Chapter 1613: Killing the Shattered Soul and Returning Home, Xu Reaches the Highest and Searches for the Wall

Evil God Yi, dead?Dao Qiongcang, dead?Even Xu Xiaoshou, who threw the punch, is dead?

“That punch…”“Oh my heavens!”

From afar, when they saw Xu Xiaoshou reappear and instantly blow up Evil God Yi with a single punch, almost everyone remaining on the field had their eyeballs pop out.

Yue Gongli and Bai Zhou scrambled, some using blood escape, others transforming into ghost beasts, barely managing to escape the Passive Punch’s blast radius. Elder Sang, Water Ghost, and Cen Qiaofu's soul forms, at this moment, could only be grateful that they had long since been reduced to mere souls and had hidden far away, thus escaping the catastrophe.

“The power of the Five Ancestors, the Asura Path, Evil God Yi’s Dao Infant, over thirty semi-saint positions…”So many states combined, and they couldn’t block Xu Xiaoshou’s punch? When did he master such a supreme strike?

“Dao!”“Dao Qiongcang, where are you? Are you still alive?”Yue Gongli wandered around, calling out loudly.

Could it be that even Dao Qiongcang couldn’t withstand it? He wasn’t even Xu Xiaoshou’s target; he was just caught in the aftermath!

No one responded. In the very center of the battlefield, apart from a gigantic black hole, there wasn’t even a speck of flesh left.

Suddenly!

“Hiss—”A painful cry echoed from deep within everyone’s souls, making them all dizzy. For the Saint Slaves and others, this was all too familiar. At that time in the Eighteenth Heaven, when the face of the Malevolent Yin Evil God was pierced by the Nine-tailed Giant’s halberd, it also let out such a scream.

“Evil God Yi!”Upon hearing the sound, Yue Gongli was most panicked. The one who should have died didn't, and the one who shouldn't have was swept away by the aftermath, so now he would have to face the Saint Slaves alone again…

He quickly activated his sight, searching the entire battlefield with a soul-searching method. He found nothing! Dao Qiongcang and Evil God Yi’s soul forms weren't in the First Heaven?

What he should have found wasn't there; instead, what he shouldn't have seen appeared—Yue Gongli suddenly saw the soul forms of Sleeveless and Water Ghost, who were no longer hiding and had emerged from the Dao Principles of Mystery. These two were staring intently at the gigantic black hole created by the punch in the battlefield earlier. Following their gaze, one could see in the chaotic currents deep within the black hole…

“The Ghost Gate?”Yue Gongli’s scalp tingled. That huge Ghost Gate was firmly holding something—wasn't this Evil God Yi’s Preta Path? Could it be that after the Asura Path Evil God Yi’s physical body perished, he reacted so quickly that he instantly opened the Preta Path and restrained Xu Xiaoshou’s soul?

He looked closely. Only then did Yue Gongli realize he had it backward. The Ghost Gate was clearly prepared in advance, suppressing Evil God Yi, whose soul had nowhere to hide after his sudden physical death! And the one who opened the Ghost Gate was precisely the creator of that world-ending punch, Xu Xiaoshou!

“Preta Path.”With a soft cry, that young soul form leaped into the Ghost Gate—no longer just a punch passing through, but the entire person entering. On the other side of the Ghost Gate, a Preta Giant, shaped like an ultimate giant, burst forth violently. It was stepping on a dazzling array of profound principles; could it be... Soul Principles?

It clenched its fists above its head, and with immense power, unceremoniously slammed them down onto the tiny soul form of Evil God Yi, who was suppressed below the gate.

“How dare you?!”Evil God Yi’s soul form could only let out such a roar of fury. His physical body had just disintegrated, and now his soul was being detained; it was simply compounding his difficulties. However, the roar of fury failed to stop anything, nor could it buy him even half a breath of buffer time—since Xu Xiaoshou had decided to act, how could he still give a chance?

“Boom!”The heavy punch struck, and the soul form disintegrated. As it split, the power accumulated within Evil God Yi’s tiny soul form exploded, and the soul fragments immediately became incredibly massive. Each part was comparable to a section of the Preta Giant’s body; when all were pieced together, they would even exceed it.

“Fragments of an Ancestral God’s soul!”Yue Gongli’s eyes glowed with fervor; what a great tonic this was! If he could absorb it. However, he dared not step forward, only watching as the Preta Giant, like a rabid dog, grabbed Evil God Yi’s soul fragments piece by piece, tore them apart, and unceremoniously devoured them into its belly.

“You can’t eat that, it’s indigestible! What if its power parasitizes you... Oh, you have the power of devouring…” Yue Gongli’s eyes burned with jealousy.

The feast lasted for over half an hour. Those seemingly infinitely splitting soul fragments finally seemed to have their last trace of power eliminated, completely ceasing their struggle. Everyone outside the field was aghast. Smashing Evil God Yi’s physical body with one punch wasn’t enough. Xu Xiaoshou then transformed into a Preta Giant and completely ate and digested Evil God Yi’s soul form?

But… This was still not the end!

When the last trace of soul fragments was completely devoured, the Soul Principles array beneath the Preta Giant’s feet transformed, becoming…

“What is this?”Even someone with as high a discerning eye as Yue Gongli could no longer discern what profound principle that thing essentially was. Intention? Momentum? Thought?

Without the slightest hesitation, the Preta Giant performed an extremely fluid series of movements. It slowly drew out four swords from an unknown place, and as it did so, the light of its soul body gradually faded, turning into gracefully falling red plum blossoms scattering across the world.

“Heart…”The sound of a single word, reality and illusion inverted. No one heard what was said afterward, because the Preta Giant had seemingly vanished. All that remained was layers of surging sword ripples spreading outwards in a world of void consciousness.

“Heart Sword Art?”As this thought flashed through everyone’s minds, the phantom spiritual kingdom was blessed, illusory desires became servants, everything dissolved into chaos, and even the most subtle and complex thoughts within one’s original heart were erased…

Yue Gongli violently shook his head, realizing he was not the target of this sword, and forcibly pulled himself out of that terrifying realm. What he heard in his ears was the final sound:

“…Buddha’s distinction, a single thought, Prajna void.”

Slash!The sword light cut through everything. They hadn’t even seen Evil God Yi’s consciousness body, and he was gone. Only then did Yue Gongli realize that the entire First Heaven, perhaps even all traces left by the Malevolent Yin Evil God, had been completely eradicated by Xu Xiaoshou!

This guy… He didn’t act unless he did, but once he did, he went straight for the roots, eradicating everything! Body, spirit, and consciousness—three paths, from surface to root; just because he was unprepared, Evil God Yi was eradicated from his very roots in this First Heaven by a small fellow?

The world completely quieted down. Soon, a life pattern emerged, within which a physical body slowly recovered, transforming into a black-clothed youth who reappeared in the world.

“Xu Xiaoshou…”Upon seeing this reborn individual, a slight chill crept up Yue Gongli’s feet. Damn it, how many times have you practiced such a fluid combo? Was it really, originally meant to target Evil God Yi?

“Resurrect, my physical body!”The power of the Life Principles was undoubtedly revealed at this moment. Even if he was backlashed by the Passive Punch, leaving only a soul and consciousness body, sustained by passive skills like transformation, as long as he condensed the first drop of blood, flesh and bone could be easily restored. In just a moment, Xu Xiaoshou’s physical body was fully restored, comparable to before the battle.

“Come over, everyone!”Holding the Cinderlight Origin Seed in his left hand, condensing blood in his right, he then exhaled a large cloud of life mist. Xu Xiaoshou released his hands, welcoming back Elder Sang, Water Ghost, and Cen Qiaofu’s soul forms, reshaping their physical bodies for the three saints. After doing all this, he then cast a distant glance at Yue Gongli.

“No…” Yue Gongli, startled and then hesitant, resembled a timid little white rabbit, startled by a reflection.

*Stop pretending!* Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t be bothered to cooperate with this guy’s hide-and-seek “hidden strength” game anymore. Until the last moment, when he saw Yue Gongli and Dao Qiongcang’s final choice was still just to cooperate in acting out a Saint Ancestor play, rather than directly confronting Evil God Yi, he then knew that relying only on these two guys to handle the situation, it would be difficult to salvage it; most likely, if they dragged it out, everyone would die. Since it was ultimately destined that he couldn’t hide it, and he also needed to contribute, he might as well hide nothing at all. He would just act in front of Yue Gongli and Dao Qiongcang, maximizing his output, and let them imagine whatever they wanted!

“Dao Qiongcang, you don’t need to hide anymore, come out, I have something to say.” Xu Xiaoshou looked around. Since the level 200 Passive Punch could shatter Evil God Yi’s physical body, he firmly believed that no matter how Dao Qiongcang had modified his body, he likely wouldn’t be able to withstand it either. If a Saint Emperor’s physical body could be destroyed, Xu Xiaoshou had roughly figured out the attack strength of this level of Passive Punch. As for why Dao Qiongcang was affected by that punch—this, of course, was not accidental, but intentional. What Xu Xiaoshou wanted was for the show-off old Daoist to not only react when pointed at with a finger, but also to feel a tremor in his heart when facing Xu Xiaoshou’s raised fist. This was enough.

But at present, he had not chosen to eliminate Dao Qiongcang’s soul form and consciousness form along with the rest, because his trump cards were insufficient.

“Passive Punch (Charge Value: 0).”“Illusion Shattering Finger (Charge Value: 88.66).”

His strongest punch and finger had now become his weakest. Leaving aside the former, the latter’s strength might not even compare to the Preta Giant that opened the Soul Dao Disk. Internal strife at this moment was absolutely unacceptable. Moreover, Evil God Yi was in a weakened state and not the true body of the Malevolent Yin Evil God. Dao Qiongcang, however, was his true body, hidden deep enough, and possessed more trump cards. Even if he still had the Illusion Shattering Finger with a high charge value, whether it could completely eliminate that tenacious “Dao Cockroach” was an open question.

To exit the God’s Remains, Dao Qiongcang had to be an ally, and Yue Gongli could not be an enemy; Xu Xiaoshou had already realized this. Now, everyone was grasshoppers on the same rope; there was only one enemy—the Malevolent Yin Evil God of the Thirty-third Heaven!

“Hiss hiss…”Everyone waited expectantly. From afar, between the mountains, rivers, and seas that had been healed after the Saint Ancestor’s emergence, tiny specks of starlight gathered. That starlight converged, and soon, a blurry Dao Qiongcang condensed in front of Xu Xiaoshou. His face was somewhat pale, his physical body was still condensing, and he had only barely revealed a soul form that was not even half of what it should be.

As soon as he appeared, there were no pleasantries, not even an angry rebuke; he immediately asked: “Lord Shou, how many more times can you use that punch?”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t speak, but raised his fist slightly. Dao Qiongcang’s body tensed, but he suppressed the two impulses to retreat and dissipate his body. Seeing this, Xu Xiaoshou grinned: “None left, just one punch, I did my best.”

“I’m serious, your combat power is now the key to breaking this situation!” Dao Qiongcang pointed to the sky. Everyone knew that Evil God Yi being eradicated from the First Heaven didn’t mean the true body of the Malevolent Yin Evil God in the Thirty-third Heaven had also perished. What Xu Xiaoshou just destroyed was merely Evil God Yi’s Dao Infant. What he ate was merely a portion of the Malevolent Yin Evil God’s soul form. What he cut was merely a portion of the Malevolent Yin Evil God’s consciousness form. This might heavily wound him, adding insult to injury when he had just barely awakened and was lacking in combat power, but it was absolutely not fatal. Therefore, Dao Qiongcang’s consideration was correct. It was also understandable that he wanted to know clearly how many more times that punch could be used.

Xu Xiaoshou naturally knew all this. But he knew even better that no matter what he said about his current state, Dao Qiongcang would absolutely not believe anything. So rather than letting this unfathomable “other’s brain” lead the situation, it was better to do it himself!

“Time is short, let’s skip the unnecessary talk.”“I have an idea that requires everyone’s cooperation… In other words, from now on, I’ll be leading the situation!” Xu Xiaoshou gazed deeply at Dao Qiongcang, then his gaze shifted to Yue Gongli, and after a pause, he continued: “If you still have something to say, something you want to tell me in advance.”

Elder Sang and Water Ghost exchanged glances, each surprised. Xu Xiaoshou, he’s tough! He had become very tough, very proactive. The unspoken meaning was clearly this: If you still want to slack off, or sit around waiting to die, I can send you on your way right now, lest you drag me down. If these words had been spoken before he destroyed Evil God Yi, Dao Qiongcang and Yue Gongli would probably have scoffed; now… one could only say, the deterrence was immense!

“I have something to say!” Before Dao Qiongcang could speak, Yue Gongli came flying over, scurrying along. As a shrewd individual, he saw the coldness in Lord Shou’s eyes clearer than anyone else, and understood his own place: “I have crucial intelligence to contribute first, I am very useful.”

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at him: “Speak.”

“He and the Matriarch Sprout are at odds.” Yue Gongli became serious, not even daring to utter full names, as if afraid of being overheard, and only gave his analysis after summarizing: “At first, I thought he was looking for Dao Qiongcang. But in reality, he was looking for you, Lord Shou.”

Yue Gongli gestured as he spoke, describing an Ultimate Giant named Dao Qiongcang, and a Dao Qiongcang named Yu Mo, first bringing up his misunderstanding from the Eighteenth Heaven. “After returning to the First Heaven, his eyes and Ancestral Tree branches were parasitic on me, but they were inactive, for fear of being discovered. Therefore, they couldn’t hear our conversations or see our interactions. Based on this premise, let’s go back to the Eighteenth Heaven… At that time, I said I was Xu Xiaoshou, but he quickly recognized my true identity and spoke my name.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s gaze turned cold upon hearing this, but he didn’t interrupt. Yue Gongli shivered under that cold gaze, but dared not conceal anything, narrating everything slowly: “This indicates that in the Eighteenth Heaven, the Ancestral Tree Matriarch Sprout revealed my information to him. But until returning to the First Heaven, he always thought your giant was called Dao Qiongcang—the Ancestral Tree Matriarch Sprout didn’t tell him about you, Lord Shou; she only revealed me! Do you understand what I mean?”

Although it was a bit convoluted, Xu Xiaoshou understood. In the First Heaven, he and Yue Gongli had entered the embryonic form of the Matriarch Saint Sprout’s divine court; the other party recognized them both. In the Eighteenth Heaven, after he used a halberd to pierce the Malevolent Yin Evil God’s face, he jokingly claimed to be Dao Qiongcang, but the other party believed it. Until he sent down Evil God Yi from the Thirty-third Heaven, he was still looking for that “Ultimate Giant Dao Qiongcang,” which indicated that the Matriarch Saint Sprout indeed hadn’t mentioned this to the Malevolent Yin Evil God.

“But…”“Is there a difference?” Bai Zhou frowned. Was it because he was stupid, that he hadn’t noticed this detail from beginning to end? Dao Qiongcang is Xu Xiaoshou, Xu Xiaoshou is the Nine-tailed Giant; isn’t this something obvious to see? And even if the Malevolent Yin Evil God was stupid and couldn’t tell, his state, thoughts, and actions were to annihilate everyone… In such a situation, does it make a difference whether the Matriarch Saint Sprout mentioned this or not?

“There’s a fundamental difference.” Yue Gongli turned back seriously and said: “Perhaps he knows now, but at first, he truly didn’t!”

Bai Zhou opened his mouth; was it because he was stupid again, why did Yue Gongli’s words sound like nonsense to him?

“Let’s put it this way,” Xu Xiaoshou looked over. “If Moon Fox’s words are true, this means the Ancestral Tree Matriarch Sprout has ulterior motives. If possible, she wants to replace Malevolent Yin; therefore, she can be exploited and become one of us… a tree!”

Bai Zhou’s face showed shock. Cen Qiaofu’s face showed shock, but when he looked back, he found that everyone else was calm except for the two of them. He quickly suppressed his shock, spread his hands, and with a disdainful gaze towards Bai Zhou, chuckled: “Obvious, isn’t it?”

Bai Zhou fell silent, staring blankly at everyone present. Only then did Yue Gongli gasp: “Do I really have to explain it in such detail for you to understand?”

*You can shut up, he’s just a ghost beast, don’t demand so much…* Xu Xiaoshou glared at the fox-faced man and sneered: “Obvious intelligence, is this all you can contribute?”

Yue Gongli’s expression immediately stiffened, and he stammered, unable to speak.

“If by then…” Xu Xiaoshou hadn't finished.

The fox spirit gritted his teeth and said: “If it really comes to a fight, I’ll be responsible for the Ancestral Tree Matriarch Sprout and the subversion part, but Malevolent Yin… His true body, you all will have to deal with; I truly can’t beat him!”

*That’s exactly what I was waiting for!* “You said it yourself.” Xu Xiaoshou stared at him, and only after seeing Moon Fox nod, did he look at Dao Qiongcang. Xu Xiaoshou said nothing.

Dao Qiongcang could only sigh: “His true body, I can’t beat him either.”

“Hahaha…” Yue Gongli burst into laughter upon hearing this, pointing at the show-off old Daoist and mimicking the arrogance of a Saint Slave to mock him, “Useless! What good are you to me?”

Dao Qiongcang slowly extended his palm, enclosing Yue Gongli’s finger, as if caressing it. Under the other party’s perplexed and gradually strange gaze, he suddenly twisted, pulled, and ripped his finger upward with force. He tore off the finger, casually threw it on the ground, took out a clean handkerchief, wiped the blood from his palm, and looked back at Xu Xiaoshou, saying: “I don’t know what your idea is, but I also have one, which should be good.”

“Ahhhhhh—”“Speak.”“Ahhhhh—”“From the Tyrant’s continued resistance, it seems Evil God Yi hasn't perished, but is merely trapped in the Thirty-third Heaven.”“Ahhh—”“So?”“Ahh—”“So, we only need to fight our way up to the Thirty-third Heaven, first rescue Evil God Yi. We don’t need to fight his true body; Evil God Yi can take care of that.”“Ah—”“Shut up!” The two simultaneously turned back and shouted.

Yue Gongli’s screams abruptly ceased. Covering his broken finger, he squatted down with a twitching face, crouching to the ground, tearfully trying to put it back together. He let go. The finger, *snap*, broke again.

“Wuwuwu…” He sobbed silently, wiping away tears and crying sadly, “Ignoring me, everyone’s ignoring me, and not taking care of me, wuwuying…”

“I’m done.” Dao Qiongcang calmly raised his gaze. “What is your idea?”

Xu Xiaoshou pondered seriously for a moment, deeming the method feasible. Better a short pain than a long one; fighting their way to the Thirty-third Heaven was the only way to return from the God’s Remains to the Sacred Divine Continent.

But before that…“Yue Gongli.” He looked at the injured little fox on the ground.“Huh?” Yue Gongli looked up, wiping his nose.Xu Xiaoshou frowned, thought for a moment, and asked: “In the Eighteenth Heaven, the Hall of Fate, or anywhere else, have you ever seen… a silver wall?”