Chapter 776: Master Xu Xiaoshou, Innate Xu Gets Choked, Although We Share the Xu Surname, We Have No Relation

"Chase!"

Dropping from the void, Rao Yaoyao immediately issued orders to the scattered Red Cloaks and White Cloaks. Their positions had been determined; the next phase of the operation depended on them.

For the people of the Imperial City, the great calamity was over. However, Rao Yaoyao, a Red Cloak Master, had led the team this time, with nearly all six department heads deployed. If tonight's operation only resulted in capturing one ghost beast, how could Rao Yaoyao face the many high-ranking officials of the Holy Divine Palace upon her return?

"Yes!"

Almost simultaneously, upon receiving the command through the combat channel, the Red Cloaks and White Cloaks systematically fanned out in all four directions. A small group, led by Night Watch, remained and converged towards the Southern City District trade fair. The judgment wasn't over yet!

Meanwhile, in a dark alley, when the great battle ended, Mei Siran, as an outsider with nothing to do after entering the fray, was about to leave.

"Tap."

Suddenly, a small pebble dropped from an unknown point in the void. Coincidentally, the tiny stone landed directly in front of Mei Siran as he lifted his foot. He immediately stopped, a thoughtful expression appearing in his eyes.

"Who's there?" he asked softly.

Mei Siran had not participated in this battle, so he remained neutral at this moment. As one of the Seven Sword Immortals, it was even less likely that Rao Yaoyao would try to judge him for an unknown crime. Thus, in this vast world, Mei Siran remained without an immediate adversary. Naturally, the pebble in front of him should not have been thrown by someone from the Holy Divine Palace. They would either not come, or they would come with swords drawn to demand accountability.

The void remained silent. There was no response. But when Mei Siran lifted his foot again...

"Tap."

Another stone dropped, seemingly stopping him from moving forward, as if the path ahead was an abyss. Mei Siran's eyes narrowed, and the folding fan in his hand stopped moving. This invisible figure, which even he couldn't perceive, was trying to make contact with him... Was someone testing the waters?

A young figure immediately appeared in Mei Siran's mind. He was almost seventy percent certain of the visitor's identity.

"Tap."

As he pondered, another object dropped from the void. This time it wasn't a stone, but a small broken piece of a wooden skewer commonly used at street stalls. It was very inconspicuous, but Mei Siran recognized it at a glance as a skewer from a candied hawthorn stick. Even broken like this, he still understood the hidden message.

"Heh!" Mei Siran let out an involuntary chuckle, glancing at the small puddles rippling on the uneven ground of the alley, a look of realization dawning on him.

Then he tapped his folding fan, and a subtle application of Grand Void power enveloped the entire alley. "Come out, no one can see you."

The void remained silent. Mei Siran's mouth twitched. This was simply too cautious!

"Buzz—"

He tapped his folding fan again, and sword intent spread, creating a domain that separated the falling rain and all elements of heaven and earth. Mei Siran spoke solemnly: "I know you prefer to remain unseen, but at this moment, even Rao Yaoyao cannot sense you or me. Come out!"

The void wavered at his words. Xu Xiaoshou's figure appeared before him.

"Mister Siran," Xu Xiaoshou bowed slightly and spoke first as soon as he appeared. "My apologies, it's truly not that I'm overly cautious, but rather that the Holy Divine Palace is extremely vigilant, impossible to guard against completely. Sometimes, failure lies in the smallest details."

Mei Siran chuckled, "No one dares to monitor an old man like me."

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the sky: "Then, Mister Siran, do you think this rain is normal?"

Mei Siran pondered for a moment, then laughed aloud again: "I heard you fought against Yu Lingdi, the Head of the Spirit Department. Are you traumatized now? He's already dead."

"Perhaps..." Xu Xiaoshou sighed. He was indeed traumatized. At least now, whenever he saw rain, he felt as if an unseen manipulator was secretly meddling and monitoring. It was sickening!

As for whether Yu Lingdi was dead or not, honestly, Xu Xiaoshou subjectively believed that guy couldn't still be alive. After all, Elder Sang had made his move! But there were only a handful of complete Grandmaster Dao Realms in the world. He, Xu Xiaoshou, working with A-Jie, had destroyed half of the Nine Nether Ghost Infant, forcefully compelling King Yama's boss, Huang Quan, to appear and save someone. He hadn't understood the stakes involved before. But in the battle of Sky Prayer Forest, even on the verge of death, Yincao and Hundred Ghosts could only yell "Huang Quan" to save themselves, yet Huang Quan's figure never appeared. On one side was a minor Grandmaster, on the other were two Dao-Cutting experts. If it were Xu Xiaoshou, he felt he would have prioritized the Sky Prayer Forest operation more, wouldn't he? But the choices of a big shot like Huang Quan, perhaps like those of the Holy Divine Palace, were always so unexpected. This made it hard for Xu Xiaoshou not to overthink: "Is Yu Lingdi really dead?" "Would the Holy Divine Palace just let such a genius department head die in vain?"

Mei Siran was clearly unaware of the true stakes, or perhaps he hadn't paid serious attention to such minor matters. After observing Xu Xiaoshou up and down, he saw that although the young man's aura was subdued after his Saint Avatar disappeared, he appeared physically unharmed.

He then spoke with concern: "Are you alright? You've withstood the Saint Force backlash?"

"No major issues," Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand. Saint Force backlash probably referred to the pain others had to endure after ending their Saint Avatars, right? Xu Xiaoshou could roughly imagine it. After all, the power of a Saint Avatar was too strong; an Innate couldn't withstand such a peak Saint Force burst. Once the Saint Avatar disappeared, losing the Saint Force's protection, the caster might even die instantly. But while it was true for outsiders, Xu Xiaoshou was different. Not only had he drunk Saint Blood before activating his Saint Avatar, but the Saint Blood he drank was also guaranteed by Elder Sang, a peculiar kind of Saint Blood with effects similar to "Divine Protection." So, during and after the Saint Avatar's activation, nothing happened! Pain? There was only the sweet aftertaste of overcoming hardship; no pain at all. At most, his mental state was quite poor after the battle, but this was manageable with strong willpower.

At this moment, Mei Siran frowned and stepped forward. After observing Xu Xiaoshou's ambiguous cultivation realm and failing to detect any Grandmaster Dao aura, Mei Siran wanted to touch Xu Xiaoshou's body to sense him more deeply. Xu Xiaoshou knew what the old man was thinking and immediately stepped back, creating distance. Mei Siran raised an eyebrow, so self-restrained? He tapped his folding fan, no longer approaching, and just asked: "Did you truly force a breakthrough and now your realm has fallen?"

Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed to hear this and eagerly asked: "Mister Siran, what cultivation realm do you perceive me to be at right now?"

Mei Siran was momentarily stunned. He had never seen such an eccentric person! If someone forcefully broke through to Grandmaster due to an unstable foundation, and then their realm fell, causing lifelong damage to their Qi Sea, in this world, there was probably nothing more heartbreaking than that. But how could Xu Xiaoshou still be smiling?

"Grandmaster?" Mei Siran stared directly at the smile, then spoke hesitantly.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately shook his head: "Mister Siran, please don't be influenced by me. I just want to know, if an ordinary Grand Void looked at me, assuming you didn't know me, and I wasn't Xu Xiaoshou... what cultivation realm would you perceive me to be at now?"

This was a crucial question! It was also the sole reason Xu Xiaoshou came to Mei Siran for confirmation before heading to the trade fair. Because he had to know if a Grand Void cultivator could now discern his realm.

Mei Siran was truly bewildered. This person in front of him had boundless audacity, but since he asked so directly, Mei Siran felt awkward not answering. However, his subjective perception still prevented him from completely discarding his previous impression. At that moment, Mei Siran could only voice his doubt: "Half... Half-step Grandmaster?"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

He knew Mei Siran was still influenced. So, after a brief moment of contemplation with his head lowered, Xu Xiaoshou's expression suddenly turned to horror, then he let out a strange cry, his body appearing to be lifted from behind by an unseen person, and he was directly carried away.

"Who's there!" Mei Siran was startled. Another person had intruded into his domain, and he hadn't known? The situation was critical; he wanted to move to grab Xu Xiaoshou. Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaoshou was pulled backward by the invisible person, and in an instant, his figure vanished. This scene completely dumbfounded Mei Siran.

"He... he was captured?" For a moment, intense shock surged in Mei Siran's heart. In this world, was there someone who could directly extract a person from his, Sword Immortal Mei Siran's, domain?

"Whoosh!"

The next second, still in a daze, another figure appeared before him. Only this figure was no longer Xu Xiaoshou, but another unfamiliar person; even his clothes had changed. Xu Xiaoshou had transformed into Zhou Tianshen's appearance and asked in a muffled voice: "Mister Siran, what realm do you perceive me to be at now?"

Mei Siran: ???

The old Sword Immortal was instantly speechless! This, it was actually a play directed and performed by Xu Xiaoshou himself! The key was, why would this kid do such a thing? Looking at the new, unfamiliar person in front of him, Mei Siran realized that Xu Xiaoshou was likely trying to test something using him, a Grand Void cultivator.

So he said seriously: "Innate, but with a hint of Grandmaster Heavenly Phenomena. However, you completely lack Dao aura, so it's very peculiar... Half-step Grandmaster really should be able to describe you."

Xu Xiaoshou confirmed: "Are you truly not influenced by subjective perception?"

"No," Mei Siran nodded.

At this, Xu Xiaoshou finally felt immense joy. Yes, he was still in the Grandmaster Heavenly Phenomena realm, yet showed no signs of an unstable foundation. On the contrary, he was incredibly stable! Breaking through to the Heavenly Phenomena realm, everything in heaven and earth changed in his perception. At the very least, Xu Xiaoshou had truly touched the essence of the Heavenly Dao. He could understand that there was an orderly grand web of rules in this world, operating invisibly.

However, this upgrade of the passive system had swallowed his Grandmaster Dao aura, just as the previous upgrade had swallowed his Innate attribute power. Both were the most fundamental outward manifestations used to distinguish between the Innate and Grandmaster realms. Last time, when his Innate attribute power was swallowed, Xu Xiaoshou truly lost his Innate attribute power. This time, the passive system swallowed his Grandmaster Dao aura, but his own perception of the Heavenly Dao did not disappear. In other words, Xu Xiaoshou lost the Grandmaster Dao aura which could have been better used to contact, communicate with, and align with the Heavenly Dao. But at the same time, he gained the prejudice of outsiders. This prejudice, combined with "Concealment," was a true method of concealing cultivation that no one could see through.

For Xu Xiaoshou, this was a divine art! This loss brought him more than he gained!

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou first exchanged for Tier 3 skill points in the mall. Then, he dedicated his first passive skill upgrade after breaking through to Grandmaster to "Concealment."

Passive Points: 1,868,961.Passive Points: 1,768,961.Concealment (Grandmaster Lv.1).Concealment (Sovereign Lv.1).

Passive Points sharply decreased by 100,000. The passive skill "Concealment" was directly pushed to the Sovereign level!

Having manipulated all this with his thoughts, evidently, a look of surprise had already appeared in Mei Siran's pupils.

Suspicion received, Passive Points, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou cheerfully looked up, immediately transformed back to his original appearance, and asked again: "Mister Siran, what cultivation do you perceive me to be at now?"

Mei Siran let out a heavy sigh, then retorted with amazement: "First, tell me, you are actually still a Grandmaster, and your realm hasn't fallen, correct?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. Mei Siran's heart surged with turmoil. This point, he, a Grand Void, couldn't discern at all because Xu Xiaoshou had completely concealed his Grandmaster Dao aura! How was it done? And how did he manage, in this last wave, to conceal his cultivation even further, to such an extreme extent? Indeed, if he hadn't physically seen Xu Xiaoshou in front of him, Mei Siran would have subconsciously overlooked him even if he swept with his spiritual sense. This was terrifying!

"Innate." By now, Mei Siran had realized what Xu Xiaoshou was testing. He said emphatically: "Where did you learn your cultivation concealment spiritual technique? It's incredibly powerful!"

"Truly Innate, not Half-step Grandmaster?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't answer directly, but confirmed again.

"Truly Innate!" Mei Siran stated emphatically: "I don't know about Half-Saints, but for a Grand Void, observing you is like looking across a sacred mountain; the only cultivation realm I perceive is Innate!"

Amazement received, Passive Points, 1.Appreciation received, Passive Points, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the information bar, finally convinced that Mei Siran wasn't deceiving him. His plan to deceive heaven and cross the sea should be 99% achievable.

"Xu Xiaoshou, are you planning to trick someone?" Mei Siran asked after a long hesitation. The more delighted Xu Xiaoshou looked, the stronger Mei Siran's worries became. Xu Xiaoshou was certainly not a good person! This kid, upon reaching Grandmaster, immediately went to great lengths to suppress his cultivation back to the Innate realm. His intentions must be significant. Even if Mei Siran didn't know what Xu Xiaoshou was going to do at this moment, he had already quietly begun to pray for Xu Xiaoshou's peers and enemies. This kid was essentially a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing!

Xu Xiaoshou took a long, deep breath, then his expression returned to calm, and he officially began to correct the series of "slips of the tongue" the old man had made during their conversation. "Mister Siran, this young master is not Saint Slave Xu Xiaoshou. That fellow, Saint Slave Xu, has already reached the Grandmaster realm. Please don't slander this young master."

"This young master is merely an Innate, with no connection to the Saint Slave. I only came from the Northern Region, focused solely on the Heavenly Imperial City trials, that's all."

"As for... Grandmaster Xu Xiaoshou, and Innate Xu Deyie, although we share the surname Xu, we have absolutely no relation!"

Mei Siran: ???

Doubt received, Passive Points, 1.

At that moment, the old Sword Immortal's expression slightly twisted. This "no relation" stunt, he would call the young man's clearest distinction and strongest detachment!

"Xu Xiao..."

"Mister Siran!" Mei Siran's subconscious words were barely half-spoken when Xu Xiaoshou interrupted him sharply again, retreating repeatedly with a look of terror. "Mister Siran, this young master truly cannot bear the crime of being a Saint Slave. Please don't call me that indiscriminately. How about you call me Xu Deyie, or perhaps Xu Fook Kei?"

Mei Siran: "..."

At that instant, although there was clearly only the young man in front of him, two other figures inexplicably appeared behind him. The three illusory figures overlapped, merging into a single 'Xu Fook Kei' in Mei Siran's blurry old eyes.

Simply astonishing!

Admiration received, Passive Points, 1.