Chapter 332: The Uncle's Temptation

"Splat—"

A large amount of fresh blood gushed from the neck of the headless torso.

Red Dog was still alive!

Horrified, he clutched his neck, pressing his head down as if trying to mend the damage and reattach the wound with his own life force.

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly stunned.

Was this the life force of a Sovereign?

Even the Berserk Giant combined with the Explosive Stance couldn't finish him off!

Passive Fist, which shook the heavens and ten miles of earth, also failed to kill him!

Now, beheaded on the spot, he was still able to struggle in his dying moments?

Xu Xiaoshou swore this was the most resilient person he had ever seen.

In the past, he thought that once one reached a certain level of strength, Sovereigns were merely a realm like Grandmasters or Innate.

But Red Dog's terrifying regenerative ability today completely bewildered him.

This was the combat power displayed by Red Dog even after his initial misstep and being suppressed by Xu Xiaoshou throughout the fight.

If he had managed to regain his composure, even if he had counterattacked just a couple more times...

Would Xu Xiaoshou still be alive?

"Dying struggles are futile."

The slovenly man watched his actions, shaking his head helplessly. His fingers moved lightly twice more.

They were several yards apart.

Given the distance and the man's words, Xu Xiaoshou knew he was about to attack.

Yet again, Red Dog couldn't react in time.

With two swift sounds, one of his arms and his other half-severed leg were completely cut off.

The body was separate from the head, and the limbs from the torso.

At this point, Red Dog could no longer hold on.

Even being torn apart by five horses wouldn't be much worse!

The head could no longer withstand the force of the gushing blood column and was directly pushed away.

"Thump-thump-thump—"

The head rolled several times on the ground, and Red Dog's lips twitched, as if he was trying to say something.

But no one could hear him.

Even at the brink of death, his eyes remained wide open.

He had planned countless contingencies, even devising escape methods for any delays.

As long as he killed Xu Xiaoshou, no matter how many Sovereigns arrived from Tiansang City, he still had three techniques to escape.

But none of that mattered now!

"Where did this guy come from..."

Red Dog's doubts, along with his fading soul, completely perished in this world.

There was no answer.

He hadn't even fully realized!

"Gulp!"

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed.

"He's dead?"

Red Dog, whom he had fought almost to death, debilitating himself in the process, yet still couldn't kill...

Two fingers.

Dead?

He looked at the slovenly man, his horror arguably no less than when he first encountered Red Dog.

This guy...

If he remembered correctly, before encountering Red Dog, he had been so lost in thought that he bumped into an old man...

"It's impossible for someone in this world to have the same cultivation realm, hair, dirty clothes, and even the same sack, right?!"

Xu Xiaoshou panicked.

This was actually a formidable figure!

This meant he couldn't have been accidentally bumped into.

At that time, his appearance must have been intentional.

But why?

Xu Xiaoshou thought carefully, vaguely recalling that the man had seemed to call out, "You're going the wrong way," after he left?

So, he was there to warn him?

But he hadn't noticed?

Then...

"Are you here to save me?" Xu Xiaoshou instantly looked both wronged and excited.

Regardless of whether he was there to save him, not showing fear now could lead to the same fate as Red Dog!

Two fingers...

Oh my god!

Two fingers took out a Sovereign!

Was it because Red Dog was too weakened, with part of his body already severed?

Impossible!

Xu Xiaoshou knew that for that perverse individual, as long as he wasn't dead, his physical body would essentially recover in a short amount of time.

Yet he still died!

With just those two fingers, Red Dog, a Sovereign, couldn't even react.

It was terrifying!

The slovenly man dragged his sack and slowly walked up to Xu Xiaoshou.

He let go and squatted down.

Xu Xiaoshou finally had time to scrutinize this powerful figure again.

His face was so handsome that even the grime couldn't obscure its pure radiance.

The large scar on his neck was so rugged; it was a mark of a man, a badge of battle and passion.

Even his four fingers were so charming, and the sword intent attached to them was simply...

Sword intent?

Xu Xiaoshou finally realized something was wrong.

Among the people he knew, not many possessed sword intent.

In fact, recalling it now, there was only one person he could possibly link it to.

"You."

His pupils dilated. "Are you..."

"Who am I?" The slovenly man's lips curved into a smile.

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly terrified.

He carefully examined the man's cultivation realm... Post-natal!

He then scrutinized the man's eyes...

Murky!

Ordinary!

Lifeless!

One could say that any random person pulled off the street, anyone overwhelmed by life, would have such vacant eyes.

But...

There was one exception!

"The masked man?"

Xu Xiaoshou dared not speak aloud; he was afraid of death.

But the cry of alarm in his heart was enough to shake the heavens!

The masked man also had such eyes!

He also cultivated the sword path, and he also possessed... sword intent?

Furthermore...

Xu Xiaoshou's peripheral vision subtly glanced at the man's four fingers.

"No thumb?"

He still remembered the first time he encountered the masked man at Goose Lake; he had stabbed him in the heart with Cangku.

At that time, the other party had slapped the sword with both hands instead of gripping it.

Xu Xiaoshou still remembered that detail clearly.

The second time he encountered the masked man, collapsing on him, he had also confronted this guy.

His palm had been very flat, completely lacking curvature, as if his thumb was missing.

He remembered that detail too.

And in both encounters, this guy was fully armored, his face and hands completely covered. What was that for?

Was it to conceal the distinctive scar on his neck and the missing four fingers on his hand?

Xu Xiaoshou's mind buzzed, and he felt this world was truly terrifying!

He was still watching him?!

"The masked man?"

Even knowing that uttering that name would reveal too much knowledge and potentially accelerate his demise, Xu Xiaoshou still couldn't hold it back and gasped aloud.

"The masked man?" The slovenly man repeated, a strange expression flashing across his face.

"You've mistaken me."

"Who I am isn't important. What's important is..."

He paused, then pointed at Xu Xiaoshou's body. "You're dying."

"Huh?"

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou realize his brief burst of vitality was about to run out.

With a jolt, a wave of physical weakness swept over him, and his eyelids grew heavy.

"I can save you."

The man said with a smile.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to speak, but he was already too weak, completely unable to utter a sound.

He desperately tried to prop his eyelids open, just a little.

The world flickered, alternating between light and dark.

His field of vision narrowed, shrinking bit by bit, until everything suddenly turned gray...

Save me?

Hurry up then! If you delay any longer, I'll really die!

Xu Xiaoshou was too weak to complain, but the man remained unhurried, as if waiting for him to close his eyes.

After a while, he sighed. "Indeed impressive. That life force is truly strong, able to last this long..."

"It's just that the strength is still too weak!"

He turned his head, seemingly speaking to no one in particular, muttering softly, "Your cultivation method is too slow."

With that, he pulled out an ancient book, a palm's width thick, from his ring and dropped it with a thud in front of Xu Xiaoshou.

Dust rose.

The man smiled and said, "Do you want to live? Do you want to become stronger? Do you want to be able to instantly kill a Sovereign the next time you encounter one?"

"Come on, all of this can be yours, if you just blink once."

"Of course, if you dare to close your eyes, there'll be no going back."

Xu Xiaoshou nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, almost dying on the spot with unclosed eyes.