Chapter 530: Rolling

Emerging from the Yuan Mansion, Xu Xiaoshou had few companions: only Mu Zixi, Yu Zhiwen, and A-Jie, who remained in his stone form. Upon re-entering and smelling the stifling air of the White Cave dimension, he vaguely sensed that this otherworldly space was slightly amiss. The minor realm vibrated occasionally, earthquakes were frequent, and every now and then, beams of light generated by celestial phenomena would burst into the sky.

Clearly, the White Cave had undergone changes. Various exotic treasures were appearing at a frantic pace. He wasn’t sure if this was due to the White Cave’s own internal reasons or a ripple effect from the small explosion at Lingrongze. Xu Xiaoshou didn't pay it much mind; it wasn’t his concern.

After confirming he was out of danger and no Red-clothed pursuers were behind him, he once again located the area with the richest Heavenly Dao aura on the white bead map in his mind—the position of the Dao Pattern Primordial Stone. It was noteworthy that this item was far from Lingrongze, and surprisingly, even somewhat close to the large mass of demonic energy. That demonic energy, if no surprise, could only be related to the Four Swords.

Undeniably, one could predict, even by simply thinking, that the top experts would almost certainly converge at the Four Swords’ final destination. The main Red-clothed forces would also undoubtedly be there. Could the Dao Pattern Primordial Stone be given up just like that? Previously, Xu Xiaoshou had no choice and might have considered abandoning it. But now, with "Disappearing Art" and "Transformation," he moved forward with unyielding determination!

***

Inside the barrier.

“Shou, Shou, Shou... Brother Shou?”

The moment Fu Yinhong turned her head, Fu Xing also looked towards the source of the voice behind them. The next second, he looked as if he had seen a ghost, so startled that the freshly roasted spiritual beast meat in his hand almost dropped directly into the bonfire.

“Solidify!”

Xu Xiaoshou strode forward. With an advanced application of "All Things Are Swords," he solidified the spiritual beast meat in mid-air.

“Did you see a ghost? Why are you so flustered?”

“Honestly, confess, were you secretly badmouthing me behind my back?”

As he spoke, he flickered, instantly appearing before Fu Xing. He picked up the spiritual beast meat, took a noisy bite, and tore off a piece.

*Gulp!*

Having not tasted meat for many days, a single bite filled him with satisfaction.

“The craftsmanship isn’t bad, just a little bit worse than mine.” Xu Xiaoshou quickly stripped the meat clean off the bone. He tossed the bone with the wooden skewer, and it landed with a *thud* in the fire.

*Thump.* Fu Xing’s heart skipped a beat.

“This, this, this...”

He was completely dumbfounded. How could it be such a coincidence? Speak of Xiaoshou, and Xiaoshou appears? Surely, he hadn’t heard what he just said! He definitely hadn’t! They were separated by a protective barrier; how could he have heard? Damn it, he should have used telepathy just now...

“Shou, Shou, Shou, Brother Shou, hehe, when did you arrive? You didn’t even let us know; I could have roasted some meat for you!” Fu Xing forced a smile.

“Just now.”

“Uh, ‘just now,’ how long ago was that?” Fu Xing’s face twitched.

“Do you know what ‘just now’ means?” Xu Xiaoshou settled down next to him.

Fu Xing was speechless.

Mu Zixi and Yu Zhiwen also came to the bonfire. They both nodded in greeting to Fu Yinhong and sat down on the ground.

“Cough, cough.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I really...”

“You’re acting strange.” Xu Xiaoshou looked at him, amused, “Were you really secretly badmouthing me, afraid I’d hear?”

Fu Xing looked at Xu Xiaoshou’s face, feeling like his usual talent for discerning people was useless. He couldn’t tell if Xu Xiaoshou’s expression was genuine or feigned!

“No such thing, don’t talk nonsense.”

“I just...”

His voice trailed off. His gaze suddenly fixed on the protective spiritual formation. “Right, I was just curious, this spiritual formation isn’t low-level, how did you manage to get in without any of us noticing?”

Fu Yinhong, to the side, single-handedly covered her forehead and heavily closed her eyes. *Oh, my silly brother!* Even though you were unconscious during the spiritual formation master’s competition in the banquet hall, that guy could even alter the spiritual formations in the backyard! Can’t you think a little more flexibly? What kind of pointless questions are these!

“Heh heh.”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t say anything, just chuckled softly twice. Fu Xing became even more flustered.

Received Passive Points: Feared +1.

“Let me introduce you.” Xu Xiaoshou stopped teasing him, pointing at Yu Zhiwen. “This is Yu Zhiwen, a Heaven’s Mystery Diviner from the Sacred Temple. Your so-called not-low-level spiritual formation is like paper in front of her. You should practice more.”

After speaking, he pointed at Fu Xing and said to Yu Zhiwen, “This is Young Master Fu from Tiansang City Lord’s Mansion. Besides being a little less handsome than me, he’s excellent in everything else. He knows a bit of everything but masters nothing, just like his spiritual formations.”

Fu Xing was bewildered.

Received Passive Points: Suspicion +1.

“Hello.” Yu Zhiwen nodded in greeting.

Fu Xing quickly composed himself and wanted to return the greeting. But as he glanced over, he noticed for the first time how astonishingly beautiful the woman behind Xu Xiaoshou was. Those captivating, star-like eyes almost sucked his eyeballs out. Fortunately, his momentary lapse was brief, and Fu Xing quickly recovered. He flicked his sleeve, wiped his hands on his tunic, and then extended his hand.

“Hello, miss, I am Fu Xing.”

“Slap.”

Xu Xiaoshou grabbed his hand, then, with his other hand, took Fu Xing’s other hand and pointed at Fu Yinhong, saying, “This is his sister, Fu Yinhong.”

Fu Xing was dumbfounded.

Fu Yinhong was speechless.

Received Passive Points: Suspicion +1.

Received Passive Points: Cursed +1, +1, +1, +1.

Watching the two women nod in greeting to each other after Xu’s outlandish introduction, Fu Xing’s heart suddenly calmed down. *That’s right!* No matter how much he doubted, at least the Xu Xiaoshou before him was still the familiar Xu Xiaoshou. As for ghost beasts... that was just speculation. Why was he panicking before anything even happened? He took a deep breath, regaining his composure, unperturbed by honor or disgrace.

“Brother Shou...”

“Hey, wait!”

Xu Xiaoshou raised Fu Xing’s hand and covered his mouth. “According to seniority, you can’t call me Brother Shou anymore. You can change your address, for example...”

“Uncle Shou.”

As he spoke, he turned to Fu Yinhong, “Right, niece?”

Fu Yinhong was speechless. Her lips twitched, and she almost picked up a stone to throw at the young man’s face. He was too infuriating! How could this guy, the moment he appeared, so easily provoke others’ anger?

Received Passive Points: Cursed +1.

“Cough, cough...” Fu Xing also felt overwhelmed. He naturally knew about Xu Xiaoshou’s relationship with his father, so he selectively avoided the address.

“Come, come, everyone sit. To meet again in White Cave is fate; I’ll roast some meat for everyone.” As he spoke, he quickly pulled out ingredients and seasonings from his ring, becoming a silent, meat-roasting man.

“This little fellow is quite clever.”

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled lightly. He didn’t choose to join in the roasting. Instead, he stood up. “We’ll talk about the meat later. I didn’t come here for you this time.”

“Hmm?” Fu Xing closed his mouth and raised his head.

“There.” Xu Xiaoshou gestured with his mouth, and everyone followed his gaze to the Ling Palace team at another bonfire. They had clearly already noticed the commotion here. At this moment, they weren’t roasting meat anymore. Several of them had stood up.

“Sister Rao...” Mu Zixi murmured. While saying “Sister Rao,” her gaze landed directly on the girl in the white combat attire. As expected, when her senior brother looked over, Su Qianqian’s dimples deepened.

“Brother Xiaoshou!”

Xu Xiaoshou walked over, and Mu Zixi and Yu Zhiwen couldn’t sit still either, following closely behind.

“There’s a good show to watch,” Fu Xing mumbled, then paused suddenly. “No, we should go.”

“Go where?” Fu Yinhong looked over with interest. “It’s not like we’re actively engaging them; what danger could there be just watching?” Seeing Fu Xing’s face darken, she immediately added, “Don’t you think Xu Xiaoshou seems to have changed even more after just a few days?”

“Uh...” Fu Xing was startled. “Where?”

“Everywhere!” Fu Yinhong frowned, puzzled. “And even if we only look at his cultivation, can you still discern it now?”

“Cultivation?” Fu Xing looked at the two of them suspiciously, then fixed his gaze on Xu Xiaoshou.

“This...” It was as if Xu Xiaoshou was enveloped by a thick mist. Forget cultivation; he couldn’t even detect the slightest fluctuation of spiritual aura around Xu Xiaoshou. How was this a Spiritual Cultivator? If he were in a crowd, and someone said he was an ordinary person, no one would dare disbelieve it! But... ordinary? Fu Xing hesitated. If Xu Xiaoshou could be linked to the word “ordinary,” then all the talented individuals in the world would be reduced to ordinariness.

“Or perhaps...”

“Returning to simplicity?”

Received Passive Points: Noticed +13.

Received Passive Points: Hated +1.

***

Xu Xiaoshou approached the Ling Palace team. Looking at Su Qianqian, he couldn’t help but sigh. This little girl... had ultimately changed. If the Su family tragedy hadn’t happened, at this long-awaited reunion, she would have probably acted like a little girl, like she did back at the Ling Palace, and been the first to rush forward for a hug, wouldn’t she? However, besides that slightly surprised “Brother Xiaoshou,” he no longer saw any other signs of cheerfulness on Su Qianqian’s face.

“Sacred Slave...” Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes. Life always unknowingly smooths out a person’s rough edges. No matter how unwilling one might be, when the heavy burden of responsibility falls upon a person, no matter how difficult, they must bear it.

His gaze swept over the others. Besides a few familiar faces from Ling Palace, there were also several unfamiliar young people. Judging by their sitting positions, they seemed to be from the Su family. This meant that the team led by Su Qianqian had found the main Ling Palace forces in White Cave and had all come to this place together.

“Xu Xiaoshou!”

Abruptly, a brawny, completely unfamiliar man stepped forward, his expression fierce. He strode directly in front of everyone. Pointing at Fu Xing’s bonfire, he said, “If you’re not looking for them, then you must be looking for me, right?” His eyes narrowed, and a seemingly mild but overwhelming killing intent enveloped the area.

Received Passive Points: Questioned +1.

Xu Xiaoshou’s face showed multiple question marks. He turned his head to look at the Ling Palace team. Behind this man, he saw Zhou Tianshen, who was clenching his fists and constantly hitting his palms, seemingly sending some kind of signal. He then glanced at Rao Yinyin, who stood with her arms crossed, eyes glinting with amusement. Finally, he returned his gaze to the man.

“Excuse me...” Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. “Who are you?”

Tan Ji was speechless. His formidable killing intent suddenly froze. The arrogant words on the tip of his tongue were choked back, caught in his throat.

“Pfft.”

Zhou Tianshen burst out laughing on the spot. He clapped his hands, pointing at the brawny man, and chuckled loudly:

“Hahaha, Tan Ji, you have this day coming to you too.”

“I told you, you’re just a pathetic temporary leader, don’t get cocky, don’t get cocky.”

“Now look, Xu Xiaoshou is here. Hurry up and give way, or you’ll regret it later!”

“Shut up!” Tan Ji couldn’t help but turn and snap at him.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately frowned. “Friend... firstly, eavesdropping on others’ conversations is rude, even if my two good friends over there weren’t saying anything important.” He pointed at Fu Xing. “Secondly, I’m not here for you, so you don’t need to be so excited. I don’t like men.”

“Finally, I can tell you’re very arrogant, but please don’t talk to my good friend like that; it’s quite annoying.” Xu Xiaoshou gestured to Zhou Tianshen, his tone very sincere. He genuinely couldn’t recall where he had offended this person. Even when he had seen the conflict between Zhou Tianshen and this person from afar outside the barrier, he hadn’t intended to intervene. After all, his target wasn’t people at all. And Zhou Tianshen didn’t seem like the type to appreciate his help. But this guy... Tan Ji? You’re only at the peak Xiantian realm, not even a Grandmaster. How do you have the guts to jump out and try to suppress me, Xu Xiaoshou, with your killing intent? I, Xu Xiaoshou, don’t kill Xiantian cultivators, alright? They’re too weak!

“Hahaha!” Tan Ji laughed wildly in response to Xu Xiaoshou’s words. After his laughter subsided, he composed himself and said with disdain in his eyes, “Annoyed? Didn’t you, Xu Xiaoshou, come here for my leader—”

“Get out of the way.”

Xu Xiaoshou stepped forward and directly pressed his palm onto Tan Ji’s right cheek, pushing him aside.

*Thump, thump, thump.* Tan Ji stumbled and staggered as he was pushed away, eventually falling to the ground with a *thud*, unable to regain his balance. Tan Ji was bewildered. *This strength... No! Damn it! What did this guy do?* He turned his head and saw everyone looking down at him, then his hand instinctively touched the sand and gravel on the ground. Only then did he fully react. *He was knocked to the ground by a single slap from Xu Xiaoshou?* Seeing everyone’s stunned, disbelieving faces, Tan Ji was about to go crazy. Embarrassment and shame surged from his heart, instantly flushing his entire face red.

“Xu Xiaoshou, you attacked me by surprise?!”

He angrily rose, wanting to salvage some of the dignity he lost by being knocked to the ground. Tan Ji pulled out his long spear, pointing its tip at Xu Xiaoshou, his killing intent exploding. Instantly, sand scattered, and the bonfire quickly died out, its sparks flying.

“What’s going on?” Xu Xiaoshou, however, walked directly up to Zhou Tianshen, frowning. “Your archenemy? How long have I been gone? Are you that good at causing trouble?”

“My archenemy?” Zhou Tianshen was momentarily stunned. “No, no, no, not my archenemy. He’s *your* archenemy.”

“Me?” Xu Xiaoshou pointed to himself, incredulous.

“Yes.” Zhou Tianshen nodded. “You are the Dean’s appointed second leader of the White Cave team. This guy is only temporary; the leadership position will change hands as soon as you arrive.”

“Now...” As Zhou Tianshen spoke, he glanced behind Xu Xiaoshou. He felt it wasn’t good to just leave the guy with the “spear like a dragon” hanging. Look at him, his face is ashen. He didn’t know if it was from holding his breath or from anger. But... Xu Xiaoshou didn’t care, so why should he be afraid? “Now that you’re here, this guy’s leadership position is no longer secure, so he naturally wants to challenge you,” Zhou Tianshen said, feigning nonchalance, after recovering his wits.

“What do I want with a leader position?” Xu Xiaoshou scoffed. “I wouldn’t take on this burdensome job. The Dean just wants to exploit me...”

“Oh, right, does this job pay?” His expression suddenly changed.

“Pay?”

“Uh, I mean, remuneration.”

“No.”

“No?” Xu Xiaoshou’s voice rose, astonished. “What a joke! Protecting so many people without pay? Which idiot would do that?”

Rao Yinyin on the side was momentarily stunned.

Received Passive Points: Cursed +1.

“XU XIAOSHOU!!!” Tan Ji roared. His eyes spewed fire, his gaze wild, like a madman. Watching the two people in front of him chat as if no one else was present, their words subtly hinting at criticisms, what was this? What was he, Tan Ji? What was his drawn long spear? Ignored? Tan Ji’s teeth chattered with rage. *Do you even have the right to ignore me, Xu Xiaoshou?!*

“Die!” He shook his long spear, spiritual energy enveloping the shaft, transforming it directly into a yellow dragon that shot towards the sky. Formidable energy burst from his body, scattering crackling embers and sparks from the bonfire. Everyone stumbled back, looking at the madman with astonishment.

“This...”

“He’s even using ‘Azure Yellow Dragon Spear,’ isn’t that too much?”

“Although Tan Ji is a bit arrogant, would he really use deadly force on one of his own?”

“Is he really crazy?”

“I don’t think so. He’s probably feigning madness to genuinely try to take a life, then ‘timely’ withdraw, show remorse, and the matter would be over.” Whispering, the crowd discussed as they retreated. Even Rao Yinyin, watching this scene, felt a little anxious. Yet Tan Ji charged like a madman, and Xu Xiaoshou remained unmoved.

“What does he want to do?”

“This guy was only at the Yuan Court Realm when he left Ling Palace. He wouldn’t really fail to notice anything, would he?” Her thoughts raced, and Rao Yinyin quickly dismissed her own idea. Only a fool would believe that someone who secured eighteen White Cave spots in the City Lord’s Mansion wouldn’t sense this formidable killing intent.

“Let’s see first.” Temporarily suppressing the urge to stop the fight, Rao Yinyin suddenly wanted to see how Xu Xiaoshou would resolve the situation.

“Careful...” Zhou Tianshen had just recovered from Xu Xiaoshou’s previous comments when he saw Tan Ji charging with his spear, and immediately couldn’t help but warn him.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, casually patted his butt, then suddenly ducked down and sat. Precisely after this movement, the long spear aimed at his back passed through the air just above his shoulder. He seemed completely undisturbed, speaking to himself, “Tell me, how did you all communicate after coming to White Cave? I didn’t realize it was random teleportation at first, so I practically had to spread my spiritual perception across the entire White Cave to find anyone.”

Above.

“Damn it!” Tan Ji discovered that the spear he had thrust through had only pierced an illusion. He burned with rage, then burned even more fiercely, blazing wildly. When he regained his senses, Xu Xiaoshou was already sitting on the ground, completely unscathed. Instantly, Tan Ji’s eyes bulged with rage, and his lungs felt like they would burst.

“Show off!”

“You’re still showing off, you bastard!”

“Showing off in front of me?!” He held his spear suspended, then pulled back his hand and used the momentum to somersault into the air. Then, swinging the bow-shaped long spear in a full circle, making the air almost scream with a sonic boom, Tan Ji slammed it down fiercely.

“What are you acting like?! Die, you bastard!”

*Pfft, pfft, pfft—* The air was directly ripped apart. The long spear turned into a blurry shadow, smashing down on them.

*Gulp.* Zhou Tianshen tried his best not to look up. But feeling the insane pressure of the air being compressed repeatedly, he still couldn’t help but swallow. However, he looked at Xu Xiaoshou... who was unperturbed. Xu Xiaoshou still chose to ignore him.

“Good heavens!” At this moment, Zhou Tianshen’s chest swelled with pride. Although he wasn’t fighting, he felt the same rush of adrenaline, his blood boiling. Completely disregarding the commotion above, he exerted himself to appear composed. He flicked his hand. Then, like a pea shooter sped up tenfold, he spoke rapidly: “Dean has a self-made item called ‘Linked Space Jade.’ As long as you have it, you can contact your teammates in any secret realm, let alone White Cave... Watch out!” He still couldn’t help but raise his head, letting out a cry of alarm. The spear was about to hit his head!

“Oh, is that how it is?” Xu Xiaoshou pulled him closer, then subtly shifted his butt. With a gesture, he gathered the scattered firewood from earlier. Then, he placed a spark, igniting a white flame. “Let’s eat and talk. My cooking skills are insanely good, master level, and my BBQ is exceptional; I’ll show you.” He patted Zhou Tianshen’s shoulder.

*Boom!*

The ground was directly smashed by the long spear. A terrifying layer of spiritual energy exploded in ripples just inches from Xu Xiaoshou’s butt, instantly sweeping in all directions. The spectators had already retreated dozens of feet away. But Xu Xiaoshou had only moved half a butt-cheek.

“Holy cow!” Zhou Tianshen exclaimed, instinctively swaying his body. However, as the dust scattered, he realized that he was at the center of the impact, yet completely unharmed.

“This, this, this...” His eyes instantly widened, and his eyebrows almost shot up to the back of his head. *Bro, can you not be so thrilling? You don’t care about your life, but I, Old Zhou, do! How did you manage to stay fine yourself AND protect me?*

“When... when did you learn to BBQ?” His speech was no longer fluent.

“Damn you...” Above, Tan Ji was completely bewildered. *Was this a coincidence? Why does it always feel like it’s just a little bit off?* Also, even if these two weren’t hit, why were they completely unharmed under the spiritual energy strike? “Am I just hitting air?” At this moment, he even began to doubt himself.

“Die! Die! Die!” However, seeing these two once again ignoring him, just roasting meat at the center of the explosion, and even successfully lighting a fire... Tan Ji exploded. Grimacing, he no longer cared about Ling Palace rules.

“Die!”

“You all die!”

He fiercely pulled the long spear upwards. But Tan Ji suddenly stumbled backward because the spearhead felt as if it were clamped by something, completely impossible to pull out.

“This?” He squinted, and his frantic spiritual perception finally saw that Xu Xiaoshou had re-applied pressure to his spear tip with his other butt-cheek.

Tan Ji was dumbfounded.

“What’s all this noise, aren’t you annoying?!”

“I’m talking to my friend, and you’re buzzing non-stop like a mosquito. Don’t you have any public etiquette?”

“This!”

“Is a public place!”

Xu Xiaoshou finally turned around. He slapped the ground, making the spear tip vibrate. He grabbed the spear tip fearlessly and yanked it towards himself. Tan Ji immediately felt that immense force that had knocked him down earlier return, completely irresistible!

“Ugh.” He grunted, his entire body about to fall into Xu Xiaoshou’s embrace. The scene seemed to freeze at this moment. With his pupils contracting sharply, one could vaguely see Xu Xiaoshou suddenly turn his head, his slightly narrowed eyes abruptly opening wide in fury.

“Scram.”

A single word. No visible movement.

*Boom!*

An area of several dozen feet around them directly collapsed three feet deep. Tan Ji felt as if a towering giant had stomped down. That world-destroying aura hadn’t even fully landed on him, yet its residual force was entirely beyond his ability to withstand.

*Bang!*

Blood splattered. The charging figure bounced mid-air, as if struck by a heavy hammer, and shot backward into the sky.

“Ding—”