Chapter 1654: Super Dao's Memory of Guarding Reverse Attack, Tracing and Pursuing Evil Kui Yi Long

The ripples in the starry sky shimmered.

The character "Long" (Dragon) vanished, and with it, Chóngyīn disappeared.

"He ran? He ran away?!"

Xu Xiǎoshòu, who had just barely grasped the Yǒusì Sword and was still hoping to strike Chóngyīn one more time and learn from Bā Zūn'ān while the eighth Sword Immortal was present, was stunned. He had calculated everything, but he hadn't anticipated "escape" as a fallback for Chóngyīn.

You are an Ancestral God!

Your Nìjìn Lúnshēng (Counter-Forbidden Reincarnation) technique hasn't even been used yet.

Others can flee, but how can you flee?

Where is your dignity? You should be fearlessly slaying the ants in your sight, not... running like a little dog?

"Jìlíng Jìnzǒu (Sacrificial Spirit Forbidden Walk)?"

Dào Qióngcāng was equally thunderstruck by this technique. He had witnessed Jìlíng Jìnzǒu before, and more than once. The weakest Jìlíng Jìnzǒu started at the level of Tiānrén Wǔshuāi (Five Signs of Decay of Celestial Beings), and once used, they would vanish without a trace, beyond Dào Qióngcāng's ability to track. Later, the flamboyant old Daoist had learned and researched more about this forbidden art, confirming that its cost was the sacrifice of one's soul, the loss of everything. Use it, and die.

But even Tiānrén Wǔshuāi could use forbidden arts while avoiding the cost with their immortal bodies. How could Chóngyīn, the progenitor of such techniques, not have a method?

"Protecting oneself with the Běnyuán Zhēnjié·Long (Origin Stele of Truth · Dragon) and only performing a fixed-point escape, without truly dying?"

"No, a Celestial Being's technique might be fixed-point, but Chóngyīn's might not be."

"And..."

Dào Qióngcāng had no time to be shocked; images of Chóngyīn using this technique flashed through his mind. Yes, this "Jìn·Jìlíng Jìnzǒu" (Forbidden·Sacrificial Spirit Forbidden Walk) had been used by Chóngyīn once before—in the God's Remains. Its effect should be equivalent to an evolved version of Tiānrén Wǔshuāi. At that time, He was attacking Xu Xiǎoshòu, attempting a surprise strike. If it had been anyone else, being ambushed by a forbidden-level escape technique would have resulted in death or severe injury. However, Xu Xiǎoshòu's Dà Yíwàng Shù (Great Oblivion Technique) instead caused Chóngyīn to lose his target, and he even used a Liúyīn Zhū (Sound-Recording Pearl) to push Dào Qióngcāng out, letting others bear the karma for him.

This wasn't important.

Dào Qióngcāng considered himself not a petty person and wouldn't deliberately remember such trivial details. However, "Whatever is used, leaves a trace"—this was important! Once or twice was fine, but not thrice. Dào Qióngcāng enjoyed toying with others and absolutely detested being played with in return.

Therefore, when the character "Long" vanished and Chóngyīn's escape occurred, Dào Qióngcāng's mind immediately brought up two contingency plans: "Jìlíng Jìnzǒu" and "Jìn·Jìlíng Jìnzǒu."

Essentially, it wasn't just Jìlíng Jìnzǒu. All techniques Chóngyīn had used, including "Xiàngyǎn Wúgēn" (Rootless Eye of Form), "Xūshí Biànzhuǎn" (Illusory-Real Transformation), "Shùgǒu Dàcān" (Technique Dog Feast), "Shényǐn Guīxū" (Divine Concealment into the Ruins)...

Dào Qióngcāng analyzed and prepared for everything he had seen. He guarded against the day he might become the target of an attack, fearing he would regret having no recourse. This extended not only to Chóngyīn but also to Shén Yì, Xu Xiǎoshòu, Cáo Yīhàn, and even the elusive Bā Zūn'ān... He was wary of all ancient martial arts and ancient sword arts they had used.

While outsiders might find such cautiousness exhausting, Dào Qióngcāng enjoyed the feeling of having everything under control. Just like now! When Chóngyīn's technique changed, young talents like Xu Xiǎoshòu and old veterans like Bā Zūn'ān could only sigh in resignation. Dào Qióngcāng quickly formed a hand seal, and a mysterious light immediately shot forth, perfectly timed.

"Tiānjī Sānshíliù Shì, Dà Sùyǐn Shù!" (Thirty-Six Forms of Heavenly Mechanism, Great Tracing and Guiding Technique!)

The Dao comes in a dream, and Qingju is invited into the heart. What followed this, and how powerful this sword strike was, Xu Xiǎoshòu no longer knew. The person was gone, the sword empty. Bā Zūn'ān had also retracted his power.

Just as Xu Xiǎoshòu was about to give up on Chóngyīn and that seemingly powerful Běnyuán Zhēnjié, Dào Qióngcāng, beside him, cast a technique. The Dà Sùyǐn Shù caused a huge commotion. This scoundrel perfectly demonstrated what it meant to retreat when you advance, and to relentlessly pursue, cling on, and tear off a piece of flesh even if he couldn't bite through when you retreated.

"Buzz!"

An illusory profound diagram unfolded. It was semi-real, like a light and shadow bubble, almost nonexistent.

"So beautiful!"

This was the first time Xu Xiǎoshòu saw the flamboyant old Daoist standing on something other than his overly ostentatious "Cāngqióng Huìjuàn" (Firmament Scroll) used to fool others. He called it: "can rival profound meaning." But in reality, anyone who saw it would immediately think that it only resembled it in appearance, merely rivaled it, and was far from reaching the true profound level. This, it seemed, was exactly the effect the flamboyant old Daoist desired?

But this time was different; what he stood on was definitely a true Dao profound diagram of the same quality as Sāng Lǎo and Shuǐguǐ (Water Ghost).

"No!"

"Even surpassing it!"

Xu Xiǎoshòu only glanced at it, his pupils trembling slightly. Just observing the complexity and exquisite beauty of this diagram, he feared it had already reached the height of his own body, spirit, and will, the three great Dao plates, which meant... 90, beyond Dao Transformation?

Moreover, the diagram was illusory, unlike the true nature of the water and fire Dao; it was clearly not the mainstream spirit refiner's Five Elements or the elemental Dao derived from them.

"Is it the Dao of Memory?"

A flash of inspiration in his mind, Xu Xiǎoshòu remembered this special Dao, so obscure that if he hadn't delved into the Dàshén Jiàngshù (Great Divine Descent Technique), he might not have known about it. The flamboyant old Daoist always comprehended some extravagant things... No, it should be said that if he mastered the profound meaning of mainstream attributes, the Five Great Holy Emperor Families would know about his talent. This Dao of Memory was rarely used in daily life, its effects all passive or imperceptible. He had cultivated it to 90, and this was its first appearance before the world. Could he be so patient?

And this "world"...

Xu Xiǎoshòu looked around, ignoring those who no longer even had bodies. The only person who truly witnessed it firsthand and had the ability to record the scene was himself. But given the completely different reputations of "Shèngnú Èshòu" (Holy Slave Evil Beast) and "Dào Diànzhǔ" (Dao Hall Master), even if he were to spread the word that Dào Qióngcāng had mastered the profound meaning of memory throughout the five regions of the continent, the latter would refute it. Who would people believe?

"What a master of playing the pig to eat the tiger!" Xu Xiǎoshòu gritted his teeth, pulled out a Liúyǐng Zhū (Shadow-Recording Pearl), and began to record. He might not be believed, but he had to record it. At the very least, he could send it directly to the Five Great Holy Emperor Families. Even if they didn't believe it, once the seed of doubt was sown, the subsequent verifications would always make people live with restraints. Xu Xiǎoshòu considered himself someone who rarely did such self-defeating and harmful things, but if the target was the flamboyant old Daoist... Sorry, if you live hard, I'm happy.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

As the memory profound diagram blossomed, the mysterious light of the heavenly mechanism swept in all directions. The entire ruined battlefield of the God's Remains was as if sprayed with Luminol reagent; all the obscure, unclean, and trace-leaving existences were illuminated! On stones, broken branches, withered roots... On mountains, dried lakes, broken weapons... On all living and inanimate objects, whether sentient or not, dense and eye-catching heavenly mechanism patterns lit up. Those patterns, when viewed individually, were small and harmless. But they had an enormous visual impact.

—Handshake patterns!

"All 'handshakes'?"

Xu Xiǎoshòu swept his gaze across; the entire first heaven was filled with these heavenly mechanism patterns, all the flamboyant old Daoist's backup plans. He connected his mind to the Tiānjìng Zhīhé (Heavenly Realm Core) and found that the eighteenth heaven was the same, and the dim thirty-third heaven was also the same. Even the Tiānjìng Zhīhé and the Dìyīng Shèngzhū (Sacred Plant of Infant Creation) rooted on it, which had entered a new birth, had friendly handshake patterns on them.

Leaving aside the outside... Xu Xiǎoshòu looked at himself, affected by the mysterious light of the heavenly mechanism; there were also patterns on his hands, and his tendons, bones, and meridians were also friendly under inner vision. He was stunned. He thought he had dealt with all the Dàshén Jiàngshù imprints on his body, but he hadn't. He darkened his face and pulled out the Shèngzǔ Shíkè (Holy Ancestor Stone Carving) that Dào Qióngcāng had touched before, letting it also "soak" in the mysterious light... Handshake! He pulled out the Suìjūn Dùn (Shattered Blade Shield)... Handshake! He pulled out treasures from the shield's world, focusing on those Dào Qióngcāng hadn't touched... Still handshake!

"You damn bastard, you don't even need to touch, just a glance, and you can get someone pregnant?" Xu Xiǎoshòu couldn't hold back, punching Dào Qióngcāng.

Dào Qióngcāng seemed to have entrusted his back to his "comrade" with great confidence, ignoring Xu Xiǎoshòu's curses and taking the punch head-on. He grunted, subtly suppressing the "traces" traced by the Dà Sùyǐn Shù nearby, especially those related to Xu Xiǎoshòu.

"An accident."

He mumbled a sheepish remark. Then he pushed the influence of this technique into the starry sky.

In the starry sky.

As early as Dào Qióngcāng made his move, countless Heavenly Mechanism Puppets also cast their techniques. Tens of millions of Dà Sùyǐn Shù converged, pushing a giant light wave, almost at light speed, through the starry sky. A winding, illusory, and mysterious long river appeared, its beginning unknown, its end vanishing towards the direction where Chóngyīn was last seen. As if to compensate, Dào Qióngcāng voluntarily explained:

"This is the 'River of Memory'."

"My Dà Sùyǐn Shù will trace all the imprints I've seen in my River of Memory and inadvertently left behind."

Xu Xiǎoshòu slapped him on the back of the head again: "Your 'inadvertently'—was it on purpose, or truly accidental?"

Dào Qióngcāng seemed to hear nothing, feel nothing, and simply took Xu Xiǎoshòu's slap. He wouldn't give Xu Xiǎoshòu a chance to draw his sword and say "I was also very accidental," but continued his explanation:

"If Chóngyīn were at full power, my Dà Sùyǐn Shù would surely be detected, and he would cut off the tracing."

"But your combined sword power has reached a level that can threaten an Ancestral God; it's truly terrifying."

"Chóngyīn is wary of your swords and surely dares not linger. He will only flee for his life and won't look back for a short time."

"But he is an Ancestral God after all, and I am a nobody."

After a pause, Dào Qióngcāng turned his head, gravely and earnestly saying: "It won't take long for this technique to be broken... Should we pursue?"

He asked "should we pursue," but his implied meaning was "do you want the Běnyuán Zhēnjié?" It must be said that Dào Diànzhǔ's ability to change topics had reached the level of Dao Transformation. Xu Xiǎoshòu couldn't resist, knowing that time was truly short, and his thoughts immediately shifted.

Of course, he wanted it!

What he possessed now was just a tiny bit of the Dragon Ancestor's power. If that character "Long" was truly as mysterious as Bā Zūn'ān said, then the value of this pursuit would be equivalent to entering the Sword Tower with Liǔ Fúyù, and who knows what risks the latter would encounter!

Chóngyīn's strength, however, could be estimated. He was too weak; Xu Xiǎoshòu had been watching him from beginning to end. And the character "Long" was clearly incompatible with him; he could only use it to barely protect his soul and flee with Jìlíng Jìnzǒu.

If he truly got it into his hands... An heir to the Heavenly Ancestor, plus an heir to the Dragon Ancestor. When he encountered Chóngyīn again, he would directly summon a large eyeball, then summon an Ancestral Dragon, then guard against one of his Shùgǒu Dàcān techniques, and decisively invite Bā Zūn'ān... From the very beginning, you would lose your bargaining chips with me!

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths passed.

Dào Qióngcāng directly said: "The character 'Long' cannot be yours, of course. We will study it together, but if there's a Dragon Ancestor's inheritance, it's yours."

It would have been so much better if you had just given it to me, I would have refused... Xu Xiǎoshòu raised his eyes and glanced over, coldly retorting: "I'm afraid you'll stab me in the back."

"I'm afraid too, Lord Xu," Dào Qióngcāng shook his head with a bitter smile. "I don't ask for much, and I can't compromise any further."

"Alright! Whoever betrays..."

"Is a little dog!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the starry sky, the River of Memory surged. A faint silver light, winding for hundreds of thousands of miles, stretched from one end of the God's Remains plane to another unknown end.

Wandering...

Endless wandering...

No one could see that along this dim silver line, two completely invisible and intangible figures were rapidly approaching. The starry sky was silent, without a sound. It was as if everything had been at peace since ancient times, and the tranquility would not be broken.

After an unknown period of time.

"Break!"

Within a collapsed stellar black hole, the character "Long" first materialized, then wisps of purple mist emanated. Chóngyīn's Jìlíng Jìnzǒu stopped within this black hole. He expended considerable effort to forcibly borrow some power from the reluctant "Long" character again.

"Zzzzt, zzzzt..."

The purple mist split and reformed. Chóngyīn managed to condense a wisp of his own divine consciousness. He swept his gaze around; the starry sky was boundless, yet desolate, clearly nothing. Even the black hole he relied on for survival beneath him required the help of the "Long" character to resist its self-collapsing force. This meant constant consumption. But precisely because it was a black hole, if any accident occurred, the accident wouldn't dare approach.

"Jie, chǐchǐchǐ..."

Chóngyīn looked around, bursting into laughter, though there was a hint of bleakness in his mirth. He hated! He hated Shén Yì, hated Dào Qióngcāng, and hated that damned Xu Xiǎoshòu even more! His plan for revival was supposed to proceed step by step, having swallowed so many semi-saints and semi-saint positions, and even seized Rǎnmíng's inheritance ground. With this as a foundation, he would recuperate and then lead his army to the Holy God Continent—wouldn't he take whatever he wanted?

But now...

Because of the appearance of those three, his plans were repeatedly interrupted, and variables constantly arose. Finally, disaster piled upon disaster, small scars turned into large fissures, and it was beyond remedy, leading to his complete defeat. Chóngyīn was unwilling! He was so unwilling! He reviewed his calculations again. Whether it was Shén Yì, Dào Qióngcāng, or Xu Xiǎoshòu... Without exception, if he had taken them seriously from the beginning, just once! One by one, they could have been killed, according to the normal procedures, all could have been slain and swallowed, transforming into nutrients to nourish himself. No accidents would have happened! Their strongest combat power couldn't have defeated him!

"But accidents and variables have occurred... Why? And where did they originate?"

Chóngyīn replayed the events, utterly perplexed. All he could recall were trivial, insignificant details. No matter how he pieced them together, those things shouldn't have led to his current miserable state, right? On one side was an Ancestral God, a genuine Ancestral God! On the other side were a semi-saint, a Grand Void, and a Dao Slasher. How did he lose? A great start, waking up as an Ancestral God, with the Ancestral Tree Dìyīng under his command, and controlling an entire God's Remains... Where exactly did he lose?

Chóngyīn thought and thought, still unsure. At this moment, he understood that those few people were absolutely extraordinary, each possessing the demeanor of an Ancestral God. From the moment the "arrogance" arose, he had lost.

"And!"

Chóngyīn always felt something was wrong. The young man with the sword at the end, that Xu Xiǎoshòu, gave him a terrifying feeling, beyond the strength he had shown before. From the Wúyù Wàngwéi Sword (Desireless Wanton Sword) onwards, including the Wúyù Wàngwéi Sword, each sword strike was stronger than the last. He seemed to be possessed by the Sword Ancestor, his sudden burst of power so unexpected. Chóngyīn never activated "Nìjìn Lúnshēng" in the end because he knew that he could use this technique against Shén Yì, as Shén Yì had no follow-up. But against Xu Xiǎoshòu, even if he activated this technique, what then? That Dào Qióngcāng was still there, Shén Yì's soul might still be able to sacrifice itself, not to mention an invisible, intangible "Sword Ancestor" who supposedly possessed Xu Xiǎoshòu!

Who could it be? Could there be another such as Xu Xiǎoshòu's Dao God-like demeanor on the Holy God Continent?

Chóngyīn sighed deeply, giving up on thinking. It didn't matter if the revival plan was shattered, and it didn't matter if the God's Remains headquarters were lost. As long as there were green hills, there would be wood to burn. He pulled out the last Běnyuán Zhēnjié he had brought.

"Long..."

This was an unexpected gain from this trip. The treasure that Wàngzé Holy Emperor carried exceeded the original plan. With this item, after complete refinement, even if he could only forcibly control it, its value would be comparable to an entire God's Remains. He had gained enough from this revival; it wasn't a loss... It was a loss! It was still a loss! The more he thought, the more he lost!

"Shén Yì! Dào Qióngcāng! Kuí Léihàn! Shuǐguǐ! And you... Xu Xiǎoshòu!"

Chóngyīn gritted his teeth, remembering three people and many names. Ten thousand years! It wouldn't take long, just another ten thousand years of slumber, and he would recover one or two tenths of his pre-divine war state. If these people were still alive then, revenge would not be too late. However, the great era had arrived; in ten thousand years, if those three happened to gain opportunities, wouldn't they be able to...

"Ten thousand years is too long; I only seize the day!"

Just as his thoughts were racing, Chóngyīn suddenly heard a voice transmission. His heart trembled with shock. Xu Xiǎoshòu? How was he here? Impossible, he had already escaped so far with Jìlíng Jìnzǒu, leaving no trace behind...

"Dàshén Jiàngshù?"

In his mind, in the eighteenth heaven, Dào Qióngcāng finished speaking, then brought an ancient martial body from the sky, transforming into Kuí Léihàn and attacking, forcing him to hide in the tower. At that time, the Dao he used was the Dao of Memory, deeply comprehended. Chóngyīn swept his gaze, focusing on the Dao of Memory, and indeed, behind him, he saw a silver trace. His heart finally sank to his buttocks. Oh, he had no heart, nor buttocks. Chóngyīn's heart was ashen, and soon he saw two figures emerging from the silver trace used for tracing.

One Daoist, one Xu.

"Heh."

He chuckled softly. Purple mist billowed, and a divine seat condensed. The three-headed, six-armed soul body and physical body also condensed, reclining lazily upon it.

"As I expected."

Chóngyīn's three large eyes nonchalantly glanced towards the past, present, and future, extending a hand, lightly spread open, and chuckled:

"There are tens of thousands of Daos, yet you chose to walk straight into the trap."

"Pffft!"

A burst of uncontrollable laughter. From the sound, one could tell a lot of saliva had been sprayed. Chóngyīn's brows furrowed, staring at Xu Xiǎoshòu, who had no sense of hierarchy.

"Sorry, I usually keep a straight face," Xu Xiǎoshòu wiped his saliva, waving his hand in embarrassment.

Chóngyīn remained impassive. He saw no reverence for an Ancestral God in this mortal's eyes, nor fear for the "big picture." Turning his head, Chóngyīn looked at Dào Qióngcāng. This fellow was still fiddling with the two large walnuts in his hands, as if the vast "trap" he had set when he fled was merely an illusion.

"Heh."

Chóngyīn smiled, closed his eyes, and gently placed his fingertips on his lap, elegantly pronouncing their death sentence:

"Ten breaths."

"Leave your last words."

"Pffft!"

Xu Xiǎoshòu burst out laughing again. Too hilarious! This Chóngyīn was truly the most ridiculous Ancestral God he had ever seen. Looking at him, it was as if he was seeing himself in his weak period, facing Yì, facing Huángquán, facing Ráo Yāoyāo, facing Jiāng Bùyī back then... That's how I, step by step, played the tiger to eat the pig! You're really bad at acting, my Chóngyīn!

His smile instantly vanished. Xu Xiǎoshòu didn't even give Chóngyīn a chance to leave his last words, instantly drawing the Yǒusì Sword. What was he most afraid of back then? A reckless brute!

"Dao!"

As this loud cry arose, Chóngyīn's body on the divine seat shivered, his foot slipping. His materialized body shattered with a snap, transforming into a stream of light with the help of the "Long" character, fleeing into the distance without looking back.

"Dà Jūjìn Shù!" (Great Restraint Technique!)

Dào Qióngcāng raised both hands, and over twenty million Heavenly Mechanism Puppets simultaneously emerged from the void, each also raising their arms. The formation was complete. It was evident that Chóngyīn was truly weak, so weak that after hitting a wall, he "thumped" back, disoriented. His eyes immediately widened in fury. He extended a finger, formed a seal, and loudly cried:

"Jìn·Nìjìn..." (Forbidden·Counter-Forbidden...)

But Xu Xiǎoshòu was a step ahead of him, stepping out his Dao plate. He extended a finger, formed a seal, and loudly cried:

"Shù·Tōutiān Huànrì." (Technique·Steal the Heaven and Exchange the Sun.)

With a gentle rub of his fingertips, the "Long" character beneath Chóngyīn's feet turned into underwear; the underwear in Xu Xiǎoshòu's hand disappeared, turning into...

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