Chapter 1575: North Domain Semi-Saint Tai Zai Ci, Forcibly Seizes Ancestral God's Food from Tiger's Mouth

Streaks of light flashed across the sky above a collapsed, fractured mountain, drawing the attention of the surrounding saints.

The eleven saints nearby either stood on branches, napped in the shade, or floated in the void. All of them appeared relaxed and utterly at ease.

After the newcomer landed, many Half-Saints quickly turned their gaze towards him, and someone joked:

"Kong Tong is here?"

"Kong Tong, Kong Tong, quite distinct indeed, went out for a day, and came back with bruised knees."

This refers to Kong Tong, one of the Twelve Saint Lords of the Northern Region, who once stumbled into a spatial storm while adventuring and was accidentally transported to the inner island of Void Island.

In reality, this was merely a planar projection, one of the occasional mishaps encountered by travelers in spatial currents.

As long as one endured the momentary spatial dislocation, they would return to their original location as if nothing had happened.

However, precisely when Kong Tong was projected, he coincidentally encountered a black dragon that had been startled awake from its deep slumber.

He was lucky to escape with his life, but both of his legs were bitten off.

From then on, this incident became the biggest joke among the Twelve Saint Lords.

While it was a joke, it actually proved Kong Tong's formidable strength and extraordinary escape abilities.

After all, it was later confirmed that the dragon was the Demon Emperor Black Dragon, Lord of the Black Vein in Void Island's inner island – a Saint Emperor!

"Not all Half-Saints can escape from the Demon Emperor Black Dragon's maw!" Kong Tong had once argued this point.

As it turned out, it was completely useless.

This statement, circulating among his mischievous friends, gradually evolved into:

"Not all Half-Saints are called Kong Tong."

Seemingly complimentary.

Yet also derogatory.

Back to the present...

Previously, whenever Kong Tong was teased, he would at least glare back.

This time, he didn't even give a death stare; his expression was extremely serious, and after landing, he immediately knelt on one knee.

The surrounding Half-Saints were surprised and began to whisper amongst themselves:

"What's with the act? Kong Tong must have received news about Xu Xiaoshou. I bet Xu Xiaoshou can last for fifteen minutes against his people!"

"I disagree. Judging by Kong Tong's expression, Xu Xiaoshou must have survived the first wave of assassination and even killed one of them?"

"Kong Tong's Six-Pointed Saints are truly not to be underestimated. If caught off guard, I think Xu Xiaoshou might even die instantly."

"You all are underestimating Xu Xiaoshou too much. I bet he can counter-kill, six of them!"

"Then my assessment is that you are underestimating Half-Saint assassins too much."

Kong Tong felt it was superfluous to even glance at the people around him; their chattering was giving him a headache, and it had been like this for over a hundred years.

He bowed his head and respectfully addressed the huge dark shadow on the ground:

"Reporting, Lord Taizai, the Six-Pointed Saints have fallen!"

As soon as these words were uttered, a momentary silence fell over the area, followed by a cacophony of voices.

"Kong Tong, you're playing games again, aren't you?"

"Lord Taizai, Lady Snake, and Shadow Saint are all here. How dare you be disrespectful? Apologize at once!"

"I think this guy probably made a big contribution by ambushing in this battle. Is he here to claim credit now?"

"In my opinion... Ah, Lady Snake!"

"Greetings, Lady Snake!"

"Greetings, Shadow Saint, greetings, Lady Snake, greetings, Lord Taizai!"

The noisy commotion suddenly ceased, leaving only repeated, utterly respectful greetings.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Accompanied by a series of trembling footsteps echoing from the fractured mountain, the huge dark shadow on the ground stirred.

Kong Tong, with his head bowed, felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.

"Whoosh..."

A fragrant breeze wafted, bringing a swathe of red gauze before him.

From it, a long, slender, well-rounded leg extended; its gleaming whiteness was utterly disorienting.

The glistening bare foot hooked forward, as if to hook Kong Tong's chin, but stopped halfway, and its pink, delicate toes curled back.

"Look up."

A bewitching voice came, as if a goose feather was tickling one's sole, making one's heart itch with anticipation.

"Gulp."

Kong Tong swallowed with difficulty and looked up.

Glancing past the few semi-transparent red gauzes that revealed glimpses, Kong Tong dared not look too long. His gaze swiftly moved from the fair leg to the slender, easily grasped waist, then quickly scaled a "hill" and landed on the alluring, delicate oval face.

"Greetings, Lady Snake!"

He said with utmost reverence, daring not to show the slightest disrespect in his gaze.

In the Half-Saint circles outside the Holy Divine Palace in the Northern and Central Regions, Lady Snake held a pivotal position, even higher than the Twelve Saint Lords.

Her own combat power was extremely strong.

She originated as a Half-Saint from the Northern Region, yet she could freely enter and exit the Central and Northern Regions.

Furthermore...

Lady Snake was also Lord Taizai Ci's woman!

"Did you just say that all six of your Half-Saint assassins are dead?" The beauty in red gauze, with eyes sparkling, looked down with a playful smile.

Kong Tong nodded gravely.

"Yes, I am not joking."

"Xu Xiaoshou killed the Six-Pointed Saints in mere moments. His combat power, I fear, could not be stopped even if all Twelve Saint Lords attacked together."

"For this battle, I'm afraid Senior Taizai must make a move!"

Hearing this, the surrounding saints immediately began to murmur.

"Mere moments?"

"What kind of wording is that?"

"Could it be that Xu Xiaoshou instantly killed the Six-Pointed Saints of the Central Region?"

Lady Snake's beautiful eyes scanned around, sweeping over the many Half-Saints, then she lightly covered her red lips and said playfully:

"Are you saying that all twelve of you, with full combat power, couldn't stop that mere Xu Xiaoshou? If I'm not mistaken, he's only in his twenties?"

"Yes!" Kong Tong nodded definitively, disregarding whether it would provoke the anger of those behind him.

Lady Snake parted her red lips, extended a long, forked tongue, licked across her shimmering lips and the fair skin of her chest, and let saliva drip as she spoke:

"Oh, what a powerfully built man he must be!"

A viscous purplish-red liquid dripped onto the ground, corroding the hard, patterned stone.

Kong Tong shivered, daring not to reply, and instead said, "Lady Snake, I request an audience with Lord Taizai."

"What's wrong?" Lady Snake, coiling her red gauze, leaned down. "Am I not worthy?"

Kong Tong quickly averted his gaze. "I wouldn't dare."

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing you." Lady Snake chuckled, adjusting her bustier-style red gauze, pointed a slender finger backward, and stepped back with her long legs:

"There, he's here."

The mountain ground trembled again.

The massive dark shadow on the ground moved forward a few more steps.

From the corner of his eye, Kong Tong glimpsed a gigantic armored boot appearing before him, and immediately felt a sense of relief.

Lady Snake was difficult to deal with.

Lord Taizai Ci, at least, was capable of normal communication.

"Reporting to Lord Taizai Ci, reporting to Shadow Saint, the Six-Pointed Saints dispatched by Kong Tong to guard the Pillar of Samsara Ascension formation have all been..."

His respectful words were interrupted by a booming, thunderous voice:

"I have heard."

"Rise and speak."

"Thank you, My Lord!" Only then did Kong Tong dare to stand, while simultaneously casting his gaze upwards and forwards.

Standing before him was a tall man clad in black and red heavy armor. Kong Tong's height was within the normal human range, but in comparison, he barely reached the man's chest and abdomen.

His build was even more robust. A single arm, adorned with heavy armor, was almost as large as Kong Tong himself.

Lady Snake nestled against his chest, standing on her tiptoes as if to whisper something, truly resembling a seductive little snake coiled around a massive giant.

Taizai Ci!

This was a man steeped in legend!

He hailed from the Northern Region, originally unremarkable; at most, he would be considered a super genius among the masses.

Everyone was a genius; there was nothing particularly surprising about that.

After Taizai Ci attained sainthood, he unexpectedly awakened the War God bloodline – the "War God" of the Northern Region's War God Heaven!

This innate ancestral power had an incredibly high compatibility, elevating him overnight to the pinnacle of Half-Sainthood.

He was hailed as the "War Saint," a title in the Northern Region's War God Heaven second only to the ancient "War God."

He wielded the Dragon-Drawing Halberd, one of the Ten Great Abnormality Weapons, equally renowned as the Sea-Controlling Halberd, sharing the title "Twin Abnormality Halberds."

His War God Armor materialized externally from his internal War God power, appearing alongside his bloodline awakening, its divine might extraordinary.

Before Shen Yi created the legend of "Ghost Gate Pass, God is God," Taizai Ci was once hailed as the strongest man on the Holy Divine Continent!

And to this day, due to the two never having directly confronted each other, it remains unknown who is stronger or weaker.

Such a divine being, comparable to the Ten Venerables, Taizai Ci, however, unlike ordinary Half-Saints who craved freedom, willingly became the Holy Divine Palace's blade for governing the Northern Region.

Although it was merely a nominal position, and he had no regular contact with the Holy Divine Palace, after this, the Northern Region was virtually all his territory (the Heavenly Alliance was merely a loose organization).

Kong Tong, however, knew that a saying had already circulated among the Holy Slaves:

"Taizai Ci, the Holy Divine Palace's most loyal warhound!"

To put it plainly, he was just a guard dog.

But it also indirectly confirmed Taizai Ci's close relationship with the Holy Divine Palace.

He once actively cooperated with the Dao Hall Master to research the War God bloodline, War God power, and War God Armor. Through this, the Holy Divine Palace established the War Department, one of its six departments, and developed the Azure God Armor.

He was also the only Half-Saint who actively accepted the summons from the Northern Clan, one of the Five Great Saint Emperor Families, to go to the Tragic Emperor Realm to assist in research, and successfully returned to the Northern Region "alive" and "normal."

This time, when the Holy Divine Palace issued the Saint Summoning Order, Taizai Ci also responded immediately, bringing all the Half-Saints under his command, and gathered them in the Divine Relic.

And so much more...

In the Northern Region, there were many standards for evaluating Half-Saints. Some divided them into ranks using the Northern Region's Seven Stars, the Twelve Saint Lords, and so on.

Kong Tong was one of the Twelve Saint Lords; his greatest feat was escaping with his life from a Saint Emperor.

While it might sound unimpressive, it was actually extremely powerful.

Below him were the Six-Pointed Saints and the leaders of various Half-Saint factions.

Above them were Lady Snake and Shadow Saint, as well as some fallen Ten Venerables who, even desperate, possessed the power to slay a Saint (this was Kong Tong's assessment).

The highest tier was occupied by figures like Taizai Ci!

They lived for a long time, possessed abundant resources, were unconstrained, and supremely talented...

Nominally Half-Saints, they actually wielded the might of a Saint Emperor!

Crushing the Northern Region's Seven Stars and the Twelve Saint Lords would take merely a flip of his hand!

Taizai Ci was only three or four heads taller than an average person. Yet, as the heavenly light shone down, his shadow was truly enormous, like a giant's, covering the entire fractured mountain range.

Kong Tong knew that this was a manifestation of the War God's power externalizing.

The form of the man before him at this moment was merely his relaxed, conversational state. During battle, he was a completely different person!

After Taizai Ci arrived, he wasted no time on pleasantries, simply waving a large hand and stating unequivocally:

"Yue Gongli left a signal, calling for us to go find him."

"Time waits for no one. No matter how important Xu Xiaoshou is, it's not as important as the Holy Divine Palace's order."

"Let's put the matter of the Six-Pointed Saints aside for now. We shall depart immediately for the Temple of Destiny."

"Yes, My Lord!" Not a single person raised an objection. Even Kong Tong, whose two precious subordinates had died, said nothing.

"Carry me," Lady Snake said, wrapping herself around Taizai Ci's arm, and was carried onto his shoulder with one hand. She also asked no further questions.

She had once asked Taizai Ci, "You are clearly so strong, why do you listen so intently to the Holy Divine Palace? Even the weak Venerable An could do that. Why don't we emulate the Holy Slaves and just rise up ourselves!"

That slap...

Lady Snake had never forgotten it.

She lost a Half-Saint avatar.

That one sentence, she also remembered for life:

"The true heritage of the Five Great Saint Emperor Families is beyond the imagination of small fries like you and me."

"As expected, none of the Half-Saints are weak."

After continuously searching for four or five stray Half-Saints wandering outside, Xu Xiaoshou reached this conclusion.

These people were truly here on vacation!

They had no desire to fight at all, claiming they didn't even understand the complex relationship between the Saint Summoning Order, the Holy Divine Palace, and the Holy Slaves.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to bring his people to destroy them.

They simply declared they could calmly face death.

"If you Holy Slaves are indeed such people who would resort to any means for the Half-Saint rank, just like the Holy Divine Palace."

"If we don't kill, we won't get the Half-Saint rank."

"Well then, forget it. How about inviting them to join the Holy Slaves, or the First Heaven Pavilion?"

"That's fine too!"

Each of these people agreed, stating their willingness to immediately abandon the Holy Divine Palace and the Heavenly Alliance and pledge allegiance to the Holy Slaves for life.

As long as they could get out.

Xu Xiaoshou was exasperated by these stubborn individuals. When he no longer wanted to waste words and forcefully seize their ranks, they would say things like:

"Ah, so the Holy Slaves are like this too? I thought you advocated freedom and respected each other."

"Ah, I've clearly helped you and even provided crucial information that the Half-Saints, led by Half-Saint Taizai, are the ones trying to kill you. Are you still going to kill me?"

"Ah, I've also told you about the Temple of Destiny. If you still want to kill me, then you've found an easy target. Go ahead and kill me; I can't resist anyway."

There was truly a reason why these seasoned veterans had survived until now.

They appealed to emotion and reason, seizing on the sliver of compassion in Xu Xiaoshou, who had not long been embroiled in the Grand Dao dispute, and attacked him repeatedly.

Xu Xiaoshou was forced into a continuous retreat.

He merely wanted to secure a few Half-Saint ranks for the First Heaven Pavilion so that everyone could live an unfettered Half-Saint life. Why was it so difficult?

He handed over the initiative to Old Sang, Water Ghost, and others. These people also refused to kill, citing the argument that excessive coercion would turn all saints against them, and pointed out that it would likely force everyone onto the opposing side.

The suggestions of these two were the same as those of the other stray Half-Saints...

"Go straight at them?"

Xu Xiaoshou wiped a spatial mirror.

Not to mention the remaining stray Half-Saints, the dozen or so figures in the mirror were almost clustered together, their positions very close.

The one in the very center, Xu Xiaoshou had intentionally added extra pixelation to blur him.

Even just observing him through space like this, he had the illusion that the other party already knew, but simply didn't care.

This person was very strong!

If there were no surprises, this was the one the stray Half-Saints of the Northern Region spoke of...

The man even stronger than Shen Yi!

The strongest Half-Saint in the Five Regions!

Taizai Ci!

"Go straight at them?"

Seeing no reaction from the others, Xu Xiaoshou asked again, pointing straight ahead, "They are also heading towards the Temple of Destiny. If we go straight, we'll encounter them."

He wanted to go directly.

The others were also restless.

Only Old Sang and Water Ghost, the two overly cautious strategists, despite clearly having a tendency, appeared hesitant from start to finish.

"Do you really understand Taizai?" Water Ghost hadn't called Taizai Ci by his true name since ascending to the Eighteenth Heaven.

"You've told me his information at least ten times!" Xu Xiaoshou was a little impatient.

The excessive emphasis made him somewhat apprehensive of the person.

But if Taizai Ci couldn't be eliminated, then what about the Hua, Rao, Yue, and the one named Ai after they get out...

Should he hesitate for each of them?

Wouldn't that be too mentally exhausting?

"Going is fine."

"You can also turn their plan against them."

Old Sang finally made the decision and said seriously:

"On the frontal battlefield, you might not fear the Twelve Saint Lords, the Northern Region's Seven Stars, or even their combined forces."

"But once you are entangled by War Saint Taizai and cannot resolve the situation immediately, the remaining Half-Saints will become your fatal restraints."

Xu Xiaoshou listened, then laughed loudly, and with a wave of his hand, said, "Them? Impossible!"

If youth isn't reckless, what is youth then?

"Venerable An was like this back then too," Old Sang said very seriously. "That's why he went into the situation alone."

Xu Xiaoshou paused. The image of Old Eight's neck scars and his severed thumbs flashed in his mind, and he immediately nodded:

"Old Man Sang, there's actually some truth to what you're saying."

Modern young people's main characteristic is not to act impulsively; just one word: listen!

"So what do you want to do then?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"You can fight Taizai, and I have high hopes for you," Old Sang said, "But the people around him cannot interfere with your main battlefield." Old Sang had too many things to worry about; he was very tired.

"Mm-hmm, so?"

"So either we go now and assassinate them, and eliminate the Half-Saints around Taizai one by one!"

"That's pure nonsense," Xu Xiaoshou retorted. "Water Ghost already said there's a Shadow Saint, a 'Shadow,' next to him, right? Like a divine dragon, seen only in glimpses, he'll suddenly strike you down!"

"So assassination won't work."

"Mm-hmm, and then?"

"Then someone will need to help you restrain the Half-Saints around him, until you quickly finish the frontal battle and come to assist them."

With a whoosh, the gazes of over a dozen people all turned towards Water Ghost.

Water Ghost's face turned green, and he pointed to himself uncertainly. "Me?"

"It's true that I am an Ouyi Half-Saint. But I'm also a person, a living person, not a monstrous Ten Venerable who can fight ten at once."

"—You can't use me like this; people will die!"

Old Sang shook his head and looked at Bai Zhou and Cen Qiaofu.

"Still not enough!"

Bai Zhou retreated step by step; he didn't want to step forward at all. "I'm just a Great Void!"

"And me." Old Sang finally pointed to himself.

"You?" Xu Xiaoshou was amused. "You, a mere Great Void, don't joke around, alright..."

His voice suddenly trailed off as he remembered something, and he raised an eyebrow uncertainly.

Old Sang chuckled, tossing the Half-Saint rank in his hand:

"I also have a man's sixth sense."

"If Half-Saints are so easy to kill, and can only enter the ruins in their true bodies, aren't we snatching food from a tiger's mouth?"

"And what we're snatching is food that someone else intends to use to become an Ancestor God."

He grasped the glistening Half-Saint rank, held it before his eyes and gazed deeply into it, as if seeing through the pure power inside colliding in random ways, and murmured softly:

"A mutual slaughter among the ignorant?"