Chapter 591: The Pitiful Masked Man

The darkness retreated from his eyes, and crimson returned to his pupils.

"Shua!"

From a faint spatial rift, a hunched old man sprang out.

As soon as he landed, he quickly set the figure on his back down on the ground, then slapped the person hard across the face several times, left and right.

"Wake up, wake up!"

"Good heavens, I told you not to try it, but you insisted. Do you still think you're the same as before?"

"You're just at the Houtian realm now, so why charge into the spatial turbulence?"

"You're going to be the death of me!"

Cen Qiaofu was so frustrated he almost wanted to slap the person on the ground a few more times.

But he realized that wouldn't wake the unconscious figure.

"Damn it."

Gritting his teeth, Cen Qiaofu drew the small axe from his waist, his face stern as he raised it high.

"Cough, cough..."

Just then, the person on the ground suddenly coughed violently twice, and then...

"Pu!"

The sound of vomiting blood was cut short, forced back down.

The masked figure flipped over on the ground in an instant.

"What are you doing?!"

"Uh..."

A drop of sweat trickled down Cen Qiaofu's face as he awkwardly lowered his hand. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

"To save you!"

The word "save" made Cen Qiaofu flare up again.

"I told you to let me handle it—can't you just listen?"

"Are you a child?"

"That spatial turbulence—is that something you can withstand?"

The masked figure said nothing, his eyes still fixed on the small axe.

Cen Qiaofu rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If the normal methods won't wake you, I have to make you hurt to snap you out of it!"

The scene fell silent.

Cen Qiaofu stepped back a bit, shifting his gaze to the world of Bai Ku. "Ah, as expected, Bai Ku is stirring—it's probably not going to hold together much longer."

"Where's that Shuo Shu Ren guy, anyway?"

"Shouldn't he show up right away to deliver the intel?"

"Heh, the weather's nice..."

Cen Qiaofu cringed at his own awkwardness and couldn't help but turn back, roaring, "Anyway, you won't die from it—a single axe strike would definitely wake you up. Do you really think you can afford to sleep through this?"

"You're right." The masked figure finally swallowed the blood rising in his throat.

He could feel that his injuries had worsened.

"Something's off."

Struggling to his feet, the masked figure scanned all around—empty, no one in sight.

He closed his eyes, then opened them, a flash of sword light seeming to pass through his gaze.

"No one's here."

"The people of Bai Ku, including the trial participants, seem to have all vanished?"

He turned his head, his eyes questioning as he looked at Cen Qiaofu.

Cen Qiaofu sighed. "You've regressed again, it seems."

Composing himself, he continued, "One at Li Jian Prairie, another at the black hole entrance—they're probably the key points for Bai Ku's collapse. As for Shuo Shu Ren..."

Cen Qiaofu's pupils lost focus as he scanned around, disappointed. "That guy's a master at escaping. He basically never shows his true self to anyone, so it's normal we can't find him."

"And then?"

Cen Qiaofu was puzzled. "And then what?"

The masked figure didn't speak, slowly raising a finger. The two fell silent at the same time.

All was quiet.

"Shasha..."

The sound of wind.

"Kaka—"

The crackling of space fracturing.

Rain!

Cen Qiaofu's pupils shrank suddenly.

"Rain?"

He suppressed the urge to look up, turning incredulously to his leader.

"Heh."

The masked figure chuckled with a sigh, not bothering to hide anything.

"When has Jin Zhao Yu Hai ever seen rain?"

Without any pretense, the masked figure boldly looked up, staring straight at the rain curtain in the sky.

Though his body was extremely weak, his mindset seemed to have no room for "retreat."

If there was a problem, facing it head-on was the only way—no other solutions.

"Yin—"

A faint yet piercing high-frequency sword hum seemed to emerge from his murky eyes, slashing straight toward the heavens.

"Chi"

The rain curtain broke for a moment.

Then, undeterred, it continued falling.

The curtain hung three feet high, tethered to the nine heavens, suspended above the human heart.

"Who?"

Cen Qiaofu grew uneasy.

Deep down, he didn't want to provoke whoever it was so soon.

But with his leader already exposed, he couldn't just let him face it alone.

Stepping forward, he positioned himself in front of the masked figure. Cen Qiaofu shouted loudly:

"Who?!"

The rain kept falling steadily, without the slightest hesitation, as if it had hung in the sky of Bai Ku since ancient times.

Cen Qiaofu felt a tingle on his neck and instinctively lowered his head.

Then, like an electric shock, his whole body tensed up, and he jerked his head back up.

"Who?!"

This time, his heart stirred up massive waves.

Had he overlooked it?

He had been staring straight ahead, so how, in that instant of distraction, did it feel like he was...

"Hypnotized?"

The masked figure's amused gaze finally shifted from the rain curtain to Cen Qiaofu, saying slowly:

"If someone can hypnotize you now, that means they're at least someone who has mastered Taixu power."

"But anyone with Taixu power can't enter Jin Zhao Yu Hai—it would only backfire."

"So, that means this person is at most at the peak of Zhandao, having fully passed the nine death tribulations, yet still capable of battling Taixu."

"Or, the last possibility..."

The masked figure paused, looking at Cen Qiaofu's shocked gaze and nodding: "Like you, they've sealed their cultivation."

"I'll chop him!"

In a flash, Cen Qiaofu drew his axe from his waist and lunged toward the sky.

"Not yet."

The masked figure reached out to stop him, glancing upward and smiling. "They just want to be an open and honest voyeur without making a move. Why be so rude?"

"Besides..."

He shifted his gaze; everywhere he looked, rain curtains filled the view.

"With rain this heavy, can your little axe even reach them?"

"If it can't reach, I can just smash this whole world." Cen Qiaofu was furious; sneaky types like this deserved to be split in two!

"Ah."

The masked figure nodded in agreement, then added: "But there are others here. We can't break this world..."

He glanced upward thoughtfully.

"And it can't be broken anyway."

Cen Qiaofu: "..."

Since his leader had said so, he wasn't angry enough to press on. He lowered the hand holding the axe.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," the masked figure shook his head, "but probably someone from Sheng Shen Dian Tang. Without them holding it together, Bai Ku should've collapsed already... Who?"

He turned the question back to the old man in front of him.

Cen Qiaofu rolled his eyes: "Everyone I know has turned to ashes by now. How could I remember someone like that?"

"That makes sense."

The masked figure nodded immediately, thinking for a moment and tapping his fingers: "Now that you mention it, I recall there was a kid back then—a promising water-element ability user."

"Oh? You actually remember people?" Cen Qiaofu was surprised.

"I said it before, he had potential."

The masked figure didn't mind, adding: "It was decades ago, but if I'm not mistaken, his father was..."

He slowly looked up.

"Killed by me."

Cen Qiaofu's brow twitched, and he followed suit, gazing upward.

The rain continued unchanged, neither intensifying nor weakening.

It flowed on without interruption, utterly steady.

"Good temperament!"

Cen Qiaofu laughed: "As expected of a water-element ability user—embracing all, vast as the sea!"

The masked figure frowned at that.

"It was just a normal fight—why mock them? They might still be just a kid."

"Uh..."

Cen Qiaofu was at a loss for words.

The rain kept falling, and the scene quieted down.

The two withdrew their gazes, exchanging a look, both silent.

"Hmm?"

Just then, the masked figure's expression shifted, and he looked into the distance.

"Someone's coming?"

"Xiu!"

A sword pierced the air.

Xu Xiaoshou gently gripped the hilt of You Si Jian, letting it race freely toward its joyful destination.

High-speed travel didn't cause much pain to a grandmaster's body.

But right now, Xu Xiaoshou's inner longing for freedom overshadowed any physical discomfort.

"Almost there..."

"Almost!"

He could clearly sense that You Si Jian was heading straight.

If it kept going like this, it might really pass through the weakest spatial node of Bai Ku and return to Sheng Shen Continent.

But it wasn't long before the white light bead in his mind buzzed again.

This time, it seemed louder than usual.

"Om..."

Xu Xiaoshou's mind was jolted awake.

"What does that mean?"

"The white bead—is reacting?"

He clenched You Si Jian tightly, forcing himself to stop.

This white bead was the inheritance of the Wolfbei Saint.

Relying on the Bai Ku map from it, Xu Xiaoshou had already gained great benefits.

But this thing never acted up randomly before.

The only other time was when he asked the Wolfbei Saint for help to suppress the Jin Zhao seed.

Now...

"Something's wrong!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked at You Si Jian, which was shaking more violently in his hand, suddenly realizing—if this sword wasn't responding to his intent to leave Bai Ku, then what was causing this?

What was its real purpose?

Seizing the moment when the Bai Ku map appeared, Xu Xiaoshou glanced at it and felt his heart sink.

"A rift!"

The direction You Si Jian was taking him was toward the deepest part of the Bai Ku map—the other-dimensional rift.

"Are you kidding?"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

He didn't think that rift led to Sheng Shen Continent.

After all, if Shuo Shu Ren's words were true, the Sheng Nu leader was probably in that rift right now.

Going there would be walking straight into a trap!

"Calm down..."

Xu Xiaoshou tried to make You Si Jian stop trembling, but it seemed to have truly sensed his intent.

With a "Keng" clang, it erupted with fierce demonic power, dragging Xu Xiaoshou forward at light speed.

"Damn it!"

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to let go, but his hand felt like it was glued in place.

The demonic power kept pouring into his body nonstop.

He couldn't even loosen his grip!

"Hell..."

Xu Xiaoshou was going mad.

"Am I some kind of Tang Seng? Do I have to face eighty-one trials of disaster?"

He had just escaped one danger, and now he was heading into another?

"Open up!"

He compressed his strength in his hand again, trying to use the recoil to fling himself off You Si Jian's hilt.

But he couldn't.

Before he could even exert force, the surging demonic power nearly destroyed his consciousness entirely.

"Mama..."

Shi A Jie murmured softly, beginning to absorb the demonic energy.

Xu Xiaoshou regained a bit of clarity and immediately shouted: "Cut off my hand!"

"Mama?"

A Jie was confused.

"Quick, chop off my hand!"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced ahead; they were getting close.

He could vaguely sense life energy up front.

That was the Sheng Nu leader!

How could he go there?

"Hurry!"

Xu Xiaoshou urged, shaking his head.

In that brief moment of A Jie's hesitation, he almost lost his mind to the demonic power again.

Had You Si Jian gone crazy?

Why had it suddenly unleashed such massive power?

"Mama!"

A Jie called out firmly.

It couldn't harm the one who had brought it to freedom.

"Request denied, passivity value: 1."

Xu Xiaoshou nearly spat blood.

He didn't have time to explain to A Jie.

But now, it seemed he had no choice.

"You have to listen to me..."

The words barely left his mouth when Xu Xiaoshou froze.

Up ahead...

Sword intent!

That familiar sword intent—he had only sensed it once at Tian Sang Spirit Palace, but it was unforgettable!

"Gulu."

His throat suddenly felt dry. Xu Xiaoshou realized he was utterly helpless.

He hadn't even seen the person yet, but he felt like he was already doomed.

Why was the world so against him?

"It's here."

At the spatial rift, the masked figure stared ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Cen Qiaofu stepped forward, blocking in front of him.

Sure enough, the next second, a figure shot out.

"Gege!"

"How did you notice me? I thought I hid so well!"

Shuo Shu Ren opened his arms wide, completely ignoring the old man in front of the masked figure.

Cen Qiaofu's mouth twitched.

So it was this guy?

He was hiding nearby?

No wonder they couldn't find him earlier...

As Shuo Shu Ren lunged forward, Cen Qiaofu quickly sidestepped, exposing the masked figure behind him.

He had no intention of getting hugged by this weirdo!

"Gege!"

The sweet call came again. The masked figure's eyes flashed with confusion, but he quickly dismissed it.

He waited until Shuo Shu Ren was close before suddenly ducking.

Then...

"Bang!"

"Ow."

Shuo Shu Ren clumsily pulled himself out of the mud, his small fist hammering into the masked figure's chest.

"Naughty!"

"Are you alone?"

The masked figure swatted his hand away.

"Mm-hmm."

Shuo Shu Ren pouted. "So what?"

The masked figure sensed something was wrong. "Did you bring a famous sword?"

"A famous sword?"

Shuo Shu Ren repeated blankly. "No!"

He had only brought a ghostly beast as a gift and hadn't even given it yet.

Famous swords? He had seen a few, but they weren't easy to take.

The last one was still with that dead Wen Ming!

"That's strange..."

The masked figure furrowed his brow. "Then why can I smell sword energy?"

Just then...

"Xiu!"

A black light struck like lightning, rushing straight at them.

"Watch out!"

Cen Qiaofu had been keeping his distance to avoid any contamination, but he couldn't help shouting and flew over with his small axe.

At the same time, Shuo Shu Ren's face paled.

"Gege, be careful!"

He stepped forward, pushing the masked figure aside and taking his place.

But the black light seemed to have eyes; as it neared Shuo Shu Ren's chest, it veered, heading toward where the masked figure had fallen and piercing straight into his chest.

"Chi!"

The masked figure's eyes nearly bulged out.

His lips parted, and with a "Pu," blood splattered inside his mask, covering his face.

"I..."

His head tilted, and he fainted on the spot.