Chapter 622: If You Have the Guts, Don't Come Out

"Have I been in this trap all along?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his worldview shattering.

He had never imagined that the Yu Ling Di, who had been slain by Cen Qiaofu and his two companions, had all along survived in water form, parasitizing his own body.

Didn't that mean that, before encountering those two in white robes, he had still been imprisoned without realizing it?

After all his efforts to escape, thinking he was free, here came another twist!

To be honest, from the emergence of the Bai Ku Yan Mang, to Ling Rong Ze, to Li Jian Grassland, and right up to this moment...

Xu Xiaoshou was exhausted.

He was truly tired of running!

Nothing was more despairing than believing you had won, only to find out you had lost so completely that not even ashes remained.

Even if it were a game of black-and-white chess and he was hit with a divine move, Xu Xiaoshou could still choose to flip the board and refuse to play.

But this feeling of being monitored, parasitized, and controlled from head to toe was utterly crushing, leaving him with no will to fight back at all!

"You win."

Xu Xiaoshou plopped down on the ground with a thud.

A breeze blew, and he realized his entire body was soaked through.

It wasn't just ordinary cold.

From his limbs to his heart, and even to his soul, a deathly chill permeated everywhere.

"Why did you choose me?" Xu Xiaoshou asked in a daze.

Yu Ling Di was still smiling.

His head had grown directly from Xu Xiaoshou's body, with blood mixed in the watery form, as if a single thought could end Xu Xiaoshou's life.

"You forgot?"

He replied with a smile: "From the very moment I appeared, my target has always been you."

Xu Xiaoshou's mind went blank for a long time before he recalled.

After Yu Ling Di and that tall Tianji Puppet appeared in the Ba Gong amid the torrential rain, aside from that mocking remark about Gou Wuyue...

The rest was just assigning opponents and openly pointing at him.

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji!"

That thunderous voice echoed in his mind once more.

Xu Xiaoshou was on the verge of madness.

He had thought the other side was joking back then.

But he never expected that single line would truly determine the end of the battle and the current situation after his escape.

"Why me?"

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

He truly couldn't understand—amid all those powerful figures and that grand battlefield—why Yu Ling Di had singled him out!

"Why..."

Yu Ling Di's watery head gurgled and shifted shapes constantly.

He paused, as if reminiscing, then said: "Because I've been watching you for a long time, since Bai Ku began."

"Let me put it this way! After you and the red-robed ones all entered the storyteller's ancient archive space, my water-based clone was the first to rush to Bai Ku. Then, from inside, I opened the passage for the white-robed ones to enter."

"The white-robed ones went in to rescue the remaining trial participants, of course. By now, those participants have all been moved to a safe place."

"Afterward, everyone left, but I stayed in Bai Ku, turning into the rain."

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts followed the words, remembering the nine-day rain curtain in Bai Ku.

That rain, only a zhang high, never reaching the ground.

He had never thought it could extend so far, so deep...

Or that it was still falling now, without stopping!

Yu Ling Di continued: "My task was to monitor the Sheng Nu, not just the storytellers, but also to find Cen Qiaofu, the Sheng Nu leader... well, Ba Zun An's hiding place."

"They really found the extra-dimensional rift leading to 'Void Island'."

"But that's all within expectations."

Yu Ling Di's watery head stretched out longer.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes rolled back, feeling as if the moisture in his body was being drained.

It turned into a waterspout, coiling around him entirely.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't resist.

This was blood water drawn from his own body; touching it would be like committing suicide.

The elongated waterspout of Yu Ling Di paused by Xu Xiaoshou's ear, and he said heavily:

"You, however, were the biggest surprise! I could see your cultivation might not reach Zongshi level, but I wasn't sure. Do you know how unrealistic that is for someone in the Ling Department?"

"Our usual method is to observe the spirit and judge weaknesses, then strike accordingly."

"But with you, I couldn't see any flaws in your cultivation."

"Even your Qi Hai was impossible to probe."

"That's impossible! Unless your entire cultivation was shielded by a Bansheng or a Sheng Di."

"So, that was the first point that piqued my curiosity."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

He sensed that what the other was saying might refer to his "concealment" passive skill.

What Bansheng or Sheng Di shielding...

He had traces of contact with that disheveled Sheng Ren, but the other wouldn't have bothered to hide his cultivation for no reason!

"Second?"

Xu Xiaoshou asked woodenly.

"Second..."

Yu Ling Di chuckled lightly and said: "You're incredible—that unparalleled 'Bianhuan Zhi Shu', 'Xiaoshi Shu', 'Shunyi Shu'."

"How could these possibly appear on someone not even at Zongshi level?"

"Truth be told, for those in the Ling Department, unraveling the secret of how you can master all this at your current level excites me more than capturing the Sheng Nu!"

"And even more shocking things happened..."

Yu Ling Di's voice was full of amazement: "With just these techniques, you not only toyed with the Guardians but also left the storytellers completely baffled!"

"In Bai Ku, I was just a minor water-based clone, merely a eavesdropping spirit technique. I couldn't judge your spirit technique's level."

"But the real-time feedback from these powerhouses told me your secret is the greatest one. What you have is something the Ling Department has always failed to decipher!"

"These secrets could even let you, at innate level, toy with someone at Zhandao or even Zhandao pinnacle!"

"How powerful is that?"

Yu Ling Di's watery eyes gleamed: "At innate level, you toy with Zhandao and Wangzuo—couldn't you toy with Taixu or Bansheng?"

"Do you know? This is the ultimate mystery of the spirit refiners, the final puzzle the Ling Department is researching!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart bleeding as he listened.

He had never taken Yu Ling Di seriously.

He always thought this was just a fleeting passerby in his life.

The Bai Ku incident ended, and they parted ways for good.

But he never imagined that the very fear he dreaded most—being discovered and dissected—had unknowingly come to pass.

"My existence is the ultimate research puzzle for the Ling Department?"

"Ling Department, Ling Department..."

Xu Xiaoshou gave a wistful smile; he understood now.

The Ling Department was basically the highest research institute for spirit refining in the world, specifically dissecting anomalies like him.

In that moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt the doors to his path forward slamming shut.

Even when he had encountered Gou Wuyue before, he hadn't felt this desperate.

After all, Gou Wuyue's eyes were fixed only on Ba Zun An.

But Yu Ling Di, from beginning to end, was obsessed solely with him!

"Third?"

Xu Xiaoshou asked lifelessly.

Splash.

Yu Ling Di's waterspout form detached from Xu Xiaoshou's body, transforming into a swirling water-based figure.

After a while, it solidified into a physical form.

Xu Xiaoshou felt half his life force drained away.

A notification popped up: "Under attack, passive value +1."

Though the passive value was only "1," Xu Xiaoshou knew exactly how devastating that attack had been.

It was as if all his strength had been sapped, even his hair turning white.

"Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" activated frantically.

But this depletion of life force, like splitting one life into two, was exhaustion that couldn't be shaken off quickly.

"Third!"

Yu Ling Di had formed a human-like entity, his eyes bursting with light.

"My main body couldn't wait to break out from Hai Tang Er's floral homeland just to come see you and personally experience the power of your spirit techniques!"

"As expected, you're born to toy with the strong."

"Just now..."

Yu Ling Di pointed east and marveled: "Those two white-robed ones—one at Zhandao, the other at Wangzuo—were actually tricked by your disguised Ba Zun An."

"You said you were forced to join the Sheng Nu—what was that 'Guan Jian Zhi Shu'? I experienced it firsthand."

"And that 'Bianhuan Zhi Shu', 'Shunyi Zhi Shu', 'Xiaoshi Zhi Shu'..."

Yu Ling Di was so excited he jumped up and down.

His state was just like a child discovering buildable "Four-Wheel Drive Cars" and "Transformers" for the first time.

That excitement was genuine and unfeigned.

"From a third-party perspective, I really thought the Guardians and storytellers you fooled were fools, total idiots!"

"Even though the records told me they weren't, I still couldn't believe it."

"A full Zhandao being played by an innate like you?"

"But now, I have to believe it!"

Yu Ling Di clenched his fists, his tone full of admiration: "Following the principle of not asking and not exposing, I hid in your body, and sure enough, I saw exactly what I wanted to see."

"Lin Ruohan isn't a fool, and Tong Feng isn't an idiot."

"They were tricked by you not because they lacked ability, but because you're just that strong."

"You, Xiao Shi Tan Ji, your powers, everything about you—including your mind—is truly extraordinary!"

Yu Ling Di said emphatically.

He suddenly leaned in, his eyes fixed intently on Xu Xiaoshou's, burning with the intensity of a deranged scientist obsessed with research.

"You know what? Right now, I just want to take you back to the Ling Department and thoroughly study all your secrets!"

Secrets...

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly, his eyes glazed and unfocused, as if in a trance.

He zoned out for a long time before suddenly exploding into action, thrusting one hand straight through Yu Ling Di's chest as he approached.

"I'll research your mother's secrets—die!"

Splat!

Yu Ling Di was caught off guard and sprayed water all over Xu Xiaoshou's face.

Yet, a smile appeared on his face as he said softly: "I'm immortal."

"Immortal?"

Xu Xiaoshou roared ferociously: "Then let's see if it's real immortality or fake!"

Crack—

With that, Yu Ling Di felt a chill spread through his entire body.

He realized that Xu Xiaoshou's hand, piercing his body, had pulled out his watery heart from behind.

The watery heart paused for a moment before suddenly freezing solid.

Absolute ice!

To counter science with science.

At the moment "Three Days Frozen Tribulation" manifested, Xu Xiaoshou used his alchemy and potion-making techniques to freeze the watery heart into a solid block.

Its internal water molecules were destroyed; if not for the chill emanating from it, it would be indistinguishable from a crystal stone!

"Good one..."

Yu Ling Di's eyes lost their luster.

For him, ice was still water, just in a different state.

Even if Xiao Shi Tan Ji had altered the water element's structure, as long as his cultivation advanced, such tricks wouldn't harm him.

But the problem lay right there.

Yu Ling Di was only at Wangzuo level, while "Three Days Frozen Tribulation" contained "Frozen Tribulation Force."

This tribulation force only emerged after reaching Zhandao pinnacle and surviving the Nine Deaths Thunder Tribulation.

His current cultivation couldn't withstand it at all.

Thus, with one palm through the chest, Yu Ling Di turned to ice on the spot.

But...

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

In the next second, water molecules from the surrounding grass, dew, and leaves seeped out, vaporizing into mist, and Yu Ling Di's body reformed in midair.

"You can't kill me."

He laughed, his eyes blazing as he stared at the ice sculpture in front of Xu Xiaoshou and the icy heart in his hand.

"Try me!"

Xu Xiaoshou leaped up, shattering the ice sculpture with his body's movement, turning it to powder that scattered into nothingness.

He swept his gaze around.

The white mist in the area dissipated.

In an instant, everything within several hundred zhang froze solid.

— Ice Age!

Crack!

Yu Ling Di's newly formed body stiffened immediately.

Xu Xiaoshou dashed forward at light speed, punching out.

With a boom, Yu Ling Di's head exploded into powder.

"Futile struggle?"

The voice suddenly echoed in his mind again, making Xu Xiaoshou pause as Yu Ling Di mocked: "You can freeze all the water elements in the area, but do you dare freeze yourself?"

In that moment, rage surged in Xu Xiaoshou's heart, and he steeled himself.

"What's there to fear?!"

"If you dare freeze yourself, I won't die, but you definitely will!" Yu Ling Di quickly interjected.

"Freeze?"

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists and snarled: "You're underestimating me!"

Puff, puff.

As soon as he spoke, slight sounds emerged from his body.

Xu Xiaoshou ignited the Jin Zhao Origin Seed within him, unleashing a terrifying wave of heat.

He couldn't normally withstand the full explosion of the Jin Zhao Origin Seed.

But now, with no other choice, he had to do it.

His goal was simply to drive out that parasite completely.

"Die!"

Xu Xiaoshou sat cross-legged on the spot, gathering the three flowers at the crown and aligning the five elements toward the heavens, manipulating the power with exquisite control.

The Ice Age world around him remained unaffected.

But inside him, it was as if a blazing sun had detonated.

The temperature soared, kept soaring, soaring even higher!

"Ahahaha."

Yu Ling Di laughed: "Kid, did you really think I didn't know about your 'Three Days Frozen Tribulation' and 'Jin Zhao Origin Seed' while I was inside you?"

"I've prepared for such things!"

"Besides, even if you turn yourself into a giant furnace, whether you can boil me to death is one thing, but do you really dare go all out against yourself?"

"You're only at innate level!"

Yu Ling Di didn't take it seriously at all.

To him, this mere innate with a promising future—how could he give up his bright prospects and truly commit to mutual destruction?

"Then watch closely."

Xu Xiaoshou remained unfazed.

No one could know how his tolerance for pain had been honed to such a perverse level along his journey.

Indeed, as Yu Ling Di said, the furnace might not boil him to death.

But under equal damage, Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe that this water-player could endure more than him, someone who had grown by devouring fire seeds.

"If you've got the guts, hide in my body forever and never come out!"