suspected to be at the realm of comprehension, with talent rivaling Yu Ling Di.

Dominating Dragon Saint Body, equivalent to a human-form true dragon, which could be seen as both rock and dragon-type refinement master.

After Yu Ling Di was promoted to head of the Spirit Department, he had chosen to leave immediately, seemingly unwilling to be outshone, and went alone to the Dragon Grotto for cultivation.

He was one of the few humans acknowledged by the Dragon Grotto's dragon clan!

In just a few years of cultivation, he had formed a dragon pearl, grown scales, and could transform into a true dragon by drinking dragon blood.

Except for not finding the Dragon Grotto's dragon apricots and consuming dragon apricot seeds, he had mastered everything a human could in dragon cultivation.

In the jade slip from Xiang Yi, the evaluation of this person was high:

"Refinement can rival Yu Ling Di, and dragon transformation is half a step from sainthood."

"He's a stubborn one, knowing that cultivating only refinement would at best put him on par with Yu Ling Di, so he left his human form, returned in dragon form, and dual-cultivated both paths."

What a genius!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know who was stronger now between Yu Ling Di and Ao Sheng.

But this guy had endured and cultivated both paths to this extent at such a young age, which was far better than Yu Ling Di, who stubbornly followed his father's path while trying to surpass it.

At least, Ao Sheng's thinking was free and unrestricted.

Yu Ling Di succeeded and failed because of the Water Comprehension—he was forced by the Water Ghost's final act on Void Island, gifting the spear to his son to push him toward a new path.

But...

These were all comparisons among peers, and Xu Xiaoshou had long transcended that level.

"You're alone?"

Activating Divine Sensitivity for a moment and then deactivating it, Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual thoughts instantly covered the entire Si Xiang Secret Realm, spotting over a hundred red and white robes heading this way.

Twenty-three breaths.

He estimated the time for the nearest white robe to arrive, then smiled at Ao Sheng, who stood in midair below the cliff with an impressive aura:

"You're alone, coming here to die?"

Ao Sheng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"I've heard the Saint Slave Ye is incredibly arrogant and looks down on everyone—seeing you today, the rumors don't do you justice."

"I've waited here so long, just for you, Xu..."

"Don't waste words."

Xu Xiaoshou cut him off, his eyes signaling the Han Tian Zhi Weasel not to act.

If it was rock-type comprehension and deliberately stalling...

The Han Ye was strong, but first, a half-saint's strike would cause too much commotion, and second, it might not instantly kill Ao Sheng.

Xu Xiaoshou knew how hard it was to kill an elemental body.

And he knew exactly how to kill an elemental body.

He had learned it.

"I won't bully you— I'll give you three breaths to prepare, show all your cards... Hmm, you're still just at the Dao Severing stage, right?"

Just at Dao Severing? Ao Sheng was taken aback.

Could Dao Severing be described as "just" now?

A Dao Severing comprehension refinement master could crush ordinary Supremes!

"Xu Xiao..."

"Three."

"How amusing! You're truly amusing! But I won't underestimate you..."

Ao Sheng was amused.

For the first time, someone was counting down his death to his face, and he didn't dare retort; instead, he focused, and an comprehension array diagram spun beneath his feet.

Rock-type comprehension?

Mo Mo showed a hint of surprise.

Feng Yu Jin's voice sighed at the same time: "Sheng Shen Hall, full of talents."

The comprehension array diagram was extremely bright and vast.

Ao Sheng might seem reckless, but he had real skill.

In an instant, elemental forces within tens of thousands of li rejected all else, purely becoming rock-attuned, and the mountains trembled as if alive.

"Two." Xu Xiaoshou ignored everything, unfazed.

The Han Tian Zhi Weasel frowned, shrinking back to its smaller form.

Instinct told it that this human boy, Ao Sheng, wasn't easy to kill.

It needed to concentrate all its power into one point.

But this was all mountains and rocks, so it might not directly eliminate him.

Moreover, the Han Ye's beastly instinct sensed that Ao Sheng's physical body wasn't ordinary!

As expected, Ao Sheng suddenly roared, his eyes turning red, his body instantly growing taller.

A layer of earthy-yellow scales covered his skin, a flesh bulge formed on his head, and his balanced build became incredibly muscular, as if he might burst his clothes and turn into a dragon any second.

"One."

At that, Xu Xiaoshou finished counting and looked at Ao Sheng, still in human form, with a hint of disappointment:

"Looks like you're holding back. Next life, remember to seize the opportunity."

"Arrogant!" Ao Sheng's eyes burst with blood-red light as he shouted, a pearl's glow shining from his chest.

At the same time, Xu Xiaoshou finished counting and released the restraints on his Saint Emperor Lv.0 Breathing Method...

"Boom!"

The void shattered violently.

A terrifying suction force centered on him, instantly turning the surrounding area into a vacuum.

The rolling black mist was swept away, its forbidden power absorbed and forcefully converted upon entering his body.

From a thousand zhang below, the black waters of Heishui Jian surged up like a summoned tide, forming massive waves that drenched Ao Sheng entirely.

The small white weasel let out a "screech" and uncontrollably flew toward Xu Xiaoshou's head, but he dodged it with a tilt.

Mo Mo, caught off guard, crashed straight into Xu Xiaoshou's embrace, and he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Ao Sheng's dragon pearl power had just begun to shine when his dragon energy vanished completely, and even his sea of energy and spiritual essence were plundered on the spot.

He felt the space before him tear apart, revealing a bloody scene.

When he regained his senses, he was about to crash into Xu Xiaoshou's embrace too.

But blocking his forehead and stopping him was a single finger...

"Impossible!"

Ao Sheng was terrified.

What kind of sinister technique was this?

The intelligence reports had no record of Xu Xiaoshou having such an ability!

He sensed that all the rock elements scattered in the heavens and earth had been drawn into Xu Xiaoshou's body without exception.

The surrounding Dao rules were forcefully severed by the Azure River Sword Realm formed from ten thousand swords with a single glance from Xu Xiaoshou.

Moreover, the world around him was exiled in an instant; he couldn't draw any energy from the external mountains or earth.

His proud scales, upon touching Xu Xiaoshou's finger, dented at the forehead.

"How is this possible?!"

Ao Sheng was nearly driven mad, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

He had trained bitterly for years, returning with the mindset of stepping on the Spirit Department head Yu Ling Di.

Yet now, like a fool, under Xu Xiaoshou's "one suction force," he uncontrollably collided with the attack...

No!

What kind of attack was this finger?

Ten... Tenfold Sword Finger?

"The light of an ant, how dares it compete with the bright moon?"

Xu Xiaoshou delivered this line with a smile.

At that moment, time and space were locked by him; as he looked at Ao Sheng, it was like watching an infant clumsily swinging a great sword.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou truly realize that he was no longer on the same level as his peers.

Mo Mo came to her senses, grabbing Xu Xiaoshou's arm around her waist but unable to break free, and turned her head to look.

"Bang!"

A massive explosion erupted beside her ear.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't used any spiritual technique, move, or ancient martial art.

He simply flicked a finger flick...

And Ao Sheng shattered.

Turned to dust and vanished.