Chapter 465: A Famous Sword Underfoot at the Start

“Underfoot?”

Yu Zhiwen’s mind was clearly sharp as well, and she immediately came to the same conclusion as Xu Xiaoshou.

Since they couldn't possibly have attracted such a massive tide of Bai Gu Shou Chao, it must be that these sensitive creatures had caught the scent of some treasure powerful enough to enhance them, drawing them in droves.

The pair looked down together, and Yu Zhiwen was the first to extend her ling nian to probe below, but she found nothing.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression was even stranger.

Before digging this pit, he had already narrowed his "perception" range and scanned downwards. He was afraid of encountering some terrifying mutated variant—like a Bai Gu Ju Ren version of an excavator. But just moments ago, there wasn't a single white skeleton in sight, not even a strange rock emitting special ling qi. So how could the treasure possibly be hidden underfoot?

“Could it be deeper down?”

A chill ran through him.

Sensing the eerie calm above, like the stillness before a storm from the Bai Gu Shou Chao, Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare let his thoughts wander. He compressed his "perception" range again, extending it linearly and rapidly downward.

Still nothing!

“This…”

In the pit, the man and woman stared at each other, both speechless.

Yu Zhiwen had even quietly activated her Xing Tong, but all she saw was calm—nothing more.

“Maybe the beast tide is just tired and stopped to rest?”

The words slipped out of her mouth in a daze. As soon as she said it, her face flushed with embarrassment. Had she spent too much time with Xu Xiaoshou and caught his habit? How could such absurd nonsense come from her own lips…

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't in the mood for jokes. Unable to detect anything below, he quickly shifted his focus back to the pile of Bai Gu Ju Ren above.

The beast tide was enormous! Even with his impressive perception range, he couldn’t cover it all. It was hard to imagine just how spectacular the number of white skeletons swarming them was. He couldn’t grasp the big picture, but the smaller details were crystal clear to him.

Xu Xiaoshou held his breath and focused, quietly waiting for the next move from the Bai Gu Ju Ren above.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, the giants continued their actions. These creatures, usually wild and aggressive—sometimes even starting fights over a glance—were now crammed together, some even having their feet crushed, yet they remained utterly silent. After some shoving and jostling, they finally cleared a small space in the center of the beast tide amid the remaining toe bones.

“Roar huh huh…”

The Bai Gu Ju Ren surrounding this small clearing let out hoarse roars, their bodies bobbing up and down as if in rhythm, like a group of savages circling a bonfire, ready to dance.

The scene was eerily ritualistic.

Xu Xiaoshou winced at the sight. Suddenly snapping to attention, he realized he had been probing upward with his "perception." That meant this small clearing was right above their heads?

“I’m a little scared…”

Yu Zhiwen, with her Xing Tong activated, had clearly seen the same thing. The girl was genuinely panicking. Even if the Bai Gu Ju Ren started digging to claw them out, it wouldn't be as terrifying as this. A beast tide halting to form a circle and perform some kind of ritual?

“No!”

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank suddenly. Bai Gu Ju Ren wouldn't do this for no reason. And if it were a ritual, these creatures didn't even have an altar. Looking at the excited, leaping giants, full of anticipation and occasionally glancing downward…

“They’re waiting for something?”

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart stop. Bai Gu Ju Ren, fire-attribute treasures, underground, waiting…

“This can’t be leading to a volcanic eruption, can it?!”

Xu Xiaoshou was terrified. He suddenly saw the massive creatures above bouncing around, then collectively freezing as if startled by some special aura, quickly backing away.

“Passive value received from ambush, 1.”

Even without the notification, Xu Xiaoshou felt a surge of scorching energy erupting from deep beneath his feet. It shot upward at an unprecedented speed!

“Oh no!”

Xu Xiaoshou lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the girl in front of him and tucking her into the safety of his embrace.

With a crash!

A loud “bang” echoed as the two were blasted sideways from the deep underground, flying several zhang away.

Yu Zhiwen was stunned. She had felt the same scorching energy. Just as she tried to react, Xu Xiaoshou had already swept her up without hesitation. For the first time, she found herself in the arms of a strange man. Honestly, the dizzying thrill overwhelmed her senses of the outside world. Xu Xiaoshou's embrace… Yu Zhiwen's heart raced.

It wasn’t the warm, gentle protection she'd read about in stories. Instead, it was the intense pain from their bodies slamming into the ground and rebounding. But even in that moment, Yu Zhiwen knew Xu Xiaoshou was doing his best to cushion the impact. Otherwise, a single unconscious exertion from him might have shattered her on the spot.

“Rush—”

Almost the instant Xu Xiaoshou dove away, a pillar of molten fire energy erupted from their original spot. In less than half a breath, it soared from the abyss to the heavens.

“Boom!”

Upon breaking through the surface, the fire pillar instantly flipped over the crowd of Bai Gu Ju Ren who thought they’d retreated far enough, connecting straight to the sky.

In that moment, nearly everyone in Bai Ku noticed this heavenly phenomenon.

The mountains shook, the seas roared, and the blistering heat of flames spread instantly, vaporizing the nearest Bai Gu Ju Ren into ash.

“Roar!”

These brainless, brawny giants panicked. They stomped on each other’s feet and shoulders in a frenzy to escape, trampling companions without a second thought.

But it was too late!

Reaching its peak, the fire pillar could no longer contain its energy and exploded outward.

“Rumble—”

It was like doomsday had arrived. Lava poured down, raining fire from the sky. Dust erupted across dozens of li in an instant, followed by visible waves of molten fire sweeping outward. As if struck by a divine hammer, this devastating energy ravaged the earth, tearing voids in the air. Black voids engulfed and devoured everything.

Half of the Bai Gu Shou Chao vanished completely, not even leaving ashes. The rest, hit by the energy wave, were hurled hundreds of li away.

“Oh my god…”

Yu Zhiwen stared blankly at the unfolding catastrophe. She couldn’t comprehend how such king-seat-level destructive energy had exploded just a few zhang from her, yet she had survived unharmed.

Shakily, she straightened up. The apocalyptic scene filled her vision. Beneath the black voids, massive serpents made of black-red magma writhed freely. Though they showed no sign of intelligence, they moved like living beings, their enormous bodies terrifying to behold.

A massive abyss, tens of li wide, spread from the center of the fire pillar. Scattered fragments of Bai Gu Ju Ren corpses fell haphazardly, signaling that the world was forever changed.

“I’m still alive?”

Yu Zhiwen felt it was absurd, as if everything were a dream. The sudden beast tide, the sudden seclusion with just the two of them, the sudden explosion… Her mind was in chaos.

“Right, what about Xu Xiaoshou?”

Just then, a glimmer of golden light appeared through the fading black void, catching her eye. Yu Zhiwen realized she was no longer underground—she was in the air.

Not flying?

The solid ground under her feet was unmistakable. Yu Zhiwen looked down in a daze and saw a platform of golden light beneath her. She finally understood.

Turning back, she looked up.

A golden giant with red eyes?

In that moment, Yu Zhiwen’s shock was beyond words. In this absurd world of apocalyptic scenery behind them, a golden giant had shielded her with its hands? And what she had just seen was the world through its fingers?

Yu Zhiwen knew she would never forget this scene. She stared dumbly at the golden giant’s face for a long time, finally spotting a familiar trace, and cried out in shock:

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

“Passive value received from being called, 1.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s mind jolted, like grasping a lifeline from the endless sea of suffering. Clinging to that voice, he barely pulled his consciousness back from the brink of collapse.

“Crack crack—”

The raging giant’s body cracked and trembled, then exploded with a boom. Xu Xiaoshou, covered in blood, could no longer hold on and plummeted from the void.

Whoosh!

Yu Zhiwen reacted quickly, darting forward to catch him, gently lowering them to the ground and helping him up before asking in surprise and concern:

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

It seemed repeating those three words was the only way to express her shock and bewilderment. That golden giant… What kind of ling technique was it? How could Xu Xiaoshou, at the innate level, transform into such a being and withstand such a violent blast?

“Heavenly phenomenon…”

Yu Zhiwen smiled bitterly. She knew about heavenly phenomena. They were special occurrences tied to the birth of supreme treasures that fed on the world’s energy. Each one typically wiped out a city or even a region nearby. But Yu Zhiwen never imagined she’d experience one exploding right beside her in her lifetime.

If you called it bad luck, few in the world had encountered such a situation. If you said it was good luck… Yu Zhiwen knew that without Xu Xiaoshou, she’d be dead by now.

The treasure born from a heavenly phenomenon was undoubtedly powerful, but what good was it if you weren’t alive to claim it?

“I owe you my life…”

Yu Zhiwen murmured sadly, cradling Xu Xiaoshou’s cold head and gazing at the desolate world, unable to hold back her grief as she buried her face and wept softly.

But her sobs hadn’t fully started when a muffled groan came from her chest.

“Mmm…”

“Huh?”

Yu Zhiwen’s crying halted. She carefully loosened her hold on Xu Xiaoshou, avoiding any sudden movements that might hurt him further. Then, to her shock, she watched his shattered body repairing itself at a visible speed. If she hadn’t pulled back quickly, she might have been caught in the restoration too!

“This…”

“Passive value received from doubt, 1.”

“Xu Xiaoshou, you’re not dead?”

Yu Zhiwen wiped her tears. She couldn’t believe that after taking such a hit—one even a king seat might not survive—Xu Xiaoshou had protected her and still lived.

Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes were unfocused as he looked upward, and as his awareness returned a bit, he turned his head to see Yu Zhiwen’s tear-streaked face. He suddenly realized something and nestled his head back.

“I could die a little longer.”

“You.”

Yu Zhiwen was instantly amused and annoyed, shoving his head away before shyly saying, “What kind of time is this? You’re still not being serious.”

With a thud, Xu Xiaoshou’s head hit the ground. He’d only experienced passive skills failing before with “full vitality” depleting. Now, he was getting a full taste of it. Just his head hitting the ground made him grit his teeth in pain, speechless for a while.

This explosion was too intense—it had nearly destroyed him. Always the one causing explosions, and now he was on the receiving end? Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

Yu Zhiwen panicked again when she saw his head hit the ground.

“A-are you okay?”

She reached to help, but Xu Xiaoshou waved her hand away irritably.

“I’m fine.”

“I saved your life, and this is how you repay your savior?”

“I’m fine, I’m great. My head, my hands, my whole body—nothing hurts at all!”

Yu Zhiwen: “…”

Watching Xu Xiaoshou struggle while clutching his head, she suddenly burst into laughter through her tears.

“You’re like a child.”

Xu Xiaoshou was furious.

“You’re the child! From head to toe, you’re the child!”

His eyes suddenly fixed on something: “Except for that…”

“Ouch!”

A slap to the face sent Xu Xiaoshou’s half-risen body back to the ground as Yu Zhiwen pinned him down. Her ears burning red after the strike, she quickly realized she might have used too much force.

“A-are you okay?”

Xu Xiaoshou: “…”

Had this girl forgotten already? Asking the same thing again?

“I’m fine.”

“I saved your life, and this is how you repay your savior?”

“I’m fine, I’m great. My head, my hands, my whole body—nothing hurts at all.”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t even change his tone.

Yu Zhiwen blinked, vaguely recognizing the words. Then it hit her—this was exactly what Xu Xiaoshou had said earlier, word for word.

“Good one!”

She laughed, her eyes curving as she raised a fist in mock threat: “Keep talking back!”

“You’re going to hit me again?”

Xu Xiaoshou widened his eyes. Yu Zhiwen had learned not to entertain his questions, simply lifting her chin and pursing her lips.

“Yes!”

“Passive value received from deception, 1.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s cheeky remarks were abruptly cut off by the notification.

The fire pillar still raged beside them, black voids hissed as space mended itself rapidly. The screams of Bai Gu Ju Ren echoed endlessly, like apes crying on both banks. In this apocalyptic scene, the two of them froze in a moment of quiet.

Xu Xiaoshou gazed absently at the girl with her fist raised in feigned anger. Her goose-egg face had cherry-red lips, and her disheveled hair swayed in the chaotic wind. Bright eyes, white teeth, with faint tear tracks. Amid the rain of tears and a hint of provoked irritation, it was like a pocket of peaceful years amid the end of the world.

“She’s a pretty girl—why wear a veil?”

Xu Xiaoshou looked away and gently pushed her fist aside. Feeling his body had recovered a little, he slowly sat up.

“What pretty, what veil…”

Yu Zhiwen was confused, then her eyes widened as she hurriedly patted her cheeks. Upon touching them, she realized her veil was gone.

“You!”

Though there was no evening glow, Xu Xiaoshou had seen this girl’s face flush more times in this short while than he could count. How inexperienced she was! He smiled and said, “I thought there might be some unique scar, or a mark from youthful folly. But nothing. You’re this beautiful—why hide behind a veil? Afraid of making other girls jealous?”

“I…” Yu Zhiwen’s face turned red again. She could tell Xu Xiaoshou was complimenting her, but coming from him, it just sounded so awkward.

“You, shut up!”

She covered her face and turned away. Even the remnants of the apocalypse seemed more appealing than Xu Xiaoshou right now. Yu Zhiwen’s heart pounded as she remembered she had spare veils in her ring, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to think about it.

Xu Xiaoshou said nothing more, not teasing her further, and turned his gaze to the fire pillar that had blasted him away.

He had reacted quickly. When he realized it might erupt again, he’d considered pulling out his Yuan Fu. But at that point, it wasn’t about whether Yu Zhiwen would see the Yuan Fu. He didn’t know what would happen if the Yuan Fu space shattered under the blast—would he die on the spot, or be exiled to the void? Or perhaps… Reincarnate again?

Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t afford that gamble. His knowledge was limited. His understanding of space and physics was basic, like knowing the saying “give me a fulcrum,” but he couldn’t even recall the next part. Things like three-dimensional, four-dimensional spaces, or folded space theories… He didn’t get it.

Since he didn’t understand, the best way to handle the blast was with his body!

So, after layering on a turtle shell from Sang Lao, he gripped the bronze fragment. As expected, the turtle shell shattered instantly. With no choice, he transformed into the raging giant and barely shielded Yu Zhiwen.

“So, where’s the big bathtub?”

Xu Xiaoshou expanded his “perception” and finally located the dan cauldron that had been hurled far away and embedded in the ground. Surprisingly, it was completely intact, without a single crack.

“As expected of that old guy’s thing…”

With a tug, Xu Xiaoshou used his sword intent to summon the large bathtub back. The explosive force had been too strong—he hadn’t been able to hold onto it. Otherwise, if he’d been covered by it, he might not be this injured now! He silently put it away.

Yu Zhiwen watched quietly from the side. Neither of them spoke.

It seemed the fire pillar’s energy was nearly spent. A faint shadow emerged within the light. Xu Xiaoshou didn’t dare probe it with his perception. It was too hot—a touch would scorch his soul. This aura was even more intense than his Jin Zhao breath. Even Sang Lao might not surpass it.

“What is that thing?”

Frowning and squinting, before he could make out the faint shadow inside, the surrounding ground began to tremble uniformly.

“This is…”

Yu Zhiwen and Xu Xiaoshou exchanged glances, both showing surprise in their eyes.

“Sword intent?”

The shadow hidden in the fire pillar was actually a sword?

“Does it have four swords?”

Xu Xiaoshou blurted out instinctively, even feeling an urge to draw his Hei Luo Jian Q sheath to verify.

“No.”

Yu Zhiwen shook her head directly. Her Xing Tong activated fully, staring straight at the fire pillar, and she couldn’t help but cover her red lips in awe.

“What is it?”

Xu Xiaoshou asked.

“Yan Mang!”

Yu Zhiwen’s voice carried undisguised shock.

“Yan Mang… what’s that?”

Yu Zhiwen turned her head, staring at Xu Xiaoshou in a daze, then slowly exhaled.

“The third on the famous swords list!”

“The famous swords?”

Xu Xiaoshou’s heart tightened instantly. He had seen famous swords before! Su Qianqian’s Mu Ming Cheng Xue, Lei Xing Yin’s withdrawal staff, Bao Jian Ke’s Yue Lian, Jiu Jian Ke’s peerless enchantress… But none of them were his swords!

As a sword cultivator, it wasn’t impossible to nurture his own “Zang Ku” into a famous sword through sheer will. Xu Xiaoshou truly believed he could do it. But as a sword cultivator, seeing others wield famous swords while he was stuck with just the sheath of the eighth sword immortal’s former blade—a mere eighth-grade ling sword… It was hard not to feel a pang of envy.

Xu Xiaoshou needed a sword. One that, in situations where “Zang Ku” couldn’t handle, wouldn’t force him to abandon his strongest sword techniques and switch to refining spirit or forging body paths.

Right now, in this heavenly phenomenon that had exploded beside him and nearly killed him…

Fire attribute! Famous sword!

Wasn’t this tailor-made for him?

Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed. He couldn’t stay calm anymore. He wanted “You Si Jian” because, despite its ominous reputation, it was an existence that surpassed the famous swords flow. But now, he had another path. A simpler one!

Abandon the pursuit of “You Si Jian” entirely, ignore the risks, and choose the famous sword before him…

“Yan Mang…”

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the writhing serpents of black-red magma around them and, for the first time, felt what it meant that “misfortune might be the shadow of fortune.”

“Are you a sword cultivator?”

He suddenly turned to Yu Zhiwen and asked.

Yu Zhiwen was taken aback. She immediately thought of Xu Xiaoshou’s Hei Luo Jian Q sheath. If she weren’t a sword cultivator and an admirer of the eighth sword immortal, why would she crave that sheath so badly? Why endure the hardships to come to this remote Tian Sang County?

“No.”

She shook her head with a smile, and nimble ling patterns danced between her fingers. “I told you, I’m a Tian Ji sorceress.”

“Passive value received from deception, 1.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s excitement paused. He swore that if the notification hadn’t appeared, even with his self-proclaimed ability to read people, Xu Dajia wouldn’t have noticed Yu Zhiwen was smiling while lying.

He gave the girl a deep look and said seriously, “The famous sword is mine. From now on, if you want anything, just tell me.”

“Okay!”

Yu Zhiwen agreed instantly, tilting her head with a smile that bloomed like flowers. “That’s a famous sword, after all. I won’t hold back in the future.”