Chapter 462: White Bone Giant

Xu Xiaoshou: “......”

A holy maiden? Was she from a branch hall of Shengshen Hall, or perhaps from the main hall in Zhongyu?

Xu Xiaoshou pondered this.

His intuition told him that this simple-minded girl in front of him might not be on the same level as Cheng Xingchu. After all, apart from her straightforward thoughts, everything about her was top-tier.

Her appearance, her figure, her cultivation...

None of that really mattered, though.

What was most striking was that pair of star pupils!

Xu Xiaoshou stared at Yu Zhiwen's eyes for a long time, until she started avoiding his gaze and even lowered her head. Only then did he ask curiously, “I've always wondered, do those beautiful eyes have some special ability? Like x-ray vision or something?”

Yu Zhiwen paused, her earlobes turning red as she quickly replied, “No, not x-ray vision.”

“So, that means they do have other special abilities?”

“Uh, no...”

Just as she was about to deny it, Xu Xiaoshou widened his eyes, and she found herself unable to speak.

“Kids shouldn't lie!”

“Your first answer was 'no, not that,' which already gives it away.”

“Do you think I'm that naive?”

“We're all teammates now. If you keep hiding things, how can I judge your real strength if something unexpected happens?”

Yu Zhiwen twisted her fingers in her skirt, her expression twisting with conflict.

What Xu Xiaoshou said made so much sense.

They were teammates, after all—deception just wasn't right.

But the “Zhuji Star Pupils” was her biggest secret.

Her master had said not to reveal it, even to the closest people.

She had only known Xu Xiaoshou for a few days—less than a day, really. How could she tell him?

“Not going to say?”

Xu Xiaoshou's face fell, looking genuinely disappointed.

“I can't say.”

Yu Zhiwen's tone carried a hint of apology.

“Ah, I understand.”

Xu Xiaoshou didn't push further. After thinking for a moment, he said, “If you won't say, how about I guess? If I'm right, just nod?”

Yu Zhiwen froze.

Could it really work like that?

“Received suspicion, passive value +1.”

Seeing no reaction from her, Xu Xiaoshou pressed on, “Give me a hint first, and I'll guess from there?”

“I...”

Yu Zhiwen thought to herself that she didn't want to, but she had already turned down his request once. It was hard enough to say no the first time, and now, feeling guilty, she couldn't refuse again.

“Ling array master,” she said reluctantly.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up immediately.

“A ling array master?”

“You're from Shengshen Hall, right?”

Yu Zhiwen nodded. “Yes.”

There was no point in hiding that.

Anyone could tell at a glance, and she didn't plan to anyway. After all, she was someone who relied on her family's influence, even when running away from home.

Xu Xiaoshou stroked his chin, tilting his head from side to side as he scrutinized Yu Zhiwen closely.

Yu Zhiwen found his expression amusing and couldn't help but get interested.

She didn't believe that someone like Xu Xiaoshou, just a ling array master, could figure anything out.

“Tianji technique?”

The moment Shengshen Hall was mentioned, Xu Xiaoshou didn't think she was just a ling array master. At the very least, she had to be a tianji technique master to match her status.

Yu Zhiwen was surprised but didn't nod or deny it.

“Impressive!”

“Are you really a tianji technique master?”

Xu Xiaoshou had seen Fu Zhi studying tianji technique, but that guy was just self-taught with a Tianji Disk—barely half-skilled.

He never expected this girl to be a genuine tianji technique master.

“Dao Qiong Cang... uh, I mean, the hall master of Shengshen Hall—what's his relation to you? He couldn't be your master, could he?”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled by his own guess.

After all, there weren't many people in the world who studied tianji technique, and the most famous one was Dao Qiong Cang, the current hall master of Shengshen Hall.

“No relation.”

Yu Zhiwen lowered her eyelids and slowly shook her head.

“You're lying!”

Xu Xiaoshou stated firmly.

That look on her face, and how she avoided his eyes—it had to be a lie.

“I...”

“The hall master is either your master or your senior uncle or elder. At the very least, he must have taught you tianji technique.”

Xu Xiaoshou stepped closer, leaning in. “There's no way you're not connected!”

“This...”

Yu Zhiwen backed away repeatedly, startled.

Up close, Xu Xiaoshou could even make out the faint outline of her lips under the veil.

“I got it right.”

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled.

Yu Zhiwen bit her lower lip and stayed silent.

She suddenly didn't want to let him guess anymore.

In front of him, she felt completely exposed, like she couldn't hide a single thought.

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the void.

In Baiku, there was no day or night, no stars.

But with his hands behind his back, it was as if he could see the intricate connections behind the shimmering stars.

Xu Xiaoshou seemed to understand something. He sighed and paced back and forth.

“The pearls of the heavenly dao, the traces of destiny.”

“The rules of the great dao are basically like that—look beyond the surface to the essence, and everything operates under set rules.”

“Heaven and earth are like that, and so is the starry river.”

“I think...”

Xu Xiaoshou turned back and fixed his gaze on Yu Zhiwen.

“Since Shengshen Hall chose you as their holy maiden, they must have given you the best resources, or you have exceptional talent.”

“So, those star pupils must either help you decipher tianji technique or even the rules of heaven and earth.”

“Or, they allow you to see through truths and aid in enlightenment, helping you master tianji technique better.”

Yu Zhiwen's eyes widened.

“Wrong.”

After holding back for a while, that's all she could say.

“Ah.”

From her reaction, Xu Xiaoshou knew he was close, even if not exact.

“Little girl, how old are you? You've been lying left and right—who taught you that?”

Yu Zhiwen's face flushed with annoyance, and she turned her head away, refusing to speak.

She realized that in front of outsiders, she could still talk.

But with Xu Xiaoshou, sometimes she couldn't even get a full sentence out.

Because he either answered his own questions or hit the nail on the head, speaking for her.

Yet...

“Even though you got it wrong, I want to ask—how did you figure that out?”

Yu Zhiwen turned back, carefully examining Xu Xiaoshou's head, curious about what was inside.

How was he wired?

Cheng Xingchu had hinted at her background and the secret of her star pupils before, but a simple “I can't say” had shut him down.

With Xu Xiaoshou, though... if she couldn't say it, he would.

And he could say it so convincingly!

Yu Zhiwen felt unhappy.

Earlier, her master had said that there were people in this world who could kill with their minds alone.

She hadn't understood before, but now she did.

The guy in front of her might not even need his mind—he could kill with just his mouth, straight to the heart.

“Ling array master? Didn't you say you're a ling array master?”

Xu Xiaoshou asked, puzzled.

“Just that?”

Yu Zhiwen was stunned again. “That's it?”

“What else could there be?”

Xu Xiaoshou shot back. “You're so stingy—did you even give me a real hint?”

Yu Zhiwen: “......”

“Received curse, passive value +1.”

“Received awe, passive value +1.”

“Let's go.”

She stepped past Xu Xiaoshou and headed deeper in.

This place was unbearable.

If they kept talking, Yu Zhiwen felt like Xu Xiaoshou could dig up her entire family history back eighteen generations.

They had only known each other for such a short time...

“Received fear, passive value +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou watched her retreating figure with amusement.

She seemed determined now.

That speechless frustration had turned into other energy—her steps were even a bit forceful.

But her graceful demeanor was a habit she couldn't shake off just yet.

It looked rather charming.

Chuckling to himself, Xu Xiaoshou followed.

“A bit cute.”

Baiku wasn't actually white.

Under the scorching energy, even the ground had a slight reddish hue.

The barren, uneven terrain led to an isolated cliff edge, where nothing unusual happened, and they encountered no surprises.

It was as if this wasn't Baiku at all, just some ordinary, nameless spot.

“We're here.”

Yu Zhiwen stopped in front of a black ling array pattern.

Xu Xiaoshou halted as well.

Along the way, he had sensed something off.

This place was too quiet.

It felt protected.

Or rather, it was protected.

The ling array in front of them was the final answer.

“Anyone with a Linglong Stone gets randomly teleported to a pre-set protective ling array at the start. That's Red Dress's way of preventing people from walking into danger right away.”

“Those who sneak in don't get that luxury.”

Yu Zhiwen glanced at Xu Xiaoshou's expression and raised an eyebrow. “You didn't know?”

Xu Xiaoshou: “......”

If I had known, I would've asked Elder Qiao for some basic intel first!

“Heh, so there are things even you don't know?”

Yu Zhiwen let out a couple of light laughs, quickly covering her mouth with the back of her hand, her face turning red.

Their relationship wasn't that close, was it?

How could she let her guard down like that?

She stepped into the black ling array with a serious expression and waved him over. “Come in.”

As Xu Xiaoshou walked in, he asked, “You've never been to Baiku before—how did you know there's a ling array here?”

He hadn't noticed it the whole way and only detected it just now with his perception. Red Dress's ling arrays were no joke.

“Can you see it?”

The woman in front of him didn't respond, so Xu Xiaoshou asked again.

Yu Zhiwen's large eyes fixed on him unblinkingly as he approached.

“What are you doing?”

Xu Xiaoshou felt uneasy under her stare.

“Nothing, come on in.”

Yu Zhiwen beckoned, her eyes curving into a smile as she realized this tactic worked well.

As long as she ignored him, didn't feel guilty, and didn't look away, he seemed at a loss.

“Why are you staring...”

Xu Xiaoshou frowned. His perception showed nothing wrong with his face, so after a moment's hesitation, he stepped into the ling array.

The ling array was small, barely big enough for one more person.

The air suddenly grew quiet.

Yu Zhiwen couldn't handle it anymore and quickly looked away, her heartbeat pounding loudly.

“Let's go.”

She pulled out the Linglong Stone and glanced at Xu Xiaoshou, only to find him watching her.

Yu Zhiwen's heart skipped a beat, and she infused it with spiritual energy.

The two figures vanished in a flash.

“Roar—”

The peaceful space they had just left was a stark contrast to the chaotic roars that now assaulted their ears.

It was just a shift from the protective ling array to the outside, yet the noise hit them full force.

Xu Xiaoshou's playful mood vanished, his mind on high alert.

“Roar!”

Another earth-shaking roar made the ground tremble.

Grabbing hold of a small mound, Xu Xiaoshou crouched down.

Yu Zhiwen did the same beside him, even more on edge.

Yet, as her spiritual sense scanned the surroundings, she still managed to say what seemed like a prepared line to avoid any awkwardness after arriving.

“That protective barrier can be used by anyone with a Linglong Stone.”

Her voice softened. “If we run into danger, we can hide in it again with the stone.”

“Oh.”

“Received curse, passive value +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou's mind was elsewhere.

His perception revealed dozens of massive white skeletons, each three or four zhang tall, wielding bone knives and bone staffs as they hacked at each other. It looked like two groups locked in a bitter feud.

“Hiss roar!”

When a massive bone hammer smashed into one skeleton's skull, the struck one let out a pained screech.

The ground shook, and debris from the mound rained down—that must have been the source of the earlier roars.

“What are these things?”

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

He had thought the so-called other-dimensional creatures would at least be special humanoid monsters. After all, the gray fog people came from here and weren't too bad.

But these white skeletons...

They had nothing in common with the gray fog people, even across eight generations.

Looking at their size and build...

These things had no flesh, but just one arm bone was as thick as a tree trunk!

“White skeletons.”

Yu Zhiwen glanced at Xu Xiaoshou curiously.

He was so strange—like he could fly but not walk.

The more basic things he didn't know; the more profound ones, he grasped instantly.

“These are white skeletons?”

Xu Xiaoshou was amazed.

He had heard of white skeletons and knew some basic facts, but these were nothing like the scrawny “bone spirits” he imagined!

“With attacks like that, they're at least at the xiantian peak level... And their physical strength—could it be xiantian body realm?”

Xu Xiaoshou was suspicious.

He could detect traces of cinder illumination energy in the faintly red skeletons.

“Can these things attack from a distance?” Xu Xiaoshou asked.

“No.”

“Then that's fine. They're unbeatable in close combat, but as long as we keep our distance, we're good.”

“But some can.”

Yu Zhiwen added.

Xu Xiaoshou froze and slowly turned to see a flash of mischief in her eyes.

He smirked. “How so?”

Yu Zhiwen's eyes sparkled as she explained, “These are probably the most basic creatures in Baiku.”

“At least, I don't see any energy cores in them. They're likely driven by pure combat instinct, without real intelligence.”

“The truly dangerous ones are probably smaller, more agile, with better execution—capable of both close and ranged attacks.”

Xu Xiaoshou felt a chill.

The most basic ones were already near xiantian body realm strength and dominated close combat.

If they got stronger, would that mean zongshi level or higher?

Suddenly, he understood why the Red Dress woman had warned people not to enter Baiku unprepared.

Without at least upper spiritual realm or zongshi level, surviving here would be tough!

“Do they live in groups?”

Xu Xiaoshou asked, eyeing the two factions below.

“Yes.”

Yu Zhiwen nodded. “They do.”

Terrifying!

Not only were they strong, but they also lived in groups?

Xu Xiaoshou figured he could probably punch one away, but if Yu Zhiwen got caught...

He turned to her, a bit stunned. “How do you know all this? Or is this just common knowledge, and everyone else is like you?”

“No.”

Yu Zhiwen smiled brightly. “I'm just better at this. Most people who come in are probably like you—clueless!”

“Oh, getting cocky now?”

Xu Xiaoshou laughed and pointed at the fighting groups below. “Isn't it as easy as lifting a hand?”

“Huh?”

Yu Zhiwen was taken aback.

But before she could respond, Xu Xiaoshou finished his sentence and charged into the chaos amid the roaring and dust.

“Ha!”

With a shout, the dozens of towering white skeletons froze.

Cracking sounds echoed as they turned, their eye sockets igniting with actual flames upon seeing the man hovering in the air.

Yu Zhiwen's heart skipped a beat.

She was only at upper spiritual peak. Without using tianji technique, even one white skeleton would be a challenge.

Yet Xu Xiaoshou had just rushed in?

She knew he was strong, but this still disappointed her a little.

It reminded her of those guys in the past who always tried to show off around her.

She hated that feeling—the deliberate display.

But Xu Xiaoshou had no such thoughts.

He had three goals in Baiku.

First, the four swords—that was optional, something to stumble upon if lucky.

Second, passive values—that was the main one. Even if he only found the “cinder illumination great fire seed,” he had to grind his passive skills up to zongshi level.

As for the third...

“Baiku has no rules!”

Xu Xiaoshou clearly remembered what Elder Sang had said.

His perception showed no sign of Red Dress nearby.

So, why not cut loose, test his full power, and see what he was truly capable of?

A good fight was his third goal!

These white skeletons, with their incredibly tough bodies, were perfect for what he wanted.

The best kind!

“Kill!”

“Roar!!!”

Both sides ignited the battle at once, charging full throttle without holding back.

From behind the mound, Yu Zhiwen watched, her scalp tingling.

“Forty-five, forty-six...”

“Almost fifty white skeletons—has Xu Xiaoshou lost his mind?”

The sight was overwhelming.

A tiny human figure charging at nearly fifty roaring white skeletons?

He didn't even dodge, meeting a fist as big as an ancient cauldron head-on with his own punch.

“Bang!”

The void rippled, and a scorching blast sent the mound exploding.

Yu Zhiwen couldn't stay crouched and stood up in shock.

The several-zhang-tall white skeleton paused for half a breath after Xu Xiaoshou's punch.

The next instant, with a whoosh, it spun through the air and was sent flying.

Xu Xiaoshou, however...

Didn't move an inch!

“This...”

Yu Zhiwen's pupils shrank.

She knew he was strong, but this punch was insane!

That massive white skeleton, with such dense bones and immense weight—it could crush an ordinary xiantian cultivator.

And Xu Xiaoshou had sent it flying with one punch?

“Is this the zongshi body?”

“Can the zongshi body be this powerful?”

As her thoughts froze, the fight below raged on.

After punching the skeleton away, Xu Xiaoshou used his toughness and shock rebound to stand firm, not retreating a step.

The intense vibrations coursing through his body made his blood boil.

“This is the fight a real man should have!”

With hot blood surging, Xu Xiaoshou got excited.

Facing the giant hammer from the left and the axe from the right, he suddenly raised both palms.

“Clang—”

The sound was like weapons clashing. His bare fists actually blocked the hammer and axe.

“Good stuff!”

His eyes locked on.

These bone hammer and axe weren't just weapons the skeletons held.

From his perception, they were connected to the skeletons' bodies.

Yet, the energy in them was far stronger than in the bodies themselves.

Clearly, most of the skeletons' energy went into nurturing their weapons.

Xu Xiaoshou was surprised.

He dodged the next few attacks and leaped onto the hammer-wielding skeleton's head.

“Roar!”

The white skeleton tilted its head back and roared, trying to shake him off.

Xu Xiaoshou was disappointed—it still had enough sense not to smash its own head.

Fine, then...

He raised his fist and slammed it down.

“Boom!”

The sideways shockwave stunned Yu Zhiwen and even halted the other skeletons.

The armor-like skull shattered into pieces on impact.

White fragments flew, some embedding into the other skeletons' joints, like eye sockets or ribs.

“Received awe, passive value +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou jumped, thinking it was from the skeletons—that would be great.

But glancing back, he saw Yu Zhiwen staring in total stupor.

This girl looked like her eyes might pop out.

“Is this the real Xu Xiaoshou?”

Yu Zhiwen was truly shocked.

She realized he wasn't like those show-offs from before.

This was just his warm-up.

One punch to send it flying?

One punch to shatter its head?

Who was the real white skeleton here?

Was Xu Xiaoshou the white skeleton, and those things his little brothers?

“Received suspicion, passive value +1.”

“Received fear, passive value +1.”