Chapter 630: Utmost Sincerity and Emotion, Scapegoat

He first summoned the two massive super Bai Kulou that covered the sky and blocked out the sun.

In an instant, the sky went dark under their shadow.

A Bing and A Huo froze for a moment, then simultaneously raised their heads to face the arrow descending from above.

"Dong dong dong!"

The Jin Zhao Bai Kulou went berserk first, thrashing about wildly as white flames erupted from its feet, channeling the scorching power into a furious punch that launched it skyward.

Meanwhile,

The Bing Lan Bai Kulou transformed its hands into blurry shadows, and the ice-element arcane array beneath its towering form lit up, instantly enveloping the entire Qing Mo Jian Realm.

A north wind blew, bringing snow and decay.

"Ka!"

The swirling dust froze solid, and the full power of the San Ri Han Jie was mobilized, replacing everything with ice crystals.

At that moment, whether it was the battlefield on the mountain peak or everything within the covered area of the Ba Gong, all was instantly coated in ice crystals, as a chilling cold seeped in.

—Bing He Shi Dai!

Gou Wuyue and Sang Lao shattered their ice-encased forms the next instant.

Both of them stared in horror.

No one dared believe that, in a life-or-death crisis, a mere Xiantian could unleash so many hidden cards.

Even Sang Lao felt that the usually unreliable Xu Xiaoshou before him seemed like a completely different person.

But this was far from over!

The two Bai Kulou were powerful, yet their strength was limited.

Even if they could challenge Wang Zuo level foes as easily as Chuan Dao practitioners, against Tai Xu, their defenses would likely be broken.

And a Ban Sheng...

How could they possibly withstand that?

Without a word, the frenzied giant raised its hands, drawing upon the core powers of the "Jin Zhao Huo Zhong" and the "San Ri Han Jie."

In that moment,

The several-zhang-tall golden giant's power split distinctly into two halves.

One half blazed with white flames, capable of igniting half the sky.

The other half formed an icy sculpture, freezing even black holes.

These two supreme origin forces, each at least at the Chuan Dao level and infused with tribulation power, were extracted, but the frenzied giant seemed unsatisfied.

With a booming sound, it kicked off from the ground and shot upward.

Then, with its palms, it clapped together the opposing origin forces, forcibly merging them.

"Dong—"

A muffled sound echoed through the air.

An unnamed force surged, shattering the mountain peak and crumbling the Mo Jian.

The frenzied giant hurled the merged masterpiece of ice and fire's strongest symphony toward the arrow in the sky with the momentum of a hundred-meter sprint, a javelin throw, and a do-or-die charge.

"Xiu!"

Blue and white intertwined.

The energy, radiating infinite gray hues of destruction, instantly bypassed the foremost Jin Zhao Bai Kulou, A Huo, and collided with the arrow that had pierced through two realms.

"Not enough!"

"Still not enough!"

"Far from enough!"

The premonition of death lingered, and Xu Xiaoshou felt numb.

It seemed he had no other means left and could only stand there awaiting death.

"Yin Shen Shu."

With a mental shout, the frenzied giant vanished right before Gou Wuyue and Sang Lao's eyes.

But...

"Under pursuit, passive value, 1."

The status window still popped up.

Xu Xiaoshou despaired.

The "Yin Shen Shu" was strong, but it was merely an awakened skill from a Zongshi-level passive technique—how could it withstand a Ban Sheng's strike?

Even if it could temporarily erase his existence from this world,

Just thinking about it, once Ai Cangsheng's arrow fell,

Not only Xu Xiaoshou would be erased—the entire Ba Gong might cease to exist!

"Mama..."

A call echoed from his chest.

Xu Xiaoshou's mind sharpened.

"Don't!"

But A Jie didn't hesitate at all, stepping forward resolutely.

Once out of Xu Xiaoshou's cover, the invisibility state lifted, and A Jie appeared before Gou Wuyue's shocked eyes, pulling its fists back in a one-two motion as Tai Xu power exploded from its body, assuming a fighter's stance.

"Mama!"

"Under protection, passive value, 1."

"Tian Ji Ren Ou?"

Gou Wuyue was startled.

This little stone creature had a Tian Ji Ren Ou?

From the looks of it, it couldn't be Dao Qiong Cang's current work—it had to be his original creation.

That meant...

In that moment, he fell into deep thought.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart twisted in agony.

He had desperately protected A Jie in the Bai Ku, never letting it appear before the red or white robes, for fear of revealing this great secret.

Yet now, right in front of Gou Wuyue, A Jie disobeyed for the first time and stepped out.

It was touching, but what would happen next for A Jie?

"No!"

"There might not even be a next..."

Even A Jie wasn't listening anymore.

Xu Xiaoshou realized that this could truly be the last moment of his life.

The Yin Shen Shu proved useless, so he chose to dispel it.

Without hesitation, he pulled Mu Zixi from his Yuan Fu and flung her toward Sang Lao.

"Run—"

The low, hoarse roar emerged.

Though it barely sounded like "run," the urgent anxiety was instantly conveyed to Mu Zixi.

She couldn't even process what was happening.

The void was filled with countless Mo Jian, that swordmaster...

Her master charged forward with his black hand—what was he doing?

And Xu Xiaoshou...

Mu Zixi was utterly terrified.

Xu Xiaoshou had transformed into the golden giant that only appeared in life-or-death situations, standing tall against the indescribable black dot on the horizon.

This was a dead end!

"Death..."

The word made Mu Zixi's heart clench.

She could hardly imagine what kind of crisis her senior brother, who always hid her in his Yuan Fu at the first sign of danger, was facing that he no longer trusted even his own space and threw her out.

Her falling body clearly collided with her master's hands,

But in the void, it was as if there was an interlayer space, completely separating her world from her master's.

"Shen Mo Tong!"

With a mental shout, Mu Zixi's eyes changed instantly, glaring at the interlayer space.

"Bang."

Under Gou Wuyue's astonished gaze, she painfully crashed into Sang Lao's embrace.

"The space... was broken?"

In that moment, even Gou Wuyue was shocked.

One Xiantian with so many trump cards was bad enough.

How could this random girl he threw out shatter his "Luo Fu Jian Tian" with a single glare?

"Master..."

Mu Zixi panicked.

Her eyes stung, and everything before her turned dark.

Reaching up to wipe, she hadn't shed tears, yet her palm was covered in sticky liquid.

"Don't be afraid, I am here."

Sang Lao held Mu Zixi, his gaze sweeping over as white flames evaporated the blood on her palm without letting her notice.

The moment Mu Zixi broke the space, he had already lunged toward the golden giant.

"Run—"

Xu Xiaoshou roared hoarsely again.

But what about Sang Lao?

That was a Ban Sheng's arrow—could the old man really block it, no matter how formidable he was?

"Stop your ghost howling!"

Sang Lao retorted, quickly feeding Mu Zixi a pill and tossing her to the side.

A void rift flashed, and whoosh, Mu Zixi vanished.

Only then did Sang Lao rise again, charging toward the golden giant.

His eyes were filled with resolve!

"How can a master stand by while his disciple takes the front line?"

Gou Wuyue watched silently from behind.

Truly, he was a man of justice; in other times, he might have chosen to stand aside and not interfere.

Whether they could withstand Ai Cangsheng's arrow would be up to their fate.

But today...

The trials of the Sheng Shen Dian loomed ahead, and the task of capturing the Sheng Nü was behind.

The bodies of his fallen white-robed comrades in the Ba Gong were still warm, and hundreds of eyes were watching his every move.

Life was full of unavoidable choices.

Honestly, Gou Wuyue didn't want to do this.

But he couldn't find a reason to convince himself otherwise!

With different factions, how could he really stand by?

"I'm sorry, I might have to be the villain this time."

Gou Wuyue clenched his palm, pointing the Nu Lan voice forward.

"San Sheng Liu, Qu San!"

Buzz—

Countless Mo Jian trembled.

Suddenly, green sword energy erupted from Sang Lao's body, and the Qing Mo Jian Zhen responded to the command, transforming into three raging torrents that stabbed toward Sang Lao.

"Get lost!"

Sang Lao flipped his hand mid-air, his sleeveless, scorching hand slashing horizontally, using the momentum of the San Sheng Liu to propel himself toward Xu Xiaoshou.

Gou Wuyue's hand trembled, and the famous sword paused.

He closed his eyes heavily.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Clang—

Green sword energy pierced through Sang Lao's body, fixing him in place.

The effect was brief and slow.

But by then, the arrow piercing through two realms had already crossed the distance, descending from the sky with endless black and red light.

"The arrowhead!"

Sang Lao's spiritual sense caught sight of the arrowhead, driving him mad.

"Wu Yue, you old dog!"

He shook violently, his voice filled with hate, as white flames exploded from his body, instantly burning away the sword energy.

But that pause was still a delay!

How fast was an arrow that crossed two realms?

When Sang Lao tried to move again, it was too late.

"Don't—"

"Xiu!"

The piercing sound arrived.

"Bang!" The void exploded first in a burst of color as the "Jin Zhao Yuan Zhong" and "San Ri Han Jie" collided with Ai Cangsheng's arrow.

The intertwined gray forces were instantly scattered.

The two origin powers merged by the frenzied giant only held against the arrow for less than a moment before being shattered.

"Roar roar roar!"

The Jin Zhao Bai Kulou charged madly, facing the arrow head-on.

This volatile creature didn't even show fear, swinging its massive fist.

"Bang!"

Without even half a breath of resistance, the arrow pierced straight through its fist, then burst out from its right shoulder.

"Hiss roar..."

The Jin Zhao Bai Kulou howled and flailed in pain.

But after the arrow passed through, in less than three breaths, the lingering evil sin power from the arrow engulfed its entire body.

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly as A Huo's body suddenly turned black, transforming into a demonic state before exploding in a boom.

"A Huo..."

His eyes widened, completely lost.

Everything around seemed to fall silent in that moment.

The evil sin bow's arrow could break through flesh in an instant, even from a mere graze, igniting the desires of all living beings, destroying their minds and souls.

Xu Xiaoshou knew this.

But he never imagined that A Huo, with only a spark of spirituality and not even human, would suffer such a calamity and fall to the evil sin bow's negative effects.

Then, what about A Bing and A Jie...

"Move aside!"

Xu Xiaoshou went mad, charging forward in a boom.

But A Bing blocked the front, and the arrow tore through the layers of its solid ice walls like piercing sponge. Despite A Bing's rapid hand seals, the arrow suddenly pierced its skull.

Time froze.

"Bang!"

The blackened A Bing exploded.

"Roar—"

Xu Xiaoshou lost his mind.

He lunged forward to pull A Jie away.

But in a flash, A Jie had already appeared in front of the evil sin arrow, grabbing it desperately with both palms.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."

The earthy yellow Tai Xu power on its body eroded rapidly.

"Mama!"

A Jie was resolute.

But how could an arrow that pierced two realms be stopped by it?

"Sizzle!"

Its palms were ground through with a light sound.

A Jie's limbs flailed as the rush sent it flying back.

Billowing evil sin demonic energy surged out, and in the instant the arrow pierced its body, A Jie's form swelled like a balloon.

Part of the demonic energy was absorbed, quickly repairing its body.

But the evil sin power was too overwhelming.

Forcibly absorbing it would only cause it to burst.

"Bang!"

One arm exploded.

"Bang!"

Then a leg.

"Bang bang bang..."

Like a machine falling apart, pieces of A Jie were blown off, leaving it without any resistance.

It twisted its remaining head, its crimson gaze filled with intense emotion.

"Mama..."

"Dead?"

"All dead..."

Xu Xiaoshou murmured unconsciously, powerless to stop any of it.

The frenzied power of the giant form was meant to destroy and ravage everything.

Yet before the might of a Ban Sheng, he couldn't even defend or protect.

He could only watch as his loyal companions sacrificed themselves one by one.

"The arrow!"

Hatred burned in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes.

With the evil sin bow's arrow descending unopposed, his emotions spiraled out of control.

His spiritual sense probed his Yuan Fu.

Suddenly, a pulsing life force was detected, and he yanked it out.

Staring intently, his bloodshot eyes widened.

"Yu Zhiwen?"

Yes, it was Yu Zhiwen!

Back in the Bai Ku, when everyone was trapped in the storyteller's ancient space,

Yu Zhiwen had shouted "run" at the last moment, and Xu Xiaoshou used white flames to secretly hide her in his Yuan Fu, making everyone think she was dead.

But in reality, she was just like Bing Diao Lu Ke—trapped in the Yuan Fu, able to move freely but losing the ability to pursue the Si Jian.

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

Yu Zhiwen felt like her bones were about to shatter as she was grabbed by the golden hand.

But upon appearing, she saw the golden giant.

Glancing back...

The arrow!

"Cangsheng Master!"

Yu Zhiwen's starry eyes trembled, her mind going blank.

Ai Cangsheng's arrow...

How could it be aimed at Xu Xiaoshou?

Her face turned deathly pale, facing this chaotic battlefield, she lost all judgment.

Death approached!

Yet in her mind, scenes from the Bai Ku flashed back—the similar sight returned.

Back then, when the Ming Jian Yan Mang emerged,

The lava roaring from the ground was like doomsday, destroying earth and void in an indescribable surge, piercing the sky.

Yu Zhiwen had thought she died then.

But when she awoke...

The scene was eerily similar now.

The same golden giant, the same glimpse of doomsday through its fingers, the same deadly crisis...

Just as in the ancient space, when she ignored factions and shouted "run,"

She turned back at light speed.

Yu Zhiwen looked at the frenzied giant, its bloodshot eyes full of hate, without a second thought, blurting out,

"Xu Xiaoshou, quick, grab me..."

"Shield!!!"