Chapter 590: Forgotten Memories

"Which one?" Cen Qiaofu was led inside and asked instinctively.

"Hong Yi?"

"Sheng Nu?"

"Gui Shou?"

The masked person listed the three options and chuckled to himself, "These existences are beneath even my own regard. Would they catch the eye of Sheng Di?"

Cen Qiaofu's face darkened.

How could you, as the head of Sheng Nu, demean yourself like that?

"Hah." The masked person seemed to know what he was thinking and laughed immediately.

"But in Bai Ku, aside from these three, who else could attract Sheng Di's attention?"

Cen Qiaofu didn't dwell on it and continued, "The rest are just some insignificant young people... Could it be the smugglers?"

"Those sneaky types are even less worthy of their notice," the masked person said.

"Then it's... the trial participants?"

Cen Qiaofu was shocked. "So it's really the young ones?"

He could hardly imagine that Sheng Di's grand scheme would ultimately focus on the youth.

"Won't the young ones need time to grow?"

"Never mind whether they might die young midway—can they afford to wait for that growth?" Cen Qiaofu didn't believe it.

The masked person laughed upon hearing this.

"We've waited so long already; what's the rush for a moment more?"

"Who is it exactly!" Cen Qiaofu was getting anxious.

He couldn't think of any young person in Bai Ku who could earn Sheng Di's favor.

Luo Leilei?

Lei Shuangxing?

No.

One isn't qualified.

The other has their own mission and no time to spare.

So, is it someone from Sheng Shen Dian Tang?

"No."

The masked person's eyes darted around, knowing Cen Qiaofu had misunderstood. "That person, you know them too, and you've even 'encountered' them."

"Encountered?"

Cen Qiaofu was baffled by the emphasis the leader had placed on that word. Suddenly, a hedgehog flashed through his mind.

"Is it him?"

"Mm, the one I've taken a liking to..."

The masked person didn't respond directly but shifted his gaze toward the direction of Bai Ku. "But theoretically, after this trip to Bai Ku, perhaps more than just I will have noticed him."

"Wen Ming!"

The name escaped Cen Qiaofu's lips.

In that instant, the vague figure in his mind solidified into the form of a young man.

It was just a brief collision at Tian Sang Ling Gong back then; they had only crossed paths, and he hadn't seen what made this young man so exceptional.

But why did the leader always speak so highly of him?

Even before entering Bai Ku, he had specifically recommended this person and given him to that storyteller?

"Is he really that strong?" Cen Qiaofu asked curiously.

"You'll see!"

The masked person smiled ambiguously.

If the person he had set his sights on could avoid a premature end,

Then at least in Bai Ku, several parties would likely be keeping an eye on him.

Sheng Shen Dian Tang, Gui Shou, and Sheng Di's arrangements...

"Tsk tsk."

A mysterious emotion flickered in the masked person's murky eyes.

It felt like a child's favorite toy, once exclusively theirs, suddenly becoming visible to others.

The joy of sole possession was now tainted by the possibility of having to share it...

It stung a bit!

"Let's go."

The masked person said no more and strode toward the outside.

"Where to this time?"

Cen Qiaofu quickly followed.

"To see if the storyteller can successfully bring Wen Ming, or perhaps..."

The masked person suddenly stopped, as if sensing some disturbance from outside. He chuckled softly, "Join in the fun."

In Bai Ku,

On the other side,

Xu Xiaoshou landed with a thud, the golden light shattering and reforming into human shape.

Feeling the emptiness in his qi sea, he finally had a moment to glance back, then clenched his fist and swung it hard.

"Yoshi, escaped with my life!"

When both the storyteller and Shou Ye had attacked, he had still managed to take that step forward.

It had taken every ounce of courage he'd ever mustered.

Thankfully, it succeeded.

The compressed "Bing Yu Huo Zhi Ge" had unleashed energy that no ordinary person could withstand.

That was power enough to destroy the entire Ling Rong Ze!

The collision of "Jin Zhao Yuan Zhong" and "San Ri Dong Jie" wouldn't diminish just because they had been subdued.

On the contrary, under Xu Xiaoshou's deliberate control, he had forced even more energy into their balance point.

The resulting explosion was only more terrifying.

But...

"Hiss."

Xu Xiaoshou gulped down pills, his body convulsing in waves of pain and relief as he watched his cracked skin and his left arm, corroded by destructive energy to the point of being barely bone, slowly regenerate.

"How horrifying."

"This move kills a thousand enemies but harms seven hundred and fifty of yourself, leaving just two hundred and fifty fools."

"At the level of a grandmaster, it's impossible to sustain..."

Even with "Sheng Sheng Bu Xi," the healing of his arm was still agonizingly slow, so Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare relax for a second.

One slip-up led to consequences like this.

Who would dare let their guard down?

It would probably take at least half a day for his arm to fully repair itself on its own.

The only silver lining was that this was still a problem that time could solve.

"So, where to escape next?"

Xu Xiaoshou gripped his four swords, scanning his surroundings with a hint of confusion.

Theoretically, an ordinary Bai Ku trial participant could abandon the trial by simply crushing a Ling Long Shi, which would summon Hong Yi's attention and allow them to exit.

But...

"That's not scientific at all."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't even dare keep the Ling Long Shi in his ring, afraid of attracting Hong Yi's special attention.

To break out, he had to do it himself!

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

The space around him rippled intensely, the pressure building.

Xu Xiaoshou knew this was the explosive ice-fire seed he left behind taking effect.

It seemed that once the time came, even if the final explosion was stopped, Bai Ku would inevitably shatter!

But...

It needed time!

"So, where can I hide for this time?"

"Find a spot to lay low, wait for Bai Ku to break, and slip out in the chaos?"

That was Xu Xiaoshou's idea.

He even wanted to pull out Yuan Fu and hide inside.

But...

Looking at the message in his info panel that refreshed every so often, the weight in his heart wouldn't lift.

"Who could it be?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit panicked.

Shou Ye couldn't be chasing him.

In the final moment, he "sensed" Hong Yi's self-sacrificing choice to swallow the ice-fire seed, and tears nearly welled up in tribute to Shou Ye.

After taking that hit head-on, the other had no energy left to pursue.

So...

The storyteller?

"No, no."

Xu Xiaoshou's "sensing" hadn't caught even a trace of the storyteller's aura.

Shou Ye had caught up earlier purely because of Lu Ke's famed sword, Qing Lin Ji.

Now, not to mention using "One Step to Heaven" in a vanished state,

Even if he stayed put,

The storyteller was probably busy saving himself and wouldn't bother with the explosion's epicenter.

So, how could he be caught?

"Then who is it?"

Xu Xiaoshou vaguely felt he had overlooked something.

After racking his brain, he finally remembered that during his fight with the storyteller, almost every time he checked the info panel, he caught a glimpse of that "being watched" message.

Back then, he thought it was because the storyteller was constantly observing him.

But now?

The other was nowhere in sight.

So, who was sending that "being watched" message?

"I'm getting panicked..."

"I should feel really panicked, but why is it just a little irritable, without much worry?"

Xu Xiaoshou sensed something off about his state.

In the past, seeing "being watched" always made his scalp tingle.

But this time...

It appeared again!

Yet, why did he just feel like "oh, it's here again," and then not care?

"I'm not right!"

As a bit of spiritual energy returned to his qi sea, Xu Xiaoshou knew he should be panicking, but he was too calm—unnaturally calm.

"Disappear."

With a wave of his hand, he vanished on the spot, feeling a bit better.

"Who's watching me?"

He scanned all around...

Silence reigned, desolate and empty.

Aside from A Jie the stone, nothing else was spying on him.

"Stay calm..."

"No, get irritated."

"Who exactly is watching me?!"

The info panel jumped again, and Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank.

He realized something was wrong!

"Disappear technique" should be absolute invisibility—how could someone still see him after that?

Thinking back...

Even during his fight with the storyteller, when he had disappeared,

It seemed that "being watched" message had still appeared.

"What the hell!"

In his vanished state, Xu Xiaoshou finally felt a hint of panic.

It seemed some external force influencing him had been blocked by the "disappear technique."

But people couldn't be blocked, right?

How was that unknown person still able to see him?

"Calm down, think, use your brain, Xu Xiaoshou!"

Forcing his chaotic thoughts to settle, Xu Xiaoshou spread his arms as if to embrace this fading world.

As his mind quieted slightly, he seemed to hear more sounds.

"Shh shh shh..."

The wind!

"Crack crack—"

The sound of space fracturing!

It was coming from far away—clearly, Bai Ku was on the verge of breaking...

So, what other sounds had he been ignoring?

He tried to empty his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou unconsciously lifted his head, feeling his soul detach and merge completely with this world.

"Buzz."

Were the four swords trembling?

It was faint—what for?

No, not that reason...

The four swords shouldn't trigger "being watched."

What else?

What had he forgotten all along?

His qi sea was nearly depleted; Xu Xiaoshou felt he couldn't maintain the vanished state much longer.

Suddenly, his soul, merged with the heavenly dao, seemed to rise to its peak and touch something cool and icy.

What was this?

"Drizzle drizzle..."

Rain was falling steadily.

From the nine heavens above, that curtain of rain, barely a yard high yet covering all of Bai Ku, slipped unobtrusively into Xu Xiaoshou's "sensing."

"Is it that?"

Whoosh—his qi sea bottomed out again, and the vanished state ended.

Xu Xiaoshou felt something flash through his mind, but he couldn't grasp it.

"Rain?"

"It's raining in Bai Ku?"

He seemed to realize it just then.

Yet, deep in his memory, there was a vague image, as if when he first emerged from the ancient archives space, he had seen the rain.

"Did I forget?"

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly at the rain curtain in the nine heavens.

After a long while, he lowered his head and pondered again.

"Being watched..."

Who was sending it?

The info panel shifted suddenly, popping up another message.

"Under hypnosis, passive value, 1."

Zing—

In that instant, Xu Xiaoshou's hairs stood on end!

"Damn it!!!"

"Hypnosis?"

"The rain?"

He looked up in shock at the rain curtain in the nine heavens, his mind struck by thunder!

"It's watching me!"

His breathing grew heavy.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes widening as if about to burst.

"And it's not just watching me—it's hypnotizing me?"

"It..."

"Huh?"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt something else flash through his mind, but it slipped away completely.

"What was I doing?"

He twisted his neck, which ached from straining upward, furrowed his brow, and slowly lowered his head.

His pupils dilated gradually.

Then, his brows relaxed.

Even the irritation in his expression seemed smoothed away by some unseen hand.

Xu Xiaoshou murmured unconsciously.

"Why do I feel a bit uneasy..."

"Who exactly is watching me?"

He glanced at the info panel out of habit.

But the panel was still, and Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit puzzled.

Why, when he was clearly out of danger, did he instinctively look at the info panel...

"I'm sick!"

He pursed his lips and shook his head.

Xu Xiaoshou cast aside the jumbled thoughts that felt like nonsense he couldn't recall, returning to his original concern.

"Dammit, how do I break out of this Bai Ku?"

His face twisted in frustration; Xu Xiaoshou was extremely troubled. "It's something a Ling Long Shi could handle so easily..."

"Buzz!"

The four swords suddenly trembled violently, on the verge of rioting, as if sensing something.

Xu Xiaoshou's face lit up.

He knew that because of the sword intent, these fierce swords had preliminarily acknowledged him.

Could it be they sensed his thoughts?

"Do you have a way to break the boundary?"

"Clang—"

The four swords shook fiercely, as if trying to break free.

Xu Xiaoshou quickly followed their lead.

"Alright, I'll rely on you!"

He loosened his grip slightly.

Sure enough, the once-docile four swords shot upward on their own, carrying the person behind them straight toward a certain point.

"Charge!"

A hint of joy appeared in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes.

Indeed, at the critical moment, he needed the guidance of Bai Ku's master, the fierce sword!

He focused all his mind on scouting for dangers ahead, completely forgetting that even in the most perilous situations, he would spare a thread of spiritual sense for the info panel.

Silently, the info panel jumped again.