Chapter 765: Wait for Me to Ascend the Throne, Then I Dare to Draw My Sword upon the Holy Mountain

“What is it?”

Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes lit up with intense excitement.

Who wouldn’t want to be a child, reaching out for gifts whenever they pleased?

Along the way, it would be a lie to say he didn’t envy his peers.

Xu Xiaoshou had beaten up plenty of people.

Every time those guys pulled out their backgrounds, trump cards, or ace in the holes,

All he could do was hold back a "Passive Fist" that he’d been saving up for ages, just in case.

Yet, he had Sang Lao behind him, a Taixu powerhouse who could dominate half the world.

And behind Sang Lao was Jin Zhao Ban Sheng, Long Rong Zhi from the Holy Palace.

Thinking about it, Xu Xiaoshou’s identity as a Taixu heir, even a Ban Sheng heir, could actually be real.

But reality showed that Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t say anything or do anything.

All those layers of backing were things that couldn’t be brought out into the open.

He couldn’t be like others, facing a strong enemy and saying, “How dare you hit me? I have people behind me!”

Then the enemy would back off...

Impossible.

He just couldn’t do it!

Even his identity as the heir of Tian Shang First Tower was something Xu Xiaoshou had made up himself.

Just bluffing with borrowed authority.

When truly facing a strong enemy, none of it worked.

But!

Now, with the three dan bottles in front of him from Sang Lao, Xu Xiaoshou could feel the overwhelming, even terrifying energy inside.

This was a real trump card!

Xu Xiaoshou understood that Sang Lao wouldn’t give him three bottles of Yuan Ting Dan for no reason this time.

Because the Taixu world the other had built was meant for his disciple to use against Taixu or even Ban Sheng enemies.

Right now, Xu Xiaoshou looked at Sang Lao with full anticipation.

Sang Lao smiled and stopped teasing, pointing to the first dan bottle. “This is Xu Xiang.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes suddenly brightened.

“Xu Xiang?”

“Yes.”

Sang Lao nodded and continued, “The process of making Xu Xiang is extremely difficult, often taking years of a Taixu’s effort. Generally, even in Taixu families, only the most favored disciples get one from their elders.”

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou was certain that the Xu Xiang Sang Lao mentioned was the same kind he’d encountered before.

Back in Tian Sang Cheng, Zhang Taiying’s Di Ji Xu Xiang had left a deep impression on him.

At the time, the other couldn’t even move.

But just with the defensive power of the Xu Xiang, Xu Xiaoshou and Xin Gugu—one as a raging giant, the other as a ghost beast—had attacked furiously. In the end, they were nearly exhausted and still couldn’t break through its defense at all!

It wasn’t until A Jie kicked in that everything ended...

But that was just Zhang Taiying’s Xu Xiang acting on its own for defense.

If it had been used for attacks,

Xu Xiaoshou believed that even with A Jie, he might not have been able to take down Zhang Taiying.

“Does it have a name?” Xu Xiaoshou asked, snapping back to reality.

He remembered that Xu Xiang always had names, like Zhang Taiying’s “Di Ji Xu Xiang,” which sounded incredibly imposing.

Just shouting it before battle could make the enemy lose their edge.

But Sang Lao shook his head. “I’ve never made one for anyone in my life. This is the first, so it doesn’t have a name yet.”

Xu Xiaoshou said, “Then give it one. I’ve decided to accept this gift.”

Sang Lao’s eyelid twitched at his words.

It sounded like Xu Xiaoshou was the one granting a favor.

But he didn’t dwell on it.

After thinking for a moment, Sang Lao pondered and said, “Let’s call it ‘Hei Yan Shen’.”

“Black?” Xu Xiaoshou was a bit puzzled.

The Jin Zhao lineage was all about white flames, so why “black”?

But then he thought, Sang Lao’s signature move was his self-created “Wu Xiu · Chi Jiao Shou.”

Those pitch-black hands, Xu Xiaoshou had seen in the Eight Palaces.

Absolutely scorching!

They could even burn the Heavenly Dao, utterly unstoppable.

Right then, he understood why Sang Lao named it “Hei Yan Shen.”

Xu Xiaoshou grabbed the dan bottle and looked at the second one. “What about this?”

Sang Lao shook his head at his disciple’s eagerness but didn’t say much, pointing to the second dan bottle on the ground. “This is Sheng Xiang.”

“Ha?” Xu Xiaoshou’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes wide with shock. “Sheng? You didn’t misspeak?”

The oppressive feeling from Jiang Xian’s Sheng Xiang in Tian Qi Lin was still fresh in his mind.

If Yan Wang and the other hadn’t been fully prepared,

Even those two Dao Slayers could only kneel and submit before the Sheng Xiang.

And Sang Lao had a Sheng Xiang?

Seeming to see Xu Xiaoshou’s confusion, Sang Lao smiled. “This is from your grandmaster. I’ve already broken ties with him and didn’t want to use it, so I’m leaving it for you.”

“Are you crazy?!”

After the initial shock, Xu Xiaoshou’s first thought wasn’t about himself but about that arrow from Ai Cang Sheng in the Eight Palaces.

If Sang Lao had activated the Sheng Xiang back then, could he have blocked that arrow from the Evil Sin Bow?

Not just possibly—he should have been able to completely!

Smack.

Sang Lao suddenly leaned in and gave Xu Xiaoshou another hard smack on the head. “Watch your mouth!”

When Xu Xiaoshou looked back with a mix of grievance and curiosity,

Sang Lao sighed deeply, his voice tinged with regret. “Xu Xiaoshou, you’re clever, but some things aren’t as simple as you think.”

“What do you mean?” Xu Xiaoshou was confused.

Sang Lao pointed upward, a mysterious smile on his face. “I’ve told you before, beyond the heavens, there are more heavens, and beyond those, even more.”

“Some things might seem to have three layers to you, but they actually have five meanings.”

“Even with your current talents, if you can see three layers, I can tell you straight—they’re just what others want you to see.”

“What you can glimpse is always just the tip of the iceberg in this world.”

Xu Xiaoshou fell into thought.

What did that mean?

Not using the Sheng Xiang and choosing to take the arrow...

Could this be part of Sang Lao’s plan?

Was the prison in Sheng Shen Dian Tang something Sang Lao wanted to enter himself?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled by the idea and quickly dismissed it.

Impossible!

If Sang Lao had wanted to, he could have gone in back when Gou Wuyue made his move, stepping right in.

Why wait for Ai Cang Sheng’s arrow?

And what would he gain from going to prison?

To endure the tortures of Sheng Shen Dian Tang?

Sang Lao was...

Smack!

While he was pondering, Sang Lao slapped him awake again, scolding irritably, “Stop overthinking! As I said, until you have absolute strength, just be a good pawn!”

“There are plenty of smart people in this world. One Dao Qiong Cang is enough to give you more than you can handle.”

“Do you really think your abilities now can match those from the previous era?”

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head. “I’m not that arrogant...”

Sang Lao cut him off. “But what I’m facing now, and what you’ll face later, is far more than just one Dao Qiong Cang!”

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly looked up, enlightened.

Of course!

He was still just a junior and didn’t need to worry about all that.

But Sang Lao and the Eight Zun An were clashing with the peak powers of this world.

For figures like them, whether enemies or allies, if their schemes could be figured out by a junior like him, could they even be called great powers?

“Xu Xiaoshou.”

Sang Lao’s voice grew serious. “Remember, you can focus on your peers for now, but to surpass them and catch up to those from the previous era, your eyes can’t just be on your peers—or even just the previous generation!”

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent at his words.

He caught the underlying message from Sang Lao.

What a harsh reality.

Xu Xiaoshou was born a era late, yet he had to chase those from the previous one.

At the same time, those from the previous era were surely chasing the one before that.

Everyone seemed to be blindly rushing toward a “goal.”

It felt like there was a goal, but no one could see where it was.

Xu Xiaoshou thought his description of it as “blind” was spot on.

And as for that “goal”...

Maybe it wasn’t a goal at all—it was an “answer.”

That answer hidden deepest in the continent, which everyone chased but could never grasp.

Xu Xiaoshou had asked about it before.

Most people couldn’t give an answer.

Even Sang Lao had never said it outright.

But the Eight Zun An had told him.

That answer was “freedom.”

Whether it was the absolute control of Sheng Shen Dian Tang, Sang Lao’s talk of the “prison theory,” or the vivid stories from the Eight Zun An in Bai Ku about the “people beyond the heavens”...

Everything boiled down to “for freedom.”

It was just that the “freedom” Sheng Shen Dian Tang wanted to give the continent seemed completely different from what Sang Lao and the Eight Zun An meant.

“Such intense continental-level internal competition...”

As Xu Xiaoshou thought about it, he summed it up with a sigh, feeling utterly speechless.

At that moment, Sang Lao’s figure flickered, and the world blurred, as if everything was about to fade away.

Xu Xiaoshou snapped back in alarm. “What’s happening? Is time up? Are you going to die again?”

Smack.

Sang Lao suddenly slapped him hard in anger. “You talk too much nonsense!”

This time, he didn’t waste words and got back to the point, pointing to the second dan bottle. “This Sheng Xiang is called ‘Jiu Long Fen Zu.’ With your current cultivation, summoning it would kill the enemy at a cost of eight hundred to your own one thousand, so...”

Sang Lao sped up, pointing to the third dan bottle. “This is a bottle of Sheng Xue, also from your grandmaster. Take a drop before summoning the Sheng Xiang—it’ll save your life.”

Xu Xiaoshou was deeply shocked, exclaiming in horror, “A whole bottle of Sheng Xue?”

If he remembered right, the unit for Sheng Xue was... drops?

“Mm.”

Sang Lao nodded. “A full bottle of Sheng Xue. I told you, I broke ties with your grandmaster, so I didn’t use his things. But it’s his blood, and it didn’t come easy, so use it wisely. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

“How many drops are in a bottle?” Xu Xiaoshou swallowed hard.

“About a dozen or so, I don’t know exactly—who counts that sort of thing?”

“Anyway, it’s enough for you!”

Sang Lao waved his sleeve, paused, and added, “Oh, right, this is specially refined Sheng Xue from your grandmaster. Don’t forget, he’s a skilled alchemist, so this Sheng Xue doesn’t have the overbearing side effects of others. Even on the brink of death, you can use it like a healing elixir, something like ‘God’s Blessing,’ to consume or ingest.”

Gulp.

Xu Xiaoshou was truly frightened.

This... this...

The protective nature of the Jin Zhao lineage had once again shattered his understanding.

He grabbed the last two dan bottles and asked curiously, “Your grandmaster was so good to you—why did you break ties with him?”

Smack.

Sang Lao slapped him again, then rubbed his hand as if savoring it, since he wouldn’t get to do it much longer. “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”

“Oh, oh.”

Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his head. With his reflexes, Sang Lao’s illusory form couldn’t actually hit him anymore.

But strangely, he didn’t dodge. Deep down, he felt the same as Sang Lao—they were of one mind on this.

After a few smacks, he figured he wouldn’t get to experience them again anytime soon.

“Anything else you want to tell me?” After thinking, Xu Xiaoshou asked, “You could write a will or something. If there are any unfinished wishes...”

Smack.

Sang Lao slapped him again.

Xu Xiaoshou held his head and chuckled.

Seeing his disciple’s silly grin, Sang Lao actually laughed too, chuckling along.

Master and disciple stood there in this Taixu illusion where time didn’t pass, staring at each other and chuckling. The scene was oddly strange.

As they laughed, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly stopped, his nose stinging, and he couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because at that moment, Sang Lao looked just like someone in his twilight years.

His figure began to fade and waver.

Even the Taixu world started cracking, breaking apart bit by bit.

“Heh heh...”

Xu Xiaoshou forced out a couple more laughs.

He had so much he wanted to say, but now, he didn’t know where to start.

“Heh heh...”

Sang Lao chuckled sneakily too. The atmosphere reminded him of that embarrassing time in the Spirit Repository Pavilion when he was teaching Xu Xiaoshou alchemy and a fire seed shot up his nose.

Then he stopped laughing.

With the serious matters done, the two faced each other in silence, both wanting to speak but holding back.

This was Xu Xiaoshou’s first time as a disciple.

He’d never had family before, so he didn’t know how to start a casual conversation when reuniting after a long time, beyond talking business.

Like, how’s life in prison? Has Sheng Shen Dian Tang mistreated you? What about the food...?

Sang Lao wasn’t new to taking disciples, but Xu Xiaoshou was the only one who’d survived.

He didn’t know how to chat with his disciple in this final meeting, beyond teaching alchemy or fighting.

Like, you haven’t finished telling me about Bai Ku. You should be in Dong Tian Wang Cheng now—what’s the situation? Outside Ling Gong, with all those girls around, have you found a little girlfriend yet...?

Boom—the world shattered suddenly.

At that moment, Sang Lao and Xu Xiaoshou seemed to think of something at the same time, speaking in unison:

“By the way, your junior sister...”

“Oh, right, Mu Zi Xi...”

They both paused, then exchanged smiles.

They smiled, then burst into laughter.

As his form dissipated, Sang Lao waved his hand, as if all his wishes were fulfilled, and said calmly:

“Xu Xiaoshou, take good care of your junior sister. These three things are for you to protect her with.”

“Then, remember what I told you in the Eight Palaces.”

“If I die, on this continent, you don’t need to fear anyone!”

“If there’s trouble, call on Long Rong Zhi to handle it!”

“And...”

Even though his lower body had already vanished, this old man spoke faster and faster, as if only now did he have things to say:

“And don’t blindly worship the Eight Zun An. In this world, the only one you can trust is yourself.”

“Don’t give up on the alchemy path. Sword Dao is trash—don’t believe his nonsense.”

“Practice Jin Zhao Tian Fen well—it can lead to sainthood!”

“And, and...”

The closer to the end, the more urgent Sang Lao became.

“You old fool!”

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly interrupted.

His nose stung, his eyes reddened and misty, and he felt unexpectedly moved by this old man’s endless nagging at the last moment.

Then, he drew Zang Ku, using the sword to declare his will.

A surge of white flames erupted from him, like the rebirth of Sang Lao’s flame god.

The white flames spread along his right arm to Zang Ku. Xu Xiaoshou pointed the black sword at the heavens and roared at the fading, illusory head of the old man:

“You old fool, wait for me!”

“When I ascend the throne, I’ll dare to take my sword to the Holy Mountain, pull you from the sea of suffering, overturn that damned game board, and teach that wretched Ai Cang Sheng a lesson!”

Boom—the Taixu world shattered.

Sang Lao’s figure completely vanished.

But Xu Xiaoshou could clearly see that in Sang Lao’s final, suppressed words, he condensed a thousand words into one, nodding with a smile.

“Good.”