Chapter 992: You Became a Ghost Beast Host?

The aura of two distinct tribulations could be felt, one strong and one faint.

It seemed the fading tribulation indicated that one of the cultivators had succumbed and died.

"Undergoing tribulation together: 'You go first, I'll be right behind you'?"

"That's a profound bond, but doesn't undergoing tribulation together mean each person endures an extra share of pain?"

Without further thought, Xu Xiaoshou endured the lightning tribulation while searching for the person. Once he pinpointed the lightning's landing spot, he instantly teleported again, appearing not far from the cultivator.

What met his eyes was, for once, a cultivator with all limbs intact!

Strangely, the cultivator was draped in a scorched black feather robe. Under the might of the lightning tribulation, this was the first person Xu Xiaoshou had seen whose clothes remained intact.

It seemed a protective spiritual artifact was shielding his back, where an incongruous pair of wings was attached. However, these were broken wings, now only dim stubs at the roots, likely shattered by the lightning tribulation, their spiritual essence completely lost.

The cultivator was stooped, his back to Xu Xiaoshou, hands tucked into his chest, and head bowed. He appeared to be consuming elixirs to restore his spiritual power.

Because his entire body was enveloped in a thick black mist, Xu Xiaoshou, even with his "Perception" ability, couldn't discern what elixirs the cultivator was consuming.

"Shouye?"

As was customary, Xu Xiaoshou called out symbolically.

There was no response from the other side; he remained engrossed in consuming elixirs.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned. From the black mist surrounding the other person, he caught a familiar scent.

"Ghost... energy?"

His heart jolted.

A Ghost Beast cultivator was also undergoing tribulation?

Immediately, Xu Xiaoshou abandoned the idea of getting closer to transmit a breath of life energy, as the other party clearly didn't need it.

Besides, Ghost Beasts didn't have a good reputation. Not all of them were simple-minded and physically strong like Xing Gugu.

On the contrary, ninety percent of the Ghost Beasts in this world harbored deep malice towards everything and, to varying degrees, held extremely fanatical beliefs on certain paths.

Even Ancestor Wuji, when facing his sworn enemy Yi, would insist on immediate revenge even if he knew it was impossible, completely disregarding the idea of "lying low" or "a gentleman's revenge is never too late."

Lifting his foot, Xu Xiaoshou was about to instantly move in another direction to continue his search for Shouye.

But at that moment, the person engrossed in consuming elixirs suddenly shivered, as if sensing something. His head slowly, with difficulty, turned towards Xu Xiaoshou.

"Boom!"

The buffer period for the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation had passed. Without warning, lightning struck again, splitting into two bolts: one heading for the cultivator, the other for Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou, halfway through turning, had to forcefully stop and resist the lightning tribulation.

In the deep sea, as he hadn't encountered supreme experts like Rao Yaoyao, he wasn't afraid of revealing his identity.

Without hesitation, "Berserk Giant" was summoned again, along with "Four Swords" and "Flaming Python," plus a host of passive and awakened abilities to resist.

"Bang!"

"Pfft..."

Normally, such lightning tribulations, with much of their power siphoned off by the forbidden array, should no longer be capable of inflicting severe damage through his many layers of defense.

Yet this time, the lightning tribulation pierced through his body, blasting Xu Xiaoshou to the point of violently spitting blood, his flesh a mangled mess.

He was bewildered.

The intensity of this lightning tribulation was completely off!

Even with the weakening effects of the forbidden array and the power drain beneath the deep sea, this single lightning bolt could still cause such damage.

One could only imagine how profound the foundation of the cultivator nearby must be!

This was clearly not one of the ordinary cultivators he had encountered before; at the very least, this was a prominent figure among Dao Cultivators!

"Indeed, he's a Ghost Beast host. How could he possibly be unknown?"

Xu Xiaoshou shivered in fright. Feeling the rapid healing power from his various passive abilities, he regained control of his body from the paralyzed state induced by the lightning tribulation.

His first thought was simple: "Run!"

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, escape was the best.

If he stayed any longer, he might even be attacked by the Ghost Beast host undergoing tribulation!

He was about to activate "One Step to Heaven," but in that split second, while these thoughts flashed through his mind, Xu Xiaoshou's "Perception" remained active.

As his consciousness recovered, his "Perception" caught sight of the cultivator's true appearance, accidentally revealed when the ghost energy was dispersed by the lightning tribulation...

Xu Xiaoshou stiffened as if time had paused. His mind reeled as if struck by lightning, and clear goosebumps rose on his recently restored body.

"You, you are..."

Under the lightning tribulation, the ghost energy completely dissipated.

The face of the feather-robed cultivator had exceptionally smooth and delicate skin. Tiny specks of flesh and blood clung to the corners of his lips, and charred residue from the lightning tribulation still lingered on his face.

But as he gently wiped the corners of his lips with the back of his hand...

The black residue vanished.

The blood and flesh were licked clean.

The skin revealed on his face was even more delicate than Xu Xiaoshou's own.

This was clearly the perfect skin, like that granted by "Endless Life," attainable only after flesh and blood regeneration!

Yet this cultivator was in the midst of a tribulation!

He didn't possess "Endless Life," and any high-grade elixirs he had should have been consumed long ago, right?

By this point in the tribulation, there must have been at least dozens, if not hundreds, of lightning bolts, right?

Within the deep-sea forbidden array, how could such a spiritual master, after enduring such devastation, still possess such perfectly smooth skin?

His current state should be like that of other cultivators: mangled flesh and severed limbs!

"You..."

The more Xu Xiaoshou looked at the face, the more violently his pupils trembled.

Even though the skin on the other person's face had changed, the basic structure remained the same.

The eyes still held that mix of vicissitude, ferocity, despair, and disgust... and now, after seeing him, a flicker of bewilderment, surprise, and panic...

No change!

"Shou-Shouye?" Xu Xiaoshou's Adam's apple bobbed, and he asked with trembling lips.

He didn't care what the other person's answer would be; the moment the question left his lips, he already had his own answer.

This person was Shouye!

His instincts were absolutely correct!

"Boom!"

In the deep-sea darkness, another lightning tribulation boomed.

While blasting Xu Xiaoshou's head charred, feet numb, and flesh scattered, the lightning tribulation once again illuminated the face and demeanor of the cultivator opposite him.

Effortless.

In the midst of the lightning tribulation, he possessed a calm demeanor, as if strolling through a leisurely garden.

"...Xu Xiaoshou?"

That cultivator, whose eyes held the weathered look of someone past fifty but whose skin was as smooth as a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl's, seemed to finally confirm, after two more lightning strikes, exactly whom he was seeing.

At the same time, all color drained from his eyes, leaving only endless panic.

He looked like a child who had done something wrong and was accidentally discovered by someone he trusted most, trying to hide it but only making it more obvious.

Wiping the corners of his mouth, wiping his face, plucking at his feather robe, hiding his hands...

Then, he suddenly stretched out his hands, turning completely to face Xu Xiaoshou, spreading out his entire body as if to conceal the broken wings on his back...

Every single one of these actions proclaimed his panicked state of mind, leaving him utterly flustered.

"Xu Xiaoshou?!"

"How are you here?"

Shouye trembled, asking in disbelief.

Hearing that familiar voice, Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened almost to the point of splitting open again.

It was then that he finally noticed details he had overlooked through his "Perception."

The charred black feather robe on Shouye wasn't clothing he had deliberately protected; instead, these black feathers had grown directly from his body!

Similarly, the broken wings on his back were no special protective spiritual artifact at all; they were simply a part of his body!

Xu Xiaoshou thought of Xing Gugu.

After Xing Gugu transformed, he was no longer human-shaped, but took the form of a blood-soaked minotaur.

But how could Shouye have come to this?

He was a Red Dress!

"Boom!"

Another lightning bolt descended.

However, the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation, weakened by the deep sea, could no longer inflict near-fatal damage on Shouye, the Ghost Beast host, or on Xu Xiaoshou, who possessed extraordinary defensive power.

All the lightning tribulation could inflict was pain.

And the pain served only to confirm that all of this was not a dream, but reality!

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou opened his mouth, but too many questions were bubbling up within him, forming a jumbled mess, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"I just wanted to see if you were dead..."

Shouye smiled upon hearing this.

After a brief pause, he had composed all the panic in his eyes, returning to his usual calm and steady demeanor.

Soon after, an endless, dense ghost energy once again emanated from his body, obscuring all the changes he had undergone.

"Apologies, did I startle you?" Shouye, hidden within the endless black ghost energy, his eyes the only part visible, like a parasite of the night, spoke with extreme calmness.

"I wasn't startled..."

"I just..."

"I..."

Xu Xiaoshou blinked, his hands, gripping two swords, waving aimlessly.

At this moment, he was the one who became flustered.

Finally, after forcefully withstanding another lightning tribulation, his thoughts returned to normal, and he regained his composure.

"I just wanted to see if you were still alive, because after I left, I realized the deep sea was too deep, and the elixirs I gave you might not have been enough to sustain you until..."

The word "now" had not yet left his lips when Xu Xiaoshou's mind flashed back to what he had just seen: Shouye's perfectly smooth skin.

His old wounds were gone.

The overgrown flesh on his face had also vanished.

The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the age spots on his face had also disappeared.

How could such a perfect state possibly still require his help?

"Boom!"

Another lightning tribulation descended.

Shouye effortlessly withstood it, and a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes, which were barely visible through the ghost energy.

"I understand your good intentions, but as you can see, I no longer need anyone's help..."

"And I will no longer rely on external forces!"

Xu Xiaoshou trembled, startled by the hidden ferocity in the latter half of Shouye's words.

Shouye was inherently a killer; his hands were stained with countless lives. The bloody killing intent he exuded whenever he appeared was among the densest Xu Xiaoshou had ever encountered.

Yet in the past, this killing intent was highly restrained, only spilling out inadvertently due to its immense power.

Now, Shouye made no attempt to conceal it; the bloody killing intent, fully unleashed, was even more terrifying than the deep-sea currents themselves.

Unsure how to speak, Xu Xiaoshou could only present the preparations he had made one by one.

"I had planned to give you some more elixirs from my possession after seeing you. You know, I have a lot of elixirs..." He took out his ring, then pulled out many honey pots from his spatial ring, indicating that there was indeed something inside.

"Also, I'm quite special; I can help you shield against the effects of water pressure in the deep sea..." Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand, and the deep-sea currents surged around him without touching his body in the slightest.

"I only discovered this later, that I can achieve this ability by using certain items.

It's not that I saw you then and didn't help you remove the water's influence; at that time, I had only just fallen into the deep sea and still had many things to figure out..."

Xu Xiaoshou explained frantically, then suddenly extended his hand, manifesting a false Sea God Spear. "And, and I have even more sec..."

He wondered if secrets were something to be exchanged.

"Xu Xiaoshou!" Shouye suddenly interrupted him.

Xu Xiaoshou's movements ceased, and his words stopped.

"Boom!"

After another lightning tribulation, both of them used all their means. One emerged unscathed, the other a mangled mess, having passed the tribulation.

"I suddenly miss the old Xu Xiaoshou..." Shouye's eyes, rolling within the ghost energy, held a touch of amusement. "Because back then, he wouldn't beat around the bush, nor would he hide things, nor be so hypocritical."

"Praised, Passive Point +1."

"Scorned, Passive Point +1."

"Whew."

Xu Xiaoshou let out a deep breath, realizing he had indeed been somewhat hypocritical.

Between him and Shouye, some things didn't need to be so hidden, especially now that Shouye had transformed like this.

"I do have many questions," Xu Xiaoshou said.

"Feel free to ask," Shouye said, his eyes curving into a smile. He glanced upward, adding, "If you don't mind the pain this lightning tribulation might inflict on you."

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't care less about the lightning tribulation!

The weakened early stages of the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation wouldn't kill anyone, but Shouye's transformation had nearly scared him to death!

"You know, even if I'm not a Red Dress, I've still encountered a few Ghost Beasts..." Xu Xiaoshou subconsciously laid the groundwork.

"Just say what you mean, don't beat around the bush!" Shouye's eyes showed impatience.

"Alright!" Xu Xiaoshou nodded heavily, pointing at the towering black energy opposite him. "This, is this ghost energy?"

"Yes."

"You've become a Ghost Beast host?"

"Yes."

"Why! You're a Red Dress! I-I-I... I can barely believe what I'm seeing right now. I don't mean any offense, but I have to ask first... will you silence me?"

"...No."

"Then, back to the previous question: why?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were full of bewilderment.

Red Dress Shouye had become a Ghost Beast host...

This was utterly surreal, completely baffling!

Shouye's answer this time was not as fluent.

Xu Xiaoshou's final question cut straight to the core, and Shouye was also pondering how to answer.

So after a moment of contemplation, Shouye slowly spoke, "Perhaps it's because when I severed my Dao, I gained control of the power of the Great Void..."