Chapter 623: It's Just Child's Play

Puff, puff.

The temperature soared, and Yu Lingdi's mocking laughter dripped with derision.

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji, there's no need to struggle. Do you really think your methods can drive me away?"

Xu Xiaoshou remained silent.

His body began to crack, and his skin started to wither.

Even his blood was evaporating drop by drop in an intense reaction.

Steam billowed from the top of Xu Xiaoshou's head.

He seemed to shrink instantly, becoming gaunt and withered, his skin turning charred and lifeless.

Puff, puff.

The faint sounds continued.

In just a few breaths, Yu Lingdi's laughter began to sound strained.

"How can you endure this?"

He paused, as if recalling something. "Oh, I forgot—you're still at the Zongshi level."

Xu Xiaoshou gritted his teeth and said nothing.

He knew deep down it wasn't his Zongshi status that allowed him to endure—it was his ability to endure that had made him a Zongshi.

"Hah, I wonder how long you can hold out," Yu Lingdi sneered.

Time passed.

The first breath or two were bearable.

But before even the time for a cup of tea had elapsed, Yu Lingdi could barely laugh anymore. "Brat, I don't believe you can withstand this..."

Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what the other was feeling.

All he could do was keep intensifying the flames, burning this intruder inside his body until nothing remained.

Gradually, although the taunts stopped,

Xu Xiaoshou knew that Yu Lingdi must be far from comfortable.

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji..."

With a low groan, Yu Lingdi fell completely silent.

Xu Xiaoshou sensed that the guy hadn't left yet, but he was probably on the verge of collapsing.

Notifications kept popping up in his mind:

His inner Qi sea was in total chaos.

The Three Days Freeze Calamity was deliberately suppressed by Xu Xiaoshou and forced into a tiny corner by the Jinzhao Yuanzhong power.

All that was left was the roaring white flames burning fiercely.

Puff!

A heavy sound erupted around him.

The Qi sea energy burst forth.

Xu Xiaoshou could hold on no longer, letting the white flames erupt from his body.

He was like a phoenix in rebirth, attempting to rise amid the blazing white flames.

At that very moment,

"What the hell is this!"

A cry of alarm rang out.

The instant the white flames burst through, Yu Lingdi could endure no more.

In the midst of the chaos, Xu Xiaoshou "sensed" the uncontrolled moisture inside him rushing wildly toward his skin.

"Yu Lingdi..."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes bulged with rage, but he didn't stop the other's attempt to escape.

Because outside, a bigger trap awaited!

In his mind, he recalled the other jade slip that Sang Lao had given him.

Xu Xiaoshou still remembered the circulation path of that Ling technique perfectly.

He hadn't been able to use it before, simply because he lacked the white flames.

But now...

"Bai Yan Long Rong Jie!"

A hoarse, inhuman growl escaped him.

In Xu Xiaoshou's "sensing," the rules of the surrounding world seemed to clarify, forming a spherical net across several dozen zhang.

One glance revealed a landscape of Jinzhao Tianfen.

Puff, puff!

A massive white fireball instantly replaced the entire mountaintop.

The moment Long Rong Jie appeared, not only the previously frozen ground but even the mountain itself was incinerated.

The void wavered, shadows flickering.

Under such extreme heat, forget water elements—

The world contained nothing but pure fire elements; no other external energies could be found.

Boom!

Space shattered violently.

The outer layer of the white fireball exploded, forming a black enclosing ring.

Beyond the ring, streaks of white fire lines spread out in a Bagua pattern across the mountain range.

In mere moments, they covered the entire mountaintop.

Puff!

Another heavy sound.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't control it; the overflowing fire energy ignited the whole mountain range.

The white fireball hung in the air, spanning several dozen zhang.

The burning white flames spread across several li in an instant!

"Hiss—"

Yu Lingdi, who had been trying to escape through Xu Xiaoshou's body, let out a scream and halted.

He was horrified to discover that the all-consuming white flames could incinerate most of his body the moment he left.

And his attempt to find other water elements in the outer space to regenerate...

He realized now that...

Nothing was left outside!

Only pure white, pure fire.

Only black voids and Long Rong Jie.

Nothing else!

"Are you insane?"

Yu Lingdi could only retreat back into Xu Xiaoshou's body, but doing so meant enduring the agony of his soul being forged in hellfire.

He couldn't fathom how Xiao Shi Tan Ji was enduring it longer than he was.

"If you keep this up, you'll burn yourself to death."

Yu Lingdi panicked. "I can't handle this pain, but your body will vanish before mine does!"

Xu Xiaoshou cracked a grin, his skin splitting to reveal bone, like death itself beckoning.

"At this point, what's yours or mine?"

He formed seals with his hands, and the Long Rong Jie, several dozen zhang wide, shrank instantly, concentrating the heat around him and sealing off all of Yu Lingdi's escape routes.

"You came in—be ready to never get out!"

"You..."

Yu Lingdi was speechless. He paused, then changed tack:

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji, don't forget about the Bai Yi patrols."

"Your white flames are burning everywhere—anyone would notice something's wrong."

"In no time, the Bai Yi will surround you. Then, do you think you can escape?"

Xu Xiaoshou laughed bitterly. "As if I could leave if I didn't draw them in."

"I can't let you go, but you seem to misunderstand my intentions. I want to take you back to the Ling Department—it's not like the other Bai Yi, who would just imprison you."

Yu Lingdi spoke rapidly, his voice eerily calm.

The calmer he sounded, the more Xu Xiaoshou could sense his panic.

As someone who knew the power of Jinzhao fire seeds, Xu Xiaoshou understood that even innate bodies couldn't withstand it.

And as for Jinzhao Yuanzhong, a whole level above, its explosive force might even overwhelm Zhandao experts.

His vision blurred.

Xu Xiaoshou was barely holding on, thanks to his passive skill "Shengsheng Buyi," which kept him alive.

As long as it wasn't an instant kill, he was hard to finish off.

But sustaining this state for long would break even his soul.

Jinzhao Yuanzhong was too powerful.

Without the help of that disheveled saint back then, Xu Xiaoshou would have either burned to death on the spot or had to abandon it.

Now, with no outside help, he was directly igniting Jinzhao Yuanzhong...

"Mutual destruction!"

Xu Xiaoshou's face twisted ferociously. "Then let's go down together!"

Yu Lingdi was terrified by his resolve.

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji!"

"People are coming! If the Bai Yi catch you, I can't save you. The Ling Department is your best refuge. Come with me, and you can..."

"Go to hell with you!" Xu Xiaoshou roared viciously, cutting him off. "Shut your mouth!"

His body exploded in a burst of charred flesh.

The Long Rong Jie enveloping him was forced into his body.

In an instant, his soul felt like it was melting.

Xu Xiaoshou's vision darkened, nearly blacking out.

"Hiss—"

A sharp intake of breath echoed in his mind, and Yu Lingdi fell silent.

"Die for me..."

Xu Xiaoshou was still howling.

But suddenly,

"Thud."

"Haha."

"Hahaha..."

The Yu Lingdi, who should have been utterly spent, burst into laughter.

Xu Xiaoshou froze.

Had this guy lost his mind?

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji, did you really think I had no way to counter this?"

Yu Lingdi's voice lost its earlier suppressed pain, returning to a composed tone. "I just wanted to see how far you could go."

What?

Before Xu Xiaoshou could react,

"Shui Zhi Aoyi: Bolaio!"

A soft sound followed, and an Aoyi array formed around Xu Xiaoshou.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next second,

Whoosh.

Xu Xiaoshou felt his spiritual energy drain completely, forcing Long Rong Jie to dissipate.

The surrounding white flames, upon the array's appearance, lost their form and reverted to elemental state.

"This!"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart clenched.

Water elements...

How was this possible?

Hadn't he evaporated all the water elements in the world?

"Xiao Shi Tan Ji, it seems you forgot—you're not Cen Qiaofu. You didn't cut off my spiritual energy right away."

"In this world, revival through external forces is the weakest path."

"Relying on your own spiritual energy for permanent existence—that's the true essence of a Lianling Master?"

Droplets of moisture seeped in, condensing before Xu Xiaoshou into form.

Yu Lingdi reappeared, bending over with a smile. "You're tough, but you got it backward. I'm Yu Lingdi, at the Wangzuo level, and I have my own spiritual energy."

He chuckled and spread his hands, forming a large mass of water in his palm.

In that moment, the world Xu Xiaoshou saw turned gray.

He suddenly realized his mistake.

A huge one!

Yu Lingdi had been residing in his body, but that didn't mean he only had that ability.

And he was at Wangzuo level!

Xu Xiaoshou had evaporated all the water elements in the world, but for someone who had comprehended the Dao realm—not to mention their own Wangzuo spiritual energy—

Even if that ran out, the water Dao in the world's rules would still be Yu Lingdi's source of regeneration.

Cen Qiaofu could seal all of Yu Lingdi's paths, yet he evaded it with human rebirth techniques.

But that didn't mean evaporating the body's moisture would kill Yu Lingdi!

This time...

Xu Xiaoshou closed his eyes in despair, collapsing with a thud onto the ground.

He had trapped himself.

No use overthinking.

At the brink of death, Xu Xiaoshou detected remaining spiritual energy in his body. While the other was still gloating, he began to murmur in his mind:

"Xiao..."

But before the word fully formed, Yu Lingdi seemed to anticipate everything.

He reached out, gently placing his palm on Xu Xiaoshou's forehead.

An Aoyi array spun open.

"Shui Ling Bolaio."

A faint sound lingered in his ears.

In the next breath, Xu Xiaoshou saw a large mass of water spirit energy drawn from his body.

In just that instant, everything went dark, and Xu Xiaoshou blacked out, slumping to the ground.

"Impressive."

Yu Lingdi sincerely praised.

He looked at the mass of pure moisture extracted from Xu Xiaoshou's body, then glanced at the mummified corpse on the ground, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Earlier, when he had hidden inside Xu Xiaoshou, he hadn't acted because he genuinely wanted to see how ruthless Xiao Shi Tan Ji could be toward himself.

The result shocked even Yu Lingdi.

Such a person...

"No wonder he caught the eye of both Ba Zun An and Wuyue Qianbei at the same time!"

Yu Lingdi sighed, his expression turning calm.

For him, the pained words and feigned panic earlier were just to push Xiao Shi Tan Ji's ferocity to the limit.

This mere Xiantian was, after all, just an unexpected bonus in his mission—not worth getting too worked up over.

As the head of the Ling Department, Yu Lingdi, his cultivation was only at Wangzuo, but he dealt with experts at least at Zhandao level on a daily basis. How could he fail to handle a junior like this?

Of course, the fact that this young one had drawn Yu Lingdi away from a saint-level slave to possess and experience was reason enough not to destroy him carelessly.

Otherwise, all that effort would be wasted.

"Quite the talent."

"Besides his Zongshi body and various divine Ling techniques, his temperament is top-notch."

"It's just that he gets vulgar and foul-mouthed when he's raging... not very refined."

Yu Lingdi frowned slightly but didn't dwell on it.

He placed his hand over the mass of water energy, returning it to the person on the ground. With the nourishment, Xu Xiaoshou's injuries began to heal slowly.

"Time to catch the next one."

Yu Lingdi scanned the mountains, where white flames raged.

His eyes darkened, and a water-based Aoyi array appeared under his feet. The sky shifted from clear to overcast, clouds gathering thickly.

Drizzle, drizzle...

The all-consuming white flames, upon contact with the rain, were reduced to fire elements and assimilated into water, returning to the heavens.

Only then did Yu Lingdi smile, transforming back into the image of an innocent youth.

"Off we go."

He hoisted Xu Xiaoshou onto his shoulder and strode forward.

"Mm."

The person on his shoulder let out a groan, as if stirring.

Yu Lingdi patted his back.

Thud.

The moisture in Xu Xiaoshou's body exploded, turning him back into a desiccated corpse.

This time, Yu Lingdi only restored half the moisture, preventing Xu Xiaoshou's Zongshi body from recovering too quickly.

"Perfect. Down the mountain!"

"Who to catch next?"

Yu Lingdi bounced along toward the base, step by step.

The rain poured steadily.

The intense heat in the air quickly dissipated.

The mountain forest, scorched bare by the white flames, finally seemed ready to regain life in the downpour.

Drip, drip...

Amid the patter of rain, an out-of-place faint sound suddenly emerged.

Yu Lingdi halted.

That was the sound of raindrops hitting leaves or stones.

But now, in this mountain, there were no stones, let alone trees.

Where was the sound coming from?

Drip, drip...

It grew closer, seeming to come from the right?

Yu Lingdi finally made it out and quickly turned his head, only to see a withered, hunched figure at the uneven path junction—appearing out of nowhere.

From bottom to top:

Tattered shoes exposing toes, a ragged straw raincoat, a hole-ridden bamboo hat...

Yu Lingdi's pupils contracted. He tightened his grip on the person over his shoulder, a vague unease rising.

"Who are you?"