Chapter 605: Rain Fell into the Eight Palaces

The field fell silent for a moment.

Gou Wuyue wore a victor's smile.

The Bai Yi watched with their nostrils flaring, each one frozen like a wooden chicken.

In the crowd of onlookers:

"Finished?"

Zhao Xidong stared at this farce of an ending, stretching out his hand but not quite touching his head. He looked at Xiao Qixiu in bewilderment.

"Seen anything?"

Xiao Qixiu turned his head as well.

He had brought Zhao Xidong here to gain some experience, and the three of them shared that intention.

But clearly,

Seeing that foolish expression on his face, Xiao Qixiu knew Zhao Xidong hadn't grasped a thing.

"Fool!"

With a huff, Xiao Qixiu rarely spoke up, but now he explained everything to this dimwit step by step.

"Bringing up old matters is to pull at emotions, gauge attitudes, and raise one's own stance."

"Drawing swords is to test if they can kill, and if Gou Wuyue will kill."

"Once the test is done, the negotiations officially begin."

"Uh-huh?"

"Would anyone bother with you if you just came demanding people outright?"

Xiao Qixiu sighed, understanding Zhao Xidong's confusion, and continued, "You need to learn from scenes like this. In the future, when you take over Ling Fa Ge, you'll have to handle everything yourself."

"So? Then what?"

Zhao Xidong still didn't get it.

"You!"

Xiao Qixiu was getting a headache. "Can't you see?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Fool!"

Xiao Qixiu turned and followed Qiao Qianzhi, who was dragging Ye Xiaotian away, striding off. Zhao Xidong hurried after them.

"Negotiations have started, so that's when they're formally asking for the person."

"Ye Xiaotian isn't stupid—who doesn't know that provoking Gou Wuyue means certain death?"

"But as long as they don't die, no matter how bad things get afterward, it won't lead to death."

"So, whatever needs to be said can be laid out."

Xiao Qixiu quickened his pace, speaking through a sound transmission as they walked:

"But Gou Wuyue isn't one to be trifled with either. He doesn't want to hand over the person, so he uses all sorts of tactics to evade."

"On the surface, Tian Sang Ling Gong still falls under Sheng Shen Dian Tang's jurisdiction. Since they couldn't kill even when provoked, Gou Wuyue has no excuse to draw his sword again."

"But in the end, it still failed!"

"That guy..."

Xiao Qixiu was clearly referring to the one with the "light" attribute, whose reactions were much faster than the others. He sighed, "No way around it."

"But they couldn't kill him, and yet they're dragging him away?" Zhao Xidong gestured toward the comical pair from Ling Gong.

The dean was being forcibly pulled along by Elder Qiao, still struggling.

Xiao Qixiu spread his hands helplessly: "Space attribute—if he wanted to resist, he could've broken free ages ago."

"Not killing has its limits—it's all about how you gauge it. Just look at your Elder Qiao."

"In that situation, if Ye Xiaotian had lashed out in anger, the scene could've spiraled out of control."

"So your Elder Qiao stepped in to stop it in time, and your dean realized that, so he didn't resist. Got it?"

Zhao Xidong nodded as if he understood.

Thinking back on what had just happened, he suddenly felt that the vague sense he'd had earlier was starting to clear up.

These old foxes...

"Then?" He hesitated. "Just slink back to Ling Gong like this?"

"Otherwise what?"

Xiao Qixiu retorted, "You alone against a bunch of Bai Yi?"

"Cough, cough."

Zhao Xidong was choked up and didn't dare say more. He quietly followed the comical pair from Ling Gong, ready to leave together.

"Oh ho—"

"Screeech—"

The Bai Yi spectators acted like they'd won a battle, laughing uproariously behind them. Some even stuck their fingers in their mouths to make weird, piercing whistles.

Gou Wuyue unusually didn't stop them, just smiling as he watched the four depart.

"Wait!"

Up ahead, Ye Xiaotian suddenly swayed, breaking free from Qiao Qianzhi's restraint and halting their departure.

Zhao Xidong couldn't stop in time and bumped into Xiao Qixiu's back with a thud, quickly ducking down in a lazy roll.

Sure enough,

The next second, a whip kick swept toward him, followed by a hard downward chop.

—But he dodged them!

With a boom, the ground was hammered into a crater.

"You little brat, you never learn the right things, but you're quick with these tricks." Xiao Qixiu scolded in frustration.

"What's going on?"

Qiao Qianzhi asked from up ahead.

His question wasn't about the scuffle behind him, but about Ye Xiaotian's sudden stop.

Not leaving?

What could they do by staying now?

Face more ridicule?

Qiao Qianzhi was puzzled.

"Gou Wuyue!" Ye Xiaotian suddenly turned, soaring back into the air, even towering a full head above Gou Wuyue.

This stance was like a child in an argument, slinking away only to realize mid-retreat that they should amp up the mockery—and actually doing it.

Ye Xiaotian was exactly like that right now.

The Bai Yi's noisy chatter was instantly drowned out by his shout.

The white-haired boy grinned widely, his smile more brazen than Gou Wuyue's, practically splitting his face.

"Ye Xiaotian, what are you up to now?"

Gou Wuyue was startled by that twisted smile, and his voice turned ice-cold.

"I didn't get the person out, and even if I had, I wouldn't hand them over to you!"

"You're not leaving? Staying to die?"

Gou Wuyue was truly angry.

"No, that's not what I mean." Ye Xiaotian seemed to be laughing heartily, but no sound came out.

He raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

"Listen."

The Bai Yi behind him, who had started murmuring again, were stunned by his mysterious gesture and fell quiet.

"Listen to what?"

Gou Wuyue gripped his famous sword. "Get out of here, or I'll really kill you!"

"Listen."

Ye Xiaotian's eyes twinkled with amusement as he whispered, "The show you've been waiting for is about to start."

What did that mean...? Before Gou Wuyue could think further, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he turned his head toward a spot in the void.

Right then.

"Crack!"

A faint tremor echoed from the nine heavens above.

Then,

"Boom!"

It ripped open a massive hole!

Everyone stared in horror, utterly shocked.

This brutal way of breaking through was worlds apart from Ye Xiaotian's space transmission.

Clearly, someone else was forcing their way in.

"Woo—"

While the Bai Yi were still gaping in shock, the spirit array in this space suddenly blared an alarm.

In that instant, everyone's faces changed dramatically.

"Enemy attack!!!"

"Damn it, enemy attack? Activate the protective spirit array, now! Hurry!"

"Shit, that white-haired shorty was bluffing me—I thought someone else was coming to get the person, but who knew..."

"The Bai Ku is breached!"

As the final cry pierced the air, no one wasted words anymore. They all sprang into action, rushing to their posts.

Forming arrays, taking positions, gathering qi and yuan, building up energy...

The black hole in the sky expanded.

At that moment, even the hairs on Gou Wuyue's body stood on end.

The Bai Ku... was breached?

"Boom!"

The scene that had haunted dreams for days was now unfolding in reality, and no one felt the relaxed haze of a dream.

Fully prepared, all for this very moment!

Life and death would be decided in the war to come!

Whoosh—

A cool wind swept across the entire Ba Gong Li area.

The sky darkened.

Then,

Drip, drip...

A light drizzle fell.

Soon, it turned into a steady patter.

"Rain?"

The Bai Yi crowd were like startled birds, not daring to touch the drops, each using their ling yuan to shield themselves.

"This rain isn't from the enemy, right?"

Seeing Gou Wuyue reach out unprotected to touch the rain, someone finally recalled something.

"Yes, there are no water-attribute users in the Bai Ku. And among the three who entered with the Sheng Nu, none are water-attribute."

"This rain is from our own people..."

"Yu Ling Di!"

"It's the Ling Bu leader!"

Everyone relaxed at once.

They had heard rumors that among the helpers Gou Wuyue called, there was such a figure.

Gou Wuyue held out his hand, his eyes silently sensing everything, then suddenly opened wide. "Everyone, drop your ling yuan barriers! This is Yu Ling Di bringing us the latest intelligence from the Bai Ku!"

Upon hearing this, they immediately lowered their guards and reached out to touch the rain, actively receiving the information.

Tap, tap.

Raindrops hit their palms, and frames of images flashed through their minds:

The battle on Li Jian Grassland vanished without a trace, leaving only some unrecorded trial participants standing there dumbfounded.

The Bai Yi operation: first entry into the Bai Ku, retrieving all trial participants.

A long stretch of blank waiting.

Then, a point of cold light on Li Jian Grassland, followed by an explosive arrival that shook the entire Bai Ku world.

The Hong Yi appeared...

The storyteller emerged...

Sheng Nu's second-in-command showed up...

The masked person, Cen Qiaofu, Wen Ming—all appeared...

Scene after scene, frame after frame, like a movie replay, quickly flashed through the minds of the Bai Yi.

Everyone suddenly understood what had happened in the Bai Ku during this time of waiting outside.

And most importantly...

"A declaration of war from the Sheng Nu?!"

When they opened their eyes again, everyone's faces were gravely serious.

"The Sheng Nu leader, the Ten Tai Xu, with four swords in motion, and... a declaration of war?"

Everyone felt their worldview being forcibly expanded.

Because based on the intelligence they had before, the Sheng Nu wasn't such a powerful organization at all.

If it were as the Sheng Nu leader had claimed in front of Wen Ming, such a force should've been uprooted over a decade ago.

How could it have been allowed to grow?

"Are you kidding?!"

"And that Cen Qiaofu—he's not Zhan Dao, he's Tai Xu?"

"That storyteller is at Zhan Dao peak? He's not yet Tai Xu? And what we were chasing before was just an external incarnation?"

The intelligence was so sudden and explosive that no one could process it all at once.

"Yu Ling Di, you've done a great service!"

Gou Wuyue clenched his fist; he hadn't expected the Sheng Nu to develop to such a powerful level in just a few years.

Clearly, those on the surface had all been under tight surveillance by the Bai Yi, locked away somewhere.

Any move they made would draw hundreds of eyes.

Yet, in the shadows, the Sheng Nu had hidden such strength?

"Stay on alert!"

Gou Wuyue drew his famous sword, Nu Lan Zhi Sheng, into his hand.

With a command, the void spirit array lit up, sealing off all space in the area, including any sub-teleportation through spatial fragments.

"The only exit from the Bai Ku... is Ba Gong Li."

Gou Wuyue lifted his chin slightly, his eyes filled with sword intent. "Bring it on!"

"Water?"

The Ling Gong group, thanks to Ye Xiaotian's transmission, had already reached the edge.

They had no intention of joining this battle.

Zhao Xidong listened to the exchanges between Gou Wuyue and the Bai Yi, stealthily extending his hand beyond the spatial barrier to feel the raindrops.

But all he felt was the chill in his palm—no intelligence entered his mind.

"What's going on?"

"Am I being excluded?"

Zhao Xidong turned his head, looking dumbfounded.

Xiao Qixiu narrowed his eyes, observing everything. "Obviously, this water is targeted. You're not one of the Bai Yi, so it won't transmit information to you."

"Yu Ling Di, huh..." Ye Xiaotian murmured softly.

"Who's Yu Ling Di?" Zhao Xidong asked curiously.

Seeing that the dean didn't answer, he looked to Xiao Qixiu.

Xiao Qixiu's eyes grew serious. "In Sheng Shen Continent, refining spirit masters, ling yuan, yuan su, ao yi... You understand those, right?"

"The others are fine, but ao yi is a bit vague to me." Zhao Xidong was honest.

Xiao Qixiu explained step by step: "On this continent, refining spirit masters are the most orthodox system. Even though ancient sword cultivators are strong, they've been outdated, an occupation that can't be mass-produced."

"This era's rulers are the refining spirit masters!"

"Refining spirit masters sense the heavenly elements, cultivate ling yuan, ultimately comprehend the dao, achieve the Wang Zuo realm, and even beyond. Every step brings them closer to 'ao yi'."

"Just like this water..."

Xiao Qixiu glanced at the rain in Zhao Xidong's palm. "For a water-attribute refining spirit master, sensing the heavenly dao to its final depth and manifesting it as their power—that's 'ao yi'—the ao yi of water!"

"Holding a sword!"

Xiao Qixiu gripped his own long sword. "That's the ao yi of sword."

He then turned his gaze to Ye Xiaotian.

"Space is the ao yi of space!"

"These are the ultimate comprehensions and manifestations of power for refining spirit masters."

"But very few in this world reach the 'ao yi' realm."

Xiao Qixiu sighed. "Most people's understanding of the dao stops at 'borrowing,' 'summoning,' or 'forcibly manipulating' stages."

"These are crude interpretations of the heavenly dao by outsiders. Most Wang Zuo and even Zhan Dao you've seen are still at that level."

"But ao yi is true mastery!"

"There's only one place in this world truly training people in that area."

"They don't rush to Zhan Dao; instead, they seek to perfect their own dao in the Wang Zuo realm, reaching the 'ao yi' before choosing to Zhan Dao."

"That place is one of Sheng Shen Dian Tang's six departments—the Ling Bu!"

"Ling Bu?" Zhao Xidong raised an eyebrow; he'd only vaguely heard of it before, but never in such detail.

"Yes, Ling Bu."

Xiao Qixiu nodded. "This rain comes from the Ling Bu leader, a terrifying existence who's truly grasped the 'ao yi' realm—a Wang Zuo who can battle Zhan Dao, even slightly challenge Tai Xu—Yu Ling Di!"