Chapter 762: You Go First, I'll Cover the Rear

Xin Gugu was a conservative.

Jiao Tangtang was also a conservative.

The last mission they received was to go to Bai Ku in search of Feng Yujin, which was the conservatives' final stand.

But they failed.

Feng Yujin did not agree to join Xu Yue Hui Gong; instead, he was ultimately captured by Xu Xiaoshou.

Jiao Tangtang saw Xu Xiaoshou's potential and thus gave him the Greed God, and even left Xin Gugu by his side.

This was a crucial move for the conservatives.

If played well, it might turn the tide and save the collapsing structure.

Yet all of this was merely a contingency plan.

Returning to reality, to the present moment.

When the conservative elders Wu Xia and Yue Xie truly appeared before him and were about to be captured by Hong Yi without any basis, Xin Gugu could no longer hold back.

These were his childhood beliefs.

Similarly, they were the beliefs of most pure-hearted Gui Shou Ji Ti.

They shouldn't be treated this way...

Elder Wu Xia was truly a good person!

Xin Gugu knew everything.

He knew that war might bring peace, but the cost would be immense.

There had to be another way to protect those Gui Shou Ji Ti who didn't want war, while also finding true peace from another angle.

This way was what Elder Wu Xia sought, what the conservatives of Xu Yue Hui Gong sought, and what Xin Gugu himself sought.

What set him apart from others was that.

Perhaps others found a path.

But he, Xin Gugu, had set his sights on a person.

“Mo Mo!”

Thinking of this, Xin Gugu turned back, his expression serious, and sent a voice transmission: “Elder Wu Xia cannot die. I must find Xu Xiaoshou. Do you have a way to contact him?”

“Wu Xia?”

Mo Mo was startled, then quickly came to his senses: “Xu Xiaoshou must be figuring something out right now. Why do you need to contact him?”

“It's too slow!”

Xin Gugu was desperate to save someone and couldn't wait any longer.

He sent another voice transmission: “The barrier is broken now, so we might be able to reach Xu Xiaoshou. I have an urgent matter and must find him immediately to explain everything.”

“No...” Mo Mo shook his head. “The barrier is broken, but using a communication pearl might still be intercepted by Bai Yi or Hong Yi, and it could even expose Xu Xiaoshou's location. That's absolutely unwise.”

Xin Gugu was speechless.

Was there really no way?

At that moment, Mo Mo had a sudden inspiration, his eyes darting around as if he thought of something.

“Maybe... there really is a way.”

“What way?” Xin Gugu perked up.

Mo Mo said nothing, turning his head to look at Liu Changqing.

This newly emerged Gui Shou Ji Ti, with his Zhan Dao cultivation, was completely useless in the current situation.

However, the Xuan Wu Ji within him was a master of Tian Ji techniques, claiming to be unparalleled beyond Dao Cang!

Perhaps he could accomplish something.

In Bei Cheng Qu, at Tian Qi Lin.

Bai Yi figures were rustling through the area, with the first wave of support teams already arriving.

There was no choice; the fluctuations of Sheng Li were impossible to ignore.

If the leak of Sheng Li was just an accident, that would be one thing.

But if it was the prelude to war, and that war could burn into the layouts of Bai Yi and Hong Yi, then arriving late would be as good as not arriving at all.

However, even though Bai Yi moved incredibly fast, by the time they reached Tian Qi Lin, the battle was already over.

The visitor from Yin Cao, Hua Xian Mou, was too strong.

If not for the need to erase that Ban Sheng bloodline mark in the end, this surprise attack on the Jiang family might not have been detected by Bai Yi at all.

Thus, the arriving crowd could only find Jiang Chao Tian and the unconscious Jiang Xian at the outskirts of Tian Qi Lin.

After a brief understanding of the situation, Bai Yi immediately dispatched teams to search everywhere for the culprit, Yan Wang, and that even more alarming organization, Sheng Nu.

In Zhong Cheng Qu.

Before Bai Yi could act, three figures were already speeding through the night sky.

The behind-the-scenes player Xu Xiaoshou, under the protection of the storyteller's Yin Yang Sheng Si space force, had long escaped from Tian Qi Lin.

He couldn't help but marvel at the power of space forces.

With Step to the Heavens plus invisibility, he could move freely in any territory without Zhan Dao seals.

But if space was exiled, Xu Xiaoshou would be helpless.

The storyteller was different.

This guy was at Zhan Dao peak.

With his elusive space forces, he could basically escape from ordinary Tai Xu encounters.

In this world full of dangers, sometimes raw power wasn't that useful.

Escape methods were what Xu Xiaoshou considered the true measure of one's combat level.

“So, big uncle, you're really planning to go straight for Yan Wang's boss, Huang Quan?”

As they flew, Xu Xiaoshou turned back to look at the scruffy uncle carrying the sack.

This uncle was following him.

As for the reason...

After Xu Xiaoshou learned he was going after Huang Quan, he simply said, “I know where Yan Wang's boss is.”

Then, the uncle followed along.

No extra words.

No caution at all.

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had said, “I want to sell you out—can you help count the money?”

The uncle seriously replied, “Okay,” and started counting without a second thought.

When Xu Xiaoshou realized it might be a trap and tried to stop him,

The uncle wouldn't let him!

He insisted on counting, determined to help to the end, like sending the Buddha all the way to the West.

So, this joint action left Xu Xiaoshou feeling a bit uneasy.

“Mm.”

On the side, faced with this question for the seventh or eighth time on the way, the uncle just nodded in response, speaking sparingly.

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled by him: “You're really not afraid I'll use you?”

The uncle smiled: “Can you even use me?”

Xu Xiaoshou: “...”

“Really, no other reasons? I don't believe you don't know about the situation in Nan Cheng Qu... You're helping me!”

The uncle: “I'm not helping you; I just want the Wounded Profound Sword.”

Xu Xiaoshou: “Your actions will end up helping me!”

The uncle: “Shouldn't you be happy about that?”

Xu Xiaoshou: “...”

He was completely stumped.

Yeah, he should be happy.

But...

How could there be such good people in this world?

It was obvious someone was about to use you, yet you happily walked right into it—wasnt' that the height of foolishness?

But to call the uncle foolish...

Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare agree.

He felt there must be a scheme, one so clever that he couldn't detect or trace it at all.

—A highly skilled trick!

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent, stroking his chin as he flew and pondered deeply.

The uncle glanced back at the young man's expression and chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly.

The storyteller nearby was already stunned.

He sensed the uncle's strength more deeply than Xu Xiaoshou did.

In terms of Jian Dao cultivation, the storyteller dared say that besides his brother and the Seven Sword Immortals, few in the world could match him.

Yet here was this nameless, unknown figure, happily letting himself be used...

Was he crazy?

The storyteller was going nuts inside. What kind of aura did Xu Xiaoshou have that made everyone love him like this?

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou gave up thinking and turned back, asking sincerely the question that had puzzled him for so long: “So, big uncle, who are you exactly, and why do you keep helping me?”

The “Guan Jian Dian” of Tian Sang City, the Phantom Sword Art of Tian Qi Lin...

Sometimes, Xu Xiaoshou really suspected this scruffy uncle was stalking him out of affection, jumping in whenever he was in danger.

The uncle replied calmly: “I told you, I'm Ba Zun An.”

Xu Xiaoshou: “...”

He turned to the storyteller: “You... uh, are you sure our Sheng Nu leader is Ba Zun An?”

The storyteller was a bit unsure now: “Brother, he should be, right?”

“What do you mean, 'should be'!” Xu Xiaoshou's head hurt.

He was certain the masked one was the real Ba Zun An; this scruffy uncle was definitely a fake. How could he be Ba Zun An?

“You're not fooling me!”

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at the uncle.

“Really, someone as big as you, why play tricks on a junior?”

“'Guan Jian Dian' was from you, and you saved my life once.”

“So, no need to lie to me.”

Xu Xiaoshou said earnestly: “We're on the same side!”

The storyteller was shocked: “'Guan Jian Dian', he gave it to you?”

“Yeah!”

Xu Xiaoshou looked back: “You might not believe it, but I didn't learn my Jian Nian from your brother; I got it from an ancient text he gave me called 'Guan Jian Dian'.”

Now the storyteller was stunned.

“Impossible...” he murmured. “'Guan Jian Dian' is my brother's thing; he said it never left his hands. How could it be with someone else?”

The two of them turned to look at the uncle at the same time.

“You, who are you exactly!”

The uncle smiled: “Ba Zun An.”

Suddenly, all three fell silent.

Xu Xiaoshou was so annoyed his teeth itched.

The storyteller scrutinized him but still couldn't find any flaws.

As for the uncle...

The uncle just kept carrying his sack, like a dedicated worker, trudging through the dust, filling in wherever there was a gap.

Sometimes late, but never absent.

“You're so upright...” Xu Xiaoshou grumbled silently, deciding not to ask more.

Just then,

He twitched his ear and noticed ripples forming in the void ahead, beginning to shift.

The uncle and the storyteller both grew alert and stopped.

The void ripples gathered, forming a Tian Ji array diagram.

“Tian Ji technique?”

The storyteller jumped in fright.

For a moment, he even thought Dao Cang had found him and was acting personally.

He was about to gather his power to attack, but the uncle stopped him: “Wait, it's not that old daoist.”

The storyteller was startled.

Old daoist...

This uncle knew what he was thinking and that Dao Cang's title couldn't be said lightly, yet there was no respect in his words at all.

Who exactly was this guy?

The Tian Ji array shifted, and after a moment, a vague human head image appeared.

“Xiao Ji Ji?”

Xu Xiaoshou barely recognized the head.

“You know him?”

The storyteller was surprised.

This kind of Tian Ji technique, projecting a head for remote conversation, was something he'd never seen.

How had Xu Xiaoshou, who hadn't been in Wang Cheng long, met such a Tian Ji master?

“Yeah.”

Xu Xiaoshou nodded: “A Gui Shou Ji Ti.”

“Bullshit Gui Shou Ji Ti!”

The image of Xuan Wu Ji in the Tian Ji array flared up in anger: “I'm your Wu Ji ancestor!”

“Xuan Wu Ji?” The scruffy uncle raised an eyebrow. “That Xuan Wu Ji who was directly sent in by the old daoist with Tian Ji techniques? Aren't you on Void Island?”

Xuan Wu Ji turned and saw the scruffy uncle, causing the projected image to shake violently, the sound cutting out.

His mouth was open, as if shouting in shock,

But no sound came through; clearly, he couldn't control the Tian Ji technique steadily at that moment.

After a while, the image stabilized.

“Who are you?!” Xuan Wu Ji asked in alarm.

“Ba Zun An.” The uncle responded.

“You're not Ba Zun An, you scared your Wu Ji ancestor!” Xuan Wu Ji raged.

“Heh.” The uncle smiled.

Seeing the two about to chat, Xu Xiaoshou quickly interrupted: “Enough chatting, Xiao Ji Ji, why are you looking for me? Did something go wrong on site, or did you all escape?”

Although he was thrilled that Xuan Wu Ji had used Tian Ji to reach him, Xu Xiaoshou figured that for Mo Mo to think of using him—and possibly hiding it from Liu Changqing—it must be serious.

Right now, business came first.

“Escape? No way, even Rao Yao Yao showed up...”

Xuan Wu Ji snorted and continued: “There's a guy named Xin who strongly insists you hurry back. He says something big happened and you need to save someone.”

“Save someone?” Xu Xiaoshou repeated.

“Or, in your terms, save a Gui Shou Ji Ti.”

“A Gui Shou Ji Ti? Do I know them?”

“How would I know? But it's a Tai Xu-level Gui Shou Ji Ti. Maybe we can pull some strings, put in some effort, and rope them in.” Xuan Wu Ji started suggesting.

Once on the thief's boat, one couldn't help but want to fix the rundown ship.

At least, make it safe enough to sit on, right?

Hearing it was a Tai Xu-level Gui Shou Ji Ti, Xu Xiaoshou knew he probably didn't know them.

But if it was someone Xin Gugu wanted to save, it likely had ties to Xu Yue Hui Gong.

He wanted to ask more about the trade fair site.

But just then, the scruffy uncle waved his hand, smashing the Tian Ji array.

“What are you...”

Xu Xiaoshou looked back in confusion.

Then he saw the uncle and the storyteller both looking down at the ground.

On the ground, a short, hunchbacked old man was straining to look up at the sky.

His gaze was fixed exactly on where the three were hovering.

“Wang Da Chui...”

The storyteller stared at the man, murmuring with a headache.

“Who?” Xu Xiaoshou could sense the newcomer was no simple foe.

And he was targeting the three of them seriously.

“You two, leave first!”

Before the storyteller could explain, the scruffy uncle waved his hand: “I'll skip going after Yan Wang's Huang Quan for now. Once I handle this, I'll head to the trade fair site you mentioned.”

“Now, you go ahead; I'll cover the rear.”