Chapter 520: How Important is Xu Xiaoshou?

“What on earth?!”

The Grey Mist man was dumbfounded. He had assumed that with the Redguard present, the red-clad deviant would also be frozen. By all accounts, the latter should have been completely out of the fight. But he never imagined this fellow was so cunning?

“So, he had already seen through the problem with the hail, deliberately feigned weakness, and finally lost to the Redguard.”

“The goal was to completely avoid the ‘Black Death Mark’ I had prepared for him in advance?” The Grey Mist man shuddered at the thought.

Night Watch was equally startled by the Storyteller, who had just emerged from his body.

“This guy…”

Night Watch was already quite embarrassed after falling for the Grey Mist man's trick. But the Storyteller's move felt like it was deliberately rubbing his intelligence in the dirt.

Admittedly, among those present, Night Watch should have had the highest combat power. However, in such high-stakes situations, combat power is often not the most crucial factor. And when it comes to intellect… Clearly, Night Watch was completely at the bottom. Perhaps even Xu Xiaoshou, who had already fled, couldn't compare.

But!

“Didn’t I place a ‘Martial Ban’ on you? How could you still…”

Night Watch simply couldn't believe it. That technique of expelling living beings must be a spirit skill. But if it was a spirit skill, how could the Storyteller use it under the ‘Martial Ban’?

“Hehe, who doesn’t have a trump card?”

The Storyteller chuckled, then plunged a hand into the original Storyteller's left chest and pulled out a still-beating heart. Then, he crushed it with one hand, taking out a golden pill hidden inside. With a surge of spiritual energy, the wax seal on the golden pill instantly peeled off. The Storyteller swallowed the pill in one gulp. In an instant, his aura surged dramatically.

“Primordial Scripture Realm!”

He clasped his hands together and let out a sharp cry.

“Buzz—”

In an instant, the world trembled with a buzz. The space where the three of them stood seemed to transform into the ancient book that had exploded earlier. The Grey Mist man, who had only just managed to accelerate and try to escape this space, suddenly found himself seemingly moving from a three-dimensional space into a two-dimensional world. He felt as if everything had flattened!

“What the hell is this?!”

He roared in shock. At this moment, the Grey Mist man panicked. This kind of bizarre spatial technique was, arguably, what every spirit refiner, including ghost beasts, feared the most. Yet, the Storyteller's ability was not just a bizarre form of spatial manipulation; it was even more formidable than ordinary spatial power.

“Break this!”

The Grey Mist man punched out, intending to shatter the two-dimensional space that bound him. But two-dimensional was two-dimensional. In a two-dimensional world with only one plane, a punch that should have gone forward now went straight up. The spiritual energy that should have struck the spatial barrier at a right angle instead poured into the blank space ahead. Like ink spilled across a page. When the Grey Mist man punched, the blank space on the illusory page was instantly filled with sealing mist.

And then, nothing else!

Night Watch was shaken. He watched as the illusory page slowly turned over. Inside, no matter how much the Grey Mist man struggled, he was powerless to change his fate. Not until the entire spatial page was dyed grey with sealing mist. In the scene, the extremely cunning sealed ghost beast was no longer visible.

“Holy Slaves, Seventh Hand…”

Night Watch sighed with a solemn expression. He finally understood that these rankings were not baseless. Such peculiar abilities. Let alone the Grey Mist man, even he, Night Watch, might not be able to escape if sealed inside.

“Done!”

The Storyteller, making an orchid gesture with his fingers, excitedly tucked his elbow into his ribs. The next second, as his arms relaxed, two long trails of mucus stretched from his body. His entire face changed color.

“Blech!”

He dry-heaved. The Storyteller pulled the spatial ring off the former Storyteller's finger. Then, with a burst of spiritual energy, he shook off all the mucus from his body before taking out a brand-new red robe from the ring and putting it on, finally resolving the awkwardness of being covered only by spiritual energy.

“Whoosh.”

He formed a hand seal. The enormous illusory spatial page shrank back down. Finally, it fluttered down into the Storyteller's hand.

A palm-sized piece of paper. It imprisoned the sealed ghost beast that had toyed with both the Redguard and Night Watch. The constantly flowing sealing mist on the paper seemed like the greatest mockery, proclaiming who the ultimate victor truly was.

“Little rascal, still think you can escape my grasp?”

The Storyteller let out a sweet giggle and tucked the paper into his chest. This type of spatial treasure cannot overlap with a spatial ring. Otherwise, in an unstable situation, it could easily trigger a chain reaction. At that point, let alone the spatial page, even his spatial ring, including all the treasures within, would likely dissipate in the spatial currents.

“Hehe, little Redguard, what else do you have to say?”

The Storyteller stepped forward with a smile, stopped in front of Night Watch, and leaned in, asking playfully.

“How did you do it?”

Night Watch asked in a low voice. He felt like he had fought this battle… It was a complete mess! No wonder he wasn't suited to be the leader of the Redguard team. No wonder every time there's an operation to encircle ghost beasts or terror organizations on the continent, it requires someone seemingly undistinguished in strength but exceptionally intelligent to lead. No wonder Lan Ling had told him, if he discovered a ghost beast, no matter the situation, not to act impulsively, but to wait for backup before making a move…

What a blunder!

He looked up at the sky helplessly, finally willing to face reality.

“How did I do it…?”

The Storyteller repeated the question, then chuckled: “Didn’t I tell you? Before the ‘Martial Ban’ took effect, I had already shattered the ancient book space and released everything within it.”

“Everything?”

Night Watch sharply picked up on that word again. He suddenly understood something.

“Exactly!”

The Storyteller snapped his fingers confidently. “When I said ‘everything,’ I didn’t just mean those two fellows.”

“More importantly, I released the spiritual energy that would activate my second external avatar.”

“The ancient book space isn’t just for storing people and ghost beasts, you know~”

He said, then suddenly smiled, shaking his head with a sigh.

“Ah, I actually didn’t have high hopes originally.”

“Because even if this energy was released, with the ‘Martial Ban’ on me, I wouldn’t have much chance to absorb it.”

“But surprisingly, your attention was completely drawn to those two fellows.”

“You even interrupted my absorption once midway, yet still didn’t notice anything unusual.”

“Tsk tsk, this intellect…”

The Storyteller patted his chest, speaking with lingering fear.

Night Watch's body stiffened. “So, you took advantage of being frozen, hid in the ice to absorb spiritual energy, and successfully unsealed yourself?”

“Sma…”

The Storyteller was about to praise him but then paused. “You’re reacting so late, I can’t praise you as ‘smart’ anymore, hehe.”

“Clever!”

Night Watch, conversely, offered a generous compliment and continued, “Then, that pill hidden in your heart…”

“Are you stalling for time?”

The Storyteller’s expression suddenly turned cold, and he directly interrupted. Night Watch felt the ‘Black Death Mark’ in his body almost completely dissipate, and he could now use a portion of his spiritual energy.

“Yes.”

Admitting it without hesitation, Night Watch also smiled: “Even if I didn’t stall for time, I imagine that pill was merely your emergency measure.”

“Do you still have the energy to fight this old man?”

The Storyteller stretched lazily. “I don’t have much energy to play with an old geezer like you; it’s no fun at all. But that young man…”

He glanced regretfully in the direction Xu Xiaoshou had fled, his heart filled with regret. A little fellow, whom he had merely incidentally sealed into the ancient book space, had actually managed to acquire the ‘Three-Day Frost Tribulation’ under the suppression of the sealed ghost beast! This was something the Storyteller couldn’t even have imagined, no matter how hard he tried. But it was indeed the truth. Coupled with the audacious words he had heard the young man speak earlier from within the ice.

“My ambition isn’t in Tiansang, but in the Five Regions…”

The Storyteller murmured softly, feeling his heart pound wildly. Heaven knows. At that moment, he almost broke out of the ice in excitement. Fortunately, reason forcibly suppressed his desires. For the sake of the mission, the Storyteller finally restrained his impulse and chose to calmly absorb the spiritual energy.

He hadn't found the Wen Ming his brother spoke of. But with such a captivating young man appearing before him, his inability to bring him back to the ‘Holy Slaves’ was truly a cause for deep regret.

“It’s a pity. If that young man had left a bit later, he might have chosen to come with me…”

“Come with you?”

Night Watch burst into laughter upon hearing this. “You think he’d come with you, when he can even refuse the Redguard?”

The Storyteller rolled his eyes at the old man. “If he went with you, he’d be going back to suffer, so of course he wouldn’t. But with me, it’s different…” As he spoke, he cupped his cheeks with both hands, his eyes gleaming with longing: “That’s going to enjoy life!”

“Ugh!”

Goosebumps instantly erupted all over Night Watch’s body. He sprang up and recoiled from the Storyteller, landing several yards away.

“Have you stalled enough?”

The Storyteller, neither surprised nor pleased, put away his longing expression and turned to look at the Redguard, who clearly had something on his mind.

“No need to stall anymore.”

Night Watch tilted his head and looked towards a distant part of the sky. “You had a backup plan, and the person I’m waiting for has also arrived.”

The Storyteller looked in surprise, following Night Watch’s gaze. Sure enough. A figure suddenly appeared in the void. It was a bald, middle-aged man with an extremely muscular build, his muscles bulging through his red robe. He rubbed his scalp with one hand, looking at everything in the field with a guileless smile.

“Night Watch, why are you so badly beaten?”

“Where’s the sealed ghost beast?”

Night Watch sighed: “You’re a step too late. Otherwise, you could have caught not only the sealed ghost beast but also a young man even more dangerous than that troublesome rat.”

“Oh?”

Bald Xin was startled. “A young man?”

“Never mind him.”

Night Watch got a headache just thinking about Xu Xiaoshou. He turned to the Storyteller and said, “You should know this person… Holy Slaves, Seventh Hand!”

“Huh?”

Xin was suddenly dumbfounded. Didn’t they say it was a sealed ghost beast? That specialized communication bead was meant for the sealed ghost beast; how did it involve such a troublesome individual?

“Sto-Storyteller?” Xin tilted his head, recalling information about the ‘Nine Seats of the Holy Slaves’.

“Hello…”

The Storyteller stared, eyes wide, at the man in the sky, seemingly drooling. After a long pause, he completed his sentence: “You’re so well-built!”

At that, a chill immediately ran from Xin’s feet all the way to the top of his head.

“What on earth?” he couldn’t help but transmit to Night Watch.

“Stop with the nonsense. I need to break a seal and don’t have time to fight him for now. You take him down first; this is just an external avatar,” Night Watch replied.

“An external avatar?”

Xin was even more shocked. The more he understood the situation here, the more unmanageable it seemed.

“It’s not the kind of external avatar you’re imagining.”

Night Watch had a headache. Xin’s brain was even less useful than his own, only his intuition for ghost beasts was somewhat accurate. He simply didn’t want to explain further.

“It’s just a minor technique similar to an external avatar. You can think of it as an ordinary spirit skill… Never mind that, he’s injured now, don’t waste words with him, just take him down.”

“The sealed ghost beast is hidden in the ‘spatial page’ at his chest!”

Xin’s eyes sharpened, and in an instant, a murderous aura burst forth from them.

“You’re colluding with a ghost beast?” he questioned the Storyteller.

“Yes, I am~”

The Storyteller’s eyes narrowed into a smile, he glanced at the sky, and then suddenly raised his hands gently. Xin’s body tensed, as if facing a formidable enemy.

“Don’t be nervous, big brother, I won’t fight you.”

The Storyteller said delicately, then suddenly clapped his hands together, smashing his forearms to pieces instantly. Subsequently, a small spatial vortex appeared from the broken arms, growing larger and larger. In less than a breath’s time, it transformed into a man-sized spatial vortex.

“A teleportation array?”

“Trying to escape?”

Xin’s eyes narrowed, and he was about to pounce. However, he unknowingly found that this area had already been completely sealed off.

“No, I’m not running.”

The Storyteller said with a smile, “I know I can’t escape, so I’m sacrificing an external avatar to stabilize this space.” He turned to Night Watch, “Even if you possess the power of the Great Void, even if your strength is fully recovered right now, it will take you more than a moment to break through the space sealed by the sacrificial power of this external avatar.”

“So, watch me perform!”

“Sizzle…”

As his words faded, the Storyteller’s body began to turn into specks of light from his feet upwards, gradually disintegrating. Yet, he calmly used spiritual energy to guide the spatial page from his chest, slowly moving it into the spatial vortex. Then, he also sent the spatial ring that had fallen to the ground into it.

“This is a one-way teleportation array.”

As the Storyteller acted, he didn't forget to explain: “I’m sending everything to the other side right now, aren’t you mad?” His body had already disintegrated up to his waist, but his tone was extremely smug. “You won’t get the ghost beast, and you won’t get my body, nor any of my treasures.”

“Boom!”

The void boomed, instantly cracking into dozens of fissures. Xin violently collided with the space using his body. He couldn’t just watch the sealed ghost beast disappear before his eyes.

“Oh, ho?”

The Storyteller was surprised. “Another expert?” He hadn't expected that his sacrificial power, which could trap forces of the same level, would cause the space to rupture with just one collision from this large man.

“A Throne’s body?”

“No, it’s not…”

“Is it a special spiritual physique?”

The Storyteller pondered, then suddenly smiled with relief. So what if it’s a special spiritual physique? If he breaks it, he breaks it! If he’s so capable, can he even follow me through?

“Keep going!”

The Storyteller encouraged him. His body had disintegrated up to his chest, yet his eyes still sparkled with a smile.

“How about this, I’ll just give you a chance.”

“I’ll leave the one-way teleportation array for you, and I’ll even release the spatial confinement…”

“If you want the ghost beast, come on in!”

“Poof.”

As his final words fell, the Storyteller’s entire body transformed into specks of light, dissipating into nothingness.

At the same time, Xin also felt the world’s binding force lift. Without delay, he shot towards the rapidly shrinking spatial vortex.

“Don’t!”

Night Watch immediately shouted in alarm from behind: “Xin, stop… Halt! Don’t go in!”

“Whoosh!”

Xin pulled back his impending charge into the spatial vortex, unable to resist turning his head. “Why not? That’s a sealed ghost beast!”

“Don’t fall for the trick.”

Night Watch finally eliminated the ‘Black Death Mark’. He immediately used dark power to bind this area, preventing Xin from rushing in impulsively.

“What do you mean?” Xin retorted angrily. He watched the spatial vortex disappear before his eyes and couldn't help but retort harshly: “If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation today, believe it or not, I’ll report you to Lan Ling!”

“Explanation?”

Night Watch looked up at the sky, speechless. “Do you have a brain?”

“That was the Holy Slaves’ Seventh Hand!”

“Just an external avatar was enough to outmaneuver me to this extent.”

“Do you think he would be so foolish as to hand over the sealed ghost beast right into your grasp, making it so easy for you?”

“Why not?” Xin sneered. “He has no more follow-up power. This is an ‘Empty Fort Strategy’!”

“Empty Fort Strategy?”

“You even know about the ‘Empty Fort Strategy’?”

Night Watch was amused. “You can also see that this is a one-way teleportation array. So, where do you think that guy would send the spatial page? Just use your brain, and it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Where?” Xin paused, scratching his head.

“To his main body!”

Night Watch’s head ached.

“Didn’t we get information from outside that the Holy Slaves are operating in a group of three this time?”

“If this spatial page isn’t sent to his deviant main body, it must certainly be sent to the Holy Slaves’ Leader.”

“It might even be the meeting point for all three of them.”

“Even if those three peerless individuals don’t merge, can you handle just one of them?”

“Rushing in so rashly isn’t that just asking for death?”

“Uh…” Xin blinked. “That seems… a bit reasonable?”

“You’re too stupid. How can you fight without using your brain?” Night Watch shook his head repeatedly.

Xin: “…”

He was momentarily speechless, having been rebuked. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, as if remembering something.

“Oh, right!”

“You left early, so you probably don’t know yet, but Lan Ling asked me to give you a message, and it’s also about the Holy Slaves’ Seventh Hand—the Storyteller.”

“Oh, what is it?” Night Watch became interested.

Xin thought for a moment and said, “The information from Black Underworld is that this guy shouldn’t have been in the Eastern Region, but because the Holy Divine Palace received an anonymous report, they began to take the ‘Holy Slaves’ — an organization they had given up combating for a long time — seriously again.”

“After tireless exploration, they finally uncovered another stronghold of this force in the Central Region.”

“This time, Sword Immortal Wuyue was leading the charge.”

Xin suddenly paused. Because he knew that Night Watch, when he was a Whiteguard, had also participated in that operation.

“Senior Wuyue?”

Night Watch murmured distractedly, then after a moment of composure, said: “Continue.”

Xin continued: “The Storyteller was the leader of that stronghold, but this time it’s different.”

“Upon realizing the stronghold had been discovered, he decisively disbanded all personnel and, having received news in advance, escaped to the Eastern Region.”

“So…”

“So Senior Wuyue came along too?” Night Watch exclaimed, overjoyed.

“Yes,” Xin nodded.

“Excellent!”

Night Watch immediately clenched his fist in excitement. “I knew it! Given Senior Wuyue’s character, he would never let a Holy Slave go.”

“His arrival this time, coincidentally, comes just as the Holy Slaves are operating in a group of three.”

“Who knows, we might even be able to capture them all in one fell swoop!”

“Excellent, excellent…”

Night Watch murmured to himself, spinning around in excitement. Gou Wuyue was his senior when he was a Whiteguard. He was also his spiritual leader. The feeling of being able to see his idol from that time again, even at his advanced age, filled his heart with uncontainable joy.

“But…”

“But what?” Night Watch asked distractedly, his mind now completely out of sync with Xin’s.

Xin frowned, seemingly wanting to say something more. But seeing Night Watch’s excited reaction, he temporarily swallowed back the unrealistic rumor.

“Nothing much, just some minor gossip, nothing serious.”

“Alright then!”

Night Watch paid him no mind, suddenly stepped forward, and touched the location of the spatial vortex from moments ago. Sensing the spatial fluctuations, he pulled out a jade slip and recorded them with his spiritual sense. Then, he threw the jade slip to Xin.

“Take this.”

“Take this jade slip to Lan Ling; she should be able to locate the Holy Slaves’ hiding spot using these spatial fluctuations.”

“Senior Wuyue’s arrival this time surely means he’s brought a contingent of Whiteguards.”

“Tell Lan Ling that the Whiteguards don’t need to enter the White Cave. As long as all the surrounding exit spatial channels are completely sealed, leaving only a one-way spatial channel primer… Senior Wuyue can do it.”

“Then, any infiltrators trying to leave will be directly transferred by the spatial primer to a fixed location, falling straight into the net, and thus captured all at once!”

“Good! This is excellent!” Xin’s eyes lit up when he heard the plan. He immediately took the jade slip, put it away, and then suddenly realized something.

“What about you?”

“You’re giving me the jade slip, what are you going to do?”

“Me?” Night Watch’s expression froze, and after a long moment, he finally sighed. “I… I let a person even more dangerous than the sealed ghost beast get away. I must capture him as soon as possible.”

“More dangerous than the sealed ghost beast?”

Xin’s expression instantly turned serious. “Which ghost beast is it? What’s its attribute? Is it female?”

“No.”

Night Watch shook his head: “It might not even be a ghost beast!”

“But…”

He mused, his eyes filled with worry: “But if he continues to develop with those dangerous ideas, even if he isn't one now, he probably will be in the end!”

“Who?” Xin asked directly.

Night Watch’s brows furrowed tightly, he tilted his head, and whispered: “Xu Xiaoshou.”

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

Xin lowered his head, deep in thought.

Night Watch quickly turned his head, his gaze burning: “Do you have any impression of him?”

“I don’t seem to have any impression…”

Xin said hesitantly: “I don’t seem to remember any suspect like that at all, nor do I have any intelligence about him…”

“Phew!”

Night Watch finally breathed a sigh of relief. No impression? That’s good news! Xin’s intuition couldn’t be wrong. Sometimes it was even more accurate than the most precise instruments within the Redguard. If this guy said no, then at least ninety percent… at least fifty percent, Xu Xiaoshou, shouldn’t be a ghost beast host, right?

Night Watch clenched his fist. He had never been this nervous about a young person before. But Xu Xiaoshou was different. This was the first young man he had truly taken a liking to and intended to train as his successor. Even if he had done something wrong at this moment, his thoughts were still relatively correct, perhaps just a little extreme. In short, he hadn’t strayed too far and still had room for repentance. Furthermore, even if Xu Xiaoshou truly was a ghost beast host at this moment, given his current way of thinking, there was still a chance to save him.

After all, those who hadn’t been completely corrupted by ghost beast ideology could have the ghost beast completely removed through special means. Although it would be time-consuming, laborious, and costly, if that person was Xu Xiaoshou… It would be worth it!

Night Watch secretly made up his mind. No matter what, he must find Xu Xiaoshou again and bring him to the Redguard base. Only then, after receiving the most proper ideological baptism from the Holy Divine Palace, could the young man truly mend his ways.

“Keep the jade slip safe and deliver it to Lan Ling as soon as possible. Don’t let anything happen on her end.”

Night Watch instructed, then turned to look into the distance. “I… I might be a little late to come help.”

“Don’t worry, Black Underworld has already entered, otherwise I wouldn’t have been free to come over,” Xin explained, then casually asked: “What about you? For Xu Xiaoshou?”

“Yes,” Night Watch nodded.

“Is he important?”

“Very important!”

“How important? More important than the ‘Four Swords’?” Xin asked skeptically.

Night Watch closed his eyes heavily. He thought of Xu Xiaoshou’s terrifying growth rate and his grand ambition: “My ambition isn’t in Tiansang, but in the Five Regions.” Perhaps, just as that young man had said, he might even become the second Eighth Sword Immortal. No, it's not entirely impossible...

Night Watch opened his eyes, a determined look in them. He clenched his fist and spoke with firm conviction: “Perhaps not just the ‘Four Swords,’ but the entire White Cave, including the ghost beasts, including the ‘Holy Slaves’… all combined, are not as important as Xu Xiaoshou alone!”