Chapter 624: Xu Xiaoshou, Listen Carefully, I Won't Teach a Second Time

"Drip, drop." Rain pattered against the straw hat, seeping through a hole and trickling down the old man's gaunt, upturned face. It slid over his coir raincape and dripped into his broken shoes, exposing his toes.

"Tap, tap, tap..." The old man remained silent, yet with each unyielding step, he left a clear imprint, not pausing for a moment, advancing as if fearless of death.

Yu Lingdi frowned, lost in thought. This person was clearly not from the Sacred Temple. Yet, Yu Lingdi's rain, which had fallen from the White Cave until this moment, had never revealed such a figure among the Sacred Slaves.

"Wait!" Yu Lingdi's pupils suddenly constricted as he remembered. Little Shitan Ji, who had just emerged from the Sword-Leaving Grassland at that time, seemed to possess this very face!

"Who are you?" Yu Lingdi took a step back, the person still slung over his shoulder. An ominous suspicion had already formed in his mind. But... how was it possible? How could that man appear here? Shouldn't he have been heavily injured and forced to retreat after the battle in Qinglong County, now in a state where he couldn't participate in combat?

The straw-hatted old man approached unhurriedly, then suddenly lifted his straw hat and smiled. That smile, however, was terrifyingly eerie, like a fiend baring its fangs.

"You don't recognize this old man?" The old man stopped about ten paces from Yu Lingdi. His eyes suddenly widened, he tilted his head, and, holding his straw hat, he mocked, "If you don't recognize this old man, then what are you doing here? Slacking off, fishing? Or..." The old man drew out his words, his gaze falling on the young man on Yu Lingdi's shoulder, his face twitching. "Just for him? Is that it?"

Yu Lingdi's stomach clenched; he felt as if a venomous snake had targeted him, utterly terrified. He instinctively took a step back, still somewhat disbelieving his own judgment. "Who exactly are you?" With a heavy shout, the rain in the sky intensified. Pea-sized raindrops gathered mid-air, transforming into heavy hailstones that smashed down with a roar.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The mountain path was battered and ruined by the heavy water. The bare mountain surface, scorched by white flames, instantly developed cracks like a turtle's shell. The straw-hatted old man stood in the rain. He was clearly there, yet the heavy water passed through his form as if hitting thin air, causing not even a fraction of damage.

Yu Lingdi grew even more flustered. Path Cutter! This was Path Cutter from the start, but his upper limit was unknown. If it was truly the person he suspected, then had his strength... recovered?

"Why does everyone like to ask for names?" The straw-hatted old man scoffed softly, lifting his eyelids, and replied expressionlessly, "Sang Qiye."

"Whoosh!" As the word settled, all moisture in the air for several miles around evaporated. The dark clouds in the sky instantly vanished, parting the rain mist to reveal a clear sky. The heavy mist-like water falling mid-air, which hadn't yet reached the ground, dissipated halfway.

The clouds dispersed, the rain ceased, and a blazing sun appeared in the sky. Yu Lingdi's eyes stung from the sudden bright light. He hadn't yet processed the other party's reply when he felt heavy mists evaporating from his body, and his spiritual energy was being consumed rapidly.

"What's going on?" He looked up. The dazzling light almost blinded Yu Lingdi. He was shocked. Just a second ago, the sky had been covered in dark clouds. Now, it was truly replaced by a blazing sun—a white blazing sun! Not the distant one hanging in the clouds, beyond reach, but a new, fiercely glowing white sun suspended mid-air, as if within reach.

"The sun!" Yu Lingdi's heart suddenly pounded. He panicked. What kind of technique was this? He could feel energy from that scorching white sun that was no less than that of a true sun. Yu Lingdi didn't actually know what the energy of a true solar body was, but he knew that if this scorching white sun were to fall, even if he had mastered the Water Aspect, he would likely find it hard to resist.

"Sang Qiye?" Lowering his gaze back to the old man in front of him, Yu Lingdi couldn't discern the man's intentions at all. "I've never heard that name, and I don't know what you're trying to do."

"Ignorant and ill-informed," Elder Sang scoffed, for Sang Qiye was indeed Elder Sang. He then lowered his straw hat, seemingly disdaining to even look directly at Yu Lingdi, his voice filled with reminiscence: "But then again, it makes sense. When this old man was dominating the Central Domain, you probably didn't even know you were spitting milk bubbles in a swaddling cloth! Not knowing my true name can be forgiven."

He paused, then continued, "But those from the Sacred Temple... the Sacred Slave, Sleeveless, you must have heard of him, right?"

"You are Sleeveless?" Yu Lingdi's voice rose. His heel instinctively lifted, but he suppressed the urge, pulling back his slightly leaning body. Stopping himself from retreating, he shook his head and said, "You are not Sleeveless."

"Hmm." Elder Sang nodded, "The true second-in-command of the Sacred Slaves, Sleeveless, should have been heavily injured and forced to retreat during his battle with that old dog Wuyue. He should still be recuperating now and couldn't possibly appear here, right?"

Yu Lingdi's expression froze. This was indeed his inner thought. But what did this old man mean by saying it aloud?

Elder Sang continued, "And even if he did appear, with his apparent cultivation of merely the King Realm, barely a Path Cutter, how could he possibly give you such immense pressure, making you unable to even think of resisting, right?"

A vein throbbed on Yu Lingdi's forehead. No kidding, that hit home too! He could barely imagine, was this Sleeveless? That second-in-command of the Sacred Slaves, Sleeveless, who had been heavily injured and defeated twice by Senior Wuyue? There wasn't a single sign of heavy injury here. This pressure was even greater than what Cen Qiaofu exuded.

Elder Sang suddenly burst out laughing. After shaking his head for a long time, he mocked, "You toothless brat, barely grown your hair—you're making me laugh my teeth off!"

"Don't you even consider, if that old dog Wuyue could heavily wound this old man, would he have let me escape back in the Central Domain? If he truly had the ability to capture this old man, when I personally visited Qinglong County, would he have failed again?"

"Young man..." Elder Sang suddenly blurred, his afterimage vanishing from his original spot. Yu Lingdi felt a tap on his left shoulder from behind; he turned around in horror. A terrifyingly eerie face was pressed against his ear, facing forward, but its eyes were rigidly turned to the right, staring fixedly at him.

Elder Sang whispered into his ear, his voice faint and ghostly. "History is written by the victors. Glory and light are sung by bards. The rumors you hear are merely what those above you want you to hear. Young man, do you understand?"

Yu Lingdi's veins popped out all over his body, as if he was struggling desperately against something. Elder Sang patted his shoulder again and said, "Now, you can move."

"Bang!" The last word had just fallen when Yu Lingdi exploded into a mist of water, instantly reforming dozens of yards away. As soon as he landed, he felt light. Not only was the terrifying binding force from the old man gone, but even the person... He turned his head. Little Shitan Ji was indeed gone!

He looked over in shock, and sure enough, the great secret he had just captured had fallen into the old man's hands.

"Tsk, tsk." Elder Sang, holding Xu Xiaoshou with one hand, suddenly chuckled. He recalled the last time he held his precious disciple like this, it seemed it was taken from Ba Zun'an. But back then, his disciple was merely being transferred between his own people; he took him easily, without worrying about accidents. Now, however, the person was taken from the Sacred Temple. The nature of it was completely different!

"You lost your stuff, aren't you coming to get it back?" Elder Sang held up Xu Xiaoshou in his hand.

Yu Lingdi was clearly a water-type ability user, yet at this moment, his throat felt dry. Path Cutter... This old man was stronger than all the Path Cutters he had encountered before! His comprehension of the Great Dao seemed to even rival his own realm. But how was that possible? He had mastered the Water Aspect. Could the other party, perhaps, also master the Fire Aspect?

"Afraid?" Seeing the young man remain silent, Elder Sang casually tossed Xu Xiaoshou behind him, who landed with a thud on the ground. He extended a finger, and a pill precisely entered Xu Xiaoshou's throat, blooming into a trickle of blood. The unconscious Xu Xiaoshou didn't even need to swallow; the moment the pill breached his throat, it automatically transformed into pure mist, flowing back to repair his body.

"Are you joking, Senior?" Yu Lingdi finally regained his composure, not responding directly, but asking in surprise, "If you are Sacred Slave Sleeveless, then your Chief is currently being hunted by Senior Wuyue. Do you still have time to linger here?"

"Yellow-haired brat!" Elder Sang sneered, "According to you, this old man should go find a matching opponent, like that old dog Wuyue, and fight again?"

"Mmm-hmm." Yu Lingdi grinned, "Shouldn't you? It's not good to bully the weak."

"Oh!" Elder Sang was amused. "Bullying the weak? You're quite cultured, you even know the term 'bullying the weak'? Then this..." He pointed at Xu Xiaoshou, still embedded in the ground and unconscious behind him. "What's this?"

Yu Lingdi's expression became awkward.

"A King Realm bullying an Innate, and you still have a reason? Crossing two major realms just to crush weaklings, that's fun, isn't it? Is it that you, as the Chief of the Spirit Division, are genuinely bored? Instead of seeking revenge on Cen Qiaofu and the Storyteller, you come here to play around?"

Elder Sang spread his hands and said coldly, "If you want to play, fine, this old man will play with you. This old man also likes to crush weaklings—a rotten weakling like you!"

"Haha, Senior is joking." Yu Lingdi quickly retreated, his form already rippling with water. "I didn't just decide this midway; from the very beginning, I had my eyes on this kid. This guy is very powerf—"

"What a coincidence!" Elder Sang directly interrupted. "This old man's target, from beginning to end, has also been this kid!"

The scene fell silent. Yu Lingdi had already realized something was wrong. The Sacred Slave Chief and other big figures had completely forgotten about Little Shitan Ji's existence when the great battle was about to begin. How could this straw-hatted old man have the leisure to keep paying attention to that young man? Could it be... Yu Lingdi had always felt that the Red Cloak's speculation in the White Cave was absurd, but at this moment, it seemed there was only one explanation left that could account for the current situation.

"May I ask, Senior, what is your relationship with that boy?" Yu Lingdi's form became even more ethereal, almost translucent.

"Relationship?" Elder Sang took a heavy step forward, his mouth twisting. "My disciple. What kind of relationship do you think that is?"

"Boom!" At this, Yu Lingdi's mind not only exploded, but his body also instantly burst into a mist of water, merging with the surroundings and vanishing without a trace.

"Running away, you bastard—did this old man let you move?" Elder Sang had already known that the person in front of him intended to retreat. As he spoke, he suddenly raised both hands.

"Whoosh!" Above the sky, the scorching white sun seemed to instantly lose its support and plummeted. With a sizzling sound, it melted the void, scorched the earth, and sank into the deep core of the earth. The ground shook violently.

"Rumble—" A deep sound came, followed by mountains cracking, and white magma gushing forth. This wasn't over yet. Elder Sang clenched his left hand, and the energy of the scorching white sun embedded in the earth's core released, exploding on the spot. In an instant, the land for thousands of miles quaked.

At this moment, whether it was the White Cloaks searching the mountains, Number Thirty-Three and Cen Qiaofu battling in the Eight Palaces, or the chasing and fleeing duo of Haitanger and Gou Wuyue... all parties halted their actions, turning their heads in unison, their faces grave as they watched a particular direction.

Elder Sang didn't even bother to determine which direction Yu Lingdi had fled. For him, dying anywhere was the same. After performing the "Scorching Sun Entering the Core" move, he retracted his left hand, curled his right finger, and lightly tapped the void.

"Dragon Realm Fusion." The sound was not loud, only echoing across half a mountaintop. But as the words settled, the hundred thousand mountains surrounding the Eight Palaces instantly crumbled with a roar. Like the apocalypse, rocks flew as if lifted by a giant hammer of the Earth God; the sky steamed and collapsed, as if the Fire God was enraged.

The world became silent. But after a brief pause, it instantly grew noisy. At the bottom of the collapsed hundred thousand mountains, white magma changed from gushing to erupting, gathering in the sky, forming a sphere.

High temperatures surged, like a sun hanging in the sky; the Heavenly Dao collapsed, and rules fell into disorder. A blazing sun, as if it could only exist in the vast universe, slowly floated into the air at Elder Sang's light touch. The Scorching Sun had entered the world!

All the White Cloaks caught within it became agitated. Amidst the chaotic battle in the Eight Palaces, Number Thirty-Three suddenly felt something burning in the gaps of his mechanisms. He looked down... "White flames!" "What the hell?"

The White Cloaks panicked. There were over ten Path Cutters here, including those who had stayed and those who had rushed to support. But at this moment, no one could connect to the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao rules, covering the Eight Palaces and the surrounding hundred thousand mountains, had been severed out of thin air.

"Is this madness?" a Path Cutter exclaimed in shock. Such a display of power, even a Grand Void would find it hard to achieve, right? If they truly had the ability, they probably wouldn't dare, because it would be going against the entire world.

For those who had entered the King Realm, each action put excessive strain on the continent's space. This was even more true for Path Cutters and Grand Voids. Therefore, even when fighting enemies, everyone was very careful. At the very least, if they had to fight to the death, they would first open their domain to avoid affecting the Heavenly Dao rules.

But looking at this magnificent blazing sun, which enveloped the surrounding hundred thousand mountains... everyone was inexplicably trapped within its scorching core, feeling the intense, hot air waves, and all were driven to madness.

"He's really crazy, damn it!" A Path Cutter genuinely couldn't hold back and started swearing.

"Isn't this white flame ability that of Sacred Slave Sleeveless?" "How did he also get here?" "Last time, against Senior Wuyue, he wasn't like this. What's wrong this time..." "Did he take the wrong medicine?!"

"Hmm." Xu Xiaoshou groaned awake, feeling warm and comfortable all over, a temperature he thoroughly enjoyed like a spring dream. He opened his eyes, only to see a vast white world, and beneath the dazzling light, a sole dark silhouette against the light.

"Awake?" The familiar straw hat spun, and the old man's face tilted towards him. Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly. He suspected he was dreaming. The old bastard was out? How was that possible?! This guy needed Xu Xiaoshou's help even to steal the Four Swords. What was he doing here, just watching a show?

"No!" His "Perception" relayed images, and this vast whiteness was too familiar. Wasn't it the power when the Cinderlight Primordial Seed fully erupted? Xu Xiaoshou's pupils suddenly constricted; he was shocked. So, this whole world had become a world of white flames?

"Dea... uh, old... old man, what, what's going on?" Xu Xiaoshou clambered to his feet with a clatter, unable to sit still. He woke up and time-traveled? No, wasn't he just being beaten by that ghost Spirit Division guy, Yu Lingdi? So, he was actually... dead? Xu Xiaoshou's heart turned cold; he was about to speak again.

Elder Sang had already turned his head, his voice drifting over gracefully. "Xu Xiaoshou, listen carefully. This old man won't teach it a second time." His dark, silhouetted figure moved, slowly extending three dark fingers, then said calmly, "Elemental bodies, in total, have three ways to die!"