Chapter 583: Willows Bright, Flowers Dim, Another Village

"You lunatic!"

Night Guardian was truly terrified. He never expected Xu Xiaoshou to pull such a drastic move, undermining everything.

He had witnessed the devastation at Spirit Melt Marsh. Although he hadn't personally experienced an explosion of that magnitude, he had seen its aftermath. Even recalling the residual power there now sent shivers down his spine.

The explosion in the Ancient Books dimension had occurred in a separate space. With the obstruction of spatial currents, the blast had been weakened by several layers by the time it reached White Cave. Even so, it had left White Cave on the verge of collapse. In contrast, the two powers at Spirit Melt Marsh...

They had been discovered before the White Cave cultivators arrived, when the Red Coats were surveying the terrain, and special seals and restraints had been placed on them. The purpose was to prevent their powers from overlapping and causing disaster. Yet, it had still happened.

An uncontrolled explosion had already led to such dire consequences. Now, the Ember Incineration Original Seed and the Three-Day Frozen Tribulation – two completely antithetical treasures that should never coexist in one person – Xu Xiaoshou had acquired both! And he intended to control these two powers to detonate White Cave?

"What a joke!" Night Guardian roared, "Even if you *could* blow up White Cave, have you considered the consequences? Can you escape the blast's power? Can you withstand all of that? It's impossible!"

Night Guardian lunged forward, his form merging with the Heavenly Dao, instantly appearing at Xu Xiaoshou's position. "If you truly try to merge them, you'll explode on the spot before White Cave even shatters, believe me!"

Despite Night Guardian's lecturing, Xu Xiaoshou ignored him completely, his expression utterly deranged. He could imagine the consequences. However, under the influence of the Four Swords' fiendish demonic power, all his rational concerns were now cast aside.

"May fate be kind to me!" The instant Night Guardian's palm struck, Xu Xiaoshou's figure vanished from the spot. Night Guardian's spiritual energy, imbued with devouring darkness, struck empty air, passing through the space where Xu Xiaoshou had been. He froze instantly. "He can still do that?"

With such destructive energy contained in his hands, Xu Xiaoshou still had enough power and spiritual energy to use his vanishing technique? He turned around abruptly. But just as Xu Xiaoshou expected, once the Vanishing Technique was activated, it truly erased all traces of his presence from this world. Even Night Guardian couldn't sense any trace of Xu Xiaoshou at that moment.

"Madman!" Night Guardian cursed, and dark energy immediately sealed off the surrounding space. He feared Xu Xiaoshou would use the surge of power as a pretext to teleport away. He feared even more that this energy would explode and shatter White Cave instantly!

"Buzzing..." Xu Xiaoshou was gone. But the void's Dao patterns grew increasingly brighter, as if he could even glimpse and influence the rules of the Heavenly Dao.

Night Guardian couldn't comprehend how someone who hadn't even reached the Grandmaster realm could perceive White Cave's rules. But now was not the time for such contemplation. "Nightfall!" With a low cry in his mind, darkness swallowed the sky.

The suddenly bright Dao patterns between heaven and earth were extinguished as if by cold water, like a fire put out before it could even ignite. His six senses, spiritual perception... could no longer detect even the slightest movement.

In his vanishing state, Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had become deaf, mute, and blind, unable to do anything. But the power in his hands continued to gather. In the depths of his being, he could feel that Night Guardian was using the dark attribute to replace the spatial rules of this area. However, this replacement wasn't complete. The residual power of the Heavenly Dao hadn't vanished entirely at this moment; he simply couldn't see or touch it.

His own power was weakened, and he couldn't perceive it. But the Ember Incineration Original Seed and the Three-Day Frozen Tribulation were both supreme treasures containing the power of tribulation. It didn't matter if he couldn't sense them. As long as they could influence the Heavenly Dao rules, that was enough!

"Berserk Giant!" Sensing his body was about to collapse under the destructive power in his hands, Xu Xiaoshou directly ignited a desire for destruction at the soul level within his mind. Instantly, golden light burst forth, and the Berserk Giant appeared. Even though it was a fleeting glimmer, only he could see it. But Xu Xiaoshou still caught sight of a glimmer of hope.

A chance! If he couldn't have it, he'd blow it up. Only then would he have a chance to escape with his life.

"A Song of Ice and Fire, begin!" His trembling hands could no longer control the destructive power of the two ultimate treasures, which were being pushed to their limits and merging. Xu Xiaoshou's hand trembled, and the energy sphere—half blue, half white, mixed with swirling gray aura on its surface—fell directly from mid-air.

"Whoosh." In the darkness, a sudden flash of light slid down from the sky, like a blazing sun descending. Night Guardian immediately turned and stared. He instantly understood that the power controlled by Xu Xiaoshou could also vanish under his spiritual technique. But once the object left his hand, it was no longer subject to the "Vanishing" control and would inevitably become visible. Following the energy sphere's trajectory, Night Guardian immediately deduced Xu Xiaoshou's vanished location.

If he wanted, he could now directly shatter that space and perhaps blast Xu Xiaoshou to death on the spot. But there wasn't enough time. If he spent that moment distracted... who would deal with the energy sphere?

"I'll tear you apart, you little brat!" Night Guardian, furious, stepped through the air towards the energy sphere. Before its chaotic aura could erupt, he directly covered it with dark power. Then, he swallowed it!

Xu Xiaoshou: ??? He had instantly teleported away in mid-air to prevent Night Guardian from pinpointing his location, but this scene utterly stunned him. Swallowed... swallowed it? At that moment, he could barely imagine what Night Guardian must be feeling. To prevent White Cave from exploding, he would bear this power alone, with his own strength? Could he withstand it? Wasn't that even more unpleasant than swallowing a fly?

"Hiss..." In the silent scene, a faint sound suddenly spread. The next second, the dark domain enveloping this space suddenly trembled, shattering into crystalline fragments and directly collapsing. Again. "Boom!" A muffled explosion erupted within Night Guardian's body. His tattered rag clothes were instantly blasted to dust. An area several miles around was instantly annihilated and pulverized with an exaggerated force by this subtle sound. A black hole was directly generated!

Xu Xiaoshou clearly didn't feel any energy surge. Yet, inexplicably, a tremendous force struck, sweeping him several miles away. His body was even slashed open by spatial cracks due to the high-speed flight.

"Boom!" The void finally echoed with a loud roar. But this sound didn't come from Night Guardian; it came from Xu Xiaoshou! Only then did Xu Xiaoshou realize that merely activating the power of this still-imperfect "Song of Ice and Fire" had consumed so much of his spiritual energy that it was no longer sufficient to maintain both the Vanishing Technique and the Berserk Giant simultaneously.

Being blasted away first meant that the Vanishing Technique's state was dispelled. Then, the golden light shattered, indicating the Berserk Giant's power had collapsed. A sense of dimness and dizziness spread directly from his cerebral cortex, and Xu Xiaoshou almost closed his eyes on the spot. But he knew that if he closed his eyes now, he might never open them again. Gritting his teeth, he desperately held on, swallowing a handful of pre-prepared pills, barely managing to retain a sliver of conscious awareness.

Looking out, after the silent explosion, the space spanning several miles was simply gone. However, a few miles further away, a brand new, seemingly completely sealed dark cage had formed, directly containing the aftershocks of the blast, not letting a single wisp of power escape.

"What in the world?" "A double domain?" Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered. He couldn't believe Night Guardian could directly swallow such a devastating blow. But, a double domain? Impossible!

The only explanation was that after the previous dark domain was shattered, Night Guardian had immediately opened another new domain, locking down the destructive power of the blast. As for himself...

"Pfft!" As if to confirm Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts, Night Guardian himself could no longer withstand the swallowed power. With his King's Domain used to contain the energy sphere's explosive aftershocks, his internal defenses were missing their strongest protective layer. And even a Dao Slayer, after forcefully swallowing such energy, wouldn't fare much better.

The energy sphere's explosion seemed to be just the beginning. After the aftershocks subsided, blood-red cracks suddenly appeared all over Night Guardian's body. The next second, blue and white beams of light erupted from these cracks, mingling with gushing blood, directly illuminating the void.

Night Guardian, his face contorted in pain, glared at Xu Xiaoshou, who was equally weak and powerless. He was like a balloon on the verge of bursting; even with external forces trying to restrain it, its momentum of collapse was unstoppable.

"Engulf!" Gritting his teeth desperately, a tiny wisp of darkness appeared amidst the splashing blue and white light. Immediately after, the darkness clung to the other energies, assimilating them and fiercely pulling them into Night Guardian's body. At this moment, Night Guardian himself seemed to transform into a humanoid black hole. Not even a spatial black hole's suction force was as terrifying as his. The power attempting to spray outward and explode was directly sucked in and absorbed into his body, not a single bit escaping!

"Magnificent." Xu Xiaoshou genuinely marveled aloud. He barely recovered a bit, staring intently at Night Guardian, who was clearly in distress. After a moment of thought, he laboriously raised his hand. In his hand were the Four Swords. Night Guardian's eyes instantly widened.

"Suspected, passive value, +1."

The next second, "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" In front of Night Guardian, who resembled a balloon on the verge of bursting, several streaks of black, fiendish demonic sword energy suddenly slashed forth. The crooked sword energy traveled through the air, its direction imprecise due to Xu Xiaoshou's weakness. But coincidentally, Night Guardian's terrifying humanoid black hole suction force... At this point, no one needed to aim; even throwing a rock at the ground would likely be pulled into his body.

"Xu Xiaoshou, you venomous wretch!" Night Guardian was going mad. Unless one was an ancient sword cultivator, no one could withstand the Four Swords' fiendish demonic aura. He knew then that he had to move, or even turn off his black hole suction. Otherwise, the fiendish demonic power would surely possess him. But if the "Engulf" spiritual technique was turned off, how would he stop the energy sphere's power, which was trying to leak from him and could blow up this entire space?

At that moment, Night Guardian felt as if he'd been force-fed excrement, his mind filled with utter exasperation. Watching the fiendish demonic sword energy approach so suddenly, all because of this moment of distraction and thought, "Hiss, hiss, hiss..." The sword energy pierced his body; blood splattered and flowed back. The balloon was about to burst! But at the center of the balloon, the black hole suction force refused to cease, even as he was on the verge of exploding. Night Guardian not only absorbed every last bit of the fiendish demonic power into his Qi Sea but also pulled back his collapsing body, containing the explosive energy.

"Trying to explode, but not?" Xu Xiaoshou truly wanted to teleport over, thrust the Four Swords into this 'balloon', and eliminate the future trouble. He knew that even at this level, Night Guardian likely wouldn't die. But if he could severely wound him and make him lose the ability to track him, everything would be easier. But, no! He himself was too weak. At this moment, even swinging the sword in his hand took immense effort; he simply couldn't make any other movements.

The two stood far apart, facing each other. "Boom!" Night Guardian's body suddenly swelled, then instantly retracted the next second. Subsequently, terrifying demonic energy erupted around him, and his eyes were even tinged with black. "Boom!" The void suddenly exploded again. The completely shattered space, attempting to self-repair, was once again pulverized into dust by this power. "Boom!" The dark domain several miles away expanded for a third time, teetering on the brink of collapse. The next second, it finally couldn't hold on any longer and completely disintegrated with a rumble.

"Phew." Xu Xiaoshou finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. He won! If Night Guardian couldn't contain this space, then he wouldn't be able to hold Xu Xiaoshou either. As for trying to forcefully swallow the entire energy sphere's power with a body that didn't even possess an innate physique... Xu Xiaoshou himself didn't know what Night Guardian was feeling at that moment. But he was certain that if Elder Sang were here, he might not dare to take such a powerful blow head-on. He recalled how, when he had developed the Five Finger Imprint Seed technique through alchemy and it exploded inside the old man's nostrils, even that old guy had struggled to bear it. Let alone Night Guardian now.

"Keep it up." Xu Xiaoshou weakly clenched his fist and gave a small thumbs-up. Then he turned and left. Night Guardian was enraged!

"Cursed, passive value, +1.""Persuaded to stay, passive value, +1.""Watched, passive value, +1."

Run! Xu Xiaoshou burst out of the combat zone, not daring to linger. He had already guessed why Night Guardian could track him. With "Concealment" plus "Transformation," and the "Vanishing Technique," it was impossible for him to be tracked. So, the problem couldn't be with him. If Night Guardian couldn't track him, how could he pinpoint his exact location despite his continuous teleportation?

Without a doubt. Lu Ke! Or rather, not Lu Ke himself. After all, that guy was trapped inside his Yuan Mansion. Even if Night Guardian had a breath-tracking technique on him, there was no reason to be able to track across two distinct dimensions. But there was one item that could bypass the Yuan Mansion's extradimensional spatial properties. The famous sword, Azure Scaly Ridge! Xu Xiaoshou still remembered when he had put the famous sword into his Yuan Mansion, only for Lu Ke to summon it out again. That was the first time he learned of the famous sword's unique qualities. If Night Guardian could track him, it must be due to this characteristic of the famous sword. Although he didn't know the exact ability, he could still sense the famous sword within his Yuan Mansion space... Or perhaps, the famous sword had actively crossed the Yuan Mansion space to call for Night Guardian's help... But at this point, sacrificing a pawn to save the king was undoubtedly the wise move. He was a little reluctant, but there was no reason to dwell on it now!

"Clack." Xu Xiaoshou flipped his hand, grabbed the famous sword Azure Scaly Ridge, which was completely frozen by the power of the Frozen Tribulation, and without hesitation, hurled it in the opposite direction of his path. He threw it away!

"Goodbye." He ran off without a second thought, swallowing a few more pills. His body shuddered, and he instantly felt invigorated. Xu Xiaoshou took a step that seemed to traverse the heavens, leaving the place at light speed.

"Finally, safe."

"Pitter-patter..." Rain fell from high above, as he ran low to the ground. Suddenly,

"Watched, passive value, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou's footsteps halted; he flipped in mid-air, and his entire face instantly fell. Wh-why is there still more? At this point, he felt an impulse to curse aloud, even wanting to unleash another "Song of Ice and Fire" on the spot to shatter this cursed world.

As if a leaking roof wasn't enough, it began to pour... and then another village appeared! He looked up. A woman in a flowing red dress stood some miles away, arms crossed, facing sideways. Beside her was a woman in a white dress and blue shawl, with a high ponytail, a pretty face, and an aura of crackling violet lightning.

"Xu Xiaoshou..."

"Summoned, passive value, +1."

"Hehe, how amazing you are! Should I call you Eldest Brother, Wen Ming, or... Xu Xiaoshou?"

"Affirmed, passive value, +1."