Chapter 1053: Little Junior Sister, Wait for My Return, I'll Give You a Big Surprise

Xukong Dao, Qiji Forest.

“Roar!”

A sudden roar shattered the air, sending ancient trees flying for miles around and scattering debris everywhere.

Qiji Forest had already been half-destroyed by the Xukong Shi, with wood chips littering the ground and deep craters everywhere.

It had been a full day since the Shen Nong Yao Yuan was completely emptied, yet the Xukong Shi was still raging!

However, everyone who could reach Xukong Dao was sharp and cunning. Who could miss the sight of such a massive giant going berserk?

All the Lian Ling Shi present quickly used their life-saving techniques, scattering in every direction, desperately avoiding being targeted by the frenzied giant.

But they had no idea why the Xukong Shi was raging; they just assumed some strange phenomenon was occurring, surely accompanied by the emergence of a great treasure.

So, while risking being spotted by the Xukong Shi, they hid and searched frantically through the devastated ancient forest for any hidden treasures.

Unfortunately...

Apart from craters that grew larger and larger, some stretching thousands or even tens of thousands of li...

No one could find any so-called "treasure."

Bang!

With a heavy stomp, it crushed another human Tai Xu Jing Lian Ling Shi. The Xukong Shi roared angrily toward the sky.

“Roar—”

This was only the third human Lian Ling Shi it had found in the past day!

Clearly, when it leaped into the air earlier, it had seen more than just a few people.

But as soon as it spotted them, and before it could land, everyone vanished in an instant.

Those who hid well were still alive.

Those who didn't... well, their mangled bodies were the fate of trespassers!

“Roar—”

The furious Xukong Shi couldn't detect even a trace of the Shen Nong Yao Yuan's spiritual medicine scent on the bodies of those three deceased humans.

This meant the three who died were innocent scapegoats, not the real thieves.

And that “thief” was still out there, free as a bird!

Blinded by rage, the Xukong Shi stomped the corpse into nothingness, but a strange, low sound came from nearby.

The Xukong Shi was livid.

Leaning down to look, it saw it was just a small stone!

The “goo goo” cries sounded like mockery, as if taunting its stupidity for falling for a trick that led to losing its home.

“Roar—”

The Xukong Shi bent at the waist, hands on hips, and roared, then kicked out, trying to smash the annoying stone.

Bang!

In the next second, its powerful kick didn't budge the stone's position at all, but its own foot was torn apart like it had hit a blunt weapon, black blood splattering from between its toes.

“Hiss roar”

“Hiss ha”

The pain drove the Xukong Shi to collapse on the ground, clutching the gash in its foot, gasping like a panting dog, its anger overshadowed by agony.

“What... is happening?”

The Xukong Shi was baffled.

How many years had it been since it was last hurt? How could kicking a small stone end up wrecking its own foot?

After all, this was a body that could devour even Sheng Li—yet a mere little stone...

The stone kept making its racket.

Due to its height, the Xukong Shi couldn't make out the thing's origins.

Now squatting down and clutching its foot for a closer look, the Xukong Shi was startled.

“This is...”

“Zhen Xu Bei?”

The “goo goo” noisemaker was exactly the Zhen Xu Bei it had seen before—the one carried by that criminal from Xukong Dao!

Whoosh.

The Xukong Shi exhaled its anger, the red glow in its eyes fading a bit.

Why was the Zhen Xu Bei here?

Was its destructive rampage angering the spirit of Xukong Dao, making it decide to punish the Xukong Shi?

Listening to the rhythmic goose calls, the Xukong Shi suddenly felt fearful.

Perhaps this wasn't just noise, but a warning from the Xukong Dao spirit, foreseeing the theft of the Shen Nong Yao Yuan and issuing an advance alert?

And now, the “warning” had turned into a full “threat”:

“Destroy Qiji Forest again, and die!”

In some indefinable way, the Xukong Shi felt it had heard this threat.

“Roar roar roar...”

It clutched its foot and hastily backed away, bowing respectfully to the Zhen Xu Bei to show it had no intent to destroy, only that anger had clouded its mind.

The Zhen Xu Bei continued its strange calls.

The spiritual object that usually gave clear guidance was now vague and unclear.

The Xukong Shi couldn't understand, but it was afraid, instinctively wary.

“I... only kill... the one who stole the medicine!”

It raised its hand in a pledge, then dared not act out further or vent its temper on the innocent Qiji Forest, retreating cautiously.

“Zhen Xu Bei...”

Thinking of the Zhen Xu Bei reminded the Xukong Shi of that criminal from Xukong Dao who carried out tasks.

Truth be told, the previous criminals on Xukong Dao were all arrogant, relying on the fact that they wouldn't die as long as they didn't break the island's rules. Once they got used to life there, they ignored the Xukong Shi completely.

So, that one with the number 800820 was one of the few the Xukong Shi had seen who actually cooperated and completed tasks.

Moreover, that human had gained the approval of the Zhen Xu Bei's will and could even transform into a giant.

That was no small feat.

It was practically like a half-kin.

The Xukong Shi suddenly felt nostalgic. If it could find that number 800820 again, it might assign a task—use one human to take down another.

Then, that medicine thief would surely meet a gruesome end.

“Achoo!”

Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump...

Just as he barely opened the passage to the Yuan Fu world, a sneeze hit, his heartbeat accelerated, his eyelids twitched wildly, and even the impacts from the Sheng Di Long Lin quickened dramatically.

This sudden premonition was so intense that Xu Xiao Shou had to stop everything.

“What the hell?”

“Has it been a whole day, and the danger outside still hasn't cleared?”

“Is the risk still this huge if I go out now?”

Clutching the Sheng Di Long Lin, Xu Xiao Shou was trembling with fear.

Emptying the Shen Nong Yao Yuan had been thrilling.

But afterward, the lingering fear was immense.

Right now, even though he was riding high in the Yuan Fu world, the thought of the pursuit awaiting him on Xukong Dao and the fury the three-hundred-zhang Xukong Shi might unleash made his legs shake.

“It probably isn't that bad...”

“The risk is still within a controllable range.”

The Sheng Di Long Lin's heartbeat persisted, but after carefully comparing, Xu Xiao Shou concluded that in this nine-out-of-ten-death situation, there was indeed a slim chance of survival.

At least, this time the dragon scale's heartbeat wasn't as terrifying as when facing a Sheng.

Xu Xiao Shou had already taken that encounter in the deep sea world against the Ban Sheng Jiang Buyi as a definite death scenario warned by the Sheng Di Long Lin.

And even in that situation, he had escaped the tiger's maw.

So, a heartbeat weaker than that against Ban Sheng Jiang Buyi basically meant the danger was manageable, not a guaranteed death.

And such “danger” equated to “opportunity.”

In other words, it was another treasure worth seizing with brains and brawn!

—As long as there were no accidents, no contingencies, and ignoring the saying that “man proposes, but heaven disposes.”

“I haven't offended anyone else on Xukong Dao, so the Sheng Di Long Lin's warning is probably just from the Xukong Shi.”

“But it's been a whole day, and I didn't show my face when I stole the medicine, so there's no way the Xukong Shi remembers me.”

“Why does the Sheng Di Long Lin's heartbeat speed up every time I think about returning to Xukong Dao?”

Xu Xiao Shou pondered seriously.

This was a matter of life and death, so he had to use his brain and analyze it.

“A massive, simple-minded giant with brute strength—how could it find me and eliminate me just because I want to go back to Xukong Dao, causing the Sheng Di Long Lin's heartbeat to race like this?”

Xu Xiao Shou stroked his chin, thinking of Shuang Dai and Hong Dang Xiong.

Both had shared a fate—hugging the Sheng Ji Guo and being hunted to death.

From the Xukong Shi's behavior of chasing Shuang Dai but not him and Lei Xi Er, the two criminals on Xukong Dao, it was clear the Xukong Shi didn't kill indiscriminately.

From its pursuit of Hong Dang Xiong while possibly not even noticing Lei Xi Er hiding outside the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, it was evident that the giant's eyes were fixed only on the spiritual medicines in the garden, not on humans.

After all, if I were the Xukong Shi...

Humans?

Just ants, not worth mentioning!

“So...”

“Is it because of the ‘medicine’?”

“The Xukong Shi doesn't target people or anything else; its mission is solely to ‘guard the spiritual medicines,’ and naturally, that means ‘eliminate the thieves.’”

Xu Xiao Shou felt he had found the only true answer.

He followed this logic further.

“So, if I return to Xukong Dao, the Xukong Shi, which doesn't know me, wouldn't be able to find me, so the Sheng Di Long Lin wouldn't need to beat so fast.”

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“But it is beating fast, which means that as soon as I return to Xukong Dao, the Xukong Shi will definitely find me!”

“How could something so dumb track someone down?”

Xu Xiao Shou tapped his chin with his fingers, glanced at the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, narrowed his eyes at the refreshing scent of spiritual medicines, and suddenly had a flash of insight.

“The medicine's scent!”

He punched his palm, his expression excited.

“That's it—the medicine's scent!”

“No matter how well a person hides or disguises, they can't conceal or fake their scent.”

“Shuang Dai and Hong Dang Xiong, who picked the Sheng Ji Guo, carried the aura of the sacred medicine, so no matter how they fled, they couldn't escape the Xukong Shi's chase.”

“And I emptied the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, so now in the Yuan Fu world, the Xukong Shi can't find me, but once I return to Xukong Dao...”

Xu Xiao Shou clenched his fist, his face flushed with excitement.

“With the Xukong Shi's nose, honed from years of guarding the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, it could easily sniff out that I'm the thief.”

“No matter how many disguises I use!”

Xu Xiao Shou was certain this answer was spot-on.

Outside the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, his little scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain had worked without any resistance from the Xukong Shi, proving that the giant really had no brains.

And a brainless giant's way of finding someone would be the most straightforward and simple.

Anything too complex, like communicating through Xukong Dao rules, tracing time and space, or having some all-seeing eye, would be overestimating the Xukong Shi.

The powerful always have weaknesses.

Since the Xukong Shi's body was that strong, it made no sense for it to also master spatial attributes or have insights into the Dao principles on par with a Ban Sheng.

If that were the case, its wisdom would be equally formidable!

Then it wouldn't just be a Xukong Shi; it would be a being with self-awareness, one that should have learned to resist rules and pursue freedom—a “superhuman.”

Like Sheng Nu Shou Zuo Ba Zun An.

Like Sheng Shen Dian Tang Zong Dian zhi Zhu Dao Qiong Cang.

When “strength” and “wisdom” coexist, no one chooses to be controlled—the term “ignorant masses” arises from this.

Xu Xiao Shou figured this out and realized the Xukong Shi was probably tracking by scent. Far from being discouraged, his expression grew even more excited.

“The scent—I probably can't eliminate it, no matter how I disguise myself.”

“But I have ‘Yin Ni,’ so when I return to Xukong Dao, the Xukong Shi shouldn't find me right away, though it will eventually, just after some time.”

“That's why, even though the enemy is the Xukong Shi, as formidable as Ban Sheng Jiang Buyi, the Sheng Di Long Lin's heartbeat isn't as frantic as in a sure-death situation.”

“Because the Xukong Shi... is pretty dumb!”

The more Xu Xiao Shou thought about it, the more thrilled he became. He wasn't afraid of a strong opponent; he was afraid of one that was strong and smart.

That would require more effort to outmaneuver.

But the Xukong Shi was clearly easy to exploit!

“I'm the one who emptied the Shen Nong Yao Yuan, but the Xukong Shi doesn't know my face. Even if it did, that thief's face could be a disguise, so there's no way to verify.”

“And if it's tracking by scent...”

“That means, no matter whose face I wear when I return to Xukong Dao, that person becomes the real culprit who emptied the Shen Nong Yao Yuan!”

Xu Xiao Shou stared at the spatial passage in front of him, his mouth nearly splitting to his temples in a grin.

It felt like he had an invitation from the Grim Reaper.

Write down whose name you want dead, slip it into the spatial passage.

By midnight, the Grim Reaper knocks, and that person is done for!

“Damn! I'm way too sinister...”

Xu Xiao Shou hugged his head, his face full of disbelief, completely shocked by his own idea.

How could there be such a schemer in the world?

Why have I turned out like this?

This is too evil—it's definitely Zang Ku's fault; I've been corrupted by it!

Xu Xiao Shou shook his head and panted heavily, finally calming down.

He stepped one foot into the spatial passage connecting the Yuan Fu world and Xukong Dao, listening to the Sheng Di Long Lin's increasingly rapid heartbeat, feeling a rush of adrenaline.

This was going to be thrilling!

“So the question is...”

“Who do I want dead now?”

Clutching the Sheng Di Long Lin tightly, at that moment, Xu Xiao Shou's heartbeat synchronized with the scale's, racing to the same rhythm, making his whole body heat up and his mind whirl.

“Sang Laotou? Ba Zun An? Shui Gui?”

“No no no, too small-scale. I can handle revenge on them myself once I'm stronger.”

“Yu Ling Di? Rao Yao Yao? Ye Xiao?”

“Nah, they're guilty, but not enough to waste the Xukong Shi's one powerful strike on them.”

“Then, who else...”

Faces of enemies flashed through Xu Xiao Shou's mind, and he captured and weighed each one.

From Shuang Dai's memories, the Xukong Shi could even devour Sheng Li, making it virtually unbeatable on Xukong Dao.

Such a powerful asset would be wasted on just a Tai Xu level foe.

So, there was only one candidate left.

Whoosh.

His thoughts halted.

The image fixed in his mind was the face he had seen deep in the sea, the one that made the Sheng Di Long Lin beat the fastest.

Kind eyes, white hair and beard, surrounded by clouds, utterly invincible.

Ban Sheng, Jiang Buyi!

“Hee hee hee hee hee...”

Xu Xiao Shou's smile turned maniacal.

Without needing the imitator, with a thought of “Bian Hua,” his height, build, and features all became exactly like Jiang Buyi's.

He changed into a simple outfit—not an exact match, just a plain white robe.

With another thought, colorless Sheng Li burst from his Qi Hai, enveloping his body in white mist, mimicking the outward flow of Yun attribute power.

Appearance, Sheng Li, aura, presence...

Except for his soul not bearing the Jiang surname, at that moment, Xu Xiao Shou dared bet that if Jiang Xian showed up and sensed this unmistakable Sheng Li, he'd drop to his knees and call out “Great-grandfather”!

—“Jiang Buyi” had arrived!

Glancing back at the silent broken tower, the Ban Sheng “Jiang Buyi” stroked his beard and smiled, no longer lingering, and stepped into the spatial passage.

“Little shimei, wait for this saint to return—I'll bring you a big surprise!”

“Or maybe a fright...”

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