Chapter 1758: The Illusionary Famous Disciples Play with the Common People, The High Transmission of Evil Arts Invites the Ancestral War

"Aigou!"

"Aigou, you actually launched a sneak attack!"

"Old Sang, oh Old Sang, you died so tragically, so tragically!"

"I've worked so hard, striving to get to this point from the Eight Palaces. All I wanted was to save you from your misery one day, but I never thought... Waaah!"

Shou Ye cried!

He wept bitterly!

He sobbed, tears and snot mixing with the clear water. Yet, that disgust could not be purified away.

Such an exaggerated reaction immediately made everyone watching the battle suspicious.

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

There is no greater sorrow than a heart that has died.

Or, to put it in Shou Ye's case, "A biting dog doesn't bark" would be more fitting.

In short, if Sheng Nu Wuxiu really died, Shou Ye shouldn't be reacting like this. He should be rushing out of the Sea of Death to fight Cang Sheng Dadi?

"Shou Ye, are you powerless?"

Before ascending the Holy Mountain, before seeing Shou Ye display his various abilities, some people in the Five Domains would indeed have thought this question valid.

The First Sword Immortal?

The second-in-command of Sheng Nu?

The master of the First Heavenly Tower?

However, young people like fame and often exaggerate, being all show and no substance.

Now, very few people believe Shou Ye can be linked with "powerless." Saying he is "omnipotent" is closer to reality!

"Ow, ow, Old Sang, you died so tragically..."

Shou Ye was still wailing like a ghost, clutching his chest, heartbroken and unable to breathe:

"If I had known you would die so miserably, why did I have to resist back in the Eight Palaces? It would have been better to bite off my tongue and commit suicide!"

"You suffered an extra year in the Sea of Death, and in the end, you still died tragically by an arrow. You're foolish, you're too foolish!"

"If you had died a year earlier, maybe by now you would already be a one-year-old baby..."

Too strange!

Zhong Yuanzi finally affirmed that his earlier misconception was not a misconception at all; Xu Xiaoshou was indeed acting very strangely.

He was too weak...

Even Ai Cangsheng had detected where the problem lay.

But as he looked now, Sheng Nu Wuxiu was absolutely not an illusion; he was a genuine "person"!

His body, his spirit, his will...

His slightly unstable fire profound meaning, his familiar and practiced Wuxiu: Scarlet Scorch Hand, his breathing, his aura, his rhythm...

His fundamental biological structural characteristics, the various Heaven Dao and Saint Dao rules tied to him...

"It's Wuxiu!"

What is the Eye of the Grand Dao?

To see through phenomena to their essence, to analyze a person's existence through the most basic rules—that is the Eye of the Grand Dao.

This leads to the fact that, in Ai Cangsheng's eyes, everyone in the Five Domains is composed of a unique "Grand Dao Vein Map," also known as a "Life Pattern."

"Life Patterns cannot be depicted!"

Ai Cangsheng had known this truth from the very beginning.

Even the profound meaning of life cannot perfectly replicate an identical living being; Xu Xiaoshou cannot do it either.

Every stroke on that pattern, the lightness or heaviness of the force, the shallowness or depth of the aura, will cause the manifestation of the living being to be different.

Perhaps if the force is heavier, a normal living being becomes a sick one;

Perhaps if the force is lighter, their hair might fall out...

These are incomprehensible!

Life Patterns are something that even the most skilled painters in the world cannot reproduce.

Moreover, everyone's life pattern is constantly changing; though largely similar, it leaves no trace.

Even if Xu Xiaoshou's Dao of Life surpassed Dao transformation, he could not accomplish such a heaven-defying act of "creating a person," much less would he dare.

"It's Wuxiu!"

Ai Cangsheng was certain of his judgment.

He knew it was strange. In fact, when Zhong Yuanzi noticed something peculiar, he too became aware that something was amiss.

But he still fired the arrow, without hesitation.

One of his arrows was called the "Anchor Source Arrow," which, if it penetrated a clone, could use homogeneous power to locate the Half-Saint's true body.

This was specifically shot after "seeing" a genuine "Half-Saint status" cultivated within Wuxiu's body.

He was even meticulous to this extent, knowing that even though Wuxiu had been canonized for a short time, it was possible that Xu Xiaoshou, with a large accumulation of resources, could have created a Half-Saint avatar and thrown it out to deceive him.

But in reality, there was none.

In reality, this was Wuxiu's true body.

Because that arrow could not anchor his true body, which meant...

"I am deceiving myself."

He felt he had deceived himself, because Xu Xiaoshou also possessed the Dao of Guidance, and Ai Cangsheng had been hit by similar moves from Dao Qiongcang.

He had no fear.

Guidance was not invincible; what was seen was real.

Just like the Eye of the Grand Dao, it would never deceive, because it came from Lei Xiaoxiao.

"Wuxiu, you must fall."

"Ah, Old Sang, ah, Old Sang, ah, ah, ah—"

Xu Xiaoshou held his head, bowing and shaking it.

His face was contorted with bulging veins, filled with overwhelming grief and indignation.

It was somewhat comical, somewhat like a clown, as if this were the true essence of Shou Ye once his disguise was stripped away?

After all, if everyone could guess that his "exaggeration" might be false, perhaps the matter itself could also be true?

In the eyes of the world at this moment...

Shou Ye's status was already not much different from that of a Dao Palace Lord!

His cunning truly was not beneath that of a Dao Palace Lord!

"Playing tricks."

Ai Cangsheng of the Southern Domain sneered, only just putting down his Evil Sin Bow.

In the scene, Xu Xiaoshou, still muttering and wailing, was interrupted by a cold shout from the site:

"Xu Xiaoshou, what exactly are you yapping about?"

That curse was undeniably harsh!

In reality, it should have been quite ordinary.

But in the Five Domains of this era, people with good morals wouldn't curse like that, people without morals couldn't out-curse Shou Ye, capable people wouldn't curse, and incapable people wouldn't dare to curse...

In front of Shou Ye, it was already difficult to hear a single insult from an outsider; only the curses of the dying remained.

"Yapping..."

Now, such a precise spear of a word, striking Shou Ye's head at this moment of overwhelming grief and indignation, wouldn't it instantly detonate the Sea of Death?

Feng Zhongzui's hand trembled with fright!

The tenth layer of the Sea of Death was indeed amazing. At this critical juncture, there were still people who defied fate and dared to come to their deaths?

The person hadn't arrived, but the voice had.

And they even thought of provoking Shou Ye, who might transform his grief into strength? You've got guts!

Feng Zhongzui turned.

The Dao Transmission Mirror turned.

Everyone in the Five Domains, including Ai Cangsheng, turned their gaze.

In an instant, the entire world fell silent.

Stepping out of the chaotic black currents, wasn't it indeed the figure dressed in prisoner's clothes, with charred arms, wearing a straw hat, and a sinister face...

"Wuxiu?"

"Sheng Nu Wuxiu!"

Feng Zhongzui shrieked, looking incredulously towards the other side.

The Dao Transmission Mirror followed his horror, shifting to the other Wuxiu who was slowly dissolving into demonic light particles under the Evil Sin Bow's arrow...

"Wuxiu is dead!"

"He was just shot and killed by Cang Sheng Dadi. How can there be another one?"

Feng Zhongzui knew he couldn't clearly distinguish between fakes and real people, between Half-Saint avatars and true bodies, or even between illusions and reality.

But he knew that the Eye of the Grand Dao could definitely do so!

Everyone in the world might be deceived by Shou Ye's possibly clumsy, possibly exaggerated acting, but Ai Cangsheng shouldn't be.

Since he chose to release the arrow at that moment,

This proved that at that time, in the eyes of the Grand Dao, and in the judgment of Cang Sheng Dadi, Wuxiu was a real person, irreplaceable!

"Then how could..."

Feng Zhongzui's surprised voice trailed off, unable to explain.

In fact, he didn't need to say more; there were many clever people in the Five Domains. What Feng Zhongzui could think of, most people could too.

"Illusory Sword Technique?"

"Half-Saint avatar?"

"Life and death, transformation, magical techniques?"

"But these are secondary. The most essential Half-Saint status, if Cang Sheng Dadi chose to fire the arrow, wouldn't he confirm it?"

This was clearly a Half-Saint speaking, their insights piercingly sharp:

"Anyone can be fake, but a Half-Saint status cannot be faked!"

Indeed!

A Half-Saint status cannot be faked; this has been a consistent belief throughout history.

In the Southern Domain, Ai Cangsheng, operating under this subjective judgment, felt his mind buzz and his thoughts short-circuit when he saw another Wuxiu emerge from behind the Sea of Death.

"Impossible!"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't bother to care about Ai Cangsheng or anyone else's astonished reaction to this second Old Sang appearing.

He awkwardly wiped his tears and snot, casually flicking them into the Sea of Death, then chuckled and scratched his head:

"Hey, old man, you're out already?"

"How about waiting a bit longer? I was enjoying my performance!"

"If you walk out like this, Cang Sheng Dadi's brain will crash. Where will you put his face?"

Xu Xiaoshou was so exaggerated!

His mouth was so wide it could fit an egg, his shoulders shrugged as if he had two fake mountains padded inside, and he said sarcastically, spreading his hands:

"Could it be that what Cang Sheng Dadi just shot down was merely a human portrait of Sheng Nu Sang Qiye, derived from my hand?"

The Five Domains thundered.

Not only everyone on the battlefield, but also spectators everywhere understood instantly. Shou Ye's mockery this time was likely to contain hidden truth.

So Cang Sheng Dadi only shattered a portrait?

Was he blind?!

"No, no, no..."

Feng Zhongzui seemed to have realized something as well. The Dao Transmission Mirror incredulously focused on the newly appeared Wuxiu, then turned to the Wuxiu who had died on the other side.

He cried out in horror:

"How could the Eye of the Grand Dao be mistaken?"

"Shou Ye's Illusory Sword Technique has become this terrifying?"

"But the very existence of the Eye of the Grand Dao is fearless of any illusion in the world, so how can this..."

Feng Zhongzui's voice had not yet stopped, when he forcibly twisted his body.

The Dao Transmission Mirror involuntarily focused on Shou Ye's distinct profile, and Feng Zhongzui's lips twitched; he immediately realized.

Damn it, it's coming...

The Five Domains were utterly silent, not a sound.

Only in the mirror, Shou Ye, clad in black, with currents washing over him, his eyes gazing sideways, spoke with a frosty, indifferent voice:

"Great illusion is formless, great thought is as real."

He stretched out his hand.

He summoned the Sang Qiye who had just died.

The only thing there that could not be shattered by the Evil Sin Bow's arrow, that now ownerless Half-Saint status, was drawn back to him.

With a sweep,

The Half-Saint status transformed.

It turned into a fist-sized stone with a slightly lower level of rules.

"Illusion?"

Shou Ye raised his head, his face unperturbed.

He seemed to have done something insignificant, and after a light chuckle, he turned his gaze to the people of the Five Domains and Ai Cangsheng:

"Nothing more than that."

"Damn!!!"

The Five Domains completely erupted.

Whether it was the Buried Sword Tomb, Can Yue Immortal City, the Feng family in the Southern Domain, or the ancient sword cultivators scattered throughout.

When they heard Shou Ye's profound statement, a return to simplicity, which could be called the most vivid interpretation of the Illusory Sword Technique—those eight true words—

One by one, they bowed in reverence!

"Great illusion is formless, great thought is as real... Ah, ah, ah, I understand, I understand!"

"Yes, absolutely correct, what Shou Ye said is simply too true!"

"The true Illusory Sword Technique isn't about creating a so-called 'blinding trick'... The first realm of Illusory Sword Technique is spacetime leaps, where does it say blinding trick?"

"The second realm is the second world, which is about constructing a real world, a conscious world, so where is it a blinding trick?"

"From beginning to end, the ultimate illusion is not castles in the air, ethereal; the ultimate interpretation of Illusory Sword Technique is not a blinding trick, but rather making people waver and hesitate between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, black and white, thereby creating a combat opportunity!"

"Did Cang Sheng Dadi hesitate?"

"Cang Sheng Dadi did not hesitate!"

"But his lack of hesitation was precisely the combat opportunity created by Shou Ye, the effect he desired. This is the Illusory Sword Technique! This is 'Great illusion is formless, great thought is as real'!"

Not just ancient sword cultivators.

Spirit refiners, spirit array masters, illusionists, Southern Domain evil cultivators...

Among them, there were not a few who had dedicated their lives to this path. Perhaps what Shou Ye said was nothing to him, merely an expression of thought.

But the profound meaning within, when meticulously analyzed, was truly endlessly beneficial.

At this moment, as everyone in the Five Domains gazed at the black-clad silhouette in the Dao Transmission Mirror, which seemed to fill the entire world,

Everyone's minds deepened this thought:

"The First Sword Immortal!"

But not everyone thought this way.

A greater portion of people, after the initial shock subsided, looked at the young man whose chin was almost pointing to the sky, and thought:

"Ancient sword cultivators are indeed flamboyant!"

It must be said that once a person becomes famous, whatever they do seems right.

Xu Xiaoshou never imagined that by merely slightly borrowing Hua Weiyang's interpretation of illusion, he could elevate himself so much in the eyes of others regarding his mastery of the Illusory Sword Technique.

However, his "roundabout guidance" could shift everyone's attention to the Illusory Sword Technique, but it truly couldn't deceive Ai Cangsheng.

"Dao Pattern Primordial Stone..."

In the Southern Domain, Ai Cangsheng in the wheelchair seemed to truly collapse when he saw the Half-Saint status transform into a Dao Pattern Primordial Stone.

He was utterly baffled!

"Fake?"

The Eye of the Grand Dao would not fail to see a fake.

If it truly were an illusion, it would be able to see through the essence of the illusion at a glance.

So, the Dao Pattern Primordial Stone in Xu Xiaoshou's hand genuinely "became" a Half-Saint status for a brief moment when he fired the arrow.

Not "turned into"!

But "became"!

"How was it done?"

Ai Cangsheng's heart quivered.

He then thought of Xu Xiaoshou's seemingly playful remark earlier, that so many arrows only shattered a human portrait created by his hand?

"Painting..."

Memories surged like a tide.

Ai Cangsheng remembered that Xu Xiaoshou had used something similar to "illusion," yet in reality it wasn't illusion, but "painting," a technique of "making the false true," "making the void real," "creating something from nothing"!

However, his application of this art was very shallow.

The funniest instance was when he used the laughable "Black Chicken Alchemy Technique" at the alchemy convention in Dongtian Wangcheng in the Eastern Domain.

Dao Qiongcang had collected all of Xu Xiaoshou's information, and after this child grew up, his various abilities were discussed in meetings more than once.

Ai Cangsheng clearly remembered Dao Qiongcang's stern evaluation of that absurd Black Chicken Alchemy Technique, while the ten-person council was still laughing:

"This is 'painting art'."

"Secondary is illusion, high can be true, supreme can create vitality."

This meant that although the performance of this art at the time looked similar to illusion, its essence was vastly different.

Illusion is the construction of nothingness; it deceives the eyes and brain.

Painting is realistic depiction; it has no concept of deception.

And with the talent Xu Xiaoshou displayed, he had achieved success in alchemy, ancient sword arts, and even ancient martial arts.

If he were to cultivate this rather obscure "painting art" to its pinnacle, he should be able to deliver an ultimate impact of unorthodox arts to the people of the Five Domains!

"Good, good, good..."

Surprise!

Such a pleasant surprise!

In the very first round of battle, in the very first long-distance exchange, he had suffered a complete defeat.

This wasn't even due to underestimation, but because he had displayed a host of extraordinary abilities he had never shown before.

But ah...

From person to object;

From reaction to calculation;

From environmental factors to psychological manipulation;

That novice little fellow had now shed his immaturity and awkwardness, and under immense pressure, he finally began to show his true potential!

The bearing of a Ten Honored Seat?

The reality of a Ten Honored Seat!

"Xu Xiaoshou..."

Ai Cangsheng in the wheelchair subconsciously murmured the name, then shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

He smiled tragically, helplessly, a smile that made Zhong Yuanzi in the distance tremble.

Trying to bypass Xu Xiaoshou to move Sheng Nu Wuxiu was an impossible task.

Its difficulty was no different from stealing the Heavenly Mystery Compass from Dao Qiongcang's hand without his knowledge.

Most likely, even if everyone in the world surrounded him, they couldn't steal it.

He, conversely, could use the Heavenly Mystery Compass to maneuver, step by step, slowly grinding all coveters to death!

Ai Cangsheng never hesitated.

When he realized this, he put down his Evil Sin Bow, and his hands quickly formed a series of obscure seals in front of his chest:

"Art: War-Forging Seal."

In the distance, Zhong Yuanzi's pupils suddenly dilated, and he retreated at high speed, teleporting repeatedly.

Then, from around Ai Cangsheng in the wheelchair, an explosion erupted, as if a seed of art had been confined, its seals unleashed.

He pressed the hand seals into the void, gently pushed them towards the heavens, and finally looked towards the sky outside, shouting:

"Ai Cangsheng respectfully invites the War Ancestor."