Chapter 571: Give Some Face

The trembling Hong Yi, the shaky Shuo Shuren, the motionless Xu Xiaoshou... Pai Sang Lao.

No one spoke.

It felt oppressively heavy.

And awkward.

"Received awe, passive value, 18."

"Received waiting, passive value, 12."

"Received gaze, passive value, 19."

Xu Xiaoshou knew everyone was waiting for him.

But he only glanced at the constantly updating messages in the info panel before ignoring them.

"Sword thought..."

Upon inner reflection, he saw within his body that the fierce demonic sword energy from You Si Jian had not infused much power into the sword thought.

Or rather, it had sensed that the sword thought was far too weak at that moment.

Like a delicate new sprout daring to grow, forcing it would only do harm.

When the sword thought became noticeably swollen and almost unrecognizable, the demonic power from You Si Jian stopped its reckless actions.

"Excited?"

Xu Xiaoshou was certain that You Si Jian's excitement was undoubtedly related to the "Guan Jian Dian."

As long as it remained calm, it wouldn't cause him too much harm.

At that time, it wasn't the main focus.

He didn't need to pay it much attention.

Sensing the demonic power within him return to quietness, intertwining with the leaking ice-fire dual energy to form a delicate balance once more,

Although this balance still brought significant damage to his body,

At that moment,

The regenerative ability of "Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" was fully capable of suppressing the internal injuries and even subtly aiding in gradual repair.

Xu Xiaoshou felt relieved.

He moved his body slightly.

It had regained a bit of mobility.

Without lingering in silence, Xu Xiaoshou looked at Shuo Shuren and gently picked up You Si Jian again.

"Your mistakes will be dealt with after we leave."

"But since I’ve come out, I might as well do something."

Shuo Shuren's heart skipped a beat, and he asked timidly,

"Do something... what?"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head lightly, without speaking.

He gazed at the completely ink-black Chi Shuang Long Mang, which, in its frenzied state, had even forgotten the pain of its torn body.

Chi Shuang Long Mang struggled, trying to fight on.

"Enough."

Xu Xiaoshou sighed inwardly.

Jiao Tang Tang had already done more than enough for Xin Gu Gu.

With its shattered body from the lightning tribulation, plus the demonic power from You Si Jian...

In such a severe condition, even if Chi Shuang Long Mang struggled to stand, what more could it achieve?

"Fly over?"

Xu Xiaoshou gripped You Si Jian tightly, sensing that with the two sword thoughts within him, he had gained preliminary recognition from You Si Jian.

Although he was still far from full mastery,

In this situation, borrowing a portion of the fierce sword's power was feasible.

With a thought,

A wild wind surged through the void, and the overflowing demonic power suddenly retracted, gathering into the blade of You Si Jian.

"It works."

Xu Xiaoshou felt pleased.

If the demonic sword intent could be recovered, perhaps Jiao Tang Tang could still be saved?

As he prepared to move,

A tearing pain shot through his lower body, nearly making Xu Xiaoshou gasp.

"Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" was indeed restoring his flesh,

But the progress was too slow.

Such a major movement was impossible at that moment.

However...

Glancing at the bewildered Shuo Shuren and the distant Hong Yi group on high alert, Xu Xiaoshou smirked.

"Hmph."

With a disdainful snort, he calmly and steadily took that step.

Whoosh.

The wind blew, and the scene fell into an eerie, silent stillness.

"Disappeared?"

Everyone watching Xu Xiaoshou widened their eyes in shock, their pupils contracting with horror.

Even Shou Ye, who had already mobilized the Tai Xu power within him, saw the same: Sheng Nu Lao Er vanished completely after taking that step.

Yes,

Vanished entirely!

As if he had never existed in this world.

There were no traces of heavenly dao or spatial fluctuations.

A complete disappearance!

This didn't seem like the realm of merging with the heavens that Zhan Dao possessed.

Instead...

It was on a higher level!

"A ability surpassing the heavenly dao... Sheng Dao?" Shou Ye's heart filled with extreme dread.

He subtly glanced at Shuo Shuren, hoping to gauge something from the eccentric red-skirted man's expression.

But even Shuo Shuren was utterly astonished at that moment.

"He doesn't know either?"

Shou Ye was stunned.

That meant the ability Sheng Nu Lao Er had just displayed was something even the Sheng Nu hadn't seen before?

"So, it really was after his battle with Wu Yue Jian Xian that he broke through again, stepping into that realm?"

Shou Ye closed his eyes heavily.

"Half Saint?"

How could they fight that?

It was utterly hopeless.

"He didn't disappear; he just shifted!" Lan Ling suddenly spoke up.

Unlike the others,

With the Feng Tian Da Zhen in her grasp, though she couldn't sense how Sheng Nu Lao Er had vanished,

She detected it the moment he reappeared.

Everyone turned their heads simultaneously.

There, on the rampaging Chi Shuang Long Mang, at a safe distance, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly appeared.

"Received attention, passive value, 16."

"Received surprise, passive value, 19."

Seeing the messages pop up, Xu Xiaoshou knew he had successfully intimidated everyone with this move.

"Xiao Shi Shu, this kind of awakening skill truly ignores levels entirely."

"If not for special sensing types like Wang Zuo or Zhan Dao, even Feng Tian Da Zhen can't detect it."

"And while in the ‘Xiao Shi Shu’ state, using ‘Yi Bu Deng Tian’..."

"Even spatial shifts can't be traced."

Xu Xiaoshou noted inwardly.

A divine skill!

For him, achieving a similar effect with just "Yi Bu Deng Tian" might be possible,

But Sang Lao probably didn't have spatial-type spirit skills.

Adding that seemingly unnecessary "Xiao Shi Shu"...

Xu Xiaoshou observed Shuo Shuren's reaction.

Seeing his utterly confused expression, he thought to himself that it had worked.

Thus, a method capable of deceiving all Zhan Dao-level experts—a so-called “Sheng Dao” application—was born!

And it wasn't simple; it consisted of two full awakening skills!

"Lao Er, what are you trying to do?"

Shuo Shuren watched as Lao Er appeared above Chi Shuang Long Mang, feeling a sense of foreboding.

Xu Xiaoshou ignored him completely.

After taking a deep breath and sensing the increasingly violent emotions of Chi Shuang Long Mang beneath his feet, he tilted You Si Jian and lowered his gaze.

Boom!

The air was directly compressed and exploded by the overwhelming momentum of Qi Tun Shan He.

The eight-winged Chi Shuang Long Mang, still struggling to rise, seemed to falter under that gaze, crashing heavily into the ground.

Dust billowed from beneath its body, scattering in all directions.

Hiss.

Shuo Shuren inhaled sharply.

Even now, he couldn't fathom how Lao Er had achieved such a solidified momentum in his attack.

If it were just suppressing with a gaze, he could do it too, but only against those of lower realms.

As for the eight-winged Chi Shuang Long Mang...

Though it had been ravaged by the lightning tribulation,

Under the demonization of You Si Jian, it had forgotten pain.

Sensing provocation from above, it should have flapped its eight wings and lunged.

Yet its movements seemed perfectly anticipated by Lao Er.

No chance for counterattack.

A single gaze to suppress it in advance?

No one knew that Xu Xiaoshou's gaze not only drew nearly all the power of Qi Tun Shan He,

But also secretly used Wan Wu Jie Jian, targeting it with You Si Jian's intent from within, dealing another internal blow to Chi Shuang Long Mang.

After all, if one gaze wasn't enough,

The situation would likely escalate beyond control.

He, Xu Xiaoshou, had no strength left to deal with anyone else present,

Not even an ordinary Hong Yi.

"What's he doing?"

A cry of alarm suddenly came from the Hong Yi group.

They saw Sheng Nu Lao Er, having subdued the injured Chi Shuang Long Mang, gently lift You Si Jian.

Amid the humming sword cries, a massive amount of demonic energy was extracted from Chi Shuang Long Mang and drawn straight into You Si Jian's blade.

Shuo Shuren's face turned pale in an instant.

"Lao Er, what are you up to?"

Was this stealing the gift?

Where was his sense of shame?

If he wanted to reconcile with his brother, couldn't he find his own gift?

Ruining someone else's hard-won treasure?

"Saving the python." Xu Xiaoshou replied without looking back.

"Saving the python?" Shuo Shuren's head throbbed. "But it's in the middle of an experiment!"

"Can't you see? Your experiment subject is on the verge of death." Xu Xiaoshou snorted.

"Death?"

"Impossible!"

Shuo Shuren panicked, extending his orchid fingers and shrilly retorting, "It can be demonized by You Si Jian. After demonization, if its strength breaks through further, it might transform from python to serpent, or even serpent to dragon."

"You can't interrupt its evolution!"

Xu Xiaoshou finally lifted his head, his piercing gaze making Shuo Shuren's heart race, and he quietly lowered his orchid fingers.

"Shut up."

"Oh."

"Received curse, passive value, 1."

"Received awe, passive value, 12."

The Hong Yi group was speechless.

What was this?

A war that had been going smoothly had turned strange ever since Sheng Nu Lao Er appeared.

Like a live lesson for children?

Since when had Shuo Shuren become so compliant?

Being scolded like that without fighting back?

Why hadn't they just started fighting!

"Lan Ling."

Shou Ye turned to Lan Ling.

Others might think Shuo Shuren had lost his temper,

But having fought him, Shou Ye knew Shuo Shuren wasn't like that.

For his attitude to flip so drastically could only mean Sheng Nu Lao Er was overwhelmingly strong.

Even Shuo Shuren didn't dare defy his actions.

If they let Sheng Nu Lao Er continue unchecked,

What would they do when it came back to bite them?

"Hmm."

Lan Ling said nothing more.

In secret, she had already begun forming seals, quietly mobilizing the power of Feng Tian Da Zhen.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

Thick black demonic energy was extracted from the twitching Chi Shuang Long Mang back into You Si Jian's blade.

Xu Xiaoshou endured the overwhelming and terrifying energy, his face already pale as paper.

But with the advanced use of "Bian Hua," no matter the situation, if he wanted to appear flushed, he did.

"No, can't absorb more, or their snake will really be done for!"

Shuo Shuren couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to fly over.

Xu Xiaoshou lowered his eyelids and shifted his gaze.

When his peripheral vision fell on Shuo Shuren's repaired, forward-stepping jade foot,

The man froze, his face stiff, not daring to move further.

Xu Xiaoshou said nothing, instead smiling slightly and turning his head toward the Hong Yi direction.

Whoosh.

The wind stirred.

All the Hong Yi robes tightened instantly, bodies going rigid, like prey locked onto by a hunter, on full alert.

Even Lan Ling, who was secretly making moves, stopped her seals immediately.

"Received fear, passive value, 16."

"No need to be tense; I'm not here to kill."

Xu Xiaoshou smiled lightly, pondered for a moment, then his smile faded as he said indifferently,

"But since I've come out, I ask for a small favor from all of you."

"Give me this time."

"All right?"

Lan Ling felt her throat go dry.

Sure enough, her little maneuver had been noticed?

She acted as if nothing was wrong and asked, "What time?"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled softly, turned his head, and focused on You Si Jian in his hand, which was continuously drawing in the demonic energy.

Thump, thump, thump...

He tapped the sword hilt lightly with his finger.

The faint echoes rippled through the quiet void, sounding unusually harsh at that moment.

"When this senior is moving, as juniors, you all should stay still."

"What I mean is..."

Xu Xiaoshou paused, then continued, "Not even a twitch of a finger."

"Understand?"

As the last word fell, the ground suddenly cracked with a series of snaps.

In an instant, it seemed all the moisture in the world had evaporated.

Even the partially repaired void began to distort, showing signs of melting.

Extreme heat.

The ultimate heat!

Without fully releasing the Jin Zhao Yuan Zhong power, Xu Xiaoshou had achieved what Sang Lao had done against the masked figure.

In not lifting a hand,

This atmosphere, this unknown fear imposed on others, was the best way to intimidate.

As expected,

From the Hong Yi side, Lan Ling didn't just stop her secret seals;

Even swallowing the saliva stuck in her throat felt risky.

Without an Adam's apple, she still feared that a subtle movement might bring disaster.

After all, Shuo Shuren was already a freak.

As the second-in-command of Sheng Nu, if this old man said "not even a twitch of a finger," did that include random thoughts...?

Hard to say.

But for her life, she wouldn't test it!

Shou Ye parted his lips to say something, but suddenly felt the heat around him intensify.

Even his internal spiritual energy started to burn.

He kept his mouth open, not daring to close it.

"Ahem..."

Shuo Shuren neither advanced nor retreated, stuck in an awkward pose.

He suspected Lao Er was indirectly scolding him, with solid evidence.

So, he could only maintain this position and cough lightly, "Lao Er, we're on the same side; don't forget..."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't respond.

Once all the demonic energy had been drawn into You Si Jian, he flipped his hand and stored the eight-winged Chi Shuang Long Mang into his Yuan Fu.

The scene fell deathly silent.

Shuo Shuren's eyes twitched wildly, his brows jumping, but he didn't dare utter a word.

Yet after finishing, Xu Xiaoshou turned back to him.

"If I remember correctly..."

"Those Niu Tou Ren were ultimately taken by you into the space paper piece, right?"