Chapter 636: Divine Demon Pupil, Do You Recognize It?

"The wielder of the sword holds no gods in their chest, no Buddhas in their heart..."

"A sword above all, strike down the defiant, slay the insubordinate..."

"Where the Dao lies, the heart yearns for it; the body aligns with the sword, soaring above the heavens..."

Gou Wuyue staggered a few steps, watching Ba Zun An's figure slowly depart. In his mind, images surfaced of the time before the Ten Seats' campaign, when the two first met.

Back then, Wuyue Jian Xian was renowned across the world.

The title of the Eighth Jian Xian had carved out a magnificent reputation in Zhong Yu.

The two admired each other deeply. Gou Wuyue asked what the sword truly meant, and Ba Zun An replied with a few succinct words, sharing his own answer.

Indeed, with no gods or Buddhas in the heart, wielding the sword naturally becomes divine.

Those sword wielders pursuing the peak have no so-called faith; if they do, it's merely the sword itself, merely themselves.

Once something hangs over their heads, the path of the sword will inexplicably be obstructed.

Gou Wuyue understood this principle.

What Ba Zun An said back then was exactly this.

Now, after decades apart, the two had gone their separate ways.

One became the head of the Sheng Nu, the other the master of the Sheng Shen Hall.

It seemed each followed their own ambitions, pursuing their paths.

But upon closer reflection, Ba Zun An remained the same Ba Zun An, standing tall as the heavens, as the head of the Sheng Nu.

Along his journey, even after losing to Hua Chang Deng's sword, nothing could hang over his head.

What about himself?

The golden Buddha light faded, leaving hundreds of floating corpses on the field, rivers of blood.

Gou Wuyue looked up at the sky, seeing the shattered heavens under Ba Zun An's single sword.

Yet beyond those heavens loomed a majestic sacred mountain hanging over his own head.

— Gui Zhe Sheng Shan!

Ba Zun An had nothing above his head.

But he had far more than one.

"Bow in fear and trepidation? I say the heavens are too low..."

Gou Wuyue murmured softly, his gaze growing distant.

He suddenly understood why Ba Zun An kept shaking his head, responding to his repeated questions with an attitude of noncommittal.

On Ba Zun An's slightly bent back rested an entire sky, the suppression of the Dao, the gaze of the saints.

Even so, he dared to proclaim, "Bow in fear and trepidation, I say the heavens are too low."

This meant that even when Hua Chang Deng's three swords severed two of his fingers and his skull, he hadn't taken it to heart.

Moreover, under years of the weapon ban and surrounding threats,

Ba Zun An and his Sheng Nu showed complete disregard, even a hint of disdain and casual indifference.

He wasn't afraid!

What about himself?

Gou Wuyue lowered his eyes and saw the famous sword Nu Lan Zhi Sheng on the ground.

"Perhaps, he is right?"

As his inner voice questioned, Gou Wuyue suddenly snapped back to clarity.

He beckoned with his hand, and the famous sword rang out as it flew into his grasp. Then, he shouted loudly toward the departing figure: "Ba Zun An, do you know the ultimate consequences of opposing those people?!"

There was a soft tap.

Ba Zun An stopped, without turning his head.

"How could I not know?"

The withered branch was already broken.

Under the Da Fo Zhan, how could a mere ruined twig withstand such force?

His hand was empty.

Ba Zun An rubbed the scarred indentation on his thumb, smiling casually.

"But so what?"

"Opposing them... began after those three swords. Even if they don't come for me, one day, I will go for them."

"Then, if you still haven't awakened, another life will be added to the souls beneath my sword."

Silence fell.

Gou Wuyue returned in defeat, his question sinking like a stone in the sea, eliciting only a slight, expected ripple.

Of course.

If that person's ambitions remained, if he hadn't had his spirit slain by Hua Chang Deng's three swords,

This response should be the logical one, right?

Perhaps this incident was truly just a signal.

After all, though the commotion was great, Ba Zun An had only used a withered branch picked up from the ground.

And what he was preparing was something that even the former Eighth Jian Xian needed decades to accumulate power for.

Hidden sword for years—when that true sword light emerges, how dazzling will it be?

Gou Wuyue watched Ba Zun An step away, suddenly remembering something, and with a light laugh, Ba Zun An soared into the air.

He sometimes envied such people.

But once in the game, one is not free to act.

Even as a Jian Xian or Tai Xu, one can only gaze enviously at the scenery outside the cage.

"Freedom, who doesn't yearn for it?"

He murmured, turning back to the field of corpses, and even Gou Wuyue couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

Capturing one Sang Qiye cost seven hundred white-clad fighters.

This was still because of the demonic energy from Ai Cang Sheng's arrow, which Ba Zun An couldn't dispel.

Otherwise, this battle might have ended with nothing gained.

Recalling that fleeting holy power at the end, Gou Wuyue felt helpless.

"Sealing the sword until old age, becoming a saint in my twilight."

"I wonder how long it will take to break through to Xiantian and return to simplicity midway..."

He flicked his sleeve, and a figure appeared.

Yu Zhi Wen landed and was immediately startled by the headless corpses everywhere.

"This!?"

"Don't ask."

"Huh?"

"Just as you see it."

"Let's go, time to change scenes." Gou Wuyue seemed to age decades in an instant, chuckling self-mockingly, "This time, is it a reward or a punishment... Well, a..."

He lowered his head, lost in thought.

Yu Zhi Wen quickly followed.

Gou Wuyue suddenly stopped and turned. "After we return, tell me everything you know about that little stone... Xu Xiaoshou."

Yu Zhi Wen was stunned.

After a long moment, his eyes rolled, and with a blink of his star-like pupils, he said,

"Okay."

In the space rift,

"Is this the Da Fo Zhan?"

Behind the red-skirted storyteller, Xu Xiaoshou poked his head out, stooped over.

After being thrown by Sang Lao, he had been rescued by the storyteller, and the two should have left together.

But the situation shifted, with Ba Zun An entering the scene, and the storyteller could no longer ignore it.

Holding the same idea as Hai Tang Er, if it came to a crisis, she would fight to the death to swap Ba Zun An out.

But who would have thought that the sight of hundreds of great Buddha illusions rising to the heavens and being slashed by a single sword would end all the sorrow in everyone's hearts.

Ba Zun An was still that Ba Zun An.

The Eighth Jian Xian had never changed.

"This is too strong..."

The storyteller murmured, not even hearing Xu Xiaoshou's question, her eyes full of twinkling stars, her gaze overflowing with affection.

"This way."

Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the mirror in front of them.

In the image, Ba Zun An, flying through the air, left Gou Wuyue's sight and began to tremble, his hands and feet clearly weak and unsteady.

Then, after several violent coughs, blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs nearly expelled his lungs.

"Brother!"

The storyteller immediately thought of the aftereffects her own brother faced after fighting, but before she could move, a Hai Tang flower bloomed under Ba Zun An's feet.

In an instant, he vanished.

"Tsk tsk, you're a step too late; your 'giegie' got snatched away."

Xu Xiaoshou turned his head, his tone teasing.

The storyteller glared at him unhappily but didn't waste words. With a wave of her hand, the two sped through the space rift.

The blades of the void turbulence quickly disappeared.

Xu Xiaoshou felt that in just a few breaths, they were back on the ground, sensing the familiar Dao energy.

"What exactly is your ability?"

He asked curiously.

If it was space, it didn't seem like it.

After all, he had seen Ye Xiao Tian's space power before.

But if it wasn't space-related...

Xu Xiaoshou thought of the red-skirted man's ancient tome space and his ability to perfectly replicate the Dao and scenes—it just didn't add up.

"Mirror World."

The storyteller seemed to truly see Xu Xiaoshou as one of her own and explained without hesitation:

"In simple terms, it's just mirror replication, but with the 'Yin Yang Sheng Si' treasure, it can mimic space-like powers."

"Got it?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

Now he understood.

So the ancient tome space was the power of "Yin Yang Sheng Si," but the mirrored worlds like Ling Rong Ze and Li Jian Grassland were the storyteller's own replications.

Thinking about it this way,

Even if it wasn't true space, this ability was terrifying!

"Mirror replication..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt that none of the Sheng Nu were simple.

Their abilities and treasures allowed each to stand alone.

In other words,

If they didn't have such outstanding capabilities, how could the Eighth Jian Xian have selected them to be among the nine Sheng Nu seats?

As he pondered, the ground suddenly stirred.

Then, a Hai Tang flower bloomed, and Hai Tang Er appeared, carrying Ba Zun An's weakened, pale figure.

"What about Sang Lao? What did he say?"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't delay a moment, stepping forward to ask.

Though he had been an observer, he saw clearly that Cen Qiao Fu had been taken by Ba Zun An, but Sang Lao was still with Gou Wuyue.

"Lao Er is done for."

Ba Zun An seemed unable to speak more than half a sentence; his lips moved slightly, and Hai Tang Er spoke for him.

"Ai Cang Sheng's 'Xie Zui Bow' is one of the nine supreme divine artifacts from the dawn of chaos. In terms of ranking, it rivals the 'You Si Jian'."

"And Ai Cang Sheng fired that arrow with half-saint power; for Lao Er to survive at all is a miracle, let alone that demonic energy—no one can dispel it!"

"He can't do it either?" Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the listless Ba Zun An.

"He really can't." Hai Tang Er said seriously.

"Cough, cough... Pfft!"

Ba Zun An seemed to struggle to retort, but after violent coughing, he spat out a mouthful of blood directly onto Hai Tang Er's ear.

"Cursed, passive value, 1."

A few moments of dead silence passed, as if everyone understood something.

"Let's leave first!"

The storyteller waved her hand, indicating this wasn't a good place for talk.

The group nodded in agreement, and the Hai Tang flower bloomed again, making the figures disappear.

The battle was finally resolved.

Only the sour space filled the air, with scars everywhere.

Even the heavens were shattered; at this time, it should have been a bloody sunset, with the west wind withering.

But now,

Nothing but silence.

...

Under the moonlight, in the mountain cave,

The bonfire blazed, and the firewood crackled.

Xu Xiaoshou controlled the white flame with one hand, warming everyone and grilling meat, while secretly using "Perception" to observe the people around him.

Ba Zun An, Hai Tang Er, the storyteller...

Two great peak Zhan Dao experts, plus Ba Zun An, who could slash seven hundred white-clad with a sword and defeat Wuyue Jian Xian.

Never in his wildest dreams had Xu Xiaoshou imagined sitting with such big shots.

"Life is unpredictable; perhaps only now," he thought.

Before him sat the three giants, and beside him were Lei Shuang Xing, who had awakened, Luo Lei Lei, and his own junior sister, Mu Zixi.

These few were much more entertaining.

Luo Lei Lei didn't hide it at all, her big eyes staring intently at Xu Xiaoshou, full of amusement, teasing, and a mischievous glint as if she wanted to joke around.

But with the seniors present, she didn't dare speak out of turn.

As for Lei Shuang Xing, this guy had vanished after being kicked to death by the blood-soaked Minotaur disguised as Xin Gu Gu.

Clearly, the storyteller had saved his life.

After a short rest, he was now half-recovered.

His flower-white, blurry face flickered in the bonfire light, and he kept his head turned toward Mu Zixi.

Mu Zixi glanced at that ugly face once and didn't dare look more, shrinking closer to Xu Xiaoshou's side.

She had also been thrown into the space turbulence by Sang Lao and rescued by the storyteller.

Sitting opposite Lei Shuang Xing made her feel like she was on pins and needles.

"Xu Xiaoshou, why is he always looking at me?"

She carefully sent a voice transmission, then shifted her bottom, using Xu Xiaoshou as a shield.

Focused on seasoning the wild game with spiritual herbs, Xu Xiaoshou was showcasing his "Culinary Mastery," and without thinking much, he blurted out: "Why are you always staring at my junior sister?"

As soon as he said this, everyone turned to look.

Clearly, Mu Zixi had used voice transmission, but Xu Xiaoshou had been straightforward.

Or perhaps, he wasn't familiar with the voice transmission technique yet.

Lei Shuang Xing seemed startled, his lips parting: "I'm blind."

Xu Xiaoshou's hand froze, his brow furrowing as he turned back irritably and gave Mu Zixi's head a firm knock.

" He's... uh, how is he looking at you? Besides, so what if he is? Do you have a problem?"

Mu Zixi clutched her head, about to speak, but with everyone watching, her mouth puckered, and tears welled up as she said nothing.

"Cursed, passive value, 1, 1, 1, 1..."

The scene fell silent again.

After sitting for so long without the big shots speaking, Xu Xiaoshou turned to Lei Shuang Xing.

Ever since their encounter at Tian Sang Ling Palace, he had been curious about this guy.

Later, when Mu Zixi opened her eyes, that black-and-white pupil was strikingly similar to how Lei Shuang Xing had immobilized Ye Xiao Tian that day.

So, these two might be connected?

And Mu Zixi's secret might be unraveled through him?

"Your eyes..."

Xu Xiaoshou started to speak, but saw everyone's surprised gazes, realizing this was like poking at someone's sore spot, not suitable to ask directly.

But he didn't care. After hesitating, he still asked: "Is there a story?"

"Mm."

Lei Shuang Xing responded briefly, not lifting his head.

The scene fell silent again.

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

Just that?

He glanced back at Mu Zixi and asked directly: "Shen Mo Tong, do you recognize it?"