Chapter 521: Dao Pattern Initial Stone

"One Step to Heaven!""Two Steps to Heaven!""Three Steps to Immortality!"

Xu Xiaoshou was solely focused on escaping. It was only when his spiritual energy was almost completely depleted that he chose to find a hiding spot, immediately entering his Yuan Mansion. He finally understood why spatial teleportation was considered a divine skill. Even someone as powerful as the Gray Fog Man could, at most, steal heavenly secrets to accelerate his running when trying to escape. Xu Xiaoshou was different. Within his "Perception" range, he could appear anywhere with a single thought. Each step covered nearly five kilometers. If his "Perception" was focused, he could even cross over ten kilometers in a single instant!

After six or seven consecutive "Heaven-Ascending Step" teleports, Xu Xiaoshou had moved thirty-five to forty kilometers away from the battlefield. At this distance... even Night Guardian, no matter how strong, couldn't possibly catch up!

"Phew." Xu Xiaoshou, who had been running for his life, finally had the leisure to breathe a sigh of relief once he reached the Yuan Mansion space. He patted his chest, feeling his back completely drenched in cold sweat. In truth, the second before he decided to flee, Xu Xiaoshou had already seen the Storyteller emerge from within the ice. Although he didn't perceive the subsequent discussions or battles among the three parties, the outcome no longer mattered.

"That guy..." Xu Xiaoshou was now curious about the true identity of the man in the red dress. Frozen like that, yet he could still unseal himself? And according to his sixth sense, it was highly likely that the man in the red dress, who had trapped both him and the Gray Fog Man, still had a trump card! In other words, the ultimate winner might truly not be the Gray Fog Man, nor Night Guardian, but the man in the red dress!

"Tsk tsk," Xu Xiaoshou murmured. "If that's truly the case, then it's quite interesting..." He shook his head, not dwelling on it. Who the ultimate winner was, or how they fared, was no longer something an insignificant ant like him could concern himself with. He knew only one thing: after this escape, he would undoubtedly be added to the Red Cloak's blacklist. He might even have to wear a mask and hide his identity whenever he encountered someone from the Holy Divine Palace in the future, then turn and go the other way.

"Xu Xiaoshou." A soft call came from beside him. Xu Xiaoshou looked up. Yu Zhiwen!

"Uh..." He was momentarily stunned. He had almost forgotten that a proud daughter of the Holy Divine Palace was hidden right here in his Yuan Mansion!

"You're awake?" he mumbled a meaningless question.

"Mm," Yu Zhiwen nodded, her gaze sweeping around. "Where is this...?"

"The Yuan Mansion." Xu Xiaoshou knew that with her intelligence, she couldn't possibly fail to recognize it as the Yuan Mansion space, so he admitted it directly.

"The Yuan Mansion? Cheng Xingchu's?" Yu Zhiwen's eyes showed surprise. Although she had suspected it earlier, truly learning that Xu Xiaoshou had completely repaired the Yuan Mansion still inevitably shocked her. A Grandmaster of Spatial Spirit Arrays... even the main branch of the Holy Divine Palace couldn't find a single one!

"Xu Xiaoshou!" Mu Zixi strode up, taking two steps at a time, and bounced right in front of her senior brother, her face joyful, completely hiding the curses she was secretly muttering. "How's it outside? Is it dangerous?" she asked, clutching Xu Xiaoshou's arm. Yu Zhiwen lowered her eyes, immediately withdrawing her gaze, her red lips unconsciously pursed.

"Quite dangerous," Xu Xiaoshou said. "There was a sealed ghost beast, a Red Cloak, plus some guy who appeared out of nowhere... all incredibly powerful." He grinned, removing his hand from where it had been resting, and flicking his sleeve, he said, "But who am I, your senior brother? I quickly sent them scattering, then swaggered off with all the treasures... Bah, I merely left!"

"Suspected, Passive Points, +4."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

"You don't believe me?" He sneered, and an ice lotus bloomed in his hand. "See that? What's this?"

"Three-Day Frost Tribulation!" Yu Zhiwen exclaimed in surprise.

"Xu Xiaoshou, what kind of trickery are you up to now? Weren't you supposed to get that thing..." Mu Zixi was still full of suspicion.

"I just picked it up along the way!" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "The watermelon was finished, and there was an even more tempting pineapple in front of me, wouldn't you eat it?"

Mu Zixi: "..." "It sounds so fun, and you didn't take me!" she grumbled.

"Fun?" Xu Xiaoshou recalled the previous scenes, still feeling lingering fear. "If you had gone out there, it wouldn't have been 'fun,' it would have been 'good to be dead'!"

"Never mind that." Waving his hand, dismissing the two girls, Xu Xiaoshou stepped forward. There were still many unresolved matters in this Yuan Mansion space. He first looked up into the air. Little Monk Bule was still hanging in mid-air, suspended by the Jue Ming Whip, looking eager. The little adorable one, silenced, could do nothing but give Xu Xiaoshou loving death stares.

Besides that, above the three layers of the Spirit Melt Swamp's spiritual herb grassland, the Blazing White Skeleton with most of its body cracked, and the Ice-Blue White Skeleton that had been sent in afterward, were both floating. The "seal energy" was still rampant. Clearly, even now, the latter hadn't broken free from the Gray Fog Man's restraints. The Ice-Blue White Skeleton, which fought purely with spiritual energy, was simply utterly suppressed by the sealing power.

"Xu Xiaoshou, isn't that the white skeleton that was chasing you? How did you bring it in here?" Mu Zixi followed her senior brother's gaze and couldn't help but ask, "And this one... is it his sister?"

"Probably not his sister." Xu Xiaoshou looked at the Blazing White Skeleton with its face full of hatred. This creature looked like it wanted to roar loudly. But trapped by Xu Xiaoshou's will in the Yuan Mansion space, utterly silenced, how could it make a sound?

"If it's not his sister, why did you package them up and send them in?" Mu Zixi asked, puzzled. "There's barely any room left..." That was true. Xu Xiaoshou surveyed the surrounding space with a headache. The Yuan Mansion space was already inherently small. The spiritual herbs in the three layers of the Spirit Melt Swamp were originally suspended above, leaving plenty of space. But once these two massive creatures entered, there was almost no extra space left, not even above. It was fortunate that the Blazing White Skeleton's body was still incomplete. If it were fully restored... it was estimated that for these two behemoths, one would have to extend its feet completely into the chaotic mist to alleviate the crowded situation.

"It is a bit cramped..." Xu Xiaoshou sighed, rubbing his forehead. He used to think the Yuan Mansion space was quite large. Now, it clearly wasn't enough! If he were to bring in any larger treasures in the future, given the Yuan Mansion space's self-expansion rate, he'd probably have to selectively discard some of the less valuable items. "I still need to find a second World-Suppressing Treasure as soon as possible, preferably one that can help expand the Yuan Mansion space. Otherwise, this place..."

"Dao Mark Primordial Stone!" Yu Zhiwen suddenly spoke from the side.

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou turned his head.

"The Dao Mark Primordial Stone can help repair the space of a small world. This item exists in the White Cave; you can look for it later," Yu Zhiwen said.

"Dao Mark Primordial Stone?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up, piqued with interest. "Tell me more."

Yu Zhiwen looked at the chaotic mist around them, her gaze finally settling on the "Life Spirit Seal." "Your Yuan Mansion small world probably wasn't repaired by a Grandmaster of Spatial Spirit Arrays. Otherwise, you wouldn't have enough life energy but insufficient spatial range." She paused, pointing to the surrounding chaotic mist, and said, "The small world's rules are incomplete, but its space has been activated by your life-attributed treasure. So, your Yuan Mansion won't have spatial cracks. However, this chaotic mist also occupies a large amount of usable space. If you don't find a way to clear it, and just wait for it to restore itself, the time it would take..." A smile appeared on Yu Zhiwen's face. "Would be the entire process of a small world forming from nothing!"

From nothing... Xu Xiaoshou's expression stiffened. "Doesn't that mean hundreds of years?"

"Heh." Yu Zhiwen instantly chuckled. "You missed a 'ten thousand' there."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

"Millions of years?"

"Exactly!" Yu Zhiwen nodded. "But having a 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone' makes all the difference. This item contains almost all the grand Dao rules of a complete world; it's a supreme treasure used by powerful cultivators above the Sovereign stage to comprehend the Heavenly Dao. Likewise, it has the ability to repair the rule power of small worlds. Once you obtain a 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone' and place it here, it can instantly expand your Yuan Mansion space by at least dozens of times. And from now on, the spatial growth rate and the degree of rule perfection each day will increase exponentially. Within a few decades, perhaps your Yuan Mansion could truly develop into a real world!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoshou's mouth dropped into an 'O' shape in astonishment. He was completely uninterested in the "few decades" part. But the first sentence...

"Dozens of times?" he asked in surprise.

"Mm," Yu Zhiwen nodded slightly strangely. "What's wrong with dozens of times? I'm even being conservative. Your Yuan Mansion space already has a supreme life treasure; what it lacks are just the remaining grand Dao rules. This is already much more complete than other spatial treasures."

"Then..." Yu Zhiwen pointed to the World-Suppressing Treasure.

"The Life Spirit Seal," Xu Xiaoshou supplied.

"Mm," Yu Zhiwen nodded. "In a sense, that 'Life Spirit Seal' is even more precious than the 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone.' Because as a World-Suppressing Treasure, given enough time, it has the chance to merge with this world and undergo a qualitative change. When that truly happens, your Yuan Mansion space might even be able to birth life."

"Hiss!" Xu Xiaoshou was startled again. He had never imagined that this item, stolen—no, *acquired*—from the "Heavenly Profound Gate," would be so precious. But then again, it made sense. His Yuan Mansion was just for personal use. Whereas the "Heavenly Profound Gate" was a large-scale alternate dimension world, serving as a secret realm for multiple people to explore and train. Compared to that... there was no comparison at all.

"Wait." Xu Xiaoshou's train of thought suddenly halted. "That can't be right. The 'Heavenly Profound Gate' has had the 'Life Spirit Seal' for a long time too. How come I never saw any small lives born inside it?"

With a snicker, Yu Zhiwen immediately burst into laughter. "Xu Xiaoshou, you're too naive. Let alone intelligent life, even mindless life forms wouldn't appear that easily. If you truly waited for your Yuan Mansion space to be able to birth life, it would probably be tens of millions of years from now. And all of this would still be predicated on you having completely repaired this space, including everything within the Heavenly Dao."

"Tch!" Xu Xiaoshou immediately lost interest. "Why are you telling me about something so far in the future?"

Yu Zhiwen covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "It's just that I saw your Yuan Mansion space is already far ahead of many others. The possibility might be small, but the opportunity truly exists."

"Alright, alright." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand repeatedly. He estimated that by the time this Yuan Mansion was passed down to his great-great-great-granddaughter's generation... perhaps everything Yu Zhiwen mentioned could be realized. However, despite the girl's grand vision, she did genuinely give Xu Xiaoshou a practical hope.

"Dao Mark Primordial Stone..." Xu Xiaoshou murmured, then asked, "What does it look like, and roughly where in the White Cave can I find it? Do you know?"

"That, I don't know," Yu Zhiwen shook her head. "The 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone' can appear in any form; it's never fixed. It could be a stone, a leaf, or even a person..."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes flashed green, and he immediately looked at Xu Xiaoji.

Xu Xiaoji: ??? He was completely dumbfounded. *What's going on? Why are you looking at me?!*

"I'm not the 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone'!" Xu Xiaoji exclaimed in horror. He had tried his best to be well-behaved and kept silent, no matter what big shot entered the White Cave. But even at this point, Xu Xiaoshou... still wanted to sacrifice him? "Good heavens, you must be a devil!" Glancing at the miserable sight of the "Life Spirit Seal" still hanging in mid-air, constantly having its power extracted, Xu Xiaoji's soul trembled with fear. If he had to live like this from now on, he'd rather smash his head against a block of tofu and die!

Yu Zhiwen paused, and following Xu Xiaoshou's gaze, also saw Xu Xiaoji. She naturally knew there was such a strange, silent fellow in the Yuan Mansion. But it was clear this guy wasn't the "Dao Mark Primordial Stone"!

"Stop looking, that's a person, not a stone." Yu Zhiwen rolled her beautiful eyes, giving Xu Xiaoshou a side glance, and continued, "No matter what form the 'Dao Mark Primordial Stone' takes, it will always exude the densest Heavenly Dao aura. Even if you don't know what it looks like, if you truly see it, you'll definitely recognize it at a glance. Don't you have that ability?" Yu Zhiwen said, her tone suddenly turning a bit sour.

"What ability?" Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

Yu Zhiwen glanced at Mu Zixi; this little girl didn't matter. But then she looked at Xu Xiaoji beside them, and the little monk in the sky. There were outsiders present, so it wasn't appropriate to speak plainly. "Just... that one." She raised her eyes, indicating.

"That one?" Xu Xiaoshou was confused. "Which one?"

Mu Zixi watched the two exchanging glances, so angry her twin ponytails practically stood on end. "That one..." She seemed to realize something, her face suddenly flushed, and her small fists clenched tightly. *Oh, Xu Xiaoshou. Behind my back, you two already have 'that one'? Again?*

Xu Xiaoshou, seeing this sudden curse, inexplicably glanced at his junior sister. Then, watching Little Yu constantly drawing something on her hand, he suddenly understood. The White Cave map! Right, he had the white bead in his mind. If he wanted to find the "Dao Mark Primordial Stone," he just needed to sense where the Heavenly Dao aura was densest, and then he could follow the clues and get it directly, couldn't he?

"Good heavens!" "Little Yu, you're truly amazing! I understand." Xu Xiaoshou nodded repeatedly in ecstasy. Yu Zhiwen saw Xu Xiaoshou's realization and squinted her eyes with a smile, saying no more. She had previously only been suspicious that Xu Xiaoshou possessed an accurate map of the White Cave. But now, she was absolutely certain.

Unlike the two's riddle, Mu Zixi looked back and forth from the side, her delicate nose wrinkling in anger. *What in the world is going on?! What else are you two hiding from me?*

"Xu Xiaoshou, 'that one'?" She suddenly appeared in front of Xu Xiaoshou, stopping their continuous exchange of glances.

"What do kids know? I'll tell you when you grow up." Xu Xiaoshou simply pushed his junior sister away.

Mu Zixi: ??? "Oh, really! Only when I grow up? As expected, 'that one' you're talking about is exactly what I'm thinking of, isn't it!"

"Disliked, Passive Points, +1, +1, +1, +1..."

"Wuwu." Mu Zixi wiped away tears, stumbling away with each step. "Xu Xiaoshou, you've changed. You weren't like this before."

"What did I do now?" Xu Xiaoshou looked utterly bewildered.

"Wuwuwu, you're tainted..."

Xu Xiaoshou: ??? He was completely dumbfounded. This junior sister, what on earth was going through her little head all day long?

Too lazy to bother with this twisted-minded junior sister, Xu Xiaoshou immediately had a new goal after getting information about the "Dao Mark Primordial Stone." He hadn't had any particular mission when entering the White Cave. Therefore, while this training journey wasn't over, he absolutely had to acquire all the supreme treasures that could perfect his own power system. If that were the case... Xu Xiaoshou looked at the Yuan Mansion space as if seeing a boundless prairie in the future. On his own great prairie in the Yuan Mansion, he would plant spiritual herbs, refine pills, raise fish, play with cats. When bored, he could walk the Blazing Great Skeleton; when tired, he could tease his junior sister; when sleepy, he could...

Glancing at Yu Zhiwen, whose face was also flushed by Mu Zixi's words, Xu Xiaoshou decisively cut off his wandering thoughts. The dangers of the White Cave hadn't been fully resolved yet! If he really encountered a Red Cloak, he probably wouldn't even *dream* of getting the "Dao Mark Primordial Stone." Hiding in the White Cave to live out his days and wait for death, that was indeed achievable. But who knew, while waiting, the space might be broken open, and Night Guardian would drag him out for "ideological purification"!

"Hiss!" Xu Xiaoshou shivered, no longer daring to delay. Strength! Or rather, until his own strength met the standard, he needed two bodyguards. Two bodyguards of extreme bulk and terrifying power, at least at the Sovereign stage or above. He looked up. Xu Xiaoshou gazed at the two behemoths in the space above, his mind racing.

Yes. After acquiring the "Blazing Primordial Seed," Xu Xiaoshou no longer cared for the "Blazing Great Fire Seed" within the Blazing White Skeleton's skull. What he was interested in was *this person*! All of him!

With a whoosh, Xu Xiaoshou, acting on his thoughts, immediately flew into the air and arrived directly in front of the Blazing Great Skeleton.

"Hoo hoo..." The white skeleton was actually roaring. But under the Heavenly Dao's enforced silence, all it could emit was violent exhalations.

"Heh heh." Xu Xiaoshou grinned, looking at the creature before him, recalling the painful experience of being frantically chased for several hours back then. "Little fellow, I can let bygones be bygones. Now, I have a very good plan for you, and I need your cooperation. Can you do that?"

"Hoo hoo hoo..." The white skeleton roared silently, its eyes filled with hatred.

"Oh, come on, why so resistant?" Xu Xiaoshou patted its head, pointing to the crack on its body. "I know you have sentience, and you understand me. Now, you have two choices. First, I'll tear open the wounds on your body, throw all your bones into that chaotic mist to dissolve, then smash your skull and take out what I want." Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the chaotic mist.

"Hoo..." The behemoth's voice suddenly lowered, and a trace of fear appeared in its eyes. Even without experiencing it firsthand, its intuition told it that if it were truly thrown into that chaotic mist, there would be no hope of recovering from its injuries. Only a dead end!

"Scared?" "Good that you're scared." Xu Xiaoshou nodded in satisfaction, extending a second finger. "The second path: surrender to me, and I can..."

"Hoo hoo hoo!" Before he could finish, the creature in front of him directly rioted. Accompanied by violent exhalations, the void began to twist, as if it would shatter in the next second.

"Damn it..." Xu Xiaoshou was enraged. "You're going to tear down my home right under my nose? Even a husky isn't as unruly as you!" He suddenly drew out the Blazing Serpent, and directly chopped at the ankle of the creature's incomplete body. "Boom!" Under the burst of Void Sword Intent, the white skeleton's ankle instantly fractured. Xu Xiaoshou lifted his sword and directly threw it into the chaotic mist. "Sizzle..." Instantly, a violent corrosive sound erupted. A full dozen breaths later, the white skeleton's foot was completely annihilated by the chaotic mist.

"Roar!" A sound of pain rang out. Xu Xiaoshou stood with his sword sheathed. "Still screaming? Believe it or not, I'll chop off your other foot as well?"

"Hoo hoo hoo..." The white skeleton went mad, twisting its body wildly. Xu Xiaoshou sneered, not intending to be polite at all. With a lift of the Blazing Serpent, he was about to chop off its other foot.

"Hoo." "Hoo." The Blazing White Skeleton panicked, its roars turning into desperate exhalations, blowing at Xu Xiaoshou with eyes full of resistance.

"See? Isn't that better?" Xu Xiaoshou hummed. "How good it is to be a well-behaved baby! The obedient Jie Bao is an example you all need to learn from!"

"Hiss!" Xu Xiaoji, hiding in the corner, looked at Xu Xiaoshou, who seemed possessed by a demon god, and couldn't help but shiver. "Jie Bao..." "Is that Xu Xiaoshou's nickname for the 'God of Precepts'?" "Indeed, they're all devils!" Tears welled up in Xu Xiaoji's eyes; his heart was helpless, and he felt utterly lost. "Oh God, when can I be freed? When can I get out? Wuwuwu..."