Chapter 587: 阿戒,接剑

Passive Point: Gratitude (1).

A-Jie couldn't see where Mama was, but he could feel Mama rescuing him.

At this moment, the Nether Dragon Head, which was holding A-Jie in its mouth, slowly lost control as it was demonized by the Four Swords. With several roars, it released its hold.

A-Jie was freed.

However, the black fiendish demonic energy had already been transmitted to A-Jie's body when their forms were previously connected.

“Oh no!”

Xu Xiaoshou was instantly alarmed when he saw A-Jie covered in demonic patterns. Before fear could even fully surface, he thought, “This is…”

A-Jie, just as it had absorbed the demonized energy from the sacrificial carved pieces of itself previously, directly absorbed the fiendish demonic power of the Four Swords into its body.

“It swallowed it?”

Xu Xiaoshou was truly shocked. This seemed to be the first non-ancient sword cultivator capable of remaining unaffected by the Four Swords.

A soft whoosh. As if fully sated, A-Jie's chest slightly swelled. The next second, an earth-yellow aura surged from its feet.

“The power of the Void?”

The Storyteller was immediately terrified. At this moment, he even completely disregarded Xu Xiaoshou's presence. It was already one thing for a Night-Patrol at the Peak Dao-cutting stage, who hadn't even endured one of the Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulations, to possess the power of the Void. But how could a Heavenly Secret Puppet, which doesn't even possess second-stage combat consciousness, also have the power of the Void?

“Am I, the Storyteller, not worthy?”

“Excellent!”

Upon seeing this earth-yellow aura, Xu Xiaoshou was so delighted he nearly jumped three feet high. So that's how it is! So, A-Jie's power of the Void only manifests after it's full and energized, as if being squeezed out like milk? Back at the City Lord's Mansion, it relied on continuously absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth while following him, as well as absorbing the energy generated after it transformed into a raging giant. Only then could it accumulate and unleash the power of the Void?

“This makes things easy!”

A huge weight was instantly lifted from Xu Xiaoshou's mind. Maintaining this power of the Void would be simple.

“Mama?” Subconsciously, A-Jie felt the vanished Mama calling him. He turned his head. From an inexplicable point in the void, a black light burst forth.

“A-Jie, catch the sword!”

Though the voice from the vanished state clearly couldn't be transmitted, A-Jie subconsciously raised a hand.

“Thud.” The Four Swords landed steadily in his grasp. With a whoosh, fiendish demonic power instantly surged forth. But the next second, not a single bit of it leaked as A-Jie absorbed it all into his body. The earth-yellow power of the Void, emanating from beneath his feet, grew and strengthened at a visibly discernible speed!

“This…” The Storyteller, not far away, froze. “A Heavenly Secret Puppet, plus the Four Swords?”

Passive Point: Suspicion (1).

As A-Jie gripped the formidable sword, a continuous stream of power surged from within his body. He subconsciously swung his arm.

“Boom!” The space several miles behind the Storyteller directly collapsed with a roar. Following that, the void along the path slowly seeped out black energy.

“This speed…” Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. With just one swing, he couldn't even perceive the sword energy disappearing. It had already exploded miles away?

“No!” Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that this space must have been banished by the Storyteller. Did that mean the power of the Four Swords, under A-Jie's control, was already enough to break this confinement?

“Well done!” Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but cheer inwardly. But the next second, his expression froze. He saw the Storyteller, who was equally stunned, suddenly have his left shoulder burst open with blood, followed by his entire arm breaking off and falling downwards, gushing blood.

“Injured?” At this moment, even the Storyteller himself had a look of disbelief on his face as he slowly lowered his gaze. “It broke! It really broke!” With A-Jie's merciless slash, the Storyteller's shoulder had indeed been severed!

The folded space sprang back open. But last time, the Storyteller was able to use this trick to evade A-Jie's attack. This time, it had no effect.

“Is it because of... the power of the Void?” Feeling the faint earth-yellow aura at the site of his broken shoulder, the Storyteller understood everything, and his eyes instantly darkened.

Luo Leilei landed behind them; the sword energy, traveling along its path, had almost struck her as well. Fortunately, it was slightly off target, and the sword energy's speed was incredibly fast. Thus, not much fiendish demonic power remained along its path. Therefore, Luo Leilei was unharmed. However, seeing the Storyteller's injuries, the shock she felt at a soul level was far greater than the fear she would have felt if she had almost died on the spot.

“Senior Storyteller, was he cut?”

Passive Point: Suspicion (1).

“Good... good!” The Storyteller's previously darkened gaze suddenly exploded with light after a few breaths. He murmured unconsciously. When he looked up at A-Jie again, his eyes were filled with chilling murderous intent.

“You audacious Heavenly Secret Puppet, you can even wield the Four Swords and possess the power of the Void... What kind of creation is this? Dao Qiongcang's new pet?” He looked towards the void. “And how are you in Wen Ming's hands?”

Looking towards the void, the Storyteller seemed to be questioning Xu Xiaoshou. However, after a round of energy absorption, A-Jie had fully adapted to the sensation of wielding the Four Swords. With a few quick, flashy sword movements... it moved as naturally as an extension of his own arm.

“Mama.” With a whoosh, his sound vanished. Repeating his move, he reappeared behind the Storyteller. But this time, the Storyteller simply didn't have the courage to directly face A-Jie's attack.

“Yin-Yang Life and Death, Seal!” With a flick of his wrist, he opened the ancient book in his hand. As the Storyteller uttered a single decree, the void before A-Jie suddenly trembled, as if about to transform into a delicate sheet of paper and gently float down.

But right after that, “Boom!” With a swing of the Four Swords, the ancient book's space was directly shattered. Gleaming spatial fragments scattered and fell. After one strike, A-Jie delivered another, chopping directly towards the Storyteller's position.

“Impudence!” The Storyteller didn't even understand why his emotions had suddenly spiraled out of control. But with a single word, like rolling thunder from the heavens, A-Jie, who had swept through the air, was directly repelled by the golden hieroglyphic characters that emerged from the Yin-Yang Life and Death. Earth-yellow Void power enveloped his entire body, and A-Jie wasn't flung very far. With a shake of his body, he broke free from the power of the Heavenly Dao.

“Whoosh!” In an instant, another black streak of light swept across the sky. The Storyteller performed a clumsy somersault, barely managing to narrowly dodge the fiendish demonic sword energy.

“Boom.” Another space exploded in the distance. A-Jie's eyes blazed with red light; he had discovered the joy of ranged combat.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…” His arms became a blur, and countless black sword energies shot out in an instant. This time, even the observing Xu Xiaoshou and Luo Leilei felt their scalps tingle with dread. It was terrifying! This black fiendish demonic sword energy, imbued with the power of a Throne's body and the Void, possessing extraordinary speed, was so potent that even a single strand might be irresistible to an ordinary Throne. But now… there were countless!

“Boom, boom, boom, boom…” The surrounding space, like firecrackers, was easily detonated by the black energy. Vast fiendish demonic power surged in the void, directly dyeing the area into a pitch-black ink pool.

“Excellent slashes!” Xu Xiaoshou didn't even have time to observe the Storyteller's injuries. He took a step, and his figure directly crossed out of the spatial boundary previously banished by the Storyteller.

The scene before him blurred. A dense expanse of black… Even the earth, rocks, and dust — everything that could prove the world's existence — had vanished. All that remained was complete darkness.

“What's going on?” Xu Xiaoshou was bewildered. It was clear that outside the red-robed pervert's banished land, it was still White Cave space. Why did the scenery completely change the moment he exited this banished land?

Xu Xiaoshou's body stiffened; the scene before him felt familiar. The next second, he suddenly realized.

“The Ancient Book Space!” This was an Ancient Book Space that even the Storyteller hadn't had time to fully replicate! That's why everything around them was pitch black after exiting the banished land. As if chaos had not yet given way to creation. If the world hadn't even been opened yet, where would light and substance come from? He projected his spiritual sense into the information bar. Sure enough.

Passive Point: Confinement (1).

He was imprisoned! But… “When did this happen?” Xu Xiaoshou panicked. He hadn't expected the Storyteller to be so incredibly powerful. He could, unbeknownst to them, once again imprison both him and A-Jie within his Ancient Book Space. It was completely unpredictable!

At this moment, A-Jie, who was wildly swinging the Four Swords' fiendish demonic sword energy, also realized something was wrong. Had he seemingly lost his target? Suddenly, the dodging, disheveled red-robed human was gone? He just disappeared mid-fight?

“Mama?” A-Jie looked over, completely bewildered.

“A-Jie, don't mess around, get closer to me!” Xu Xiaoshou couldn't wait and instantly moved right beside A-Jie. Separating now would mean waiting for death. But how to break out of this Ancient Book Space?

“Hiss…” While he was still racking his brain, a strange sound suddenly came from his side. Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but turn his head, only to see A-Jie had already put away the Four Swords, now hanging inverted on his back. Meanwhile, the earth-yellow power of the Void in his other hand was solidifying to a point of near qualitative transformation as the fiendish demonic power was entirely absorbed into his core in one breath.

“Mama!” He unleashed a punch.

“Rumble, rumble, rumble—” The void instantly covered in a spiderweb pattern, the entire world trembled, and then collapsed with a roar.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. A-Jie also realized he was confined, so, he broke the space with one punch? One punch?! His heart clenched, as if facing a formidable enemy. Inevitably, the world collapsed, and what he was about to face were spatial currents and the Storyteller. But the spatial currents he anticipated never appeared. The space before him collapsed. When the scene reappeared, it was a White Cave world even more complete than the previous one. But still incomplete!

“Still within the Ancient Book Space?” Xu Xiaoshou's heart was racing. He looked at the information bar.

Passive Point: Confinement (1).

Indeed! Nested space! This red-robed pervert was simply too terrifying. Mid-fight, he directly placed himself outside the battlefield? If an enemy wasn't careful, they would probably exhaust all their strength, only to unleash all their energy into thin air!

“That's disgusting, how can such a spiritual technique exist?” Seeing A-Jie raise his fist again, Xu Xiaoshou grabbed his hand, stopping his action.

“It's no use.”

“If there's one, there can be two.”

“Even if this space is shattered, there's still the next one.”

“I don't know if the Storyteller's abilities will run out, but…” Glancing at the faint demonic patterns appearing on A-Jie's body, Xu Xiaoshou knew that the Four Swords truly weren't something just anyone could easily control. Even if A-Jie could absorb demonic energy, there must be a limit. If it were to exceed that limit, the situation would likely take a sharp turn for the worse!

“Jingle, jingle…” From the compressed energy points in his hand, a bit of their aura slightly leaked out.

“Crack, crack!” Xu Xiaoshou's feet were instantly frozen by frost. Ice crystals spread, instantly freezing an area of several tens of miles solid.

Just like last time, find the spatial node… Xu Xiaoshou was methodical. Learning from past mistakes. The first time he was confined by the Ancient Book Space, his method of breaking the formation was very special: he sensed the White Cave world. Using heaven and earth as a furnace, he would burn and break everything, ultimately returning to the White Cave. Similarly, at this moment, no matter how many layers the Storyteller's space was nested, within any single space, there would always be a spatial node that led directly to the White Cave. As long as it was found, one punch from A-Jie would resolve the situation.

“It's up to you.” In his palm, the power of Three-Day Frost Calamity emerged, following the rules of the Heavenly Dao to search for the familiar White Cave world. Meanwhile, another portion of Cinderglow energy was continuously condensed, condensed, and re-condensed under Xu Xiaoshou's compression!

“Om!” After an unknown period, the ice-attributed elements in heaven and earth suddenly surged into a specific node.

“That's it!” Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up; he directly regarded this space as the outer wall of an alchemy cauldron, refining the White Cave world in reverse.

“A-Jie!” There was no need for the mentally and physically demanding Cinderglow Condensation Art. With a single shout, A-Jie raised his fist, brimming with the power of the Void, and, like the final step of a pill's condensation, fiercely swung it towards the spatial node.

“Boom!” As the world collapsed, black holes emerged, and spatial currents filled everything. Xu Xiaoshou stomped his foot, transformed into a raging giant, picked up A-Jie, and charged directly into the node.

“You want to trap me, Xu Xiaoshou? No chance!”

White Cave.

“Senior Storyteller…” Luo Leilei landed next to the Storyteller, and seeing the black and earth-yellow auras intermingling at the severed arm, she couldn't help but voice her concern.

“It's nothing serious.” The Storyteller gritted his teeth in pain, but he was slowly using the power of the Heavenly Dao to erode the Void power and fiendish demonic sword intent at the arm's fracture. Yes, injuries that should have healed in the blink of an eye became a very complicated process due to these two stubborn powers. But… “It's collected.” The Storyteller grinned, his eyes full of happiness.

“Little Wen Ming is too formidable! The Heavenly Secret Puppet he summoned, along with the Four Swords, possessed a combat power far beyond anything he had previously imagined. Having underestimated them and suffered this consequence, he could only blame himself. But from a results-oriented perspective, it was still good.”

“Heavenly Secret Puppet…” The Storyteller, who had dealt with Whitey, knew how terrifying this thing was; it was almost an existence directly comparable to the Void.

“Little Wen Ming's Heavenly Secret Puppet is certainly a bit peculiar. But why does its initial combat power feel somewhat insufficient?” The Storyteller pondered, his brow furrowed. Whether it was its physique, combat power, or reaction speed… that adorable little boy was much weaker than the stereotypical war machine-like entities he had encountered in the past.

“A Heavenly Secret Puppet that only has first-stage combat consciousness exists? Is this even a Heavenly Secret Puppet?” It was somewhat elusive. But the Storyteller didn't care. All of this, once his brother saw it, would be clear.

“Yes, it can be shown. But little Wen Ming is already taken.” Weighing the Yin-Yang Life and Death in his hand, the Storyteller's red lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“Oh!” Just then, the surrounding space suddenly became completely dark, as if it had transformed into primordial chaos, with not a single ray of light to be seen. Immediately after, a faint red-robed figure appeared, carrying the only speck of white light in the darkness as it flew closer.

“The power of the Void again?” The Storyteller felt the power of the approaching person, and his smile instantly froze.

“Injured?” The Night-Patrol, clad in brand-new red robes, couldn't help but smirk upon seeing the Storyteller's fractured arm. At any other time, he wouldn't have dared to believe that the dignified Saint Servant Storyteller could be beaten to such a miserable state by anyone. But now, it was obvious that this entire spectacle must have been the work of that young man who defied all common sense.

“Where's Xu Xiaoshou?” The Night-Patrol, exuding a righteous aura, landed fearlessly a few yards away from the Storyteller and asked with a frown, “Did he run away?”