Chapter 1488: Puppet Control Unraveling Profound Secrets, Eat Clean and Leave No Trace

"Huff..."

The storm ceased, then raged again; time halted, then resumed.

No one noticed that brief moment when time froze and Xu Xiaoshou acted.

Had it been detected, Xu Xiaoshou would not have "given birth" in public, which would have utterly ruined "Shou Ye's" fierce and imposing image.

What's more, this was right when he was about to slay Dao Xuanji with his sword and make his name.

As he raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist above his head, as if grasping the fate of the world, flames swirled out beneath Xu Xiaoshou's feet, forming the Huo Dao Pan.

"Long Rong Jie."

The calm voice echoed faintly in all directions.

In an instant, white flames surged from the collapsing fragments of space, gathering into a realm that transformed the peak of Yu Jing into a dazzling scene, like a white sun descending.

"Bang!"

The Xue Ying Tong Qian flew through the air first, growing larger as it advanced.

Fang Wenxin certainly didn't like Dao Xuanji, but she was still the current hall master of Sheng Shen Dian Tang. For Xu Xiaoshou to slay her with a sword was far too humiliating.

This not only damaged Dao Xuanji personally but also tarnished the reputation of Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

After all, the supreme leader of the continent's top force, slain by some petty figure from the dark side—who wouldn't laugh their teeth out if that got out?

But the situation was already set in stone. For now, they couldn't reverse the tide, so they had to minimize the negative impact.

In the end, casualties in battle could happen anytime, anywhere.

If Sheng Shen Dian Tang ultimately emerged victorious and Dao Xuanji returned, the fallout would be minimized.

Inside Long Rong Jie, the temperature soared rapidly.

As the Xue Ying Tong Qian hurtled toward him, Xu Xiaoshou didn't move, because he wasn't fighting alone.

"Roar!"

The Tan Shen, freed from its master's suppression and liberated during the earlier battle, glanced around wildly. Seeing no chains to bind it, it initially wanted revenge on the human who had stepped on its head. But then it spotted the Xue Ying Tong Qian flying in, and memories of being confined flooded back.

This thing had imprisoned it before!

"Roar!!!"

With a long howl, ripples spread through the space beneath its feet. Tan Shen leaped up and, in the nick of time, bit down on the Xue Ying Tong Qian.

The resonant force sent its massive body hurtling toward the horizon, even threatening to shatter its fangs.

But after devouring Xu Xiaoshou's second true body, Tan Shen's physical strength had improved dramatically.

It sucked in hard, pulling in all the remnants of the Xuanji Star Shi and the lingering Shen Xing power scattered across the heavens and earth from the previous fight, swallowing them all.

"Bang!"

With a nod in mid-air, Tan Shen finally bit through the Xue Ying Tong Qian!

"This..."

Gazing at the enormous spectral beast emitting a faint divine aura, Fang Wenxin felt a chill run down his back.

The devouring body was too terrifying!

Other spectral beasts might grow quickly, but they still needed time.

Tan Shen could devour anything in battle—even scraps—and digest them for immediate enhancement.

As one side weakened and the other grew stronger, with it gaining more abilities...

In the end, even the Three Saints might struggle to handle it!

"Roar!"

Tan Shen clamped the Xue Ying Tong Qian in its jaws and flung its head, hurling the object straight into the space fragments.

When it reappeared, it carried immense force and smashed toward Fang Wenxin's face.

"Outrageous!"

Before Fang Wenxin could react, Yu Lao stamped the air and caught it with one hand.

With just his human strength and five fingers, he grabbed the Xue Ying Tong Qian, which had enlarged to match Tan Shen's size and was infused with divine power!

"Woo—"

A resonant Kun Yin echoed through the nine heavens, captivating all who heard.

Tan Shen was momentarily dazed, and when it regained focus, it saw the human, Yu Lao, gripping the massive Xue Ying Tong Qian—not even his weapon—with a size that didn't fit.

In a fierce strike, he teleported it toward Tan Shen's head.

"Boom!"

The impact shattered the Dao Ze.

With one swing, Tan Shen was hammered from Sheng Shen Continent into the space fragments.

Yu Lao was clearly furious, his anger flaring suddenly and intensely!

Not satisfied, he followed up with a kick, stomping hard on the giant spectral beast's head.

Though space fragments blocked sound, the spatial storm erupted, and the fragments were blasted through.

From the space fragments, Tan Shen was kicked into the time fragments.

Trapped there, it threw its head back in a furious roar, struggling to escape.

One moment it appeared at the south city gate, restrained;

The next, back in the space fragments, under Yu Lao's foot, then kicked into the time fragments again...

Time became chaotic, space overlapped.

These two blows trapped Tan Shen in the rift between space and time fragments.

"Never mind it for now!"

After briefly subduing the irrational Tan Shen, Yu Lao tossed the Xue Ying Tong Qian back to Fang Wenxin.

He glanced almost imperceptibly toward the south city wall, then turned back to Xu Xiaoshou, eyes widening as he rolled up his sleeves:

"First, beat this kid!"

Fang Wenxin stared at the enraged Yu Lao, then looked down at his own Xue Ying Tong Qian, feeling a bit confused.

Wait...

Isn't this my weapon?

And you're not even on Dao Xuanji's side, so why get this fired up?

"Sever!"

On the other side, Long Rong Jie took shape, not to evaporate all the semi-saints inside—that was impossible.

It was to complement the space attribute!

With a single command, space was exiled within and without the realm.

From then on, no matter how many changes Dao Xuanji could make, her true form belonged only to Long Rong Jie; nothing from outside could penetrate in.

Tan Shen was being beaten...

Xu Xiaoshou didn't lift a finger to help.

He was astonished by Yu Lao's incredible combat power while seizing the moment to ignite all the star Dao Ze and heavenly mechanisms Dao Ze inside Long Rong Jie.

"Puff puff!"

After breaking all methods, he shifted his focus to the jade-gold Sheng Xue that had been sliced from Dao Xuanji.

This stuff was nurturing some female Tian Ji puppet inside; he couldn't even spare a drop to feed the imitator.

But after one encounter, how could Xu Xiaoshou let the Sheng Xue hatch another Tian Ji puppet?

"Jin Zhao Tian Fen!"

With a wave through the air, all the Sheng Xue ignited.

Yet, with its abundant Sheng power, it wouldn't evaporate quickly.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't planned to evaporate it anyway; this was just a mark. He timely looked up and called:

"Long Xing!"

Above Yu Jing City, outside Long Rong Jie,

The ancestral tree Long Xing pattern, which had been acting as a mere backdrop, suddenly lit up.

Earlier, in Xing Jie, it had lost a bet and, recalling its betrayal, felt immense shame.

Its proud nature hit an all-time low.

So when Xu Xiaoshou revived and asked it to serve as a background to enhance his grand entrance...

Long Xing tearfully agreed.

But that wasn't enough!

Now, hearing Xu Xiaoshou call for its power with just "Long Xing"—not "Long Xing Qianbei" as before, and without any respect...

Long Xing was annoyed to its core!

Failing to keep its vow and guard Xing Jie, being tempted by Jiu Ji Gui—that was the most regrettable thing it had ever done.

Regret turned to disgust.

On all of Sheng Shen Continent, it now despised two people the most: one was Dao Qiong Cang, the other Xu Xiaoshou.

And it loathed two kinds of people the most: Tian Ji sorcerers, and still Tian Ji sorcerers.

"Whish whish whish..."

It could grumble internally, but it didn't want to defy Xu Xiaoshou's command at his peak.

Countless golden lights descended from the sky, turning into branches of Long Xing, precisely piercing into the jade-gold Sheng Xue.

"Sizzle!"

The energy-rich Sheng Xue was drained in an instant.

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoshou finally smiled in relief.

He had no way to handle the Sheng Xue; keeping it might lead to trouble, and destroying it all at once was tough.

But feeding it to the ancestral tree Long Xing, that glutton didn't picky eat; dragon blood was best, but Sheng Xue worked too.

Sure enough, it devoured it all in one go!

With the Sheng Xue gone, the female bodyguards were no more, leaving only Dao Xuanji, split in half and powerless.

As for Yu Lao...

No need for Xu Xiaoshou to intervene.

Though the old man was full of killing intent for some reason, just as he stepped forward, golden, radiant Long Xing branches descended.

Little Long Xing was currying favor again, actively repelling the enemy...

"Whoa."

A gust stirred.

Mei Si Ren also appeared inside Long Rong Jie.

He tilted his head slightly, holding Tai Cheng reversed in his left hand behind his elbow, and lightly flicked his folding fan with his right, saying nothing.

On the fan, those four bold characters, now changed to:

"Come here, stop."

Yu Lao froze.

Fang Wenxin, following behind, also froze.

Zhong Yuan Zi didn't freeze; he had turned away, touching the flames of Long Rong Jie and huffing at the stinging white flames on his fingertips.

The two saints ahead had no time for such refined curiosity mid-battle; they both recalled the fan they'd seen while controlled:

"Merely so-so."

In a flash, their anger surged, and both shouted in unison:

"Ancient Jian Xiu, scram!"

Mei Si Ren didn't scram; instead, he flipped the fan and stroked his beard silently, implying through the fan:

"Fine, fine."

On the battlefield separated by Long Xing branches, a wildly intense fight suddenly erupted.

Both sides seemed to ignite their true fury, escalating the battle level, with shockwaves even piercing through the ancestral tree's branches.

Xu Xiaoshou "sensed" it with a sweep, seeing the two semi-saints with bloodshot eyes and Mei Si Ren dodging frantically.

Glancing over, he noticed the paper fan that had been blasted away first and understood...

If Dao Qiong Cang was overtly flashy, then Ancient Jian Xiu was subtly showy in everything except himself.

He had a talent for annoying people.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare look more and turned back to Dao Xuanji's two halves.

The vitality there was strong, with Tian Ji Dao Wen self-repairing, trying to reconnect and turn death into life.

"Whish whish whish whish..."

He extended his hands, shooting countless spirit threads from his palms, piercing into Dao Xuanji's body's acupoints.

Dao Xuanji's body trembled, her spatial eyes filling with complex emotions—resentment, unwillingness, humiliation...

This was an utter humiliation!

Once she lost the upper hand, Xu Xiaoshou's momentum snowballed, giving her no space to cast spells, and he took her down directly.

This suffocating, python-like entanglement—from the arm to the sword strike, every link connected; from inside the city to outside, every step calculated...

For some reason, Dao Xuanji thought of Dao Qiong Cang, and her resentment deepened.

"Give up!"

Xu Xiaoshou flicked his fingertip, manipulating the puppet strings, controlling the Tian Ji sorceress with Tian Ji techniques.

After that night on Qing Yuan Mountain and the full "baptism" from the showy old daoist, he was thoroughly guarded against Tian Ji sorcerers.

After all, he had once slipped up in Yu Jing, trying to save Xiang Yaoyao, only to fail and nearly lose his home.

He was just a step away from having his true body caught in Xing Jie...

How could Xu Xiaoshou not be terrified, not be vigilant?

The unfathomable Dao Qiong Cang could scheme against his second true body, guess the secluded world, use every excuse to buy time, leave a mark, and target the true body so absurdly, even descending into Xing Jie...

Xu Xiaoshou still didn't understand how Dao Qiong Cang entered his lair.

So, if the showy old daoist was like that, how much worse could his sister Dao Xuanji be?

With that in mind, after awakening, Xu Xiaoshou acted wildly on the surface but was on high alert inside.

Who would have thought that with a few words of provocation, the enemy wasn't as tough as imagined...

In fact, surprisingly easy to toy with?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that not all Tian Ji sorcerers were like Dao Qiong Cang, and not everyone was flawless.

Under her brother's dazzling light, Dao Xuanji became a dim figure, like Ba Xia Wen Ting or You Xia Mei Lao.

If she couldn't transcend after rising to power, then Dao Qiong Cang would be her greatest flaw, her biggest inner demon.

Even the seemingly detached Mei Si Ren could shout, "You Tu, eat my sword"...

Transcendence was no easy feat.

Hit the sore spot hard!

Dao Xuanji ended up losing her cool and leaving the city, daring to step out of the Xuanji Great Array.

When the turtle sticks its head out, if you don't chop it off, all that preparation would be for nothing.

"Shh shh shh..."

The spirit threads trembled in the air as Xu Xiaoshou manipulated Dao Xuanji's two halves, sealing her Qi Hai and blocking variables, deep in thought.

His textile mastery had long reached Sheng Di Lv.0 level.

But this was his first time controlling a semi-saint's body.

After quickly analyzing Dao Xuanji's life pattern, he confirmed it was a human body, not a Tian Ji puppet.

In other words, according to Zhong Yuan Zi's experiments...

If Dao Xuanji died in her true form, she could only revive in a semi-saint incarnation.

If this was her semi-saint incarnation, her true body would suffer severe damage, and recreating one would be too costly, effectively costing her a life in the short term.

Today, they could eliminate one of Dao Xuanji's lives.

Tomorrow, could a single sword cut off all her variables?

"Interesting..."

Sensing the countless complex Tian Ji great arrays in Dao Xuanji's body—though most were severed by the Yan Python, they were self-repairing, almost consciously—Xu Xiaoshou felt immense curiosity.

He finally understood how Dao Qiong Cang and Dao Xuanji achieved their indestructible bodies.

They had both turned themselves into Tian Ji puppets, inscribing Tian Ji Dao Wen directly onto their flesh—utterly mad.

After years of accumulation, the traces of Tian Ji techniques on them were even more than on Tian Ji Shen Shi Number Two!

And not just that, even their physical bodies...

"Was it modified with spiritual herbs or heavenly treasures, or directly replaced with something else?" Xu Xiaoshou asked bluntly, as if speaking to a close acquaintance, without any politeness.

Dao Xuanji stared intently at the young man opposite.

From the intent in the spirit threads he controlled, she could reverse-read what secrets he was probing in her body.

She could also analyze that Xu Xiaoshou understood Tian Ji techniques but was clueless about their essence.

Yet, his proficiency in this path was extremely high...

It was as if some great power had given him a direct transmission without full comprehension.

People like him would be great at cracking Tian Ji techniques.

But asking him to fight based on Tian Ji techniques, he couldn't produce anything unexpected.

Dao Xuanji naturally knew what Xu Xiaoshou was asking, and it only highlighted his ignorance!

As for the answer...

How could she explain?

"This hall master made one misstep and admits defeat."

After gauging Xu Xiaoshou's level in Tian Ji techniques, the hatred in Dao Xuanji's eyes faded, her gaze turning vacant.

In Xu Xiaoshou's perception, all the Tian Ji Dao Wen in Dao Xuanji's body suddenly lit up in unison.

"Next time, you'll die worse than this hall master."

"I hope by then, you've refined more than one external incarnation."

With that, Dao Xuanji's body suddenly swelled.

Xu Xiaoshou's face changed. Was this a semi-saint self-destruct?

"Stop!"

He manipulated the threads with both hands, trying to halt it and dissect her afterward.

But this action seemed to provoke a layer of the Tian Ji great array, accelerating the self-destruct.

"Farewell."

Dao Xuanji's lips curved, her eyes closed, and her body exploded...

"Think you can go out with a bang? No way!"

Xu Xiaoshou glared angrily, frustrated, and grabbed the Zu Ying Staff.

"Reverse!"

As Dao Xuanji ignited all her internal Tian Ji great arrays and chose to self-destruct, a sword hum suddenly echoed from afar.

"Whish!"

Just as her body began to swell, four swords pierced from behind, skewering her two halves.

"Sizzle..."

Endless ferocious demonic energy invaded, wantonly destroying her vitality and the Tian Ji great array.

Dao Xuanji was like a balloon inflated to the extreme, suddenly deflated in an instant.

She stared in disbelief, turning back to see the black-clad young man...

"Ah, farewell."

Xu Xiaoshou mimicked her mockingly, curving his lips and closing his eyes.

With the four swords in hand, he executed the first style of the Hou Tian Ling Ji, Bai Yun Sword Art: Bai Yun You You.

Dao Xuanji's two halves were dismembered into countless fragments, completely devoured by the Long Xing branches.

"Ah!!!"

In the back mountains of Gui Zhe Sheng Shan, inside Xuanji Dong Tian,

A naked woman bathing in a medicine vat suddenly opened her eyes, shot up from the vat, clutched her head, and let out a shrill scream.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The medicinal liquid splashed, filling the air with fragrance.

But Dao Xuanji was disheveled, like a madwoman, roaring hoarsely:

"Xu Xiaoshou, how dare you humiliate me like this? This hall master will kill you, will kill you!"