Chapter 974: Collapsing Faith, Broken People

Xu Xiaoshou felt a pang of sadness as he remembered Shou Ye offering him the ownership of the Fierce Serpent renowned sword as an olive branch in the White Cave, despite being under immense pressure.

He also recalled Shou Ye's inner thoughts he had overheard during the rainy night in the Royal City while in vanishing mode, and the scene of them facing each other across the railing.

He furthermore remembered that even with their differing stances, Shou Ye was unlike those deranged enforcers who only sought to kill him or claim his head for a reward.

From start to finish, Shou Ye had always intended to guide him back to the righteous path.

But alas…

What constituted the "right path" was, in their respective views, poles apart.

Xu Xiaoshou's heart filled with sorrow as he looked at Shou Ye, who was now in a weakened state within the water sphere.

Shou Ye might die, but surely not in such a way?

"Have you run out of pills?"

Xu Xiaoshou was inexplicably at a loss for how to begin a conversation, so he could only refer to what he had just witnessed. "I saw Murong Ying up there; he was drained dry and died…"

Shou Ye seemed to have a sudden resurgence of energy; his pale face abruptly gained color—a ghastly green.

Cursed, Passive value, 1.

"Ugh!" Realizing he had started the conversation on the wrong foot, Xu Xiaoshou quickly shut his mouth, feeling like he could slap himself twice at that moment.

He suddenly remembered something else and pulled out bottles and jars from his elemental manor.

"I'm a Throne-level alchemist; I lack everything except for pills. These…"

He looked at the honey jars in his hand, his expression suddenly freezing. He said with difficulty, "Uh, these are indeed just low-grade pills, but they're plentiful. Perhaps they can help you last a bit longer?"

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to hand them over, but they were separated by the water sphere.

But after all, there was a water sphere…

While the sphere was not easily broken, sending anything through would require piercing it.

And if the water sphere were pierced, Shou Ye, in his current state, wouldn't be able to withstand the sheer water pressure alone.

Of course, Xu Xiaoshou also believed he would die on the spot due to the water pressure the moment the water sphere was pierced.

The two water spheres continued to descend in parallel…

Shou Ye looked at the young man's actions in the opposite water sphere and smiled bitterly. "I appreciate your good intentions, but if this water sphere were truly broken now, I would be utterly annihilated."

He looked himself up and down, shrugging slightly. "At least if I die inside this water sphere now, my body will remain intact. As for the pills… you'll need them. Keep them for yourself. Good luck," he said with a hint of ease.

Xu Xiaoshou, still holding the honey jars, stopped his movements and silently watched the opposite water sphere descend.

If he didn't use the recoil force, his own water sphere would quickly outpace Shou Ye's and continue to plummet. So, after a brief pause, Xu Xiaoshou continued to kick downwards vigorously, maintaining the parallel descent of both spheres.

He didn't give up.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to see Shou Ye die so senselessly; his mind raced.

"What if I use spatial abilities to teleport the honey jars across?"

"But I'm not familiar with spatial abilities…"

As he thought this, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly recalled the spatial power Ye Xiaotian had used to escape earlier on Lonely Echo Cliff.

Ye Xiaotian had merely demonstrated his ability to displace space, pulling someone in front of him as a human shield.

What if he could send the honey jars over using that method?

No sooner thought than done!

Xu Xiaoshou regretted that he hadn't carried the spatial origin stone with him at that moment, having placed it on Xu Xiaoji because it could be traced. Otherwise, he believed he could have quickly grasped Ye Xiaotian's spatial techniques.

But not having the spatial origin stone wasn't crucial.

Xu Xiaoshou had a backup plan: the Mimic.

He didn't transform into Ye Xiaotian because there was no need; he himself possessed spatial abilities.

Holding the Mimic in one hand, his spiritual sense penetrating his elemental manor world and connecting with the "Primordial Dao Stone," Xu Xiaoshou replayed scenes of Ye Xiaotian's actions in his mind. He then took a honey jar in each hand and began to experiment.

"Cosmic Shift!"

With a thought, the honey jar in his left hand suddenly vanished.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression froze. From the spatial fluctuations, he could tell that the honey jar had been displaced into a turbulent spatial current and instantly crushed by a storm.

"Uh, if I use this move, people could die, right? What if I accidentally displace Shou Ye's water sphere into a turbulent spatial current…"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at Shou Ye somewhat guiltily, then said calmly, "Give me some time."

Shou Ye could see what Xu Xiaoshou was attempting, but he felt an inexplicable sense of dread. It seemed as if he would live a bit longer if Xu Xiaoshou simply stopped trying now.

Yet, if Xu Xiaoshou succeeded, Shou Ye might very well die on the spot.

"You…"

Shou Ye slightly parted his lips but couldn't utter a word.

Never mind; let him try. It was a desperate measure.

On the other side, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't stopped. He continuously sensed spatial fluctuations, and the honey jars in his hand rapidly disappeared.

Sometimes they simply vanished, sometimes they appeared above his head, sometimes at his feet…

Before long, the honey jar in his hand finally appeared outside the water sphere.

In exchange, a puddle of water appeared in his palm.

"Did it work?"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up, but then he saw the honey jar that had appeared outside the water sphere instantly crushed to powder by the deep-sea pressure, and his face froze.

"Do you trust me?" Xu Xiaoshou asked, looking at Shou Ye.

Shou Ye's mouth twitched, but he said nothing, retreating slightly and pushing the bottles and jars in front of him further away. He then feigned indifference and asked, "When did you master spatial abilities? I don't recall seeing you use them before."

"It's a long story," Xu Xiaoshou said, shaking his head and cleverly dodging the question. "If I make a long story short, it's better not to say anything at all."

Cursed, Passive value, 1.

After Shou Ye took a deep breath, he decided not to say anything more.

"Cosmic Shift!"

After many attempts, Xu Xiaoshou didn't wait.

Feeling confident, his palm trembled as he exercised his now familiar spatial displacement ability towards Shou Ye in the opposite water sphere.

With a faint whoosh.

This time, the honey jar in his palm vanished, replaced by a finger.

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

A finger?

One finger?

What the hell? How could it be a finger?

Didn't I aim for the discarded pill bottle in front of Shou Ye?

Xu Xiaoshou, somewhat horrified, dropped the finger and suddenly looked up, only to see Shou Ye in the opposite water sphere staring at him with an even greater expression of bewilderment and horror.

The already weakened old man was now clutching his right hand, with blood oozing from between the fingers of his left.

Evidently, the loss of his finger added insult to injury in his twilight years.

But the pain didn't make Shou Ye scream hysterically. His purplish lips trembled, and the corners of his eyes twitched wildly, his expression a mix of "this is so typical of Xu Xiaoshou" and "I don't want to face this reality."

"Is this… your spatial ability?" Shou Ye stammered, having held his breath for a long time.

Condemned, Passive value, 1.

Disgusted, Passive value, 1.

Questioned, Passive value, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. Don't worry, I'll teleport this finger right back to you immediately," he said, picking up Shou Ye's finger.

"Don't!" Shou Ye's face turned pale, and his breathing became ragged.

"That was just an accident…" Xu Xiaoshou tried his best to reassure Shou Ye, explaining, "I calculated everything, but I didn't account for the fact that while the water spheres are relatively static, they are actually constantly in motion, causing spatial positioning errors. Next time, I'll definitely succeed!"

As he spoke, he looked up, staring at Shou Ye's head, thinking, *Good thing I shifted my aim just in time, otherwise what got displaced could have been a head…*

Shou Ye took several deep breaths, then started coughing violently.

His body was pressed tightly against the water sphere wall; he dared not move, attempting to stop Xu Xiaoshou from continuing with his eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, interpreted the other party's look as, "I'm ready; come on."

This time, he factored in the water spheres' movement, calmly pinpointing the space before performing the spatial displacement technique again.

"Cosmic Shift!"

With a faint swish, a discarded pill bottle appeared in Xu Xiaoshou's hand, and a finger belonging to Shou Ye dropped in front of Shou Ye.

"It worked!" Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed, delighted. This meant Shou Ye could now receive relief items.

He looked up, only to see Shou Ye in the opposite water sphere holding his severed finger, futilely attempting to reattach it to the bloody stump because he couldn't activate his spiritual energy.

His face was a mix of ashen green and pale white, as if he were suppressing some emotion.

Cursed, Passive value, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou let out two awkward laughs. "One finger for a life," he said, "that should be pretty worth it, right?"

Shou Ye gritted his teeth. "Very worth it!"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. After a successful attempt, he directly displaced a large number of honey jars.

These included spirit-refining liquid and crimson gold liquid, almost filling the internal space of Shou Ye's water sphere.

Even if their quality was low, they should still help the other party last a bit longer.

"I've done my best."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded at Shou Ye, watching him struggle to open a jar and lick the honey in the cramped water sphere, finding the scene truly comical.

Shou Ye, who had directly swallowed one jar of honey, didn't continue to gobble it down like a dying hungry ghost.

With great willpower, he stopped eating and looked at Xu Xiaoshou. "You've given all these pills to me. What will you do?"

Xu Xiaoshou's lips curled into a smile. "Don't worry. Even if we're going by order, at my age, I probably won't die before you do. Just focus on living well!"

Shou Ye fell silent. Feeling the spiritual energy he had just consumed being instantly drained by the water sphere again, he said wistfully, "It's just a dying struggle. I… am destined not to live much longer."

He pushed the honey jars forward. "Xu Xiaoshou, take them all back. You need these more than I do."

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head slightly. "Live as long as you can; there's no shame in merely clinging to life. Perhaps when a turning point arrives and the water spheres no longer drain everyone's spiritual energy, those who didn't persist in living won't even have a chance to regret it."

Shou Ye closed his eyes heavily.

*I've lived long enough…*

As his inner thoughts reached this point, he recalled his life, tossed about by trials and tribulations.

From white robes to red robes.

From an ordinary spirit refiner, he had struggled his way to the Dao Severing realm, even possessing the power of the Great Void when he severed his Dao.

The glory he was meant to enjoy, Shou Ye had already experienced in the first half of his life.

And perhaps the joy he had experienced in his early life now required this helplessness and silence to draw a rough conclusion to his later life.

A pervasive sense of death spread…

Xu Xiaoshou saw the muscles on Shou Ye's face suddenly shrivel.

Not just his face, but his entire body was similarly affected.

—The water sphere's draining power had intensified once again!

"Eat!"

After a moment of silence, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly roared, "I gave you everything! What do you mean by not eating? Are you looking down on me?"

Shou Ye struggled to open his eyes, his eyelids seeming incredibly heavy, and said weakly:

"Beneath the deep sea, it will only become more dangerous. My consuming these would just be a waste.

"You're right, everyone is waiting for a turning point… Perhaps in the end, these very pills you've given me will become your last straw of hope."

"As for me…"

Shou Ye gave a bitter laugh. "Even if I couldn't steer you back to the right path, I won't become the final straw that breaks you."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Xu Xiaoshou cursed, furious. He really wanted to teleport over and slap Shou Ye's head a couple of times to snap him out of it.

But he knew the old man was already consumed by his delusions.

His anger was meaningless; he had to find a solution.

A solution…

A turning point…

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly thought of Shou Ye's greatest obsession. He chuckled coldly. "Old geezer, do you know why I refused your good intentions and declined to become a Red Robe?"

Sure enough, Shou Ye's body trembled at the words, and a flicker of light appeared in his murky eyes.

He grabbed a jar of honey, scooped a fingerful into his mouth, and asked with wide eyes, "Why?"

Xu Xiaoshou scoffed and said coldly, "I laugh at you for being in the thick of it without realizing. Of course, I wouldn't follow you. Do you know that the Red Robe organization you believe in, the Sacred Temple you're willing to devote your life to, is filled with nothing but hypocrites?"

Shou Ye's movements froze, and anger flared on his face, yet he offered no rebuttal.

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow and said playfully, "It seems you've already had a glimpse of the truth. But when a lifelong belief turns out to be wrong, you subjectively choose to ignore it, pretending you haven't discovered anything, right?"

Shou Ye was angered into a bitter laugh. He said, extremely weakly, "Xu Xiaoshou, I'm about to die. Are you… still provoking me?"

"I never provoked you. Every word I said is the absolute truth!" Xu Xiaoshou didn't elaborate further, stating plainly, "In the White Cave, I saw with my own eyes your junior, that young Red Robe, Lu Ke. Due to emotional instability, a ghostly aura emerged from his body!"

A ghostly aura?

Shou Ye's eyes suddenly became dull, and he tilted his head. "What did you say?"

"I said!"

Xu Xiaoshou said emphatically:

"Lu Ke! Red Robe! Ghost Beast Host!

"Your high-ranking officials preach justice while committing atrocities.

"I don't know what secrets lie within, but I trust what I've witnessed with my own eyes. That's why, no matter how many times you invited me, I never chose to follow you. Because I was afraid!"

Xu Xiaoshou exhaled, his voice suddenly softening:

"I was afraid I'd become like you: a fool with blinders on, led around in circles.

"I've said before, I want to see this world for myself.

"And the truth of this world, as well as the 'masterminds' who wrote that 'truth,' can never be fully understood by someone who is merely a 'Red Robe member'!"

Shou Ye's mind went blank with a buzz.

These words struck him like a bolt from the blue.

Questioned, Passive value, 1.

"Impossible…

"You're lying to me…

"Lu Ke is Moonless Sword Immortal's disciple, a Red Robe reservist, a renowned sword holder. How could he possibly be a Ghost Beast Host?

"Does Moonless Sword Immortal know this?

"Impossible! Moonless Sword Immortal couldn't possibly know. He despises evil so much; if he truly knew this, how could he join the Sacred Temple?

"But he is a White Robe Law Dominator, one of the higher-ups, a rule-maker. Since he chose to join the Sacred Temple, the Sacred Temple cannot be wrong. Therefore, you are lying to me…"

Shou Ye muttered like one possessed, trying desperately to analyze the truthfulness of Xu Xiaoshou's words.

He was scared of being deceived!

But Shou Ye's delirious rambling wasn't over yet when Xu Xiaoshou interrupted with a cold laugh:

"Shou Ye, wake up!

"Your Moonless Sword Immortal is currently in Sacred Mountain Prison, within the Dead Sea! I heard he even lost an arm?

"Think hard: Is this the kind of punishment the Sacred Temple would inflict on one of their own?!"

Shou Ye's mind went "boom," and all his thoughts completely collapsed.

His lifelong belief seemed to have collapsed in an instant, causing him to stumble violently within the water sphere.

His horrifying face, withered and bony from being drained, lifted. He stared blankly at Xu Xiaoshou and asked unconsciously, "W-what did you say?"

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and said emphatically:

"I said, live on!

"Use your own eyes to see the answers you seek.

"Trust me, this will be far more exciting than any 'truth' others give you!"

With that, he had said all he needed to.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't wait. He pushed his hand upwards, using the recoil force to make his water sphere plummet rapidly.

He did not take back the large number of honey jars he had given to Shou Ye.

Because he believed that a broken person either perishes or is reborn from the ashes, gnawing away at the darkness bit by bit, and then, relying on themselves, walks towards the dawn!