Chapter 623: Just Child's Play

Sizzle, sizzle.

The temperature surged, and Yu Lingdi laughed unrestrainedly. "Little Shi Tanji, there's no need to struggle. Do you really think your methods can drive me out?"

Xu Xiaoshou remained silent. His body began to crack, and his skin started to shrivel. Even his blood was gradually undergoing intense evaporation, drop by drop.

Steam rose from Xu Xiaoshou's head. He himself seemed to shrink, instantly shriveling by more than half, his skin becoming scorched black and utterly withered.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The faint sound persisted. In just a few breaths, Yu Lingdi's laughter began to sound a little strained.

"So you can endure this much?" He paused, as if remembering something. "Oh, I forgot you possess a Grandmaster's body."

Xu Xiaoshou gritted his teeth and said nothing. He knew well that he wasn't able to endure because of his Grandmaster's body; rather, he had achieved his Grandmaster's body because he could endure.

"Heh, I'd like to see how long you can last," Yu Lingdi scoffed.

As time passed, the first few breaths were fine. But before the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Yu Lingdi gradually found himself unable to laugh anymore. "Brat, I don't believe you can withstand this..."

What the other person was feeling, Xu Xiaoshou didn't know. The only thing he could do was continuously intensify the heat, to burn this person to death within his own body!

Gradually, although he no longer heard sarcastic remarks, as the speaking stopped, Xu Xiaoshou knew that Yu Lingdi was definitely not having a good time.

"Little Shi Tanji..."

With a low groan, Yu Lingdi fell completely silent. Xu Xiaoshou knew the guy hadn't left yet, but was probably on the verge of collapsing.

The information bar kept popping up messages:

His internal Qi Sea was in complete turmoil. The Three-Day Frozen Tribulation, under Xu Xiaoshou's deliberate suppression, was forced into a small corner by the power of the Primordial Burning Ember. What remained was only the fierce burning of white flames.

Whoosh!

A heavy thud echoed from all around him. His Qi Sea power spread out. Xu Xiaoshou finally couldn't hold on any longer, allowing the white flames to erupt from his body. He was like a phoenix rising from the flames, attempting to be reborn amidst these roaring white flames.

At the very same moment.

"What the hell?!" A startled cry. The instant the white flames burst through his body, Yu Lingdi finally couldn't endure it. Amidst sounds of panic, Xu Xiaoshou's "perception" spotted uncontrolled water moving inside his body, gathering frantically towards his skin.

"Yu Lingdi..." Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were bloodshot, but he did not stop the guy's attempt to exit his body. Because outside, a big meal awaited!

The other of the two jade slips Master Sang had given him flashed through his mind. Xu Xiaoshou vividly remembered the spiritual technique's operational path. Back then, he couldn't use it simply because he didn't have white flames. But now...

"White Flame: Dragon Fusion Boundary!"

A hoarse, inhuman roar echoed. Within Xu Xiaoshou's "perception," the surrounding world's rules seemed to manifest clearly, forming a spherical net within an area of several dozen zhang. In a flash, the world was engulfed in burning embers.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A massive white fireball instantly replaced the entire mountaintop. The moment the Dragon Fusion Boundary appeared, not to mention the ground that had just been frozen solid, even the mountain itself was directly incinerated. The void rippled, shadows flickered. Under the high temperature, forget about water elements. It was hard to find even a trace of any other element in the world, apart from the extreme fire element.

Boom!

Space violently collapsed. The outer space of the white fireball exploded, forming a black containment ring. Beyond this ring, streaks of fiery white lines spread out in a Bagua formation. In just a moment, they covered the entire mountaintop.

Thud!

Another heavy thud. Xu Xiaoshou couldn't control it; the overflowing fire energy ignited the entire mountain range. The white fireball hung suspended in the air, spanning dozens of zhang, but the burning white mountain range instantly spread across several li!

"Hiss ah—"

Yu Lingdi, attempting to escape through the white flames from within the body, cried out in pain on the spot, stopping his actions. To his horror, he discovered that the all-consuming white flames could incinerate most of his own body the instant he left it. He had originally intended to find other water elements in the outer space and be reborn. But now he found... Outside, there was nothing! Only extreme white and extreme fire remained. Only black holes and the Dragon Fusion Boundary. There was nothing else!

"Are you crazy?"

Yu Lingdi could only curl back inside Xu Xiaoshou's body. But doing so meant enduring torment akin to purgatorial flames burning his soul. He simply couldn't imagine how this little Shi Tanji could possibly endure longer than him. "If this keeps burning, you'll lose your life." Yu Lingdi said in a panic, "While I certainly can't bear such pain, your body will undoubtedly disappear before mine!"

Xu Xiaoshou grinned, his skin peeling away to reveal bone. That smile was like Death waving its hand. "At a time like this, are we still distinguishing between you and me?" He abruptly formed a hand seal. The Dragon Fusion Boundary, spanning dozens of zhang, instantly retracted, and the high temperature intensified around him, sealing off all of Yu Lingdi's escape routes. "If you dared to come in, you should be prepared not to get out!"

"You..." Yu Lingdi was speechless. He paused, then changed his tone. "Little Shi Tanji, don't forget there are still White-Clothed searching the mountain here. With your white flames burning everywhere, anyone should realize something is wrong. In no time, the White-Clothed will surround you directly. Do you think it'll be possible for you to escape then?"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "You talk as if you'd let me leave if I didn't attract the White-Clothed."

"I can't let you leave, but you've probably misunderstood my intention. I want to take you back to the Spirit Division, not just imprison you like the other White-Clothed." Yu Lingdi spoke very fast, his voice extremely calm. But the calmer he was, the more Xu Xiaoshou could discern his panic. As someone with experience, Xu Xiaoshou knew the power of the Burning Ember Seed; even a congenital body couldn't withstand it. And as the Primordial Burning Ember, a full level above the great Burning Ember Seed, the power it unleashed when it erupted was probably something even a Dao Slayer couldn't endure.

His vision was blurring. Xu Xiaoshou could barely hold on because his passive skill "Endless Life" was continuously sustaining his life. As long as he wasn't killed instantly, he was virtually impossible to kill. But in this state for a long time, even if his body wouldn't die, Xu Xiaoshou's soul was rapidly reaching its limit. The Primordial Burning Ember was too powerful. This kind of power, had it not been for the assistance of that distressed saint, Xu Xiaoshou would have either been burned to death on the spot or chosen to abandon it. But at this moment, without external assistance, he had directly detonated the Primordial Burning Ember...

"Mutual destruction!" Xu Xiaoshou's face contorted in a grimace. "Then let's truly perish together!"

Yu Lingdi was startled by his decisiveness. "Little Shi Tanji! Someone's coming! If you truly encounter the White-Clothed, I won't be able to save you. The Spirit Division is your best destination. Only by coming back with me can you..."

"Go to hell!" Xu Xiaoshou roared menacingly, interrupting the talkative person. "Shut your damn mouth!"

His body suddenly burst, charred flesh flying. The Dragon Fusion Boundary enveloping him was actually placed within Xu Xiaoshou's own body. In an instant, his soul felt as if it were melting. Xu Xiaoshou's vision dimmed, nearly losing consciousness on the spot.

"Hiss—"

A gasp of cold air echoed in his mind, and Yu Lingdi fell silent. "Die..."

But suddenly.

"Pfft."

"Haha."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Yu Lingdi, who should have completely given up, actually began to laugh out loud. Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. Had this guy's brain been burned out?

"Little Shi Tanji, do you really think I'm helpless against this move of yours?" There was no longer the suppressed pain in Yu Lingdi's voice, but a return to composure. He merely said calmly, "I was just curious to see how far you could go."

"What?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't have time to react.

"Water Enigma: Deprivation!"

After a soft sound, an enigmatic formation pattern unfolded around Xu Xiaoshou. Time seemed to freeze for a moment. The next second, Xu Xiaoshou only felt his spiritual energy deplete, and the Dragon Fusion Boundary was forcibly dispelled. And the pervasive white flames around him, at the moment the enigmatic formation appeared, were stripped of their physical form, transforming into elemental form.

"This!" Xu Xiaoshou's heart tightened. "Water elements... How... how is this possible? Shouldn't all the water elements in heaven and earth have been evaporated by me?"

"Little Shi Tanji, you seem to have forgotten that you are not Cen Qiaofu. You didn't cut off the spiritual energy within me immediately," Yu Lingdi said cheerfully, water seeping in drop by drop and condensing in front of Xu Xiaoshou. Yu Lingdi reappeared, leaning forward. "In this world, relying on external forces for revival is the lowest form. To exist permanently by relying on one's own spiritual energy, it seems, is the true essence of a Spirit Refiner? You can endure a lot, but you seem to have put the cart before the horse. I, Yu Lingdi, am also a Sovereign cultivation, and I have spiritual energy."

He smiled and spread his hands, and a large mass of water formed in his palm. At this moment, the world Xu Xiaoshou saw turned grayscale. He suddenly realized he had made a mistake. A colossal mistake!

Yu Lingdi had been inhabiting his body, but this didn't mean the other party only knew this one trick. Likewise, he was a Sovereign! While he had indeed evaporated all water elements in the world, a person who had comprehended the Dao Realm, not to mention possessing the Sovereign's own spiritual energy, even if all spiritual energy was expended, the Water Dao within the world's rules was still Yu Lingdi's source of regeneration. Cen Qiaofu could seal off all of Yu Lingdi's escape routes, but this guy had evaded it using the Human Rebirth Technique. But this didn't mean that Yu Lingdi would die just by him evaporating the water from a human body! This time... Xu Xiaoshou despairingly closed his eyes, collapsing onto the ground with a thud. This time, he had trapped himself!

More thoughts were useless. At this critical moment of life and death, Xu Xiaoshou sensed that he still had spiritual energy within him. Seizing the moment while the person in front of him was still gloating, he began to utter a low cry in his mind: "Dispel..."

But before the cry could fully form, Yu Lingdi seemed to have understood everything. He had already extended his hand, gently placing his palm on Xu Xiaoshou's forehead. An enigmatic formation pattern rotated open. "Water Spirit Deprivation." A faint sound lingered in his ears. The next moment, Xu Xiaoshou saw a large mass of water spirit energy being drawn out from before him. In just that instant, light faded, and Xu Xiaoshou collapsed to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

"Impressive," Yu Lingdi praised sincerely. He looked at the mass of pure water drawn from Xu Xiaoshou's body, then glanced at the corpse-like body on the ground, clicking his tongue in wonder. He had not been idle while inhabiting this guy's body; it wasn't a game. Rather, he genuinely wanted to see how ruthless this little Shi Tanji could be to himself. The extent he ultimately witnessed even startled Yu Lingdi himself. "Such a person..."

"As expected of someone favored by both Venerable Eight and Senior Wuyue!" Yu Lingdi sighed with emotion, his expression returning to calm. For him, the previous feigned words of pain and fear were merely to better provoke little Shi Tanji's ruthlessness. This mere congenital was, in the end, just an unexpected bonus for this mission, and not truly worth much emotional investment. Although he, Yu Lingdi, the Chief of the Spirit Division, was only at the Sovereign cultivation level, the lowest level of people he usually dealt with were Dao Slayers. So how could he not handle this little Shi Tanji?

This guy lying dead in front of him, no matter how outstanding, was still just a junior—someone who could be dealt with by a single finger. Of course, a young man who could compel Yu Lingdi to abandon the Saint Slave bigshots and immediately possess his body for insight, truly shouldn't be casually destroyed. If that were the case, wouldn't all this effort be for naught?

"He's got something," Yu Lingdi mused. "Besides his Grandmaster's body and various miraculous spiritual techniques, his temperament is also excellent. It's just that he tends to speak ill and use foul language when he gets enraged... quite unseemly, indeed." Yu Lingdi frowned slightly but didn't pay it much mind. He moved his hand, returning the mass of water vapor to the person on the ground. Nourished, Xu Xiaoshou's injuries slowly began to heal.

"Time to capture the next one." Yu Lingdi looked out at the vast mountain, where white flames raged across its slopes. His eyes darkened, a water-element enigmatic formation pattern appeared beneath his feet, and the sky instantly turned from clear to overcast, thick with dark clouds.

Pitter-patter...

The all-consuming white flames, upon being touched by raindrops, were actually reduced to fire elements, and then assimilated into water elements, returning to the sky. Yu Lingdi then curved his lips into a smile, transforming back into the image of a harmless young boy.

"Let's go." He scooped up Xu Xiaoshou from the ground, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and strode purposefully forward.

"Mmm." The person on his shoulder uttered a groan, as if about to wake up. Yu Lingdi slapped him on the back.

Thud.

The water within Xu Xiaoshou's body exploded, turning him into a dried corpse once more. This time, Yu Lingdi only allowed half the water to return, to prevent the guy's Grandmaster's body from recovering too quickly.

"Alright, let's go down the mountain!"

"Who should I capture next?" Yu Lingdi skipped and hopped down the mountain. The heavy rain pattered. The high temperature in the air rapidly dissipated. The mountain forest, previously burned bare by the white flames, now finally seemed to revive amidst the mountain rain.

Drip-drop...

Amidst the pervasive sound of pattering rain, a small, out-of-place sound abruptly emerged. Yu Lingdi's steps faltered. It was the sound of raindrops hitting leaves or stones. But this mountain now had no stones, let alone any trees. Where was the sound coming from?

Drip-drop...

The sound grew closer. It seemed to be coming from the right. Yu Lingdi finally distinguished it clearly. He quickly turned his head to look, only to see at the junction of the high and low parts of the mountain path, a withered, hunched figure had appeared at some point. From bottom to top: a pair of broken sandals revealing toes, a worn straw raincoat, a tattered straw hat... Yu Lingdi's pupils contracted. He clutched the person on his shoulder tighter, feeling an inexplicable palpitation.

"Who are you?"