“Old Mou, is this the direction?”
Feeling the air around them getting warmer, Zhang Duoyu couldn’t help but turn her head and ask.
“It should be right…”
Zhang Zhongmou held the Tian Sheng Ling Pan, his expression tinged with hesitation.
He could track the aura of the Ji Luo Diao Pian using the “Tian Sheng Ling Pan.”
Yet, the direction indicated by the Ling Pan always carried an unsettling sense of danger.
Gazing into the distance, Zhang Zhongmou tilted his ear to listen.
Faintly, waves of thunderous booms echoed from far away in the direction the Ling Pan pointed.
These roars, far beyond the perception range of a Wang Zuo’s spiritual sense, were actually audible to the naked ear.
One could only imagine the terrifying war unfolding at the epicenter of the explosions.
“It must be a Wang Zuo battle.”
“But isn’t Bai Ku only accessible to those below Wang Zuo level?”
“If it’s a war between Wang Zuo, it could be Hong Yi, and if it’s Hong Yi, it’s probably against Gui Shou…”
“Or, it could be other intruders…”
Zhang Zhongmou fell into deep thought.
“There’s another possibility.”
Zhang Duoyu added, “Maybe a Wang Zuo-level creature in Bai Ku has been provoked and is now rampaging across the battlefield.”
“It’s not impossible.”
Zhang Zhongmou nodded, “But the chances are slim. Creatures in extradimensional spaces usually guard great treasures, and if it’s Wang Zuo level, the treasures around it must be extraordinary.”
“Isn’t that even better?”
Zhang Duoyu’s eyes lit up, “We can take Xu Xiaoshou, and grab the treasures too.”
“Zhang Duoyu!”
Zhang Zhongmou’s gaze turned cold: “Remember, our only goal is to capture Xu Xiaoshou. If a fight breaks out and Hong Yi shows up, we’ll both be in serious trouble.”
“Don’t forget…”
He paused, his voice low: “The Zhang family estate is gone now. We’re both like stray dogs!”
Zhang Duoyu fell silent for a moment.
Her heart twisted into a knot.
Indeed.
If not for Xu Xiaoshou, the ones entering Bai Ku now wouldn’t be them, the older generation meant to guard the Zhang family.
It should have been the vibrant young talents of the Zhang family!
But now, all of that was lost.
Gone!
“So, what do we do now? Give up the lead and take a detour?” Zhang Duoyu suppressed her hatred and asked, regaining her composure.
“No need.”
Zhang Zhongmou shook his head: “The lead should be accurate. Even if it’s not Xu Xiaoshou, we might find another person with a Ji Luo Diao Pian.”
“So, we can go, but we have to stay hidden.”
“Remember, if we encounter Hong Yi, split up and run.”
“The Zhang family must leave a seed behind!”
These slightly melancholic words lingered low in the air, leaving Zhang Duoyu speechless.
She quietly followed behind Old Mou, flying slowly at low altitude.
“Xu Xiaoshou!”
A pair of bone fists, like meteors crashing from the sky, smashed down toward where Xu Xiaoshou had been.
Instantly, dirt flew, rocks shattered, and trees splintered.
But when the bone fist lifted, revealing an empty crater, the white skeleton felt played again!
“Roar—”
It threw its head back in an angry roar.
Yet, even so, the fury in its heart couldn’t be fully vented.
That human!
That insignificant ant!
He was just a weakling who could only hurt it with weapons.
But his escape tactics were endlessly varied and bizarre.
If it were a straight speed contest, the white bone giant was confident it could catch him in a few strides.
However, that human’s array of interferences made it impossible to guard against.
Blasts of fire missiles and golden light orbs blocked its path.
If it got too close, a named sword energy would slash over, forcing it to dodge.
And if it managed to get right up close for a punch, he would teleport away!
The white bone giant, having lived for so long and gained such intelligence, felt genuine anger for the first time.
In the past, anyone daring to disturb its seclusion was smashed to death with a single punch or kick.
But today, this guy was unbearable!
Unbearable, and yet it had no way to deal with him!
“Roar!”
The white bone giant raged helplessly.
“Gained passive value from being pursued: 1.”
Xu Xiaoshou carried Yu Zhiwen, darting left and right, making full use of the Gao Yanfeng terrain.
This terrain worked to his advantage.
But for the nearly hundred-meter-tall white skeleton, it posed no restriction at all.
His Grandmaster-level “Agility” had met its match.
The white bone giant, with its Wang Zuo body, was a monster with no weaknesses—attack, defense, speed, and even magic, all complete!
“How can such a being exist in the world?”
Xu Xiaoshou was deeply troubled.
If not for breaking through to the Ju Wu Realm, gaining three uses of “Yi Bu Deng Tian,” and sustaining himself nonstop with pills and “Yuan Qi Full,” he’d probably be pulverized by now!
But luckily, while this thing was physically perfect, its mind was simple.
Besides spitting fire and physical attacks, it had no tactical awareness whatsoever.
This allowed Xu Xiaoshou to limit it completely with basic harassment, keeping himself in a state of desperate flight but not death.
“But this can’t go on forever!”
“What’s the point of chasing like this? I don’t even have cough syrup…”
“I just glanced once. Is that reason to be so furious?”
“It’s its own fault for not wearing clothes, right?”
Xu Xiaoshou glanced back with his “Perception,” spotting the giant figure descending from the sky like Kuafu.
Without a word, he sent Yu Zhiwen into his Yuan Fu, then used “Yi Bu Deng Tian” to vanish on the spot.
“Boom!”
Behind him, a massive pit formed from a stomped foot, like a sinkhole.
Whoosh!
Yu Zhiwen reappeared in his arms.
Xu Xiaoshou scooped some honey and smeared it on the girl’s lips, his expression anxious.
“She still won’t wake up?”
He had only two tactics left.
Either encounter Hong Yi and call for help.
Or wait for Yu Zhiwen to wake up.
He believed her Tian Ji technique would come in handy now.
As for spiritual arrays…
He’d tried them.
Even at Grandmaster peak level, his arrays were crushed under the white skeleton’s foot.
“Hiss.”
Suddenly, a soft murmur came from his arms, and Xu Xiaoshou looked down excitedly.
“You’re awake?”
Whoosh whoosh!
As soon as Yu Zhiwen opened her eyes, the whistling wind hit her unprotected body, making it ache all over.
She shifted slightly, feeling as if her organs were tearing apart.
“Don’t move.”
Xu Xiaoshou held her tighter.
He had to control his strength when holding someone, not crush her.
Otherwise, this delicate woman without any spiritual energy protection might break.
But at high speed, not holding tight enough while preventing her from slipping was incredibly difficult.
Yu Zhiwen’s starry eyes flickered, nearly blacking out from Xu Xiaoshou’s grip.
“It hurts!”
She struggled to say.
“I know it hurts, so don’t move around. If you keep twisting, you’ll fall, and don’t blame me!”
Xu Xiaoshou kept his eyes on the pursuing white skeleton as he replied absentmindedly.
“When did I twist…”
Yu Zhiwen’s face turned red.
Being held by this Xu guy brought no warmth at all.
Instead, it was painful.
But sensing the towering giant chasing them and feeling Xu Xiaoshou’s undivided attention, Yu Zhiwen knew she owed this young man a debt.
“A Wang Zuo…”
Under the chase of a white skeleton with strength surpassing Wang Zuo, Xu Xiaoshou hadn’t abandoned her, someone completely useless and immobile.
Instead, he’d carried her all this way.
How far they were from the Gao Yanfeng forest, Yu Zhiwen couldn’t tell.
She only knew that her injuries, relying on the medicine Xu Xiaoshou had given her, shouldn’t have woken her for at least an hour or two.
“So, has he been holding me like this for that long?”
“Gained passive value from gratitude: 1.”
Xu Xiaoshou saw the white bone giant closing in and urged, “Have you recovered? If you don’t use your power soon, we’re both done for.”
He didn’t want to expose his Yuan Fu now that Yu Zhiwen was awake.
But perhaps because his realm wasn’t high enough, “Yi Bu Deng Tian” couldn’t carry others.
So, if he wanted to escape with Yu Zhiwen, he’d have to throw and catch her.
That worked when she was unconscious.
But now that she was awake, it felt weird—even if he did it.
Well, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“Medicine.”
Yu Zhiwen said weakly, “Get me my medicine.”
“Didn’t I already give you some?”
Xu Xiaoshou answered without looking down.
“Your medicine…”
Yu Zhiwen’s face paled, “Your medicine doesn’t work.”
“How can my medicine not work!”
Xu Xiaoshou almost laughed in frustration, “That’s my specially developed Chi Jin Liquid, a full…”
Oh!
Chi Jin Liquid?
A full ninth-grade?
Oh, right!
His “Breathing Method” amplified the effects dozens of times, plus “Endless Vitality” for endurance, so even severe injuries were fine with Little Bee’s Chi Jin Liquid.
But Yu Zhiwen didn’t have the “Breathing Method” or “Endless Vitality”!
Her injuries weren’t something a ninth-grade Chi Jin Liquid could handle.
No wonder she’d been out so long.
He thought she was just weak…
“Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Xu Xiaoshou grumbled, “Where is it?”
“Hmm.”
Yu Zhiwen stifled a huff, nearly choked with annoyance.
Say earlier? Was I even in a state to speak?
“Gained passive value from a curse: 1.”
But she didn’t dwell on it; there was no time.
“In my hand.”
The pills were in the ring on her hand.
Luckily, the spatial ring had its own array and hadn’t been shattered by the white skeleton, so no need for the spatial necklace.
“No time.”
Xu Xiaoshou’s “Perception” swept over, and in one swift move, he snatched the pill from Yu Zhiwen’s hand and shoved it into her red lips.
“Mmph!”
The sudden poke made Yu Zhiwen’s eyes bulge slightly.
She stared at Xu Xiaoshou in disbelief, seeing the urgency in his eyes.
With a thought of her spiritual sense.
Indeed, the white bone giant was raising its fist to strike.
In a few breaths, they’d both be finished!
“Gulp!”
Yu Zhiwen didn’t hesitate and forced the pill down her throat.
Instantly, a rich fragrance seeped from every pore of her body.
The invigorating scent even perked up Xu Xiaoshou, boosting his escape speed.
But even faster, it couldn’t outrun the white skeleton’s fist!
“Xiao Yu!”
Xu Xiaoshou gripped his Yuan Fu.
“Zhu Ji · Xuan Shu Wu Zhi.”
At the critical moment, Yu Zhiwen parted her red lips slightly and, from within Xu Xiaoshou’s arms, extended her slender hand toward the rapidly enlarging white skeleton in her pupils, gently pressing.
“Hum—”
A faint light pattern wove together from the sky, instantly merging into the heavens.
The next second, Xu Xiaoshou blinked, and the white skeleton above vanished.
“Boom!”
A violent explosion erupted below their feet, sending infinite shockwaves that lifted Xu Xiaoshou higher.
He looked down in shock.
The white skeleton had gone down!
“When did that happen…”
“Wait, it’s a swap?”
“A spatial swap?”
Xu Xiaoshou asked in surprise.
Yu Zhiwen’s face, which had regained some color, turned pale as paper.
She nodded gently, her voice extremely weak: “Yes, a minor application of Tian Ji technique related to space.”
“Minor application?”
Xu Xiaoshou was astonished. Such a casual minor application involved space?
That was a power only something like the dean might have!
“But…”
“You’re this drained from a minor application?”
Yu Zhiwen: “…”
“Gained passive value from a curse: 1.”
“Fine, don’t talk. You look like you’re about to collapse after that minor application.”
Xu Xiaoshou gave up on her.
He gripped his Yuan Fu.
He’d thought if Yu Zhiwen could stabilize things, he wouldn’t expose it.
But a single spatial swap?
The white skeleton would figure it out in one breath.
“Roar!”
Xu Xiaoshou had miscalculated.
The white bone giant, suddenly losing its target, didn’t look up at all. It just scanned around, roaring in futile rage.
Xu Xiaoshou: “…”
“Wait a minute.”
Yu Zhiwen said, trying to struggle out of Xu Xiaoshou’s arms.
But she found she had no extra strength to support herself.
“Twisting again?”
Xu Xiaoshou looked down and tightened his hold.
“Mmph.”
“It hurts!”
“Gained passive value from a curse: 1.”
Yu Zhiwen glared up at him in anger.
But before her anger could spill out, Xu Xiaoshou leaned down, and she froze.
The distance was too close…
Way too close!
Even his hair brushed her face, and his slightly rapid breaths—from the long run—felt so intimate.
Almost scorching!
“Let go of me.”
Yu Zhiwen’s pale face flushed red in an instant, her wind-chilled body starting to heat up.
“What are you trying to do?”
Xu Xiaoshou said irritably, “If I let go, you’ll fall.”
“No.”
“You changed your mind? Such a contradictory woman.”
Yu Zhiwen was stunned, and the romantic notion in her mind was shattered by Xu Xiaoshou’s odd logic.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What I mean is, I need to set up an array. I need my hands free—you have to loosen your hold a bit.”
“Oh?”
Xu Xiaoshou leaned back slightly, “Set up an array? Can’t you use your hands now?”
“Space!”
“I need space!”
Yu Zhiwen held back her anger.
She wasn’t sure if it was from Xu Xiaoshou’s denseness or his “denseness.”
“No space?”
Xu Xiaoshou paused, then gently lifted her, shifting from a princess carry to sitting on his shoulder.
He wrapped his right arm around Yu Zhiwen’s leg to prevent her from falling and looked up.
“Now, is there space?”
Yu Zhiwen froze completely.
Gazing at the crimson sky and the vast emptiness, she subconsciously looked down.
But as soon as her eyes met Xu Xiaoshou’s, she recoiled like an electric shock.
The super-sized white skeleton was still roaring below, yet the void felt strangely quiet.
Thump thump!
Thump thump!
Her heartbeat accelerated.
This position…
Yu Zhiwen had only experienced it as a child, on her father’s shoulders.
But now, she was grown, and being carried like this by a stranger she’d met less than a day ago?
“This…”
“I…”
“There’s space now.”
Yu Zhiwen murmured absentmindedly.
She waved her hands vigorously.
But the muddled hand seals couldn’t draw in any Tian Ji.
Xu Xiaoshou watched Yu Zhiwen’s comical movements on his shoulder, like a child building a sandcastle, and detected no Tian Ji power with his “Perception.”
In his information panel:
“Gained passive value from being observed: 1.”
“Gained passive value from suspicion: 1.”
“Gained passive value from speculation: 1.”
“Gained passive value from being peeked at: 1.”
A string of messy notifications popped up, startling Xu Xiaoshou.
“What are you thinking?”
He lightly patted Yu Zhiwen’s leg, perched on his shoulder.
“Ah!”
Yu Zhiwen yelped in surprise, almost standing up.
But then she realized she was in mid-air.
Standing up would make her fall.
She quickly hugged Xu Xiaoshou’s head, then remembered:
Oh, right.
She was a spirit refiner.
Even without footing, she could stand in the air.
“I…”
“I wasn’t daydreaming… Hand seals.”
“Right, hand seals.”
“Tian Mu!”
“Zhu, Zhu Ji—yes, Zhu Ji · Tian Mu!”
Yu Zhiwen stammered in panic, her spiritual sense suddenly detecting the massive white bone giant looking up, which scared her.
“Heaven—Heavenly Curtain!”
With a wave of her hands, she tore through the surrounding space, pulling an invisible barrier from the void that instantly covered the two of them.
“What is this?”
Xu Xiaoshou asked curiously. It felt like Yu Zhiwen had just yanked a bedsheet from the void and draped it over them.
“Heavenly Curtain, Zhu Ji · Heavenly Curtain.”
Yu Zhiwen tilted her head back, not daring to move, and stuttered her answer.
Xu Xiaoshou’s “Perception” showed Yu Zhiwen’s face flushed red.
He hesitated.
This didn’t seem like a big move at all!
Earlier, the spatial swap had left her pale as paper.
Heavenly Curtain…
Some kind of blood circulation technique?
“No.”
From his “Perception,” the white bone giant had clearly looked up but acted as if it saw nothing, lowering its massive head.
It couldn’t see?
“Like the previous concealment array?”
“Yes, yes.”
Yu Zhiwen felt talking was great—it drowned out her pounding heartbeat.
“Heavenly Curtain is an even more advanced Tian Ji technique than Tian Ji guidance. It can make it so that even if a Wang Zuo passes by, they can’t detect us with their eyes or spiritual sense.”
She paused, then quickly added: “Even if we brush past, only someone at the Zhan Dao level might notice something off.”
As soon as she finished:
“But the Heavenly Curtain I can create is small, so don’t move, or we might be discovered.”
“I, I… Yes, this is another minor application of Tian Ji technique. I don’t know many, so I can only…”
“Your heartbeat is really fast.”
Xu Xiaoshou interrupted abruptly.
Whoosh, Yu Zhiwen’s ears turned red.
In that instant, Xu Xiaoshou felt the girl on his shoulder soften, like she was melting.
But the next second, she stiffened straight.
“It’s not,” Yu Zhiwen turned her head away.
“It is.”
“It’s not!”
“Fine, it’s not.”
“It is!”
The air went silent.
Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.
He’d meant to let it go…
Yu Zhiwen was also stunned.
Ahhh, what am I saying!!!
“Xiao Yu…”
“Xu Xiaoshou, shut up!”
“Oh.”
In the narrow space of the Heavenly Curtain, mixed with the “booms” from the white skeleton’s rampage below, were the “thumps” of heartbeats.
After a long while.
“Xiao Yu, are you going to stay like this?”
Xu Xiaoshou had no trouble holding her up.
But the accelerating heartbeat in his ear… He was worried she might have a problem.
“Oh, right, I can get down…”
Yu Zhiwen snapped back to reality, but her words were cut off by images flashing in her mind.
Get down?
What then?
In this tiny Heavenly Curtain space, where would she stand?
Facing Xu Xiaoshou?
Back to him?
Either way seemed more awkward than now!
“Just like this is fine. I won’t get down.”
“If you don’t get down, your heartbeat…”
“Xu Xiaoshou, shut up!”
“Oh.”
Xu Xiaoshou looked up and down.
Seeing Yu Zhiwen’s face flushed so red it seemed a pinch could draw blood, and hearing her heartbeat like it might leap from her throat, he smirked and held back.
Completely still!
“Gained passive value from speculation: 1.”
“Gained passive value from being peeked at: 1.”
“Gained passive value from being observed: 1.”
“Gained passive value from suspicion: 1.”
Even standing still, he could gain passive values?
Heh.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, his “Perception” picked up two figures approaching, making Xu Xiaoshou’s pupils shrink.
“This is…”
“Boom!”
The violent explosion startled Zhang Zhongmou.
His spiritual sense extended immediately. What did he see?
A nearly twenty-zhang-tall white bone giant was hopping around not far ahead.
Each leap shot it dozens of zhang away.
Each bound even blocked out the sky momentarily.
“What the hell is this thing?!”
His mental energy throbbed with pain, and Zhang Zhongmou realized something was wrong.
This guy, with that white flame…
It definitely had strength beyond Wang Zuo!
“Run, get away quickly. We can’t clash with it head-on.”
Zhang Zhongmou said urgently.
“But…”
Zhang Duoyu hesitated and turned back, “Old Mou, didn’t you say the Ji Luo Diao Pian’s aura is right here?”
“Forget about the Ji Luo Diao Pian!”
Zhang Zhongmou didn’t look back, turning to flee, “If we fight, and Hong Yi shows up, how will you explain it?”
True.
Zhang Duoyu suppressed her impatience and glanced back.
Whoosh!
But then, a white flame shot past her ear.
If she hadn’t dodged in time, her head would have been pierced.
“Old Mou.”
“Hmm? Run!”
“It’s too late.”
Zhang Zhongmou turned at her words.
The air fell silent.
The raging white bone giant had calmed completely.
Its eyes, blazing with white flame, fixed on the two ants nearby, excitement overflowing.
“Roar!!!”
[58 seconds ago] Chapter 750: Chips
[1 minute ago] Chapter 542: Shocking Truth Ghosts, Beasts, and Humans?
[7 minutes ago] Chapter 541: A Game
[10 minutes ago] Chapter 334: Cross-Server Exchange
[12 minutes ago] Chapter 749: Linghu Xiao
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