Chapter 525: Becoming Stronger... Oh No, It's Lottery Time

"Hahahaha..."The little monk laughed so hard his eyes squinted shut, his hands flailing on the ground. Mu Zixi couldn't help but chuckle, covering her mouth with a light laugh. Only Xu Xiaoshou remained, completely unable to smile.

As Little Yu told his story, why did it feel like every part of it related back to him? The Eighth Sword Immortal, the Sword-Bearer of the Buried Sword Mound, the Resentful Buddha, and that Kuilei Han who suppressed everyone... Had he unknowingly met the descendants of so many powerful figures? Thankfully, he hadn't offended all of them. Otherwise, his future days would be quite challenging.

Putting these thoughts aside for a moment, Xu Xiaoshou, overwhelmed with pressure, found it difficult to focus on any story. He had a premonition. If he continued to develop like this, he might not only be slightly antagonistic towards the Red Coats, but also potentially encounter the Holy Divine Palace, or rather, these legendary major figures, one by one. "This is tough..." Xu Xiaoshou suddenly had a headache. Looking at the little monk rolling on the ground with laughter, he no longer had the heart to tease him further. He simply picked him up.

"Do you want to go out?" Xu Xiaoshou asked abruptly.Bule: ???"Suspected, Passive Points, +1.""Feared, Passive Points, +1."Before Bule could react, Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand, summoned a teleportation gate, and directly tossed the little fellow back into the White Cave.

"Xu Xiaoshou, you..." Mu Zixi's smile froze for a moment."Since I'm not going to exploit this kid, I can't let him stay in the Yuan Mansion for too long," Xu Xiaoshou said with a smile, pointing at the "Life Spirit Seal" in the void. With that item, even if the Yuan Mansion's rules were not yet complete, it was undoubtedly a treasure trove. He ignored the reaction of the person in front of him.

"I'm feeling a bit stressed. I'm going to figure out how to become stronger. Feel free to do as you please." With that, Xu Xiaoshou bid farewell to the two women, found the broken tower of the Scripture Pavilion from Zhang Mansion, and went inside. A spacious and quiet environment always allowed one to calm down slightly. "Becoming stronger..." Xu Xiaoshou murmured silently.

Although he had escaped the Night Guardian's pursuit, given the current situation, once he returned to the White Cave, he would likely face the Night Guardian's words again: "It won't just be him, a single Red Coat, anymore, will it?" It was clear that Xu Xiaoshou felt the Night Guardian's indulgence, almost doting affection, towards him. If it were another Red Coat, in such circumstances, they probably wouldn't have allowed him to explain much, but would have simply dragged him back to the Red Coat base for judgment. But that Night Guardian... "Perhaps he was also a person with dreams in his youth!" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled wryly. Sometimes, as people grow older, they may find themselves constrained. But at this moment, he was still young, his blood still hot; how could he allow others to dictate and criticize his destiny?

"Become stronger!" His voice grew serious. Xu Xiaoshou knew that only by becoming stronger could he truly break free from all constraints. So, how to become stronger?

Cultivation improvement was undoubtedly the top priority. With "Concealment," Xu Xiaoshou had been advancing like a rocket in this regard. But it wasn't enough! Ultimately, it was still a matter of insufficient time. After all, he had always lacked time. Even with the "Three-Day Frozen Tribulation" raising his realm to the peak of Dwelling Void, it still wasn't enough. But there was no other way. Growing too fast meant having to face people and events far earlier than others would, often by a decade or two. Such troubles were bound to arise.

"It's a shame about the 'Blaze Seed.' There was no breakthrough in cultivation, but it's still good that it compressed my spiritual essence quality. That's not bad.""It's just..." Xu Xiaoshou was troubled. His cultivation breakthroughs didn't just mean a general increase in strength like others experienced. More importantly, they allowed him to raise the level cap of his passive skills! But now, without reaching the Grandmaster realm, it was probably impossible to acquire King-tier passive skills. So...

"Lottery draw, awaken!" Xu Xiaoshou composed himself, his attention returning to the long-unseen red interface. He remembered the last skill upgrade had been in Tiansang City. Along the way through the White Cave, he had originally decided to tally all his gains only at the end. But now, that was unlikely! The enemies were too strong; he had to be at his peak!

His gaze swept down, locking onto the bottom of the information bar:"Passive Points: 315,568."Three hundred thousand! Xu Xiaoshou's heart leaped. A new record! Although he had been prepared, seeing the string of numbers starting with "3" made him feel that his strength was about to enter another peak burst period. "Incredible..." The total damage he received during this period of combat should have been minimal. So, most of the passive point increase likely didn't come from combat. At most, being trapped in the ancient book space by the red-robed man and continuously taking damage for several hours after acquiring the "Blaze Seed" might have accumulated some points. The real bulk should have come from others' emotional contributions.

"Selling Exquisite Stones at the entrance of Eight Palaces Town...""Playing to the crowd in front of the teleportation array...""The birth of the Blazing Python..."Xu Xiaoshou estimated that the true bulk of the points came from the crowd at the teleportation array. After all, that was where the real sea of people was. And they were all Spirit Refiners. In that place, a single contribution of passive points could sometimes break through several thousand. Even if the duration was shorter, accumulating a hundred to two hundred thousand passive points shouldn't be a big problem. "Tsk tsk, it's good to have a lot of people..." Xu Xiaoshou sighed with satisfaction, putting all his thoughts aside and eagerly rubbing his hands together.

"So, how should I use three hundred thousand points?""Hmm, first, I should focus on upgrading skills!"His attention shifted to the panel. The layout was neat and orderly; almost all of his passive skills had already reached Grandmaster level.

Basic Passive Skills:Breathing Technique (Grandmaster Lv.1)Unending Life (Grandmaster Lv.1)Full of Vitality (Grandmaster Lv.1)These three were the most fundamental and essential survival skills. Under Xu Xiaoshou's close attention, they had long since been maxed out. His gaze swept past a long list in the middle, landing on the section below.

Mastery Passive Skills:Sword Mastery (Grandmaster Lv.1)Culinary Mastery (Grandmaster Lv.1)Textile Mastery (Grandmaster Lv.1)These three were crucial life-saving techniques, and there was still much within them that hadn't been fully developed. However, the inspiration for these developments almost always came from combat. Oh... and alchemy! Just sitting and thinking would be a complete waste of time. He was a freestyle player, after all. For mastery-type passive skills, just max out the level; the rest could be left to improvisation!

"So..."His gaze fell upon the large section in the middle, and Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist.Extended Passive Skills:Strength (Grandmaster Lv.1) — Frenzied GiantRebound (Grandmaster Lv.1) — Explosive StanceAgility (Grandmaster Lv.1) — Step to HeavenPerception (Grandmaster Lv.1)Sharpness (Innate Lv.1)Resilience (Innate Lv.1)Concealment (Innate Lv.1)"There are still three Innate skills..." Xu Xiaoshou murmured. If he upgraded all of them, three would cost one hundred fifty thousand! He only had three hundred thousand; how could he be so wasteful?

"That's too little, these passive points..." Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt that his passive points weren't enough again. He carefully considered his options. Sharpness, no need to consider. Perhaps upgrading this skill to Grandmaster would bring about a qualitative transformation. But even with further transformation, Xu Xiaoshou could see its limits. No matter how strong it became, it couldn't surpass the Blazing Python! Perhaps when his own cultivation broke through to Grandmaster, and he could directly upgrade it to the King-tier, then he could truly be sharp all over, a person like a famous sword? "No rush, I'll try it then." Xu Xiaoshou thought cheerfully, his gaze skipping "Sharpness" and landing on "Resilience." This was also a skill that seemed to have a visible peak. Perhaps if it truly reached the King-tier, combined with Rebound, he could punch and tear the world apart like that white-bearded uncle; there shouldn't be a big problem. But if it was only Grandmaster level... "I won't consider it for now."

Xu Xiaoshou's entire attention shifted to "Concealment." Without a doubt, this was a divine skill! Since acquiring it, he no longer had to worry about his cultivation progressing too quickly and being captured for dissection and study. He could openly upgrade his cultivation without hiding anything, combining it with the "Breathing Technique." This feeling was absolutely fantastic! Even someone as powerful as the Night Guardian would probably be bewildered after seeing his cultivation realm, right? "This must be one of the few passive skills that, at the Innate level, can communicate with the Heavenly Dao and thus possess an ability close to confusing even the Dao Severers' discerning eyes, right?" "If it's upgraded to Grandmaster level, who's to say... even the Grand Ethereal might be confused!" "Moreover, at the Grandmaster level, there's always a chance for a transformation." "What will it become?" Xu Xiaoshou pondered. He no longer felt that the highest realm of "Concealment" was "invisibility." Invisibility was powerful. But after witnessing true spatial power, if it was merely the physical body becoming unseen, others could shatter space, and he would still die. "Concealment," as a systematic passive skill, couldn't possibly have such a superficial function. "Perhaps, after reaching Grandmaster, it can completely eliminate my aura fluctuations, making it impossible for those who want to hunt me down to find me again?"

Xu Xiaoshou was pleasantly surprised by this sudden thought. If that were the case, it would be absolutely incredible. It perfectly fit his current situation! With a wave of his hand, Xu Xiaoshou no longer hesitated, directly spending fifty thousand passive points to upgrade it."Concealment (Innate Lv.1).""Concealment (Grandmaster Lv.1)."

The moment the skill reached Grandmaster level, Xu Xiaoshou immediately felt a sensation of merging with the Heavenly Dao. It didn't seem like a delusion... It was a "feeling"! He felt that even while inside the small Yuan Mansion space, within this broken tower of the Scripture Pavilion, he couldn't even detect himself. He was like an inconspicuous grain of sand on the ground, or the most ordinary leaf in a dense treetop. Even if one tried very hard to find him, it would be easy to overlook him.

"This is too strong, isn't it?" Xu Xiaoshou was startled. He was using his spiritual sense to perceive himself, and even with his subjective consciousness involved, this was the result. If others came... "I bet in the future, even if I stood openly at someone's bathroom door peeking at them bathing, no one would notice, right?" Xu Xiaoshou was ecstatic. Of course, he wasn't happy about the peeking part. Well, maybe a little... But that wasn't important! More importantly, if he didn't use "Perception," his spiritual sense couldn't lock onto himself at all. This meant that any aura locking, any scent tracking... All would fail! As long as he disappeared from the enemy's sight, perhaps even if they pulled out detection spiritual tools, they might not be able to find him!

"This is too amazing, isn't it?" Xu Xiaoshou quickly probed his Qi Sea again. His Qi Sea seemed to be obscured by heavenly secrets; his spiritual sense swept over it now, unable to perceive any results, as if he were just an ordinary person... "This!" A sudden idea struck Xu Xiaoshou: instead of expanding "Perception" outwards, he retracted it inwards. A small experiment revealed a new function. "Perception" could indeed be used for internal viewing. And with internal viewing, his bones, blood, meridians, including spiritual essence, were all crystal clear! "A bit nauseating." Xu Xiaoshou exited this state. This bloody scene, he reckoned, if a physician acquired this ability, they could probably perform some incredible operations. But Xu Xiaoshou truly couldn't stand such a sight.

"Grandmaster-level Concealment...""Very powerful!""Although it's not true invisibility, when used with 'Step to Heaven,' it's undoubtedly another form of invisibility.""Instant disappearance, plus the ability to erase my aura...""If I talk a bit more before a fight, then find an opportune moment to sneak away, even under everyone's watchful eyes, probably no one would know where I went, right?"Xu Xiaoshou clapped his thigh in excitement, suddenly remembering something."Oh right, there are also spatial fluctuations..."He hesitated for a moment, but quickly relaxed. Spatial abilities were too difficult. To find someone by spatial fluctuations, it's not just about whether the opponent has such a strong comprehension of the Dao of Space. Even if they do, as long as he shattered a few more spaces to confuse their sight, wouldn't the enemy lose their target?

"Hehe, Night Guardian..." Xu Xiaoshou chuckled mischievously, "This parting is permanent!""Hahahahaha—"He laughed loudly, hands on his hips. It wasn't until the information bar showed "Suspected" that he realized there were outsiders present, and he immediately reined in his outward emotions. "Right." "Composed, composed."

He glanced down at the information bar again."Passive Points: 265,571."Xu Xiaoshou nodded in satisfaction. Two hundred sixty thousand. If awakening a passive skill was estimated to cost one hundred thousand, he still had one hundred fifty thousand points to use. So, which one should he awaken?

"Perception, Sharpness, Resilience, Concealment..." Xu Xiaoshou's attention focused on "Perception" and "Concealment." Without a doubt, both were too practical. It was a difficult choice. "'Perception' is currently sufficient; if I awaken it further, I don't know what direction it will take." "But 'Concealment' might truly be able to erase all traces of me in this world..." Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. "Concealment" was too appealing! He hadn't paid much attention to this passive skill at first, but with more and more powerful figures, like that disheveled Saint, paying attention to him, if he could completely vanish from this world...

"Cursed, Passive Points, +1."Xu Xiaoshou: ???"Bah!""How can I curse myself?"He quickly slapped his face twice, then suddenly froze."Wait, this system, isn't it unable to generate passive points for myself?"Xu Xiaoshou felt he had found a bug, the kind that could yield billions of passive points. That curse floated through his mind again: "If I could completely vanish from this world..."He glanced at the information bar."No reaction?"The silence left Xu Xiaoshou bewildered."What's going on? It's on and off. Could it be that unconscious curses work, but conscious ones don't?"

Just then,"Cursed, Passive Points, +1, +1, +1, +1..."Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized."That damned junior sister...""She's infuriating me!"He clenched his fists, nearly rushing out to hang his junior sister up and beat her. This was truly... Poisonous! Cursing him for no reason? All that excitement was for nothing!

No longer dwelling on it, Xu Xiaoshou redirected his attention to the lottery draw. Although it seemed unrealistic, awakening certainly had to come after the draw. What if the lottery yielded two items at once? And they were both passive skills that could surpass "Concealment" in level? "Hehe." Xu Xiaoshou chuckled cheerfully. He was always so self-assured; although he always came back empty-handed, that didn't impede humanity's delusional nature, did it? "First, let's try a ten-pull to test the waters!" With a sweep of his hand, he thought, he still had two hundred sixty thousand passive points anyway; fifty thousand was just a drop in the ocean compared to that large sum. "European Emperor, possess me!" He roared, inserted the passive key, and then piously made a Western "Amen" gesture before finally looking at the information bar.

"Another spoon!""Obtained Extended Passive Skill: Transformation!"Transformation?Xu Xiaoshou: ???"Holy crap, I got something!!!"He stared, eyes wide with disbelief, and leaned forward, wanting to see if this was all an illusion. But the information bar was in his Purple Mansion Yuan Garden. Leaning forward would only make him fall; how could he see more clearly? "Thud!" With a dull thud, Xu Xiaoshou's head hit the ground, directly creating a large crater. Even so, he didn't pull his head out immediately, but continued to stare blankly at the line of text in the information bar... His whole body began to twitch and convulse. Xu Xiaoshou had gone mad.

"Transformation?" He cried out in surprise, his voice filled with delight. Suddenly, as his loud cries were about to end, Xu Xiaoshou also realized that his voice could change at any time. "Transformation?" He called out again, and this time, Mu Zixi's voice came out. "Holy crap..." Yu Zhiwen's voice also emerged, filled with an unsettling sense of horror. Xu Xiaoshou clutched his head, his face full of shock. "Voice transformation?!" He immediately flipped over and pulled out a mirror, feeling at that moment that he possessed the entire world. However, no matter how much he squinted or contorted his face, there was still no change in his appearance.

"Right, right.""Not enough level!"Xu Xiaoshou immediately realized. Five thousand passive points for Innate. Then fifty thousand, directly for Grandmaster level!"Transformation (Grandmaster Lv.1).""Change!""Change for me!"With a twitch of his eyebrows, the lying Xu Xiaoshou's face showed aged wrinkles. The next second, he completely transformed into a face identical to the Night Guardian's. At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou's mouth was twisted in a grin. "Hehe, hahaha, hahahaha!"

"Xu Xiaoshou!" Pinching his throat, Xu Xiaoshou's voice directly became the Night Guardian's voice, "Let's see how you'll run now!" Exactly the same! "Hahaha—" Xu Xiaoshou was entranced. He yelled at the mirror, almost pathologically, "Old man Night Guardian, let's see how you find me now, haha..." "Transformation" plus "Concealment"—this was a complete set! The face in the mirror suddenly changed, becoming the red-robed man's face. "Brother~" A deliberately affected call instantly sent goosebumps erupting over Xu Xiaoshou's entire body, all the way to his scalp. Like a bucket of cold water poured over him, he instantly sobered up.

He quickly flipped over and stood up, giving himself a harsh slap across the face. "Damn it, how could I make such a disgusting sound?" "Son of a b*tch..." "Hiss!" Unable to resist another full-body shiver, Xu Xiaoshou changed back to his original appearance. He stood motionless for a small while. A long time passed.

"Hahahahaha..." After a burst of unrestrained laughter, "Done!" Xu Xiaoshou returned to calm. At this moment, he knew he was invincible. The kind of invincible that meant supreme in the world!

"Once I'm out of the White Cave, I immediately need to change my wardrobe." "Right!" "A set of white robes, a set of red robes, a set for masked figures, a set for Elder Sang, I also need one of those red dresses, and what else was there..." "Never mind, I still have tens of billions of points anyway, so I'll just buy a hundred million worth of clothes first!" "Whatever Tathagata Buddha, whatever Great Sage Equal to Heaven..." "Even if they don't exist, I want them all custom-made for me!" Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist fiercely, his face flushed with excitement.

"Oh, right..." He suddenly wondered, would the system's "Transformation" merely be the superficial changes he had just thought of? "Not necessarily." "No, it's certainly more than that." Xu Xiaoshou calmed himself, frowning in deep thought. Every passive skill in the past had a great use. Although the uses he currently understood for "Transformation" were significant, they were too based on the word "transformation" itself. System-produced items were always of superior quality. There must be other "transformations" that his current imagination hadn't yet uncovered. "External objects?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up, and he casually picked up a piece of rubble from the ground. But under his mental command, there was no reaction at all. "Sure enough, passive skills can only act upon oneself." "If other things could also transform, then it would be an active skill." Xu Xiaoshou was not disheartened.

"Self..." He murmured to himself, looking at the hand holding the stone, when suddenly an idea sparked in his mind. "Whoosh!" His arm instantly elongated, directly poking through the doors and windows several feet away in the broken tower. "Pat pat..." Splintered wood fell to the ground, and the scene became utterly silent. Xu Xiaoshou froze completely.

"This..." "This!" In an instant, his facial expression shifted through hundreds of different emotions. "Holy crap, this makes so much sense!" "Transformation, transformation... It's not just about disguising, but about being able to completely transform every part of the body!" "My short arm can become other forms." "But other people's hands also vary in length and thickness!" "So, what if I were to transform it into someone else's hand that's a bit longer and thicker..." Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts settled, and pure ecstasy bloomed in his eyes.

He suddenly flicked his right arm backward, and a scar appeared under his left eye. The next second, a low roar echoed through the broken tower: "Third Gear!" "Boom!" In response, a gigantic arm erupted, swelling so much that it shattered the first floor ceiling of the broken tower. That brawny right arm, like a god's heavy hammer, had a fingernail alone that could rival a normal human body. Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. He had only had a flash of inspiration, but he hadn't expected... "This is truly invincible!" He didn't dare to strike downwards. Xu Xiaoshou knew his own strength.

He slowly retracted his arm, staring absently at his thick, long limb. "This should be the current limit for size transformation." "But..." After a pause, Xu Xiaoshou still murmured in disbelief, "Can anything, really, be transformed?" The air fell silent again. The atmosphere became eerie. Time seemed to slow down...

Xu Xiaoshou's head slowly lowered, and after personally experiencing something, he slowly raised it. His face flushed. "Hehe..." "Hehe..." "This, this is truly, truly... invincible!"