Chapter 496: Digging Under the White Skull's Nose

"Well, that's how things are," Xu Xiaoshou said, spreading his hands towards the two women in front of him. "Don't be fooled by the high grade of spiritual herbs here; they are all mutated products, and the mutation is specifically towards aphrodisiac effects. Therefore, while hiding inside this White Bone Gate, you must not only avoid the attacks of the White Skeleton but also be very wary of the medicinal power floating in the air. It's best to isolate yourselves with spiritual energy, fully covering your whole bodies."

At the entrance of the White Bone Gate, Yu Zhiwen's face flushed crimson like a red peony. She hadn't expected that the greatest threat upon entering this Spirit Melting Marsh wouldn't be the White Skeleton that had already arrived, but rather the fragrance of these spiritual herbs. And she had even deliberately inhaled a few extra breaths after realizing their quality. No wonder... She secretly glanced up at Xu Xiaoshou, seeing a faint blush still on his face, and quickly lowered her head, too embarrassed to speak. How utterly mortifying!

Mu Zixi stood rooted at the entrance. Although there was a reasonable explanation, coming from Xu Xiaoshou, could it be trusted? Not a chance! "Why am I fine?" she demanded indignantly.

"How should I know you..." Xu Xiaoshou gave his junior sister a strange look. This medicinal power was extremely potent; even he would have been affected if caught off guard. If not for his 'Breathing Technique,' he might have already turned into 'Little Fish No. 2' by now. But Mu Zixi... She clearly hadn't taken any precautions and must have inhaled a lot of the medicinal aura. Yet, nothing happened to her!

"Perhaps it's your physique," Xu Xiaoshou surmised. "The 'Silent Wood Body' might be extraordinary. Your vitality is too tenacious; perhaps the medicinal power became your nourishment before it could even take effect." Considering that the girl's silver teeth could devour most of his own vitality, Xu Xiaoshou felt this judgment must be correct.

"Your vitality is even stronger than mine, so why..." Mu Zixi was furious and was about to ask why he was also affected. But looking at Xu Xiaoshou, he didn't seem affected at all. "Heh heh," Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, knowing the girl was stumped by her own thoughts. "So I'm fine too, don't I look like it?" He was too lazy to explain further. Sometimes, white lies could save him the trouble of unnecessary chatter. Moreover, if he were to truly explain the 'Breathing Technique,' it would be difficult to make it clear.

He pulled his junior sister down, and they both crouched, hiding in the massive shadow of the White Bone Gate. He turned his head. Inside was an enormous, bottomless cavern, gradually excavated downwards. Clearly, this was the White Skeleton's dwelling. The situation inside was unclear, but perhaps the true secret treasure he sought lay within.

"Stay low," Xu Xiaoshou instructed, not impulsively rushing deeper inside. He gestured for the two women to be silent, his gaze sweeping outwards. The other men and women, previously controlled by lust, clearly lacked the trio's courage. After seeing A'Jie restrain the terrifying White Skeleton, they immediately fled outwards once awakened, disappearing in an instant. Meanwhile, the battle in the sky was still locked in a stalemate. A'Jie and the White Skeleton were fighting fiercely, a continuous barrage of "bangs" echoing. Evidently, it was the first time either side had encountered such an evenly matched opponent, so much so that both had completely forgotten about the three stealthy little ants on the ground below.

"It should be able to hold out a bit longer," Xu Xiaoshou instantly deduced. A'Jie was too strong. Even the White Skeleton, which had stumped the two great Thrones of the Zhang household, was merely a slightly larger toy in front of A'Jie. With its small body, it moved with exceptional agility, often creating several large holes in the massive opponent in a flash. But the White Skeleton was no pushover either. Its terrifying recovery ability, fueled by white flames, combined with its Throne-level physique meant that even when injured, it was just minor damage that healed instantly. The fight had entered a white-hot phase. Xu Xiaoshou could see that although A'Jie held a slight advantage, one person alone couldn't defeat this massive creature without unleashing other major moves. As for other major moves... Xu Xiaoshou didn't know the command words! All he currently knew was how to make A'Jie transform into a blade or a stone. In that case, it was better to let A'Jie stay in human form and duke it out with the creature!

"The Great Incinerating Ember Seed will likely still be difficult to obtain in a short time..." Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. "So, should we explore further inside?" The three had hidden in this spot, undetected by the White Skeleton. But once its lair was invaded, that huge creature might charge in regardless. If there was no exit inside at that point, wouldn't they be trapped and killed? He certainly wasn't afraid, but the two women beside him... "If worse comes to worst, I'll expose my Divine Abode and take everyone in!" Xu Xiaoshou didn't hesitate, making a decision instantly. Every second counted now; he had to explore further inside. But before that... Xu Xiaoshou's gaze swept towards the spiritual herb patch not far away. Fifth-grade spiritual herbs! A place where they grew in wild abundance! Although these mutated varieties all had aphrodisiac properties, planting them within his Divine Abode would inevitably cause the internal space to take on an... interesting atmosphere. But fifth-grade was still fifth-grade; who could just pass them by?

"Heh heh, do either of you have a way to collect those spiritual herbs?" Xu Xiaoshou turned his head and asked, "Before that big guy notices us." Mu Zixi remained silent, pouting unhappily and unwilling to talk to him. Yu Zhiwen's thoughts were no longer on the spiritual herbs either; she silently shook her head. "In that case, I won't hold back," Xu Xiaoshou chuckled cheerfully and, crouching low, scurried outside. "You two wait inside; I'll be right back." The two women were stunned, not understanding what Xu Xiaoshou was going to do. But seeing that he actually dared to go outside, if he exposed himself right under the White Skeleton's nose, wouldn't it charge down instantly, given its accumulated anger?

However, the situation was completely contrary to what they expected. The White Skeleton seemed to notice nothing, continuing its mindless charges against A'Jie in the sky, expending its energy. "Can't see him?" Yu Zhiwen blinked her Starry Eyes, utterly surprised. She had been by Xu Xiaoshou's side earlier, so she hadn't noticed anything. But now, watching Xu Xiaoshou grow increasingly blurry as he walked away, she suddenly closed her Starry Eyes. In her line of sight, that person had actually vanished!

"Invisibility?" "No, it's a state similar to the 'Unity of Heaven and Man'..." "But this level of concealment..." Yu Zhiwen's eyes widened in astonishment. Wasn't this kind of disappearing act in front of people only achievable by Dao Severing realm experts after gaining a profound understanding of the Heavenly Dao?

"Concealment..." Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, 'Sure enough.' With 'Concealment,' as long as he didn't deliberately draw attention to himself and the enemy's focus was elsewhere, he could walk casually around others without attracting their notice. And this was merely the 'Concealment' at the Innate level. If it ascended to Grandmaster, to Throne... it might truly achieve an effect similar to Little Fish's 'Sky Screen.' Even if they brushed past him, the opponent wouldn't be able to detect him. Furthermore, 'Concealment' was a passive skill; in other words, his very existence was a mobile sky screen! "Too strong! I definitely need to level this skill up later." Xu Xiaoshou suppressed the excitement in his heart. This was clearly not the best time to level up.

He quietly stepped, arriving beneath the vast expanse of mutated High Flame Maples. Only upon entering this area did Xu Xiaoshou truly see how vast it was. Thousands upon thousands of fifth-grade spiritual herbs, growing like weeds—a single Divine Abode probably couldn't even fit them all, let alone these High Flame Maples that were almost reaching the sky. "How to deal with this?" Having the prior experience of collecting the Zhang household's Spirit Pool, Xu Xiaoshou knew that this entire area could actually be moved into his Divine Abode, as long as his spiritual sense covered it. But now another problem arose. The self-expansion speed of the Divine Abode's space was truly too slow. Even with the 'Life Spirit Seal' continuously functioning, the land area it could accommodate inside was probably only half of this spiritual herb treasure ground, perhaps even less.

"If I uproot them all and place them completely into the Divine Abode, the spiritual herbs on the periphery would inevitably be covered by the chaotic mist," he thought. "And that chaotic mist, possessing infinite assimilative power—even a Throne entering it would likely be dissolved in moments, let alone these unprotected spiritual herbs." Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for only a moment before making another decision. One layer isn't enough; then he'd create a second! The horizontal area of the Divine Abode was indeed a bit small, but the vertical area was still fine. That small world, already acknowledged as his and belonging solely to him, only required a small portion of his mental effort to constantly maintain. He could certainly arrange the spiritual herbs here into three layers, suspended in the Divine Abode's mid-air.

"But collecting them this way would be too slow, and it would definitely attract the White Skeleton's attention." Xu Xiaoshou probed his Qi Sea. His spiritual energy was almost full. This meant he could use 'Ascension in a Single Step' at least three times! Xu Xiaoshou calmed his mind. He was going to do something big! As far as his eyes could see, there were spiritual herbs everywhere. Even if his eyes couldn't take it all in, his spiritual sense could cover the entire area. And wherever his spiritual sense could reach, 'Ascension in a Single Step' could instantly transport him! "So..."

"What is he going to do?" Yu Zhiwen looked at Xu Xiaoshou, a little bewildered. The White Skeleton was still there; collecting spiritual herbs one by one, no matter how fragrant, there simply wasn't enough time! If he were discovered, that huge creature could completely abandon A'Jie, endure a few attacks, and instantly capture Xu Xiaoshou. "He's going to clear it out," Mu Zixi said. Having seen his Divine Abode before, she immediately guessed Xu Xiaoshou's intention. She showed no signs of worry at all. Once this guy decided to act, instead of worrying about him, it was better to think about the consequences for these spiritual herbs and what fate awaited the White Skeleton! As for Xu Xiaoshou... Mu Zixi had gone from suspicious disbelief to numb acceptance.

"Boom! Boom!" Above the void, the White Skeleton vigorously swung its fists. It was almost fighting in a state of ecstasy! In its usual life, where it had no opponents, suddenly encountering someone of equal strength who could even inflict damage on it from time to time... The White Skeleton felt it had found a kindred spirit. It really wanted to stop and dance for a bit before continuing the fight. But this opponent was also very annoying. It was too small and too agile. Its own reaction speed was already fast enough, but against an opponent with a Throne-level physique of the same grade, the giant's disadvantages were clearly exposed. When it swung a punch, it couldn't necessarily hit the opponent, yet the opponent's casual attacks were bone-deep.

"Roar!" the White Skeleton called out. This fight was enjoyable, but it should end now. With a bang, the void's airflow exploded, and it shot up to an extremely high altitude. At this distance, even if the opponent was incredibly fast, it would still need time to react and fly up. And during this time... "Hiss!" The White Skeleton took a huge breath, its skull expanding, and it instantly switched from warrior to mage form.

"Now's the time!" As soon as Xu Xiaoshou saw the White Skeleton ascend again, his eyes burst with bright light. This big oaf was too stupid. If it had flown lower, he might not have dared to act, but ascending again meant it would also need time to descend! "Collect!" Precisely within the spatial limits of his Divine Abode, with a thought from his spiritual sense, Xu Xiaoshou directly excavated nearly a third of the mutated High Flame Maples, trees and ground alike, and presented them in the Divine Abode's mid-air.

The sudden emptiness of such a large area immediately astonished everyone. Yu Zhiwen stared blankly ahead. She hadn't imagined that Xu Xiaoshou's method of collecting spiritual herbs would be so crude. Directly digging them up? Was his spatial ring that large? No, wait! Didn't spatial rings require physical contact for collection? The method of remote collection could indeed be achieved, but shouldn't that only be possible for powerful beings with extraordinary spiritual sense and deep understanding of the Spatial Dao? Xu Xiaoshou clearly didn't fit those criteria. His method was much more like...

"A Divine Abode?" Only then did Yu Zhiwen suddenly recall that Cheng Xingchu had indeed seemingly lost a Divine Abode to Xu Xiaoshou. But that was a ruined Divine Abode. To truly activate it completely would be impossible without a Grandmaster of Spatial Spirit Arrays. Even if successfully repaired, without a world-suppressing treasure capable of mending the Heavenly Dao's rhyme, the Divine Abode would be completely useless! At best, it would just be a small spatial ring. Did Xu Xiaoshou have so many resources to perfect that ruined Divine Abode? Even she, Yu Zhiwen, couldn't gather them! "Spatial affinity..." Yu Zhiwen's thoughts suddenly settled on something. "Ye Xiaotian?"

The shock in her heart had not yet subsided. Xu Xiaoshou's body flickered, and he completely vanished. The next second, another large chunk of the High Flame Maple grove was gone! "This..." The White Skeleton in the sky was bewildered by the sudden brightness. The white flames in its mouth hadn't even been spewed out yet when its gaze fell upon the ground below. Vaguely, it spotted a familiar figure. "Whoosh!" The scene vanished for a third time. Its meticulously cultivated spiritual herb patch, its carefully constructed fire-elemental cultivation sanctuary, had completely vanished! "Huh?" After a sound of surprise, even the dullest White Skeleton realized what was happening!

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!" Its entire being seemed to collapse. Its screams contained pain, reluctance, and overflowing hatred! After the ground was completely stripped bare, that detestable human, like an ant, actually flipped it the middle finger! "Pfft!" The White Skeleton could no longer tolerate it. White flames roared down from the sky, a torrent of fire directly covering its previously meticulously cultivated fire-elemental sanctuary.

"Whoosh!" A'Jie instantly appeared in front of Xu Xiaoshou. "Mama..." It raised a hand, intending to block the flowing flames. "No need." Xu Xiaoshou lightly patted A'Jie's shoulder; he already had experience with the White Skeleton's methods and was prepared. "Clang—" His renowned sword was drawn. Xu Xiaoshou stepped past A'Jie, pointing his sword at the void. "Little fellow, my A'Jie has come over. If these are all the tricks you have, how can you play with me?"