Chapter 1090: Bad, It's an Illusion Technique

Gosh...

Xiao Kongdong was so startled his face turned pale. He had never seen Mei Siren erupt in such a furious manner before!

Back in the Miracle Forest, even when Jiang Bansheng targeted Xu Xiaoshou, Mei Siren had stepped in with a calm and composed demeanor, nothing like the terrifying fury he displayed now.

However, looking at it from another perspective, Xiao Kongdong could understand. Xu Xiaoshou had just begun learning Xin Jian Shu and was already able to manifest his intent and momentum externally—this level of talent, if undisturbed, had a slight chance of directly achieving the state of "gods and Buddhas under one's gaze."

In that case, he could truly break the historical record for Xin Jian Shu cultivation, even surpassing the one set by his teacher.

On a deeper level, Mei Siren and Elder Yu Cha had been rivals for a lifetime. The latter had found Ba Zun An as a sort of half-successor.

Meanwhile, the former had students all over the world but was constantly outshone, without a single standout disciple to his name.

Xiao Kongdong could figure it out even with his toes—Mei Siren had placed immense expectations on Xu Xiaoshou.

In fact... even if Xiao Kongdong didn't want to admit it, if Xu Xiaoshou were trained well, there was a tiny possibility he could break the record of "three breaths to innate and three years to Jian Xian"!

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Seeing Mei Siren about to charge out with his stone sword, Xiao Kongdong thought of more and, bearing tremendous pressure, spoke up to advise:

"Calm down, Mei Siren, please calm down..."

"Xu Xiaoshou is at a critical moment right now and can't be disturbed at all. He needs your help, and you know the dangers of Void Island. What if this is a ploy to lure you away?"

These words made Mei Siren cool down.

As the senior disciple of Can Yue Immortal City, overseeing an entire realm, Xiao Kongdong had an excellent grasp of the bigger picture. He could think of far more than Mei Siren, who lived like a wandering hermit, especially in crucial moments.

Seeing those pair of extremely gloomy eyes sweep toward him, Xiao Kongdong had already made his decision and spoke again:

"You stay here and watch over him. Even if a Bansheng shows up, it won't completely ruin Xu Xiaoshou's path. I'll handle things outside—as long as it's not a Bansheng, I can deal with it."

"But if I were in your position, I might not be able to protect Xu Xiaoshou as well."

Xiao Kongdong spoke firmly, with no room for negotiation, offering the best solution.

He believed Mei Siren understood his meaning. There was indeed a Bansheng on Void Island, and it was better to be safe than sorry!

What if those two guys in the distance had someone backing them?

Mei Siren listened silently, gripping his stone sword tightly, and soon his expression returned to calm. He nodded and said, "You're right. I was a bit impulsive."

Pausing for a moment, he glanced at Xu Xiaoshou, who was enveloped in demonic energy, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"Not a single one should escape!"

"Leave it to me."

Xiao Kongdong nodded, his expression turning more serious.

Of course, protecting Xu Xiaoshou was also his responsibility. If something happened to Xu Xiaoshou now, how would he explain it to his teacher later?

As for Xu Xiaoshou's inner demon...

Xiao Kongdong believed Mei Siren had his own plans. After all, this wasn't caused by an arrow from the Xie Zui Bow, so it wasn't hopeless.

With a tap of his foot, his figure vanished from the spot.

Even as he left, Xiao Kongdong had one lingering doubt...

He still couldn't detect any special aura from those two in the distance, like the presence of a Bansheng.

If they didn't have a Bansheng behind them, how dared they attack Xu Xiaoshou from so far away?

Didn't they see there were two people beside Xu Xiaoshou?

It was understandable if they didn't recognize Mei Siren, since only those who had made achievements in ancient Jian Xiu might know his true face.

But he, Xiao Kongdong, hadn't transformed into Ba Zun An!

Granted, he knew his own face didn't have the same intimidating presence as his teacher's, which could scare off a Bansheng at a glance.

But as the Jian Shen of the Eastern Domain who had reached the Taixu realm, how could anyone not recognize the senior disciple of Can Yue Immortal City?

From this, it seemed those two must have some backing!

This operation required utmost caution!

In the Giant Kingdom, about ten streets away, roughly ten li distant,

Gui Po glanced once and quickly retracted her Mian Hun Banner, afraid that lingering too long might draw attention.

"It's definitely Xu Xiaoshou!"

"What a stroke of luck—we've found him without any effort. Xu Xiaoshou is really on Void Island. When did he get here?"

This question was no longer the point. These two San Zhu Xiang assassins had come from the Central Domain to the Eastern Domain for one thing: Xu Xiaoshou's head!

The reward from the "Black Gold Bounty" was enough to make any assassin in the world heart-stricken!

"Could it be a fake?"

Xie Lao, amid his excitement, felt a trace of worry—this was the instinct of an assassin.

But Gui Po shook her head and sneered, "I wouldn't mistake him. You're just too timid. Didn't you investigate a ton of information on that boy? How could you think it's fake?"

The face transmitted by the Mian Hun Banner was unquestionably Xu Xiaoshou.

Even his aura matched perfectly with the intelligence from the Black Gold Bounty—it was just that of a junior, far from possessing the aura of Zhan Dao or Taixu.

Though she couldn't pinpoint his exact realm, the boy was the real deal, and his youthful bone age proved it all.

On Void Island, aside from a monster like Xu Xiaoshou, who would dare enter this terrifying place where even Taixu could perish, with only a Zongshi realm?

Xie Lao clearly saw these points too, but for some reason, he still felt something was off.

"We're both here for Xu Xiaoshou—you investigated Sheng Nu as well, right? We can't ignore those two beside him. They don't look like the Nine Seats of Sheng Nu..."

Xie Lao reminded her.

"Yes, the members of Sheng Nu operating outside are just a few: the Storyteller, the Old Woodcutter, and even Haitang Er, whom I found a portrait of from the Eight Palaces. It's not them."

Gui Po let out a sinister laugh.

"So, it could be a trap!"

Xie Lao, valuing his life, said cautiously.

"Hah!"

Gui Po found it amusing. "Old man, have you been scared witless by Sheng Nu? Or did that incident in the Blood Realm shatter your soul? Xu Xiaoshou had no idea we'd pass through here before this, so why set a trap?"

"Besides!"

She paused, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "If Xu Xiaoshou really had the Nine Seats protecting him, would you dare make a move?"

Xie Lao was momentarily speechless and fell silent.

"When he has the Nine Seats around, you don't dare. Now that he doesn't, you still don't dare. When do you plan to act?"

Gui Po stuck out her tongue, licking her dry, pale lips, and sneered:

"Or do you want to wait until he's alone in a dark alley before striking?"

"Or even then, say something like, 'He might have someone hidden nearby, so we can't act recklessly'?"

"Xie Lao, you weren't this hesitant before! Remember why you ended up in this wretched place!"

Gui Po pointed emphatically at the ground, giving him a stern wake-up call.

Xie Lao's face flushed with embarrassment. Her words were full of jabs, mocking how the encounter in the Void Island Blood Realm had broken his courage, making him overly cautious now.

"What I mean is, we could refine the Blood Tree Yin Branch first, and then strike—it's not too late..."

He tried to justify himself.

"By the time you're done, the dish will be cold!"

Gui Po waved her hand, almost slapping it in his face.

"The Blood Tree Yin Branch won't make you a Sheng. But Xu Xiaoshou's head can—it can be exchanged directly at San Zhu Xiang for the reward."

"Don't forget, what backs San Zhu Xiang! Our rewards are legitimate, and absorbing them won't bring any risks!"

"And..."

Gui Po paused, glancing around, a greedy glint in her eyes.

"Now that the other three aren't here, if we act, whatever we get will be more than double what we'd share, without having to give them a cut!"

Thump, thump... Xie Lao's heart stirred.

He had to admit, her last words were tempting.

The Blood Tree Yin Branch couldn't lead to Sheng; at best, it would boost his combat power, but breaking through his current realm was still a distant dream—it was just external aid.

But Xu Xiaoshou's head could turn into internal cultivation, opening a new path—the road to Bansheng!

"Don't get carried away!"

Xie Lao pondered for less than half a breath and chose Gui Po's plan, but still warned, "Don't let greed cloud your judgment. Those two are dangerous."

"Danger is also opportunity."

Gui Po understood that opportunities and risks always went hand in hand, especially in the struggle for the Great Dao—there was no blessing without disaster.

One general's success is built on ten thousand bones.

If they didn't seize this chance, stepping on Xu Xiaoshou's corpse to climb up, they might not get another opportunity like this in decades!

"Do you recognize those two?"

Xie Lao asked cautiously, just to be sure.

"No, but they're definitely not Bansheng!"

Gui Po, who had faced a Sheng before, was certain even through the blurry faces in the Mian Hun Banner. She could only clearly identify the Xu Xiaoshou she'd been obsessing over, but instantly knew the other two weren't Bansheng.

As long as they weren't Bansheng, even if they were two peak Taixu...

The enemy is in the light, we are in the dark!

And as assassins in the dark, what reason was there not to act?

In a Taixu versus Taixu fight, if things went wrong, one side could escape, and the other might not catch them.

"We won't target those two—strike like thunder, go straight for Xu Xiaoshou, and retreat immediately if the first strike fails. How much trouble could that cause?"

Gui Po's eyes burned with intensity as she looked at the old man before her.

"Alright!"

Xie Lao touched the Blood Tree Yin Branch in his embrace, feeling more confident, and nodded firmly before asking, "How do we split the target?"

Gui Po saw through his cautious thoughts and snorted, "Since you're scared, I'll handle those two, and you take Xu Xiaoshou... but remember, their strength is unknown. I might not hold them long—you only get one chance to strike."

Recalling the three faces she'd seen in the Mian Hun Banner, with one appearing to be in meditation, Gui Po felt even more thrilled, thinking it was truly a heaven-sent opportunity.

"Xu Xiaoshou seems to be cultivating and won't be on guard—you'd better not disappoint me!"

"Hehehe..."

Xie Lao chuckled oddly. With this arrangement, how could he possibly fail?

"Just watch my performance. Didn't you want to see the Nan Domain tricks I got before? Today, I'll give you a real eye-opener!"

"I hope so."

Gui Po withdrew her gaze and beckoned with her hand, about to sneak toward where Xu Xiaoshou was.

But just then...

"Who?!"

A fierce shout echoed, filled with endless fury.

Following it was a roar carrying terrifying pressure.

"Who dares to court death?!"

Even from that distance, the killing intent in the words was palpable to Xie Lao and Gui Po.

Yet, after glancing at each other, the two saw even more excitement in their eyes.

"Fury."

"Fury is good!"

They didn't know what had happened there, but from the shout, it seemed the other side had noticed their covert surveillance.

But that was fine!

The fury in that voice seemed genuine, meaning something unexpected must have occurred over there.

A calm Taixu was hard to deal with, but a Taixu driven by anger and losing reason—how much strength would they have left?

Wasnt this basically handing over weaknesses on a platter to assassins?

"Move!"

Seizing the moment, Gui Po and Xie Lao acted in perfect unison, both vanishing from the spot.

One turned into a ghostly stealth form, the other into a gray mist like a gentle breeze. Whether by eyesight or spiritual sense, their movements as top-tier hunters were undetectable at that moment.

Soon.

One street, two streets, three streets...

Counting in their hearts, after passing fully sixteen vast streets of the Giant Kingdom, Xie Lao and Gui Po knew their path to Sheng was right ahead, sitting there, cultivating!

Whoosh!

Around the corner.

They charged forward like lightning, faster than words could describe. In their spiritual perception, the three over there hadn't even reacted yet.

Gui Po held the Mian Hun Banner in her left hand and a Ghost Pearl in her right, about to engulf the two Taixu guarding Xu Xiaoshou.

She had even calculated: the older one might be stronger, so use the Mian Hun Banner on him, probably trapping him for about half a breath.

The Ghost Pearl was weaker, but the middle-aged man looked less formidable, so it should hold him for roughly one breath.

With that delay, Xie Lao could strike at least three times!

How could they fail?

Meanwhile, Xie Lao went straight for the kill, ignoring the guardians beside Xu Xiaoshou, clearly trusting Gui Po's abilities completely.

He transformed into a streak of gray, sinister energy, about to plunge into Xu Xiaoshou's mind.

"Chong Yin Eye · Evil Transformation!"

At the same time, during the charge, a massive, intricate-patterned, strange pupil suddenly rose above the evil energy, illuminating everything as if awakening all the yin and evil in the world.

Under such an attack, Xu Xiaoshou, in his cultivating state, would undoubtedly suffer qi deviation and die on the spot.

"Die!"

Xie Lao brazenly passed through Xu Xiaoshou's body.

At that same instant, Gui Po's two ghost artifacts also passed through the bodies of the old man and the middle-aged man.

The world fell silent.

"Passed through..."

Behind the shadowy and indistinct Xu Xiaoshou, behind the illusory yet real old man and middle-aged man, Xie Lao and Gui Po froze in unison.

Why did it pass through?

Their attacks were real—why?

Why, at this point, were those three still unmoved, like fools, letting their attacks just pass through their bodies?

"No good, it's an illusion!"

In an instant, Gui Po realized.

"Xie Lao, we've fallen into an illusion! Xie Lao, they've already made their move—find the array eye quickly!"