Chapter 482: Don't

Chapter 484: Savior, Xu Xiaoshou

Yu Zhiwen spat out a mouthful of blood, but due to the surging sound waves, the blood droplets were forced back, splattering all over her face.

Xu Xiaoshou leaped forward.

He charged through the tumultuous sound waves, defying their force as he rushed upward, wrapping his arm around Yu Zhiwen's slender waist and pulling her protectively against his chest.

“Xu Xiaoshou...”

Yu Zhiwen murmured unconsciously, her eyes rolling back as she fainted on the spot.

“Damn it.”

Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes.

Yu Zhiwen wasn't weak.

Even though she was only at the peak of Xian Tian stage, she had numerous defensive Ling Qi and protective arrays on her.

Yet, under that roar, all those automatically activated Zong Shi-level Ling Qi failed to hold for even a split second—they shattered instantly.

One could only imagine how terrifying the strength of that massive Bai Gu inside truly was!

A sharp pain shot through his back.

But it wasn't enough to make Xu Xiaoshou retreat even a step.

With Fan Zhen and Ren Xing enhancing him, he forcefully intercepted that onslaught of sonic attack.

The others weren't so fortunate.

Besides Yu Zhiwen, who was directly hurled back by the roar,

Luo Yupo, who had been lost in the Ling Zhen and scheming against Xu Xiaoshou, was even worse off—he was flung away violently.

After smashing through dozens of towering Yan Feng trees, he finally came to a stop, flipping headfirst in midair and plunging into the ground.

Qu Qing'er and the others were equally unprepared.

Faced with the sheer power of that roar, some spat blood, others fell unconscious.

The scene plunged into utter chaos, as if everyone had been thrust to the gates of hell.

“Retreat!”

Xu Xiaoshou scanned with his Gan Zhi—aside from Qu Qing'er and Luo Yupo, the two Zong Shi, everyone else was useless, completely drained of combat ability.

After shouting, he cradled Yu Zhiwen and took off first.

Qu Qing'er clutched her chest and struggled to her feet from the ground, her face filled with shock as she glanced toward the end of the Ling Wu.

She hadn't even caught a glimpse of who the attacker was.

Yet she was already on the verge of collapsing.

“Hurry up and go!”

A rational voice urged in her mind.

But looking at Chen Chen, Xu Jing, and Du Cheng, who lay unconscious on the ground, she hesitated.

“Qing'er!”

Luo Yupo got up from behind, took a quick breath to steady himself, and fled without looking back.

He saw Qu Qing'er's hesitation.

He knew full well that this girl still couldn't let go of her former teammates, with whom she had shared battles.

But what time was it now!

Based on that roar alone, the enemy charging out would undoubtedly be at Wang Zuo level!

Trying to save people at this point would only get her killed too!

He called out, but Qu Qing'er didn't respond, so Luo Yupo could no longer suppress his fear of death. He accelerated and vanished in an instant.

“Rumble...”

The ground began to tremble, and something massive seemed to be emerging from the Ling Wu.

Qu Qing'er's face twisted in pain.

Even if she could carry Xu Jing now, with her injured body, how could she bear another unconscious person and escape a Wang Zuo-level pursuer?

With her Ling Nian, she could see that Xu Xiaoshou, carrying Yu Zhiwen, had already disappeared.

Luo Yupo had also fled on his own at the critical moment.

Everyone had left her with the biggest burden.

A wave of sorrow overwhelmed Qu Qing'er, and she couldn't shake it off.

As the saying goes, in the face of disaster, people fly solo—and this was a perfect example!

“Rumble—”

The ground shook even more violently.

At the same time, the air grew hotter.

Even before the monster appeared, Qu Qing'er felt as if she were about to be melted by the intense heat.

“Run?”

“Could I even escape?”

She smiled bitterly, gazing at the three bodies lying in different directions on the ground, which would soon be corpses. In the end, she couldn't overcome the compassion in her heart.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three faint sounds pierced the air amid the rumbling.

As her Ling Nian detected the Ling Long Shi landing, Qu Qing'er activated them instantly.

In a flash, the three unconscious figures were enveloped in a pale blue light and teleported away.

“Whether you survive now is up to you.”

Qu Qing'er smiled wryly.

Truth be told, in a place like Bai Ku, teleporting three unconscious people to an unknown location was pointless.

They might just end up being torn apart by other creatures upon arrival.

It was no exaggeration to say this was a complete waste.

But that's just how people are.

Only at the brink of death can you truly see your own heart.

Qu Qing'er had always thought she could be heartless, focusing solely on the mercenary ways of business and profit.

It was only now that she realized she couldn't.

Using three precious Ling Long Shi to save complete strangers...

Qu Qing'er almost laughed at herself!

“How naive...”

Light swirled in her hand as another Ling Long Shi appeared.

Unexpected events in Bai Ku always came so suddenly.

Qu Qing'er never imagined that in just one day, she would use up four Ling Long Shi.

But right now, it was her only way to survive.

“Goodbye.”

She was about to crush it.

Just then,

“Roar!”

Another earth-shattering roar exploded nearby.

Qu Qing'er couldn't withstand the force any longer and was hurled through the air.

The Ling Long Shi in her hand slipped away, carried off by the sonic wind.

“This...”

Waves of intense pain wracked her body, but they couldn't mask the terror in Qu Qing'er's heart.

“The Ling Long Shi... it's gone?”

Her only means of escape had been roared away?

“I have more!”

“I still have Ling Long Shi!”

Forcing down her fear, Qu Qing'er had to race against death, pulling out another one before the monster arrived.

But at that very moment!

The Ling Wu surged, and a flash of white abruptly came into view.

In an instant, the towering Bai Gu giant, over twenty zhang tall, burst through the clouds.

Like Kuafu chasing the sun, it moved with wild abandon in the sky, its motion slowing as if in mid-stride.

One could imagine that even at this speed, it was merely the beginning of its charge.

“What is this?”

Qu Qing'er was stunned.

She had never seen such a colossal Bai Gu.

In fact, whether this giant, shrouded in white flames and seemingly endless in height, was even a Bai Ku specialty was questionable.

“Ling Long Shi!!!”

Her mind screamed.

But under this overwhelming pressure, Qu Qing'er couldn't move an inch.

All she could do was tilt her head back and watch as the massive white foot descended from the sky, growing larger in her pupils!

“Am I going to die...”

Time seemed to slow down.

In that moment, Qu Qing'er saw fragments of her short life—the various people who had crossed her path.

She still had missions unfulfilled.

There was Jin Lao's expectations.

There was the assessment she had passed, but because of Bai Ku, she never made it to the Duojin Merchant Guild headquarters.

There was the bright future of leaving Tian Sang Jun, escaping Dong Yu, and even contending in Zhong Yu's elite circles...

But all of it,

Under this massive Bai Gu's foot, was as fragile as bubbles, vanishing in an instant.

Her vision blurred.

Life was slipping away.

In the final moments, the scenes projecting like illusions froze.

What appeared before her was unexpectedly Xu Xiaoshou's carefree, mocking face.

“This guy...”

Qu Qing'er smiled bitterly.

Good people don't live long, but scoundrels endure for a thousand years.

Perhaps, in this era of survival of the fittest, the ones who truly last are detestable types like Xu Xiaoshou and Luo Yupo!

How ridiculous...

Qu Qing'er closed her eyes, awaiting death.

Boom!

The Bai Gu giant's foot slammed down, creating a massive crater in the ground.

Qu Qing'er's head buzzed, and blood burst from her ears.

Her mind went blank, and even in that state, she felt her body being flung through the air again.

Powerless.

Desperate.

Is this what death feels like...

Qu Qing'er sensed her heartbeat stopping.

But the next second, she realized something was wrong!

“I'm not dead?!”

That foot had stomped down on her—how could she be thrown aside instead of turned to pulp?

“This...”

She snapped her eyes open, sensing a change.

Before her was still Xu Xiaoshou's infuriating face.

Glitched?

They say memories before death flash by in an instant.

So why was it stuck on Xu Xiaoshou?

She didn't even like him, and they hadn't had much interaction.

How could her life's final moment be all about him?

“Hey!”

“Given up already?”

As she pondered in shock, the Xu Xiaoshou in front of her—who should have been just a still image—moved.

He wore a playful smirk, his lips curling with sarcasm.

That mocking remark jolted Qu Qing'er back to reality.

“Xu Xiaoshou didn't leave—he came back to save me?”

Joy exploded in her heart, and in that instant, her vision cleared.

“Roar—”

The deafening roar from the Bai Gu giant echoed again.

But this time, the sound held no attack—just pain?

Pulling back her focus, Qu Qing'er's pupils shrank.

What did she see?

The massive Bai Gu, twisted in agony, clutched its left foot and hopped backward unsteadily.

Why hopping?

Because one of its feet was gone—severed!

That foot meant to crush her and tread the heavens had been cut off!

So, the earlier boom and the blast that threw her must have been from the foot hitting the ground.

“But how is that possible?”

Qu Qing'er turned in disbelief, her gaze locking on Xu Xiaoshou.

Only now did she truly see the young man before her.

Behind his mocking posture lay the unconscious Yu Zhiwen.

He had to use one arm to hold her steady.

Yet, with his free arm gripping that black-red sword, the raging, ferocious molten energy made it clear...

“Xu Xiaoshou, with one arm and a single sword, severed that Bai Gu's foot?!”

Qu Qing'er's shock was beyond words.

She could picture it: as the Bai Gu giant descended like a god, Xu Xiaoshou, burdened with his companion, swung his sword with one hand and sliced off its foot!

But how was that even possible?!

Xu Xiaoshou was at most Innate level, barely Zong Shi at best.

How could he stand against this massive Bai Gu?

“The sword?”

Qu Qing'er suddenly realized.

The sword Xu Xiaoshou held wasn't his usual eight-grade black sword.

It was something entirely new, clearly extraordinary at first glance...

“A famed sword?!”

“Suspected, passive value +1.”

“Run for it yourself. I can't carry two people.”

The warning snapped Qu Qing'er from her daze.

She came to her senses and saw the young man turn away, famed sword in hand, facing the twenty-zhang Bai Gu with Yu Zhiwen on his back.

All that remained was his resolute silhouette.

In that moment, Qu Qing'er understood.

Xu Xiaoshou and Luo Yupo were not the same kind of person.

Perhaps at some point, their instincts aligned.

But some people, in their hearts, still held onto that flicker of humanity, which would erupt at critical moments and overwhelm selfishness and greed.

“Is this the real Xu Xiaoshou...”

“Admired, passive value +1.”

“Roar, roar, roar!”

The Bai Gu, with its foot severed, was fully enraged.

Forget the initial unguarded attack.

Even just now, against that sky-cleaving sword strike, it had no defense.

These ants had dared to disturb its seclusion, and unexpectedly dealt such significant damage.

The Bai Gu, which had targeted Qu Qing'er for teleporting away its prey, finally spotted the youth with the famed sword.

At a glance, it knew.

He was the true culprit behind this disturbance!

“Roar—”

Another furious roar erupted.

But Xu Xiaoshou, now fully prepared, wove strands of spiritual energy into a massive defensive Ling Zhen in an instant.

The weakened sound waves posed no threat to his Zong Shi body.

“Could I kill it?”

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated.

At first, the enormous Bai Gu had startled him.

A Wang Zuo-level entity was beyond his reach.

He might not even land a scratch.

But then he thought of the famed sword Yanmang.

If he couldn't do it, could this sword that cuts through all things manage?

“Yes!”

“Thousands of Wang Zuo exist in the world, but only twenty-one famed swords!”

“If it can't cut this, what's the point of having it?”

But what if it couldn't?

Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to risk it.

With Yu Zhiwen in his arms, his only thought was to escape.

Yet, when his Gan Zhi showed everyone fleeing for themselves, and Qu Qing'er foolishly choosing to save others at the cost of her life,

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't hold back.

He thought Qu Qing'er was foolish, not worth it!

But in this world, it was people like her—foolish and stubbornly idealistic—that kept a thread of human warmth alive.

Someone who chose to cling to survival might live on,

But they would inevitably lose the most precious part of humanity.

Xu Xiaoshou turned back, not for Qu Qing'er,

But in her, he saw echoes of his own past self—a pawn overlooked by the world, yet clinging to personal convictions.

In that instant, he felt he should step up.

So,

He did.

“Run!”

Xu Xiaoshou shouted.

Watching the Bai Gu use white flames to repair its wound,

He knew this battle was unwinnable.

In this situation, all he could do was buy Qu Qing'er a few more breaths to teleport away.

As for himself...

If he couldn't kill the Bai Gu, with his array of passive skills, could it kill him?

Qu Qing'er flipped up, swallowed a pill, and without delay, dashed toward where the Ling Long Shi had fallen.

Rumble!

At that moment, the footless massive Bai Gu had already regenerated.

Its recovery speed was even more impressive than Xu Xiaoshou's Sheng Sheng Bu Xi.

With a roar, it pounded the ground with its fists and leaped into the air.

“Again with this?”

Xu Xiaoshou sneered.

Truly, low-intelligence creatures were stuck in their ways.

Knowing a stomp was useless against his famed sword, it still chose to jump?

Wasn't that just presenting itself as a target?

Xu Xiaoshou spun the sword in his hand, holding Yanmang horizontally across his chest, his sword intent piercing the heavens and momentarily suppressing the scorching vapors.

Swoosh!

But once the Bai Gu reached its peak in the air, it didn't come down.

Instead, it inhaled deeply, nearly tearing the void apart.

“This is...”

The ground cracked under the force, and Yan Feng trees were uprooted.

The Bai Gu's massive maw was like a sudden rift in space, sucking everything on the ground into its belly.

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

He could see the Bai Gu's skull swelling like a bloated toad.

“This thing isn't going for a physical attack or a stomp.”

“It's a spellcaster?”

Amid his astonishment, the Bai Gu, after inhaling to its limit, let out a massive roar.

“Roar!!!”

The next second, a torrent of white flames poured from its mouth, like a waterfall from the nine heavens.

“Damn!”

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

This hulking warrior body belonged to a spellcaster?

And this white flame—surely it was born from the Jin Zhao fire seed, akin to Sang Lao's origins?

How could he withstand this?

Xu Xiaoshou glanced back and saw Qu Qing'er, no longer the target of hate, struggling to retrieve another Ling Long Shi.

But this foolish girl was hesitating again.

Was she trying to save him?

Forget it!

“Run!”

Xu Xiaoshou roared in anger, and only then did Qu Qing'er realize staying wouldn't help.

With a crack, the Ling Long Shi shattered, and she vanished.

“One strike!”

Xu Xiaoshou raised Yanmang, his eyes turning ice-cold.

Even knowing that, as a fire-type himself, facing these white flames might mean death,

Still,

Ancient sword cultivators never faltered!

Buzz—

He lowered his eyelids.

The Yan Feng leaves shaken loose by the battle suddenly erupted with fierce sword energy, soaring into the air and hovering above Xu Xiaoshou.

Buzz—

The world shook again.

Beneath the thousands of leaves, flying debris and rocks also burst with sword energy, rising straight up.

In a flash, amid the cascading flames, Xu Xiaoshou completed the opening move of the Wan Jian Shi.

Then, with a single-handed reverse swing, he thrust the sword toward the sky.

“Command!”

In an instant, the thick layer of leaves and stones in the air formed a vortex, rushing to meet the fiery cascade from above.

Boom!

The moment the flames touched the leaves and stones, they exploded in midair.

The next instant, splattering flames and scorched debris scattered everywhere.

Beneath that magnificent display, Xu Xiaoshou strained to hold on, sweat pouring like rain, his sword trembling.

He couldn't block the white flames directly.

The leaves and stones were mere mundane objects.

But in a stroke of inspiration, Xu Xiaoshou used the Wan Jian Shi to infuse them with new life, using intent to overcome form, forcibly stalling the white flame waterfall in the air.

However, an idea was just an idea—his Zong Shi-level sword intent couldn't withstand a force that surpassed Wang Zuo.

It held for mere seconds before Xu Xiaoshou's vortex of leaves and stones shattered.

The white flames, undiminished, poured down!

“Run!”

Xu Xiaoshou instantly considered tossing Yu Zhiwen into his Yuan Fu and using Yi Bu Deng Tian to escape.

But deep inside, an inexplicable pride surged, refusing to yield.

“This is...”

“The famed sword!”

Xu Xiaoshou realized.

The noble Yanmang, reigning atop the fire-type Wang Zuo, would never bow to such flames.

Of course!

Back when it was outshone by the Jue Se Yao Ji sword, Yanmang had broken free from the Holy One's restraints and soared.

How could it submit now?

“Can I trust you?”

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated.

There were many ways to escape; he didn't want to gamble his life.

But Yanmang's pride demanded he maintain it.

This was the dignity of a famed sword.

As its wielder, even if he wanted to flee, he had to block this first.

In that moment, Xu Xiaoshou, having grasped this, calmed his eyes once more.

“Block it then—who's afraid?”

He poured his surging sword intent into Yanmang's blade.

Buzz—the sword seemed to swell, rising proudly to meet the descending cascade.

Then...

“Nothing?!”

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

He thought Yanmang would unleash a powerful strike.

But it was all just pride.

Aside from standing straighter, it did nothing!

“You useless sword!”

Xu Xiaoshou cursed inwardly—this thing was even more unreliable than Cang Ku.

But with the flames already scorching his body, he couldn't ignore it.

Sensing that familiar burning sensation, in a fit of impulse, Xu Xiaoshou thrust Yanmang into the flame torrent.

Bang!

Sword intent exploded.

It only shattered the initial wave, with the rest rushing in unrelentingly.

Just then, as if guided by instinct, Xu Xiaoshou twisted and swept the sword in a circular motion.

“The Bo Jian Shi?”

This long-lost technique appeared in a way perfectly aligned with the Dao's rhythm. Under Yanmang's enhancement and Xu Xiaoshou's flash of insight...

It forcefully redirected the descending flame waterfall with irresistible force!

The Bai Gu giant, still spewing flames in the air, was dumbfounded.

Its own attack had boomeranged back?

Boom—it was swept away by the reversed flames.

Xu Xiaoshou was equally stunned.

Using Zong Shi sword intent to deflect a technique beyond Wang Zuo level?

He wouldn't have dared dream it!

But that was exactly the essence of the Bo Jian Shi.

Wasn't this just like that divine strike that turned the tables, sending Zhou Tian Can's Xian Ren Ba Shan Shi back at him?

“Ancient sword cultivation!”

“The path of sword intent!”

Xu Xiaoshou fully understood.

This was the true application of sword intent.

The Bo Jian Shi had always been the technique most suited to pure sword combat.

Today, this four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds move proved once more that ancient sword cultivators could challenge higher realms with just one person and one sword!

Buzz!

In the sky, seeing the scorched Bai Gu, Yanmang trembled excitedly.

It conveyed a thought: "This is what a sword cultivator should be—this is the way a wielder fights."

Then it sent another message:

“Charge! Press the advantage and finish it!”

Xu Xiaoshou immediately raised his sword and flicked it.

“Charge my ass!”

“Blocking one move is already impressive. Who knows how I'll die if it gets angrier!”

This was a Wang Zuo-level Bai Gu with white flames—practically a mini Sang Lao!

Xu Xiaoshou had no confidence to keep provoking.

He gripped his sword, hoisted Yu Zhiwen, and bolted while the Bai Gu was still reeling.

Buzz!