Chapter 1056: Er Teng's Folly Capable of Disrupting Day and Night, Laughing Until One's Bowels Break

Ambush battles are always catching people off guard.

Xu Xiaoshou racked his brain but couldn't figure out how Teng Shanhai had recognized his true identity.

He had disguised himself so perfectly...

Could it be that for a Bansheng like Jiang Buyi, the Shengshen Hall had their own set of identity verification procedures?

Even if he had impersonated Jiang Buyi so flawlessly, Teng Shanhai could still confirm with some treasure that the person in front of him was definitely not the real Jiang Buyi?

“I'm done pretending. I'm laying it all out—I'm Xu Xiaoshou!”

Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands, not shifting back to his own appearance, but his tone returned to his usual style.

He had never felt so defeated before.

He had fooled so many smart people on the Shengshen Continent, so how had his identity been exposed in an instant on Void Island?

Losing his cover was one thing, but having it stripped away in seconds was just too much...

If it had been someone like Rao Yaoyao who figured it out, that would have been fine, but Teng Shanhai? He didn't seem all that sharp—how had he done it?

“How did you recognize me?” Xu Xiaoshou stroked his beard, his eyes full of curiosity.

“Ha ha ha ha...” Teng Shanhai laughed heartily, his single eye filled with joy and a hint of disbelief. “So, you really are Xu Xiaoshou?”

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

Are you trying to bluff me?

He was momentarily stunned, but recalling the information panel from earlier, it had clearly gone from “suspicion” to “confirmation.”

That meant Teng Shanhai must have some method to fully verify his identity.

Now, asking this question was probably just an instinctive reaction from being deceived so many times before, not an actual attempt to trick him.

That's it!

Giving himself a way out, Xu Xiaoshou said with a sincere expression, “Come on, tell me. Let me die knowing the truth.”

“Hmph, still trying to buy time?”

Teng Shanhai was no longer the same as before; he immediately thought of the clever tactic Xu Xiaoshou was using—the classic delay.

But delaying time was good!

His own Shengxue power still needed time to reach its peak.

He didn't know where the Shengli on this guy came from, but Teng Shanhai figured that with Xu Xiaoshou's abilities, he had probably already detected his presence.

Right now, Xu Xiaoshou had likely already consumed the Shengxue and was waiting for him to arrive!

However, a Zongshi consuming Shengxue and a Taixu consuming it were on completely different levels.

“Xu Xiaoshou, I admit you've got some tricks. Your method of suppressing treasures is impressive—there was a time when I couldn't find it at all, and even our connection was cut off.”

Teng Shanhai shook his head with a sigh, his single eye burning as he stared at Xu Xiaoshou in Jiang Buyi's form, and said solemnly, “But what's mine is mine. Even if you seize it by force, you can't sever the bond between me and it!”

Treasure...

It...

Seized by force...

Xu Xiaoshou was incredibly sharp and instantly realized what Teng Shanhai meant. Slightly surprised, he said, “Are you talking about Xiao Shenqiang?”

“Exactly!”

Teng Shanhai sneered, reaching into the void as if to summon something from across space.

“The Yiwenbei Shenqi is called a Shenqi because in its era, it was a treasure not inferior to Mingjian Twenty-One.”

“And the reason it's on the Yiwenbei is that it was lost for a while, but that doesn't mean its power has weakened.”

“On the contrary, with the passage of time, it can advance even further!”

The void cracked.

Xu Xiaoshou felt his Yuanfu world shake violently.

The Xiao Shenqiang, which he had seized from Teng Shanhai during the Wangcheng night battle and suppressed within, was now struggling wildly, trying to break free.

“You thief, so that's how it is!”

Xu Xiaoshou cursed inwardly, remembering how he had taken Mingjian Qinglinji from Lu Ke in Baiku, only for it to break free with a summons.

He had thought that was a unique feature of Mingjian Twenty-One, but the bond between Teng Shanhai and Xiao Shenqiang was just as deep as that between a Mingjian and its wielder.

And clearly, Xiao Shenqiang's level was in no way inferior to an ordinary Mingjian!

“Your scheme?”

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't believe it.

If this was a backup plan Teng Shanhai had set during the Wangcheng night battle, then he had been playing the fool to catch the tiger, and his real intellect might not be far behind people like Rao Yaoyao or Gou Wuyue.

He had definitely underestimated him!

Teng Shanhai was startled at first, then puffed out his chest proudly, his eyes screaming “I've got it all figured out.”

“That's right!”

Right, my foot!

Xu Xiaoshou saw through his instinctive reaction and knew this guy was just going with the flow. His mind raced, and he figured it out.

“Teng Shanhai, don't pat yourself on the back. If this was really your backup plan, how come you didn't recognize me on Guyin Cliff?” Xu Xiaoshou sneered.

Guyin Cliff?

Teng Shanhai froze at the mention, his momentum faltering.

Indeed, on Guyin Cliff, he had vaguely sensed that Xu Xiaoshou was hiding among the crowd.

Because back then, he had felt a faint bond with Xiao Shenqiang, though not as strong as now.

But...

“On Guyin Cliff, I fell for Huangquan's slander and really thought you had already died at Huangquan's hands, and that he had taken Xiao Shenqiang. Naturally, I didn't want to act.”

“Besides, Rao Yaoyao was the leader there. If I made a move, wouldn't that mess up her plans?”

Teng Shanhai hadn't been affirmed as someone with brains in a long time, and now, the one affirming him was Xu Xiaoshou, the clever mind who had thwarted the Shengshen Hall's schemes multiple times.

This made him not want to back down.

The feeling of being lifted to the clouds was truly satisfying.

So, Teng Shanhai paused and continued to justify himself:

“Of course, I also knew back then that you, Xu Xiaoshou, hadn't actually died at Huangquan's hands and were hiding among the crowd on Guyin Cliff.”

“If I'm not wrong, the void gate deep under the sea was also the work of you Shengnu, right!”

The eight Zun'an Yijuan Shengdi Jinzhao made it clear to anyone that the Void Island situation was his handiwork.

Teng Shanhai stated an undeniable fact, so he wasn't afraid of being questioned.

“Ha ha ha...”

Xu Xiaoshou burst out laughing, doubling over like a shrimp, tears nearly spilling out.

“Teng Shanhai, oh Teng Shanhai, are you really that foolish, or just pretending?”

“At a time like this, you still think the one who toyed with you on Guyin Cliff was Huangquan?”

What do you mean?

Teng Shanhai was stunned: “Xu Xiaoshou, what are you talking about?”

“I mean!”

Xu Xiaoshou wiped the tears from the corner of his eye and finally confirmed that Xiao Shenqiang was just something Teng Shanhai had seized opportunistically, not a planned backup.

He laughed heartily: “I mean, if Xiao Shenqiang was really taken by Huangquan, what makes you think I, Xu Xiaoshou, could snatch it back from him?!”

The void exploded with a bang.

The Yuanfu world could no longer contain this Yiwenbei Shenqi.

The black-red evil god spear, as thick as a boulder and over three meters long, burst through the air and settled firmly into Teng Shanhai's palm.

The spear's body was dark and ominous; as soon as it was in his hand, its ferocious aura instantly enveloped him, complementing the Cang Shenjia perfectly.

In this moment, Teng Shanhai, like a waning moon suddenly full, returned to his complete form, exuding the aura of a lone warrior who could hold off ten thousand.

But Xu Xiaoshou was even more disdainful.

If something wasn't yours, there was no point in forcing it.

He wasn't inherently greedy; he just liked to hold onto treasures that others couldn't protect.

If you and your weapon are truly one, like a Mingjian and its wielder, then it's yours—give it back, and I won't miss it.

Just like returning Mingjian Qinglinji, which had brought the Shouye's pursuit.

Xu Xiaoshou let it go, just as he had abandoned the sword in Baiku, allowing Teng Shanhai to reclaim his destined weapon.

With your brain, what can you do even with Xiao Shenqiang? Flip the world upside down?

Teng Shanhai gripped Xiao Shenqiang tightly, his heart surging with excitement.

However, Xu Xiaoshou's final words lingered in his ears like a devil's whisper.

What exactly did he mean?

Regaining Xiao Shenqiang only proved that the Shengnu and Huangquan were colluding, so he could get it back from Huangquan, right?

Wait!

In that instant, Teng Shanhai finally spotted the blind spot, his single eye widening in shock: “Xu Xiaoshou, what you mean is... the Huangquan on Guyin Cliff wasn't the real Yanwang Huangquan, but...”

“But me, Teng baby!”

Xu Xiaoshou clapped his hands in front of him, laughing as brightly as a sunflower, equally incredulous:

“Isn't it? So you're only realizing this now? Does that mean even Rao Yaoyao, after the Guyin Cliff battle, still hasn't seen through my disguise and is completely in the dark?”

“Or maybe, she figured it out but didn't dare tell you, to save face?”

“Or the last possibility... that's it, you're just Teng Shanhai, already abandoned by Rao Yaoyao, not in her inner circle?”

“Oh, right, with your brain...”

Teng Shanhai couldn't hear what Xu Xiaoshou said at the end.

The moment those words hit, it was like a thunderclap exploded in his mind, leaving him charred and numb.

“Impossible, impossible...”

Teng Shanhai muttered unconsciously.

How could this be possible?!

If the Huangquan on Guyin Cliff was Xu Xiaoshou in disguise, why would the two real Yanwang members, who kidnapped Shouye and each had Lei Jia Tong, cooperate with him?

If what Xu Xiaoshou said was true, then on that day at Guyin Cliff, he and Rao Yaoyao had already found his true form?

It was just that Xu Xiaoshou, after transforming once and feeling it wasn't humiliating enough, turned into Huangquan and trampled everyone's intelligence underfoot, rubbing it into the floor?

“You're spouting nonsense!”

Teng Shanhai erupted in fury, slamming Xiao Shenqiang into the ground, shattering it into pieces.

In that instant, even the Jieyu began to tremble and destabilize.

Teng Shanhai absolutely, categorically refused to believe that the Huangquan on Guyin Cliff was Xu Xiaoshou in disguise!

That Huangquan had been high and mighty, overlooking all, with an aura that swallowed mountains and rivers, rivaling the sun and moon, even daring to trade Shouye's secrets with Rao Yaoyao and try to get his hands on one of the Chaos Five Shenqi, the Xuan Cang Shenjian.

That kind of presence!

That kind of pressure!

That ability to stay calm in crisis, turning his hand to make clouds and rain—could a mere Zongshi like him fake that?

What a joke!

Teng Shanhai glared with wide eyes, his nose flaring with hot breaths, unwilling to accept these facts.

But watching Xu Xiaoshou doubled over in laughter, he felt like he had truly been played from inside out.

Only now, through the perpetrator's own mouth, did he realize how foolish he had been that day.

“I think I'm starting to understand...”

Teng Shanhai's eyes suddenly went blank, losing focus, as he recalled the moment deep under the sea, before everyone was sucked into Void Island at the void gate.

At that time, the Shengdi Jinzhao had descended, and Rao Yaoyao suddenly went mad, lost and directionless, like she had lost her mind, crying out to the heavens with no response and to the earth with none, offering no decisions even when everyone begged her.

It was as if...

Like himself now, upon learning the truth, realizing that his past self was just a big fool!

Manipulated in the palm of someone's hand without knowing it, so when he realized, he temporarily lost the ability to judge anything in the world.

“So, Rao Yaoyao already understood everything back then? That's why she went mad?”

“And I only just realized now—if Xu Xiaoshou hadn't said it himself, I would still naively think that Xu Xiaoshou was Huangquan, the other one was Huangquan, and Huangquan... was just Huangquan?”

The ground suddenly shattered.

Xiao Shenqiang erupted with visible black-red murderous aura, coiling around Teng Shanhai and dyeing his single eye blood-red.

Space collapsed.

The entire Jieyu twisted and crumbled, with thick killing intent transforming into wolves, tigers, and leopards—fierce and vicious, baring fangs and claws, tearing at the endless void.

In that instant, Teng Shanhai, wielding Xiao Shenqiang and clad in Cang Shenjia, leaped into the air, turning into a black-red light point, and struck down heavily with a spear.

“Xiao Shenqiang, Shen Duan Canghai!”

“Xu Xiaoshou, you die for me!!!”

Shengli surged, its aura reaching its peak in that moment.

In Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, the unstable Jieyu turned into an endless ocean, and he was like a lone boat adrift on the waves, unsteady and vulnerable.

As the spear came down, not only would the boat shatter, but the entire ocean would be split in two!

Boom!

The sound of the explosion ripped through the air, space curled outward, and air currents reversed into a massive mushroom cloud, soaring up from where Xu Xiaoshou stood.

Xu Xiaoshou also had Shengli.

But he wasn't foolish enough to use the Shengji Fruit's accompanying Shengli to directly block a frenzied, rage-fueled strike from a Taixu who had consumed Shengxue.

With a “Disappearing Technique,” he ascended in one step.

He landed in the sky, while Teng Shanhai's spear shattered the ground, leaving him standing in a chasm thousands of meters deep, their positions swapped.

Wow!

Even his own Jieyu was shattered—how embarrassed and furious are you?

Xu Xiaoshou watched in shock, quickly composing himself.

“You're panicking, you're panicking...”

He smirked, looking down at Teng Shanhai, who was nearly consumed by Xiao Shenqiang's evil aura, and laughed while holding his stomach:

“Teng Shanhai, you're really panicking!”

“Killing me here won't change anything. It can't hide your fundamental stupidity.”

“Ahem!”

Clearing his throat, Xu Xiaoshou mimicked a bard, stroking his beard and adjusting his voice, letting it echo far and wide:

“Your foolishness, Teng, disrupts day and night, laughter echoes in the gut!”

“If I were you, once I got Xiao Shenqiang, I'd thrust it through myself, not to prove innocence with blood, but to leave a dashing name for eternity.”

“Otherwise, just wait until I, Xu Xiaoshou, return to the Shengshen Continent—bards will sing day and night of the Guyin Cliff events, spreading your and Rao Yaoyao's ‘great feats’ far and wide!”

“Over tea and meals, in moments of leisure and rest, there will always be a laughable Rao Jianxian and a ridiculous Teng Shouzuo appearing.”

“Oh, right!”

Xu Xiaoshou slapped his cheek, putting on a smug face as if he'd just remembered something, and sighed:

“Don't worry, Teng Shanhai, even as a joke, you're not the main character—Rao Yaoyao is.”

“You're just a side player—couldn't get the title of one of the Ten Zun, not the strongest in the Shengshen Hall's six departments, and even on Guyin Cliff, you're forever just a firefly next to the bright moon.”

“Even in the joke, you're only a supporting role!”

Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes, enunciating each word coldly: “Insignificant, not worth mentioning.”

“Ahhh—!!!”

From the depths of the abyss, a furious beast roared, gripping Xiao Shenqiang as if even his sanity was about to vanish.

Killing the heart and soul—nothing more than this!

“Xu... Xiao... Shou!”

Teng Shanhai gritted his teeth, his gums bleeding with a bitter tang, his eyes bulging as he snarled: “You're just trying to provoke me! Do you really think I don't know?”

Xu Xiaoshou put his hands on his hips, laughing mockingly: “And I succeeded, didn't I?”

He floated in the void, flicked his sleeve, and sneered: “In all my life, Xu Xiaoshou, I've never failed in my schemes. Even if I use an open plot against you, Teng Shanhai, and tell you outright, what can you do about it?”

“Teng Shanhai, I'm giving you a chance, but...”

Xu Xiaoshou leaned down from the sky, like a devil whispering, his voice carrying beyond the chaotic Jieyu:

“Can you kill me?”