Chapter 764: Sang Lao's Straw Hat, Taixu World

The heavy rain poured down relentlessly.

Atop the spire of Tian Shang Di Yi Lou, stood an old man with white hair and green robes, exuding an ethereal and refined presence.

Mei Siyi gazed into the Qingming.

He had been standing there for a long time, witnessing the rain over Wangcheng transform from a gentle drizzle to this torrential downpour.

“Wonderful.”

“Truly wonderful.”

From the spire, one could overlook the entire city.

Yet Mei Siyi didn't need it; with just his spiritual sense, he surveyed everything that had unfolded in Dongtian Wangcheng that night.

“Xu Detie, Xu Foji, Xu Xiaoshou…”

Gazing in a certain direction, Mei Siyi murmured to himself, “So, the hand of Sheng Nu reaches this far?”

He found it somewhat amusing.

He had always suspected that it was impossible for Wangcheng to produce such a swordsmanship prodigy out of nowhere, only for him to discover it alone.

It turned out this was someone from Ba Zun'an's circle.

“That young man…”

Mei Siyi shook his head, lost in memories.

He recalled that snowy afternoon when Ba Zun'an, full of youthful spirit and ambition, had made bold declarations alongside Wen Ting.

Time had flown by.

So many years later, that boy from back then had grown into someone capable of stirring up storms across the continent.

“Ba Zun'an…”

As Mei Siyi watched the night rain over Wangcheng, he gently tapped a paper fan against his palm, his eyes distant, as if seeing the figure of an old friend.

“You Tu, is this the ‘most beautiful scenery’ you spoke of?”

In the past, Mei Siyi and You Tu had discussed the way of tea and debated the chosen ones of the continent's destiny and the future.

The difference was that You Tu had bet everything on that boy named Ba Zun'an at the time.

Mei Siyi, however, had chosen not to bet.

Not betting meant having no stance, and also meant not favoring the continent's future.

Or, put another way,

This third, extra option itself represented Mei Siyi's position.

Being an observer was equivalent to betting on the continent's orthodoxy, on the long-standing chosen one, the current lord of Shengshen Diantang, Dao Qiong Cang.

Mei Siyi just didn't want to admit it.

He had always felt that the early Ba Zun'an was too bloodthirsty, too obsessive.

Dao Qiong Cang was merely pushed into the spotlight, becoming the chosen one of the era.

In essence, the two weren't all that different.

But today was different.

Today, from the spire of Tian Shang Di Yi Lou, Mei Siyi had seen everything that happened in Wangcheng and understood Ba Zun'an's choice—the one he thought was just a coincidence, Xu Xiaoshou.

In reality,

You Tu, Ba Zun'an, Xu Xiaoshou…

Fate had already predetermined it all.

“Willing to be kind…” In the rainy night, Mei Siyi murmured with a smile, feeling it was a rare and precious quality.

At least, in this regard, Xu Xiaoshou was completely different from Ba Zun'an.

The head of Yi Bu, with one of his abilities being the Bewitching Domain,

But the essence of bewitching was merely to amplify a person's inner obsessions.

From what Mei Siyi had seen,

If it had been the young Ba Zun'an walking down that street instead of Xu Xiaoshou,

He wouldn't have even glanced twice, let alone choose to help that suspicious little girl he didn't know.

“Taixu bullying Xiantian, and even using the Bewitching Domain—Shengshen Diantang has truly lost its way…”

Mei Siyi sighed.

Then, he leaped down from the spire of Tian Shang Di Yi Lou.

During that tea discussion, Mei Siyi had once advised You Tu, who was already the foremost of the Seven Sword Immortals, not to enter the game, not to get involved!

Because it wasn't worth it.

After cultivating to such a level, wasn't it all just for transcendence?

Being a spectator or a player of the game was far more comfortable than being a pawn manipulated by others—wasn't that an obvious truth?

But back then, You Tu had only shaken his head and smiled without a word.

At the time, Mei Siyi thought You Tu was being ridiculous, pretending to be profound and mysterious, which only made him look comical.

But now, he understood You Tu a little better.

Standing outside the game, you couldn't control the board.

When all the predetermined fates unfolded before your eyes in an unchangeable way, and you were powerless to stop it,

That sense of futility was like being a pawn in another sense.

So…

“You Tu, this old man is coming!”

With a light call, Mei Siyi vanished into the rainy night.

This time, he decided to enter the game.

It was a board where even as one of the Seven Sword Immortals, once he stepped in, he couldn't escape.

But by now, Mei Siyi wouldn't hesitate anymore.

The cicada sings through summer, unaware of autumn's chill.

The epiphyllum blooms in an instant, unseen by daylight.

Yet both are far more splendid than an ordinary person's life.

“Boom, boom!”

Elsewhere, in the alleyways, the storm raged even harder.

Rain from the sky was swept up by howling gales in mid-air, turning into massive stones that hammered down on rooftops, eaves, and the ground.

Amid such a ferocious storm,

Two figures, one large and one small, hand in hand, advanced steadily.

“Big brother, is there really candied hawthorn for sale up ahead?”

The little girl Xu Xiaoshou was holding continued to sob.

Her crying seemed to make even the heavens weep, drawing all attention to her.

“Yes, there is. Don't rush, we'll walk there slowly.”

With a wooden expression, Xu Xiaoshou stroked the little girl's head while inwardly battling his own thoughts.

He felt like he was in a state of sleep paralysis.

Everything around him felt slightly off, yet he couldn't muster the will to resist.

He wanted to check his status panel.

He knew it was constantly popping up with notifications.

But whenever he tried, his focus would uncontrollably shift to some meaningless “nothingness.”

He couldn't do anything, couldn't remember anything…

“Big brother, I want to walk faster.”

The little girl urged him.

“Take it slow. Buying candied hawthorn isn't urgent. Your brother has plenty of money; I'll get you lots of it.”

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were dull as he responded absentmindedly.

The little girl twitched her mouth at his words but then burst into tears again: “Waaah, I want to go faster…”

“Alright, alright!”

Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to pick up the little girl and start running full speed.

The rain battered down.

Xu Xiaoshou dashed at full throttle.

He rarely ran like this, but at top speed, he was like a bolt of lightning.

“Sizzle, sizzle…”

The raindrops pelted down like stones.

Yet as Xu Xiaoshou sprinted, they evaporated into mist before even touching him.

“Sizzle, sizzle…”

The sound grew louder.

The little girl in his arms looked around frantically, growing panicked.

“Big brother, why are you getting so hot?”

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes remained vacant; this time, he didn't respond as usual, just kept running, his body growing hotter.

“Thud, thud—”

When the faint sounds appeared, the little girl finally sensed something was wrong.

She looked up abruptly.

In the next second, her pupils contracted.

On Xu Xiaoshou's head, a tattered straw hat had appeared out of nowhere.

The hat was in terrible condition.

It was even leaking water!

Yet this worn-out straw hat, which had clearly seen countless battles, had evaded the little girl's perception and mysteriously ended up on Xu Xiaoshou's head.

“Stop!”

The little girl was terrified and shouted loudly.

She tried to stand up, but Xu Xiaoshou's arms held her tightly, ignoring her completely, as he accelerated forward.

The straw hat shielded the rain from his head, leaving only quietness for the young man.

In that moment,

As Xu Xiaoshou ran, a withered figure seemed to appear before him.

His target suddenly shifted.

An intense urge surged within him.

Xu Xiaoshou lunged forward.

He saw who the figure was.

“Master!”

His vision darkened.

The scene blurred.

“Thud, thud—”

The familiar echo sounded in his ears, and Xu Xiaoshou felt the world grow peaceful.

“What is this?”

He looked around curiously.

It was a vast, white world, boundless and without limits.

The ground was scattered with embers of white flame, radiating warmth, and the world felt serene.

The flames were sparse, just a few yards apart.

It was beautiful as a painting.

“Heh heh, you're here?”

A very familiar laugh suddenly came from behind.

That sneaky chuckle instantly shattered the illusion's beauty.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils trembled as he turned around in surprise: “Old man?”

“Smack!”

Sang Lao swatted Xu Xiaoshou down with the straw hat and placed it on his own disciple's head.

Xu Xiaoshou lifted the hat, his face full of joy.

The person before him was indeed Sang Lao!

Sang Lao sat cross-legged, still in his raincoat, with dark circles under his eyes as black as ever, and his bald head just as shiny without the hat…

“Are you dreaming?”

Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed; he didn't know how this had happened and asked, “Did you miss me so much that you dreamed of me?”

“You're the one dreaming!”

Sang Lao rolled his eyes, then realized he had been led astray and corrected, “It's not a dream; this is reality.” He pointed to the ground.

“Reality?” Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled.

Sang Lao smiled smugly: “This is the Taixu world. You can think of it as an enhanced version of the Wangzuo realm, transcending time and space… I was once Taixu, so doing this is normal. Don't you believe me?”

Xu Xiaoshou still looked skeptical: “Weren't you imprisoned? How can you still be roaming around?”

Taixu world…

He had experienced something similar before.

Back in Bai Ku, the Wolfbei Saint had pulled him into a like illusion using the named sword Yanmang.

“Wait!”

“Yanmang?”

“The medium?”

Realizing this, before Sang Lao could say more, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood.

“Is it this thing?”

He took off the straw hat from his head, shocked.

Sang Lao was locked in Shengshen Diantang's prison; he couldn't possibly be free to wander.

So, this must be a contingency he had left behind!

And from their last encounter…

That old man had blocked the arrows for him, thrown him the straw hat, and pushed him into a spatial rift.

Xu Xiaoshou had thought it was just a symbolic inheritance.

He never imagined it had real power!

“It seems you've figured it out…”

Sang Lao saw Xu Xiaoshou's enlightened expression and felt a bit disappointed.

He couldn't seem as mysterious or imposing as other masters in front of his disciple.

Because this disciple always uncovered his plans ahead of time.

Sang Lao sighed, not dwelling on it, and got to the point: “Since you can see me, you must be in grave danger.”

“With your abilities, I don't think anyone at Wangzuo or Zhudao level could pose such a threat—one big enough to trigger the Taixu world.”

“Among Bansheng, besides that shameless one who loves all beings, no one else would bother to strike at you.”

“So, you've encountered a Taixu!”

Sang Lao's tone was certain.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled.

That's right—he remembered now.

He was in the middle of helping a little girl buy candied hawthorn!

This was urgent; how had he ended up here with Sang Lao?

Xu Xiaoshou stood up instinctively, wanting to go buy the candied hawthorn…

“Wait!”

Transcending reality in the Taixu world,

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly snapped out of his mental inertia.

“Why would I, at such a critical moment, want to buy candied hawthorn for a little girl?”

Now clear-headed, Xu Xiaoshou was stunned, clutching his head as if he might go mad from his own stupidity!

With all the chaos tonight,

And here he was, running around for a stick of candied hawthorn?

So…

“That little girl is a Taixu?”

Xu Xiaoshou realized this, his eyes widening in shock.

A Taixu!

Pretending to be a little girl to toy with him?

This world felt absurd…

Was it necessary?

Stooping to deal with a Xiantian and even role-playing?

This was just twisted!

“It seems you've figured it out again…”

Sang Lao sighed once more.

At that moment, he was merely a remnant of spiritual energy and couldn't know what had happened to Xu Xiaoshou.

All he could do was follow the program set when he created this Taixu world.

But from Xu Xiaoshou's expression, Sang Lao could tell the boy understood.

“It's good that you get it. You don't need to explain anything to me. My time is limited, so let me show you a few things first!”

Sang Lao waved his hand, and three pill bottles appeared before him.

After snapping out of it, Xu Xiaoshou knew this Taixu world was precious, and the Sang Lao before him didn't have much time left. He quickly focused.

He squatted down, reaching out.

But Sang Lao glared and smacked his hand away.

“What are these?” Xu Xiaoshou asked obediently.

“Three things.”

Sang Lao stated the obvious, then fell into sentiment: “It seems I haven't given you many proper gifts. Among these three, pick one; I'll give it to you.”

“Not pills?” Xu Xiaoshou caught the hint.

“No.” Sang Lao shook his head.

“Is this our last meeting?” Xu Xiaoshou looked up, asking sincerely.

“Probably.” Sang Lao nodded.

“Then… since it's the last time, why keep the other two? Are you giving them to thin air? I'm not a kid; I want them all.”

Xu Xiaoshou stared, as if it were the most natural thing.

Sang Lao's face twitched, then he showed an “as expected” expression and burst out laughing.

“Fine.”

“All for you!”

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

He hadn't expected such a quick agreement and backed away a few steps, “In that case, I'll take none.”

“Smack!”

Sang Lao, frustrated, slapped Xu Xiaoshou on the forehead again and scolded, “Turning down free gifts? You're an embarrassment to me!”

With that, Xu Xiaoshou was sure these were good things.

This was probably Sang Lao's final… well, before his end… the real treasures he was passing on.