Chapter 1723: Dao Gong's Scheme Harms the Five Sages, Heavenly Ladder as Boundary Secures Both Sides

"Grandpa Yu..."

Yu Zhiwen suddenly looked up near the Naming coastline. She had originally hidden under the sea with Little Xingxing, startled by the Holy Emperor's power. She never expected that the battle situation would keep changing, and Grandpa Yu would also go out to sea. Wasn't he the one who loved to avoid things the most? Why had he voluntarily become a Saint? Was it because he went to the God Slaying Officer's ruins?

"Wait!" Yu Zhiwen held her head, feeling her memories were a bit muddled. "Did Grandpa Yu go to the God Slaying Officer's ruins? I remember he didn't."

"Old Yu, has he become a Holy Emperor?" Feng Zhongzui stared blankly as the phantom of the Great Peng swept overhead, completely stunned. He thought Master Shou was just telling stories! The status of a Holy Emperor, or even a Holy Emperor himself, seemed too distant and ethereal for someone of his level. Hearing it was one thing. No matter how beautifully Master Shou embellished his words, everyone usually took it with a grain of salt. It wasn't until the Kunpeng emerged from the sea and soared past the Heavenly Ladder that Feng Zhongzui truly understood. Even if Master Shou used exaggerated rhetoric, his "stories" about encountering the resurgence of the evil god Suiyin in the Divine Ruins, the revival of God Slaying Officer Ranming's will, and becoming good friends with the Dao Palace Master... All of it was true!

"Master Shou really saw the evil god? Whether he repelled him or not is another matter, but he stood against him and came out unscathed?" What an extraordinary feat! The emergence of the Holy Emperor status perfectly validated the wild ideas circulating among the people of the Five Domains. Recalling the Half-Saints who entered the God Slaying Officer's ruins by Holy Edict but never returned... It made sense! How could a Half-Saint defeat Suiyin? Recalling the strange incidents after Master Shou emerged, where he repeatedly tormented the Dao Palace Master, who in turn repeatedly tolerated it without retaliation... It was understandable! They were good friends who had fought against Suiyin and shared a life-or-death bond! It clicked. Everything clicked. Everything connected.

However, Xu Xiaoshou, the person involved, watched the Kunpeng pass by, feeling that everything happening in reality was even more absurd than what he had fabricated. "No, I was just talking about it. How did it become reality?"

When had Old Yu ever entered the Divine Ruins? He hadn't even been there, so how could he have been parasitized by Suiyin and fought against him? These were just outlandish tales he had spun, riding on the momentum provided by Dao Qiongcang. Who would have thought that the moment he spoke, Holy Emperor Han Gong would look over, and the "story" would be confirmed by the events in Naming?

"Me, words become reality?" No, the guidance of the Intent Dao Disk wasn't that strong yet. Even if he and Dao Qiongcang collaborated, with the Ten Calamities and the Blood World Pearl interfering, the guiding power generated would most likely struggle to completely deceive Holy Emperor Han Gong. So, did Old Yu actively cooperate with Dao Qiongcang? But given his nature, he'd avoid trouble whenever possible and wouldn't take the initiative. The only remaining possibility was...

"That showy old Daoist!" "The Way of Memory?" Using guidance to turn a "story" into reality, thereby deceiving the people of the Five Domains, and even Holy Emperor Han Gong. This would consume too much energy, equivalent to forcibly rewriting world history, which was completely impractical. But what if he took a roundabout approach? Instead of deceiving the entire world, including Holy Emperor Han Gong, he simply altered Old Yu's memory alone?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Unfathomable! That showy old Daoist was terrifying. His methods were secondary; his profound insight and decisive boldness were truly unmatched. He had only casually told a story... Yet, Dao Qiongcang perfectly seized upon the detail that no one knew what happened at the end of the Divine Ruins, as well as Holy Emperor Han Gong's indifferent attitude toward the process, and swiftly decided to "alter Old Yu's memory, thereby achieving a roundabout effect of changing the course of history."

He was truly skilled at "embellishment." Just as he packaged what was essentially a mid-to-high-tier Divine Descent Art as invincible, this roundabout memory alteration technique was grounded in reality yet as subtle and brilliant as a gazelle's horn.

"Good friend!" "You're more impressive than me!" Xu Xiaoshou didn't hold back his praise. He was glad that he was tied to Dao Qiongcang. With Holy Emperor Han Gong and the other great Holy Emperor families around, his bond with his "good friend" would deepen further. A forced melon is still sweet!

However, as a mature friend, mere praise was insufficient. After realizing Dao Qiongcang's intentions, he quickly elaborated, reminding him: "But this method probably won't last long. You want Old Yu to become a Holy Emperor in the Wurao Imperial Realm to stir up trouble, right? But what if he doesn't succeed..."

"You should know Old Yu's foundation," Dao Qiongcang transmitted via spiritual communication. Xu Xiaoshou paused, recalling Old Yu's life pattern he had accidentally glimpsed when moving Jade Capital City. Furious! Those two words couldn't even describe it. Indeed, Old Yu's foundation was inherently that of a Holy Emperor; he wasn't on the same level as ordinary Half-Saints at all. While he might have been "slacking off," he was a Kunpeng.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't get discouraged, continuing to nitpick and striving to play his role as a strategist: "Even if Old Yu successfully becomes a Holy Emperor, if the other four Holy Emperor families unite to suppress him, can he, a newly appointed one, stand a chance?"

"A Holy Emperor isn't cultivated; they're surged into," Dao Qiongcang calmly stated. Oh, right. He almost forgot that whether it was a low-level Holy Emperor or a high-level one, it was determined at the moment of breakthrough. How far one could surge depended entirely on how solid their foundation was. Someone like Old Yu...

"At the very least, he'd be mid-tier, likely high-tier, if unaffected by anything," Dao Qiongcang seemed to know what Xu Xiaoshou was thinking. But he would definitely be affected! How could the other four families tolerate him becoming a Holy Emperor?

"Even if he successfully endures the effects and achieves a high-tier Holy Emperor status, fighting four opponents, and you said the other families have many trump cards, can he withstand it?" Xu Xiaoshou was skeptical. "He can't." "Then why are you sending him to his death?" Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback, realizing his intuition was correct. "But he can hold on for a while," Dao Qiongcang evidently had other plans.

"How so?" "The Qianshi Imperial Realm won't make the first move, Bei Huai is restricted, Holy Emperor Han Gong needs to consider whether to emerge and if it's worth it, and Hua Changdeng acts on whim... All in all, the upcoming battle in the Holy Emperor's Secret Realm can be delayed for quite a while."

"What then?" "After that, it's up to you."

Xu Xiaoshou froze, then realized that Dao Qiongcang's plan was to harm five wise men; who would care about the Holy God Continent next? Even if the sky were to collapse here, its appeal wouldn't match the grand Holy Emperor status on Old Yu. Even if he didn't mention "exchange," if he wanted to rescue Old Sang, he could. The only one who would hinder him would be Ai Cangsheng.

Dao Qiongcang understood Xu Xiaoshou well; without needing further explanation, he continued: "I'll be the villain, and I'll handle setting up Old Yu. But afterward, whether you can defeat Ai Cangsheng, pierce the heavens, re-attract attention from above the Heavenly Ladder, and thereby rescue Old Yu and win over Little Yu, that's all on you."

Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, and then besieging Zhao to rescue Wei? You've truly mastered this strategy! And... "Win over Little Yu"? What in the world is that? You're a Daoist, not a matchmaker; don't randomly tie red strings!

Xu Xiaoshou instinctively retracted his neck, subtly glancing around, finding no one present. He then composed himself and, after some thought, nitpicked: "There's a problem!"

"What's the problem?" Dao Qiongcang transmitted via spiritual communication, sounding relaxed and supremely confident. "How can one find a perfect solution in this world that serves both the Great Dao and their beloved? It exists. If I, Dao Qiongcang, say it exists, then it exists. If one wants to make do, it's not impossible to make do."

He had never minded being tied to Xu Xiaoshou; in fact, he often used retreat as an advance, employing a "lure the tiger out of its den" strategy to deepen their bond. After all, being friends with Xu Xiaoshou had more benefits than drawbacks compared to being enemies. If sacrificing a "little fish" could forge a deeper bond with Xu Dao, making their relationship even closer, Dao Qiongcang would not object at all. He wouldn't have to pay anything. And Yu Zhiwen probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, in Dao Qiongcang's eyes, there were no other young talents in the Five Domains comparable to Xu You.

Xu Xiaoshou, unaware that this flamboyant old Daoist was even contemplating his romantic prospects, frowned and messaged: "My story still has a loophole. As long as Holy Emperor Han Gong emerges and questions Li Zi, he'll immediately know that while we did fight Suiyin, the relationship between the three of us wasn't that friendly. Most importantly, he'll know that Old Yu's Holy Emperor status isn't Rao Wangze's."

Dao Qiongcang's laughter came at the right moment, tinged with a hint of lament: "You don't understand family bonds." "You do?" Dao Qiongcang had indeed studied it, slowly saying: "The father of a high-ranking individual rarely takes the initiative to inquire about his child's private affairs, especially since both of them are essentially reclusive in nature. Even if he asks, he'll inquire through others, not directly face-to-face. But in the Divine Ruins, where would he find others?"

He paused, not giving Xu Xiaoshou a chance to speak, then Dao Qiongcang continued: "Even if we take a step back and say he actively asked, and Yue Gongli disclosed everything. What do you think 'Li Zi' would say?"

He deliberately emphasized his tone. Though Dao Qiongcang wasn't present, the confident air in his voice made Xu Xiaoshou vaguely picture his smugly smiling face. This time, surprisingly, he didn't retort with sarcasm. Because just by pondering Dao Gong's words for a moment, the hairs on Xu Xiaoshou's arms stood up involuntarily. Yue Gongli might speak. But Yue Gongli wouldn't tell the "facts" of what happened in the Divine Ruins; he would only continue to tell his "story"? "Why?"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly trembled. He just remembered that in the Divine Ruins, Yue Gongli's physical body was destroyed and then reshaped by Dao Qiongcang. "Li Zi, you're not clean anymore, go self-destruct!" Wait, Yue Gongli isn't self-destructing right now, is he? The crucial point is that if Yue Gongli were also doing that, it would prove that self-destruction was useless; he should "cleanse" his memory instead.

How does one cleanse memories? Xu Xiaoshou was stuck here. But Dao Qiongcang seemed capable of mental deprivation, even from a distance, and chuckled: "There's a 'Heart Cleansing Pool' in the Holy Land Secret Realm. Everyone who passes the Heart Inquiring Test has to go in and wash away the 'dust.'"

"He won't go, right?" Xu Xiaoshou asked seriously. "No!" Dao Qiongcang shook his head this time. "That's too absolute, my Xu. You still don't understand 'indirectness.' He'll just realize it a bit slower, go to the Heart Cleansing Pool a bit slower... He will understand that he was actually guided by me, but that will be after he understands."

Xu Xiaoshou fell into deep thought. This scheme was too malicious. A delay on Yue Gongli's side, and the time freed up in between, would become a tactical opportunity? Just like besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, or besieging Zhao to rescue Wei, it was all about gaining something by shifting things around? But wasn't this conjuring something out of thin air? Oh, no, that's not right. Dao Qiongcang paid with a Holy Emperor status. But this seemed more advanced than conjuring something out of thin air; he was merely moving chess pieces, yet gaining more "energy" through displacement.

He even made everything, including Holy Emperor Han Gong, who was stronger than Dao Qiongcang, follow his desired chess moves. At least for now, the Holy God Continent was distinct from what was above the Heavenly Ladder, so there was no need to worry about "intertwined chess games" for a short period. Playing two games at once! The older, the wiser! Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had learned something new, yet also nothing at all.

Compared to the directness of a Divine Overlord's single strike, the Ten Venerables' method of secretly pricking someone a thousand times with painless needles until they woke up to find themselves riddled with holes was far more unsettling.

He thought the Holy God Continent should also adhere to the conservation of energy. But how could a mere Holy Emperor status, combined with Dao Qiongcang, manipulate several great Holy Emperors who already possessed their own Holy Emperor statuses? Dao Qiongcang, plus the Holy Emperor status, would need to add the energy released by another "thing" to achieve such a deceptive effect. What was this "thing"?

Xu Xiaoshou pondered for a long time, gaining nothing. He brought everyone else into his thoughts, and then some insight emerged. The energy obtained through active coordination, through the exchange of positions and temporal misalignment—wasn't this precisely the abstract concept of world power? It could be done this way? How does one learn this? And how should it be used after learning?

Whether Xu Xiaoshou would need to use it or not, he set it aside for now. This wasn't the best time for in-depth investigation. He finally asked: "Can you really calculate?"

This "calculation" actually referred to "premonition." On the timeline, Dao Qiongcang reshaping Yue Gongli's body came first, while Yue Gongqi asking his son about the Divine Ruins happened later—this event hadn't even occurred yet. If Dao Qiongcang was already prepared now, it meant he must have implanted relevant memories in Yue Gongli during the Divine Ruins. But these memories were related to Xu Xiaoshou's current "story" and the fabricated Old Yu. Could all of this be calculated? Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe it, yet he was eager to learn. Mainly, he feared that Dao Qiongcang's methods might one day be used on him, and he would remain completely unaware.

"What's so unfathomable?" Dao Qiongcang chuckled, saying: "I can 'calculate' a bit, but it's merely a general divination of fortune and misfortune. Seeking good fortune and avoiding ill luck is a living being's instinct; mystical divination simply amplifies this ability. In practical application, proceeding step by step is far more advanced than being able to calculate."

"Then what about Li Zi's memory? How did you implant it beforehand?" Xu Xiaoshou suspected Dao Qiongcang possessed a Teardrop Family pupil, capable of seeing the future. Dao Qiongcang hesitated slightly. Given the precedent of the "Divine Descent Art," he no longer dared to explain too much of his abilities to Xu Xiaoshou. If he told others, they might not understand, and even if they did, they couldn't learn it. If he told Xu Xiaoshou, Xu Xiaoshou would claim he didn't understand, but then at a different time and place, he would present a more advanced version of the same method, having evolved it. Who could handle that?

However, for now, their paths still largely aligned. For Xu Xiaoshou to remain ignorant carried more benefits than for him to know and become stronger. After a moment of hesitation, Dao Qiongcang chose a compromise, vaguely stating: "Most past memories are vague. It's only when one intentionally tries to recall them that certain details, perhaps forgotten, can be remembered."

He's remembering details that didn't exist, isn't he! Xu Xiaoshou understood immediately, muttering softly: "Past wills... most are vague..."

He looked up. In the high sky, Holy Emperor Han Gong was already gone without a trace. The moment Old Yu ascended the Heavenly Ladder, Holy Emperor Han Gong followed him, completely unconcerned with the Holy God Continent. Regardless of the process or outcome, upon seeing a Holy Emperor status being used, he naturally wanted to stop it and obtain it.

With Holy Emperor Han Gong gone, the mess he had created using A Si seemed not to require Eight Venerables to clean up. After using Dao Qiongcang once, Xu Xiaoshou realized that this mess was actually perfectly timed! Originally, he had only intended to survey the combat power of the five great Holy Emperor families and muddy the waters a bit before Old Sang emerged from the Dead Sea. This way, even if the sky fell later, the taller ones would bear the brunt. He believed he could still manage to protect Old Sang to the death.

He never expected that with one move, Dao Qiongcang would place what belonged above, above, and what belonged below, below, arranging everything clearly and distinctly. As for himself... Aside from causing trouble, did he even play much of a role? No role at all! He didn't need to help in the slightest! Was this what it felt like to rely on someone so powerful? Rao Yaoyao, Yan Wuse, Yu Kunpeng... what kind of blissful lives did they lead before! There really was a reason why the Ten-Person Deliberation Group had become intellectual wastes!

"Wait." "Those three didn't have very good endings." Xu Xiaoshou calmed down, realizing that he could use Dao Qiongcang, but he couldn't *rely* on him. When Dao Qiongcang became your backbone, if he withdrew, you would die.

The storm paused slightly. With Old Yu becoming a Holy Emperor and Holy Emperor Han Gong leaving, the Five Domains were completely bewildered. Why did it feel like a lot of thunder but little rain? The Holy God Continent suddenly seemed as if an invisible hand had pressed a pause button, falling into complete silence.

Soon, everyone realized that the calm was merely an illusion. With the Holy Emperor gone, wouldn't Master Shou now do whatever he pleased? This must be the calm before the storm!

The Preaching Mirror had three cracks, a symbol that Holy Emperor Han Gong had truly been there, not just an illusion. Feng Zhongzui, carrying the mirror, filmed "Master Shou in deep thought" for a while, then noticed Master Shou suddenly raising his eyes, which were glowing.

He knew it. Something big was about to happen.

"The Dead Sea!" Master Shou suddenly spoke, raising an eyebrow at the mirror with a smile. "Does everyone want to know what the Dead Sea looks like?" As soon as he said this, the Five Domains erupted.

Feng Zhongzui's face turned green. "No, are we really going?" "Feng Zhongzui will take you on a tour of the Dead Sea." Master Shou called him out directly, as if taking attendance for death. "Master Shou..." "Alright, I'll take you on a tour of the Dead Sea. Feng Zhongzui is just being threatened by me."

"Be a person, Xu Xiaoshou..." Feng Zhongzui was almost in tears. "Can't you choose your words more carefully? I'll die!"

Apparently, he wasn't the unluckiest. Above the Heavenly Ladder, no one cared about what happened below. Ai Cangsheng was still waiting in the Southern Domain, and Dao Qiongcang was his friend... On this Holy Mountain, anyone Xu Xiaoshou pointed at would die.

"Where is the Dead Sea?" He turned his gaze, along with Feng Zhongzui and the Preaching Mirror, towards the Holy Mountain Refugee Group.

This group couldn't avoid any trouble, enduring constant fear. Now, encountering Master Shou's gaze, they almost scattered like birds and beasts. But after "forcing back" Holy Emperor Han Gong, Master Shou's aura was now truly soaring and lawless.

With just one look from him, everyone huddled together, trembling, but no one dared to speak.

Finally, after a long wait, a cheerful voice suddenly jumped out from the side, saving the day. "I know, I know!"

This joyful shout quickly attracted the Preaching Mirror. The people of the Five Domains looked on, and saw Beibei, who was originally buried in the soil, had somehow pulled herself out. She bounced twice on the spot, and after getting the Preaching Mirror's attention, she propped her left elbow with her right hand raised high, revealing two adorable canine teeth as she smiled: "Beibei knows where the Dead Sea is." "Beibei will lead the way!"