The sudden appearance of the Saint Servant Head clearly left everyone dumbfounded.
Yama and his companion felt a mix of shock and suspicion. Even if Xu Xiaoshou wasn't currently there, there was a tiny possibility that the person in front of them was him in disguise. But how could the sword will be explained? Storyteller, a dignified Dao Truncation expert, why would he cooperate with Xu Xiaoshou's nonsensical act? Besides, what would he gain from it? Storyteller was the most powerful individual present; why would he need to cooperate with a fake Saint Servant Head, and for what purpose? Surely, their cooperation wasn't just to obtain that single drop of Holy Blood!
Jiang Chaotian, on the other hand, was overcome with even greater dread. With two mysterious figures possessing Tear Clan's pupils — the Saint Servant Storyteller among them — already posing a formidable threat, the sudden arrival of the Saint Servant Head had now seized his last chance at turning the tables. He was not Jiang Xian. A life-saving trump card like Holy Blood was not something he possessed in triplicate; he had only one. With the Holy Blood now lost, and the Saint Servant Head demonstrating his sword will, Jiang Chaotian instantly remembered the terror the Jiang clan had experienced at Tianyang Manor, dominated by this very masked figure. Back then, the opponent didn't even need to lift a finger; everyone simply lost the will to resist!
Seeing that everyone had given him face, ceased their attacks, and were continuously generating "Fear" and "Suspicion" passive points, Xu Xiaoshou nodded, quite pleased. He then turned to Jiang Chaotian and spoke in a hoarse voice: "This Seat has pressing matters. I won't be playing with you for now, and I'm taking Storyteller with me. Settle your own disputes." He added, "It's worth noting that I have no interest whatsoever in the Three Aversion Pupils." As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Qi.
Jiang Qi was still standing there, stunned. In a situation involving Dao Truncation experts, she, a mere King, couldn't stir up even a ripple. Despite her cleverness, all Jiang Qi could glean from the Saint Servant Head's murky gaze at that moment was a faint hint of appreciation. Moments later, everyone heard the masked figure let out a soft sigh: "If I had desired the Three Aversion Pupils, your Young Master Jiang wouldn't have been able to hold onto them then..."
At these words, the three Jiang clan members were instantly convinced. This was indeed the true Saint Servant Head! This person was the same one who had visited Tianyang Manor previously! Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaotian's hatred instantly shifted targets. He knew that the ones attempting to seize the Three Aversion Pupils must be these two Yama figures, whose origins were unknown. After all, that day at Tianyang Manor, Jiang Chaotian hadn't even been granted an audience with the Saint Servant Head before being driven away. However, precisely because he knew the Saint Servant Head had indeed visited Tianyang Manor, the other party could not possibly be lying about this. The Saint Servant Head's proclaimed disdain must therefore be genuine disdain.
"Yama..." A flash of hatred crossed Jiang Chaotian's eyes as he cast a sidelong glance at the two figures on the other side. At this point, Yama and his companion felt as if they were beyond redemption, no matter what they did. They had truly only acquired one of the Three Aversion Pupils! The other was in Xu Xiaoshou's hands! However, the Saint Servant Head's appearance here had come too late. He might not have witnessed it, and his disdain for the Three Aversion Pupils could be genuine. But Xu Xiaoshou valued them! That kid had seized half of the Three Aversion Pupils; it was likely even the Saint Servant Head didn't know about it yet!
Yet, who dared to speak further at this moment? The Saint Servant Head's appearance, and his apparent disregard for Yama and his companion's impersonation of Saint Servants, was already a great stroke of luck. At this moment, which of Yin Cao or Hundred Ghosts would dare to utter a single word before a being comparable to Lord Huangquan, like, "You might not know, but one of the Three Aversion Pupils is actually in the hands of your Saint Servant Xu Xiaoshou"? Who would dare? Speaking more would only lead to death.
"Let's go." Seeing the silence in the arena, Xu Xiaoshou simply turned to Storyteller and said, "Things haven't been resolved yet over at the Yunlun Mountains." While he mentioned the Yunlun Mountains, what Xu Xiaoshou was truly concerned about was the trade fair venue. Although the operation in Tianqi Forest hadn't taken much time, every second now was critical. He had no idea about the progress at the trade fair, whether other Saint Servant reinforcements had arrived, or if everyone was still alive... Yin Cao's illusion covering Tianqi Forest had been forcibly interrupted once. Holy power had leaked. It was highly probable that many people would eventually rush to this location. In short: this was not a place to linger.
Lost in a torrent of thoughts, it took Xu Xiaoshou a moment to register something. After he spoke, Storyteller, who was beside him, didn't respond immediately. The man was grimacing, seemingly resisting something, and spiritual energy fluctuations were even emanating from his body. Everyone noticed this change and instantly realized something. Someone had arrived outside Storyteller's small world. It was likely that the newcomer was attempting to break through this spatial realm!
"Storyteller?" Xu Xiaoshou was the only one in the arena who didn't immediately grasp this. Being merely a Xiantian, even with his extensive knowledge, his understanding of spatial combat techniques was too shallow. He simply frowned, wondering why Storyteller hadn't cooperated with him immediately.
"It's over..." Storyteller spoke at that moment. He suddenly turned his face to Xu Xiaoshou, giving a bitter, dry laugh, as if finally relieved after a long struggle. He hadn't said much more.
"Tap, tap, tap." From the distant Tianqi Forest, footsteps suddenly echoed. This time, even Xu Xiaoshou, despite his previous lack of awareness, realized that Storyteller's world power was unable to resist outsiders and had been forcibly breached. "Have the White Coats arrived?" At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou was filled with dread. Everyone looked sideways. Yama and his companion also grew tense. The night's events were spiraling out of control, snowballing from the theft of a single Three Aversion Pupil into an increasingly unmanageable situation. If White Coat reinforcements arrived now, the only ones who would rejoice would be the true victims, the Jiang clan.
The Jiang clan members watched intently. As for anticipation... Only these three Jiang clan members present held that faint glimmer of hope in their hearts.
"Tap, tap, tap." The footsteps grew steadily closer, unhurried yet deliberate. Along with them came some clanking sounds. Everyone's spiritual senses extended outwards simultaneously. However, at this moment, even Xu Xiaoshou's "Perception," when probing the approaching figure, could only vaguely discern a blurry, pixelated outline. This was a formidable individual! Indeed, not even Storyteller had been able to withstand the newcomer's forced entry. If the newcomer wasn't a master, what else could he be? Everyone realized this. The atmosphere instantly grew taut. The clanging of metal, accompanying the calm footsteps, grew steadily louder in the ears of those present.
"Who's there!" Yin Cao snarled. He was already struggling to resist the pressure and felt compelled to speak, hoping to disrupt the encroaching momentum. However, the newcomer was deliberately cultivating a sense of oppression, offering no response, simply advancing calmly step by step.
After a long moment, from the depths of the mist, a weathered figure finally emerged. Accompanying him was a voice, as if drifting down from the heavens, utterly ethereal and incredibly hoarse: "I am... Bazun An." The voice was soft yet powerfully restrained, plain yet distinctly punctuated. In any other time or place, such an entrance, combined with those three words, might have caused even a Taixu to tremble three times over!
But now... when, following that resounding name, a figure emerged with messy hair, a tattered black robe stained with blood, dragging a sack — despite only having eight fingers, a scar on his neck, murky eyes, and an exceptionally hoarse voice — the entire scene fell silent. Given the situation, the silence that followed was the greatest awkwardness. Glances were exchanged, and silence was the only response among those present.
Everyone was utterly dumbfounded. Yama, the Jiang clan, Storyteller, and even Xu Xiaoshou himself, were all utterly bewildered by the sudden appearance of yet another "Bazun An." Meanwhile, the disheveled man, who had been dragging a sack and creating an aura of a powerful arrival, only to enter in stark contrast with his impoverished appearance, was equally bewildered upon stepping into the scene. He stared at the masked figure in familiar attire behind Storyteller, his gaze shifting from one of detached mystery to dull blankness, filled with utter doubt. The entire deliberately crafted entrance aura vanished instantly with the shift in his gaze.
Then. The disheveled man's gaze dropped from the masked figure's murky eyes, as if confirming something. And indeed, he saw that within the black gloves were hands distinctly bearing only eight fingers. The disheveled man's eyebrow suddenly twitched. His heart gave a violent lurch, and his gaze then slid past the masked figure to land on Storyteller, who stood before him. This was Storyteller... The disheveled man was absolutely certain! The kind of certainty that left no room for doubt!
However, when he turned his head to look in the other direction, there, floating in the air, was another Storyteller, one who looked very much like *the* Storyteller, and this Storyteller was even dragging the Yin-Yang Life and Death array... The disheveled man's mouth twitched in response. He found his heart suddenly struggling to beat. He had just achieved a resounding victory, his momentum was strong, and he had intended to press his advantage, coming here to continue his mission. But the intelligence he had received didn't seem to account for *this* situation... How could the Saint Servants possibly be here? How could the Saint Servant Head also be here? How could Storyteller also be here? And what the hell... there were *two* of them?!
This momentary daze made the disheveled man feel as though he was dreaming. He closed his eyes, gently shook his head, then opened them once more. Before him, everyone still appeared utterly stunned. The scene remained unchanged; no one had vanished. Indeed. Just as stunned as this "new" Bazun An were *all* the original occupants of this place!
The three Jiang clan members watched the disheveled man, who called himself Bazun An, enter, then murmured, their lips trembling, and looked back incredulously at the "original" Bazun An. Yama, too, stared at this new Bazun An, who clearly "more resembled" Bazun An, then glanced at the "old" Bazun An, who had "been" Bazun An.
Storyteller clutched his head, exclaiming in astonishment, "Bro... brother?" He had only known that someone had broken through the power of his Yin-Yang Life and Death rules, but he hadn't been able to discern who that person was beforehand. Because the opponent... was quite strong! Among everyone present, few had truly seen the Saint Servant Head's real face, and Storyteller was one of them. The reason he exclaimed in surprise, calling out "brother," was entirely because the face of this new Bazun An, who had appeared dragging a sack, was undeniably the face of his brother, whom he had seen before. Exactly the same! As for why his brother had changed his attire for this entrance, and was dragging a large sack... This was his brother's former appearance! Had he reverted? But, that wasn't right! If this was his brother, then the previous one... Storyteller suddenly looked at the Bazun An he had previously believed to be Xu Xiaoshou in disguise, and instantly felt overwhelmed, as if his head were about to explode. He couldn't entirely be sure if Xu Xiaoshou was still in his "disappeared" state, or if he had genuinely resumed his acting method. However, a second brother had now appeared... The other party was so incredibly realistic that even Storyteller, despite his intimate relationship with his true brother, couldn't deny the newcomer's authenticity based on aura, voice, or appearance.
So, did this mean... that the "brother" he had previously thought was Xu Xiaoshou in disguise was a mistaken identity? Was the one before him the real brother who had returned from the Yunlun Mountains? Or was *this* one Xu Xiaoshou in disguise? The bewildered Storyteller had seemingly forgotten an undeniable fact: This new Bazun An had forcibly entered from outside the spatial small world; he simply *couldn't* be Xu Xiaoshou in disguise!
The Bazun An who was *actually* Xu Xiaoshou in disguise had, at this very moment, stepped into a socially disastrous situation. He didn't believe this was the true Bazun An. Because the moment the other party appeared, he recognized their identity. He vividly recalled that in Tiansang City, he had encountered the Three Incense King assassin, Red Dog, and was caught in a deadly trap. It was then that a person Xu Xiaoshou had once believed to be Bazun An appeared and used the True Ten-Stage Sword Finger to resolve his predicament. Finally, that person had also given him the *Sword Observation Codex*. Xu Xiaoshou had always harbored doubts about this person's true identity. He didn't believe the person was Bazun An. This was because Xu Xiaoshou had later met the true Saint Servant Bazun An, face-to-face, conversed with him, and confirmed his identity. Yet, the Ten-Stage Sword Finger that the man had demonstrated that day was real, and the *Sword Observation Codex* he had received was also genuine... In a way, Xu Xiaoshou's ability to impersonate Bazun An using sword will had been universally successful. A significant reason for this was precisely because the man before him had given him the *Sword Observation Codex*, enabling him to cultivate sword will. Strictly speaking, Xu Xiaoshou's sword will hadn't even been learned from the *true* Bazun An. Instead, he had learned it from someone he considered an impostor, perhaps a zealous fan of the true Bazun An. But none of this changed the current socially disastrous situation.
Xu Xiaoshou had never imagined that while he was impersonating Bazun An, someone who could ninety-nine percent be mistaken for the real Bazun An would suddenly appear. He had previously heard that Bazun An had numerous zealous followers in the Eastern Region, as well as many impersonators. He hadn't believed it. But tonight, with two major impersonators meeting, Xu Xiaoshou finally believed it! This current scene made it almost impossible not to believe...
Taking a deep breath and enduring the scrutinizing gazes from everyone, including Storyteller, Xu Xiaoshou spoke up, "You said your name is Bazun An?"
Only then did the disheveled man finally regain his composure. He had encountered impostors of Bazun An before, but never one so eerily lifelike, capable of even producing two Storytellers to substantiate his identity. What a bizarre situation was this? It was utterly absurd! The man fell silent for a moment, not responding directly. He then raised his gaze and asked, "From what you're implying... you also call yourself Bazun An?"
In a single night, his identity had been repeatedly questioned by the Yaofu gatekeepers, then by a fake Bazun An. Even the imposing aura he had meticulously cultivated had been utterly dismantled. To say he wasn't exasperated would be a lie! However, no matter how much he tried to suppress his anger, it was still evident in his tone.
Xu Xiaoshou let out a soft laugh, shaking his head slightly, and murmured in an even more astonishing tone, "I never thought I'd one day encounter an impostor so incredibly lifelike... You claim to be Bazun An, but how will you prove your identity?"
The man subconsciously wanted to retort, "The true Bazun An does not need to prove his identity." But as the words formed on his lips, he recalled his encounter with the Yaofu gatekeepers and decided against being humiliated again. He scanned his surroundings, seeing everyone watching in anticipation. The man then raised two fingers and suddenly revealed his sword will. "I possess sword will. Do you?"
As the sword will manifested, it sent a ripple of shock through everyone present. However, after a moment of stunned silence, Xu Xiaoshou also raised two fingers, and immediately, sword will surged forth from them. "What a coincidence, wouldn't you say?" he drawled. "I have sword will too!"
[42 seconds from now] Chapter 1364: Emotions
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