Chapter 1979: Xu Mi

“Why does the same reply feel so different when it comes from Eighth Venerable An?” Xu Xiaoshou wondered to himself.

He then got straight to the point, asking, “How much do you know about the First Six Furies?”

“We seem to have discussed this before, haven’t we?” Dao Qiongcang asked, puzzled.

“Can’t you say? Or dare not say? Or is there truly something you don’t know?”

“That’s not it…”

After a brief hesitation, the Book of Answers on the other end of the Spirit Resonance Technique fell silent, then proactively corrected itself: “I misremembered; we were talking about Nuo back then... My Xu, which of the First Six Furies do you want to know about? The Gluttonous Devourer?”

“All six,” Xu Xiaoshou blurted out. Then, remembering that there were eleven people in the Nine Seats of the Sacred Slaves, he added, “If there are seven, then seven.”

“How much detail do you want?”

“It depends on how deep your knowledge goes.”

“Is it important?”

“It wasn’t important initially, but since it concerns your safety, my Dao, it has become important now.”

Silence fell once more on the other side of the Spirit Resonance Technique.

Xu Xiaoshou had clearly mastered the art of dealing with Dao Qiongcang.He would either play along, express genuine emotion, or mix the two.In any case, as long as he could disgust Dao Qiongcang first, being disgusted in return wouldn’t be a loss.

“You actually need to think?”After a long wait, the Celestial Brain still hadn't retrieved the information, much to Xu Xiaoshou's surprise.Given such flirtatious “jokes,” and the cautious nature of the flashy old Daoist, he should have revealed something real to verify if it was a false flirtation.After all, he feared “what if.”Yet, this constantly operating brain had paused, whether pondering whether to reveal everything or being overly suspicious.Perhaps this question touched upon something so crucial that even he felt it warranted a halt?

“I’m considering whether to proactively tell you some additional things,” Dao Qiongcang said, unusually hesitant.

“Such as?”

“I am in the process of thinking...”

“When you don't think, there's no need to say anything. When you do think, it means speaking is better than not speaking, as you wouldn't weigh it so carefully unless necessary.” Xu Xiaoshou paused, then added nonchalantly, “Of course, the decision to speak or not is yours; I'm not curious.”

After another pause on the other side of the Spirit Resonance Technique, it seemed he was still weighing his options.Finally, he proactively returned to the main topic, eloquently discussing the First Six Furies:

“Based on a large number of established facts, the information I’ve gathered, and my recent deductions and organization, I believe this:”

“The First Six Furies originated from ‘Nuo’, later fell into the hands of ‘Saint’, and were only then released back onto the continent by ‘Demon’.”

Xu Xiaoshou was actually very curious about what Dao Qiongcang had proactively mentioned, but since the other party didn’t elaborate, he couldn’t press too much.Being too eager might scare him away, so he quietly listened on:

“One of the Six Furies, ‘Gluttonous Devourer,’ who wields the power of Devour, took the alias Starry Night. Soon after the establishment of the Xuyue Gray Palace, ‘Medicine’ acquired him and later gifted him to the Tragic Cry Holy Emperor.”

“The Tragic Cry Holy Emperor researched ghost beast parasitic bodies and implanted one into Red-robed Night Guardian. At the same time, using ‘Vast Righteousness’—a purified Aether power, essentially ghost beast power—as a disguise (one of his experimental products), he sealed Red-robed Night Guardian’s memory and imposed two layers of shackles.”

“You should know what happened afterward, and Greedy God’s power of Devour was inherited from Starry Night before he was captured.”

In just a few sentences, a series of tragic lives, including Starry Night, Night Guardian, and the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, were encapsulated.Listening to Dao Qiongcang’s thorough explanation...

“You’ve seen his experiments?”

“Of course, but I didn’t participate in them.”

This unhesitating reply meant that Dao Qiongcang might have personally witnessed the events involving Starry Night and Night Guardian.As for whether he participated, how could a mere statement clarify that?On one side was the Tragic Cry Imperial Realm, one of the Five Great Holy Emperor Clans, and on the other was Night Guardian, an ordinary member of the Red Robes. Dao Qiongcang was caught between them...Xu Xiaoshou was no longer naive and didn’t intend to say much, but as he pondered, Night Guardian’s face appeared in his mind, and he spoke:

“Not taking a side is sometimes a disguised form of taking a side.”

“Then I shall consider myself to have participated,” Dao Qiongcang actually admitted openly. “I am guilty.”

This left one feeling as if punching cotton.In truth, in the struggle for the Great Dao, who could be guiltless? Who wasn’t constantly committing transgressions?Dao Qiongcang was as calm as a machine, continuing his narration:

“‘Sands of Exile’ possesses the power of desiccation, capable of turning everything into sand. This power has not split in two; it has continuously gathered in the Western Regions, also causing the extensive desertification of the land there.”

“To date, as far as I know, the Sands of Exile has lost its sentience, but whether anyone has mastered its desiccating power, I am unaware.”

Xu Xiaoshou recalled carefully, remembering that during the battle with the Corrosive Gold Kui in the Divine Ruins, Elder Sang’s words were completely contrary to Dao Qiongcang’s.Elder Sang had said that the Sands of Exile was born from the power of the Western Regions’ great desertification, not that it caused it.Now, it seemed that even if Fen Qin could access information inaccessible to ordinary people, in the eyes of an Ancestor God, it was likely child’s play.No wonder the Sacred Slaves were not initially taken seriously by Ancestors like Demon, Medicine, and Calamity.

“The power of desiccation sounds like the opposite of the power of life. Perhaps Medicine... has mastered it?” Xu Xiaoshou stated, sticking to the facts.

“That’s unclear.” Dao Qiongcang didn’t dwell on unknown matters, but instead offered his own interpretation again:

“There are two points.”

“First, if ‘Demon’ later exhibits any of the First Six Furies’ abilities, it proves that he likely possesses all six powers, and you should be more vigilant.”

“Second, if ‘Demon’ doesn’t, then he won’t possess any, because even if he had the chance to obtain their powers before releasing the Six Furies, he would fear being influenced by ‘Nuo’.”

What clear thinking!Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t help but marvel again; this guy was truly a dispassionate, deep-analysis machine, with every word hitting the nail on the head.

“The Scaly White Witch and the Witch Poison Physique – I’ve discussed some things with you already.”

“I’ll spare you the redundancy and instead offer something that might inspire your thoughts.”

“Upon further tracing, it might be that the Scaly White Witch herself wasn’t the last Witch Poison Physique. Instead, every Witch Poison Physique throughout generations has been a fragmentation of the Scaly White Witch’s power.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s expression hardened. “What do you mean?”

“It’s simple: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you were ‘Demon’ and wanted to release the Six Furies into the five domains, how would you release them?”

Such a question was enough to bring enlightenment.If Ancestor Demon wanted to conduct an experiment to verify if the First Six Furies could help people cultivate the “Self,” he would release some wholly, break others into two or three fragments for release, and scatter some into many pieces for simultaneous release, conducting control experiments for each.Whether it could ultimately help someone cultivate the “Self” or not, from Ancestor Demon’s perspective, he could infer the whole from a single detail and grasp the general idea from a mere clue.This implied...

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly thought of why Night Guardian, who should have utterly died within Bei Huai, had such a powerful “Self” remaining.He had stubbornly refused to yield, even uniting with multiple wills like the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and Night Owl, becoming “Night.”Perhaps this was due to Night Guardian’s own resilient will.Or could a larger factor be that the essence of the Devourer Physique was precisely to find the true “Self” amidst chaos—to cultivate the “Self” with the help of the Six Furies?Furthermore...

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly recalled that when he had deprived Bei Huai of his thoughts, he heard many other mental voices alongside Night Guardian’s.Those voices layered over each other, merging into one.This strange yet familiar tone, the way multiple individuals spoke simultaneously, was similar to the voice emitted by the Mad Nuo.So, if Night Guardian could achieve the Dao, it would inevitably be the Dao of the Mad Nuo, because this Dao inherently originated from the grace of Ancestor Nuo?

Deep thought led to disappointment.The Mad Nuo’s “Self” was strong, his power even stronger; he could manipulate Ancestor Time with ease, materializing the abstract “Self” into combat power.Night Guardian’s “Self” was not weak, but his power was too feeble, and he lacked a concrete method for practicing the “Self” Dao.Comparing his talent during his Red Robe period to that of an Ancestor God was incomparable.Compared to the Ten Venerables, he could probably only contend with Aunt Xiang, and that would be if she was forbidden from using grand summoning techniques.This was akin to Eighth Venerable An possessing the Dao of Two Poles and Limitlessness, yet losing ancient sword arts and Qing Ju, having a high realm but no means to fight, like “fighting on paper.”

Xu Xiaoshou secretly lamented the pity, then snapped back to attention: “So, you mean the Witch Poison Physique has appeared multiple times throughout history, and so has the Devourer Physique, and these were all intentional?”

“If there’s a mistake, it can be retrieved,” Dao Qiongcang said concisely.

Xu Xiaoshou pondered this carefully and was deeply convinced.The Devourer Physique had appeared many times throughout history, some causing destruction, but none endangering the continent. It was likely they were retrieved.Only when Starry Night was born and acquired by Ancestor Medicine did it continue to exist until now, with Ancestor Demon not retrieving it, perhaps even intentionally letting it be?“That’s interesting...”“Indeed. ‘Demon’s’ subsequent moves are deeply hidden.”“No, my Dao, you are the one deeply hidden. Others wouldn’t be able to discern these things.”“Ah, haha...”

Dao Qiongcang seemed not to have caught Xu Xiaoshou’s subtle hint about what he had just proactively mentioned, and continued:

“‘Corrosive Gold Kui,’ the power of corrosion, Taizai Ci—you’ve fought this one, we can skip it.”

“Wait!”

Xu Xiaoshou was both annoyed and amused.Not just by Dao Qiongcang, but by himself too.He genuinely hadn’t known the importance of the First Six Furies before, so after defeating Taizai Ci, he simply finished the fight, discarding the “trash” Corrosive Gold Kui and taking the precious Half-Saint position instead.Now, looking back, that day he soul-read Taizai Ci and first saw Dao Qiongcang—to be so attentive to a mere Half-Saint showed the preciousness of the Corrosive Gold power.That scoundrel Dao Qiongcang!Can’t you act like a human for once?!

“So, the Corrosive Gold Kui...”

“You shot it dead,” Dao Qiongcang replied quickly. “Did you forget? You gave me ‘One Finger,’ which is still terrifying to this day.”

“And the Corrosive Gold power...”

“It must have been retrieved, right?”

“By whom?”

“Perhaps, by ‘Demon’?”

“But the Divine Ruins are ‘Calamity’s’ territory. At that time, ‘Demon’s’ reach hadn’t extended that far, had it?”

“Perhaps it was picked up by someone passing by...” Dao Qiongcang changed the subject. “My Xu, I remember I proactively informed you about the secret of the Great Divine Descent Art back then. How many spirit crystals do you think that move is worth?”

At that time, the Great Divine Descent Art, offered by the flashy old Daoist as a “friendship fee,” was undeniably very valuable.Most importantly, Dao Qiongcang proactively explained it, thus reducing the threat of the Great Divine Descent Art from extremely high for others to zero for Xu Xiaoshou.He never imagined that behind such an expensive friendship fee, in a place no one saw, Dao Qiongcang had picked up the Corrosive Gold power that had been discarded like trash.Xu Xiaoshou recalled again, only able to helplessly rub his forehead and force a bitter smile.Who could he blame?No one.His inherent lack of information was a fatal flaw, and Dao Qiongcang had taken advantage...No, actually, it wasn’t even taking advantage.In Bei Huai’s ghost beast parasite memories, Dao Qiongcang had interfered, proving that this guy had long coveted what was in Bei Huai’s possession.So...Including the Scaly White Witch’s Witch Poison Physique, Dao Qiongcang had quietly acquired one-third of the First Six Furies?This was truly terrifying!In comparison, Ancestor Medicine’s schemes seemed less covert than Dao Qiongcang’s.

“Continue.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s inner voice quieted, but his mind couldn’t help but ripple with unease.So far, he had seen and subtly influenced some of Ancestor Medicine’s and Ancestor Demon’s plans, yet Ancestor God was still fighting alone.Even his own entry into the game was extremely discreet, merely setting up a formation at a crossroads, targeting Bei Huai—who was he guarding against?Who else but Dao Qiongcang?This guy, who revealed nothing and showed no hint of his true strength, despite being full of ambition, had yet to even reveal the tip of his iceberg, let alone the iceberg itself.Eighth, God, Cao — they weren’t truly terrifying.The terrifying one was the guy on the other side of the Spirit Resonance Technique.He had even predicted Old Eighth’s elimination early on. Would he not have made more preparations as a result?Xu Xiaoshou thought that either he would eventually fall into Dao Qiongcang’s hands, or one of the three Ancestors—Demon, Medicine, or Calamity—was bound to suffer greatly!

The Spirit Resonance Technique of his good friend, who had paid a friendship fee, continued to lightly vibrate, still maintaining that unassuming facade:

“‘Xuhui Veil’ and ‘Ethereal Gu’ – I don’t have much detailed information about either...”

As soon as these words came out, Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the gray-white object in the Life Medicine Pool space before him and felt annoyed again.Losing his touch at a crucial moment?This was just getting to the important part!

“Xuh...” Just one word out, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly snapped awake and slammed on the brakes.Too late!

“Oh?” Dao Qiongcang’s voice on the other side became subtle. “What could it be? So hard to guess, the reason you’re asking me about the First Six Furies... I’ll take a blind guess: you’ve encountered the Xuh... ‘Ethereal Gu’ that needs to be dealt with! Did I get it? Did I get it? Did I get it?!”

Xu Xiaoshou: “...”This guy was truly annoying, no wonder he was so detestable.He’d only let his guard down for a moment and had something extracted from him.But it didn’t matter; it was all meant to be conveyed to him as an equal trade. “That’s right, it’s precisely the Xuhui Veil. So, my Dao, do you have a method to bypass Ancestor God and ‘retrieve’ the Xuhui Veil’s ability?”

“Yes.”

“What are the conditions?”

“Share the spoils.”

You really dare to ask for the lion’s share!But the Xuhui Veil is one of the First Six Furies, known to be Ancestor Demon’s trump card and possessed by Ancestor Medicine. In such a complex situation, one move could affect everything.If he could uncover the secret of the Six Furies and acquire the means to retrieve their powers, he would have a basis for dealing with sudden attacks from Ancestor Medicine and Ancestor Demon.Could Night Guardian, deeply afflicted by the power of the Six Furies, find a way to escape his suffering through this?And this Life Medicine Pool space, being a focus for Ancestor Medicine, could it be used to draw Dao Qiongcang, who had always remained quietly hidden, into Ancestor Medicine’s sight?

After a brief consideration, a decision was made.Xu Xiaoshou continued to send messages through the Spirit Resonance Technique channel, implying:

“To share the spoils, we must first ‘meet’.”

“What do you mean?” Dao Qiongcang replied instantly.

“I can share the Xuhui Veil with you, but I fear you wouldn’t dare come to the transaction location.”

“Oh?”