Chapter 879: Xu Xiaoshou, What Are You Going To Do?

The ice sculpture behind them clearly hadn't trapped Yi and Old Ancestor Wuji for long. They broke free in the time it took to speak a single sentence.

Yi instinctively retreated, clutching his wound. He frantically tried to link the two halves of his body with life energy and restore himself, but he found that the sword-will power remaining in the wound was preventing him from healing by any means.

"This damned guy always relies on sneak attacks..."

Yi was filled with hatred. He had already been successfully ambushed by the Saint Slave Xu Xiaoshou twice. The last time was on the long street of East Heaven City. He should have been more cautious, having learned his lesson from the previous experience.

But... the opponent's Grandmaster cultivation was too deceptive. Yi also never expected that this youngster, the moment he landed, would launch a direct attack without a word.

"Mad dog!"

While cursing in his heart, Yi simultaneously used his Dao principles to peel away the lingering sword-will from his wound.

But sword-will was, after all, the second generation of Thorough God Will. The reason Thorough God Will was so great, and why Kui Leihan deservedly ranked first among the Ten Honored Ones, even surpassing the renowned Eighth Sword Immortal of his time, was because this attack method he created combined qi, intent, and spirit, transforming the abstract into the tangible, and using illusory mental power to inflict real damage.

This was almost the only means, apart from Holy Power, that could ignore ranks and launch indiscriminate attacks. It was also widely recognized on the continent as the most unresolvable offensive and defensive technique among spiritual cultivators of the same stage.

Unsolvable!

This term would not be given to even ancient sword cultivators who mastered the Nine Great Sword Arts. Because even Bazun An, the genius closest to the term "unsolvable," was "solved" by Hua Changdeng's three swords back then.

But Thorough God Will was entirely different!

In fact, according to Kui Leihan's concept when he developed Thorough God Will, even a spiritual cultivator at the Houtian (Acquired) realm, if they mastered Thorough God Will, could theoretically injure a Taixu expert.

Such a claim was met with laughter by the world at that time. Because such a situation was practically impossible. Even Taixu experts at the time who wanted to learn Thorough God Will had no means and no talent for it.

The Holy Divine Temple originally had seven departments. The seventh, named the "Thought Department," was established specifically to decipher the first generation of Thorough God Will, "Punishment of the Gods and Tribulation." However, after being established for over a decade and investing countless research funds, the Thought Department was ultimately disbanded.

This story revealed a cruel truth to the people of the Five Domains. Geniuses are always geniuses; no matter how diligent or painstaking a slow learner is, they can never surpass a genius's flash of inspiration, which dominates for centuries!

Kui Leihan was just such a genius. A situation he had predicted, one deemed impossible at the time the first generation of Thorough God Will was released, today, decades later, seemed to be on the verge of becoming reality...

Xu Xiaoshou, a Grandmaster junior, used sword-will, and with just one move, injured a Taixu expert!

Yi's current body had already been replaced with a brand new one ever since his last encounter with Xu Xiaoshou. However, facing a sword-will slash from the sloppy uncle, his countermeasures had a negligible effect!

On the other side.

Old Ancestor Wuji looked at the two figures in the deep pit before him and fell into a long silence. He vaguely felt that he had done something a little wrong...

But!

As one of the secondary leaders of the White Vein of Void Island, ranked second in divination arts on the continent, a former Saint Emperor, an elder... all these things caused Old Ancestor Wuji to dismiss the absurd idea that suddenly arose in his heart.

"What is my status as an Old Ancestor? The person before me is not Bazun An, the esteemed leader of both Black and White Veins, but merely his junior, Xu Xiaoshou. Why should I feel guilty?"

However, there was a minor mistake made earlier after all.

After pondering for a long time, Old Ancestor Wuji still chose to speak: "Xu Xiaoshou, that little girl..."

"Quiet." Xu Xiaoshou didn't even turn his head and said in a low voice. He still held Mu Zixi in his arms, his "perception" completely focused on the person in his hands, desperately observing whether his junior sister's condition would improve after taking the Holy Blood.

Old Ancestor Wuji frowned, feeling displeased. "It was acceptable for Bazun An to speak like this, but you, Xu Xiaoshou, even though you are his designated successor and possess the Eight-Character Command Token, you haven't fully matured yet. How dare you be so presumptuous towards an elder?"

He didn't quiet down; instead, he continued speaking, with a tone of slight displeasure and exasperation: "That little girl is merely a pawn. Since you are to take over Bazun An's future position, you must learn to be ruthless..."

Xu Xiaoshou, as if his reverse scale had been touched, suddenly turned his head and roared menacingly: "I told you to shut up!!!"

Old Ancestor Wuji was stunned by the shout. After he came to his senses, he was enraged.

However, at this moment.

"Puff-puff—"

A faint sound came from his ears. The next second, Old Ancestor Wuji was horrified to find that fierce white flames had ignited between his eyes!

"Cinderflame White Flame?"

Old Ancestor Wuji was scared witless. At this moment, in a daze, he almost saw Xu Xiaoshou, who was crouching in front of him, as Old Ancestor Cinderflame, one of the three ancestors of the White Vein, punishing a subordinate!

"Ancestor, spare me... uh?"

After that instinctive cry, Old Ancestor Wuji immediately came to his senses. The extent of this white flame, although it also had the power to burn the sky and boil the seas, wasn't like Old Ancestor Cinderflame's, which possessed limitless destructive power.

With a sweep of his Dao principles, he isolated the heavenly secrets. Old Ancestor Wuji flung the Cinderflame White Flame away. After feeling a burning pain in his eyes and experiencing a world of complete blindness, he was both annoyed and mortified.

"Xu Xiaoshou!" he shouted. "I, your Old Ancestor, was setting up a Heavenly Secret Art to seize control of the Cloud Realm world, and just wanted to kill this Yi. I was merely a step too slow; it's not like I wanted to stand by and watch your person die..."

"Are you crazy?! You even attack me, an Old Ancestor?"

Old Ancestor Wuji sketched out heavenly secrets, his Dao principles generating restorative power, instantly healing the injury to his eyes. He pointed at Xu Xiaoshou, roaring indignantly.

Yi, still grappling with the lingering sword-will power on his body in the back, had initially felt like retreating after learning Xuan Wuji's identity and then being ambushed by Xu Xiaoshou. But now, upon hearing this, he watched with great interest.

Internal conflict? This is good. It's a big show; I have to watch it all before deciding whether to act or leave.

He clutched his combat communicator, wanting to contact Night Owl and ask her to come help. After all, even the Saint Slave Xu Xiaoshou had appeared. Tonight was a stroke of great luck; if he could capture Xuan Wuji and Xu Xiaoshou together, that would be immense military merits!

But he didn't expect that even the specially customized communicator was completely out of service at this moment. Yi was startled, and his heart sank. He recalled Xuan Wuji's earlier words: "Even a Half-Saint present would not be able to detect the situation of the battlefield here."

"Is he serious? He really dares to act in the Yunlun Mountains; does he really want to kill me?"

Yi felt a slight panic and immediately prepared for the worst. Taixu experts don't die so easily. If he can't win, he can run. To truly kill Yi, one would need to unleash Holy Power, and even then, it wouldn't be easy to succeed. But what if Xuan Wuji was determined to expose everything and sacrifice himself in mutual destruction?

Yi began to ponder his strategy for advance or retreat.

On the other side.

After Xu Xiaoshou heard Old Ancestor Wuji's words, his expression grew even darker. He finally turned his head, and while desperately trying to suppress the wild beastly urges assaulting his mind, he managed to ask, albeit barely calmly: "So, you actually heard everything I told you earlier?"

"What words?" Old Ancestor Wuji was stunned for a moment, then he reacted.

Those were the words Xu Xiaoshou had said to Liu Changqing in the Xu Gang's tent: "Protect Mu Zixi."

"I, your Old Ancestor, merely possessed someone else's body; I'm not deaf, of course I heard!" Old Ancestor Wuji frowned, not understanding why Xu Xiaoshou was still dwelling on this.

Xu Xiaoshou's fingertips trembled uncontrollably. He tried his best to steady his voice and asked in a deep voice again: "So, after knowing your mission, you still chose to prioritize killing Yi and put the protection mission you were supposed to carry out in second place?"

Old Ancestor Wuji was furious and retorted: "Xu Xiaoshou, are you really crazy? With such a rare opportunity, if I, your Old Ancestor, don't kill Yi, what am I supposed to do?" He pointed at Mu Zixi in the young man's arms: "Her? She's just a mere..."

He was about to say "pawn." But remembering Xu Xiaoshou's strong reaction to the word "pawn" just now, Old Ancestor Wuji immediately changed his words and asked in a softer tone: "Saving a Grandmaster and killing a Taixu expert, which is more important?"

"Why?" Xu Xiaoshou roared, the demonic aura in his eyes clearly on the verge of losing control.

"What 'why'?" Old Ancestor Wuji, unconsciously, was already forced to lower his head under the increasingly imposing aura from the opposite side.

How long had he been separated from Void Island? How long had he been possessing Liu Changqing's body? During this time, Liu Changqing was busy trying to save himself, so how would he, for no reason, pay attention to information about Xu Xiaoshou, a complete stranger? Even if he really did pay attention, Liu Changqing would not be able to access the important intelligence sealed by the Holy Divine Temple. Therefore, even though Old Ancestor Wuji was possessing Liu Changqing's body, he could still observe the external situation. He could only deduce from the Lingque Trade Fair, and the Eight-Character Command Token Xu Xiaoshou had pulled out, that this person was an important pawn of Bazun An.

As for how important... how would Old Ancestor Wuji know something that even the Holy Divine Temple hadn't fully grasped? Thus, in his mind previously, for Mu Zixi to have her name remembered was already a great honor for her. Such a little girl, compared to Yi, one of the six departmental chiefs, with whom he had a personal vendetta... which was more important? The answer was obvious.

But Xu Xiaoshou didn't think that way! He stared intently at Liu Changqing, as if looking at a dying man.

"I'm asking! Why are you so invested in this matter of 'killing Yi'!" Xu Xiaoshou glanced back, looking at Yi, who had retreated far to the back. He made no attempt to hide the insane killing intent in his eyes. "This is my own business!"

Up until this point, he still naively thought that Old Ancestor Wuji wanted to help him get revenge because Yi had pursued him in East Heaven City.

However.

After Old Ancestor Wuji was momentarily stunned, his lips parted, and he muttered: "Personal vendetta."

"Personal vendetta?" In that instant, Xu Xiaoshou's pupils dilated.

"Uh..." Old Ancestor Wuji was bewildered by the question. He didn't know why he felt such immense pressure in front of Xu Xiaoshou. Was this the kind of pressure one felt when facing Bazun An?

But soon, Old Ancestor Wuji reacted. Xu Xiaoshou's body exuded an aura completely unsuited to his cultivation level. That powerful aura, stemming from his very bones, was at least at the Sovereign level from the moment it erupted. And as time passed, the aura around this young man continued to stack and accumulate, climbing steadily as if it had no limit.

"A strange child..." Old Ancestor Wuji finally realized why Bazun An had chosen this person. Just this aura, capable of swallowing mountains and rivers—as long as it was given time to accumulate and as long as Xu Xiaoshou knew how to control it—with the Four Swords in hand, this youngster wouldn't even need external assistance to fight Cutting Dao experts and contend with Taixu experts.

And he, at this moment, was only a Grandmaster!

What a monstrous talent... This ability to fight across several ranks was practically a replica of the youthful Bazun An!

Old Ancestor Wuji had a thought, wanting to use heavenly secrets to slightly evade the aura's influence. However, aura, being intangible, insubstantial, empty, and abstract, how could it be completely evaded by a tangible Heavenly Secret Art?

Old Ancestor Wuji, due to Bazun An's inherent status and then extrapolating to Bazun An's successor, Xu Xiaoshou, already lacked confidence when facing the young man before him. He could speak firmly, but ultimately, he couldn't completely ignore the aura emanating from Xu Xiaoshou, an aura like the wrath of an emperor.

At present, he could only mumble a few words and spill everything.

"Before I entered Void Island, I once fell into that guy's hands; my physical body was destroyed by him." Old Ancestor Wuji pointed at Yi, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed. He himself, an elder, had been interrogated by a junior to the point of giving such a demeaning answer.

But... "Oh well, consider it giving Bazun An some face!" Old Ancestor Wuji sighed softly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly laughed.

"Heh."

"Heheheh..."

"Hahahahahahaha..."

His brows knitted, his laughter subsided, and in that instant, his eyes were almost completely dyed black and swallowed by the malevolent demonic aura of the Four Swords.

A thousand strategies, a hundred ploys. Xu Xiaoshou felt he had accounted for everything. Even an absurd organization like the First Floor in Heaven, a branch of a Half-Saint force, had openly caused trouble right under Rao Yaoyao's nose and had even been preserved.

Even if Mu Zixi had inadvertently exposed some anomaly of the Life Devouring Wood Body, and even if there might be danger—even if he didn't fully know if this danger was due to his own overthinking—Xu Xiaoshou had still taken the strongest protective measures by sending Liu Changqing out, aiming to lure the danger from the shadows into the open and eliminate it head-on.

But he never expected that this so-called "strongest protection" hadn't even been breached from the outside before it was broken from within.

"Betrayal?" Xu Xiaoshou knew this couldn't be considered betrayal; what Old Ancestor Wuji said was excusable.

But reason aside, at this moment, all he could feel was the intense hatred of being backstabbed!

After a long pause, Xu Xiaoshou's lips curved into a grin, and he let out a somewhat morbid laugh.

"Personal vendetta?"

"I told you to protect her, but you're telling me... that for a personal vendetta, you disregarded her life and death?"

Xu Xiaoshou, holding Mu Zixi in his arms and carrying the Four Swords, slowly stood up. To outsiders, this scene was nothing more than a madman—one completely devoid of reason, controlled by the malevolent demonic aura of the Four Swords.

He was about to act recklessly!

Yi, from behind, seeing this scene, even stopped his self-rescue efforts. He feared this was another ploy, that the two in front of him were merely putting on a show, and then, with a backhand, Xu Xiaoshou would hit him with another sword. That was the Four Swords!

But this internal conflict... it didn't look fake, did it?

Regardless, Yi's vigilance was at its peak, his gaze shifting between Xu Xiaoshou and Xuan Wuji.

Old Ancestor Wuji watched Xu Xiaoshou, who was advancing toward him with the sword raised. Even though this was just a junior, he suddenly felt an immense threat, a chill ran down his spine, and tiny beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Xu Xiaoshou! What are you doing?!" His gaze fixed on the Four Swords in Xu Xiaoshou's hand; the scene of the sword-will striking Yi earlier echoed in his mind, and he knew that the various methods of this slowly approaching young man could not be judged by the standards of an ordinary Grandmaster.

At present, Old Ancestor Wuji suppressed the urge to retreat half a step and shouted angrily: "Xu Xiaoshou! I, your Old Ancestor, am on your side! The most pressing matter is to kill... is to save this little girl in your arms!"

Only at this moment did Old Ancestor Wuji finally realize that the little girl he had disregarded the most, whose consciousness seemed to have completely crumbled, was actually the most important among the four people present!