Chapter 184: Tianxuan Gate, Goodbye

I hope Lao Zhou can still survive...

Xu Xiaoshou prayed silently.

This guy really had it coming—he actually dared to provoke A-Jie. Clearly, he didn't fully grasp the idea that you can't judge people by appearances.

Gazing at the spatial passage that had swallowed the figure, Xu Xiaoshou felt a mix of surprise and flattery.

This thing didn't open at the array entrance; it came directly to welcome him?

Was this some special reward for his hard work and merits?

"A-Jie!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the puppet child and pursed his lips. "We're leaving."

A-Jie stared at the spatial passage, hesitation in his eyes.

"Mama..."

"Shrink down!"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't waste time chatting with him. From what he'd learned earlier, even Ye Xiaotian would struggle to maintain this passage.

A-Jie hesitated for a moment before finally transforming into an iron ball and floating over. Xu Xiaoshou grabbed it firmly.

"Remember, once we're out, in crowded places, don't turn back to your original form unless I give the order. Only act if I instruct you."

"Don't cause trouble, got it?"

Two red lights flashed on the iron ball, and Xu Xiaoshou nodded in satisfaction. Still, he couldn't help but add, "If you mess up and get sent back here, I won't be able to save you, okay?"

"Mama..."

"Be good, and I'll find you a girlfriend later!"

Seeing no reaction from the iron ball, Xu Xiaoshou tucked it into his chest, flew toward the world passage, and stepped inside.

A flash of light, and the figure vanished.

Tianxuan Gate finally returned to silence.

In just two days, the situation here had shifted from an abundance of spiritual energy to an apocalyptic state. If it had held on for another day, who knows what it would have become.

Thankfully, Chengtian Mu arrived in time, and thankfully, Xu Xiaoshou fought desperately to save the world...

In any case, everything was fine now.

Except for that poor soul who got lost, and those several boundary treasures that were inadvertently lost...

Whoosh—whoosh—

The wind howled, and heavy snow fell once more. The sky was mending, and the world seemed to be getting back on track.

In the main hall, the world passage trembled, and a flash of light appeared.

"Ha ha ha, I'm back, Xu Xiaoshou!"

His head spun slightly, but Xu Xiaoshou shook it off quickly. He opened his arms, embracing the sunset that was fading into the distance.

"Under observation, passive value: 472."

Damn!

Xu Xiaoshou was startled, zoning out at the notification. But seeing that three-digit number, his lips couldn't help but curl up.

Crowded places are definitely where I belong!

Relying on my junior sister to curse me all the time was slow for building passive value, and if she hit a lucky streak, I'd be hit with bad luck myself.

Glancing down,

Hundreds of black-clad figures stood below, their gazes intense, and their faces somewhat familiar.

"Huh?"

Such a grand welcome for me?

Xu Xiaoshou looked puzzled, recalling a certain scene. He almost said, "For all eternity, unite the martial world," but he held back.

His eyes shifted to a pavilion nearby, where the other people from Tianxuan Gate were standing—they'd come out too?

Then, he looked toward the steps, where the dean, Elder Qiao, and that... thing were.

Wow, this girl is something else—definitely at the peak Xiantian level, like Luo Leilei.

Hmm, if she's suppressing her cultivation, she could even be a Zongshi expert.

And the one next to her... probably her father, with strength at the Wangzuo level, same as the dean.

Xu Xiaoshou's horizons had broadened, and with his upgraded "perception," he could size up anyone who wasn't a fog-like entity in an instant.

"Ma..."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

A sudden soft call from his chest made Xu Xiaoshou cough loudly to cover it up.

"Ma... baby, be good, don't speak out of turn!"

He nearly swore, but with so many people watching, he couldn't say it outright. Instead, he tried communicating with the iron ball in his chest using spiritual thoughts.

Whether it worked or not, he didn't know, but A-Jie quieted down.

Everyone had mostly stopped paying attention, waiting for the last person to emerge, but Xu Xiaoshou's coughing drew their eyes back.

The young man hovering in the air couldn't stand the stares. He flicked his sleeve and said,

"What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?"

"Under suspicion, passive value: 472."

The hundreds of disciplined black-clad figures under the old locust tree were thrown into a stir by his words.

"Hee hee..."

Yu Zhiwen covered her mouth and laughed. "This guy is bold, joking around in front of so many people. He's way better than those scared ones who came out before."

"Joking?"

Even though her voice was low, Xu Xiaoshou heard it. He turned his head and said seriously, "When did I joke?"

Yu Zhiwen: "..."

"Under curse, passive value: 1."

"You're interesting." This was the first time she'd met someone so shameless.

Heh, a woman who says one thing and means another!

Xu Xiaoshou pulled his attention from the info panel and said sincerely, "Thanks, your eyes are beautiful too."

Who can't exchange compliments?

But he wasn't just flattering her—her eyes were like hidden stars, bright, sparkling, and captivating.

Yu Zhiwen's face turned red, luckily hidden by her veil, so it wasn't visible. She turned away, not daring to say more.

In the past, many elegant young men had expressed their admiration, but none had spoken like this.

She was at a loss, so she chose to stay silent.

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled at the sight, but the next second, his smile froze.

"Under curse, passive value: 1, 1, 1, 1..."

Whoa, is this girl that petty?

Acting shy on the surface but cursing up a storm inside?

Wait... no...

This curse frequency...

He turned to look at the small pavilion behind, where a group of black-clad people protected the other inner court participants who'd come out earlier. Mu Zixi was among them.

"What are you doing?"

The little girl met Xu Xiaoshou's intense gaze and blinked innocently.

Xu Xiaoshou checked the info panel again:

"Under curse, passive value: 1, 1, 1, 1..."

What a little curse expert—this junior sister is quite the quirky one!

Everyone watched as he slowly descended from the sky, sensing something off but unable to pinpoint it.

Qiao Qianzhi was the first to notice something strange. He exclaimed in surprise, "Xu Xiaoshou, have you broken through to Xiantian?"

Everyone froze. They recalled that before entering Tianxuan Gate, Xu Xiaoshou was only at Lianling Ninth Realm?

In just two days, he'd broken through ten realms to Xiantian, and looking at his early Yuanting Realm, it wasn't just any early stage...

His cultivation was solid, on the verge of mid-stage at any moment!

"This..."

"Under suspicion, passive value: 472."

"Under suspicion, passive value: 365."

Xu Xiaoshou grinned. This was exactly why he loved crowds—these people always contributed massive passive values without him trying.

He'd barely been back, and his passive value was almost at two thousand.

"Not bad, I'm at Xiantian now!"

He flicked his sleeve, striking a pose like he was unbeatable.

Back then, he had a little dream: to shout "I'm at Xiantian" in a crowd of ten thousand and rake in tens of thousands of passive values.

He used to worry about getting beaten to death, but now, that dream was out of reach forever.

What a pity!

Qiao Qianzhi looked at his smug face and couldn't help but smirk. "Heh heh heh... Well, looks like you gained a lot in Tianxuan Gate?"

Gained?

Xu Xiaoshou touched his chest, thinking of the 280,000 passive values from Blackfall Cliff and the three boundary treasures he had on him...

Wait, no—A-Jie made it four.

As his feet touched the ground, that solid feeling of stability washed over him, and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Yeah, I guess you could say the gains were pretty big..."