Chapter 583: Willow Dark Flower Bright, Another Village

"You little brat, you're crazy!"

Shou Ye was truly frightened. He never expected Xu Xiaoshou to pull such a desperate move, striking at the very foundation. He had witnessed the devastation of Ling Rong Ze firsthand. Although he hadn't experienced the full force of that level of explosion and had only seen the aftermath, the lingering power there still made his heart race with fear even now. The explosion in the ancient records space had occurred in another dimension, buffered by spatial fragments, so by the time the blast reached Bai Ku, it had been greatly weakened. Even so, it had shaken Bai Ku to the brink of collapse. In contrast, the two forces in Ling Rong Ze... When the Bai Ku trial participants hadn't yet arrived and the red-robed figures were scouting the terrain, they had already discovered them and even reinforced the seals and restraints. The goal was to prevent the two forces from overlapping and causing catastrophe. But in the end, it still happened. An uncontrolled explosion had led to such dire consequences. Now, Xu Xiaoshou had obtained both Jin Zhao Yuan Zhong and San Ri Dong Jie—two supreme treasures that were completely opposite in nature and impossible for one person to possess. Did he really plan to control these forces and detonate Bai Ku?

"Stop joking!"

Shou Ye shouted angrily, "Even if you could blow up Bai Ku, have you thought about the consequences? Can you escape the blast? Can you withstand all of this?"

"It's impossible!"

Shou Ye lunged forward, his form merging into the Heavenly Dao, and in an instant, he rushed to Xu Xiaoshou's position.

"If you try to fuse them, you won't even wait for Bai Ku to explode—you'll burst apart on the spot. Believe me or not?"

No matter how much Shou Ye lectured, Xu Xiaoshou ignored him completely, his face twisted in madness. He could imagine the consequences, but under the influence of the Four Swords' demonic power, all his rational concerns had been cast aside.

"You're on your own!"

As Shou Ye's palm struck, Xu Xiaoshou's figure vanished from the spot. Shou Ye's spiritual energy, infused with dark devouring power, missed entirely and passed through where Xu Xiaoshou had been. He froze in place.

"How is that even possible?"

With such a destructive energy in his grasp, did Xu Xiaoshou still have the strength left, the spiritual energy, to use that vanishing technique?

Shou Ye whirled around abruptly. But just as Xu Xiaoshou had intended, once the vanishing technique was activated, it erased all traces of him from this world. Even Shou Ye couldn't sense any sign of Xu Xiaoshou's energy at that moment.

"You madman!"

Shou Ye cursed loudly and sealed off the entire space with dark energy. He feared Xu Xiaoshou might use this as a feint to vanish completely. Even more, he worried that the energy might explode, shattering Bai Ku on the spot.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

Xu Xiaoshou had disappeared, but the void's Dao patterns grew brighter, as if he could peer into and influence the Heavenly Dao rules themselves. Shou Ye couldn't fathom how someone not even at the master realm could detect Bai Ku's rules. But this wasn't the time to ponder it.

"Night Curtain!"

With a low shout in his mind, darkness swallowed the sky. The glowing Dao patterns, like flames not yet ignited, were doused with cold water. Six senses, spiritual perception... nothing could detect any movement anymore.

In his vanished state, Xu Xiaoshou felt like a deaf, mute, and blind person, unable to do anything. Yet, the power in his hands continued to gather. Vaguely, he sensed that Shou Ye had replaced the space's rules with dark attributes. But this replacement wasn't complete. The Heavenly Dao's power lingered, not entirely gone, just invisible and untouchable to him. However, since his own power was weak, he couldn't feel it. Jin Zhao Yuan Zhong and San Ri Dong Jie were both supreme treasures containing calamitous forces. It didn't matter if he couldn't sense them—they could still affect the Heavenly Dao rules, and that was enough.

"Violent Giant!"

Sensing his body could no longer hold the destructive force in his hands, Xu Xiaoshou ignited a destructive desire at the soul level in his mind. Instantly, golden light burst forth, and the Violent Giant appeared. Even if the light flashed briefly and only he could see it, Xu Xiaoshou still witnessed the dawn. An opportunity! If he couldn't obtain it, he'd destroy it. That was his only chance to escape.

"Song of Ice and Fire, play on!"

His trembling hands could no longer control the fully unleashed and fusing destructive power of the two treasures. Xu Xiaoshou let go, and the energy sphere—half blue, half white, with gray aura swirling outside—dropped from mid-air.

"Swish."

In the darkness, a sudden light streaked down from the sky like a falling sun. Shou Ye turned immediately, staring straight at it. He realized in an instant that the force Xu Xiaoshou controlled could also vanish under his spiritual technique. But once it left his hand, it was no longer bound by "vanishing" and would reappear. Following the energy sphere's trajectory, Shou Ye deduced Xu Xiaoshou's vanished position. If he wanted, he could shatter that space right now and obliterate Xu Xiaoshou on the spot. But it was too late. If he diverted his attention... who would handle the energy sphere?

"I'll tear you apart, you old fool!"

Furious, Shou Ye stepped toward the energy sphere's location in mid-air. Before its energy could erupt chaotically, he covered it with dark power. Then, he opened his mouth and swallowed it whole!

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

He had teleported away in mid-air to avoid Shou Ye detecting his position, but he was stunned by what he saw. Swallowed it? At that moment, he could hardly imagine what Shou Ye was feeling. To prevent Bai Ku from exploding, he was bearing this force alone? Could he handle it? Wasn't this worse than swallowing a fly?

"Sizzle."

In the silent scene, a faint sound suddenly echoed. The next second, the dark domain enveloping the space shuddered violently and shattered into crystalline fragments.

"Bang!"

A soft explosion erupted from within Shou Ye. His tattered cloth robes were instantly reduced to dust. The surrounding area for several li was obliterated in an exaggerated manner, turning to powder on the spot. A black hole formed directly!

Xu Xiaoshou felt no energy wave at all, but inexplicably, a tremendous force hit him, sending him flying several li away. His body was even cut by spatial rifts due to the high-speed flight, opening wounds all over.

"Boom!"

Finally, a loud noise echoed in the void, but it came not from Shou Ye, but from Xu Xiaoshou! Only then did he realize that merely unleashing this imperfect "Song of Ice and Fire" had drained his spiritual energy, making it impossible to maintain both the vanishing technique and the Violent Giant simultaneously. Being flung away meant the vanishing state was lifted. The shattering golden light meant the Violent Giant's power had collapsed. Dizziness and darkness overwhelmed his brain, and he nearly blacked out on the spot. But he knew that closing his eyes now would mean he'd never open them again. He gritted his teeth and struggled, swallowing the pre-prepared pills in one go, barely managing to retain a thread of consciousness.

Looking around, after the silent explosion, the space for several li had vanished completely. Yet, further out, a new, fully enclosed dark prison had formed, tightly containing the blast's aftermath without letting any force leak out.

"Are you kidding me?"

"A double domain?"

Xu Xiaoshou was completely baffled. He never imagined such a devastating strike could be swallowed whole by Shou Ye. But a double domain? Impossible! The only explanation was that after the first dark domain shattered, Shou Ye had quickly erected a new one to lock down the explosive force. As for Shou Ye himself...

"Pfft!"

As if confirming Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts, Shou Ye could no longer hold on. He had used the throne domain to contain the energy sphere's residual blast, leaving his own body without its strongest layer of protection. Even as a Dao Cutter, forcibly swallowing such energy hadn't left him unscathed. The explosion seemed to be just the beginning. After the aftermath subsided, blood patterns suddenly cracked open all over Shou Ye's body. The next second, blue and white beams of light surged out along with blood, illuminating the void. Shou Ye's face was full of pain as he glared at the equally weakened Xu Xiaoshou. He was like a balloon on the verge of bursting, its collapse inevitable even with external restraints.

"Devour!"

Clenching his teeth amid the erupting blue and white light, a faint trace of darkness appeared. It quickly clung to the other energies, assimilating them and dragging them back into Shou Ye's body. In that moment, Shou Ye transformed into a human-shaped black hole. Not even a spatial black hole's suction was as terrifying as his. The forces trying to erupt and explode were all pulled in, not a single bit escaping!

"Incredible."

Xu Xiaoshou genuinely marveled. He steadied himself slightly and stared at Shou Ye, who could barely hold himself together. After a moment of thought, he painfully lifted his hand. In it were the Four Swords. Shou Ye's eyes widened instantly.

"Received suspicion, passive value +1."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several black demonic sword energies suddenly slashed toward Shou Ye, who was like a balloon about to burst. The erratic sword energies flew crookedly through the air due to Xu Xiaoshou's weakness. But coincidentally, Shou Ye's human-shaped black hole suction was so terrifying... No one needed to aim; even throwing a stone at the ground would pull it into his body.

"Xu Xiaoshou, you're vicious!"

Shou Ye was going mad. No one could withstand the Four Swords' demonic energy except an ancient sword cultivator. He knew he had to move or shut down his black hole suction. Otherwise, the demonic energy would possess him. But if he deactivated the "Devour" technique... How would he stop the energy from the sphere that could destroy this space from leaking out? In that instant, Shou Ye felt like he'd been force-fed filth, his mind in utter chaos. As he hesitated, the sword energies struck.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

They pierced through him, blood spraying and flowing back. The balloon was about to burst! Yet, at its core, the black hole suction didn't relent, pulling in the demonic energy completely and dragging his crumbling body back together, containing the explosive force.

"Teetering on the edge?"

Xu Xiaoshou really wanted to teleport over and plunge the Four Swords straight into this balloon to eliminate the threat. He knew even this might not kill Shou Ye. But if it could severely injure him and strip away his ability to track, everything would be easier. Unfortunately, he couldn't. He was too weak himself. Even waving the sword in his hand took every ounce of strength; he could do nothing more. The two stood facing each other from afar.

"Bang!"

Shou Ye's body swelled suddenly, then retracted immediately. Demonic energy erupted around him, his eyes even darkening.

"Bang!"

The void exploded again. The completely shattered but self-repairing space turned to dust under this force.

"Bang!"

The dark domain several li away expanded for the third time, teetering on collapse. The next second, it finally couldn't hold and burst apart with a roar.

"Huff."

Xu Xiaoshou finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. He had won! If Shou Ye couldn't contain this space, he couldn't keep him here anymore. And for Shou Ye to forcibly swallow the entire energy sphere's power with a body that wasn't even at the innate physical level... Xu Xiaoshou didn't know how Shou Ye felt, but he was certain even Sang Lao wouldn't dare take it head-on. He remembered when he had refined the Five Finger Mark technique and it exploded in the old man's nose from the inside; even he had struggled. Much less Shou Ye now.

"Good luck."

Xu Xiaoshou weakly clenched his fist and gave a light thumbs-up. He turned and left.

Shou Ye was furious!

"Received curse, passive value +1.""Received retention, passive value +1.""Received gaze, passive value +1."

Hurry up and run. Xu Xiaoshou bolted out of the combat range, not daring to linger. He had figured out why Shou Ye could track him. With "Concealment," "Transformation," and "Vanishing Technique," he shouldn't be found. So the issue wasn't with him. If Shou Ye couldn't track him, how had he pinpointed his exact location after repeated teleports? Undoubtedly, it was Lu Ke! Or rather, not Lu Ke. After all, that guy was sealed in the Yuan Mansion. Even if Shou Ye had some tracking aura on him, two distinct worlds shouldn't allow it. But one item could ignore the Yuan Mansion's dimensional properties. The famous sword, Qing Lin Ji! Xu Xiaoshou recalled the scene when he had stored that famous sword in the Yuan Mansion and Lu Ke summoned it. That was his first time realizing the unique nature of famous swords. If Shou Ye could track him, it must be because of this sword's trait. Though he didn't know the exact ability, whether Shou Ye could sense the famous sword in his Yuan Mansion space... Or if the famous sword was actively crossing the Yuan Mansion to seek help from Shou Ye... But right now, sacrificing the pawn to save the king was the wise choice. It was a pity to lose it, but there was no reason to hesitate.

Thud. Xu Xiaoshou flipped his hand, grabbed the famous sword Qing Lin Ji, which was completely frozen by the Dong Jie power, and without hesitation, threw it in the opposite direction of his path. He tossed it away!

"Farewell."

Without a second glance, he ran off, popping a few more pills. His body shook, and his spirits lifted. Xu Xiaoshou stepped into the sky and sped away from the area at light speed.

"Finally, safe."

Drizzle fell from the high sky as he ran low. Suddenly,

"Received gaze, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou stopped in his tracks, flipped in mid-air, and his face fell completely. How could there still be more? In that moment, he felt like cursing and even wanted to unleash another "Song of Ice and Fire" to shatter this wretched world. When it rains, it pours—yet beyond the dark flowers lies another village! He looked up. A woman in a flowing red skirt stood with arms crossed, several li away. Beside her was a woman in a white skirt with a blue shawl, high ponytail, delicate face, and a vibrant purple electric aura.

"Xu Xiaoshou..."

"Received call, passive value +1."

"Hee-hee, how impressive!"

"Should I call you the second one, or Wen Ming, or... Xu Xiaoshou?"

"Received affirmation, passive value +1."