Chapter 248: Through

Sang Lao’s face was extremely grave, his fingers tapping rapidly on the window sill, as if he was pondering the best way to begin.

"Gui shou upon the world is a source of calamity!"

His first words were chillingly cold. He stared at Xu Xiaoshou and continued, "Such beings only emerge in alternate dimensions, and the probability is one in ten thousand. Though rare, if we consider the entire continent..."

"The lands of the Five Domains, plus the endless oceans, see a dimensional rift opening every few minutes."

"That means, in a single day, there are at least dozens or even hundreds of gui shou born!"

"Each one has strength that is never below wang zuo level!"

Xu Xiaoshou was instantly shocked. He had heard Mo Mo mention gui shou before, but her understanding was clearly incomplete.

Now, for the first time, he had a clear picture of gui shou, and the shock in his heart was indescribable.

"Dozens or hundreds? And all at wang zuo level?" The young man looked utterly incredulous.

But then he thought of the Gray Fog Person. If it weren't for the rules of the Tianxuan Men small world suppressing it, that thing's cultivation would likely have exceeded wang zuo by far.

At that moment, he fully understood Sang Lao’s earlier words: "You should count yourself lucky to be alive."

These were complete freaks!

In a different time or place, he would have been done for!

Sang Lao merely nodded slightly and said, "That's just the ones we've discovered. The undetected ones, or those outside the Five Domains, are calamities within calamities!"

"Dimensional rifts have been appearing for countless years. Over that time, the number of gui shou sealed or destroyed is beyond count, but such efforts only make the survivors even more terrifying."

"Just imagine, if these beings banded together, what would that look like?"

Xu Xiaoshou was stumped by the question.

Honestly, at his current level, it was hard to even picture that scenario.

"World's end? Human extinction?"

Sang Lao: "..."

"Not that dramatic."

He chuckled dismissively and said, "After all, they're just rats that everyone wants to kill. Even if they're bigger or more destructive, they're still just rats."

"There are always people dedicated to dealing with gui shou, but as long as the dimensional rifts keep coming, the chaos in the shadows will never end."

"Who handles that?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"Sheng Shen Dian Tang!" Sang Lao replied.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately thought of Jiang Bian Yan. "Rely on them?"

That guy wasn't weak, but compared to the Gray Fog Person...

Sang Lao gave the young man a firm smack on the head and said irritably, "Sheng Shen Dian Tang is the top power on the continent—what you've seen is just the tip of the iceberg... a tiny speck of ice!"

"The organization within Sheng Shen Dian Tang responsible for sealing gui shou is called 'Hong Yi'."

"'Hong Yi'?" Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow. He remembered hearing Elder Qiao mention "Bai Yi" during the night of the masked person's second attack.

"What's the difference between 'Hong Yi' and 'Bai Yi'?"

"One kills gui shou, the other kills people."

This blunt and clear answer made Xu Xiaoshou's heart tighten.

He pondered and said, "So, Sheng Shen Dian Tang exists to wipe out gui shou and maintain world peace?"

Maintaining world peace... Sang Lao’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he replied lightly, "Something like that!"

"But what does this have to do with 'Sheng Nu'?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't notice the old man's expression and pressed on, feeling that Sang Lao had gone off track.

"Back to the earlier point..." Sang Lao glanced at him, sat down on the floor, and patted the ground to signal Xu Xiaoshou to do the same. Then he said, "Every gui shou is incredibly powerful, but they rarely cooperate."

"However, exceptions always exist. What if one of them wants to rule their kind? Or if someone tries to exploit their power for their own goals?"

Xu Xiaoshou had squatted down but quickly stood up again in surprise. "So, that masked person is actually a gui shou?"

Sang Lao: ???

What kind of logic is that?

"Received doubt, passive value."

The old man hadn't even spoken yet, but from Sang Lao's reaction, Xu Xiaoshou already knew the answer. He calmed down and sat properly, muttering to himself, "Since that's not it, then 'Sheng Nu's ultimate goal must be related to gui shou?"

Sang Lao felt a surge of frustration building up inside him, with no way to vent it, so he just nodded reluctantly.

Xu Xiaoshou mulled it over, murmuring, "Based on what you said, the masked person came to Ling Gong because of gui shou, but they were clearly after 'Mu Ming Cheng Xue'..."

"And at that time, they didn't even know about Mo Mo's existence?"

"Could Mo Mo be part of 'Sheng Nu'?"

Sang Lao scoffed dismissively. Such complicated matters weren't for a kid like him to figure out.

He pulled out his flask and took a sip, curious to see how far Xu Xiaoshou could go.

The young man's brows remained furrowed. After thinking for a while, his face lit up with realization.

"No, Mo Mo couldn't be 'Sheng Nu'..."

After all, based on what she said at Tianxuan Men, that girl had no connection to 'Sheng Nu' whatsoever—she didn't even know it existed. Her situation was solely because of Bai Ku, which led to her being possessed by a gui shou...

"Bai Ku?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he'd grasped a clue. He looked at Sang Lao in shock and said, "I get it!"

Sang Lao was already startled when he heard "Bai Ku"—how did this guy connect the dots?

Before he could respond, Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts flowed freely, inspiration striking like a spring.

"'Sheng Nu' definitely has a target. On the surface, they're after a famous sword, but behind the scenes, all their preparations are for... the Hei Luo Jian Qia?"

"The Hei Luo Jian Qia belongs to the Eighth Sword Immortal, which has nothing to do with gui shou. But since they're looking for it, there must be a connection!"

"According to Mo Mo, she was the first 'gui shou host,' and that happened around Bai Ku."

"Given the one-in-ten-thousand birth rate of gui shou, the one 'Sheng Nu' is targeting is clearly this one."

"So, what they're really after is Mo Mo, but they couldn't find her, so they planned to enter Bai Ku to search for clues?"

Seeing Sang Lao's expression of utter shock, Xu Xiaoshou knew he was on the right track.

He continued, "The opening of an alternate dimension isn't random, especially for a small world that birthed a gui shou..."

Xu Xiaoshou paused, thought for a moment, and suddenly exclaimed, "Bai Ku is stirring? It's opening again?"

Sang Lao couldn't sit still any longer. He jumped up in alarm, his face full of horror.

"Received doubt, passive value."

"The Hei Luo Jian Qia... the Eighth Sword Immortal's ruins appearing? Or... four swords emerging?"

Clang!

Sang Lao's flask dropped from his hand, and he unconsciously stepped back a few paces.

"Received doubt, passive value."

"With the sword sheath, you can gain the upper hand? Then in 'Bai Ku,' track down the gui shou's... trail?"

Sang Lao took a deep breath, but before he could speak, Xu Xiaoshou flashed a knowing smile.

"You sly old man, you told me to come back within a month—it's all about planning for 'Bai Ku,' isn't it?"

Sang Lao choked on his breath and plopped down on the ground.

"This..."