Chapter 1774: The Second Evolution A Million Faces, Please Use the Buddha's Bell Technique to Solve

How could the Eighth Sword Immortal save you? This is within the restricted area of the Ancient War God Platform, Master! Were you scared speechless by Emperor Cang Sheng’s arrow? How could you say something so demeaning?

It wasn't just Drunken Wind. Ancient sword cultivators from all over the Five Regions, various Sweet Winds, and numerous "Suffering Scholars" instantly shattered their perfect perception of Master as the First Sword Immortal. What about his image? What about your image!

But then, upon second thought, what image could Master possibly have? "Master" was simply a title people bestowed upon Xu Xiaoshou after the Void Island incident, nothing more. From beginning to end, his image has been one of ruins. He has never been a symbol of integrity and unwavering resolve. He was originally a sensationalist and a schemer, ever since his debut at Tiansang Spirit Palace, right up to the present. Even when facing Aicangsheng... When Drunken Wind looked at him again, he couldn't tell if Master was genuinely panicked or merely playing the clown.

If it were fake, everyone else was changing. Only Master, with his peculiar "original intention," remained unchanged? If it were real, at his age, fighting ten venerables, he shouldn't panic? It seemed then that "integrity" and "unwavering resolve" were merely shackles forced upon the name "Master" by the world.

"Brother!"

Whether others panicked, the Storyteller didn't know. Whether Xu Xiaoshou was faking it, the Storyteller also didn't know. Whether the Ancient War God Platform was resilient, the Storyteller couldn't be bothered to know. The only thing he was certain of was that no matter what, if his brother decided to act, Xu Xiaoshou would undoubtedly be safe!

But then again... Was it worth sacrificing Eighth Venerable's sword cultivation state for this "little brother" Xu Xiaoshou, when he was his true brother?

"Worth it!" The Storyteller had paused with the words on his lips. With a change of thought, what if it took another thirty years? It would merely mean Xu Xiaoshou becoming the next Eighth Venerable, and the Saint Servant's grand plan being postponed, but not collapsing. As long as the green mountains remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood. So the Storyteller grabbed Eighth Venerable's arm, pressing so hard that his red nail art almost pierced his brother's delicate skin: "Xu Xiaoshou must not die!"

Eighth Venerable ignored him. In fact, he had heard Xu Xiaoshou's cry for help even earlier than the Storyteller, as it was primarily directed at him. For a moment, Eighth Venerable also considered intervening in the battle with his sword. He quickly snapped back to his senses. This person was Xu Xiaoshou. These words were spoken by him. Although there was a bit of a "boy who cried wolf" element to it, Eighth Venerable felt that Xu Xiaoshou hadn't even used a ten-thousandth of his full power. He patted Ning Honghong's hand, signaling her to release him, and calmly said: "I've been here all along. And he is not in despair."

"Questioned, Passive Points, 9999.""Mocked, Passive Points, 9999.""Scorned, Passive Points, 9999.""Disappointed, Passive Points, 9999."

Xu Xiaoshou, believing he had coolly parried Aicangsheng's two arrows, found that the Five Regions took it for granted. Consequently, the info bar displayed an increase of less than four digits, as everyone's emotional threshold had evidently been raised infinitely high.

The Limit Giant, holding his shield, hunched over ungracefully and scuttled a few steps, while Master emitted a perfectly timed strange cry. The info bar was almost overwhelmed by countless pop-ups:"Passive Points: 642253.""Passive Points: 2348118.""Passive Points: 4724810."

This was a battle watched by the entire Five Regions! And sensationalism had evidently become a bodily instinct, like the ceaselessly flowing blood within him.

As the arrows fell, in a state of panic. After scuttling a few steps, realizing there was still a sliver of time before the Starry Sky Arrows reached him... Xu Xiaoshou chose to actively embrace this wave of heavenly fortune!

After harvesting passive points from Jade Capital City, he instantly shifted and moved, appearing briefly in various densely populated areas across the Five Regions where he had previously left marks, such as the Eastern Heavenly King City, Feng Family City, the former site of Jade Capital City, the foot of Mount Silin, and the Sword Burial Mound. His perception, extending for ten thousand miles, transformed into a perception of the Five Regions to some extent, under the "extension" of spatial profoundness. One appearance, a million passive points! In places like Feng Family City, people didn't even see Master arrive; they only felt a blur before their eyes, as if something had flashed by. Xu Xiaoshou had already received Aicangsheng's "gifts."

"Passive Points: 13,140,082."

Human nature is inherently evil. You might do ten thousand good deeds and not receive a single word of praise. But if a seemingly perfect person suddenly acts in a sinister way, the curses received could drown the Five Regions. Xu Xiaoshou knew this all too well. Knowing human nature was like this, he didn't criticize it; instead, he chose to go with the flow.

After instantly raking in tens of millions of passive points, he didn't even think twice, casually exchanging them for a portion of Tier 2 Evolution Water and pouring it onto the Evolution Tree. The tree bore fruit, and of course, he chose to bind it to "Passive Fist," then promptly consumed it.

"Passive Fist." It had reached its limit a long time ago. When parrying Aicangsheng's second arrow, its charge had overflowed and stopped increasing. Perhaps the evolution direction of this special passive skill wasn't fixed, but Xu Xiaoshou was greedy. He still wanted to gamble on "Passive Fist"'s second awakening in front of a physical attack overlord like Aicangsheng. To see if, like "Phantom Finger," it could link with "Boundless Silence Seed."

The Dragon Apricot's blessing, it seemed, was still present?

"Passive Fist: Accumulates charge when attacked, clears half of the charge when released. One cannot always be passive; sometimes, proactive action is required. When there's nothing more to bear, there's no need to bear it anymore!""Passive Fist: Based on its first evolution, when the Passive Fist's charge exceeds 1000, the excess will not automatically dissipate but will instead flow into 'Boundless Silence Seed'."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Like a giant standing in the starry sky, tearing apart the firmament like a tablecloth, then furiously grabbing a handful of chopsticks from a holder and flinging them out. Meteors streaked across the sky. But they didn't vanish in the distance; instead, they gradually enlarged, carrying flames and tearing black holes.

"Who can block this?" The illusion of the Ancestor of Arts disappeared, but the shock of the arrow rain lingered. Drunken Wind's roaring cries that stunned the Five Regions continued: "Master, are you scared?"

Of course he was scared! Saying he wasn't scared would be a lie. It was Xu Xiaoshou's first time encountering an attack of this magnitude—a full-spectrum, all-encompassing, high-intensity bombardment with absolute power, energy, and quantity! Forget three thousand arrows. Even if he focused on just one of them. His initial assessment was that his Limit Giant, even with the Shattered Jun Shield, couldn't block them all at once. Perhaps he needed to find a roundabout method...

But fear was fear, thoughts were thoughts, and the main task couldn't be forgotten! Multitasking, diverting his attention to collect passive points, was ingrained in his bones. Even with the current perilous situation, and his passive skill set being only one step away from true perfection—the second evolution of Passive Fist—Xu Xiaoshou didn't forget.

And when this last puzzle piece fit, and it happened to be the very function he desired most. What did it feel like? Scared, yet exhilarated. Xu Xiaoshou felt he had become a contradictory entity.

So, as he stood swaying and timidly in the last free moment before the meteor shower descended, after confirming that Eighth Venerable couldn't intervene and only he could respond to the attack. The people of the Five Regions once again felt something bizarre...

"Amitābha." The Limit Giant master, hands clasped together above the clouds, chanted a Buddhist prayer, as if... Drunken Wind couldn't hold it in for a moment: "Master, are you waiting for nirvana?"

"Amitābha, Benefactor Xiao Ai, why force this old monk to act?"

Waiting for nirvana? How could that be! As the Limit Giant finished murmuring, his eyes suddenly snapped open, radiating Buddhist light that startled the Five Regions.

"What is he doing?" "Emperor Cang Sheng invited the Ancestor of Arts, is Master inviting the Buddha Ancestor?" "No, wait... Among the Ten Ancestors, is there such an Ancestor?"

Something terrifying happened. At the original location of the Heavenly Ladder, a streak of golden light suddenly shot out from the cinnabar mark on Elder You Yuan Sang's forehead, injecting into the Limit Giant.

"There's really an anomaly?" The Five Regions trembled collectively, feeling the light was utterly absurd, yet upon closer thought, it seemed reasonable. It should be. Buddha You Yuan protected Saint Servant Wu Xiu. Saint Servant Wu Xiu was Master's teacher. In calculation, Buddha You Yuan was equivalent to a Saint Servant member; at least their paths to the Great Dao converged.

Only Aicangsheng's expression was strange. The Eye of the Grand Dao could easily discern it. The light was merely Xu Xiaoshou's own spiritual energy imitation, so crude that it ironically gave people the impression of being "unquestionable" and "returning to simplicity." Yet it was clearly just an illusory light. After the Limit Giant received Elder You Yuan Sang's fake "gift," he struck out with a palm, and astonishingly, actual... Vow Power emerged?

That's right, it was Vow Power! It was the Vow Power, the power of faith that only the second generation of Thoroughly Divine Perception, You Yuan, cultivated! —Was he seeing things, or did that Vow Power seem like Sword Intent a moment ago?

"Buddhist Mustard Seed Sumeru." The heavy shout interrupted Aicangsheng's thoughts and forcibly restrained him from a distance. Its spell name structure had a somewhat crude imitation feel; its power manifestation was clearly in the form of spatial profoundness. —It was obvious Xu Xiaoshou was putting on an act, using Dao Qiongcang's branding for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Machine Arts to confuse the world with his own less-developed daos.

Yet, after the Limit Giant struck out with that echoing palm, the "" mark in his palm slowly rotated and expanded, eventually covering the sky. The first arrow that touched the "" mark...

"It was sucked in!" Drunken Wind's scream echoed across the Five Regions. As everyone knew, with Emperor Cang Sheng's Tier 6 arrow, just a slight spin was enough to overwhelm Master. But now, with the descent of this Buddhist light, Master could suddenly control the first arrow from a Tier 7 arrow rain? "What happened?"

Indeed, what happened? Aicangsheng had never imagined that one day, the Five Regions' Dao Arts would undergo a "change" that even the Eye of the Grand Dao couldn't perceive. Just a moment ago! The spatial profoundness in Xu Xiaoshou's hand was "strangely" twisted into an Ultra-Daoized Spatial Dao? And the "" mark space in his palm was also "strangely" twisted into a true "Mustard Seed Sumeru"? The "" was no longer "", but transformed into a complete Dao Art, a rule-level world almost on par with a Divine Ruin... a Land of Ultimate Bliss!

The first falling star arrow was sucked into this world. The remaining arrows were then "pushed away" by this world—countless meaningless fragmented spaces were inserted between the arrows and the Buddha, thereby extending the distance. This was equivalent to the arrow rain being "detoured" back into space without actual contact. This move was truly exquisite to the extreme! Its subtle skill of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, and its perfectly controlled power, were as if the calculative Dao Qiongcang himself was solving the problem!

In the eyes of the Five Regions' people, it was naturally Master's Limit Giant, after receiving Buddhist light, calmly and casually... drawing just one ladle from three thousand falling stars! Although it was just one arrow. The strange world created by the Mustard Seed Sumeru was also instantly shattered by the Tier 7 arrow. But even with this momentary confinement, the black moon wheel behind the Limit Giant suddenly glowed brightly.

"Boundless Silence Seed!" This time, Master didn't need to explicitly say it; Drunken Wind understood what art he was going to perform. What made everyone disbelieve, however, was... The Tier 7 arrow truly vanished in an instant!

"Ignoring strength, devouring everything that is energy-based?" Drunken Wind immediately shouted out his pre-prepared question, his eyes still filled with shock. Was this really possible?

"How is that possible..." The Limit Giant was clearly very tired! Aicangsheng could tell that the transformation of spatial profoundness into an Ultra-Daoized Spatial Grand Dao, and the transformation of the Saint God Continent's space into a Divine Ruin space... clearly almost drained Xu Xiaoshou of all his energy. But after devouring the Tier 7 arrow's energy, one of the nine Boundless Silence Seeds immediately filled up completely. Only half of that Seed's energy was used, and the Limit Giant was no longer weakened; his state was restored to its peak.

The last time Aicangsheng was left utterly bewildered by someone was after Dao Qiongcang disappeared. At that time, his Eye of the Grand Dao couldn't even locate the person, let alone attack? This time, he clearly understood everything. Yet he understood nothing at all!

"A trick?" "A Dao of Tricks?"

What is a bizarre trick? Making the false true, turning fiction into reality, reversing heaven and earth, transforming yin into yang—this is a "bizarre trick."

Xu Xiaoshou would never dare to directly parry a Tier 7 arrow. But when he experienced a "trick" in actual combat through a roundabout method, Xu Xiaoshou felt he had succeeded! He successfully blended the "cunning of art," the "truth of drawing," and the "strangeness of tricks" into a single skill.

"Buddha Ancestor?" Inviting the Buddha Ancestor was naturally false. The concept originated from Dao Qiongcang inviting the Saint Ancestor, but in reality, he himself acted as the Saint Ancestor. And Xu Xiaoshou's move of receiving Buddhist light was merely a magician's preliminary preparation. Was it important? Of course it was important! Foreplay is indispensable. A grand magic show cannot do without realistic preparation beforehand; this allows for better immersion. Belief, moreover, is a kind of power. Not only did the world believe, but Xu Xiaoshou himself believed, which enabled him to better complete the transformation of "bizarre tricks"—this was the philosophy of Illusory Sword Art: building something out of nothing, yet full of loopholes.

Before casting the spell, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't even guarantee that his "magic trick" would succeed. Because "bizarre tricks" had only been tested in conjunction with the Dao of Life, only tested to briefly transform inanimate objects into living beings. But Xu Xiaoshou was unsure if it could twist spatial profoundness, briefly elevating it to a false ultra-Daoization, or if it could twist ordinary space into a high-rule level world.

What "bizarre tricks" were uncertain of, Painting Mastery had already verified as feasible! True transformation was impossible. Turning fake into fake, creating counterfeits—Painting Mastery was very skilled at such things. And so...

He used art as the foundation, as the Art Dao Disk was Ultra-Daoized after all. Based on art, he used Painting Mastery to draw, deconstructing spatial profoundness and imbuing it with a false Ultra-Daoized aura; rewriting space, forming a false world. Then he imbued both with vitality; at the same time, as Aicangsheng compressed the power of the Evil God, he compressed the power of the Heavenly Ancestor's inheritance and Zhan Ming's divine slaying power, serving as energy supply. Afterward, he used "bizarre tricks" to twist these illusions, replacing them with reality. Finally, he sealed it with the Art Dao, and in the context where the highest rule level of the Ancient War God Platform allowed for pseudo-Ancestral transformation, he returned Aicangsheng an Ultra-Daoized illusionary art.

"What is 'Art'?" Xu Xiaoshou hadn't quite understood before. Why could Cuiyin summon anything he called for, as if all the arts he used against enemies were the most suitable at the moment? Now, after the Art Dao Disk became Ultra-Daoized, he understood.

When one mastered various Grand Daos and thoroughly understood their fundamental concepts. Art was merely a manifestation of the Grand Dao transforming from "intangible" to "tangible." Conveniently, the Passive System provided many things, mostly fundamental concepts, laying an extremely solid foundation.

This art, constructed upon Painting Mastery, the Dao of Life contained within "bizarre tricks," and the Art Dao Disk... Mustard Seed Sumeru! An "art" that originally only existed in fantasy, or could only be used by Saint Emperors or Ancestral Gods, appeared out of thin air from the hands of a Tier 0 Xu Xiaoshou, used to counter the first arrow of a Tier 7 Aicangsheng's arrow rain!

"Benefactor Ai..." The Limit Giant looked up into the distance, one hand held before his chest, somewhat polite, but not overly so: "Tier 7, is that all?"