Chapter 592: Don't Mess Around

Chapter 593: The Abandoned Ajie

Xu Xiaoshou was suspended in mid-air, his eyes rolled back and fixed in a lifeless stare, using his "perception" to watch as A-Jie continuously drew out the evil demon qi from his body.

This extraction process lasted for a good half hour or so.

Finally, the overflowing black energy inside him began to subside slightly, allowing him to regain a bit of consciousness.

"Am... am I saved?"

As his vision cleared, Xu Xiaoshou saw the three terrifying figures clustered together in the distance.

Sheng Nu, the trio!

Who could handle that?

It was only because, at the critical moment, A-Jie's sudden burst had let him use the Xiao Shi Shu to break free from the restraints of You Si Jian...

It was only because the Xiao Shi Shu had just two states—activation and deactivation—and didn't require his unconscious self to maintain the invisible form...

It was only because the true target of You Si Jian wasn't him, but rather it was desperately trying to plunge into the body of Sheng Nu's leader like a mad thing...

Xu Xiaoshou dared to assert that, right now, he would either be dead or out of control.

Or worse, he might have ended up being targeted by both Sheng Nu's leader and the storyteller!

"What a sin..."

Xu Xiaoshou could hardly imagine why his trip to Bai Ku was so fraught with hardship.

After all, it all traced back to the overconfidence that had swelled after devouring the Jin Zhao Origin Seed and the San Ri Dong Jie.

If he hadn't been so eager to investigate You Si Jian back then, or if he hadn't taken that task from Sang Lao so lightly...

"I'm exhausted."

Xu Xiaoshou felt utterly drained, both mentally and emotionally.

That old man must have foreseen the outcome of fighting over You Si Jian.

Why had he been so naive to take that first step toward Li Jian Grassland?

It was a path leading straight to the abyss!

"Hide, just hide."

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to use Bu Yi Deng Tian to escape, but he didn't dare risk it.

Who knew if the storyteller had already isolated this entire space?

If so, attempting Bu Yi Deng Tian might not only fail to get him out but could expose his location to that red-skirted freak.

In that case...

"Hide well!"

Clutching A-Jie, Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare think further.

As the evil demon qi in his body decreased to a level that barely affected his movements, he lowered his head and burrowed straight into the ground.

Even with the Xiao Shi Shu, his heart raced as he openly dealt with his negative state right in front of the Sheng Nu trio.

In the midst of his escape into the earth, he overheard Sheng Nu's leader shifting all attention to the so-called "Wen Ming" he had mentioned earlier.

"The sword is here, so where's Wen Ming?"

As the masked one spoke, the storyteller clearly froze.

"Oh, right, where is he?"

He glanced at You Si Jian and hesitated.

"Theoretically, You Si Jian is under Wen Ming's control and wouldn't slip away easily. Wen Ming wouldn't abandon such a peerless evil sword."

"After all, he's an ancient sword cultivator, right?"

"But..."

The storyteller paused, and Cen Qiaofu immediately followed up.

"But in You Si Jian's current state, could he have let it go?"

"Yes!"

The storyteller nodded, his brows furrowing.

"So, he must have released You Si Jian early on? But how did he sense You Si Jian's unrest?"

"What's Wen Ming's cultivation level?" Cen Qiaofu suddenly asked.

"About Xiantian."

"Hmm, Xiantian..."

"Hmm? Xiantian?!"

Cen Qiaofu's tone shifted as he turned to look at the turbulent Bai Ku world in the far distance.

The explosion had started from there.

And the earlier commotion the storyteller mentioned was supposedly caused by this so-called Wen Ming.

"Are you sure he's just Xiantian?" Cen Qiaofu asked again, his voice full of doubt.

"Uh..."

The storyteller hesitated, glancing at the disturbance behind them, and replied tentatively, "Yes... I think so?"

Seeing Cen Qiaofu's disbelief, the storyteller added, "Anyway, he's not that strong. Roughly Xiantian level, at most Zongshi realm, but his combat ability could rival... Wang Zuo?" His voice grew quieter.

Cen Qiaofu's face darkened.

The storyteller felt a headache coming on but had to continue.

"If he has some external help, even against Zhan Dao... well, in this Bai Ku world, with all its restrictions, so..."

Cen Qiaofu slowly formed a question mark with his expression.

"Uh..."

The storyteller wiped away sweat, knowing how unbelievable his words sounded, but he pressed on.

"So, under all those limitations, Wen Ming should be able to go toe-to-toe with Zhan Dao... supposedly."

Cen Qiaofu's face turned from black to green.

"Are you serious?"

"Serious."

"No joke?"

"Nope."

"So, this is what you mean by 'not that strong'?" Cen Qiaofu looked like he was about to pop his eyes out.

"Huff."

The storyteller let out a heavy sigh. "You'd know if you fought him. That kid's a bit of a freak."

As he said this, he turned to his own brother.

"Right?"

Cen Qiaofu shifted his gaze accordingly.

He had never understood why the leader valued Wen Ming so highly.

Even the Sheng Di's schemes had used that guy as a pawn.

But now, if everything wasn't exaggerated...

"He's not Zongshi."

The masked one said, "When I first met him, he was probably just Houtian realm. That was only a few months ago—maybe a month at most?"

"No matter how talented, he couldn't have comprehended Tian Xiang Jing and reached Zongshi level so quickly."

"Theoretically, if Wen Ming is at Xiantian Yuan Ting or Ju Wu now, that's already impressive."

"Of course, it's possible he had some lucky break and reached Shang Ling..."

"Hmm? What's that expression?"

As the masked one spoke, he noticed Cen Qiaofu's strange look.

Cen Qiaofu's jaw had dropped.

"That hedgehog at Shang Ling could cause such a huge commotion?" He pointed to the shattered space behind them.

"Shang Ling is just a guess," the masked one replied.

"You're missing the point! That's not what I mean!"

Cen Qiaofu turned to the storyteller and roared:

"A mere Xiantian could reach that level?"

"Comparable to Zhan Dao?"

"What kind of joke are you making?!"

"He's not joking," the storyteller said after a moment of silence. "He has a Tian Ji Kui Lei."

"Oh?"

This surprised not only Cen Qiaofu but also the masked one.

"A Tian Ji Kui Lei?"

"Yes."

The storyteller nodded. "One that doesn't seem like a typical Tian Ji Kui Lei..."

"Hold on."

The masked one interrupted the storyteller, waiting for the other two to look at him before continuing. "The Tian Ji Kui Lei you mentioned—is it not in human form?"

"You know about it?" The storyteller was surprised.

"A little boy?"

"Yes!"

"Bald?"

"That's right!"

"Quite weak?"

"Well, not exactly weak..."

The storyteller calmed his excitement and explained, "It's weaker than a normal Tian Ji Kui Lei, with only one realm's worth of combat awareness, but it's strange, almost like..."

"Like a real person?" the masked one interjected.

"Yeah, exactly!"

The storyteller nodded vigorously. "If it weren't for the complete lack of human life signs, I'd have been fooled. At first glance, you'd never guess it's an emotionless Tian Ji Kui Lei."

"I see."

The masked one fell silent.

The storyteller raised an eyebrow and glanced at Cen Qiaofu, who shrugged in confusion, clearly lost.

He had to ask himself, "Brother, you know it?"

"Not really, just seen it once... or twice, I suppose."

A hint of reminiscence appeared in the masked one's murky eyes as he said slowly:

"The first-generation Tian Ji Kui Lei, Dao Qiong Cang's self-proclaimed defective product. If I remember correctly, it was discarded on Xu Kong Dao."

"At that time, it seemed to have no consciousness yet."

"But the second time I saw it, it had developed intelligence and could grow on its own."

"Quite peculiar, and quite dangerous."

"In the end, it was apparently destroyed a second time on Xu Kong Dao by Bai Yi."

The other two fell silent for a moment.

Tian Ji Kui Lei, developed intelligence, destroyed twice?

"It's powerful, so why not use it?" Cen Qiaofu felt something was off—this didn't seem like something Sheng Shen Dian Tang would do.

"Powerful, yes, but with no limits."

The masked one gave him a meaningful look. "Anything you can't fully control—do you think those people would keep it?"

"But given Dao Qiong Cang's nature..."

Cen Qiaofu was anxious.

He refused to believe that the hall master, obsessed with Tian Ji techniques, would pass up such a research opportunity.

The masked one chuckled and shook his head, cutting him off.

"I said 'those people,' but I mean that other group."

Cen Qiaofu froze.

The storyteller's pupils shrank, as if he had realized something, and a chill ran through him.

"Which group?"

Deep underground, Xu Xiaoshou was completely baffled by this conversation.

From the tone, it seemed the legendary Dao Dianzhu had wanted to keep A-Jie.

But he was stopped?

How was that possible?

Wasn't Sheng Shen Dian Tang the peak of this world? Wasn't Dao Qiong Cang its current leader?

And he was stopped from researching?

"Mama..."

A-Jie suddenly murmured.

Xu Xiaoshou jumped, quickly tightening his grip on the stone-like iron ball.

"Don't make a sound. They're not talking about you. Don't be afraid, stay quiet!"

"Mama..."

A-Jie seemed emotional.

Xu Xiaoshou understood completely.

These secrets—he might never have known them if he weren't hiding underground with Xiao Shi Shu.

But why had A-Jie, supposedly destroyed on Xu Kong Dao, ended up at Tian Sang Ling Gong's Tian Xuan Gate?

"Sang Lao?"

Xu Xiaoshou immediately thought of that person.

If the masked one had seen A-Jie, maybe it was during a trip to Xu Kong Dao with Sang Lao, who was Sheng Nu's second-in-command.

But that didn't add up!

If they had gone together, A-Jie wouldn't have ended up in such a remote place as Tian Sang Ling Gong.

It should have fallen into the hands of a major organization like Sheng Nu and been put to full use.

And...

"Xu Kong Dao?"

As Xu Xiaoshou pondered, he suddenly recalled something from Jiao Tang Tang's words.

Xu Kong Dao—wasn't that the terrifying place rumored to seal a saint?

If things were as expected, the dimensional space rift here was created by that disgraced saint, leading to Xu Kong Dao.

Putting it all together...

"Oh man!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his head spinning.

Everything combined was terrifying to think about.

When he knew nothing, the world seemed wonderful.

But every bit of knowledge, every secret uncovered, left Xu Xiaoshou with an uneasy feeling.

It was as if every event was connected to him, Xu Xiaoshou, targeting him specifically...

"Mama..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Don't worry, Mama won't abandon you."

Hearing A-Jie's murmur, Xu Xiaoshou hugged the poor little thing tighter.

He was afraid it might suddenly fly out and expose them—that would be disastrous!

"By the way, there's something else I'm curious about."

The storyteller hesitated before speaking.

"Go on."

"Is Wen Ming still Lao Er's disciple?"

The masked one was startled. "How did you know?"

"Well..."

The storyteller recalled the teasing incident in the ancient texts space, his face flushing as he struggled to explain.

"It's a long story, so I won't go into details."

"I just want to know where Lao Er went during that disappearance."

The masked one smiled. "You already know the answer, so why ask me?"

"So, it really is..."

The storyteller was incredulous but couldn't finish.

Cen Qiaofu shook his head with a wry smile, remembering Sang Lao's "Long Rong Jie" from Tian Sang Ling Gong.

Honestly, if he hadn't followed the leader there, he never would have imagined that old Sang going to such a remote corner.

"For Wen Ming?" Cen Qiaofu asked.

That was the only explanation he could think of for why Sang Lao would go there.

"No."

The masked one shook his head.

"Wen Ming was just an accident. Sang Lao didn't stay long at Tian Sang Ling Gong. This time, he returned only to thwart my plans and keep the famous sword from falling into the wrong hands."

"But it didn't work."

The masked one chuckled and continued, "More importantly, there was a plan."

"What plan?" The storyteller asked curiously.

The masked one glanced lightly behind them. "It's already done."

Both turned to look back.

The void was empty, with no other presence.

But they all knew that in this space, there was a dimensional rift leading to Xu Kong Dao.

It was invisible to the naked eye.

"And one more thing..."

The storyteller understood, his eyes lighting up as a pleased smile spread across his face, as if seeking credit.

"Hold on."

The masked one knew it was nothing good and stopped him, scanning the surroundings.