Chapter 743: Xu Xiaoshou, Just in the Royal City

South District.

The night streets were drizzled with light rain, and the weather was slightly cool.

As soon as Xu Xiaoshou appeared, he shivered, then every pore on his body stood on end.

"This... is way too scary!"

He couldn't see anyone at the scene.

But when his "perception" spread out, covering the space above, below, and all around, including the underground,

Every direction was filled with the Dao Yun aura of Lian Ling Shi.

Among these auras, the weaker ones were at the Wang Zuo level, while the stronger ones reached Zhan Dao tier, and they were even more overwhelmingly intimidating than what he had encountered at Bai Ku!

"Are they insane?"

"So many people?"

"Is it really worth it? What on earth did Cheng Ji discover to gather this many people?"

Xu Xiaoshou nearly dove straight back into his Yuan Fu on the spot.

But he knew that if he did, his companions would all be done for.

Thinking of his junior sister and the others, Xu Xiaoshou grew anxious.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take the people from Tian Shang First Tower into his Yuan Fu and escape together.

The problem was, as soon as word got out that the people in Box 209 had disappeared right after being investigated, anyone would suspect that Tian Shang First Tower was deeply involved.

The Wang Cheng trial hadn't even started yet.

How could he just give up the influence he had painstakingly built?

"Look for an opportunity..."

The fine rain passed through his body.

Xu Xiaoshou looked up, suddenly staring blankly at the night sky, only relaxing when he sensed there was no rain curtain above the nine heavens.

Then, while desperately watching the information panel for any "being observed" alerts, he floated around, searching for a chance.

Suddenly, the bubbling sound of boiling water from a teahouse near the trading venue caught his attention.

Xu Xiaoshou floated over and saw eight people gathered around two tables.

Among them, there were even some familiar faces!

The teahouse was rustic.

The owner was nowhere to be seen; everyone inside was handling things themselves.

The two tables nearest the railing were spaced far apart, clearly divided.

One table had people in white clothes, the other in red, with four at each.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't recognize anyone at the white-clothed table, but the ones in red clothes left a deep impression.

A woman, a bald man, an armored man, and a middle-aged elder...

"Lan Ling, Xin, Hei Ming, and Shou Ye!"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked on the spot.

Weren't these four supposed to be guarding Bai Ku?

How had they ended up in Wang Cheng?

But after a quick thought, connecting it to the people at various nodes of the Tian Luo Di Wang outside the trading venue, he instantly understood.

Perhaps it wasn't just the red-clothed team from Bai Ku that had come.

From Dong Tian Jie, all the major white-clothed and red-clothed forces had arrived.

All for the Wang Cheng trial and the possibly emerging Void Island?

"Hiss!"

The realization made Xu Xiaoshou's lungs ache.

He had known early on that the task from Ba Zun An was a huge trap and that the vortex in Wang Cheng was treacherously deep.

But seeing the Sheng Shen Hall forces treat this with such serious deployment still made his heart skip a beat.

"Heavens! What level of person could withstand this kind of manhunt?"

Relying on his Disappearance Technique, which even Zhan Dao experts couldn't detect, Xu Xiaoshou floated closer.

While carefully monitoring the information panel to ensure he wasn't discovered, he approached the teahouse step by step, trying to eavesdrop.

The two tables represented two major groups.

It seemed that for tonight's operation, the four at the white-clothed table were in command, and the red-clothed side was Lan Ling and her group.

Xu Xiaoshou guessed, not daring to use his spiritual sense to probe.

But as he got closer, he could hear voices with his physical ears.

The group had clearly been talking for a while.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know what they'd discussed earlier, but now he only heard Lan Ling reprimanding someone.

"Xin, no need for more words! Even if Cheng Ji's claim turns out to be just empty talk and we end up on a wild goose chase, it's still better than letting a potential opportunity slip away completely."

Xin scratched his head: "What are you saying? Make it clearer..."

Shou Ye shook his head: "No point dwelling on that. At worst, it's just one sleepless night—nothing serious. But when I entered earlier, the inside... it smelled pretty foul, which means ghost beasts must have appeared recently for sure."

Xin's eyes lit up at once.

Shou Ye looked at him: "You could go in and check it out. With your abilities, you might even pinpoint a few ghost beasts directly."

But Lan Ling stopped him: "No need. Let's stick to the rules—bring them out one by one and use the prisoner's dilemma to interrogate. Whoever cracks under pressure must be a ghost! If we storm in and grab people, it could cause a big scene, and then someone might take advantage of the chaos to escape."

Shou Ye nodded: "You're right. That's a solid plan—I was being a bit naive."

Xin went from standing up to sitting back down in the time it took Lan Ling to say that.

His mind wasn't sharp, so he naturally followed Lan Ling's arrangements.

As for Hei Ming...

The armored man didn't say a word, like an outsider.

He even drank his tea by using spiritual energy to draw it in, straight into his helmet.

Xu Xiaoshou only glanced once and didn't dare look more.

He wasn't sure if these Zhan Dao experts, who lived on the edge of life and death, might notice if he stared too long, even in his disappeared state.

When he heard that Lan Ling was the one devising the plan, Xu Xiaoshou's heart already felt ice-cold.

He remembered what happened at Bai Ku.

If it hadn't been for Yu Zhi Wen's timely shout that disrupted Lan Ling's state of mind, he, Xu Xiaoshou, might have been exposed long ago.

This woman was cunning and dangerously sharp!

Her method meant that once they acted at the trading venue, no one could escape.

And if they didn't act...

Those who were already suspicious, like Liu Changqing and his ilk, would still be trapped with no way out.

It was terrifying!

Like a ghost, Xu Xiaoshou floated to the teahouse, listened for a moment, shuddered, and immediately wanted to float away.

But just then, Shou Ye suddenly spoke again, piquing his interest, so he stopped.

"Zhu Lao!"

Shou Ye waved, calling over Zhu Li Sheng, who was brewing tea and attending to the guests in the teahouse, and had him sit down before asking, "Has anything absurd happened in Wang Cheng lately?"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat.

"Absurd?"

Zhu Li Sheng was also puzzled, not quite understanding: "Wang Cheng has plenty of major events every day, but absurd ones... I don't know what kind of 'absurd' you're referring to, Shou Ye predecessor?"

He glanced at the others at the table.

Lan Ling, Xin, and Hei Ming were all silent, their expressions unchanging.

Only Shou Ye was still smiling: "I'm talking about the kind of nonsense among juniors—totally illogical, causing bizarre and far-reaching effects that influence a lot of people."

"That does sound pretty absurd..." Zhu Li Sheng murmured.

He was curious now.

Why would a red-clothed expert like Shou Ye care about such trivial matters?

Was this... gossip?

Some kind of unusual gossip?

Seeing the serious faces around him, Zhu Li Sheng started to doubt himself—they were probably dealing with serious business!

So he thought deeply and recalled.

Shou Ye, seeing him take it seriously, smiled and poured more tea: "Zhu Lao, don't be too formal. It's just a casual question—if there's something, mention it; if not, that's fine. No need to force an answer."

Zhu Li Sheng quickly tapped his fingers on the table, flattered.

Holding his teacup and warming his hands, he said: "Now that you mention it, Shou Ye predecessor, I do recall a few minor incidents."

The four at the table put down their teacups simultaneously and turned their heads.

Zhu Li Sheng: "..."

He was getting suspicious.

I said it was just minor stuff.

But your reaction doesn't seem like you're just asking about minor stuff!

After hesitating, Zhu Li Sheng still spoke up: "There's one thing related to you, Shou Ye predecessor. Chao Luo Tian Gong sent a young envoy to Wang Cheng to participate in the trial. His name is Luo Yin... from the Tai Xu World Family."

Shou Ye: "Related to me?"

"Right."

Zhu Li Sheng nodded: "I looked into it. In Tian Sang City, the Zhang family’s last head, Zhang Tai Ying, received favors from Chao Luo Tian Gong and was considered a devotee. He controlled the imperial princess's virtual image from Chao Luo Tian Gong... Do you remember, Shou Ye predecessor?"

Shou Ye was startled.

After thinking for a while, he finally recalled such a person.

If he remembered correctly, Zhang Tai Ying had been a ghost beast host, but in the end, he was killed by Xu Xiaoshou!

The Zhang family was thoroughly investigated by the red-clothed forces afterward.

Following the principle of better to kill the wrong than let one go, the entire Zhang family leadership, except for two fleeing Wang Zuo members, was either imprisoned or eliminated.

But because of those two who escaped out of guilt, the imprisoned ones had no hope of release for life.

Thinking of this, Shou Ye couldn't help but chuckle.

He hadn't expected that a casual question would bring up such an old matter.

But how could these answers interest someone like him, who lived by the blade?

Revenge?

Never mind whether Chao Luo Tian Gong had the guts to seek revenge on the red-clothed forces.

Just a junior like Luo Yin—could he make any waves?

And the Tai Xu World Family probably wouldn't go to such lengths to avenge this.

"Zhu Lao, that's not what I meant.

Pencil Novel

I don't want to hear about your official circles' talk—that's for dealing with other major powers. What I really want are some truly 'absurd' incidents involving juniors!"

Shou Ye said.

Zhu Li Sheng was completely baffled now.

Not that?

And not anything else?

Just pure gossip?

He forcibly shifted his thinking to match what he thought Shou Ye meant.

To his surprise, another "absurd" figure popped into Zhu Li Sheng's mind, and he hesitated before saying:

"Recently, two new semi-saint forces appeared in Wang Cheng, and that's pretty absurd.

One is the Jiang clan—that's understandable, nothing much to say.

But the other is Tian Shang First Tower. They act so erratically, flaunting themselves all day, and even caused issues like blocking Wang Cheng's traffic and interfering with the Tian Luo battle arena, ultimately getting banned by our Sheng Shen Hall...

Does that count as the 'absurd' you mean, Shou Ye predecessor?"

The people at the table perked up at once.

Even the white-clothed table nearby laughed and looked over: "So, Zhu Lao, you're saying a semi-saint force's heir blocked traffic and got banned?"

"That's truly absurd!"

Another white-clothed person laughed.

"Tell us more?" Shou Ye was even more interested.

It was exactly this kind of ridiculous information he wanted.

Zhu Li Sheng grew serious and said solemnly: "This semi-saint heir has a big background—he's from the Bei Yu Tai Xiang Xu family..."

"Xu?" Shou Ye interrupted.

"Uh... yes."

Zhu Li Sheng had been about to explain in detail.

But he hadn't even started when he was interrupted.

Though the people before him were of similar rank, and some even weaker in cultivation, strength wasn't measured that way.

So Zhu Li Sheng felt no anger at being interrupted; instead, he looked up, waiting expectantly for Shou Ye to continue.

Shou Ye raised his hand: "Zhu Lao, hold on—let me guess..."

Sometimes, if someone else spoke first, it could bias the story.

So Shou Ye pondered for a moment, saw Zhu Li Sheng sitting straight, and asked: "Innate talent?"

"Yes." Zhu Li Sheng nodded.

"Fire-element Lian Ling Shi?"

"I'm not sure about that..."

"Sword Dao?"

"Yes, Jian Zong!"

"Not bad at all..." The people at the white-clothed table were surprised.

Innate talent and Jian Zong?

With those two descriptors, everyone knew it referred to the ancient Jian Zong sword cultivators.

The red-clothed table fell serious at once.

Even Shou Ye lost his smile.

Zhu Li Sheng felt uneasy, his scalp tingling.

What was going on?

Just a few questions, and why had everyone's expressions changed?

Shou Ye continued: "A Dan master?"

Zhu Li Sheng thought: "I'm not entirely sure, but Tian Shang First Tower has a deal with Duo Jin Merchant Guild worth over a hundred billion for Dan refining, and it's Tian Shang First Tower providing the pills."

Shou Ye took a deep breath—he hadn't expected a casual question to uncover such a big scoop—and pressed on: "A Ling Array master?"

"That should be impossible..." Zhu Li Sheng first denied it himself.

But then he thought again, recalling the trading venue, and denied his own denial.

"To be precise, it's unclear.

But Tian Shang First Tower bid on a Wang Zuo-level Ling Array disk involving spatial Dao at the trading venue."

"I don't know if that matches what you had in mind..."

Shou Ye slapped the table and stood up, his voice full of immense excitement: "Is the Tian Shang First Tower you mentioned inside there?"

He turned back, pointing to the trading venue where the signboard had been removed, his whole body agitated.

"Yes!"

Zhu Li Sheng was even more panicked. What could make a red-clothed expert take this so seriously?

Previously, he had thought investigating Tian Shang First Tower was just a minor task.

But now, he regretted not acting sooner to thoroughly investigate that Xu family member.

"Shou Ye predecessor, if my information helps..."

Zhu Li Sheng's eyes darted as he recalled something else: "At the trading venue, there was indeed another absurd incident—Tian Shang First Tower and Dong Ling, the president of the Dan Master Association, nearly came to blows. That was one of the biggest surprises of this trading event."

With a bang, Shou Ye's fist slammed heavily onto the wooden table, cracking it on the spot.

"It's him!"

Xu Xiaoshou is in Wang Cheng!

Glancing back, Shou Ye moved to head toward the trading venue.

Lan Ling stood up immediately: "Wait!"

Shou Ye turned, his voice emotional: "That kid is inside. I can't just watch him go astray. If we give him more time, he might be beyond saving!"

No one understood Xu Xiaoshou's terrifying growth potential better than Shou Ye.

He had watched the boy grow step by step!

In just a few months,

He rose in Tian Sang Ling Palace, stormed into Tian Sang City, and then stirred up a massive storm at Bai Ku.

Looking back now,

The boy had already caught the eye of the Sheng Nu chief and joined the Sheng Nu.

If not now, when?