Chapter 627: Old man, can you handle it?

Xu Xiaoshou was speaking when he saw Sang Lao's face shifting between dark and light, his hand raised high in the air, and immediately retreated several steps.

By then, he and the old man had already put a distance of several zhang between them.

The two stood facing each other from afar.

What was supposed to be a master-disciple exchange felt more like enemies meeting, with extreme caution on both sides.

"Stinky boy!"

Sang Lao was so amused by his anger that he realized he had scared the young man, so he lowered his hand.

It had to be said, Xu Xiaoshou's latest deduction had truly shocked him again.

Just like the time in the Ling Palace, it was basically...

Spot on!

"How is this kid's head wired?"

Sang Lao felt a bit frustrated.

He had been trying his hardest to suppress the young man's growth.

After all, even though this boy had an inherited ability to fight above his level, he was still only at Xiantian stage right now.

Facing a Wang Zuo, or a Zhan Dao, or even this current dangerous situation—where even Tai Xu and Qi Jian Xian had been mobilized—jumping levels was simply delusional!

The right path for Xu Xiaoshou was to develop slowly.

But clearly, given Xu Xiaoshou's talent for stirring up trouble, playing it safe and developing stealthily didn't seem to fit the boy's future at all.

Maybe I should try a different approach... Sang Lao pondered inwardly, though his face showed no sign of it. He said, "What's with this yin yang guai qi tone of yours? Trying to imply something?"

"I'm right here. If you've got something to say, say it straight!"

His voice carried a clear desire to give the boy a good thrashing.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the old man's lowered hand and rolled his eyes inwardly.

It's precisely because you're standing here like a pillar that I don't dare say anything directly, right?

I'm just afraid of getting beaten!

This master-level body might work against others, but against you, it's not tough at all!

But from Sang Lao's reaction, Xu Xiaoshou could tell it all.

Though the old man had covered up everything except the first wave, he hadn't outright denied it—instead, he changed the subject.

That in itself revealed the issue.

What I said earlier had likely hit a key point.

Sang Lao couldn't say it outright, which explained his response.

"So, even now, you're still planning to hide everything from me?" Xu Xiaoshou asked carefully.

Sang Lao closed his eyes heavily, as if wanting to speak but holding back. After a long while, he finally said, "What else do you know?"

Seeing an opening, Xu Xiaoshou's eyes flashed with a sharp glint.

He retreated a few more steps and decided to drop the big reveal. He said solemnly, "You know about A Jie, right?"

"Mm." Sang Lao nodded.

Xu Xiaoshou let out a heavy sigh.

"A Jie—I don't know where you all got it from—but it's sealed with two layers at Tianxuan Gate, and even with great enemies at hand, you won't unseal it."

"This first-generation Tianji Puppet, crafted by the Dao Dianzhu, makes it obvious that you're not hiding anything."

Sang Lao's eyebrows twitched, and a vein bulged on his forehead.

Xu Xiaoshou steeled himself and went all in.

"Ba Zun An too."

"The world thought he had fallen decades ago, and now his sudden return is truly astonishing."

"But these so-called deceptions might fool ordinary Lian Ling Shi, and even Zhan Dao and Tai Xu haven't doubted the rumors for decades."

"That leaves me baffled—how did you pull that off? Could Sheng Shen Hall really deceive even Zhan Dao and Tai Xu?"

"I don't think so!"

"Perhaps Ba Zun An really did fall once, and the world truly gave up on that legend."

"But his fall must have been different from a true 'fall'... uh, or maybe it was exactly the same!"

Xu Xiaoshou paused, carefully choosing his words to avoid provoking the old man in front of him.

An image of the Lang Bei Sheng Ren flashed in his mind as he continued, "Some places can hold ordinary people... no, ordinary geniuses."

"But Ba Zun An dominated his era—who can guarantee he didn't do something extraordinary?"

"For example..."

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Sang Lao's somber face and swallowed hard, rephrasing it: "For example, maybe he didn't fall on Xukong Island but was imprisoned in a small place that could only seal someone at Xiantian level. He had the key and easily got out."

Sang Lao's mouth twitched.

Shocked by Xu Xiaoshou's deduction, he couldn't help but scold angrily, "Can you just speak normally?"

"Oh."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly moved on from the topic.

He didn't plan to get a straight answer from Sang Lao anyway—it was unrealistic.

"Right, one more thing."

"The Lang Bei Sheng Ren hiding in the dimensional rift at Bai Ku—I think that was just him wandering around idly, throwing out olive branches randomly. It doesn't match the completely purposeless tasks you gave me at all."

"And Ba Zun An meeting that Sheng Ren at Bai Ku was probably just a coincidence—they likely don't even know each other, because they probably never met."

"After all, they 'fell' in different places..."

"And another thing!"

Xu Xiaoshou threw caution to the wind, closing his eyes so he wouldn't see Sang Lao's expression, and blurted out all his doubts at once.

"The final goal of the Sheng Nu—'If not becoming a saint, then forever a slave.'"

"That absolutely can't mean becoming a slave to Sheng Shen Hall, or turning into those so-called 'ghost beasts' on Xukong Island?"

He fell silent after that.

The scene turned deathly quiet for a moment.

"Gulp."

Xu Xiaoshou's Adam's apple bobbed as he fell silent like a cicada in winter.

With no response from beside him, he cautiously pried open his eyes and peeked out.

A terrifying old face stared back!

"Damn—"

Xu Xiaoshou was so startled that he hugged his head and bolted.

He had even completely blocked his "perception," extending it only backward, not daring to look ahead.

But as soon as he squinted, there was that old face—who could handle that?

"Thump!"

Sure enough, even though he ran fast, he took a kick to the back and stumbled forward, landing face-first like a dog eating mud.

"I've said it all, really all of it!"

"Everything I do is for justice."

"We all cherish the good, the world is full of love, with no centuries-long schemes or plots, no darkness or ugliness beyond what I've said—just that and nothing more."

"Light—who doesn't yearn for it?"

Xu Xiaoshou raised his hands in surrender, still trying to quibble.

He had gathered his strength to his back, ready to take another terrifyingly powerful kick from the old man, but after waiting a long time, nothing came.

"Hmm?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up in confusion, not daring to turn around.

When he released his "perception," he saw Sang Lao had already sat down cross-legged, one hand holding a straw hat and the other rubbing his sparse scalp, sighing repeatedly.

Xu Xiaoshou flipped over like a dead fish and asked timidly, "What's up?"

Sang Lao's face was a mix of emotions, leaving him speechless.

"Your hair's falling out—stop rubbing it!"

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but jab, and only then did Sang Lao stiffly turn his head.

"Looking to die?"

"Under threat, passive value, 1."

"No, no..."

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hands and retreated.

Sang Lao sighed: "How did you know all this?"

"Through reasoning."

"How did you reason it out?"

"With my brain."

Sang Lao's facial muscles started twitching.

"Under curse, passive value, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou panicked: "I really used my brain—this stuff can't be figured out by hand..."

"Quit your nonsense!"

Sang Lao roared: "What I mean is, when did you get exposed to so much and understand it so deeply?"

"Oh, oh."

Xu Xiaoshou shrank back in fear, his mind flashing with too many images.

There was Shou Ye, Lu Ke...

Jiao Tangtang, Ba Zun An, Lang Bei Sheng Ren...

And a string of miscellaneous bits of information.

These things seemed trivial and unconnected at first glance.

But upon closer thought, there really was a thread hidden beneath, linking them all together.

Perhaps even more than one thread.

Xu Xiaoshou felt a heaviness in his heart. Every time he thought about it, the world seemed so weighty, unbearably so.

That weight was like Mount Tai, hanging over everyone's heads.

When the height wasn't reached, giants held it up.

But when the height exceeded what those giants could support, and you saw the new world, not only might you need someone else to hold it, but the new world you saw could completely shatter the old worldview.

A continent, a realm.

Gods and ants, clearly divided.

Looking up without dreaming of godhood, looking down because the mundane is insignificant.

Truly straddling that divide between Chu and Han are Sheng Shen Hall and Sheng Nu.

Xu Xiaoshou felt he was peeking at it, terrified by it, afraid of it, yet drawn to it.

"It's just my brain!"

He sighed and said, "These things would take a long time to explain, and shortening it wouldn't do it justice. In the end, it's really just that my brain works well. Sometimes, having a good brain can be a mistake."

Unexpectedly, Sang Lao nodded in agreement, without outburst or rebuttal—he actually accepted it.

His disciple's brain was indeed sharp.

And his way of doing things was equally extraordinary.

Some educational methods that worked for ordinary people might just be constraints for him.

That was clear from the Bai Ku incident.

"Xiao Shou."

Sang Lao took a deep breath and said, "I won't interfere with your decisions. Since you've entered Sheng Nu, that's destiny. The path ahead might be tough, but it's your choice. As long as you don't regret it..."

"I do regret it!"

Xu Xiaoshou interrupted: "To be honest, I joined Sheng Nu under duress—I couldn't refuse back then."

Sang Lao: "..."

His teeth ground together, and he nearly stood up for another kick.

"Uh, regretting it is useless?"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned and muttered, "I thought you could just decide on your own and kick me out."

"Shut up!"

"Oh."

"Listen to me!"

"I'm listening."

Crack—

Sang Lao clenched his fists, and Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat as he quickly added, "I'm really listening, ears wide open—though there's no water here; if there were, I'd wash them right away..."

As he spoke, Xu Xiaoshou clamped his own mouth shut.

Sang Lao suppressed his anger and picked up the thread.

"The Sheng Nu matter is set in stone."

"Yu Ling Di locking onto you and Gou Wuyue seeing you means you've truly entered their sights."

"It's impossible to back out completely, and with my connection, you definitely can't back out."

"What I need to tell you now..."

Sang Lao paused, and Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up—was the secret coming?

"What?" he asked eagerly.

Sang Lao said, "Sheng Nu has its own mission and will assign you tasks, but remember what I told you before."

"In this world, you can't trust anyone."

"Ba Zun An has his own path, and I have mine."

"But anyone's direction could be wrong—you can't trust anyone. The only one you can trust is yourself."

"Got it?"

Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback.

He thought Sang Lao was going to answer his questions, but all he got was this vague statement, leaving him disappointed.

"What about you?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up seriously and asked, "I can't trust you either?"

Sang Lao's lips curled into a creepy smile.

"Want to try?"

"Yikes!" Xu Xiaoshou shivered and didn't dare respond.

Sang Lao chuckled: "Didn't you say your brain is sharp? Then figure it out yourself!"

"You've seen deep enough that I'm too lazy to beat around the bush with you."

"What you said is mostly on the right track."

"But one thing—limited by your current realm, vision, and experience..."

Sang Lao said, looking up and pointing a finger to the sky.

"Still that same phrase—heaven beyond heaven, you're still missing a layer."

Still missing one?

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.

That night when he became a disciple, Sang Lao had pointed to E Lake and told him about the prison. He never imagined reality was so brutally cruel.

And it really was!

But even now, he was still missing a layer?

"What's missing?"

Xu Xiaoshou asked: "A layer beyond Sheng Shen Hall and Sheng Nu... like the ghost beast layer, or Xu Yue Hui Palace?"

Sang Lao just smiled without speaking.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately dismissed it: "No, that would just be on the same level. What you mean is, above Sheng Shen Hall, there's something more?"

His heart stirred inexplicably.

Out of nowhere, he recalled the joking words Jiao Tangtang had once said.

"Saint Emperor's judgment, Heavenly Dao's suppression?"

Sang Lao didn't respond. Instead, he suddenly stood up, put on his straw hat, and stared gravely into the distance.

"It's here!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Damn old man, leaving me hanging at the crucial moment!

The conversation box was already open, and now it's falling apart.

If you're not going to say it, what's the point?

Wait, no!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized.

Even a Bansheng like Dao Qiong Cang couldn't speak his name directly and had to use "Dao Dianzhu" instead.

So, if there really was a layer above, belonging to the Saint Emperor...

Was that something a mere Xiantian like him could discuss?

Looking at Sang Lao's dark silhouette against the light, Xu Xiaoshou fell silent.

The old man hadn't denied it...

Was that enough to explain everything?

"Who is it?"

In that direction, Xu Xiaoshou glanced toward where Sang Lao was looking, and his pupils shrank.

In his "perception," a faint blue light shadow burst into view, stopping in the void in an instant, sword poised diagonally.

Gou Wuyue!

Xu Xiaoshou's heart raced.

This Wuyue Jian Xian shouldn't be here—he should be chasing Ba Zun An.

How could he have come here?

Changed targets?

He looked at Sang Lao, then at Gou Wuyue, and finally scanned the massive Long Rong Jie surging from the 100,000 Great Mountains.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood.

So, this sneaky old ghost hadn't come to catch up with me.

The chat was just a way to kill time.

Even Yu Ling Di probably helped pull me out as a side favor.

His real goal was to divert the white-clothed one's attention and draw Gou Wuyue here, to this battlefield.

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou's emotions were complex, hard to describe.

The image of Ba Zun An, with blood scabs under his mask, flashed in his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou knew that people in Sheng Nu had reasons for not allowing Ba Zun An to act.

And in this situation, Cen Qiaofu was held back, Storyteller and Haitang Er lacked the strength.

So, the rest...

"In the end, he's still the second-in-command of Sheng Nu, even if our goals differ, our paths align."

"Sometimes, when no one else can step up, that giant who could slouch and relax has to stand tall again."

Xu Xiaoshou thought, clenching his fists as he followed.

Gazing at the backlit figure in the straw hat before him—somewhat gaunt, somewhat malnourished—he wore a serious expression.

"Old man, can you take him?"