Chapter 946: The Guidance of the Holy Emperor's Will, Formal Meeting on Solitary Sound Cliff

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly looked up, but all he saw was Ye Xiaotian's blood-stained back. Although Ye Xiaotian's words were very vague and indirect, Xu Xiaoshou could still understand their underlying meaning.

Elder Qiao had already ventured into the deepest darkness. He was fully prepared, needing only an opportunity—or perhaps, the first ray of light.

So...

Would Ah Jie be Elder Qiao's light?

Xu Xiaoshou felt his hand trembling slightly as he slowly took out Ah Jie. Ah Jie's voice came across softly; it seemed to be contemplating everything as well.

Ye Xiaotian's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the iron ball that Ah Jie had transformed into. He smiled slightly and said, "Perhaps you should ask for Ah Jie's own wishes. After all, he is also an intelligent being."

*Yes, I really should ask for Ah Jie's own wishes. On this matter, no one can make the decision for Ah Jie...* Xu Xiaoshou realized this and was about to speak.

Ye Xiaotian spoke first, saying, "Let me ask."

Xu Xiaoshou opened and then closed his mouth. He knew the Dean wouldn't force the issue, so who asked was irrelevant. Letting the Dean ask also saved him the trouble of figuring out how to phrase the question.

Ye Xiaotian then looked kindly at Ah Jie and began to speak: "I know you understand everything Xu Xiaoshou and I just talked about. I haven't lied to you. The person you regard as a devil has found a way to solve your problem; it only lacks your own willingness. Still, the same applies: I cannot guarantee absolute success for the experiment. If it fails, you might be shattered. But if it succeeds, you can choose to come back, return to Xu Xiaoshou's side, and stay with him forever. What do you say?"

Ye Xiaotian's tone was very calm. Ah Jie clearly listened, and red light flickered where its eyes would be on the iron ball, as if it were making a decision.

"Just follow your heart's desire," Xu Xiaoshou said, gently stroking the iron ball. He didn't want Ah Jie to be disturbed in any way.

Ye Xiaotian waited in silence. Seeing Ah Jie hesitate, he didn't push harder or continue to persuade. But no matter how neutral his words seemed, in his heart, Ye Xiaotian leaned a little more towards his old friend Qiao Qianzhi. What's more, he believed that returning with him was a better choice for Ah Jie.

So he turned around and looked again at the sea of clouds between the cliffs. Ye Xiaotian sighed deeply with emotion: "Among the ancient sword cultivators, swordsmen always had their swords accompanying them. Just like Qingju for the Eight Venerables and Hunt Ghost for Sword Immortal Hua, every swordsman renowned throughout the land would have a 'famous sword' by their side. But 'famous swords' are not born that way. Little do people know... Qingju grew from an ordinary sword. By the time it was famous throughout the world, it was ultimately burdened by its ordinary iron nature and later became a broken sword. Hunt Ghost ranks eighth among famous swords, yet in ancient times, it also grew from an ordinary soul artifact. Even now, its blade is pockmarked and severely damaged."

Ye Xiaotian suddenly paused. Then he flicked his sleeve and said passionately: "Nothing and no one in this world can have a smooth journey! It is precisely because Qingju broke and Hunt Ghost was damaged, precisely because of these winding and extraordinary legends, that they could transform into a brilliant light, illuminating their respective masters! Ah Jie..."

Ye Xiaotian abruptly turned his head, his gaze fixed on Ah Jie, who was still making a decision. He wanted to say something more.

"Enough!" Xu Xiaoshou interrupted him in time.

He had already somewhat understood what the Dean was going to say next. But if he continued, it wouldn't be neutral; it would be more like emotional blackmail.

Ye Xiaotian was taken aback, his passionate posture interrupted. But he didn't stop. Instead, after a quick glance at Xu Xiaoshou, his gaze returned to Ah Jie. "Ah Jie, do you want to become Xu Xiaoshou's light?"

*Smack!* Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoshou immediately snatched up the iron ball that Ah Jie had transformed into and stuffed it back into his arms. He looked at Ye Xiaotian and said, "Sorry, Dean, I need to leave here. I reckon soon after Rao Yaoyao reacts, she'll come chasing us. You should also leave this place quickly."

With that said, he took Ah Jie and resolutely intended to leave.

But at this moment, something in his arms gently trembled, and Ah Jie actually flew out, transforming into a bald little boy who landed in front of him. It called softly, its tone holding reluctance, but Xu Xiaoshou could understand Ah Jie's meaning: *I want to go back...*

"He's going to extreme lengths! He's emotionally blackmailing you!" Xu Xiaoshou's face hardened as he pointed at Ye Xiaotian and said bluntly.

*I want to go back...*

With no other words or implications, Ah Jie continued to repeat that phrase.

Xu Xiaoshou's head began to ache. He hadn't expected the Dean's persuasive speech to be so troublesome; if he had known, he wouldn't have let him speak.

"Don't mind what he said. This is a trap," Xu Xiaoshou said earnestly to Ah Jie. "I often use this method against enemies. You should have learned something by following me."

*I know, but I want to go back...*

Receiving Ah Jie's firm response for the third time, Xu Xiaoshou was somewhat speechless. He knew everything...

Since he knew everything and still wanted to go back, it wasn't just for Xu Xiaoshou. A larger part of the reason came from Ah Jie's own obsession: Returning would heal the root cause! Returning would complete the transformation! Returning would allow for better protection!

"Have you thought this through...?" Xu Xiaoshou pleaded one last time. "Forget everything he just said. Think it over carefully before you answer."

Ah Jie didn't respond this time. It merely shook its head slightly and flew to Ye Xiaotian's side. It slowly raised its hand, waved towards Xu Xiaoshou, and made a "goodbye" gesture. Then the corners of its mouth curved slightly upwards; at that moment, it seemed to have an expression. But soon, it transformed back into an iron ball, turned into a streak of light, and landed in Ye Xiaotian's palm.

Xu Xiaoshou watched all this and suddenly felt a surge of irritation.

Ye Xiaotian, meanwhile, put away Ah Jie and silently watched Xu Xiaoshou, not speaking again. He knew that at this moment, he might have become someone Xu Xiaoshou disliked, and any more words of advice or comfort would be useless. Silence was best. Only when Ah Jie transformed and returned would this small rift between them completely disappear.

"You can go back now!" Xu Xiaoshou paused for a long time, then impatiently waved his hand as if shooing away a pig. "Tell Elder Qiao to be careful... That applies to Ah Jie, and to himself as well."

Ye Xiaotian's eyebrows twitched. He hadn't expected Xu Xiaoshou to remain so rational at a time like this. He nodded silently, then pointed to the nearby Solitary Sound Cliff and said, "I will relay that. Also, this place is very dangerous. Do not explore it rashly; always go around it."

Solitary Sound Cliff was too mysterious. With Ah Jie back in his possession, and only this last instruction remaining, Ye Xiaotian knew that all his affairs concerning the Yunlun Mountain Range were concluded. It was time to go back... He instantly felt a lightness throughout his body.

Xu Xiaoshou also forced himself to stop thinking about Ah Jie. After all, he highly trusted the four seniors of Tiansang Spirit Palace. Since Ah Jie had made his own decision, he could only respect it. Looking back at Solitary Sound Cliff, the vast sea of clouds and the strange demonic winds still drifted between the cliffs, as if unchanging through the ages.

"Solitary Sound Cliff..."

Xu Xiaoshou had originally harbored a thought of exploring the cliff a little. But with Ye Xiaotian taking Ah Jie, that little interlude, he completely lost the heart for adventure. "Let's go. Let's leave here first."

This place was dangerous after all. Even though both he and Ye Xiaotian had speculated that no more law enforcers would come after this, it was hard to say what might happen.

Ye Xiaotian was about to open a spatial rift and leave. But seeing Xu Xiaoshou's dejected expression, he stopped, looked to the other side, and said, "Perhaps you still need to pick up your friend."

Xu Xiaoshou looked in the direction of the voice.

On a small path by the cliff, by a cluster of scattered rocks, stood a silver-haired Lei Xier. Her clothes were creased by the mountain wind, and her demeanor was cold and enchanting, like a celestial fairy. What spoiled this beauty was a chubby white cat perched on Lei Xier's shoulder.

"Meow!"

The girl and the cat seemed to have been waiting there for a while.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou realize that because of the matter with Ah Jie, he hadn't noticed Lei Xier's arrival at all. He opened his mouth, gazing at Lei Xier, who was slowly approaching after being noticed. Xu Xiaoshou had originally intended to introduce them, for example, *This is the Dean, and this is my junior sister Mu Zixi...* But then he thought that those who should know already did, and those who shouldn't would require a lot of explanation. Furthermore, Mu Zixi's current appearance involved a long story. So Xu Xiaoshou closed his mouth.

Ye Xiaotian received no introduction. He gave Lei Xier a rather unfamiliar glance, nodded slightly in greeting, then turned his gaze back to Xu Xiaoshou, and finally, thoughtfully withdrew his gaze. With a slash of his hand in the air, he was about to leave.

"Ah Jie left?"

Lei Xier actually didn't know how to comfort people. After coming to Xu Xiaoshou's side, she had originally intended to ask that. But before the words left her mouth, she realized it wasn't really a question. So, after a slight pause, she whispered, "Everything will be alright..."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly laughed softly. He thought Lei Xier was already the most unfortunate person. And Ah Jie's departure wasn't permanent. Did he really need Lei Xier to comfort him?

"I'm fine," Xu Xiaoshou said. "I just don't know why my thoughts are a bit chaotic..." Xu Xiaoshou also couldn't explain why he suddenly felt irritated; he just spoke subconsciously like that. "By the way, where's Shouye?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized why. His spiritual sense reconnected with Shouye's portrait clone, which was standing far outside Solitary Sound Cliff. He realized that because he was focused on Ah Jie, he had forgotten to lead Lei Xier. He slapped his forehead, thinking to himself that he must be crazy. He had almost forgotten about important matters.

"Threatened, Passive Point +1."

Just then, a pop-up suddenly appeared in his information bar. Xu Xiaoshou's heart immediately clenched as he looked to the other side.

"He suddenly stopped moving," Lei Xier was saying. "Fortunately, the distance isn't far. I can already see you..." Her words suddenly ceased. With a click, she turned her head. The Divine Demonic Eyes in her pupils spun rapidly, and black and white mist emanated, as if she were facing a great enemy, her entire body tensed.

The little white cat, Greedy, stood on her shoulder. Its fur immediately bristled, and after a strange "meow" cry, it pounced onto Xu Xiaoshou's head, its claws clamping tightly onto Xu Xiaoshou's hair.

By the spatial rift.

Ye Xiaotian had completed the task entrusted by Qiao Qianzhi and was about to leave the Yunlun Mountain Range along the spatial currents. He had never imagined that this slash he made and the spatial rift created by the previous slash would result in astonishingly similar situations.

—A head emerged!

"No way?"

Seeing the head with long, flowing hair appear, Ye Xiaotian's scalp tingled, and his face was filled with disbelief. He simply couldn't have imagined that the same scene would occur twice in the same day! How coincidental could this be? This made him uneasy about casually opening spatial rifts as if strolling in his own backyard; he now had a shadow of doubt.

"One, two, three... four? They're all here!"

In the darkness, as a delicate, beautiful face lifted, the figure of a woman wearing a backless long dress also gradually emerged from the spatial rift. She carried a three-foot-long sword on her back, intertwined with green and white. Her eyes held a playful look, mixed with surprise, and as her red lips parted slightly, her voice conveyed immense joy.

—Rao Yaoyao!

Xu Xiaoshou recognized the face, and his heart stopped cold. *How could she have found him so quickly?*

"Frightened, Passive Point +1."

Rao Yaoyao stepped out of the spatial rift. Her gaze wasn't on Ye Xiaotian at all; instead, it was fixed directly on Xu Xiaoshou, who was behind, her eyes narrowed slightly. "We finally meet again!" She extended two slender fingers and lightly stroked her smooth chin with the back of her fingers, saying with amusement and slight confusion: "Hmm... should I call you Xu Xiaoshou, or Wang Chao, or even Eight Venerables? You tell me. Little Stone Pond, Zhou Tiancan?"

This one sentence, with five names, left everyone dumbfounded.

With a gulp, Xu Xiaoshou swallowed, realizing that Wang Chao had woken up and had rejoined the main group. And if Rao Yaoyao had received this intelligence, it would have been absolutely impossible for her to ignore the other Wang Chao who was following Murong Ying in pursuit of Ye Xiaotian.

So, was this why he was exposed? "Why didn't I think of this beforehand? This shouldn't have happened..."

Xu Xiaoshou completely failed to understand how, despite all his precautions, he could have overlooked these crucial points due to excessive communication with Ye Xiaotian. Soon, his thoughts froze.

Impossible! I couldn't have overlooked these! Information involving his life — how could he make a mistake? Yet, these crucial pieces of information were simply forgotten...

Xu Xiaoshou seemed to realize something. He immediately opened his information bar with his spiritual sense, scrolling up continuously. Soon, he discovered something abnormal about the information bar. Every now and then, a message that he had completely ignored would pop up here:

"Guided, Passive Point +1."

Looking at the timestamp, it seemed that this message had already begun appearing after the saintly battle above the Yunlun Mountain Range ended, or even during the battle!

Guidance? Who was guiding?

He had followed Eight Venerables' guidance but only saved Ye Xiaotian and hadn't even obtained anything. Yes, this indeed shouldn't have happened. Theoretically, Eight Venerables should have left something for him, such as the Demonic Sword Myriad Soldiers' Demonic Lord, or other Saint Source Crystals. But there was nothing...

So, what was Eight Venerables' guidance, or rather, his leading?

Xu Xiaoshou's neck seemed to have rusted; it creaked as he twisted it to the side. He thought of a possibility.

At this moment, Rao Yaoyao received no response. Her gaze had already withdrawn, and she looked at Ye Xiaotian, who was nearby. She asked with considerable curiosity, "I don't understand. For such a long time, why did you all insist on waiting for me here? Did you set up some trap?"

As she spoke, the spatial rift behind her expanded, and figures emerged one after another. There was Wang Dachui, cackling strangely; Shouye, with a complex expression; and other Law Enforcers of the Dao-Severing and Throne levels—no less than thirty people in total.

A trap... Ye Xiaotian was already stunned by the large group of Law Enforcers coming directly towards them. Now, hearing this, he seemed to realize something, and a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

Of the three hundred sixty-two spatial passages, he had randomly chosen one, but it led him here... Twice he had tried to leave, and both times his actions were mysteriously terminated... Plus, the "Saint Source Crystal" that had flown directly towards him at the very beginning, and then, after obtaining the "Saint Source Crystal," he coincidentally received Qiao Qianzhi's request, then directly encountered Xu Xiaoshou and obtained Ah Jie...

"Interference from a Saint Emperor's will!"

Ye Xiaotian was no ordinary person. He immediately understood why his day had been so lucky, so coincidental, and yet so unfortunate. He also twisted his neck with difficulty, just in time to see Xu Xiaoshou behind him glance over, his eyes filled with horror. Their eyes met briefly in the air, and they instantly understood each other's thoughts.

That terrifying, hidden, untraceable "guidance" came from... Solitary Sound Cliff!