“Ah—”
A sharp scream echoed from the far rear of the Dark Birth Forest, filled with panic and terror, startling flocks of big-bellied birds into flight from the treetops.
Xu Xiaoshou knew exactly why Yue Gongli was screaming.
Looking down at his own belly, which had swelled up yet again, he felt like screaming too.
“Get lost!”
Another surge of sword intent slashed down, dispelling the Dao Ying.
Along the way, Xu Xiaoshou had lost count of how many times he had manually terminated these “pregnancies.”
He could tell that this repeated swelling was no longer the original intent of the will he had sensed earlier in the Dark Birth Forest.
Rather, it was due to the rules of this place and the influence of residual forces, making it inevitable.
It was like sowing melons and reaping melons, sowing beans and reaping beans.
Daring to enter the Dark Birth Forest naturally came with consequences.
Even though that will had retreated to the deepest part, shrinking the gray-black boundary line repeatedly… it was still too powerful!
The residual forces left by a being beyond the 80th Life Dao Plate made its “procreative power” far superior to that of an ordinary Mystic Semi-Sage, even stronger than Xu Xiaoshou’s own.
“Maybe…”
“This might already involve the ‘Chao Dao Hua’ that Zhan Shen Guan Ran Ming mentioned— it’s not here, it has transformed into the Dao, it’s eternally present?”
“The Di Ying Sheng Zhu has turned into this Dark Birth Forest?”
“Of course, for an ancestral tree, it might have such ambitions, such talent, such audacity, and such intelligence. Since it’s in the Ran Ming ruins, it probably wants a piece of the Zhan Shen Guan inheritance too?”
This train of thought was getting a bit wild, with logical flaws everywhere, not holding up to scrutiny.
Xu Xiaoshou’s thoughts reached this point, and as he surveyed the surrounding Dark Birth Forest environment, he frowned:
“But this seems too limited. For an ancestral tree, if it’s only within this range, it’s far too small.”
“If it had truly transformed into the Great Dao, the entire Ran Ming ruins should have been ‘contaminated’ by the out-of-control Life Great Dao.”
“That means, either its Chao Dao Hua failed halfway— after all, I wouldn’t dare charge straight into a Dao Plate, so you can imagine how difficult it is.”
“Or, this disgusting ability of theirs was stopped by something, maybe limited by rules, or because the three heavens here aren’t enough, or perhaps Ran Ming found it repulsive and intervened forcefully.”
“Or else…”
Xu Xiaoshou lifted his gaze in the Dark Birth Forest, looking up at the sky.
All around was eerily quiet, the sky a dull gray, unable to discern the truth hidden in the clouds and mist, but it was enough to stir a hint of worry.
Swoosh!
He terminated another one.
Xu Xiaoshou quickened his pace, heading toward the deepest part of the Dark Birth Forest, where he had been ambushed by the intent earlier, and the sword intent had also led him there.
As he hurried along, he analyzed the situation and left some traces behind for the Corpse King Mother to follow.
Based on the strength of the Liu Sui Corpse King that Yue Gongli described, Xu Xiaoshou had no intention of fighting such a formidable opponent.
It wasn’t that he feared losing— he had plenty of trump cards— but…
Winning brought no benefits.
Losing, or a single misstep, might get him eliminated.
So, why fight?
The Zhou Tian Can bureau needed to be broken, and he already had six Shen Zhi Ming Xing in hand.
Yue Gongli’s strongest elimination move— Nian— couldn’t even breach his passive defense.
He had miscalculated.
If he had known, he could have placed Nian around Sang Lao, Cen Qiaofu, or Huang Quan, Bai Zhui, and might have gained something.
He messed up the first step, and everything that followed went wrong.
So, right now, it was Yue Gongli and the Sheng Shen Dian Tang who should be anxious, not him, Xu Xiaoshou.
In that case…
Why was Xu Xiaoshou still heading into the Dark Birth Forest?
First, to secure at least eighteen Shen Zhi Ming Xing and exchange them for the Zu Shen Ming Ge— he had to get that.
Now that he had cut off Yue Gongli’s path, and the Sheng Shen Dian Tang was on the verge of collapse, with the bulk of the Shen Zhi Ming Xing in his possession, Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t in a rush to hunt for more.
Even if Yue Gongli had backup plans, and other forces were still hiding, Xu Xiaoshou believed Sang Lao wouldn’t just sit idly by.
His battle outside the Dark Birth Forest against Nian and Yue Gongli would have spread like wildfire. Even without that, as soon as he entered, he forcefully claimed the top of the Zu Shen Bang and took seven Shen Zhi Ming Xing.
Everyone would know.
What’s meant to come will come.
What’s not meant to come will come anyway.
Was Xu Xiaoshou afraid?
Hah!
In the past, Sang Lao used him as a pawn, sending him into the Bai Ku, disrupting the grand scheme, seizing the Ming Jian Yan Meng, inheriting the Sheng Di’s intent, taking on the Xu Kong Dao’s bureau, drawing in the Four Shen Zhu’s power, battling the Wang Ze Sheng Di, defeating the Sheng Shen Dian Tang, even making Dao Qiong Cang admit his inferiority and concede a move…
A man in the Dead Sea, plotting to topple the world.
It’s clear that behind Ba Zun An’s successful layout, there’s the shadowy figure of a brilliant old man who dares to use anyone boldly.
Now, Xu Xiaoshou dared to turn the tables and use Sang Lao as a pawn to counterbalance others.
He didn’t believe that Yue Gongli, with Nian laid out around Zhou Tian Can, could escape the notice of someone as shrewd as Sang Lao.
Even after all this time, with Yue Gongli’s Corpse King getting “pregnant,” Sang Lao still hadn’t sent any “reminders.”
With his abilities, emerging from the Dead Sea and entering the ruins, even with only Tai Xu cultivation, he would surely find Cen Qiaofu and Shui Gui, these Semi-Sages, as helpers and start plotting immediately.
The second-in-command of the Sheng Nu, bringing along the fourth and fifth seats to play together.
With these people teamed up, how could they fall short?
As for Cen Qiaofu’s intellect, we haven’t seen the full extent, but his Semi-Sage level combat power is definite.
And this super brain that can achieve Dao in a single night— the Sheng Nu actually positioned him as a brute!
Responsible for charging straight into the forefront of the Ba Gong battlefield, forcefully initiating group fights, holding the rear, one man blocking thousands.
Or diving headfirst into the forefront of the Si Xiang Secret Realm, hacking and slashing all the way, passing through tribulations from the Si Xiang Secret Realm to the Ran Ming ruins, never knowing the meaning of “cowardice.”
How could he be lacking?
As for Shui Gui…
Fen Qin is just a legend, but we saw with our own eyes how he wore a mask and toyed with Semi-Sages in his home turf on Xu Kong Dao.
How could he be lacking?
Yet, these three big shots from the Sheng Nu were like cheats on the Sheng Shen Continent, fierce and mighty, but after so many days in the Shen Zhi Yi Ji, what’s their record?
On the Zu Shen Bang, Cen Qiaofu is middling, with two Shen Zhi Ming Xing.
Sang Lao has only one, and before Xu Xiaoshou arrived, he was the gatekeeper of the Zu Shen Bang, even lower than Nian.
Shui Gui is completely MIA, lurking underwater without even bubbling.
Either these three are actually weak, all bark and no bite, or they’re teaming up for a big scheme!
In the past, Xu Xiaoshou might not have understood, but now, with his perspective shaped by his experiences, and considering Sang Lao’s words in the second Tai Xu world urging him to enter the ruins quickly with gifts waiting…
In this situation, he resolutely chose to play his role in the Sheng Nu as the “unreasonable troublemaker,” charging forward like a mindless spear.
With three big shots claiming they’d handle the cleanup, he just needed to worry about whether the mess he made was big enough and fast enough.
Second, Chao Dao Hua!
Since the Sheng Nu big shots were backing him up for the baseline Zu Shen Ming Ge, Xu Xiaoshou didn’t want to worry about it beyond going with the flow.
They’d calculate the numbers and deliver the Shen Zhi Ming Xing to him in the end anyway.
Thus, what Xu Xiaoshou truly cared about was the “Chao Dao Hua,” something even the Ten Zun Seats weren’t fully qualified to pursue.
The Ran Ming inheritance had three tiers: high, medium, and low.
Zu Shen Ming Ge was only the second tier.
The highest tier was “Chao Dao Hua, Yu Sheng San Jing.”
Since the Dark Birth Forest exhibited similar power rules, Xu Xiaoshou naturally wanted to investigate further.
As for leaving a tail for Yue Gongli to chase…
The path ahead was unknown and dangerous!
This was the Shen Zhi Yi Ji, reaching up to the Zu Shen realm— anyone could be unexpectedly eliminated.
Xu Xiaoshou had to protect himself, just like leaving his four swords behind for now, which might be swallowed by Yue Gongli, but if needed, he could turn back and use them for support.
“Yue Gongli is a smart fox.”
From their brief encounter, Xu Xiaoshou knew his character.
Admittedly, they were on opposing sides, and he trusted Li Fugui’s words completely, never seeing Yue Gongli as a friend or believing a word he said.
But if an unknown enemy appeared ahead with power possibly at the Chao Dao Hua level…
It would undoubtedly be Yue Gongli’s enemy too!
In that case, the enemy of my enemy is a friend, and they could look out for each other.
As for who looks out for whom…
That depended on their skills.
Third, delving into the Dark Birth Forest, Xu Xiaoshou’s simplest and most direct motive was his collecting habit— if possible, he wanted to transplant the Di Ying Sheng Zhu into the Xing Jie.
Having kids?
No big deal, just terminate them!
“Ah, damn it!”
Yue Gongli terminated another one, and after helping the Corpse King do the same, he was numb.
“Isn’t this insane? How dare Xu Xiaoshou run into this place? Doesn’t he fear the depletion?”
He said this while popping pills into his mouth.
He had already emerged from the Yin Ling Jiu.
Now, he was sitting on the coffin, going through his own “confinement.”
And the coffin was on the shoulder of the Liu Sui Corpse King, also in confinement.
The Liu Sui Corpse King didn’t need confinement; it had been forcibly flipped back to normal. Aside from the residual maternal love on its face, which was somewhat human-like yet terrifying, the rest looked no different from a regular corpse— utterly shocking.
It had no concept of “depletion.”
After all, as a Liu Sui Corpse King with six great marrow-absorbing hearts, plus refinement by Sheng Zu power, terminating pregnancies multiple times didn’t weaken it at all.
But Yue Gongli was depleted!
He felt utterly drained!
One Dao Ying after another formed, only to die in the womb repeatedly, and what faded wasn’t just his numbed reluctance— it was his various sacred powers and Zu Yuan power.
The Corpse King had sustain.
Just like Xu Xiaoshou had the Breathing Method.
Yue Gongli was a proper human; his power had limits!
“Latest intel shows Xu Xiaoshou masters the Life Mystic; his power is almost endless, and he doesn’t need pills to replenish depletion.”
“This Dark Birth Forest is also under Life rules, not weaker than the Mystic in level. Is he here to investigate?”
Yue Gongli arrived a bit late.
The true “will” of the Dark Birth Forest had been scared off by Xu Xiaoshou earlier, so he hadn’t encountered it.
Controlling the corpse into the forest, all he felt were the residual forces…
And these, though still strange and mysterious, were just within Yue Gongli’s controllable range.
At least, his mental will wouldn’t become “dazed.”
Sitting on the Yin Ling Jiu, constantly on guard against Xu Xiaoshou’s sneak attacks, Yue Gongli stroked his chin, his eyes flickering as he muttered to himself:
“The swelling belly isn’t a big problem!”
“This loss of power, I can completely control it; taking pills can offset the output.”
“The Life rules are advanced, with a hint of ‘Chao Dao Hua’ flavor. Sensing them should yield some gains…”
“Xu Xiaoshou entering this forest— is he after the first inheritance of ‘Yu Sheng San Jing’?”
“Hiss, what an arrogant brat!”
Proper people don’t voice their inner thoughts, and even their thinking process doesn’t form full sentences.
Clearly, Yue Gongli, who considered himself proper, didn’t find it odd or shameful to mutter these aloud when alone.
His train of thought was already unlike that of ordinary people.
Those who are extraordinary often have extraordinary thoughts.
And geniuses always have similarities despite their differences.
At that moment, Yue Gongli’s line of thinking clearly overlapped with that of the extraordinary Xu Xiaoshou, leading him to associate with “Chao Dao Hua” as well.
“What does he want to do?”
“Does he plan to find the Di Ying Sheng Zhu, borrow the ancestral tree’s power, comprehend Life Chao Dao Hua, ascend to the eighteenth heaven, then go to the thirty-third heaven for the inheritance?”
Yue Gongli pinched his chin, his thoughts halting as the only sound in his ears was the “thump thump thump” of the Liu Sui Corpse King rushing forward.
“Cooperation!”
He suddenly slapped his thigh.
“I’ll help you comprehend that elusive Chao Dao Hua, and you give me the Shen Zhi Ming Xing, right?”
“You take the top-tier reward, and I take the next one…”
Muttering to this point, Yue Gongli chuckled to himself.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Xu Xiaoshou; it was just that he preferred the tangible over the illusory.
A different kind of win-win cooperation, even if probably only one could win in the end— well, they’d cooperated, and he’d won!
“Huh?”
His thoughts were still bubbling when another dumb and foolish “maternal” sound came from below, making Yue Gongli’s face darken.
Crack! His right hand turned to ice, forming a dark blue great blade infused with considerable Sheng Zu power, about to slash down.
“Don’t move.”
This time, Yue Gongli was a step too slow.
After the “huh” from the Liu Sui Corpse King, having grown familiar with it multiple times, it became curious about the big belly.
It thrust its hands into its abdomen and pulled out that thing!
Hiss hiss hiss…
Yin blue, blood-like liquid sprayed out like a fountain from the ruptured abdomen.
Vast Sheng Zu power breath dissipated, making the surrounding Dark Birth Forest tremble.
But that “blood” hadn’t even hit the ground before being sucked away in large gulps by the marrow-absorbing hearts on the Corpse King’s ribs and hips, completing an energy loop without a drop nourishing the earth.
“Urk…”
Yue Gongli hadn’t jumped off the coffin yet; he was stunned.
With his sacred intent, he saw the Liu Sui Corpse King holding a Corpse King baby in its hands.
Its limbs were so short that it looked like nothing more than a miniaturized elliptical Corpse King head.
But inside!
The suction of the marrow-absorbing heart, the physical strength of the Jiu Sui Corpse King, Sheng Zu power, and various other miscellaneous forces…
From Zu Yuan power and exotic abilities at the top,
To physical power and the Jiu Sui Corpse King’s faint independent intelligence at the bottom.
All kinds of forces, varying in strength, achieved a perfect balance!
Rustle rustle rustle…
The giant trees’ crowns and leaves of the Dark Birth Forest swayed, casting dappled shadows, emitting a rustling sound in the eerily quiet environment.
Yue Gongli shot up from the coffin in an instant.
To ordinary eyes, this Corpse King baby might just look disgusting and terrifying, enough to make one want to vomit…
But in his eyes, it was downright world-shaking!
“Dao Ying!”
“Yes, this is the Dao Ying condensed by the Di Ying Sheng Zhu ancestral tree!”
“The legend is true? This thing can draw on self-power to condense the most balanced, perfect state of the Dao Ying self?”
The Liu Sui Corpse King stared at the Corpse King baby in its hands for a while, then suddenly lifted it to its face, opening the big mouth of its marrow-absorbing heart to devour it.
“Stop!”
Yue Gongli slashed down with his blade.
He didn’t dare let the Liu Sui Corpse King eat this thing!
Because within the Dao Ying Corpse King baby, he had discovered a power that the Liu Sui Corpse King originally lacked…
“Xie Shen power!”
From the perspective of a Sheng Di heir:
Shu Zu power and Xie Shen power were two different Zu Yuan powers!
And as everyone knew, normal people could hardly stabilize two Zu Yuan powers in their body at once.
The Liu Sui Corpse King was refined with Sheng Zu power; if it ate the inexplicably added Xie Shen power in the Dao Ying Corpse King baby, it would likely…
Boom!
The little baby hadn’t even entered its mouth.
Yue Gongli kicked the Yin Ling Jiu flying and slashed down fiercely, chopping straight into the Liu Sui Corpse King’s head, making it cry out in pain.
But that explosive sound came from elsewhere!
In the distance of the Dark Birth Forest, a black shadow suddenly shot out, lunging straight at them.
Even though it was fast, Yue Gongli’s sacred intent clearly scanned this strange creature:
Human head, wolf body, limbs like black, wriggling branches…
“What the hell is this!”
Yue Gongli’s worldview shattered.
As a person of good taste, he could accept the “ugly beauty” of the Corpse King baby, but he couldn’t stand this weird “stitched beauty”!
The grotesque monster, part human, part wolf, part tree, collided with the Liu Sui Corpse King’s head.
Seizing the moment when Yue Gongli’s blade struck the Corpse King and it staggered in pain, the monster snatched the Corpse King baby…
“Roar!”
The Liu Sui Corpse King, as a mother, was furious!
The monster, however, opened its bloody maw without a second glance, aiming straight for the Corpse King baby…
Gulp!
The Dao Ying Corpse King baby was swallowed in one bite!
“Roar roar roar roar—”
The Liu Sui Corpse King exploded on the spot.
On its face with no features or expressions, just a marrow-absorbing heart, a clear surge of rage and destruction emerged.
As a “mother”…
At that moment, the Corpse King didn’t hesitate at all!
It almost teleported in front of the monster and slapped down viciously.
Boom!
Heaven and earth shattered.
The Dark Birth Forest was blasted apart for thousands of miles under that palm.
Then, the surrounding trees were shaken and snapped, the big-bellied birds were flung into the air, and countless stitched monsters lurking from all sides were shaken out, all shattering and soaring upward.
“Awoo awoo awoo—”
In the distance, countless strange cries rapidly approached.
Clearly, these were the dying howls of the stitched monsters!
One stone stirred a thousand waves.
The entire Dark Birth Forest went from dead silent to frenzied with just one slap!
Yue Gongli’s sacred intent scanned the thousands of stitched monsters surging like a tide, realizing something, and exclaimed:
“Are they all attracted by the Dao Ying power?”
“No, all by the perfectly balanced Sheng Zu power!”
“The Di Ying Sheng Zhu…”
He fell into deep thought, his hand unconsciously stroking his chin, his brows knitting tightly.
Countless monsters swarmed in, but Yue Gongli remained unmoved.
Finally, as if he had made a decision, he glanced around to ensure no one was watching, nodded firmly, patted the Liu Sui Corpse King, and said:
“Take them out, protect me.”
The Liu Sui Corpse King, eager to vent its grief, responded loudly with flailing limbs and flipped into an inverted stance, charging wildly.
Thud.
The Yin Ling Jiu was placed on the ground.
Yue Gongli clutched his big belly and lay down on the massive coffin.
His face showed fear and shock, but his expression was resolute. The yin-cold blade condensed from Sheng Zu power, held high, hadn’t retracted.
“Roar roar roar!”
The Liu Sui Corpse King used its hands and feet, circling the coffin, slapping away hordes of stitched monsters.
“Come on!”
Yue Gongli pursed his lips, hyping himself up, and pointed the dark blue blade at his swollen belly again.
“Come on, come on, come on!”
He let out a series of high-pitched shouts, trying to dispel the fear with volume.
Because this time, the blade wasn’t aimed at the Dao Ying in his belly, but at his own skin.
Boom boom boom!
The Dark Birth Forest shook violently, the chaos unending.
From time to time, countless ancient tree fragments and corpse pieces were blasted into the air.
“Ahhh—”
Amid it all, the screams were negligible.
The offensive wave of stitched monsters grew even more frantic, as if something even more enticing than the Corpse King baby was about to be born.
Even the Liu Sui Corpse King was struggling to hold back the relentless onslaught; its three-zhang-tall body was nearly submerged by the monsters.
But soon…
“Ah—”
With a final cry of pain, the sounds from the area protected by the Corpse King ceased.
Crack!
Countless flying monsters were frozen solid by yin frost, plunging the world into stillness.
“Huh?”
The Liu Sui Corpse King dumbly retracted its palm; the monsters had stopped attacking?
It turned its head, “looking” at the spot below.
On the Yin Ling Jiu, Yue Gongli lay half-sideways, his backside covered in blood. His handsome face bore a touch of maternal tenderness, his fox eyes fixed intently on the Yue Gongli baby he had just extracted.
“My heavens…”
The newborn Dao Ying Yue Gongli was ugly, weighing six jin.
The power distribution inside was perfect: two jin of Sheng Zu power, two jin of Tian Zu power, and two jin of Xie Shen power.
[8 minutes ago] Chapter 1614: Tree House Prison Uncle and the Pillar, Tree Mother Self-Excises Divine Infant Wish
[16 minutes ago] Chapter 107: The Reason Why the Silent Daoist is Imprisoned
[24 minutes ago] Chapter 106: Do you still want to be released like this?
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