Chapter 1014: Fooled Crippled

"Uh!"

A fierce struggle flashed across Situ Yongren's face.

Tan Shen had no choice but to intensify its control, pushing San Yan Tong Mu to its absolute limit, finally managing to subdue him.

"Have…"

"Hand it over."

"I… only have… a little… left…"

Situ Yongren reluctantly pulled out six exquisite jade boxes, each no larger than a fingernail, from his spatial ring. Each box contained drops of golden Sheng Xue.

"Six drops!

"Indeed, just 'a little'!"

Xu Xiao Shou was stunned.

He still had plenty left in his own bottle of Sheng Xue, which he hadn’t used up yet.

But that didn’t mean he thought Sheng Xue could be mass-produced! After all, in their previous encounters, neither the Dao Slayers nor the Taixu had any Sheng Xue on them—only those of high status might have a single drop as a life-saving talisman.

Yet here was this young man, Situ Yongren, who, aside from everything else, had six drops of Sheng Xue as his safeguards.

No wonder he was the "Sheng Zi"!

How extravagant!

With a quick spatial swap, Xu Xiao Shou had the six drops in his hand.

"Whose Sheng Xue is this?"

He noticed that the energy in the Sheng Xue varied, with faint traces of different colors mixed in the gold, realizing it hadn’t all come from one Ban Sheng… er, one individual.

"Three drops… from… the Dao…" Situ Yongren trailed off mid-sentence.

Xu Xiao Shou’s pupils contracted, and he quickly interjected: "No need for the full name. Just use a title."

With his last chance to resist extinguished, Situ Yongren felt immense agony but had no choice but to continue: "Three drops… from… my master, two drops… from Xuan Ji Ban Sheng, one drop… from Cang Sheng Daren…"

Oh my!

What a favored one!

Xu Xiao Shou was thrilled.

He remembered the properties of the Mimic, though he rarely used it. As long as he had blood from the target, he could transform into that person and gain a portion of their abilities.

Sheng Xue was, after all, just blood.

If Xu Xiao Shou wanted, it would be a bit wasteful, but by applying a drop to the Mimic, he could briefly acquire Ban Sheng-level powers.

He just wasn’t sure how much of a Ban Sheng’s strength the Mimic could replicate.

This terrifying idea had been secretly tucked away in his mind, waiting for the right moment to test it out.

"Now I already have blood from Jin Zhao Ban Sheng’s Long Rong, and with Dao Qiong Cang, Xuan Ji Ban Sheng, and Cang Sheng Daren added, my combat power… it’s skyrocketing!

"Hmm, the only question is, if I use their Sheng Xue to transform, will it alert the originals and bring down a holy punishment from afar?"

Ban Sheng were too powerful.

That’s why Xu Xiao Shou hadn’t dared to act so recklessly before—he was afraid of the consequences.

But he still needed to collect more trump cards.

After all, in a life-or-death situation, who’d worry about the details?

Dripping four drops of Sheng Xue onto the Mimic to gain four abilities at once might just break the deadlock, and he could deal with the fallout later if he survived.

"Meow meow."

Tan Shen’s gaze followed the Sheng Xue, its mouth watering as it expressed a strong desire to devour it.

Xu Xiao Shou smacked the little white cat on the forehead.

This was Sheng Xue!

He couldn’t let it go to waste!

But demanding work without offering reward was just heartless.

After thinking it over, Xu Xiao Shou pulled out a can of the Chijin Liquid that Tan Shen had refined, handing it over to replenish its energy and reward it for its great service.

"Anything else?

"For example, cash… well, like Ling Jing or Ling Que, and any other items that could be useful to me, nothing that’s soul-bound…"

Xu Xiao Shou changed tack and asked.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his mind, and he slapped his thigh in annoyance.

"I’m an idiot!

"Why not just have him unbind the spatial necklace and hand it over?"

Thinking it through, Xu Xiao Shou instructed Tan Shen to relay the command.

Tan Shen froze, clearly taken aback by its master’s even more insatiable greed, and didn’t move for a moment.

"Ahem!"

Xu Xiao Shou cleared his throat awkwardly: "Is my behavior a bit too ugly?"

Tan Shen: "Meow meow!"

Be more confident—drop the "a bit" and just say "very"!

"Get to work!"

Xu Xiao Shou irritably picked up Tan Shen, making sure it faced Situ Yongren directly.

Soon, the necklace was in hand…

Xu Xiao Shou quickly inventoried the spatial necklace.

It was packed with all sorts of things: clothing, ancient texts, jade slips of Tianji techniques, various emblems, tokens, jade seals, and a bunch of unfamiliar oddities…

To avoid any risks like tracking or tracing, Xu Xiao Shou tossed all the unfamiliar items into the deep sea.

With the deep sea’s natural crushing pressure, anything without value was ground to dust.

After sorting through it, Xu Xiao Shou gained a large haul of spiritual herbs, ancient plants, high-quality crystals for engraving Tianji arrays, and plenty of insights on Tianji techniques.

Among them was even something handwritten by Dao Qiong Cang…

Xu Xiao Shou skimmed through it quickly, still worried about tracking, so he threw all texts that might involve Ban Sheng powers into the deep sea’s pressure crusher.

When it came to emergency evasion, he was a pro.

Finally, with a pile of usable treasures cleared out, Xu Xiao Shou stuffed them all into his Yuanfu World.

Yuanfu World had a second line of defense: Lei Xi Er, who tended the flowers and plants.

She’d probably review them again, and anything unfamiliar could be discarded if needed.

After all, the priority was not to let greed lead to trouble—Xu Xiao Shou’s greed was cautious, steady, and measured.

"Meow."

After all that, Tan Shen was weakly meowing, exhausted.

Using San Yan Tong Mu had drained too much energy, and since Situ Yongren had spent years studying Tianji techniques, his mental strength was high, making the prolonged resistance tough even for a pure spirit beast like Tan Shen.

"Hold on a second."

Xu Xiao Shou still had one thing left to do.

He swapped out all the defensive spirit artifacts from Situ Yongren—jade pendants, small towers, bracelets—and shattered them in the deep sea’s pressure.

If he couldn’t take them, he’d destroy them!

"All right, release the control."

With everything worth taking secured and the rest destroyed, Xu Xiao Shou didn’t want Tan Shen to waste more energy.

He wasn’t stingy, though—he specially picked out a highly effective "Sheng Yuan Dan" from Situ Yongren’s trove, just a tiny fraction of its value, and fed it to Tan Shen to restore its strength.

The deep sea was dangerous, after all, and Tan Shen needed to stay combat-ready.

After getting the Sheng Yuan Dan, Tan Shen instantly perked up, full of vigor again.

This round… Tan Shen came out unscathed, Situ Yongren was left penniless overnight, and Xu Xiao Shou struck it rich on the spot.

"Uh."

Regaining consciousness from the control, though only a short time had passed, Situ Yongren felt like he’d endured a long nightmare.

Waking up in the water sphere, he was shocked to find all his glowing treasures gone from his body.

Aside from his clothes, he was stripped bare—even the jade hairpin from his head was gone!

"What did you do to me?!"

Situ Yongren’s lips trembled, his eyes turning red.

His entire fortune!

For this operation in Dongtian Wangcheng, Situ Yongren had brought almost everything he owned.

He wasn’t one to squander; he always calculated his gains and losses, keeping his assets growing.

But now, running into a thief like this…

Everything was gone!

All lost!

Situ Yongren’s mentality shattered; he nearly broke down on the spot!

"So angry? I only took a few things from you."

Xu Xiao Shou chuckled lightly, eyeing the young man glaring at him, then extended his hand casually: "Shatter."

With a "pop," the space force rippled out…

The water sphere broke!

"No—

"Don’t!!!"

Situ Yongren’s eyes bulged in rage.

The threat of death and the fury of being robbed intertwined, making his eyes instantly bloodshot.

The deep sea’s pressure was infamous; he’d witnessed countless people die when their spiritual energy was drained, their water spheres shattered, and their bodies crushed.

And now, all his defensive spirit artifacts… had been destroyed by this Huangquan!

Without the water sphere’s protection, wouldn’t he be doomed in the deep sea?

"Senior, please don’t!

"I can give you anything, but I can’t die, really can’t… eh?"

One second he was pleading desperately, the next he realized that after the water sphere shattered, no pressure assaulted him—in fact, the water currents were repelled from his body. Situ Yongren was stunned.

Could Yan Wang Huangquan control the water flows in the deep sea?

"You should thank your good master; otherwise, you’d be dead by now." Xu Xiao Shou said flatly.

He could use "Transformation" to take on Yan Wang Huangquan’s appearance and, when needed, switch the Mimic between Water Ghost and Huangquan abilities.

That way, he wouldn’t be limited to mimicking just one person at a time.

"Th-thank you, Senior… for your mercy…"

Situ Yongren was terrified, feeling like a fish on the chopping block, completely at another’s mercy.

But even in danger, his mind cooled quickly. Realizing his identity still held value to others, he said cautiously: "Senior, rest assured, Situ absolutely won’t alert my master, or even consider suicide to summon my master’s Ban Sheng will, or use it to counter you. I have no such intentions or means.

"These words aren’t a threat, Senior, you can see that.

"I know you’re keeping me alive for a reason, so please, speak plainly."

He lowered his head slightly, his tone humble, fully understanding the saying "Under the eaves, one must bow."

"You’re clever, knowing to lay it all out."

Xu Xiao Shou remarked, impressed by those from major factions—none of them foolishly challenged with "Try touching me and see."

"Since you’re a… savvy one, I won’t beat around the bush." While maintaining psychological pressure with "Qi Tun Shan He," Xu Xiao Shou adopted a superior’s tone and said calmly: "Let’s talk about ‘cooperation.’"

"Cooperation?" Situ Yongren looked up.

Xu Xiao Shou nodded: "I’ll tell you what to do, and you’ll do it—all of it."

"…Agreed." Situ Yongren responded straightforwardly.

No questions like "Why?" or "What is it?" or "What do I get?"—nothing irrational. This made Xu Xiao Shou regard him a bit more highly.

What a schemer! I’ll have to stay on guard against any counter… Xu Xiao Shou thought secretly, his expression unchanged as he continued: "I won’t let you work for nothing.

"The exchange of benefits is fair. Even though you’re under my control, the tasks I give you will come with equivalent intel.

"And this intel will be a huge merit for you."

Intel… Situ Yongren mulled over the keyword but kept his face neutral, humbly replying: "Junior dares not seek any reward. I understand my situation fully."

What a survivor!

Xu Xiao Shou rolled his eyes internally.

He hated dealing with these types—they’d stab you three times if you showed a single weakness.

But Situ Yongren couldn’t be killed; the name "Dao Qiong Cang" was his biggest shield, something even Ban Sheng wouldn’t touch.

Since even Ban Sheng left him alone, Xu Xiao Shou figured he could be useful.

"One thing." He grew serious and asked: "You know about Jiang Shi Ban Sheng, right?"

"Yes." Situ Yongren nodded, unsure why the topic shifted but answering sincerely: "At the Ban Sheng clan celebration of Bei Yu Pu Xuan Jiang Shi, I met him once."

You’ve met so many saints… Xu Xiao Shou thought, grateful for his caution in not directly reading his soul—otherwise, he might’ve missed everything in a flash.

"The Lei Jia tragedy—you know about that too?" he asked next.

"Hmm?"

This time, Situ Yongren didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked up in surprise, his heart shaken.

Earlier, there was mention of "intel," then "Jiang Shi Ban Sheng," and now "Lei Jia tragedy"…

Situ Yongren sensed things were getting complicated.

Was Yan Wang Huangquan about to drop some explosive intel on him?

"You can doubt me, but I’ll say it anyway."

Xu Xiao Shou waved it off casually and stated plainly: "Jiang Shi Ban Sheng is currently involved in reopening the Lei Jia case and has his eye on the Lei Jia pupils.

"You should know we’re collecting Lei Jia pupils in Yan Wang, but as a dark force, we don’t care if Sheng Shen Dian Tang finds out.

"However, Jiang Shi Ban Sheng is bypassing Sheng Shen Dian Tang, trying to seize the former Lei Jia authority and the Lei Jia pupils. I assume you didn’t know about this yet?"

Situ Yongren’s eyes widened in shock.

Lei Jia authority?

Lei Jia pupils?

Reopening the case?

Was this something he could touch at his level?

His first thought was "He’s lying," his second "No reason to," and his third was diving straight into the implications of Yan Wang Huangquan’s words.

Jiang Shi Ban Sheng getting involved?

What for?

The Lei Jia pupils? Just that?

It didn’t add up!

Ban Sheng typically stayed secluded, self-preserving, so any move meant aiming higher.

And above Ban Sheng was only Sheng Di…

Was Jiang Shi Ban Sheng after the "Sheng Di position"?

Did he plan to assassinate Sheng Di?

What a joke!

Situ Yongren’s mind churned with massive waves; Yan Wang Huangquan’s casual remark hinted at an impending storm in the world.

"Senior, is this true?" Situ Yongren finally spoke, unable to hide his agitation.

"I never lie. If not, Jiang Shi Ban Sheng will likely show up here soon to verify what I’ve said." Xu Xiao Shou replied nonchalantly, smiling as he added: "This intel is both a merit and a death sentence.

"Since you know it now, you’re in the game. What that means, I don’t need to explain.

"I just hope you survive and deliver this intel to your master, because Jiang Shi Ban Sheng going after the Lei Jia pupils does interfere with our Yan Wang’s interests."

"Thump thump…" Situ Yongren’s heart raced as he pieced together the full picture.

Jiang Shi Ban Sheng wanted the Lei Jia pupils, and Yan Wang wanted them too.

So this time, Yan Wang was being targeted by a Ban Sheng and had to seek "official cooperation" from him?

Of course!

Who wouldn’t fear a Ban Sheng?

Yan Wang Huangquan hadn’t reached sainthood, so fearing Jiang Shi Ban Sheng made sense.

Was that why he was sparing his life?

And…

"This is huge merit!"

Situ Yongren realized that Jiang Shi Ban Sheng acting outside Sheng Shen Dian Tang meant reporting this would be a major achievement.

He might even land the "Dao Bu Shou Zuo" position directly!

"Thump thump…"

While Situ Yongren’s heart pounded with a sense of "disaster turning to blessing,"

On the other side, Xu Xiao Shou suddenly noticed a heartbeat.

He tensed up, probing carefully, and found the sound came not just from Situ Yongren but also from the Sheng Di Dragon Scale…

Sheng Di Dragon Scale?!

A heartbeat…

Meant a Ban Sheng was approaching!

"Damn, that was fast?"

Confirming the Sheng Di Dragon Scale was pulsing and speeding up, Xu Xiao Shou understood everything.

He nearly bolted right then.

But remembering he still needed to manipulate Situ Yongren…

Xu Xiao Shou steadied himself, calmly looking up toward the deep sea above.

Who knew what he was gazing at, but with an air of utter superiority, he suppressed any potential stutter from nerves, clasped his hands behind his back, and said breezily yet concisely:

"It’s here."