Chapter 517: Salvation

Boom! The ice shattered, and Mo Mo tumbled out from within.

As soon as Xu Xiaoshou saw the humanoid figure of the woman falling from mid-air, his mouth twitched. He finally understood why the Grey Mistman constantly enveloped himself in sealing mist. Perhaps it wasn't just for show; it was likely because it had parasitized a female body, and perhaps it felt incongruous when its true form was revealed?

“Xu, Xu Xiaoshou…”

“You… hehe, you just wait…”

The Grey Mistman, using Mo Mo’s body, spoke in a very rough voice. Its lips were frozen purple. The freezing tribulation power within it had only recently recovered. With Xu Xiaoshou’s attack, its entire spiritual sea was almost completely frozen again.

However, it was this attack that completely convinced the Grey Mistman. The “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” must have truly acknowledged him as its master. Otherwise, Xu Xiaoshou, with his Innate cultivation, couldn't have completely frozen its King-level power after transforming into a demonic beast.

“A King…” The Grey Mistman sighed softly, feeling insulted. How young was Xu Xiaoshou! Yet he had already grown to this extent. If he were given more time, wouldn't he be able to directly rival a Path-Severer?

Although the “freezing tribulation power” wasn't strongly related to his cultivation level, the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” itself had already formed a contract with Xu Xiaoshou. Considering this, this was now one of his abilities! At his age… this guy already possessed the ability to threaten a King!

“Release your sealing aura first, then talk to me,” Xu Xiaoshou said, pulling A-Jie back a step. He was afraid of retaliation. But seeing this guy use Mo Mo's face with such a jarring voice was genuinely unpleasant, so he couldn't help but speak up.

The Grey Mistman stood up and surprisingly didn't release the mist again. It knew Xu Xiaoshou knew Mo Mo, and they were considered friends. In a completely disadvantageous situation, sometimes, one had to play the emotional card.

“First, absorb the ‘freezing tribulation power’ from my body,” the Grey Mistman said, its voice softening.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyebrows twitched wildly. He really couldn't stand the voice and was about to attack again, blasting this thing away. But facing Mo Mo, he genuinely couldn't bring himself to do it. He vaguely recalled the scene at Tianxuan Gate when the Grey Mistman was unconscious and Mo Mo revealed her true feelings. This girl was also a pitiful soul. A gentle and peaceful person forced to do so many things she never wanted to do.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood why Shou Ye’s attitude towards demonic beasts was so resolute. Because at this moment, he almost wanted this Grey Mistman to die on the spot.

“Hiss!” With a breath, the freezing tribulation power returned to his body.

Xu Xiaoshou retreated behind A-Jie, peeking his head out to say, “I’ve treated you with sincerity, and I completely trust you. I’ve absorbed the ‘freezing tribulation power’ from you; let’s consider bygones to be bygones. I’ll take you out, and from now on, we’ll go our separate ways!”

“Heh,” the Grey Mistman sneered, “you just pray you don’t fall into my hands…”

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly reached out. The Grey Mistman’s face stiffened. “Alright.”

“Then it’s settled. Once we’re out, we’ll face that red-robed man together. Don’t trip me up, or we’ll both die.” Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his hand, seriously saying, “If I’m done for, you’re done for too!”

The Grey Mistman nodded. “No more nonsense, lead the way.”

Hearing its tone, Xu Xiaoshou knew it had probably plotted against him more than a few times. Perhaps it wasn't just him secretly planning to escape as soon as they got out. This guy was likely also calculating how to leave him to face the red-robed man while it made its own getaway.

“Pleasure working with you,” Xu Xiaoshou merely said, no longer reaching out. He turned his head to look at the sky. His spiritual sense could perceive blue light points densely scattered throughout the world—ice elements. Similarly, he could discern a location where a large amount of ice elements was flowing out. This was the exact spot where he had previously used the heavens and earth as a furnace to scorch the outside world.

It was clear. Once the space collapsed, following this path would surely lead back to the White Cave.

“A-Jie,” Xu Xiaoshou said, not taking action, but turning to look at A-Jie. With a gesture, A-Jie transformed back into a stone and was placed inside his chest pocket.

The Grey Mistman’s eyes narrowed. It had long speculated that A-Jie wasn't human. But actually seeing this guy turn into a stone still surprised it.

“What is it?”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t!”

The Grey Mistman: “…”

“Lead the way!” it snapped impatiently.

“Watch your tone, you can’t beat me right now!” Xu Xiaoshou warned.

“Slandered, Passive Points, +1.”“Cursed, Passive Points, +1.”“Targeted, Passive Points, +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou paid no more attention, pulled out a handful of pills, and swallowed them directly. The ‘Breathing Method’ circulated, instantly replenishing his depleted spiritual sea.

The “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” was too powerful! Although he was at the peak of the Dwelling Realm and had only used one move, ‘Ice Age’, the energy consumed was almost entirely from the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” itself, not his own spiritual essence. Yet, merely communicating with the Heavenly Dao and using the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation's” power to freeze the Grey Mistman had almost emptied half of Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual sea. Ultimately, his cultivation was still insufficient.

Xu Xiaoshou was very unaccustomed to fighting in such a purely spiritual essence-dependent manner. His growth rate was too fast. In terms of spiritual essence, this was still his fatal weakness. Fortunately, his other strengths had almost completely surpassed the strongest of the current generation of youths.

“Be careful, stay close to me.” After giving the warning, Xu Xiaoshou extended his hand, and an ice lotus reappeared.

Huge hailstones relentlessly pelted down from the sky. But as a winter aura swept across the void from the ice lotus, the heavens and earth seemed to freeze completely.

“Crack!” “Crack, crack—” The hailstones floating in mid-air began to connect one after another, instantly forming a single mass. In moments, the space of this small world was completely filled with solid ice.

The Grey Mistman watched from behind, awestruck. The “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” was truly formidable. Such power to freeze a small world, though relying on the ultra-low temperature environment as a prerequisite, but to affect heaven and earth to such an extent in such a short time was terrifying. It was even more frightening than a King’s Domain!

“The power of a Path-Severer couldn’t be much more than this, could it…?” the Grey Mistman murmured, gazing at Xu Xiaoshou’s back. Sometimes, it truly couldn't see through this young man. Perhaps, not being an enemy to him would benefit both itself and everyone else!

And… the Grey Mistman’s eyes flickered, constantly changing. “If only this guy had the sealing attribute, how wonderful would that be?”

“Ice Age!” With that command, the void completely froze.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the frozen space, the ice lotus retracting into his spiritual sea as he adopted a hand gesture as if stir-frying. Ice wouldn't shatter on its own. Even if he manipulated it to explode, the power wouldn't be enough to completely shatter a small world. But with a different way of thinking, everything changed.

Using the heavens and earth as a furnace, and the solid ice filling the world as the pill. In an instant, to condense it into a pill the size of a fingernail. This… would definitely not succeed! And the consequence of a failed alchemy attempt would inevitably be an exploding furnace. An exploding furnace meant that this already dilapidated cauldron would be completely unable to withstand it!

“The Cinder Flame Pill Condensation Art…” As Xu Xiaoshou thought of this, he pressed his hands down, shouting, “Condense!”

“Whoosh!” A terrifying surge of cold energy swept in all directions. The next second, the Grey Mistman could fully feel all the ice in this space being compressed intensely.

“This…” Its face was horrified. This technique was certainly not the power of the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation.” So, even completely disregarding the power of the ice flames, Xu Xiaoshou actually possessed the ability to blow up a space?

At this compression rate, it would terrifyingly take no more than a moment…

“Rumble—” As expected. Before the thought could even finish, the entire space had already completely given way, shattering directly. The deafening roar, as if cracking open inside its very mind, instantly left the Grey Mistman disoriented.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…” Countless ice crystals shattered and scattered wildly. The space could no longer withstand it, collapsing into fragments with a thunderous roar. Like the sky falling, the firmament completely shattered, and black holes swallowed the world. Endless darkness covered everything, as if the night had been pulled up, never to recede.

“Go!” Feeling the endless suction force from the sky, Xu Xiaoshou himself was struggling to hold on. He tried his best to control his body, flying towards the target. But the aftermath of this explosion was truly severe. Black voids were everywhere. He completely lost control of his body, drifting towards the sky, entirely disconnected from his target.

“Whoosh!” The Grey Mistman, however, was different. With ample experience in shattered spaces, it instantly enveloped its entire body in sealing mist, blocking the black hole's suction, and then shot towards the spatial node leading to the White Cave.

“Cooperation!” Xu Xiaoshou roared loudly. Above his spiritual sea, the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” was already rattling furiously. He could, of course, also forcefully connect an ice crystal channel leading to the White Cave for himself using his ice flame abilities, and it would be safe enough. However, in such a seemingly fatal situation, he needed to re-evaluate. Had the Grey Mistman truly let go of its resentment? If it refused to help, even if he managed to escape, he believed his journey through the White Cave afterward would inevitably be plagued by this guy's ceaseless harassment. But if it could help… even if unwillingly, some things, once started, would inevitably develop in an emotional direction.

“Cooperation?” The Grey Mistman rushed to the side of the spatial node and immediately scoffed. What kind of ridiculous joke was that! You brat couldn't possibly cross the spatial node; this Emperor had already calculated everything. First, I'd wait for a while in the spatial turbulence. Once your corpse appeared, then I’d act. At that time, neither the ‘Cinder Flame Primordial Seed’ nor the “Three-Day Freezing Tribulation” would escape this Emperor's grasp!

“Bye-bye.” With one foot stepping into the spatial node, a strong suction force emanated. The Grey Mistman didn't forget to forcefully restrain its body's momentum, freeing a hand to wave twice. Looking at the terrified expression on Xu Xiaoshou's face, it was delighted. Happier than slaying a hundred Red Guards!

“Ugh!” Suddenly, its mind reeled, and the Grey Mistman nearly fainted from the pain. “Damn it, why did it surface at this critical moment…?” Nearly swallowed by the spatial node unconsciously, the Grey Mistman was scared witless. If it got lost in the spatial turbulence, that would be a dead end!

Forcefully stopping its momentum, the Grey Mistman dared not provoke the girl any further and immediately prepared to disappear into the spatial node. Just then, the searing pain in its mind struck again. “Are you crazy!” The Grey Mistman hastily pulled its foot away from the spatial node. With such an unstable factor present, how could it dare to force its way through the spatial turbulence?

Its mind again suffered excruciating, needle-like pain. The Grey Mistman’s gaze subtly shifted, showing a hint of pity and pleading. “Save, save him…”

“Impossible!” With a harsh blink, the Grey Mistman forcibly severed Mo Mo’s will. Save Xu Xiaoshou? That’s impossible, even if the sky were to fall!

“Ugh!” No sooner had it denied her than its consciousness was subjected to another fierce attack. The Grey Mistman was frantic. “You’re crazy! You’re truly crazy! At a time like this, how can I save anyone? I can’t even take care of my own…”

“If you don’t save him, we’ll die together…” Mid-sentence, its voice was replaced by a resolute female voice.

The Grey Mistman froze. It was somewhat surprised. After all, having been merged for so long, it knew Mo Mo’s nature. At most, she had a bit of a compassionate, bodhisattva-like heart. But under its tutelage, Mo Mo had long ceased to be someone who couldn’t bear to take a life. No matter the command, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, she wouldn't refuse. Although she still couldn’t bring herself to actively kill someone, at critical moments, she had learned to protect herself and wouldn't possibly resist it like this, choosing to disregard her own safety to save someone she had only met a few times.

But today… it was completely different! The Grey Mistman had never felt such resolute intent from Mo Mo. She had truly made up her mind. If Xu Xiaoshou wasn't saved, they would truly die together!

The Grey Mistman was going mad. “Who is he to you that you want to save him? Do you like him? Have you really fallen in love with him? You’ve only met a few times!” It chose to speak directly to the girl.

“It has nothing to do with liking,” Mo Mo denied.

“If it’s not liking, then why save him? You don’t care for your life, but I do!” The Grey Mistman was so enraged it felt like it would split open.

Spatial rifts tore at the heavens and earth. Black holes devoured everything. Xu Xiaoshou’s figure drifted further and further away, as if he would completely vanish in the next second.

“Save him,” Mo Mo’s soul, huddled in a corner, pleaded again.

“Reason!” the Grey Mistman roared with its will, “I want a reason!”

Suddenly, a scene from the Outer Yard's ‘Wind and Cloud Battle’ appeared in its mind. The Grey Mistman was stunned. At that time, pre-battle Xu Xiaoshou was still lightheartedly teasing about something when, abruptly, his demeanor shifted, and he said very seriously, “You are so beau…”

The scene cut off. It transitioned to Tianxuan Gate under a heavy snowfall. Mo Mo walked alone on the road, and the command to kill Xu Xiaoshou came from the small copper furnace. She refused.

The answer was surprisingly simple. “He is very gentle.”

The Grey Mistman was on the verge of breaking down. “That’s it? That’s your reason? Just because he complimented you, that’s it?!”

“Not just that sentence,” Mo Mo smiled, “I gave you the answer a long time ago… There are some people who shouldn’t be harmed.”

“You’re unreasonable!” the Grey Mistman roared. At this moment, it desperately hated itself for why it had possessed a woman. “None of these are reasons! I can’t save him; I want to kill him! I want to kill Xu Xiaoshou!” it furiously retorted.

“The moment you asked me for a reason, you already couldn’t kill him.” Mo Mo was unfazed. “You already have the answer, so why ask me?”

“I don’t have an answer, nor do I have a reason to save him! And everything you said isn’t a reason either!” The Grey Mistman felt that if it wasn't already crazy, this woman would drive it mad eventually.

“Reason…” Mo Mo murmured. Time seemed to stop flowing. Through the body she couldn’t fully control, Mo Mo still seemed to see Xu Xiaoshou’s helpless struggle before he gradually vanished into the darkness.

She fell silent. Sometimes, when you want to save someone, or don’t want to kill someone, there aren’t that many reasons, are there? If she were truly asked to explain, she couldn't articulate it either. After all, her interactions with Xu Xiaoshou had only been those two encounters. Yet, it was just these two encounters that allowed her to see a completely different kind of demeanor in this young man compared to others. Not that kind of demeanor. It was another kind!

There were always people who spoke grandly about ‘My destiny is mine to control, not heaven's’, but in action, they still chose to submit. Xu Xiaoshou was not like that. And there were always those who, facing an irresistible evil god in their minds, would furiously cry out ‘I can, I will,’ yet when truly forced to choose, they still decided to give up. Xu Xiaoshou was not like that either!

What Mo Mo saw in this young man was not his usual unreliability. On the contrary, she saw a starkly opposite version of herself. How strong was the Grey Mistman! Others might not know, but didn't Mo Mo understand? If it were to completely abandon this body with insufficient cultivation, the power it could unleash would likely be something few on the entire Saint God Continent could withstand. But Xu Xiaoshou had beaten it unconscious! Perhaps there were indeed unfavorable preconditions for the Grey Mistman. But even so, this battle record was something Mo Mo dared not believe. Even now, she didn't believe it! Yet, it was the truth, and she had no choice but to believe.

In front of everyone else who, like her, had chosen to give up, Xu Xiaoshou was the only one who stood up, surged forward, and crushed every obstacle in his path. Even if that obstacle was a god in others' eyes!

“Perhaps, that’s what makes him special…” Mo Mo smiled silently. She was the former type of person. Whether before the Grey Mistman arrived or after, she had absolutely no interest in anything under heaven. Giving up was her only choice when facing difficulties. What forced her forward were the Grey Mistman’s repeated commands.

Xu Xiaoshou was different. He was ‘motivation’! He was a ‘guiding light’! Mo Mo smiled happily. Looking at the being completely swallowed by darkness, she paradoxically saw light and finally found a word to describe Xu Xiaoshou.

“My life, it’s just like this. Xu Xiaoshou is different; everything I can’t do, he can.”

Mo Mo softly said, “He is ‘salvation’, my salvation!”

The Grey Mistman was utterly dumbfounded. It had never imagined that after all that summarizing, Mo Mo would come to such an absurd and distant conclusion. “Salvation my foot! I give up on you!”

Just as it was about to step into the spatial node again, the Grey Mistman suddenly felt something was off. Its vision, surprisingly, blurred? No! It wasn't its vision. It was… her vision? It reached out and wiped. A cold dampness.

“This…” The Grey Mistman paused, then finally closed its eyes heavily. This Emperor’s… lifelong reputation!

“Whoosh!” A thick stream of sealing mist resisted the black hole’s suction force, veering erratically past the fragmented spatial nodes, traversing the void, and shooting into the darkness.

“Remember, there won’t be a next time.” The silence lasted for a long time before finally being broken by the female voice.

“Thank you.”

White Cave.

“Are they coming out soon?” Shou Ye hovered in the void, gazing gravely at the shattered space around him. The severe cold had already dyed the area a completely different color from the White Cave. Snowflakes swirled and fell upon his shoulders. Each one contained the ultimate power of tribulation. Shou Ye felt that if he stayed here any longer, his “Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation” might truly arrive ahead of schedule.

But as a Red Guard, even the most ordinary Red Guard, with their mission, couldn't choose to retreat in front of a demonic beast. No matter how difficult, it couldn't be harder than sending a message before death.

“Peak Path-Severer, or perhaps Supreme Void…” Shou Ye had completely overturned the hypothesis that the ancient book's space actually sealed a demonic beast. He also fully understood. This must also have been the storyteller's misleading remarks before his death. If the sealed demonic beast could possess such ice power, perhaps during that White Cave operation back then, the number of fallen Red Guards wouldn't have been just that.

“Crack, crack—” The void's airflow suddenly surged backward, abruptly rushing into the ancient book’s space. Shou Ye’s mind sharpened. He knew that a spatial node had appeared. Whatever was inside could now escape.

“Boom!” Accompanied by a resounding shock, the ancient book finally couldn't withstand the ice tribulation power and completely shattered. Then, a black hole-like spatial rift, large enough for several people to pass through, opened up.

“Whoosh!” A shadowy figure burst through from within. With a soft thud, the figure landed.

“You’ve arrived,” Shou Ye said calmly, his back to the figure. As a Red Guard, a sense of ceremony was still necessary. Before battle, the intimidation towards the demonic beast was equally indispensable.

He slowly turned around. With that turn, Shou Ye witnessed a shocking sight. The hand he had clasped behind his back involuntarily loosened.

“Sealing… sealing power?” His pupils constricted, and he felt utterly unsettled. The storyteller hadn’t lied to him? Had he truly trapped the sealed demonic beast?

Shou Ye fully understood how rare the ‘sealing’ attribute was. Even though his own dark attribute was an extremely rare existence, in terms of rarity, it couldn’t compare in the slightest to the sealing attribute. One was still within the Heavenly Dao. The other, upon birth, possessed the power to seal the Heavenly Dao. How could they be compared? The sealed demonic beast before him must be the one that a dozen Red Guard teams had surrounded in the White Cave earlier, yet completely failed to subdue!

“Beep.” The White Cave communication bead chimed. Shou Ye didn't need to say anything more. But with this press, Lan Ling would certainly react. Because all Red Guards possessed this specialized communication bead. It was prepared specifically for the sealed demonic beast before him.

“Red Guard?” The Grey Mistman, enveloped in sealing mist, at first glance thought the figure floating in the void was the red-robed man. But on closer inspection, its scalp tingled. Red! All red! However, the person before it wasn't the perverted red-robed man. Instead, it was something even more terrifying to demonic beasts than the perverted red-robed man… a Red Guard!

“How long have you been waiting?” The Grey Mistman spoke with equal calm. A mere glance at the red-robed man's ice sculpture not far away told it that this tribulation would be even harder.

“Not long…” Shou Ye flexed his frozen fingers, tilted his neck, his bones cracking, and said, “For you, old man, I can wait as long as it takes.”

“Then wait a bit longer. I have an accomplice; we’ll catch him together in a moment.”

The Grey Mistman raised its hand; a stream of sealing mist on it seemed to be connected to something, the other end of which was still within the spatial node. “Whoosh.” With a strong tug, another shadowy figure flew out. “Thud!” The figure crashed ungracefully to the ground, letting out a cry of “Ouch!” and rolled several times before finally stopping.

Shou Ye sneered. “Accomplice? Then this time, it would be killing two birds with one stone!”

He gazed intently. Shou Ye, who had maintained his composure perfectly even when seeing the sealed demonic beast, completely lost it when he clearly saw the face of the demonic beast’s “accomplice.” He staggered back two steps in disbelief, his face turning pale, his neck craning forward.

“Xu, Xu Xiaoshou???”