Chapter 776: Grandmaster Xu Xiaoshou, Innate Xu Deyan, We Both Have the Surname Xu But Have No Connection At All

"Chase!"

From the void, they descended.

Rao Yaoyao immediately issued orders to the scattered red-clothed and white-clothed figures.

Their positions were now clear.

The next steps would depend on them.

For the people of Wang Cheng, the great calamity had ended.

But this time, with Rao Yaoyao, a red-clothed sovereign, leading the charge, and nearly all the six departments' leaders mobilized, if tonight's operation only resulted in capturing one ghost beast...

How could Rao Yaoyao face the higher-ups in Sheng Shen Hall?

"Yes!"

Almost simultaneously, upon receiving the orders through the combat channel, the red-clothed and white-clothed figures moved out in an orderly fashion, dispersing in all directions.

The last small group, led by Shou Ye, regrouped and headed toward the trading event site in the southern district of Wang Cheng.

The trial was far from over!

On the other side.

In a dark alley.

As the battle concluded, Mei Siren, an outsider who had entered the scene but had nothing to do, was about to leave when...

"Tap."

Suddenly, from nowhere in the void, a small stone fell.

By sheer coincidence, the tiny fragment landed right in front of Mei Siren's lifted foot.

He paused mid-step, his eyes deep in thought.

"Who is it?"

He asked softly.

Mei Siren had not participated in this battle, so he remained neutral.

And as one of the Seven Sword Immortals, Rao Yaoyao would never accuse him of some nameless crime. Thus, in this vast world, Mei Siren still had no true rivals for now.

Naturally, the stone before him could not have been thrown by someone from Sheng Shen Hall.

They would either not come at all or come with swords drawn to demand justice.

The void was silent.

No response.

But as Mei Siren lifted his foot again...

"Tap."

Another stone fell, as if stopping him from advancing, warning that the path ahead was an abyss.

Mei Siren narrowed his eyes, his folding fan ceasing its sway.

The disappearing figure was beyond even his perception, yet it was trying to make contact...

Testing the waters with stones?

In that moment, a young figure flashed in Mei Siren's mind.

He was about seventy percent certain who it was.

"Tap."

While he pondered, another object fell from the void.

This time, it wasn't a stone, but a small wooden skewer fragment, commonly used for street vendor snacks.

It was unremarkable.

But Mei Siren recognized it at a glance as part of a Bing Tang Hulu stick.

Even broken, he deciphered the signal.

"Hah!"

Mei Siren chuckled, glancing at the puddle on the uneven ground of the dark alley, as if gaining insight.

Then, he tapped his folding fan, unleashing a bit of Taixu power to envelop the entire alley.

"Come out. No one can see us."

The void remained silent.

Mei Siren's mouth twitched.

This was overly cautious!

"Buzz—"

He tapped his fan again, releasing sword intent to form a domain, isolating the falling rain and all elements from the world.

Mei Siren spoke solemnly, "I know you can't be seen, but right now, not even Rao Yaoyao can sense us. Come out!"

The void trembled at his words.

Xu Xiaoshou's figure appeared before him.

"Siren Mister."

As soon as he emerged, Xu Xiaoshou bowed slightly and spoke first: "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm being overly cautious. It's just that Sheng Shen Hall has defenses everywhere, and you can never guard against everything. Sometimes, failure comes from the smallest details."

Mei Siren laughed lightly: "No one dares to spy on an old man like me."

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the sky: "Does Siren Mister think this rain is normal?"

Mei Siren pondered briefly, then laughed again: "I've heard you fought Yu Lingdi from the Spirit Department and got a shadow from it. But he's already dead."

"Perhaps..."

Xu Xiaoshou sighed.

He had indeed been left with a shadow.

At least now, every time he saw rain, it felt like some hidden hand was stirring things up, monitoring everything.

It was disgusting!

As for whether Yu Lingdi was dead...

Honestly, Xu Xiaoshou subjectively believed that guy couldn't still be alive.

After all, it was Sang Lao who had struck!

But a Wangzuo Dao realm at its peak—there were only a few in the world.

He and A Jie had worked together to destroy half of the Jiuyou Ghost Infant, forcing Huang Quan, the lord of the underworld, to appear and save it.

He hadn't understood the stakes before.

But in the Tianqi Lin battle, even on the brink of death, Yin Cao and the Hundred Ghosts could only shout "Huang Quan" for help, yet never saw a trace of him.

One side was a minor Wangzuo.

The other was two Zhandao experts.

If it were Xu Xiaoshou, he felt he would prioritize the Tianqi Lin operation.

But choices like Huang Quan's, or even Sheng Shen Hall's, were always so unpredictable.

This made it hard for Xu Xiaoshou not to overthink:

"Had Yu Lingdi truly died?"

"Would Sheng Shen Hall let such a genius leader die in vain?"

Mei Siren clearly didn't know the intricacies, or perhaps he hadn't paid attention to such minor matters. After sizing up Xu Xiaoshou, he saw that the young man, with his sacred form gone, had a subdued aura but no injuries.

He asked with concern: "Are you alright? Did you suffer from sacred power backlash?"

"It's nothing serious." Xu Xiaoshou waved it off.

Sacred power backlash might refer to the pain others endured after ending their sacred form.

Xu Xiaoshou could imagine it.

After all, sacred form power was too strong; one's innate body couldn't handle that peak sacred force explosion.

Once the sacred form vanished and the protection was gone, the caster might even die on the spot.

But that was for others. Xu Xiaoshou was different.

Not only had he drunk sacred blood before activating the sacred form, but it was also the kind Sang Lao guaranteed, with effects like "divine protection."

So, during the sacred form and after...

No issues at all!

Pain? There was none—just the sweet aftermath. At most, his mental state was poor after the battle, but that could be endured with strong will.

At that moment, Mei Siren stepped forward with a frown.

After observing Xu Xiaoshou's vague cultivation level and detecting no Zongshi Dao rhythm, Mei Siren wanted to touch him for a deeper sense.

Xu Xiaoshou knew what the old man was thinking and stepped back, creating distance.

Mei Siren raised an eyebrow. So self-protective?

He tapped his fan and didn't advance, only asking: "Did you force a breakthrough and then fall back in realm?"

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted and asked urgently: "Siren Mister, what cultivation level do you see in me right now?"

Mei Siren was stunned.

He had never seen anyone so peculiar!

If it was due to unstable foundations forcing a breakthrough to Zongshi and then falling back, causing lifelong damage to the qi sea...

There was probably nothing more heartbreaking in the world.

But how could Xu Xiaoshou still be smiling?

"Zongshi?"

Mei Siren stared at the smile and hesitated before speaking.

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head immediately: "Don't let me influence you. I just want to know—if you looked at me as an ordinary Taixu, and you didn't know me, or that I'm Xu Xiaoshou... what cultivation level would you see?"

This was a crucial question!

It was also the only reason Xu Xiaoshou had come to find Mei Siren before heading to the trading site.

He had to know if Taixu could see through his realm now.

Mei Siren was completely baffled.

This person's heart was boundless, but since he asked, Mei Siren couldn't refuse.

Still, his own perceptions made it hard to set aside preconceptions, so he replied doubtfully: "Half-step Zongshi?"

Xu Xiaoshou: ...

He knew Mei Siren was still influenced.

After a brief pause, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly looked terrified. He let out a strange cry, "Ah!" and his body was yanked away as if grabbed by an invisible force from behind.

"Who is it?"

Mei Siren was startled.

Had someone else intruded into his domain without him knowing?

In the crisis, he tried to grab Xu Xiaoshou.

But Xu Xiaoshou was pulled back by the invisible force and vanished in an instant.

Mei Siren was dumbfounded by the scene.

"Caught?"

In that moment, Mei Siren's heart surged with shock.

In this world, someone could snatch a person directly from his domain, the domain of Sword Immortal Mei Siren?

"Swish!"

The next second, as he was still in a daze, another figure appeared.

But it wasn't Xu Xiaoshou—it was a stranger, even in different clothes.

Xu Xiaoshou had transformed into Zhou Tiancan's appearance and asked in a muffled voice: "Siren Mister, what realm do you see in me now?"

Mei Siren: ???

The old sword immortal was utterly speechless!

This was all self-directed by Xu Xiaoshou!

The key was, why go to such lengths?

Gazing at the new stranger before him, Mei Siren realized Xu Xiaoshou was probably using him, a Taixu, to test something.

So, he said seriously: "Innate, but with a hint of Zongshi heavenly phenomena. Your Dao rhythm is gone, so it's quite odd... Half-step Zongshi does describe it."

Xu Xiaoshou confirmed: "Really no influence from your own assumptions?"

"None." Mei Siren nodded.

Now, Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed inside.

Yes.

He was still at Zongshi heavenly phenomena realm, with no signs of unstable foundations.

On the contrary, it was incredibly stable!

Breaking through to heavenly phenomena, he perceived that everything in the world had changed.

At least, Xu Xiaoshou had truly touched the roots of the heavenly Dao.

He could comprehend the orderly web of rules operating invisibly in the world.

But this passive system upgrade had devoured his Zongshi Dao rhythm, just like last time when it devoured his innate attribute power.

Both were the most essential manifestations distinguishing innate and Zongshi realms.

And last time, after his innate attribute power was devoured, Xu Xiaoshou had truly lost it.

This time, the passive system devoured his Zongshi Dao rhythm, but his own perception of the heavenly Dao didn't vanish.

In other words...

Xu Xiaoshou lost the Zongshi Dao rhythm that would have helped him better connect, communicate, and align with the heavenly Dao, but in return, he gained others' biases.

With "Hidden," this bias became a true method to conceal his cultivation that no one could see.

For Xu Xiaoshou...

This was godlike!

This loss was worth far more than what he gave up!

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou first exchanged for a third-tier skill point in the store.

Then, he used his first passive skill upgrade after breaking through to Zongshi on "Hidden."

"Passive Value: 1,868,961."

"Passive Value: 1,768,961."

"Hidden (Zongshi Lv.1)."

"Hidden (Wangzuo Lv.1)."

The passive value dropped by 100,000.

But "Hidden" this passive skill was directly upgraded to Wangzuo level!

After mentally handling all this...

Clearly, surprise appeared in Mei Siren's eyes.

"Passive Value: +1 (from suspicion)."

Xu Xiaoshou looked up with a grin, reverting to his original appearance, and asked: "Siren Mister, what realm do you see in me now?"

Mei Siren let out a heavy sigh, full of astonishment, and asked: "First, tell this old man—are you actually still at Zongshi, and your realm hasn't fallen?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

Mei Siren's heart was in turmoil.

As a Taixu, he couldn't see through it at all because Xu Xiaoshou had completely concealed his Zongshi Dao rhythm!

How was that possible?

And in this extreme concealment, how had he hidden even more?

If not for seeing Xu Xiaoshou with his own eyes, Mei Siren's spiritual sense would instinctively overlook him.

—This was terrifying!

"Innate."

By now, Mei Siren understood what Xu Xiaoshou was testing and said heavily: "Where did you learn such a powerful cultivation concealment technique?"

"Is it truly innate, not half-step Zongshi?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't answer and confirmed again.

"Truly innate!"

Mei Siren was firm: "Even a Bansheng might not know, but as a Taixu, to me, your cultivation is like being blocked by a sacred mountain—I only see innate!"

"Passive Value: +1 (from astonishment)."

"Passive Value: +1 (from appreciation)."

Glancing at his info panel, Xu Xiaoshou finally confirmed Mei Siren wasn't lying.

His plan to deceive the world was ninety-nine percent successful.

"Xu Xiaoshou, are you planning to trick someone?"

Mei Siren hesitated for a long time before asking.

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou's growing delight, his worries intensified.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't a good person!

This kid had just reached Zongshi and was going to all this trouble to suppress his realm to innate.

His scheme must be huge.

Even if Mei Siren didn't know what Xu Xiaoshou was up to, he silently began praying for Xu Xiaoshou's peers.

This boy was basically a wolf in sheep's clothing!

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath, his expression turning calm, and formally corrected the series of misconceptions the old man had developed during their conversation.

"Siren Mister, I'm not the sacred slave Xu Xiaoshou. That sacred slave from the Xu family has already reached Zongshi—don't drag me into his mess."

"I'm just a mere innate, with no connection to the sacred slave. I came from the Northern Domain, solely for the Wang Cheng trial. That's all."

"As for... Zongshi Xu Xiaoshou, or Innate Xu Deyan, we're both surnamed Xu, but we have absolutely no relation!"

Mei Siren: ???

"Passive Value: +1 (from doubt)."

The old sword immortal's face twisted slightly.

This wave of "no relation"... he had to admit, the young man before him was the clearest and most detached!

"Xu Xiao..."

"Siren Mister!"

Mei Siren's instinctive words were only halfway out when Xu Xiaoshou interrupted heavily, retreating while looking panicked.

"Siren Mister, I can't afford the label of sacred slave. Please don't call me that. Just use Xu Deyan or Xu Fuji!"

Mei Siren: ...

In that instant, though only the young man stood before him, two illusory figures appeared behind him.

The three overlapping shadows merged into one Xu Fuji in Mei Siren's bewildered eyes.

Astonishing!

"Passive Value: +1 (from admiration)."