Chapter 828: Xu Shao, Xu Shao, What Would I Do Without You?

He immediately declared four crimes, then clenched his hand. With a boom, the Throne Domain unfurled, directly engulfing Elder Wu.

"I've been wronged!"

Caught off guard by the Throne Domain, Elder Wu's heart grew cold.

He was currently sealed; breaking free would take a moment. Like a lamb awaiting slaughter, how could he possibly fight back?

A sudden idea struck him, and he instantly prostrated himself on the ground: "Trial Official, I've been wronged! I truly am a trial participant, only at the Innate cultivation level. I haven't broken any rules..."

A black blade descended from the sky, like a streak of black lightning tearing through the heavens, and abruptly struck Elder Wu's neck as he knelt.

"Damn it!"

In that critical moment, Elder Wu's eyes bulged with fury.

Left with no choice, his full-body seal forcibly broke open, enduring the cost of basic element consumption. With a bang, a Throne aura burst forth from him.

The void suddenly trembled.

At the same time, high above in the Nine Heavens, among tens of thousands of spirit mirrors, one turned blood-red, drawing all attention.

Rao Yaoyao turned her head, stared at the scene, and a corner of her mouth curled up.

"Here it comes."

"Thwip!"

Inside the domain, blood splattered, and a head tumbled and rolled away with a thud.

Subsequently, the power of Dao obliteration enveloped Elder Wu's severed body, completely isolating his life force and eliminating any possibility of resurrection.

Even at his death, Elder Wu hadn't managed to mount an effective counterattack.

"Path Severance..."

He whispered silently, his eyes bulging from the rolling head, filled with endless regret.

All because of a single slip of the tongue.

With one strike, he was instantly beheaded.

The black-clothed figure waved a hand, collecting the head and body, then cleaned up the scene and shook his head with a smile.

"Why bother?"

"Even with your cultivation sealed, daring to trespass into the Heavenly Secret World means that if a Throne-level trial official doesn't waste words, a single strike can sever your Innate-level cultivation, let alone me?"

"A lamb awaiting slaughter, truly laughable!"

After a sigh, the black-clothed trial official retracted his domain.

Stunned.

Qiu Sheng outside had only just retreated, not expecting battle to erupt so quickly.

The black-clothed trial official's domain had directly enveloped Elder Wu, indicating a battle above the Throne level, which he couldn't interfere with in the slightest.

In just a few breaths.

By the time the domain was lifted again, Elder Wu was gone.

On the ground, there was a treated reddish stain, only a faint trace remaining.

Without a closer look, one might even mistake it for red earth.

Yet, the black-clothed trial official, exuding murderous intent, stood just opposite, and where that red earth lay, Elder Wu, the guest elder of his Taixu Qiu family from the Central Domain, had clearly stood!

"I..." Qiu Sheng stammered, utterly shocked, "Where, where is my Elder Wu?"

"Are you referring to the stowaway from just now?" The black-clothed figure smiled, lifted his gaze to Qiu Sheng, and a wave of murderous intent washed over him, causing Qiu Sheng to collapse onto the ground with a thud.

"He, he wasn't a stowaway..." Qiu Sheng weakly defended.

"Hmm, alright, if you say he wasn't, then he wasn't." The black-clothed figure realized he had scared the young man, blinked hard to hide his murderous aura, and said with a chuckle, "Continue your trial. Your Elder Wu has some business to attend to with me; you don't need to wait for him."

With that, he turned, took one step, then two, and instantly vanished into the Dao principles. The black-clothed figure was gone.

Qiu Sheng's heart was filled with dread.

He's dead!

Elder Wu is dead!

Just because he called himself "this old man" a moment ago, Elder Wu was executed like that.

He was at the peak of the Throne stage, just one step away from Path Severance!

This time, coming to Eastern Heaven King City, given enough time, Elder Wu might even have broken through to Path Severance before the City of the Sky descended.

But now, he's gone!

The moment the black-clothed trial official appeared, he instantly extinguished Elder Wu's delusions.

Moreover, this stern-faced Lord Trial Official, who summarily executed Elder Wu without even an explanation, instilled immense fear in the young Qiu Sheng.

"I'm only alive because I'm a genuine trial participant, and I genuinely possess Innate cultivation..."

Qiu Sheng's legs began to tremble, and suddenly his face twisted in rage: "Cloud Realm World! This damn Cloud Realm World isn't for assessing trial participants at all; it's a Heaven-and-Earth Net laid by the Holy Divine Palace!"

Dozens of miles away, within a patch of vegetation.

Xu Xiaoshou and the other two were squatting.

With the distant affair concluded, the three exchanged glances.

"Damn it, there's a trial official too?" Xin Gugu was terrified; from the overwhelming killing intent, he could tell it was a Red-clothed official.

What "trial official"?

This was his natural enemy!

"He just chopped him down without a word?" Xu Xiaoshou's lips also twitched slightly.

After traveling a short distance, the three saw young Qiu Sheng slaying a beast and stopped to observe from afar.

Because the aura Elder Wu emitted, as perceived by Xu Xiaoshou's "Sense," was somewhat strange.

It seemed like a normal person, yet not quite.

Xu Xiaoshou asked Liu Changqing, who replied that he couldn't quite discern it either, suggesting it might be a sealing technique or caused by a special cultivation method, a normal phenomenon.

Since even Liu Changqing couldn't figure it out, Xu Xiaoshou decided not to approach and greet them.

However, to their surprise, after a few sentences, their conversation revealed one of them referred to himself as "this old man." Within a few breaths, the black-clothed enforcer appeared and instantly executed him.

How terrifying!

"Do you still dare to call yourself 'this old man'?" Xu Xiaoshou recovered, smiling as he looked at Liu Changqing.

At this moment, Liu Changqing's face was grim. With some lingering fear and some relief, he said, "Fortunately, I... uh, fortunately, I used Heavenly Secret Art from the beginning to alter the speech and behavior of all three of us, never letting down my guard, precisely because I feared you might make a linguistic mistake."

"Thank goodness..."

Liu Changqing patted his chest, panting: "This time, I saved my own life."

Xin Gugu was still taking deep breaths, wiping the sweat from his brow as he mused, "This is really something. The Cloud Realm World forces everyone to seal their cultivation to Innate. Once a stowaway is exposed and can't unseal in time, the Red-clothed officials who would normally sever Thrones or Paths now merely sever Innates. This, this, this..."

"Isn't this just effortlessly capturing them? Like catching a turtle in a jar?"

Xin Gugu's face was pale: "My Sister Tang said the Red-clothed officials are all shrewd masterminds, and it's true."

Xu Xiaoshou had witnessed the entire event and was equally intimidated by the Red-clothed officials' tactics.

This is too clever!

Using Void Island as bait and the Cloud Realm World to catch people, how many will be ensnared in this wave?

The crucial point is, Elder Wu didn't do anything egregious; he just misspoken a phrase... no, half a phrase.

Yet, simply because of that self-designation, he was gone.

"Someone is definitely watching!"

Xu Xiaoshou was convinced that the Cloud Realm World must be transmitting live footage of the trial participants, and that there were people monitoring it 24 hours a day, in shifts.

The moment a stowaway shows any flaw, a Red-clothed official will appear right in front of them and kill them.

If the Red-clothed official genuinely misunderstood a trial participant, that would be one thing.

But if not...

"What a brilliant strategy, openly building a plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang Pass!"

"This move by the Red-clothed officials is on another level; even I couldn't have predicted it. It's truly insidious!"

Xu Xiaoshou sighed with genuine emotion.

He had been cautious, yet he never imagined that even a simple slip in self-designation could lead to irreversible peril.

If he hadn't witnessed the trial official's appearance this time.

Perhaps in a few days, with one moment of laxity from him or Liu Changqing, all three would have been wiped out!

Furthermore, even the Saint Servant stronghold in the First Heaven Pavilion might have been exposed, and Mu Zixi, Mo Mo, Xiao Wanfeng, and others might inexplicably be implicated and killed.

Wait!

Thinking of his junior sister and the others, Xu Xiaoshou's heart suddenly tightened.

What if nothing happened here, but his junior sister made a mistake and revealed her identity?

"Startled, Passive Point, 1."

He was greatly startled!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly wondered if the higher-ups of the Red-clothed officials had this very thought in mind with the random teleportation this time.

To scatter everyone, knowing that in any team, there would always be a few less astute members, and once one made a mistake, the entire group would be uprooted through association?

"How ruthless!"

Xu Xiaoshou realized things were dire.

At this moment, he was immensely grateful that he had carved his name like an advertisement.

"I must gain points immediately so they see it and come to me. Otherwise, the longer this drags on, any single exposure point could lead to everyone in the First Heaven Pavilion being killed!"

Xu Xiaoshou shot up. After he explained the situation, Xin Gugu and Liu Changqing's expressions also became extremely grave.

The three dared not linger, pressing forward at the maximum speed of an Innate cultivator.

Cloud Pearls!

Cloud Beasts!

It was still early, and the leaderboard only showed around a hundred names.

As long as he earned 100 points first, he was sure that everyone who had just received their trial jade pendants and occasionally checked the leaderboard would see his name, Xu Xiaoshou.

But in a few more days, people would become numb to the points.

Given Mu Zixi's personality, she might spend an entire day accumulating points and not check the leaderboard for days, solely focused on reaching the top.

"Find Cloud Pearls!"

Xu Xiaoshou first set a small goal, deciding not to bother with the elusive Cloud Beasts.

The three sprinted at a snail's pace.

They were burning with anxiety, yet could only exhibit the flying speed of an Innate cultivator.

There was no other way; someone was watching!

Western region.

In a desolate area, Xiao Wanfeng stood alone, holding a tea tray, looking up at the sky, on the verge of tears.

"Oh heavens, how am I the only one left!"

After being randomly teleported in, Xiao Wanfeng suddenly realized.

As the champion of the Heaven Net Battle, without a guardian accompanying him, he was left to fight alone.

Upon realizing all of this, he despaired.

Originally, when he followed Young Master Xu to the King City trial, he was just a tag-along, only needing to serve tea and pour water.

Now, if he really had to undergo trials...

In his Hidden Sword state, what kind of trial could he possibly endure?

Forget trial participants; he couldn't even defeat a spirit beast!

Xiao Wanfeng estimated that if he encountered either a person or a spirit beast, there would only be two outcomes.

Either he outran them.

Or he was eaten.

This filled him with dread.

He stood rooted to the spot for a long time, unsure where to go.

He wanted to go elsewhere but feared running into people or beasts; he didn't want to move, but then he'd just be waiting for death.

"Oh, Young Master Xu, Young Master Xu, what am I to do without you..." Xiao Wanfeng's face crumpled in misery.

Just then, another spiritual light shimmered nearby, clearly indicating the emergence of a rare treasure.

"Should I go?"

The young man became conflicted again. With a solemn expression, he poured himself another cup of tea, drank it, then poured out the tea leaves, picking them out one by one and tossing them onto the ground.

"Go."

"Don't go."

"Go."

"Don't go."

"Go!"

"Damn it, why is it 'go' again! I'm definitely not going!"

The last tea leaf counted landed on "go." Xiao Wanfeng's feet felt like lead; he couldn't move, so how could he dare to go?

By his feet, the ground was already covered in a pile of tea leaves, and Xiao Wanfeng suddenly felt an urge to relieve himself.

His landing spot was clearly fortunate; spiritual light shimmered from time to time.

From a distance, Xiao Wanfeng could also hear the clash of weapons and piercing human screams.

This indicated that people were fighting over these rare treasures.

Xiao Wanfeng had noticed the "leaderboard." Every time a rare treasure appeared, soon after, another name would pop up on the leaderboard.

He understood.

The shimmering spiritual light indicated the emergence of Cloud Pearls.

Anyone who had the 'fate' could contend for them.

From the beginning until now, Xiao Wanfeng had seen no fewer than seven or eight such spiritual lights.

He had the 'fate'.

But for him, these Cloud Pearls were fated to appear, yet not fated to be his!

If he couldn't give the Cloud Pearls proper acknowledgement, what would he go there for?

To die?

"Perhaps, dying isn't such a bad option..."

Xiao Wanfeng, standing rooted to the spot, suddenly had an epiphany.

He thought that instead of spending ten days in such dread and anxiety, it would be better to use up the three "be plundered" chances on his trial jade pendant early and be passively expelled.

As for crushing the trial jade pendant...

Who doesn't harbor a little hope?

Perhaps he'd turn a corner, find love, and run into Young Master Xu?

Xiao Wanfeng could die standing, but he couldn't commit suicide in humiliation!

"Alright, let's go take a look. I want to see what a Cloud Pearl actually looks like. Whether I get one or not is another matter. But if I've come to the pig farm, I can't just be scared home by the pigs' squeals without even seeing one, can I?"

Mustering all his courage, Xiao Wanfeng suddenly stepped forward... and urinated!

After relieving himself, he refreshed himself by pouring a pot of tea to wash his hands, then, carrying his wooden sword, he strode quickly towards the site where the Cloud Pearl had emerged.

A cluster of chaotic rocks.

A spiritual light radiated with extraordinary brilliance, enveloping a head-sized crystal pearl within it.

The crystal pearl was milky white, with swirling mists inside creating an unusual phenomenon, emitting a distinct Dao rhythm and immense spiritual power.

Several figures rushed in from all directions, their eyes gleaming with eagerness.

"Get lost! This Cloud Pearl is mine!"

"Haha, I saw it first! Once the spiritual light fades, this treasure is mine. Who dares to contend with me, huh?!"

"A Cloud Pearl? What a good find! I got one earlier; I didn't expect this thing to not only contain vast amounts of pure spiritual essence but also help one comprehend Dao principles. This isn't just a Cloud Pearl; it's a secret treasure!"

"Mine, mine, it's all mine..."

Seven figures arrived in an instant, settling beside the Cloud Pearl's spiritual light.

"Darn that spiritual light! This must be a trick by the higher-ups. It's one thing for Cloud Pearls to emerge with spiritual light, but to maintain it for so long clearly aims to attract more people to fight over them."

"Heh, that's why it's a trial. If you're capable, go ahead and smash this spiritual light, and the Cloud Pearl is yours."

"I don't believe you; even a Grandmaster couldn't break this spiritual light."

The waiting time was long.

Fortunately, no one else arrived.

The few individuals remained wary of each other, scrutinizing one another.

Suddenly, one of them spoke up, suggesting, "I'm familiar with all of you; we're all from this area. Many Cloud Pearls emerge here, and most of the people on the current leaderboard are from our region."

"What do you propose?" another person beside him retorted, turning their gaze.

"Let's team up!"

The first speaker smiled: "There are more than just the seven of us here, but there are also more Cloud Pearls. If we team up, no one else will be able to stop us. Afterward, we can collect all the Cloud Pearls and split them evenly."

They were all intelligent people and immediately grasped the idea.

"A good suggestion."

"I agree!"

"I think it's feasible. We are all masters, and fighting one-on-one is too costly, easily allowing someone else to reap the benefits. I once saw a Cloud Pearl emerge, and three parties fought each other to mutual injury, only for another person to take it in the end."

At his words, everyone immediately agreed even more strongly to the proposal.

The first speaker turned his head and chuckled, "That opportunist, that was you, wasn't it?"

"Haha! Naturally, treasures go to those who are fated to obtain them. How could I just stand by and watch others act?"

Now, everyone was in agreement.

"With us seven teamed up, no one in this area will be able to defeat us."

"Excellent. From now on, if any blind fool dares to show up, we'll just smash their trial jade pendant!" someone said.

"No, you have to plunder it three times before it can be smashed," another person said with a malicious, sinister chuckle.

"Hahahaha..." The seven looked at each other and burst into laughter simultaneously.

Just then, from around the bend, a resolute figure strode forth: Xiao Wanfeng!