Chapter 1387: The Sacred Emperor's True Body is Imprisoned; the Five Ancestors' Successor is Moved by Emotion

“This is the direction!”

“Go down, further down.”

“Almost there, roughly in this position... right?”

Hantian Zhiyou guided from inside the Xing Jie, staring into the endless darkness, but his words lacked confidence.

His evasion techniques were strong, but his sense of direction was clearly not as good.

Moreover, he couldn't go out himself, and the view from inside the Xing Jie Ye had placed him in was pitch black, with no significant differences to distinguish.

Finding the Qilin was all based on instinct!

In his vanished state, Xu Xiaoshou didn't linger on the tower bead but used it as a base to keep delving deeper into the earth.

The mission was urgent.

He didn't know how deep he had gone; whenever Hantian Zhiyou called for a stop, he would pause and start sensing.

But the so-called Sheng Di Qilin showed no sign of presence at all.

“At the time, I just happened to pass by and my consciousness touched a kind of ‘wave,’ or maybe like a ‘ripple.’”

“Out of curiosity, I sensed it, and afterward, I never dared to be curious again. Luckily, it didn't pay attention to me, and I didn't die.”

“Xiaoshou, maybe you need to use your consciousness...”

Hantian Zhiyou had transformed into a small white weasel, rubbing its paws nervously in front of the spatial screen in the Xing Jie, feeling uneasy.

If Xiaoshou couldn't find the Qilin, would he blame me?

Xu Xiaoshou stopped at what seemed to be the most likely spot to contact the Qilin and pondered, then suddenly looked upward.

He had deciphered Yu Zhiwen's star chart, so he knew that at this depth underground, it far exceeded the chart's sensing range.

He dispelled his vanishing technique.

Inside the Xing Jie, the small white weasel watched as Xiaoshou suddenly appeared in the spatial screen, its paws clenched in tension.

Xu Xiaoshou ignored it and focused on performing the first flow of Hong Mei San Liu, Luo Ying Jie, materializing his ideological form and surging his spiritual power outward.

But the search yielded nothing.

He still couldn't sense the “wave” or “ripple” that Hantian Zhiyou had mentioned.

“Qilin predecessor, hello, please don't kill me first.”

Xu Xiaoshou didn't get discouraged and instead released a friendly smile.

He shook his body, displacing the underground soil and blasting out a solid, open space:

“I know you can see me and sense my goodwill.”

“You must have guessed my intentions, so there's no need to hide deliberately.”

“Regardless, I've come here with sincerity, so please do me the honor of meeting me face to face.”

“Not for any other reason, just think of it as a chance for exchange after millions of years of solitary existence—it could be an interesting diversion in your long life.”

Inside the Xing Jie, the small white weasel waited quietly.

Xu Xiaoshou waited as well.

But after his words, he still felt no “wave” or “ripple.”

“I brought some human wine.”

Xu Xiaoshou pulled out a jug of fine wine, sourced from You Gui Ge, with the taste of Mi Lu Zao Quan still fresh in memory.

In the underground darkness, everything remained deathly silent, with no response.

“And dragon blood—this might interest you more.”

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou produced a full bucket of Sheng Di-level Long Xue that he had taken from Long Bao, even though ownership was now with Long Xing.

In an instant, within the Luo Ying Jie that could turn consciousness into reality, faint ripples spread through the space.

“Wave!”

“That's the wave!”

Inside the Xing Jie, the small white weasel let out a “Jee!” and jumped three feet high in excitement, clapping its paws repeatedly.

This is working... Xu Xiaoshou realized that Sheng Di-level Long Xue was fatally attractive to these ancient creatures—unable to resist the temptation?

But the ripple flashed and vanished, and when he tried to grasp or communicate with it, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't even find traces of its existence.

“Three full buckets!”

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand, and two more buckets of Long Xue appeared around him.

Inside the Xing Jie, Long Xing suddenly went berserk, its canopy blooming fully to protect all its affiliated Long Xue, preventing any more theft.

The small white weasel trembled in fear, not daring to speak, though luckily Long Xing didn't direct its anger at it.

However, even with the temptation of three full buckets of Long Xue, that “wave” didn't appear.

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and advised again:

“Predecessor, there's no need to suppress yourself like this.”

“We humans have a saying that goes, ‘Seize the day and enjoy while you can, drink today for tomorrow we may die,’ meaning we should enjoy the moment.”

“Humans do this, and so should the Qilin.”

“I'll leave this Long Xue here, whether you come out to meet me or not.”

Xu Xiaoshou lowered his stance as much as possible.

He thought that with this level of sincerity, even if the Qilin wasn't cooperative, it should at least show up for a meeting.

But it didn't.

A hint of anger stirred in Xu Xiaoshou's heart.

This Qilin is so ungrateful—does it want to refuse kindness and invite punishment instead?

He didn't show it, though, and instead put on an expression of sudden realization.

—Since the Qilin won't speak, whatever I say becomes the truth, right?

“So, you're testing me?”

“And let me tell you, I do have a way—whether you want to see me or not, I can make it happen.”

Xu Xiaoshou lifted his gaze, his eyes hiding deep confidence.

Inside the Xing Jie, the small white weasel scratched its head and stared intently at the screen, unsure if Xiaoshou was bluffing or really had such a powerful method.

For no reason, it suddenly felt a sense of unease.

“Since you're not speaking, I'll take that as agreement!”

Xu Xiaoshou beckoned with his hand, and from the Xing Jie, Hantian Zhiyou was pulled out.

“Jee—”

The small white weasel was startled, suddenly thrust from behind the scenes to the front.

“Don't worry, she can't sense you here anymore, but the Qilin predecessor certainly can.”

Xu Xiaoshou first smiled to reassure it, then looked around and said:

“I'm sure you recognize my friend here.”

“That's right, it's the one who led me to you. Last time, it sensed your presence here.”

The small white weasel looked ashen, never expecting that the Xiaoshou it trusted completely would sell it out without a second thought.

“I'm about to start?”

After talking to himself for a while with no feedback from the Qilin, Xu Xiaoshou decided not to delay. He turned to Hantian Zhiyou: “Bear with it for a moment, don't resist.”

“Jee?” The small white weasel was stunned.

A dark light flashed in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, and without hesitation, he used “Soul Reading.”

He wasn't joking when he said he could see the Qilin.

He recalled the trial in Yun Lun Mountains, where he met a girl named Duo Er, a half-saint descendant from the Nan Yu Black Heart Fruit Clan.

When he used Soul Reading on her, an accident occurred.

Through her soul memory, Xu Xiaoshou glimpsed the half-saint Zang Ren from afar, across two realms, and Zang Ren sensed it, counter-observing.

Back then, Xu Xiaoshou was still a novice and nearly scared to death after facing the saint.

Fortunately, several powerful wills within him emerged, startling him, and Zang Ren probably didn't fare much better.

From then on, whenever Xu Xiaoshou considered using Soul Reading, he always thought twice about whether the target had encountered a saint before.

That was in the past.

Now, Xu Xiaoshou no longer feared ordinary half-saints.

What was once fear had become a special way to connect.

After all, even half-saint Zang Ren could counter-vision through it.

So, for the Sheng Di Qilin, once he peered into it, how could there be no reaction?

Under Soul Reading, the small white weasel convulsed all over, feeling as if its brain was pierced by needles.

It then understood what Xiaoshou meant by “bear with it,” but it didn't resist and couldn't resist in time.

Xu Xiaoshou was experienced, keeping the pain for Hantian Zhiyou brief.

Based on Hantian Zhiyou's miserable past, he quickly locked onto the memory of its imprisonment in Si Xiang Mi Jing during its short life.

Immersing himself in it,

Soon, in Hantian Zhiyou's soul memory, Xu Xiaoshou saw an underground scene almost identical to the present.

The difference was that he was in a super-saint evasion state, and the “wave” was very obvious.

Following the soul memory, Xu Xiaoshou stopped his super-saint evasion and looked up in confusion, releasing his saintly thoughts.

“Jee?”

With just a call, Xu Xiaoshou—or rather, Hantian Zhiyou—witnessed an unforgettable sight.

This memory was deeply etched in the soul.

The underground world suddenly changed, and Hantian Zhiyou's consciousness entered another mysterious space.

Here, hazy black mist lingered, impossible to dispel for ages, with no sky or earth, and even space and rules were fragmented.

In this ancient, primordial world, a colossal creature loomed.

Its body was shrouded in the black mist, impossible to see clearly.

But its enormous deep blue eyes, like fallen moons, were embedded in the “sky” of this world.

Even the pupils were tens of thousands of times larger than Hantian Zhiyou!

“Jee—”

Xu Xiaoshou (Hantian Zhiyou) let out a panicked cry.

But those huge deep blue eyes just blinked once,

Filled with endless weariness and a faint, inexplicable sorrow, they turned away indifferently, as if disregarding an ant, unmoved by the half-saint's gaze.

It was too ancient!

Seeming older than the world itself.

Just seeing those massive eyes, Xu Xiaoshou felt the desolation of one who had seen through life and death, witnessed the changes of seas and mountains.

The soul memory ended there.

What followed should have been Hantian Zhiyou starting to flee, then realizing the ancient creature had no hostility and trying to greet it, but getting no response.

But the plot twisted; it didn't go that way.

After those huge deep blue eyes turned away, a spark of vitality appeared in the pupils, like half-saint Zang Ren back then, looking back.

“Boom!”

Overwhelming pressure descended.

Underground, the small white weasel was struck like lightning, blood flowing from its seven orifices as it flipped and flew back.

Xu Xiaoshou's mind thundered, briefly overwhelmed by blinding white, but he quickly recovered under his spiritual awakening.

His first reaction was to throw the injured Hantian Zhiyou back into his Yuan Fu, and only then, enduring the tremor, did he struggle to look up and meet the deep blue eyes.

“Human...”

The surrounding world changed with that ancient voice.

Xu Xiaoshou was blasted out of the Soul Reading state.

Now, relying on his own reckless ability, he successfully entered the fragmented world from Hantian Zhiyou's memory.

“You shouldn't have come!”

A hint of anger flickered in the Qilin's deep blue eyes.

But perhaps due to the three buckets of Long Xue, or something else, it didn't attack, only speaking in a deep voice, conveying its intent through thoughts that humans could understand.

“Gulp...”

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed hard, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He had never felt so insignificant!

Unlike Feng Tian Sheng Di, limited by Mo Mo and only exerting real Sheng Di pressure when fully ghost-beast transformed.

Unlike the Bai Mai San Zu or Mo Di Hei Long he saw on Void Island, whose incarnations were powerful but limited since their true bodies weren't present.

And not like Wang Ze Sheng Di, who only sent a wisp of will to Void Island, fighting Tian Zu's spirit while battling Sheng Nu, only to be miserably devoured by Shen Yu Qing Shi.

What he saw now...

The Sheng Di Qilin, with just its deep blue eyes, instilled an endless sense of frailty.

Xu Xiaoshou was certain this was its true body!

It was the only one that, upon first meeting, gave him such a feeling:

As long as it lifted a claw, Dao Qiong Cang's schemes would be mere bubbles, and even the flashy old daoist would be crushed by a single thought!

“Passive value, +1 from being influenced.”

His thoughts cleared, and Xu Xiaoshou snapped back.

Looking again, he saw the truest weakness behind the power:

The Qilin's eyes hid exhaustion, and its majestic aura was like a castle in the air. It was indeed strong, but not acting wasn't just because of the three buckets of Long Xue.

He remembered Xiang Yi saying:

The Sheng Di Qilin was also sealed in Si Xiang Mi Jing, having its power drained during every trial.

Its existence sustained the entire Sheng Gong!

They were all sealed monsters... Xu Xiaoshou reined in his thoughts, took a deep breath, and his wildly beating heart gradually calmed:

“I've seen you, Qilin predecessor.”

The Qilin remained silent.

Those deep blue eyes were embedded in the high sky, overlooking the fragmented world, back to their indifference toward mortals.

“Please forgive my uninvited arrival, but no more small talk—I want to ask straight out...” Xu Xiaoshou got to the point, “Have you ever thought about leaving this place?”

The Qilin's eyes showed no ripple, not even a hint of emotion, as if the human before it was no different from dust.

Perhaps in its view, I was like a fool pointing at a Sheng Di and asking:

“Do you want to become a god or an ancestor?”

Xu Xiaoshou mused to himself, chuckling awkwardly before continuing:

“I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Xu Xiaoshou, the successor of Tian Zu, Long Zu, Shu Zu, Jian Zu, and also Shi Zu.”

“You've existed since ancient times and survived to now, so you should know about the Ten Ancestors and whether I have the capability to say what I just did.”

Xu Xiaoshou casually summoned the Shi Zu Shadow Staff, his eyes bright.

He lied without batting an eye—just because he had the Yin Eye, held the Shi Zu Shadow Staff, and learned some ancient sword techniques, he dared call himself the successor of Shu Zu, Shi Zu, and Jian Zu.

But that's the art of negotiation, right?

Mix truth with lies; his Tian Zu and Long Zu powers were real, and the Sheng Di Qilin could surely detect that.

Adding more chips, even if exposed later, he was still the genuine Tian Zu successor, which was the most intimidating.

The effect of self-elevation was immediate.

As Xu Xiaoshou finished his introduction, he clearly saw a flash of surprise in the Sheng Di Qilin's deep blue eyes.

He waited confidently.

This was the moment for the other side to speak, and then he could start negotiating.

But to his surprise, the ripple in the Sheng Di Qilin's deep blue eyes vanished, returning to indifference.

It spoke through intent, in a tone no different from before, clearly conveying its meaning:

“Human Xu Xiaoshou, I'll give you one more chance—leave Si Xiang Mi Jing immediately!”