Chapter 575: I Am Xu Xiaoshou

Xu Xiaoshou?

Again, Xu Xiaoshou?

How is it all about Xu Xiaoshou?!

At this juncture, it was impossible not to admit that everyone present had developed an intense curiosity about the unseen Xu Xiaoshou.

"Who exactly is he?"

"Subject of speculation, passive value, 17."

"Subject of suspicion, passive value, 3."

Even those who didn't know Xu Xiaoshou were tantalized to the point of unbearable curiosity, desperate to drag that invisible figure into the light and scrutinize them thoroughly.

As for those who did know Xu Xiaoshou...

Shou Ye was utterly dazed.

He had seen Yu Zhiwen near Xu Xiaoshou before, but he only had a vague impression of her.

Little did he expect that after traveling together for this stretch, the girl had been influenced to such an extent.

Was it for the better?

Or for the worse?

"No."

His thoughts scattered, and Shou Ye abruptly halted himself.

The immediate priority wasn't about what had happened to Yu Zhiwen.

It was whether the Xu Xiaoshou she mentioned was really present.

Or perhaps, Xu Xiaoshou was that guy?

"Yu Zhiwen..."

Shou Ye looked up at the old man with the straw hat in the sky, hesitating as he spoke.

But as soon as he moved, Lan Ling flashed to his side and blocked him.

As a woman herself, she could clearly sense that Yu Zhiwen's emotions were off.

This didn't seem like the clever girl who was solely devoted to the ways of destiny.

Instead, her words were now full of emotion.

"Yu Zhiwen, tell your sister, is Xu Xiaoshou really here?"

Lan Ling spoke softly through a sound transmission, her gaze drifting toward the old man with the straw hat in the distance. "And what is his relationship with him?"

No one knew the answer.

Even now, no one dared to speculate wildly.

Because a single misstep could lead to total annihilation.

The only person present who seemed to have glimpsed some clues was currently suppressed by the terrifying aura of Sheng Nu Lao Er.

Any further reckless words could mean instant death.

Lan Ling's fingers twitched, forming a spiritual seal.

But to her horror, she discovered that she could no longer control the Fengtian Great Array!

Even if she wanted to teleport Yu Zhiwen away, the array simply wouldn't respond.

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

Among those present, aside from Hong Yi, the only one who might control the Fengtian Great Array was the Xu Xiaoshou mentioned by Yu Zhiwen.

Had he made a move?

"Subject of surprise, passive value, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou touched his straw hat with one hand, chuckling as he lifted it up.

With his other hand holding the sword, he used the back of it to scratch his scalp.

In that moment of lifting and lowering, no one noticed that the straw hat had been swapped.

The next second, as it returned to his open palm, it burst into raging white flames.

A faint sound echoed through the sky.

"Puff, puff."

The crowd in red clothing instantly focused their attention.

"Is he about to make a move?"

"Does he plan to admit defeat?"

Even the storyteller on the other side had a hundred doubts he wanted to voice.

But seeing that white flame, he swallowed his questions for the moment.

"Subject of fear, passive value, 19."

"Impressive."

Xu Xiaoshou sincerely praised, "Your friend is truly impressive, teaching you so much. It seems he had a profound influence on you."

No one noticed that, amid the roaring white flames, a square machine disk lay perfectly still.

The Tianji Machine Disk!

The Xu Xiaochicken, which had been secretly swapped and transformed back into a chicken sword inserted into the slot, was now trembling in the terrifying heat.

It felt like it was about to melt.

But without Xu Xiaoshou's command, it didn't dare make a single sound.

Everyone knew this was a critical moment.

If its slightest mistake put the great demon king Xu Xiaoshou in danger, then Xu Xiaochicken's days were numbered.

"Puff..."

Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to look at the Tianji Machine Disk in his flaming palm.

Daring to reveal this thing under everyone's watchful eyes to control the Fengtian Great Array was all thanks to "Disappear Technique"!

When he had tested "Disappear Technique" in the Yuanfu space earlier, Xu Xiaoshou had realized that, like "One Step to Heaven," this awakened skill had its own unique traits.

Though it couldn't make others disappear, and the latter couldn't teleport others,

Awakened skills inherently had characteristics tied to the host.

Anything connected to the host, bound by ties, fell within the scope of the skill's effect.

One Step to Heaven could teleport his own clothes to avoid the embarrassment of ending up naked.

Disappear Technique worked the same way.

Spiritual clothing could disappear, the sword at his side could disappear, and in the underground, the Tianji Machine Disk, which had formed a bond with him through the chicken sword, could also vanish.

However, "Disappear Technique" still consumed a huge amount of energy.

For Xu Xiaoshou to pull out the Tianji Machine Disk meant that Yu Zhiwen couldn't stay here much longer.

"This girl is too clever..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt a bitter twinge in his heart.

He considered Yu Zhiwen a friend.

But sometimes, friends weren't something anyone could easily claim or take responsibility for.

Foolish, single-minded types like Xin Gugu, who charged ahead recklessly without a care, were rare.

There was only one Zhou Tianshen like that.

Yu Zhiwen was different.

She had her own background, her own faction.

Just as he had realized when he decisively left her side back then.

Some people were destined by birth.

"In the end, we're just fellow travelers for a few days."

"And the Sheng Shen Hall is your true destination."

"But..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt deeply unsettled.

He could understand Yu Zhiwen's actions.

After all, if he were from the Sheng Shen Hall, for the sake of Hong Yi and his own faction, he would undoubtedly go all out to uncover the secrets of "Sheng Nu Lao Er" and save his comrades.

Understanding was one thing, though.

Objective reality and subjective feelings were entirely different.

At least,

It felt...

"Uncomfortable..."

An emotion, like being betrayed, rose involuntarily and lingered, impossible to shake off.

"I have lost."

Xu Xiaoshou said it with a carefree smile.

The next words made everyone's hearts tremble.

"So, the game ends here!"

"You've won, but unfortunately, while I gave you the criteria for winning, you never specified the spoils."

The crowd in red clothing was stunned.

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and sighed as they stood there dumbfounded. "But the debt I haven't collected yet has been outstanding for too long."

As soon as he finished, Lan Ling sensed something was wrong.

"Watch out!"

She shouted and leaped forward, trying to reach Yu Zhiwen.

But suddenly, a beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping all the people in red clothing.

"Teleportation."

With a whooshing sound, their voices overlapped.

In an instant, the dozen or so people in red were scattered, teleported to distant places.

"Yu Zhiwen!!!"

Lan Ling's eyes widened in rage.

All the red clothing had been teleported away, leaving only Yu Zhiwen.

Just thinking about it with her toes, she knew exactly who the old man with the straw hat was targeting.

But Yu Zhiwen couldn't die!

Yet...

Lan Ling reached out a hand, her steps faltering mid-air.

— Powerless!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Lan Ling stared straight ahead, her vision completely blurred.

She never imagined that a distance of just a few li, which she had never taken seriously before, would now feel like an insurmountable chasm!

In her line of sight,

The position where Sheng Nu Lao Er had been standing suddenly lost its figure.

Exactly like the scene she had witnessed earlier.

When he reappeared, he was already beside Yu Zhiwen.

The next second,

"Puff."

Flames erupted into the sky.

The white fire engulfed everything in her view.

"Run—"

In the instant the flames soared, a faint, exhausted echo seemed to roar from within.

Lan Ling froze.

Gone!

When the white flames retracted into the old man's hand, Yu Zhiwen had vanished without a trace.

The image of the three-headed master skeleton being consumed and utterly destroyed by the white flames replayed relentlessly in Lan Ling's mind.

"Has Yu Zhiwen died?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

Lan Ling knew things had taken a disastrous turn.

The disciple of Dao Xuanji was dead?

The nephew of Dao Hall Master was dead?

And...

That wasn't even the worst part.

The worst was that final cry of "Run"...

What did it mean?

At that moment, Lan Ling felt her mind turn to mush, completely confused.

Earlier, when Yu Zhiwen had confided her plan through sound transmission, she had mentioned the possibility of Xu Xiaoshou being present.

Lan Ling had expressed her support.

In Yu Zhiwen's plan, if Sheng Nu Lao Er dared not answer her questions directly,

It would indirectly admit Xu Xiaoshou's existence.

Moreover, if his tone was defensive or tried to distance himself,

That would further prove that Xu Xiaoshou had an unclear connection with Sheng Nu Lao Er.

And the most terrifying, yet unbelievable speculation,

Was if Sheng Nu Lao Er became enraged by the questions and struck early, even demonstrating the ability to control the Fengtian Great Array...

Then it might not just be that Xu Xiaoshou was possibly present.

But that...

Sheng Nu Lao Er was Xu Xiaoshou!

By the time things had progressed to that point, even without Yu Zhiwen saying it, Lan Ling had vaguely realized something.

Sheng Nu Lao Er's reluctance to act, his deliberate avoidance of using that overwhelming aura to crush them, and all those minor details and behaviors...

Was it because he didn't want to, or because he couldn't?

This doubt wasn't just in Yu Zhiwen's mind.

Lan Ling had thought of it too!

In fact, based on Lan Ling's own deductions,

It was about eighty or ninety percent likely that this Sheng Nu Lao Er was a fake.

She didn't need Yu Zhiwen to spell it out; she just needed to observe Sheng Nu Lao Er's reactions a bit longer to decide whether to act.

But...

What did that "Run" mean?

Right now, Lan Ling was truly baffled.

According to her and Yu Zhiwen's speculation, if Sheng Nu Lao Er lashed out in anger and ended the game, targeting the weakest among them—Yu Zhiwen—then he was one hundred percent Xu Xiaoshou!

"But that 'Run'..."

Lan Ling swallowed hard, fear rising in her heart.

"Could our speculation be wrong?"

"Did Yu Zhiwen realize at the last moment that she was mistaken, and there's some uncertain factor proving that..."

"Sheng Nu Lao Er isn't Xu Xiaoshou?!"

"Then doesn't that mean..."

Lan Ling's back went cold in an instant. "The person in front of us is the Sheng Nu second-in-command at full strength, plus the seventh?"

"How could we possibly fight that?!"

"Hehehe..."

In mid-air, the old man with the straw hat pulled at his dry, peeling lips, letting out a sinister, eerie laugh that left an indelible shadow in everyone's hearts.

Xu Xiaoshou licked his lips.

With a flip of his hand, he revealed the object in his grasp.

"The Tianji Machine Disk!!!"

Lan Ling screamed uncontrollably, her already tangled thoughts knotting into an unsolvable mess.

The crowd in red clothing didn't yet know what that square machine box was, but upon hearing the name, their faces turned to horror.

The Tianji Machine Disk!

Everyone had heard of its infamous reputation.

But why was this thing in Sheng Nu Lao Er's hands?

"You..."

Lan Ling pointed a trembling finger, unable to utter another word.

She was completely stunned.

The Tianji Machine Disk in Sheng Nu Lao Er's hands?

The Tianji Machine Disk in Xu Xiaoshou's hands?

Was Xu Xiaoshou Sheng Nu Lao Er?

Or wasn't he?

Why did Sheng Nu Lao Er have the Tianji Machine Disk?

If Xu Xiaoshou was him, did he have the guts to reveal it?

Or was the Tianji Machine Disk originally with the real Sheng Nu Lao Er, meaning Yu Zhiwen's speculation was totally wrong?

"Uh."

Lan Ling clutched her head, her thumb and forefinger pressing hard on her temples as red blood vessels bulged in her eyes.

She was lost.

In that moment, Lan Ling suddenly felt her brain capacity wasn't enough.

"Lan Ling..."

Xin approached with concern, staying close.

He could sense that everyone present, including Lan Ling, Sheng Nu Lao Er, and even the young girl Yu Zhiwen, were engaged in a battle he couldn't comprehend...

A fierce, all-out war!

But he couldn't see it...

"So, who won?"

Confused, Xin turned to Shou Ye and asked haltingly.

Shou Ye looked equally bewildered.

Earlier, when he wasn't distracted, he still had some capacity for thought.

But now...

Even Lan Ling was like this.

What could he, Shou Ye, possibly contribute?

He had already withdrawn from the battlefield ages ago, you clueless, happy bald guy!

He was truly envious!!

"Old... Old Two..."

The storyteller stared at his own Old Two, who looked back with calm eyes while holding that square box, feeling his mouth go dry.

Sure enough,

Old Two spoke:

"You had another question earlier that you wanted that young girl to clarify, didn't you?"

"Isn't it just the 'Tianji Machine Disk'?"

"I used it underground before, and you saw it, right?"

"So, what's with your reaction now?"

"What did you say earlier? Let me think..." Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head, a hint of recollection in his eyes.

The storyteller's legs went weak.

"Old Two, don't think about it, no need to. She's actually always been on your side. You can rest easy."

"But, what on earth is going on..."

He pointed at the frenzied woman leading the red clothing group, glanced at the Tianji Machine Disk, and asked shakily.

Xu Xiaoshou snorted dismissively and looked at Lan Ling, who was being protected by Shou Ye, Xin, and Hei Ming.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "How could a dying girl's final cry disrupt your judgment so much?"

"How ridiculous!"

"Hehehe, heheheHAHAHA..."

Xu Xiaoshou laughed as if recalling the funniest joke, his laughter building from suppressed to unrestrained, echoing through this ancient archive space without end.

Suddenly, he restrained all his mirth, his face turning serious and earnest.

"Why stop deducing?"

"That's right, I didn't think of any of what you did. I'm just a simple-minded person."

"As you wished, whoever gets the Tianji Machine Disk controls the Fengtian Great Array, whoever that is..."

"What's that guy's name again?"

Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head in thought for a moment before suddenly realizing. "Oh, right, Xu Xiaoshou."

"That's it, I'm Xu Xiaoshou, just like you thought. I'm... no, I am that young girl's friend."

"Hehehehe..." Xu Xiaoshou couldn't hold back his laughter again, even wiping tears away with the sword hilt.

"HAHAHAHA, how entertaining."

"You've thought it all out so perfectly, so brilliantly."

"I am Xu Xiaoshou!"