Chapter 605: Rain Reaches the Eight Palaces

The arena fell silent.

Gou Wuyue displayed a victor's smile.

The White Robes stared, wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

Among the onlookers.

"Is it over?" Zhao Xidong likewise watched the farcical conclusion, reaching out a hand, utterly confused. He looked at Boss Xiao in bewilderment.

"What did you see?" Xiao Qixiu also turned his head.

Bringing Zhao Xidong along was precisely for his training; all three of them shared this intention.

But it was clear.

As soon as he saw the boy's clueless expression, he knew Zhao Xidong hadn't understood a thing.

"Idiot!" Xiao Qixiu rarely spoke, but he cursed impatiently, then proceeded to recount the recent events to the foolish boy, one by one.

"Bringing up old matters is to invoke past favors, gauge attitude, and simultaneously raise one's own standing."

"Drawing swords at each other was to verify if they could kill, and if Gou Wuyue would kill."

"Once the verification was complete, the negotiation officially began."

"Hmm?" Zhao Xidong nodded.

"If they had just come directly to demand someone, who would pay attention to you?" Xiao Qixiu sighed. Understanding Zhao Xidong's confusion, he continued, "You need to learn more about such situations. Later, when you take over the Spirit Law Pavilion, you'll have to handle everything yourself."

"So? Then what?" Zhao Xidong still didn't grasp it.

"You!" Xiao Qixiu got a headache. "You still can't see it?"

"Hmm?"

"Idiot!" Xiao Qixiu turned and followed Qiao Qianzhi, who was dragging Ye Xiaotian. He walked away directly, and Zhao Xidong quickly followed.

"Once the negotiation began, it meant they were officially demanding the person."

"Ye Xiaotian isn't stupid; who doesn't know that enraging Gou Wuyue means certain death?"

"But as long as he could avoid death, no matter how bad the subsequent situation got, it wouldn't be life-threatening."

"So, everything that needed to be said could be revealed."

Xiao Qixiu quickened his pace, transmitting his voice as he walked:

"But Gou Wuyue was clearly not to be trifled with; unwilling to hand over the person, he used all sorts of excuses."

"And officially, the Heavenly Sang Spirit Palace still belonged to the jurisdiction of the Sacred Divine Hall. Under circumstances where even provocation couldn't justify killing, Gou Wuyue no longer had an excuse to draw his sword again."

"But in the end, it still failed!"

"That guy..." Xiao Qixiu was clearly referring to the one with the 'Light' attribute, whose reaction speed was indeed much faster than others. He sighed, "It can't be helped."

"But if they couldn't even kill him, why drag him away?" Zhao Xidong gestured with his lips towards the comical duo from the Spirit Palace.

The Dean was practically dragged away by Elder Qiao and was still struggling at the moment.

Xiao Qixiu spread his hands helplessly, "With his spatial abilities, if he wanted to resist, he would have broken free long ago."

"Not being able to kill also has its limits. How to grasp them, you'll know by looking at Elder Qiao."

"In that situation, if Ye Xiaotian were to burst out in anger again, the situation could very likely become uncontrollable."

"That's why Elder Qiao intervened in time to stop him, and your Dean also realized it, hence he didn't resist. Understand?"

Zhao Xidong nodded as if he understood but didn't quite.

Recalling the situation again, he suddenly felt that the previously inexpressible feeling was becoming clearer.

These old foxes...

"Then?" He hesitated, "Just slink back to the Spirit Palace like this?"

"Otherwise?" Xiao Qixiu retorted, "Can you alone take on a whole group of White Robes?"

"Cough cough." Zhao Xidong choked instantly, not daring to speak again. He silently and taciturnly followed the comical duo from the Spirit Palace, intending to leave with them.

"Yoo-hoo!" "Screech!" The White Robe onlookers cheered as if they had won a battle, laughing raucously from behind. Some even put their fingers to their lips and made strange, piercing whistle sounds.

Gou Wuyue, unusually, did not stop them; he simply smiled as he watched the four depart.

"Wait!" Ahead, Ye Xiaotian suddenly swayed, breaking free from Qiao Qianzhi's restraint and stopping his departure.

Zhao Xidong couldn't stop in time and bumped into Boss Xiao's back with a thump. He immediately crouched down and rolled away.

Sure enough.

The next second, a whip kick swept over, followed by a fierce downward chop.

—All were dodged!

With a crash, a pit was hammered into the ground.

"Brat, you never learn what you should, but you remember plenty of petty tricks," Xiao Qixiu cursed in frustration.

"What is it?" Qiao Qianzhi asked from the front.

His question wasn't about the scuffle behind them, but about Ye Xiaotian's sudden halt.

Not leaving? If he's not leaving now, what else can he go back for? To be scorned?

Qiao Qianzhi was a bit puzzled.

"Gou Wuyue!" Ye Xiaotian suddenly turned around and rose into the sky again, even a full head taller than Gou Wuyue.

His stance was as if a child, after a finished argument, while slinking away, suddenly realized how to mock their opponent with even greater intensity, and then acted on it.

At this moment, Ye Xiaotian perfectly exemplified this.

The clamor of the White Robes was instantly suppressed by his shout.

The white-haired Taoist boy's mouth stretched into a smile even more exaggerated and unrestrained than Gou Wuyue's, almost splitting his face.

"Ye Xiaotian, you still want to stir up trouble?" Gou Wuyue was startled by this abnormal smile, and his voice immediately turned completely cold.

"I haven't brought the person out. Even if I did, I wouldn't release them to you!"

"You're not leaving? Staying to wait for death?" Gou Wuyue was truly enraged.

"No, that's not what I mean," Ye Xiaotian said, seemingly laughing heartily but making no sound.

He put a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.

"Listen."

The White Robes, who had resumed murmuring behind him, were also startled and curious by his mysterious action, and they all quieted down.

"Listen to what?" Gou Wuyue gripped his renowned sword. "If you don't scram now, I'll really kill you!"

"Listen," Ye Xiaotian whispered, a smile in his eyes, "The good show you've been anticipating is about to begin."

What does that mean...? Before Gou Wuyue had time to ponder, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he turned his head, looking towards a certain direction in the void.

It was at this moment.

"Crack!" A slight tremor sounded from high above.

Then, "Boom!" A large hole was ripped open directly!

Everyone looked on in horror, completely stunned.

Such a crude method of breaking through the boundary was worlds apart from Ye Xiaotian's spatial teleportation.

One look, and it was clear someone else had broken through again.

"Woo—" While the White Robes were still somewhat dumbfounded, the spirit array of this space suddenly let out an alarm.

At this instant, everyone's expression changed dramatically.

"Enemy attack!!!" "Holy crap, enemy attack? Activate the defensive spirit array, activate! Quickly!" "Damn it, this white-haired midget tricked me! I thought someone else was coming to pick up the person, who would've thought..." "The White Cave has been breached!"

When the last mournful cry echoed in the air, everyone stopped wasting words and immediately returned to their respective duties and assigned posts.

Forming arrays, taking positions, gathering vital energy, poised for action...

The black hole above the firmament gradually expanded.

At this moment, even Gou Wuyue's pores slightly bristled.

The White Cave, breached?

"Boom!" A scene that had appeared in their dreams for many days now manifested in reality, yet not a single person had the relaxed posture they might in a dream.

Fully prepared, they were ready for this moment!

Life and death would be decided in the upcoming war!

"Whoosh!" A cool breeze suddenly swept across the entire area surrounding the Eight Palaces.

The sky darkened.

Then, "Drip-drop..." A fine drizzle began to fall.

Immediately after, it turned into the sound of "pitter-patter" rain.

"Rain?" The White Robes were like startled birds; none dared to touch the raindrops, and each one used spiritual energy to isolate themselves.

"This rain, it shouldn't be from the enemy, right?" Seeing Gou Wuyue reach out defenselessly to touch the rainwater, someone finally remembered something.

"Yes, there shouldn't be any water-element ability users in the White Cave, and among the three Sacred Slaves who entered, none were water-element users."

"This rain, it's from our own people..." "Yu Lingdi!" "It's the Head of the Spirit Division!"

Everyone immediately relaxed again. They had heard long ago that among the helpers Senior Wuyue called, there was such a person.

Gou Wuyue spread his hand, and his eyes, which had been silently perceiving everything, suddenly opened wide. He said, "Everyone, remove your spiritual energy shields! This is first-hand intelligence from the White Cave brought by Yu Lingdi!"

Hearing this, everyone immediately dropped their guard and reached out to actively touch this first-hand information.

"Tap-tap." Raindrops fell on their palms, and frame by frame, images appeared in their minds:

The great warriors of Sword Departure Plains vanished without a trace, leaving only some bewildered cultivators who hadn't been recorded in the ancient book space.

White Robes took action, entering the White Cave for the first time to recover all cultivators.

A long, blank waiting period.

And then, a point of cold light appeared in Sword Departure Plains, followed by an explosion that shook the entire White Cave world.

The Red Robes appeared... The Storyteller appeared... The Sacred Slave's second-in-command appeared... The Masked Man, Cen Qiaofu, and Wen Ming appeared...

Scene by scene, frame by frame, like a movie playback, images quickly flashed through the minds of the many White Robes.

Everyone instantly understood what had transpired in the White Cave during their period of waiting outside.

And most importantly... "A declaration of war, from the Sacred Slaves?!"

When everyone reopened their eyes, their expressions were extremely solemn.

"The Sacred Slave Head, the Ten Great Grand-Voids, four swords acting unusually, and... a declaration of war?"

Everyone felt their worldview had been forcibly expanded.

Because according to their previously gathered intelligence, the Sacred Slaves were simply not such a powerful organization.

If it were truly as the Sacred Slave Head had said in front of Wen Ming, such a force should have been uprooted more than a decade ago.

How could they have allowed it to grow?

"Are you kidding me!" "And that Cen Qiaofu, not Severing Dao, but Grand-Void?" "That Storyteller, peak Severing Dao? He actually hasn't reached Grand-Void yet? And what we were chasing before was only an external avatar?"

The intelligence arrived somewhat abruptly and explosively; everyone couldn't accept it all at once.

"Yu Lingdi, you've rendered great service!" Gou Wuyue clenched his fist. He truly hadn't imagined that in just a few years, the Sacred Slaves could develop to such a powerful extent.

Clearly, those who were openly known had been held captive by the White Robes and tightly guarded in certain locations.

If they wanted to make a move, hundreds or thousands of eyes would immediately be spying on them.

Yet secretly, the Sacred Slaves still harbored such strength?

"Be on guard!" Gou Wuyue immediately took his renowned sword, Slave Raging Sound, into his hand.

With a single shout, the void spirit array's light enveloped them, directly sealing all space in this area, including the sub-teleportation function within the spatial currents.

"The White Cave's only exit... is the Eight Palaces."

Gou Wuyue raised his chin slightly, sword intent flashing in his eyes. "Come!"

"Water?" The few people from the Spirit Palace, having been teleported by Ye Xiaotian, had already landed in the peripheral area.

They did not intend to participate in this battle.

Zhao Xidong listened to the conversation between Gou Wuyue and the White Robes, secretly stretching out his hand beyond the spatial isolation to feel the patter of raindrops.

However, aside from the coolness in his palm, not a single piece of information entered his mind.

"What's going on?" "Was I rejected?" Zhao Xidong turned his head, a blank look on his face.

Xiao Qixiu watched everything with narrowed eyes. "It's obvious this water is guided. You're not one of the White Robes, so it naturally won't transmit information to you."

"Yu Lingdi, huh..." Ye Xiaotian whispered softly.

"Who is Yu Lingdi?" Zhao Xidong asked curiously.

Seeing the Dean didn't reply, he turned his gaze to Boss Xiao.

Xiao Qixiu's eyes were somewhat solemn. He said, "Sacred Divine Continent, Spirit Refiners, spiritual energy, elements, profound truths... you understand these, right?"

"The others are fine; profound truths, I only half-understand," Zhao Xidong said honestly.

Xiao Qixiu explained step by step, "On this continent, Spirit Refiners are the most orthodox system. Even though ancient sword cultivators are powerful, it's a profession that has been eliminated by the times; it cannot be mass-produced."

"The masters of this era are Spirit Refiners!"

"Spirit Refiners comprehend the elements of heaven and earth, cultivate spiritual energy, and ultimately comprehend the Dao, achieving the King's Throne and even higher realms. Every single step is a move closer to 'profound truths'."

"Just like this water..." Xiao Qixiu said, looking at the rainwater in Zhao Xidong's palm, "For a water-element Spirit Refiner, comprehending the final stage of the Heavenly Dao and manifesting it as their own power is 'profound truth' — the Profound Truth of Water!"

"Wielding a sword!" Xiao Qixiu gripped his long sword. "That is the Profound Truth of the Sword."

He then turned his gaze to Ye Xiaotian.

"Space, that is the Profound Truth of Space!"

"These are the limits for Spirit Refiners: the ultimate comprehension of the Dao and the manifestation of power."

"But in this world, those who can comprehend this level of 'profound truth' are too few."

Xiao Qixiu sighed, "Essentially, everyone's comprehension of the Dao only remains at the stage of 'borrowing,' 'summoning,' or 'forcibly manipulating.'"

"These are superficial understandings of the Heavenly Dao by amateurs. Most King's Thrones and even Severing Dao cultivators you've seen are actually still at this stage."

"But profound truth is true mastery!"

"In this world, there is only one place that truly cultivates talent in this area."

"They don't pursue quickly achieving Severing Dao. Instead, they seek to comprehend their own Dao to perfection, reaching the 'profound truth' realm within the King's Throne Dao realm, only then choosing to achieve Severing Dao."

"That place is one of the six divisions of the Sacred Divine Hall, the Spirit Division!"

"The Spirit Division?" Zhao Xidong raised an eyebrow. He had only vaguely heard of it before but had never understood it in such detail.

"Yes, the Spirit Division." Xiao Qixiu nodded. "This rain comes from the Head of the Spirit Division, a terrifying existence who has truly comprehended the 'profound truth' realm, capable of fighting Severing Dao with a King's Throne, and even slightly shaking a Grand-Void — Yu Lingdi!"