Chapter 543: Ash Sea of Ashes

"Are you calm now?" Xu Xiaoshou leaned over, looking at Jiao Tangtang, who was pinned to the ground by A Jie.

This woman was truly insane! She knew he had so many bodyguards, yet she was still determined to beat him up. Not only did she want to, but she actually landed a few hits! However, it was clear that his passive skills were not to be trifled with. When Jiao Tangtang was repelled, she momentarily lost control of her body, and A Jie seized the opportunity to subdue her.

"Xu Xiaoshou, get down here!" Jiao Tangtang called out, tilting her head back, unwilling to give up.

"What did you say?" Xu Xiaoshou stretched his neck and cupped a hand to his ear.

"GET. DOWN. HERE!" Jiao Tangtang shrieked.

"It's too windy up here, I can't hear you. A little louder," Xu Xiaoshou yelled back. He stood in the eye socket of the White Skeleton of Burning Embers, hundreds of meters above the ground, feeling the warm white flames behind him. Only then did he feel a modicum of safety. Go down? That was impossible!

"Calm down a bit. If you can talk properly, I'll tell A Jie to release you," he continued to yell.

"I am calm!" Jiao Tangtang could have resisted, but to truly break free from the immense strength of A Jie's small body, she would probably need to transform into her ghostly beast form. As Xu Xiaoshou had said, exposing her ghostly beast aura in this meaningless fight would be absolutely unwise.

"Mama..." A Jie seemed to sense something and loosened his foot.

"Whoosh!" Jiao Tangtang instantly vanished.

"Ascend to the Heavens!" Xu Xiaoshou's scalp immediately tingled. He took a step, directly moving into the eye socket of the Ice-Blue White Skeleton.

Sure enough.

"Boom!" The eye socket of the White Skeleton of Burning Embers was struck by a powerful whip kick the next second. That rock-solid skull produced "crack" sounds and instantly disintegrated with cracks.

"Roar!" White Skeleton A Huo cried out in pain, its cheekbones bulged, and the next second, white flames poured out.

"Stop, don't fight!" Xu Xiaoshou was alarmed by the sight. If they really started fighting, tempers would flare, and it would be hard to control the situation! Fortunately, Jiao Tangtang also knew from Xing Gugu how potent flames like the white ones were, so she didn't try to directly engage. With a single leap, she dodged A Huo's attack.

"Calm down." Xu Xiaoshou used his spiritual sense to hold back the three bodyguards from acting, while simultaneously trying to persuade Jiao Tangtang.

"I told you, I'm very calm," Jiao Tangtang said, her chest heaving with anger. Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, if this was her definition of calm, then he was a monkey's uncle. However, this probing attack clearly made the woman realize that his three bodyguards were not to be trifled with. She didn't want to fight anymore. Xu Xiaoshou wanted to fight even less!

"Teleportation... or similar abilities?" Jiao Tangtang asked, narrowing her eyes.

"That's not important." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand and said, "What's important is that everything I just told you was completely true. I genuinely don't know the whereabouts of the sealed ghostly beast you're looking for. But the Red-clothed Night Watchmen, and the 'Sacred Slave' Storyteller, are very likely to have captured it. Of course, it's also possible... that it eventually escaped on its own."

Jiao Tangtang immediately scoffed, "You've listed all three possibilities; aren't you just stating the obvious?!"

"Of course not." Seeing that she was now willing to communicate, Xu Xiaoshou breathed a sigh of relief. "At least I've helped you narrow it down to these three options. You won't have to search aimlessly throughout the entire White Cave, right?"

Jiao Tangtang fell silent. Though there was some logic to it, she probably wouldn't want to say "yes" for the rest of her life.

"Are we done?" Xu Xiaoshou asked tentatively, "If there's truly nothing else, you go your way, and I'll go mine?"

Seeing no reaction from her, Xu Xiaoshou waved a hand. "A Jie, come back."

A flash of light and shadow, and A Jie instantly appeared by his side.

"Mama..." Jiao Tangtang looked at this violent group and felt a throbbing headache. She realized that she had no chance of capturing Xu Xiaoshou by herself anymore. With that teleportation ability, Xu Xiaoshou would be invincible. And if she couldn't capture this guy first, and then those three surrounded her... it wouldn't be a question of whether she could take down Xu Xiaoshou, but whether she could escape from these three terrifying entities!

"Xu Xiaoshou, give me all the information you have about the 'Storyteller,' and then you can leave." Jiao Tangtang gave up the idea of forcing Xu Xiaoshou. There weren't many people who could compel this guy now.

"How much information could I possibly have about the Storyteller?" Xu Xiaoshou was amused. "I only found out that this person was the 'Sacred Slave' Storyteller after you told me."

Jiao Tangtang: "..."

"You went through the battle you mentioned earlier, and you don't know anything?" She completely disbelieved him.

"Suspected, Passive Points +1."

"I would have told you already if I knew. There's no reason to lie to you." Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes, about to retort further, when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, there's one detail I can tell you about."

"Tell me!"

"At that time, the sealed ghostly beast and I were trapped in the Storyteller's ancient book space. When we came out, the Storyteller was already weakened. And the Night Watchmen were outside! It's not hard to see that those two had indeed fought, and the Storyteller was defeated. But listening to you..." Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. "The 'Sacred Slave' Storyteller shouldn't have just that level of strength, right?"

"Impossible." Jiao Tangtang shook her head. "If the person you're referring to is truly 'the Storyteller,' no matter what happened, the Red-clothed Night Watchmen couldn't have defeated him. You have to understand, this is someone who caused huge commotions in the Central Region, whom even Gou Wuyue, one of the Seven Sword Immortals, couldn't apprehend in time, and couldn't even catch a glimpse of his clothes when tracking him to the White Cave in the Eastern Region. For such an existence, let alone one Red-clothed Night Watchman, even ten more wouldn't be enough to satisfy him."

"That's strange then..." Xu Xiaoshou pondered, saying seriously, "But what I saw at the time was that the Storyteller truly had no strength left to fight. As for what happened afterward, I'm not entirely clear."

Jiao Tangtang also fell silent. It was clear that Xu Xiaoshou wasn't lying this time. Then...

"Still impossible!" She still shook her head. "The sealed ghostly beast should have found a host body by now, which is why it can hide so well, without leaking any aura outside of combat. But similarly, because the ghostly beast's host body's cultivation isn't keeping up, its power must also be restricted. And if the 'Sacred Slave' Storyteller was present, no matter what you saw... everything could only be a facade." As Jiao Tangtang spoke, her tone became completely certain. "Senior Feng must have fallen into the hands of the 'Sacred Slaves'!"

*Whether he's your Senior Feng is debatable...* Xu Xiaoshou silently muttered to himself, but didn't dare say it aloud.

"Do you have a way to find the Storyteller?" Jiao Tangtang suddenly asked.

"You want to find the 'Sacred Slaves'?" Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. "Are you crazy? You can't even beat me; are you going to your death?"

Jiao Tangtang: ??? Her eyelid twitched violently. She almost couldn't suppress the primordial power within her again and decided to fight this guy to the death.

"I have my own methods," she retorted irritably.

"But I don't." Xu Xiaoshou said helplessly, "I never even interacted with the Storyteller. From start to finish, that guy was sealed in ice. I didn't even get a piece of his clothes. If you want to find him, perhaps you can only go to the battle site and look for some aura. For ghostly beasts, their noses should..." Xu Xiaoshou stopped himself in time. Some things were better left unsaid, whispered only in one's mind.

"Truly useless..." Jiao Tangtang felt a splitting headache.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't angered. At that time, he hadn't even subdued the two white skeletons. It was already good enough that he escaped. Useless? Which Innate could have survived a chaotic battle involving peak powerhouses like the Red-clothed, the 'Sacred Slaves,' and a sealed ghostly beast? Xu Xiaoshou was confident that his achievement was truly rare in the current era. Even if the Eighth Sword Immortal were reborn, at the same cultivation level... he wouldn't be able to do it! Yes, he couldn't! Xu Xiaoshou said so!

"Buzz—" As the two fell silent, the void suddenly trembled. The next moment, the ground began to shake.

"What's happening?" Xu Xiaoshou immediately became alert and turned to look in a certain direction. Almost simultaneously, Jiao Tangtang also turned her head.

"Om..." In his mind, the white bead broadcasted like a fixed beacon, and the entire White Cave map unfolded. On it, a point of black demonic energy suddenly surged, instantly engulfing several small light spots around it. Although they were just light spots, the White Cave map was so small, yet such clear marks were covered in black. One could imagine. At that moment, the area of the entire White Cave mini-world covered by the demonic energy was probably larger than several "Spirit Melting Swamps" combined.

"The Four Swords?" Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed in surprise, "Have the Four Swords appeared?"

"They shouldn't have appeared yet." Jiao Tangtang's eyes were serious. "But judging by this commotion, it won't be long before the Red-clothed break open the 'Thirty-Six Heavens Sealing Array'."

"They haven't appeared yet?" Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. Such a massive commotion, even before their appearance? Considering this, the commotion when the Fiery Serpent appeared was like a molehill compared to a mountain.

"After all, it's one of the five great Chaotic Divine Artifacts of the continent, known as the 'Four Swords' of malevolence. This level of commotion is merely a prelude, and a relatively small one at that," Jiao Tangtang sighed.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz." Just then, a strange noise suddenly came from Xu Xiaoshou's ring. He quickly sent his spiritual sense inside. The next second, a rapidly vibrating spiritual compass flew out.

"What is this?" Xu Xiaoshou was startled. After a long time, he remembered that this was something from the old man's ring from the Zhang family. However, he had inspected that ring at the time. Most of the treasures inside were visible to the naked eye. Only this spiritual compass was completely incomprehensible. Now, with a disturbance from the Four Swords, this thing reacted... Could they be connected?

"Heavenly Prosperity Compass?" Jiao Tangtang exclaimed in surprise.

"You recognize it?" Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to look, holding up the compass. The direction its needle pointed was where the Four Swords were about to appear.

"Of course I do." Jiao Tangtang gave Xu Xiaoshou a strange look. "This item is famously expensive in the major prefectures around the White Cave. It's said that during the last opening of the White Cave, someone found a 'Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment' from it, and the 'Heavenly Prosperity Compass' was one of the few spiritual items that recorded the aura of the 'Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment'. Through this compass, upon entering the White Cave, one could pinpoint the location of the Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment in advance, and ultimately find the 'Four Swords'. Of course, these are all for gaining an early advantage. The item you're holding now is basically worthless. After all, the location of the 'Four Swords' has already been exposed, and a large number of Red-clothed are surrounding there. Anyone who goes will die... it's a useless spiritual compass." Jiao Tangtang stared intently at the compass.

"Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment?" Xu Xiaoshou, however, paid no mind to her words about the useless compass. Instead, his attention was drawn to this new term. He had always wondered how the two Sovereigns from the Zhang family had managed to find his location. If it was a coincidence, that would be another matter. But the White Cave was so vast; there was no reason he should encounter his mortal enemies every single time. Therefore, he speculated that the two elders from the Zhang family must have found him using this "Heavenly Prosperity Compass." And the compass was linked to the aura of the "Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment"... Xu Xiaoshou immediately thought of something on his person related to a carving fragment—the bronze carving fragment from the demonic box on the top floor of the Zhang family's Scripture Pavilion!

"What is a Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment?" he asked.

"Some... rust that fell off the body of the Four Swords?" Jiao Tangtang frowned. "I'm not entirely sure either, but it's said that during the last opening of the White Cave, someone obtained this fragment and comprehended the sword intent of the Four Swords from it. And since the Four Swords were one of the Eighth Sword Immortal's personal swords, the sword intent within them could be considered the Eighth Sword Immortal's legacy. At that time, the 'Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment' was hyped to an extremely high price, and along with it, the 'Heavenly Prosperity Compass' became incredibly rare and sought after. That's all," she said, her gaze fixed on the compass, unable to move it.

"R-rust?" Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. He was now certain that the bronze carving fragment, which could turn him into a raging giant with just a grip, was undoubtedly the "Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment." After all, both the fragment and the compass were obtained from the Zhang family and could form a set, so this explanation made sense. But... rust? Damn! Were these "Four Swords" really that powerful? Just the rust that flaked off its blade possessed the ability to drive people to despair and madness?

"Are you kidding me?" Xu Xiaoshou asked in disbelief.

"Why would I lie to you?" Jiao Tangtang gave him an annoyed look. "The 'Heavenly Prosperity Compass' might be useless now, but its function was indeed very powerful. As long as one could truly find a 'Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment' and comprehend the sword intent on it, there's a high probability that they could be recognized by the 'Four Swords' and then become the wielder of the malevolent sword!"

"This thing of yours..." Jiao Tangtang became a little embarrassed; she wanted this compass. After all, the "Four Swords" hadn't truly appeared yet. As long as she could find the "Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment" through this compass within this period, she would have a better chance of taking the "Four Swords" home.

"The compass can't be yours..." Xu Xiaoshou instinctively refused. Then he suddenly had a thought: he already had the "Sacrificial Fallen Carving Fragment." Keeping this item was pointless; why not exchange it for some valuable information?

"You can have the compass, but I have a few questions for you!"

Jiao Tangtang was startled, then suddenly shook her head. "Impossible. I told you, I won't reveal anything to you before we sign the ghostly beast contract."

"Not those questions." Xu Xiaoshou swiftly tossed the compass out. "Questions about the 'Four Swords'."

*Plop.* Jiao Tangtang caught the compass, her grip tightening. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Xu Xiaoshou said seriously, "Everything about the Four Swords, the White Cave, and also what you just mentioned about the situation outside the White Cave." Although he no longer wanted to touch the "Four Swords," that hot potato, being kept in the dark and manipulated was something Xu Xiaoshou couldn't accept. At the very least, he needed to fully understand why a mere set of Four Swords could attract so many major figures, even those who weren't sword cultivators. Was it merely because they were the Eighth Sword Immortal's former personal swords? Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe it.

"Hmph!" Jiao Tangtang scoffed, "Xu Xiaoshou, you're truly making an outrageous demand. You expect to exchange a mere 'Heavenly Prosperity Compass' for my information?"

"Whoosh!" Xu Xiaoshou tugged a spiritual thread in his hand, and the compass was instantly pulled back. "Never mind then."

Jiao Tangtang: ??? What kind of ability was this now? Spider silk?

"Surprised, Passive Points +1."

"I'll talk!" she said, grinding her teeth in frustration.

Xu Xiaoshou tossed the compass back again, shrugging. "With me, can't we just drop the arrogance? Be straightforward!"

"Cursed, Passive Points +1."

Jiao Tangtang directly put the compass into her ring, then said, "The legend of the Four Swords is very simple, it's about the Eighth..."

"Are you trying to fool a child?" Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes. "The Red-clothed want the 'Four Swords,' the 'Sacred Slaves' want them, you want them, and now, one of the Seven Sword Immortals has also rushed to the outside of the White Cave. It seems everyone's primary goal isn't the 'Four Swords,' but the common denominator is that everyone wants to take them if they can. So, don't tell me everyone is here just for the broken title of the Eighth Sword Immortal's former personal sword. These things only attract young sword cultivators. You can't fool me! The White Cave... has a secret!" Xu Xiaoshou thought of the disheveled Saint hiding somewhere unknown. If there was any treasure in the White Cave that could be even slightly linked to the 'Saint' realm, it was undoubtedly the 'Four Swords'!

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiao Tangtang's eyes. "Xu Xiaoshou, you are very..."

"I'm very smart, no need for platitudes, let's get to the point!" Xu Xiaoshou interrupted.

Jiao Tangtang: "..." She clenched her fists tightly, truly wanting to just turn around and leave at that moment. What on earth did this devil grow up eating? Was his innate attribute power the intestinal worm inside others' stomachs?

"The Four Swords..." Jiao Tangtang pondered for a long time, finally deciding to speak. "To speak of the 'Four Swords,' or even the White Cave, we must first mention a new term... Xu Xiaoshou, do you know about the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea'?"

"I've only heard of 'Burning Embers'..." Xu Xiaoshou maintained a calm exterior, but his mind was already in turmoil. Indeed! The secret of the White Cave, and it was explosive! Just this single term at the beginning allowed him to connect many things: White Skeletons, Burning Embers Heavenly Flame, white flames... How could cultivation resources like these, perfectly matching his own Burning Embers Heavenly Incineration, appear from the White Cave? Now, the direction seemed to clear up. And also, Elder Sang's directionless task, and the disheveled Saint's ability to incinerate the heavens and boil the seas...

"Continue!" Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded. He didn't dare speculate on his own; he wanted a truthful and detailed explanation.

Jiao Tangtang let out a light breath. "The 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' is also an extradimensional space, but unlike the White Cave, its danger level is almost the highest in the current era, ranking among the continent's 'Seven Severed Prohibitions'."

Seven Severed Prohibitions, another new term... Xu Xiaoshou nodded, not interrupting Jiao Tangtang's explanation, and gestured with his eyes for her to continue.

"Every time an extradimensional space of the 'Seven Severed Prohibitions' level opens, it's almost always a disaster. And the last time the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' appeared was right here." Jiao Tangtang extended a finger and pointed to the ground. "Or, to put it another way, the predecessor of the White Cave was the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea'!"

Indeed... Xu Xiaoshou's expression grew serious. He remained silent.

Jiao Tangtang said, "For forbidden lands like this, cultivation is impossible. Just to seal the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea,' the Saint Spiritual Temple sacrificed a large number of Red-clothed and White-clothed, losing countless masters. Ultimately, they successfully sealed it. But this is all temporary..." Taking a breath, Jiao Tangtang continued, "The reason why the 'Seven Severed Prohibitions' are called 'Seven Severed Prohibitions' is because they have a tendency to recur. Once the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' truly closes completely in this White Cave location, it won't disappear. Instead, it will appear in a different location next time. At that time, not only would its location be unknown, but its danger level would also escalate another tier. Therefore, to avoid completely closing the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' extradimensional space, the Saint Spiritual Temple could only choose methods of sealing and weakening it, breaking it apart but not completely shattering it... This convoluted process, do you understand?" Jiao Tangtang glanced at the seemingly composed young man.

"I understand." Xu Xiaoshou nodded. Such a thing sounded terrifying just hearing about it. Unable to completely destroy it, yet forced to seal it... It was like trying with all one's might to capture a Sovereign... no, a Half-Saint! Cannot kill, only capture. If Sovereigns were hard to catch, how much more so a Half-Saint? The precision required for this task hinted at the immense effort the Saint Spiritual Temple must have expended.

Jiao Tangtang continued to explain, "Sealing and weakening are the only means to prevent the recurrence of the 'Seven Severed Prohibitions'. The Saint Spiritual Temple's approach was to suppress it with world-suppressing treasures and to gradually reduce the danger level of the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' year by year. Thus, the Four Swords and the Heavenly Pivot Compass were born."

Xu Xiaoshou's heart stirred. He asked, "As a side note, what's the purpose of the Heavenly Pivot Compass...?"

"Now that's impressive." Jiao Tangtang chuckled lightly. "The 'Heavenly Pivot Compass,' personally crafted by the Palace Master Dao leading the Dao Division, perfectly aligns with the Heavenly Dao of the 'Burning Embers Hell Sea' mini-world. Through this compass, one can manipulate the Heavenly Dao, achieving Heavenly Dao reduction..."

"You don't understand, do you?" Jiao Tangtang saw Xu Xiaoshou's bewildered expression and knew that his knowledge base was lacking. "In other words, it's a downgrade strike at a world level, thereby gradually weakening the danger level of the extradimensional space. It's similar to how a Saint Emperor can manipulate the Heavenly Dao to suppress the development of the five regions of the Saint God Continent, preventing everyone from breaking through to the Half-Saint realm... Understand?"

Xu Xiaoshou's face instantly turned ashen, his heart pounding wildly, almost leaping out of his chest. "What kind of crap analogy was this?!" Xu Xiaoshou licked his dry lips. "Let's put aside the White Cave for now. Let's discuss your analogy."

Jiao Tangtang immediately let out a laugh. "Xu Xiaoshou, you're too suspicious. It's just an analogy."