Chapter 620: Dimension-Reducing Strike, Receiving Words and Language

"What?"

Lin Ruohuan hadn't initially noticed the subtle changes around them, but when Tong Feng pointed it out, he too sensed something was amiss. Indeed, there was absolutely no Heavenly Dao fluctuation in the vicinity. No matter how subtly Haitang'er controlled it, Dao Severance was still Dao Severance. Even if she had fully endured the Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation, her strength would only surpass his by a bit... or perhaps more than a bit, but still. In terms of cultivation, both he and his opponent were in the same major realm. However, a spiritual scan revealed no trace of Heavenly Dao fluctuation to Lin Ruohuan. His thoughts suddenly became tangled, and an unbidden idea arose: Had this person truly made a move?

"Under suspicion, Passive Value, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou saw this message finally pop up in the information bar and, instead of being surprised, was delighted. "It's finally here." Without being suspected, he almost didn't know how to proceed. Though his mind raced with thoughts, Xu Xiaoshou's face remained utterly calm, his gaze fixed on the spiritual sword in Lin Ruohuan's hand.

"An ancient sword cultivator?"

"Huh?" Lin Ruohuan's thoughts were instantly disrupted, pulling him back to reality. He quickly replied, "Yes, a sword cultivator. Oh no, no, I'm not an ancient sword cultivator..." His momentary incoherence made Lin Ruohuan's face flush. He was clearly a Dao Severance Spirit Refiner, standing at the peak of power. Yet, under the questioning of the man before him, he unconsciously reverted to the nervous stuttering posture of a youth learning swordsmanship, as if encountering a teacher, regardless of his own mastery.

"A spiritual sword cultivator?" Xu Xiaoshou asked again, and without waiting for a reply, extended his hand. "Let me see."

Tong Feng, standing nearby, glanced at the striking four-fingered hand, but quickly looked away, not daring to stare.

Lin Ruohuan was somewhat flattered. If an ordinary person dared to ask a sword cultivator for their sword like that, it would be akin to saying, "Give me your life." But if it were the Eighth Sword Immortal...

"Here." Lin Ruohuan immediately handed over the spiritual sword, saying respectfully, "This sword has been with me for a long time, from the Sovereign realm to Dao Severance, over twenty years... Oh, right, its name is 'Lan Juke,' modeled after you..." He suddenly became a bit awkward. The moment the word "you" slipped out, Lin Ruohuan realized his mistake. At this point, he clearly shouldn't be saying too much...

Xu Xiaoshou took the spiritual sword. The sword was aquamarine and full of spiritual energy. Though not a famous sword, the moment it entered his hand, it suddenly began to tremble violently, as if it wanted to fly away.

"Impudent!" Lin Ruohuan shouted. Lan Juke instantly quieted down.

Xu Xiaoshou raised his eyes and glanced at him, saying nothing.

"Uh." Lin Ruohuan, instead, became flustered and quickly explained, "It's not like that; I'm usually very good to it, I wouldn't scold it like this..."

"It's fine." Xu Xiaoshou ran a single hand over the blade; the spiritual sword remained calm. He felt a little awkward. Lin Ruohuan, however, failed to notice this detail. To receive a soft "It's fine" from the Eighth Sword Immortal, there was truly nothing left in the world to be nervous about. And for Lan Juke to be touched by the Eighth Sword Immortal was an even greater, unparalleled honor for himself!

"Lan Juke..." Xu Xiaoshou murmured softly, "A good name."

"No, no, it's all modeled after your personal sword... Uh!" Lin Ruohuan winced. Hadn't he just said that? Why was it slipping out again?

Tong Feng watched from the side, amazed. He had never seen Brother Lin in such a humble state. Even when they once carried out a mission under Senior Wuyue, Lin Ruohuan hadn't been like this. But then again, it made sense. On that occasion, they had met from a distance, and no one had conversed. This time, however, face-to-face interaction with the Eighth Sword Immortal at such close proximity... Tong Feng suddenly felt envious. He knew the legends of the Eighth Sword Immortal and, despite their differing stances, he held infinite reverence for this person. Witnessing the scene, he even regretted not learning swordsmanship as a child, unable to truly comprehend the fervent emotions of those swordsmen. He imagined they must at least be sleepless at night...

"Sword Will?"

As he pondered, a sudden high-pitched exclamation from Lin Ruohuan pierced his ears. Tong Feng was surprised and quickly turned his head to look. He saw that under the Eighth Sword Immortal's focused gaze, Lan Juke suddenly trembled. Wisps of mist even began to emanate from it.

"Sword Will!" Tong Feng was astonished. The legendary sword-gazing technique, said to be miraculous, was actually happening right before his eyes? He couldn't help but steal a few more glances.

"The Art of Sword-Gazing..." The Eighth Sword Immortal made no grand gestures, only a subtle focus of his gaze. Yet, Lan Juke seemed to have unleashed endless potential. Not only was it trembling, but its surface luster became increasingly infused with spirituality as time passed. Tong Feng knew that the power of the "Art of Sword-Gazing" lay in the fact that both the practitioner and the affected sword could strengthen with the cultivation of Sword Will. Moreover, it was the only peerless art in the world that could elevate the grade of a spiritual sword without the need for iron refining!

Lin Ruohuan was trembling with excitement, his face flushed, and he was breathing heavily. He knew that powerful individuals had their own goals and opponents and wouldn't easily act against juniors. But he had never imagined that the Eighth Sword Immortal would be so benevolent toward sword cultivators! Despite their clear adversarial relationship... He was actually helping him, improving the grade of his spiritual sword?!

"I..." Lin Ruohuan was incoherent. He wanted to express his gratitude, but his position made it impossible for him to speak.

In contrast, the Eighth Sword Immortal... The other party seemed to have no such reservations. At the end of the sword-gazing, he lightly flicked his finger.

"Buzz—" The spiritual sword hummed with joy, finally responding. As Xu Xiaoshou breathed a sigh of relief, Lin Ruohuan also felt a pang of self-reproach. Such was the difference in vision and magnanimity!

"Lan Juke is indeed good," Xu Xiaoshou said, retrieving the sword and handing it back. He was no longer the ignorant young sword cultivator he once was. In fact, from Lin Ruohuan's earlier remark, he could discern the man's admiration for the true Eighth Sword Immortal from the sword's name. He immediately chuckled, "I once had a sword with a name very similar to Lan Juke. It was called..."

"Qing Ju!" Lin Ruohuan eagerly interjected. "When the sky is eighteen feet high, who dares to wield half a Qing Ju?"

"This sword, its name, both drew inspiration from your 'Qing Ju'." "Of course, I didn't dare to name it 'Lan Ju' directly, so I added the character 'Ke' [guest], Senior..." "It's very presumptuous of me, Senior, please forgive me!"

Lin Ruohuan clutched the spiritual sword tightly, feeling it was more than twice as heavy as before, and he was now speaking without much thought.

"Heh heh," Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, as if a true elder witnessing a junior's almost reverent respect, feeling a touch of wistful contemplation.

This sigh also startled Xu Xiaoji, who was nearby. The bizarre events unfolding beside him were truly beyond his comprehension. A mighty Dao Severance cultivator showing such reverence to a mere Innate Realm cultivator... Xu Xiaoji no longer knew what he was feeling. He didn't even dare to steal another glance, fearing that seeing such a strange sight would make him cry out and ruin the peculiar atmosphere created by Demon King Xu.

"Whew," he silently exhaled a heavy breath. Xu Xiaoji tried every way to hypnotize himself into believing "nothing is strange," but his emotions were still hard to calm. At this moment, his heart was filled with boundless admiration for Xu Xiaoshou, who dared to sit casually before the Dao Severance expert who stood respectfully bowed.

"Received admiration, Passive Value, 1.""Received awe, Passive Value, 1.""Received gratitude, Passive Value, 1."

"Alright," Xu Xiaoshou said with a light chuckle as he returned the sword. The Sword Will had illuminated, and his identity was proven. Not to mention that these two hadn't even considered that he might be faking it from the start. Even if they regained their senses now and wanted to be suspicious, it was likely they wouldn't dare. He patted his backside, stood up uninhibitedly, and said casually, "I called you over for a serious matter."

"Serious matter?" Lin Ruohuan paused, only then realizing that the other party seemed to have mentioned something earlier. He also realized that his earlier reaction had been quite embarrassing. His face flushed slightly; he took a step back and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Please speak, Senior."

Tong Feng lowered his eyelids, feeling even more despair. Indeed, they were not of the same caliber. It seemed that any sword cultivator, upon encountering the Eighth Sword Immortal, would lose all their composure. He followed, taking a step back and adopting a serious stance.

"Where's the communication bead?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't immediately reveal his trump card. Instead, he extended his hand, looking at the two hesitant men, and said, "The alarm bead you mentioned." He didn't say anything further, waiting in silence.

Sure enough, after only a moment, Lin Ruohuan let out a wistful sigh. "Tong Feng, bring it out!"

"Oh." Tong Feng didn't even dare to refuse, flipping his hand to reveal the alarm bead.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't beckon it over from a distance. Instead, he slowly walked forward and, under the gaze of the two men plus one peeking eye, leisurely reached out and grasped the red bead. This process gave everyone ample time to react. But Lin Ruohuan didn't stop him. Tong Feng also didn't move; he didn't even dare to twitch a finger.

"I'll take this for now," Xu Xiaoshou said. He knew that the faster and more forceful his actions were at this moment, the more likely they were to provoke resistance. Conversely, this unhurried pace conveyed greater confidence and a lack of fear of resistance to the other party. He picked up the alarm bead, tossed it into his Yuan Mansion, severing its connection, and added an explanation: "I don't like killing people, and similarly, I don't want you to call a large group for me to kill." Then, he changed the subject: "Now, let's talk about the main business."

Lin Ruohuan and Tong Feng's eyes dimmed simultaneously. So, what they considered a life-saving item was merely something like that in the other's eyes? A chilly wind whistled, and the scene felt somewhat bleak.

Xu Xiaoji's feet felt numb from listening. He sometimes truly suspected that Demon King Xu was actually the most deeply hidden big boss. Otherwise, how could this guy speak with such mastery, using the tone of a world-class peak giant who could deliver dimensionality-reduction strikes from a higher plane?

"Call people over for me to kill..." Xu Xiaoji sighed silently. If it were him, he wouldn't be able to utter words of such a high realm... He wouldn't even dare to think such thoughts!

"Received reverence, Passive Value, 1.""Received fear, Passive Value, 2."

"Gou Wuyue has an apprentice named Lu Ke; do you know him?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"Lu Ke?" The two white-clad figures exchanged glances, both surprised.

"We know him. Why?" Lin Ruohuan asked, puzzled.

"If you know him, then it's simple." Xu Xiaoshou made a gesture with his hand. The two white-clad figures felt a chill in the air before them. Then, an ice sculpture appeared in the Eighth Sword Immortal's hand. They were still in doubt, but when their gaze focused on the ice sculpture's face, even Lin Ruohuan couldn't help but exclaim.

"Xiao Ke?"

"This, Senior..." Tong Feng was also utterly astonished. "Lu Ke, how is he in Senior's hands?"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and smiled. "I won't go into the specifics of how I acquired him."

"I'm leaving today, and Gou Wuyue is pursuing me. I don't want to fight him, but I also have this... well, this person in my possession. Giving him back directly to Gou Wuyue isn't ideal."

"After all, openly, we are still enemies."

"But to lay hands on a junior..." Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the two men before him and suddenly chuckled, "I can't bring myself to do it."

At that moment, Lin Ruohuan and Tong Feng both somewhat understood why the Eighth Sword Immortal was so benevolent. It was clear that the other party simply didn't take the two of them seriously! Juniors... Indeed, in the eyes of such a figure, of the seven or eight hundred people in the entire Eight Palaces, perhaps only Senior Wuyue was worthy of notice! And, the two sides were indeed still adversaries. The other party clearly could have escaped, yet chose to stay and return Senior Wuyue's apprentice...

"What a grand vision, what magnanimity!" At that moment, Lin Ruohuan felt utterly ashamed that he couldn't even utter a respectful address earlier. People fear comparison. Given the other party's immense stature alone, he might never be able to catch up, not in this lifetime.

"Take him!" Xu Xiaoshou didn't wait for the two to react much further. After seeing the information bar pop up with mostly positive terms, he tossed the ice block in his hand, returning it to them. "The famous sword is lost, but it's not in my possession. It should have fallen into the hands of the Red Coats in White Cave."

"Go back and explain that, and try not to unjustly slander me, although..." Xu Xiaoshou paused, a corner of his lip curving into a smile: "Although I don't care."

"Definitely!" Lin Ruohuan exclaimed loudly.

"Guaranteed!" Tong Feng, also influenced, stood upright as if responding to a superior's command.

The mountain wind rustled, and autumn leaves fluttered.

"Time to go." Xu Xiaoshou didn't linger. A performance needed breathing room; only by providing the opponent with an extreme shift at the climax could they truly be caught off guard. Walking straight past the two men in front of him, Xu Xiaoshou felt a surge of emotion. He had to admit, this performance was far easier than he had imagined.

"The Eighth Sword Immortal..." Was this title truly so useful? Xu Xiaoshou's eyes darted about, wondering what he was thinking.

After a few more steps, he suddenly remembered something was missing. He immediately stopped, not daring to look back.

"Haitang'er." He called out simply.

The wind whistled. Lin Ruohuan held the ice sculpture, his heart surging. Tong Feng's expression was solemn, still savoring the so-called senior's demeanor.

But Haitang'er... there was no response!

"Oh no!" Xu Xiaoshou panicked. His "Perception" watched Xu Xiaoji, who was also staring blankly at the ice sculpture, and his face turned pale.

You're too damn deep in character! At such a crucial moment, you decide to mess up? If you want to die... Don't drag me down with you, damn it!! At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded wildly, as if trampled by a thousand divine beasts.

"Haitang'er!" He raised his voice slightly, but not too high, to avoid alarming the two white-clad figures who were out of the loop.

But... They were still alarmed! The two white-clad figures snapped out of their daze, turning their heads in unison to look at "Haitang'er," who was still leaning against the ancient tree, their expressions now filled with much more confusion.