Chapter 288: Fate and Great Terror

This was a new inn.

Xu Xiaoshou checked in again, but this time he didn't dare to act recklessly.

That single explosion had cost him over ten thousand Ling Jing, and even then, the innkeeper hadn't charged for the barrier repairs because they knew he had been ambushed.

Honestly, when he heard that figure, Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit of regret about that nonsense idea of leading by example.

But he had already boasted about it, so he couldn't back out.

Otherwise, his tall and mighty image in his junior sister's eyes would be ruined.

He had agreed with Mu Zixi to rest for a couple of days, take the opportunity to properly practice alchemy techniques, and then go take the badge exam.

So, Xu Xiaoshou returned to his room alone once more.

Peaceful.

It felt great!

He sighed a little.

But he didn't plan to spend his remaining passive points recklessly; he'd save them in case some sudden situation arose.

"Meow."

The little white cat was still perched at the foot of his bed, sniffing away contentedly, looking utterly blissful, even though it was right by Xu Xiaoshou's feet.

"You’re called Tan Shen?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked it over from head to toe but couldn't spot anything particularly special about it.

Aside from those purple eyes, this little white cat really didn't seem extraordinary.

Deep down, though, he knew full well.

This was a Gui Shou!

A being similar to the Gray Fog People!

He didn't know why it was so weak, but a Gui Shou was a Gui Shou—a unique king that could only be born in a different dimensional space. How could it be ordinary?

"Meow."

The little white cat glanced up at him and meowed affectionately.

"Tan Shen..."

"So nice."

Xu Xiaoshou murmured to himself, envying that carefree state. If someone provided him with life force every day, so he never had to worry about food or drink, and had someone to protect his safety...

That would be a life like the immortals!

He couldn't even enjoy it himself, yet this darn cat could?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly kicked it.

The little white cat wasn't upset; it knew its owner hadn't used any real force. It just rolled over and snuggled back up to Xu Xiaoshou's feet.

"Mama..."

The thing in his chest was displeased, letting out a cry as two red lights pierced through his body.

Xu Xiaoshou tensed up.

Killing intent?

Tan Shen's fur stood on end in an instant, and it pounced to the back of the bed, curling up in mid-air.

"Quite sensitive!"

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow; its reaction was almost as quick as his own.

He patted the stone in his arms—Ah Jie—while explaining, "Don't mess around; that's your sibling—you can't kill it."

"Hmm? Sibling?"

Xu Xiaoshou beckoned Tan Shen over, flipped it for a look, and immediately corrected himself: "That's your sister. You have to take good care of her from now on!"

"Mama..."

"Meow!"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, petting the cat with one hand and holding the stone with the other, lying quietly on the bed with his mind wandering.

"Gui Shou..."

He thought of Mo Mo, that somewhat lonely and quiet woman, who felt completely different from Jiao Tangtang and Xin Gugu.

They were all hosts to Gui Shou, but one rejected it while the other embraced it willingly.

"Is this a form of power?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the white cat, his eyes narrowing.

He had the clearest sense of how strong the Gray Fog People's power became after they unleashed it.

If it hadn't been for Tianxuan Gate holding them back, or the "Frenzied Giant" turning the tide, he might have been done for.

And clearly, there were more than just one such existence in the world.

Compared to Jiao Tangtang and Xin Gugu, Mo Mo and the Gray Fog People seemed more like lone wolves developing on their own.

But those two were obviously not.

"So, is there an organization of pure Gui Shou... or pure Gui Shou hosts?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill in his heart.

Just one of these beings had the power to destroy heaven and earth. What would happen if they gathered together? What were they planning?

He also recalled his final conversation with Sang Lao, which suggested that the "Sheng Nu" were after Mo Mo, who had become a Gui Shou host.

"Power?"

Xu Xiaoshou stroked the cat, which was enjoying it immensely, while his own face grew serious.

Even the masked man, with his earth-shattering sword intent and subordinates like Cen Qiaofu, an absolute powerhouse, still craved power.

Even as Gui Shou hosts, with the most direct and pure source of power, they had formed a secret organization and didn't dare to reveal themselves.

"Why?"

The more Xu Xiaoshou thought about it, the colder he felt.

If these two incredibly terrifying organizations had anything in particular in common...

They were both under the suppression of Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

One faced the "Bai Yi," tasked with hunting down rebellious humans.

The other faced the "Hong Yi," a fearsome entity created purely to slaughter Gui Shou.

"Sheng Shen Dian Tang?"

Xu Xiaoshou's impression of this top organization on the continent, besides the absolute justice and order deep in his mind, was people like Yu Zhiwen and Cheng Xingchu.

"Justice..."

"Maybe this is what the old man meant by the great dao struggle!"

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't believed it before.

But as his strength grew and his experiences broadened, he increasingly felt that the words the straw-hatted old man had said on the night of their apprenticeship made more and more sense.

It was a brutally harsh reality.

What was a player, and what was a pawn? Xu Xiaoshou had gotten a small taste of it in Ling Palace.

It was helpless, yet utterly realistic.

Right now, he was just a pawn being manipulated, and his biggest player was Sang Lao.

On the night of the apprenticeship, no matter how unwilling he was, he didn't dare refuse.

After becoming his disciple, no matter how absurd, playful, or desperate he was to break free from the path the old man had set for him...

In the end, he found he couldn't escape the control.

The expected deviation from the path did happen because of his various unpredictable jumps, shifting it a bit.

But after deviating?

Once he stepped off that path, he discovered Sang Lao had laid out thousands more for him!

How could he break free?

Whether it was "Jin Zhao Tian Fen," Tianxuan Gate, "Zhao Shu," or "Zhang Xinxiong"...

The old man seemed to grasp people and events with perfect precision.

No matter how bizarre or off-track his process became, looking at the results, every one was exactly what the straw-hatted old man wanted.

"Huff."

Xu Xiaoshou let out a soft breath. He was smart and saw everything clearly.

But he was powerless to change it!

Fortunately, though Sang Lao was eccentric and reclusive, he had his own style in how he acted. His unique fondness for Xu Xiaoshou was something no one else could understand.

Xu Xiaoshou himself couldn't even understand it.

The old man seemed to know him better than he knew himself—it was almost scary!

Even so, after becoming his disciple, Xu Xiaoshou had asked a question, and Sang Lao had answered it straightforwardly.

He had come to Ling Palace simply to avoid certain unnecessary disasters!

A cunning old fox like that, with strength and intellect in equal measure, and a personality and way of acting that were both terrifying...

Could even he be just a pawn in someone else's game?

"Heh!" Xu Xiaoshou sighed.

Were all the major powers really this frightening?

Sheng Shen Dian Tang, Sheng Nu, that Gui Shou organization...

And those other terrifying entities he hadn't encountered yet, silently operating in the world's order...

Perhaps as his own strength grew further, they would appear by his side as unexpectedly as the white cat in his hands?

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had waded into murky waters.

But back then, if he hadn't taken on Tan Shen, Jiao Tangtang, and Xin Gugu, could he have handled it?

"Still so powerless..."

This kind of powerlessness couldn't be erased by a single "Explosive Stance."

It came from the world itself, like fate, or an merciless wheel of history.

It rolled straight ahead, and no one could escape.

Xu Xiaoshou looked down at Tan Shen, who was lying there with a blissful expression, letting out soft purrs in a light doze, thoroughly content.

"The great dao struggle?"

The young man didn't dare think about it any further.

He was afraid that if he delved deeper, the old man's nested worldview would completely replace his own understanding of the world.