Chapter 1594: Half a Lifetime in Hiding, Originally Nameless, One Morning Tailoring Reveals the True Form

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Beneath the devastating waves of soul light, the branches of the Di Ying Sheng Zhu retreated like a receding tide.

Those that couldn't escape in time were stripped of all vitality, discarded on the eighteenth level of heaven like a lizard's severed tail.

As for the Sui Yin Xie Shen...

This face of the evil god, which had awakened on the thirty-third level of heaven and manifested on the eighteenth, attempting to unleash heavenly punishment, didn't even get to utter a single harsh word before vanishing completely.

Along with it, that monstrous and enormous purple pupil couldn't even muster a hint of malice before shattering.

"Perfect!"

The Jixian Giant shrank with a bang, transforming into the Kuangbao Giant, then back into human form as Xu Xiaoshou blew the frost from his fingertips and landed.

But that wasn't the end. This filthy human glanced around, then pounded his chest with the right hand that had extinguished the Zu Shen, like a gorilla, addressing the lifeless air around him:

"I, Dao Qiong Cang, am invincible!"

A wind howled eerily, with no response from anywhere.

Xu Xiaoshou finished pounding his chest, then pointed at the void, thumb up and then down, smirking in contempt:

"You, Sui Yin Xie Shen, are trash!"

The scene fell deathly quiet for a moment.

From afar, Sang Lao watched and sucked in a sharp breath.

What on earth happened after I left to turn this child into what he is now?

Impersonating others and slinging mud is just his nature, but adding those last two lines, as if afraid the Sui Yin Xie Shen might still have a lingering grudge watching him—that's just beyond excessive!

"Not excessive, not excessive..."

"He's so cautiously paranoid it's heartbreaking..."

Sang Lao muttered this self-hypnosis to himself, then hurried over, his dark circles quickly scanning the surroundings—though in reality, he was only on guard against the nearby, sullen-faced Dao Qiong Cang.

Swish, swish.

Cen Qiaofu, Bai Zhuo, and the others returned, forming a protective triangle around Xu Xiaoshou, subtly confronting Dao Qiong Cang's direction.

Yu Mo Ben Mo pushed his golden beast mask and paused, staring at Xu Xiaoshou's back, his fist clenching and then relaxing.

"Forget it."

"Compared to Dao Qiong Cang, I'm already fortunate. I didn't become Xu Xiaoshou; I just became his friend."

"Wuxiu was right—tolerance is a damn virtue! I'll endure it! Hold back!"

The shattered sky was slowly repairing itself.

Nature was like that—in the realm of rules, it would never truly shatter.

But the human heart was different.

It took Dao Qiong Cang a great effort to suppress the basketful of curses that would reveal his true self.

The Xu Xiaoshou of today, in both combat power and intellect, was utterly unlike the past.

He paced forward, calmly gazing at the young man.

This guy even had a hint of expectation on his face, though no one knew what he was expecting.

Dao Qiong Cang took a deep breath and asked, "Why did you use my name?"

Xu Xiaoshou's face stiffened for a moment, and he shook his head. "No."

No?

What do you mean, no?

Dao Qiong Cang's expression wasn't pleasant: "Using my name is one thing, but why did you have to remind It... the curse?"

As everyone knew, revenge required facing someone directly to strike, but a curse was different.

Dao Qiong Cang had his own shadows regarding curses.

He had once endured a super long-distance curse from Tianren Wushuai, right through the multiple defenses of Gui Zhe Sheng Shan.

Ever since then, everything had gone wrong for him:

Betrayed by his sister, thirty years of his fortune stolen, forced to enter the Shen Zhi Yiji on his own, thinking the strangeness here lay with the Zhan Shen Guan but realizing it was actually the Xie Shen...

Too many variables had arisen beyond his original plans.

He didn't know if these were related to Tianren Wushuai's curse, but whenever misfortune struck, thinking back to being pointed at with some hand seal always left him feeling irritated.

And since Tianren Wushuai's curse could cross the distance between Qingyuan Shan and Gui Zhe Sheng Shan, it stood to reason that Sui Yin Xie Shen's curse could descend from a corner of the Tianjing.

Dao Qiong Cang had only found Xu Xiaoshou's impersonation amusing at first.

When he mentioned the newly heard-of Xu Xiaoshou to Hua Changdeng, that guy had still been going by the odd name "Xiao Shi Tan Ji."

Now, Dao Qiong Cang found himself amusing.

The strongest schemes didn't dazzle like some mysterious force; they only left people marveling afterward at how seamlessly they worked.

Faced with these two pointed questions, Xu Xiaoshou acted as if he hadn't heard, still frowning and shaking his head:

"Not that either."

Not?

Not that either?

Dao Qiong Cang had to take this seriously now. "What isn't?"

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou grin, chuckling sheepishly: "Haven't you realized this key issue yet?"

"My master always told me..." He turned his head, looking toward Sang Lao.

The latter instinctively stepped back, sensing something bad was about to happen.

And sure enough, the ungrateful disciple said:

"He always said..."

"Doing a good deed doesn't require thanks, but if the person you saved offers a word of gratitude, it shows they have real manners."

Dao Qiong Cang's mouth twitched violently.

Sang Lao's face darkened in urgency.

You're making this up!

I never said anything like that!

But glancing at Dao Qiong Cang, who was fixated on questioning without a word of thanks, Sang Lao just snorted coldly, as if conceding the point.

Dao Qiong Cang opened his mouth a couple of times before awkwardly mumbling, "Thank you."

Xu Xiaoshou: "You're welcome. You should say it."

"Passive value from scrutiny: 5."

The scene fell silent again.

After a long while, Dao Qiong Cang snapped back to his senses, realizing his quest for answers shouldn't end here, and immediately began: "Xu Xiao..."

"Friend, you owe me a lot of favors this time." Xu Xiaoshou unceremoniously cut him off, counting on his fingers:

"Saving your life— that's one."

"Claiming the credit for slaying the Xie Shen in your name— that's another."

"Using my body to shoulder the curse that might come for you— that's one more..."

What?!

Before Xu Xiaoshou could finish, Dao Qiong Cang's eyes nearly bulged out.

Is this how you tally favors? It's like accusing me of stepping on your foot when I didn't— totally unreasonable!

"You don't agree?" Xu Xiaoshou saw this guy acting ungrateful after being saved and couldn't help but say:

"I saved you, right?"

"Yes!" Dao Qiong Cang couldn't deny that.

"If I hadn't saved you and you survived, would the Xie Shen cursing you mean you'd handle it alone?" Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts were clear. "But now, isn't it that I'm sharing half the burden?"

Dao Qiong Cang wasn't so easily fooled. "If you hadn't mentioned the curse, It wouldn't have..."

Before he could finish, Xu Xiaoshou stepped forward and covered his mouth with a hand:

"Dao Xiaopeng, are you playing innocent?"

"Tianren Wushuai cursed you from Qingyuan Shan, and he came from the Nanyu, previously in Shu Jin Men... What's Shu Jin Men? A sect that masters all techniques!"

"What's techniques? Just the scraps left by Shu Zu!"

"And what's Shu Zu? The true form of Sui Yin Xie Shen!"

"If I don't mention the curse, It won't curse you? Are you kidding with the five domains? Do you really think It's as shortsighted as you?"

Cen Qiaofu listened and tensed up.

"Shortsighted" had come up?

If Dao Qiong Cang was shortsighted, what did that make me in terms of wisdom...

"Good, good, good!"

The flashy old Daoist waved his hands and backed away repeatedly, his expression shifting through several phases before deciding to drop the matter.

"I'll thank you for this. Let's end it here—I won't bring it up again, and you shouldn't either. Deal?"

Xu Xiaoshou was quick-witted, and since it was his request to save him in the first place, with the goal achieved, there was no need to dwell on details.

What Dao Qiong Cang was testing was really just two things:

First, Xu Xiaoshou's combat power after contracting the Gui Shou Tan Shen.

Second, whether this guy still held a grudge from that night in Qingyuan Shan and could become a collaborator in the Shen Zhi Yiji, surpassing Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

The results showed...

He held a grudge, all right!

A grudge so deep that he was petty to the extreme—discomforted by any sign of good from him, even turning a rescue into a way to needle him.

But without a doubt, he could collaborate.

And he now had the qualifications to do so.

Because their ultimate goals were the same: to safely escape the Shen Zhi Yiji.

"This can't end here... impossible..."

"The favors... our bond... building... passion..."

Xu Xiaoshou's incessant mumbling was something Dao Qiong Cang tuned out entirely, choosing to filter it.

He endured it for a while, and once it stopped, he changed the subject: "Can your one finger truly extinguish a Zu Shen?"

"Passive value from flattery: 1."

Here it comes?

Xu Xiaoshou's heart stirred, but his expression remained smug: "A Zu Shen is nothing. I said it's not even worth one of my, Dao Qiong Cang's, toenails. If I can extinguish you with one finger, extinguishing It is like swatting a fly."

Dao Qiong Cang once again felt revulsion toward this creature, probing indirectly: "Back then, you extinguished me; now, a Zu Shen. Did casting that Huanmie Yizhi take no effort at all?"

"Of course!" Xu Xiaoshou's response made his ego soar, his nose so high he completely missed the eye signals from Sang Lao and Shui Gui, blurting out:

"I have eight shots of Huanmie Yizhi left."

"Activate Jixian Giant, draw on Longzhu power, and that's at least eighteen shots—gods blocking, kill gods; Buddhas blocking, kill Buddhas... Why are you asking?"

He suddenly calmed down, eyeing Dao Qiong Cang up and down with a strange look.

Keep acting!

Dao Qiong Cang sneered inwardly. Such clumsy acting—if I can't see through it, I'm the fool.

His Huanmie Yizhi definitely didn't have eighteen shots.

Even eight was questionable!

At most, maybe one more... Just as this thought flashed through Dao Qiong Cang's mind, Xu Xiaoshou, who had been muttering aside, suddenly lifted a finger to his forehead, pointing it high while puckering his lips:

Buzz—

In an instant, intricate Tianji Dao patterns filled the surrounding ten thousand li.

The Cangqiong Scroll appeared belatedly and vanished, but the scene had already changed drastically.

Shui Gui stared blankly downward at the finger Xu Xiaoshou had lowered, now jammed right into his nostril.

Xu Xiaoshou stared dumbly at the "Dao Qiong Cang" in front of him, who was putting on a golden beast mask... Wait, this wasn't Dao Qiong Cang—this was Shui Gui!

But wasn't Shui Gui behind him?

Where had Dao Qiong Cang gone?

Xu Xiaoshou whipped around and saw a lifeless black corpse standing behind him.

It was upright, replacing Shui Gui's original spot—the black-robed Zhan Dao that the flashy old Daoist had possessed earlier.

Sang Lao, Cen Qiaofu, and Bai Zhuo had vanished, and a quick "perception" sweep revealed they were now a thousand li away.

"Passive value from glaring: 1."

A sensation like a dagger at his back arose, and Xu Xiaoshou looked up toward the distant sky.

There, far in the void, Dao Qiong Cang stood with black hair whipping in the wind, white robes fluttering, staring down at him intently, as if facing a great enemy.

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent for a long time before uttering a slightly hesitant sound:

"Ah?"

That single "ah" perfectly captured the mood of everyone present except Dao Qiong Cang.

What had just happened was clear even to Bai Zhuo—Xu Xiaoshou was just making a little joke...

But no one expected the finger to land on Shui Gui!

After the space swap, the one who should have taken Shui Gui's place, Dao Qiong Cang, was blocked by the flashy old Daoist's second layer of defense—the Zhan Dao.

And the true sensitive Dao Qiong Cang, without even knowing if he had prepared a counterattack, had cleared the area and positioned himself high in the sky on guard!

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth twitched with suppressed laughter, his face stiffening until it ached, finally using "changes" to control himself.

He told himself countless times: Stay calm! Don't laugh! Laughing now would be fatal!

Just as he was about to say, "I was just joking," Xu Xiaoshou quickly swallowed the words...

No!

Dao Baobao was already on edge!

Saying that would be like provoking him—it would sound mostly mocking from his perspective...

Silence is golden.

Xu Xiaoshou, keep silent.

Let the awkwardness linger; Dao Baobao will realize it was a joke. He won't get angry. Definitely!

Dead silence.

It stretched on as if for a century.

"What happened?"

The only question in everyone's minds.

Cen Qiaofu tried to connect with Wuxiu through Sheng Nian but got a "don't speak" response.

He silently followed Wuxiu back to Xu Xiaoshou's side, not asking a thing about what had just transpired.

Bai Zhuo returned, full of curiosity but not daring to voice it.

He didn't even dare glance at Dao Qiong Cang, afraid one look would make him burst out laughing.

He had pretty much figured out the situation.

The only "victim" with a finger in his nostril, Shui Gui, was weakly wailing in his heart:

"Why?"

"Why do I always get dragged into the injury?"

The strange atmosphere dragged on, the awkwardness fermenting in the silence, growing stronger instead of fading.

No one spoke.

Until everyone regrouped around Xu Xiaoshou, Dao Qiong Cang suddenly vanished from the horizon and reappeared nearby, maintaining a distance of three body lengths.

No longer close...

Xu Xiaoshou could clearly feel that the intimacy between him and the sensitive one—where they called each other "my Xu" and "my Dao"—was gone.

"It won't let this go."

Dao Qiong Cang clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the front of the group, his face expressionless as he broke the silence.

No one responded.

Sang Lao looked at Shui Gui, who was cleaning his nostril; Cen Qiaofu elbowed Xu Xiaoshou to prompt him, only to get jabbed and bleed.

"Mm!"

Xu Xiaoshou gave a heavy nasal hum, indicating he was listening.

With that, Dao Qiong Cang continued in a light, casual tone:

"The Sui Yin Xie Shen has awakened, and the Di Ying Sheng Zhu is Its backup. It just showed Its reach extending down from the branches..."

"After you provoked It, It will only become more aggressive, not hold back."

Extending down from the branches... Xu Xiaoshou's lips twitched upward, but he forced it down.

This is hard!

Even Dao Baobao's speech now had a strong urge to make people laugh.

"Mm!"

"We have only two choices: one, actively summon the Wheel of Reincarnation Tian Sheng Zhu, ascend to the thirty-third level of heaven, and fight It head-on."

"Mm!"

"Two, return to the first level of heaven. It will come for us again, leaving the battlefield for It and the Sheng Shen Dian Tang."

"Mm!"

Xu Xiaoshou kept up with well-timed responses.

He didn't dare speak now—just mindlessly humming "mm" would do.

Dao Qiong Cang's back seemed to hesitate, as if he wanted to turn and pose dramatically but restrained himself.

He paused his words.

Boom!

In the distance, a massive explosion erupted.

The grand array in the Qian Gu, already ruined from the battles, was casually detonated by Dao Qiong Cang with some powerful method.

Inside, a plaque was revealed.

"Si Ming Shen Dian..."

Everyone's Ling Nian and Sheng Nian swept over it, murmuring in their hearts, but no one dared say it aloud.

"The Zhan Shen Order bears my mark, and Yue Gongli has delved deep into this plaque..."

"Mm!"

You're right; Yue Gongli is inside, and that's where the Zu Shen Bang points.

"My suggestion is we return to the lower realm, just attach your Jixian Giant aura to this plaque. The Di Ying Sheng Zhu and Sui Yin Xie Shen will go after them."

"Mm!"

Good, good, good—Dao Baobao, your tactic of diverting disaster is brilliant. You're selling out your old allies without a second thought.

But Yue Gongli, Hua Yuan, including that missing Wang Ze Sheng Di—you're not attached to any of them at all.

Do you really want them dead?

Xu Xiaoshou was incredibly curious, but he didn't dare ask, afraid of shattering the weird but peaceful atmosphere.

After waiting a while, Dao Qiong Cang said nothing more.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled and quickly infused the Jixian Giant's aura onto the plaque.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

As Dao Qiong Cang walked away, his voice resumed:

"We'll head straight to the Wheel of Reincarnation Tian Sheng Zhu and descend from there to the first level of heaven."

"Wang Ze Sheng Di and Yue Gongli will hold off the first wave for us, and when both sides are exhausted, we can step in and clean up the mess."

Good, good, good...

You're right!

Xu Xiaoshou subconsciously wanted to hum again, but suddenly remembered—Shen Yi Zhui had chased the Di Ying Sheng Zhu to the thirty-third level of heaven.

Dao Qiong Cang seemed to have overlooked that?

Was it because of the awkwardness that he made a miscalculation?

Fog grass... Xu Xiaoshou couldn't hum anymore.

Torn between "reminding him" and "just shut up," he followed Dao Qiong Cang for a good distance without responding.

Dao Qiong Cang remained calm and composed, without a trace of impatience from waiting.

But hesitation was irritating!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt an itch on his forehead. He wasn't one to endure, and subconsciously reached up to scratch.

As soon as his hand lifted...

Dao Qiong Cang's body tensed sharply, standing straight as a spear.

Oh no!!!

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shook, trying to lower his hand, but it was too late.

That damned hand had already risen to waist level, index finger vaguely pointing at Dao Qiong Cang...

"Passive value from locking on: 1."

"Passive value from control: 1."

"Passive value from illusion: 1."

"Passive value from restraint: 1."

"Passive value from ambush: 1."

The information panel flashed at least a dozen messages in an instant.

"No!"

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't even finished expressing that he meant nothing by it when he felt the world change.

He entered a virtual realm filled with Tianji Dao patterns. Quickly regaining his senses, he saw Sang Lao, Shui Gui, and the others a thousand li away, each exclaiming:

"Watch out!"

Space cracked and distorted, air warped into shapes, and countless shimmering eyeballs appeared out of nowhere.

From the shattered space flows, tens of thousands of Tianji Puppets crawled out, forming a sealed encirclement, each with cannons on their shoulders and light beams charging in their chests, locking onto Xu Xiaoshou from afar.

Dao Qiong Cang whipped around, eyes blazing with fury.

His chest clothing tore and hardened into form-fitting armor, his torso caving in to form a circular hollow, from which a jade-white hand shot out.

The hand pierced through the void Dao Ze and reemerged, gripping Xu Xiaoshou's neck from behind.

The moment it touched him, Xu Xiaoshou's divine soul plunged into an ice cellar, his mind blank for an instant.

The jade-white hand yanked back hard.

Xu Xiaoshou was pulled face-to-face through the shattered space flows, brought right in front of Dao Qiong Cang.

"No, I just..."

Before the words were out, the Dao Qiong Cang before him flickered like a shadow.

Behind him, high in the nine heavens, a massive Dao Qiong Cang Sheng Xiang burst through the void, feet on the Cangqiong Scroll, Tianji Sinan on its head, one finger pointing to the sky and one to the earth.

Thunderous roars under that furious sacred image boomed like the end of the world, shaking everyone to their core:

"Xu Xiaoshou, you dare point at me again?!"