Chapter 469: Scatter, the Famous Sword Has an Owner

“He just ran away?” Xu Xiaoshou’s slightly shocked gaze fell upon Shou Ye.

He had thought that even if the Red Guards arrived, the necessary confrontation and battle would be unavoidable. At the very least, they should have exchanged a few blows, measured each other's strength, and then decided whether to stay or leave!

But with just a count from Shou Ye, the ghost beast that had just been intimidating in all directions and looking down on the world had fled in such a desperate manner?

“A rat…” Xu Xiaoshou finally understood the meaning of that word. He looked at Shou Ye, not knowing that this man, from whom he had drawn blood just days ago, could have such a majestic moment.

“You don’t seem to be panicking?” Shou Ye didn’t choose to pursue the ghost beast. It seemed that Xu Xiaoshou, standing before him, was more important than his actual duty.

“I’m fine.” Xu Xiaoshou checked his Qi Sea. A Grandmaster-level ‘Full of Vitality’ was no joke. At this moment, even without taking elixirs, he could instantly teleport behind Shou Ye just before the Corroded One killed him. Therefore, facing threats like being taken hostage, Xu Xiaoshou felt no pressure.

“Aren’t you busy?” He looked at Shou Ye, gesturing with his eyes towards the direction the Corroded One had fled. Even if that guy could split into four forms to escape, the slightly stronger aura of the master’s true identity couldn’t deceive ‘Perception’ at all.

Shou Ye gently shook his head. He glanced at the famed sword Yan Mang hovering in the distance, then calmly retracted his gaze.

“How did you discover the ghost beast?” Xu Xiaoshou was startled. The familiar interrogation again?

“With my eyes,” he replied.

“Cursed, Passive Value, 1.” Shou Ye’s mouth twitched. This damned familiarity… He, who could scare away a ghost beast with sheer aura alone, why did he repeatedly suffer setbacks in front of Xu Xiaoshou?

“I’m asking, how did you know he was a ghost beast?!” Shou Ye’s voice grew heavier.

“With my eyes, of course.” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, “Just as you don’t believe I killed the ghost beast Zhang Taiying, do you also think it’s a miracle that someone of my mere Xiantian realm could discover a ghost beast, and even hold out until you arrived?”

“Yes.” Shou Ye nodded without hesitation. This was precisely the question in his mind. When his fellow Red Guards received the transmission, he already knew that the caller was doomed. Even with a Linglong Stone, even if crushed, anyone targeted by a ghost beast would surely not survive. Let alone opening communications and calling the Red Guards right in front of a ghost beast! How was that possible?

“You really shouldn’t doubt it.” Xu Xiaoshou took a step forward, also flying into the air to face him, saying, “Actually, I had already beaten him down before he transformed.”

“The communication was also made at that time, so this guy had no idea the Red Guards were coming. Otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have had time to play hide-and-seek with me, and you probably wouldn’t have seen me either. But this guy’s strength was beyond my expectation, it really surprised me…”

The Red Guard grew more and more annoyed as he listened. Others might have had their thoughts led astray by Xu Xiaoshou’s rhetoric, but he had played countless similar tricks back when he was a White Guard.

“You still haven’t said how you discovered the ghost beast?” Xu Xiaoshou paused, his lips parting. Shou Ye immediately glared, “If you say ‘with my eyes’ again, I’ll dig your eyeballs out!”

This time, Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. That sudden murderous aura was simply too terrifying. He paused, covering his chest with one hand.

“By feeling it with my heart?” A crunching sound. Shou Ye immediately clenched his fist, making it crack. Xu Xiaoshou’s gaze instantly shifted downwards and back, protesting, “Senior, I’m really not trying to fool you; I truly saw it with my eyes.”

“This thing, just like Zhang Taiying, looked problematic and even exposed its aura right in front of me, trying to grab the sword. I’ve at least experienced three ghost beasts; do I look like an idiot who can’t tell?”

Shou Ye was stunned by his words. Good heavens. Three ghost beasts… Even probationary Red Guards wouldn't be as lucky as this guy! This guy, with just those eyes, was probably about to surpass Xin’s sixth sense. This talent… He truly lived up to being the one he had his eyes on, didn’t he?

“Xu Xiaoshou.” Shou Ye gazed deeply at the young man before him.

“Hm?” Xu Xiaoshou raised his eyes and looked back.

“Are you really… not related to the ghost beasts?” Shou Ye hesitated. A while ago, he could still detect a faint, strange scent. But now, after only a few days? This guy, not only was the strange smell gone, but even his cultivation realm was subtly undetectable?

“I am!” Xu Xiaoshou solemnly interrupted Shou Ye’s contemplation. Before Shou Ye’s astonished expression could change, he heard the young man before him continue, “I just helped you catch a ghost beast. Are you trying to make me disavow any connection with ghost beasts, deny my credit, and then hog all the merit?”

At that, Shou Ye almost kicked the guy right in the face. “That’s not what I meant!”

“Then… what do you mean?” Xu Xiaoshou wisely softened his tone and asked, puzzled, “Do you want me to say something like ‘I have no relation to ghost beasts’?”

He let out a laugh and said, “Can that even be considered a question? I’ve already encountered my third ghost beast; if you say I have no relation to them, even I wouldn’t believe it.”

That’s not the kind of relation I meant… Shou Ye felt helpless. He always felt that Xu Xiaoshou was trying to evade his questions. But the truth was, this guy’s thought process seemed to genuinely differ from normal people.

“I’m asking, are you a ghost beast host?” Xu Xiaoshou’s laughter immediately ceased. The atmosphere seemed to freeze instantly. The wind rustled. Two pairs of eyes met and clashed in the void, neither person backing down, both facing it head-on.

After a long silence. “If I say yes, would you believe it?” Xu Xiaoshou spoke. Shou Ye’s gaze dimmed. He knew this would be the answer. This was the first time he had guessed Xu Xiaoshou’s thoughts correctly. How much he wanted the other party to give a direct negative answer. Even if he might still have doubts about that answer. But as it stood, Xu Xiaoshou’s answer remained so ambiguous. This… seemed to already explain the problem?

This time, Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t joking around. His expression turned serious, and he continued from his previous statement, “Senior, you don’t need to keep asking me those meaningless questions. What kind of questions, what kind of answers, you should already know yourself. No matter how brilliantly I answer, it won’t help the matter.”

He paused, looking at Shou Ye’s expressionless face, and continued, “Sometimes, just like flipping a coin, the moment the coin goes up, the decision has already been made. I don’t know what your opinion of me is, or where your hesitation lies. However, as for me, I personally choose justice and believe in justice.”

Shou Ye was slightly lost in thought. Justice… Isn’t that precisely what the Red Guards and White Guards have always yearned for but found unattainable?

Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Xu Xiaoshou continued, “I don’t know the exact tenets of the Red Guards, but in my personal opinion, even humanity has good and bad sides. So, if…”

“There is no ‘if’.” Shou Ye interrupted Xu Xiaoshou. He already knew what the other party was going to say. At the same time, he suddenly understood why this guy had maintained an attitude of neither defending himself, nor defaulting, but also relative resistance, towards his suspicion. Xu Xiaoshou was very smart. He must have seen his intention to recruit him. But this guy was naive. People have good and bad. But ghost beasts have no ‘if’. History told the world that the supposed kindness of ghost beasts was merely a period of dormancy before an eventual outbreak.

A glimmer of light returned to Shou Ye’s eyes, along with a touch of admiration. Who hasn’t gone through this stage? Having such a mindset indicated that Xu Xiaoshou’s heart was, at its core, still kind. Naivety can be changed. Kindness, however, is truly difficult to achieve.

“I understand.” He nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding desolate landscape, and let out a soft sigh: “But some things aren’t as simple as you think.”

Xu Xiaoshou remained silent. There were indeed some things he couldn’t agree with. At least his encounters with Xing Gugu had already proven it. Ghost beasts, in fact, could also communicate. If treated as a type of creature, at most, they were just the harder-to-control kind. Lions also harm people. But no one would exterminate lions because they possessed animalistic instincts. Perhaps some might feel that ghost beasts and lions couldn’t be compared, as they weren’t creatures on the same level. But what about humans? When were humans and Spirit Refiners ever on the same level?

“It’s better to guide than to block,” Xu Xiaoshou said firmly.

Shou Ye smiled. He knew the young man before him would have such a thought. Slowly shaking his head, Shou Ye softly explained, “Some things cannot be guided; some things are inevitable and absolute.”

“How can anything be absolute?” Xu Xiaoshou said earnestly, “The world is relative.”

“How can anything be relative?” Shou Ye countered with a smile.

Xu Xiaoshou pointed upwards to the sky and downwards to the ground. “The world. The world is relative. Heaven and Earth, black and white, right and wrong. The White Cave, the outside world… coming in, going out. These are all relative.”

Shou Ye nodded and said, “You are right about all of that, but ghost beasts are absolute.”

“How can anything be absolute?” Xu Xiaoshou countered again, stating righteously, “Even the absolute you speak of is an absolute achieved relative to relativity; relativity and absolute, in themselves, are relative!”

Shou Ye: “…” He was suddenly speechless. After a long silence, his gaze passed over Xu Xiaoshou to the famed sword in the distance.

“You want to take the sword?” “Questioned, Passive Value, 1.” Xu Xiaoshou: “…” The scene paused for a full three or four breaths of time. The two looked at each other in silence.

At this moment, Yu Zhiwen had already arrived not far from their side. She watched in shock as Xu Xiaoshou, with such an utterly dominant posture, verbally refuted the Red Guard until he was speechless. How dare this guy… That was a Red Guard…

“Awed, Passive Value, 1.” “Yes.” Seeing Shou Ye’s utterly artless change of subject, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly didn’t want to go back to it either. He paused and said, “I’ve already brought the ghost beast to you; it was you who let it escape, and although it was to save me, I didn’t need saving. So, that should still count as merit, right?”

Shou Ye looked at the guy with amusement. He even said he didn’t need saving… If he hadn’t come over, this guy would have been crushed into pulp by now! But after understanding Xu Xiaoshou’s attitude towards the world, he was already relieved. First there was the ghost beast Zhang Taiying, and now the ghost beast Hei Ming. Xu Xiaoshou’s sole achievement of handling two ghost beasts already surpassed who knew how many newly enlisted Red Guards.

“It counts.” He uncharacteristically didn't deny the young man before him, speaking slowly, “Counting Zhang Taiying’s incident, with combined merits, I’ll help you take the famed sword.”

“Huh?” This time Xu Xiaoshou was startled. Take a famed sword? He had considered the merit reward might be some supreme cultivation technique or divine weapon. But a famed sword… Was it that exaggerated? There were only twenty-one famed swords in the world; he had just scared one away and falsely killed another, and he could get a famed sword for that? Wouldn’t the Red Guards all have one then?

Yu Zhiwen, on the side, was also startled. They had indeed been the first to discover the famed sword. But until it was in hand, it would never truly be theirs. Sometimes, even when it was in hand, it still wasn’t theirs. Treasures belong to those destined for them. Every Spirit Refiner understood this principle, and had used this excuse before. Moreover, theoretically, although Xu Xiaoshou had summoned the Red Guards because of the ghost beast, the famed sword was also nearby. Therefore, the Red Guards could have completely, according to regulations, determined that the ghost beast was also attracted by the famed sword, and then taken half of the treasure as remuneration for helping Xu Xiaoshou. After taking half, perhaps only a cultivation technique would be left for Xu Xiaoshou from the famed sword. But Shou Ye didn’t do that at all. His counter-intuitive offer of “I’ll help you take the famed sword” was utterly unexpectedly generous and bafflingly magnanimous!

“My merits, are they that much?” Xu Xiaoshou, instead, hesitated.

“No.” Shou Ye shook his head: “This famed sword is for you alone.”

Yu Zhiwen immediately felt her jaw drop, almost dislocated on the spot. For you alone… Her eyes suspiciously darted between Xu Xiaoshou and Shou Ye, a look of shock in her gaze.

Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. With just that one sentence, he completely concluded that Shou Ye truly had taken an interest in him. Bah, not *that* kind of interest! It was an interest with the intent to recruit… or rather, a stirring of intention? In any case, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

“But I discovered the famed sword first…” Xu Xiaoshou immediately wanted to refute him and reclaim his right of first refusal. But then his thoughts shifted. The famed sword, which had clearly emerged and should have been freely soaring, was now mysteriously confined to its spot, unable to move. Even Zhong Qu, who had a ghost beast possessing him and had secretly exerted great effort, couldn't budge the Yan Mang even an inch. Given this…

“Senior, if you’re going to help me take the sword, I won’t hold back.” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, “Why don’t you try pulling it out for me first?”

Shou Ye’s footsteps paused. His offer to “help take the sword” meant helping Xu Xiaoshou fend off those who would try to snatch it. Could this guy really be so dense as to interpret that statement literally as ‘help pull out the sword’?

“Are you serious?” Shou Ye lowered his head, feeling his fists itch.

“Completely serious.” Xu Xiaoshou took a step back, hiding behind Yu Zhiwen: “Don’t get agitated, you might not even be able to pull out this sword!”

Such mockery instantly made Shou Ye’s chest ache with irritation. He even immediately wanted to punch the guy in the face, but seeing Xu Xiaoshou’s expression, he knew it wasn’t a joke. Could someone who could casually utter such convoluted statements about “relative” and “absolute” truly be an idiot? Shou Ye didn’t believe it. So, did this sword have some hidden mystery?

Shou Ye was suspicious. He said nothing, flew to a stop in front of the sword’s hilt, and after looking around, still found nothing. He reached out a hand. Shou Ye paused. He felt that Xu Xiaoshou might just be trying to humiliate him. Or order him around? To order a Red Guard around with his Xiantian cultivation, thereby satisfying his perverse sense of satisfaction and desire for conquest?

“Pull?” Turning his head, Shou Ye asked uncertainly.

“Pull it!” Xu Xiaoshou nodded his chin, “Just pull it. Why ask me?” “Targeted, Passive Value, 1.”

Shou Ye took a deep breath, telling himself, *Fine, for the Red Guards, for Xu Xiaoshou!* He gripped the sword with one hand and gently lifted. There was no movement.

“Oh, ho?” Shou Ye grew interested; so Xu Xiaoshou really had something mysterious going on here? He tried again with more force. Still no movement.

Shou Ye’s expression stiffened. “Pfft.” A very faint chuckle emerged. Shou Ye abruptly spun around, glaring: “What’s so funny?!” However, he saw Xu Xiaoshou wearing a completely serious expression. After glancing around.

“Who?” “Who’s laughing? Was someone laughing?” Shou Ye: “…”

He gritted his teeth, ignoring external disturbances, fully unleashed his spiritual energy, and forcefully channeled it into his right hand. The famed sword remained unmoving.

“Still won’t budge?” Shou Ye grew angry, gripped the sword with both hands, and yanked it violently. “Boom!” With that, the void instantly erupted with a shockwave. Yet Shou Ye’s hands shot up into the air,

but the famed sword remained rooted to the spot. “Pfft!” Another chuckle! Shou Ye couldn’t hold back, abruptly spun around, and glared.

“Xu Xiaoshou!” “…Hm?” His anger stalled. Xu Xiaoshou’s extremely serious expression was fixed on the famed sword. Only because of Shou Ye’s call did he barely shift his gaze to look at him.

“Calling me?” Xu Xiaoshou asked, puzzled, “I’m right here; why so loud?”

Yu Zhiwen, standing nearby, almost burst out laughing. But with Shou Ye’s anger palpable, she managed to hold it in, her delicate shoulders trembling slightly.

“Admired, Passive Value, 1.” “Cursed, Passive Value, 1.” Looking at Xu Xiaoshou’s completely innocent face, Shou Ye was seething with anger. Didn’t this guy know that a Dao-severing level spiritual sense could perceive not just chuckles from behind? Even psychological activities revealed through micro-expressions could be directly heard! He was shocked by this guy’s speed at changing expressions, and suppressing his anger, he said nothing further.

“What’s going on?” Shou Ye pointed at the famed sword. He felt that every time he was in front of Xu Xiaoshou, his dignity was non-existent, trampled repeatedly.

“I don’t know.” Xu Xiaoshou simply shook his head. Shou Ye: “…”

“Are you going to tell me or not?!” “Threatened, Passive Value, 1.” “I really don’t know!” Xu Xiaoshou was now on the verge of tears.

He had only speculated about the Yan Mang’s complexity. But now he was completely certain. This sword definitely had a problem. It was one thing for a ghost beast not to be able to pull it out. But how could even Shou Ye, a Red Guard who could scare away a ghost beast with just a count, not be able to pull it out?

“Boom—” Just as the two were about to fall into another debate, an explosive roar, after shaking the heavens, resonated from an extreme distance. Xu Xiaoshou extended his ‘Perception’. He found that the explosion had completely surpassed his range of perception. Yet, even with the naked eye, he could clearly see the black hole that had suddenly ripped open in the sky. From such a distance, the black hole was still so immense. One could only imagine how terrifying the battle at the source must be.

“A ghost beast?” Xu Xiaoshou asked uncertainly. “Yes.” Shou Ye glanced at it, then retracted his gaze.

“Didn’t you let it go?” Xu Xiaoshou looked at Shou Ye: “You said, the ten-second thing…” “I only said *I* would let him go; I didn’t say other Red Guards wouldn’t.” “Uh… you old schemer.” “Hm?” “Oh, oh, how brilliant, Senior!” Xu Xiaoshou dared not mumble anymore, praising him loudly.

“Hmph!” Shou Ye snorted coldly. Yu Zhiwen watched these two bickering as if no one else was present, her scalp tingling with shock. For a moment, she felt her presence was somewhat superfluous… She silently took a step back. Pressing her lower lip, Yu Zhiwen observed the two, sighing heavily.

“Blessed, Passive Value, 1.” “Are all Red Guards this powerful?” Xu Xiaoshou voiced his inner doubt, “I see you’re just in the Dao-severing realm, right? That guy, after completely erupting, seemed to have surpassed the Throne realm?”

Shou Ye’s mouth twitched. You, a Xiantian cultivator, really dare to speak like that. Just Dao-severing… “The Red Guards have sealing stones and spiritual array masters. As long as they don’t encounter a sneak attack from a ghost beast, once the situation is set, the ghost beast cannot escape,” he grumbled.

“Sealing stones?” Xu Xiaoshou thought of his own Sealing Ring. He was suddenly startled: “What if the opponent has sealing attributes…”

Shou Ye’s eyelids lowered, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes and then fading. The images of those sprawling, weak Red Guards reappeared in his mind. He glanced at Yu Zhiwen; he didn’t know this woman, so he wasn’t going to discuss the matter in front of Xu Xiaoshou. Shou Ye changed the subject immediately: “What’s wrong with the famed sword? Did you tamper with it?”

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, *You really dare to think that. What right do I, a mere commoner, have to tamper with a famed sword?* Just as he was about to speak, his ‘Perception’ detected countless figures already swarming in from the outside, gathering all at once.

“Someone’s coming,” Shou Ye said with lowered brows. “Observed, Passive Value, 16.” “Observed, Passive Value, 23.” “Observed, Passive Value, 59.”

A large wave of people rushed over at high speed, like zombies besieging a city, as if a second’s delay would mean someone else would devour the prize before them. When they arrived and saw the famed sword, they also saw three figures in front of it: one male, one female, and one Red Guard.

“Suspected, Passive Value, 86.” “Suspected, Passive Value, 114.” As the number of people continuously rose, Xu Xiaoshou finally realized. This wave was likely the first group to arrive after the famed sword’s emergence. The early arrival of the ghost beast and Zhong Qu was truly just an accident.

“Mine?” Xu Xiaoshou looked at the famed sword, asking Shou Ye about its ownership. “Yours,” Shou Ye said impatiently, then stepped forward, looked at everyone who had stopped because of him, and waved his hand, “Disperse. The famed sword has an owner.”