Chapter 783: The Logical Paradox-Style Great Terror of Universal Joy

"Little fellow..."

Cen Qiaofu burst into hearty laughter. "Do you feel like you've never truly contemplated the term 'Shengdi,' and in your entire life so far, you've barely heard it mentioned?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up, startled.

Was this old woodcutter a mind reader?

"I don't have mind-reading abilities, but I know that some heavenly secrets are shielded by the Heavenly Dao, preventing people from even having the chance to think about them," Cen Qiaofu said calmly.

"Like keeping the masses in the dark?" Xu Xiaoshou leaned forward.

"Well, you could say that..."

Cen Qiaofu paused for a moment but didn't argue. He returned to the earlier topic: "So, use that clever mind of yours to think – what does the sect leader want you to do, or more importantly, what is the fundamental thing you truly seek?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou blurted out two words.

"Freedom and protection!"

These were the core meanings he had discovered and summarized from his journey through the trials of the mortal world.

But in that moment, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt he needed to add one more.

"...And the truth!"

Cen Qiaofu showed a flicker of emotion, neither refuting nor mocking him. After a moment of deep thought, he said with a sigh, "Well said. Do you know my story?"

"Hmm, of course." Xu Xiaoshou nodded, surprised. "The Nan Yu woodcutter who became a Zhan Dao master in a single night - who in the world doesn't know that?"

He had always been skeptical about the "one-night Zhan Dao" story before, and he hadn't fully grasped its difficulty.

But after his own experiences, clashing with various Wangzuo and Zhan Dao masters along the way, Xu Xiaoshou realized that if the story were true, Cen Qiaofu might just be the real protagonist favored by the Heavenly Dao.

It was like he had been handed a perfect protagonist template from the start!

"So, is your 'one-night Zhan Dao' legend just a myth that got exaggerated over time, or is it actually true?" Xu Xiaoshou asked tentatively.

Cen Qiaofu smiled faintly.

"It's not a legend - it's fact."

"Back when I was still in the mountains, I yearned for the world beyond. And after becoming a Zhan Dao master, I yearned even more for the realms beyond the heavens."

"I don't know if the sect leader has told you about... the so-called answer?"

Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback.

He naturally knew about the "answer" that Ba Zun An had given him.

And along the path that the other had laid out for him - completing the Wangcheng Trial, the Sheng Gong Trial, and entering that mainland Sheng Ren training base...

Xu Xiaoshou still remembered that night after the battle in the Eight Palaces, when Ba Zun An lay on the rocks and talked with him under the moon:

"In that place, perhaps you can find the answers you seek."

And right then, as his memory pulled him back to reality, Cen Qiaofu across from him said something similar: "Once you go to the Si Xiang Secret Realm, you'll probably find part of the answers you're looking for."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

He even suspected that Cen Qiaofu had been brainwashed.

Or maybe the two of them were in cahoots, trying to brainwash him.

"Did Ba Zun An teach you to say that?" Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Cen Qiaofu turned his head, puzzled, but quickly understood. "It seems the sect leader has indeed said something similar to you. Is it hard to believe?"

"Not that hard..." Xu Xiaoshou knew what he was getting at and cut him off preemptively.

Cen Qiaofu was choked up again.

He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he hadn't heard, and began muttering to himself: "I found it hard to believe back then too, but as I took step after step and saw more and more, I gradually became numb to it."

"Not just me - the storytellers, Haitang Er, including your master, and those people you haven't met yet..."

"Shen Yi, Wen Ting, Cao Yi Han, You Tu, Kong Yu Hen, Feng Ting Chen - they're all searching for this answer!"

"You've probably encountered quite a few organizations lurking under the Sheng Shen Hall by now, like the Sheng Nu, Xu Yue Gray Palace, Yan Wang, and even those truly supreme mainland-level forces you haven't touched yet..."

"Can Yue Xian Cheng, Xi Yu Fo Zong, Bei Yu Tian Meng - they're all searching for this answer!"

"The ways they seek it vary, and the processes are completely different, but at their core, they're essentially the same."

Xu Xiaoshou was deeply shocked.

In the old woodcutter's words, he heard the names of so many predecessors.

These were all legendary figures, each with their own epic tales.

Some he had only heard of by name, and others he had never even encountered.

But without exception, everyone Cen Qiaofu mentioned was someone who could stand on equal footing with Ba Zun An at the peak.

Cen Qiaofu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued: "And the answers they found weren't all discovered within the Sheng Gong."

"But even so, aside from the results, in the process, they all found something worth dedicating their lives to."

"Then some vanished without a trace, others secluded themselves..."

"Some found the answer and didn't dare to dig deeper."

"Others reached the halfway point, suddenly understood something, and stopped their journey early."

"And there are those who, after thinking through that answer, forcibly restrained themselves from going further, choosing a safe and ordinary life instead."

"But there are also many like me, fearless and ready to resist, ha ha..."

Cen Qiaofu laughed out loud as he spoke.

Xu Xiaoshou listened in a daze.

He was increasingly convinced that Sang Lao's "cage theory" was terrifying.

It was like an inescapable fog shrouding the heavens and earth!

Some hinted at it indirectly.

No one dared to confront it head-on.

Even Ba Zun An, after his legend of "three breaths of innate ability and three years as a Jian Xian," had spent decades in seclusion.

And only after the world thought he was dead did he dare to reappear.

Was there truly such a powerful shadow behind the answer?

Could that shadow be so frightening that even a genius like Ba Zun An had to wait decades to muster the courage to face it?

"What is my answer?" Xu Xiaoshou asked after hesitating for a long time. He vaguely understood what the old woodcutter was implying.

As expected, Cen Qiaofu waved his hand and chuckled. "Find it yourself!"

"I can give you a hint - the Wangcheng Trial is to Void Island as the Si Xiang Secret Realm is to everything you want."

"The rest, including the truth you seek, you'll have to find on your own, because that's beyond what someone of my level can touch."

Xu Xiaoshou felt a headache coming on.

He had understood this principle for a while.

Even someone like Tai Xu couldn't speak about it directly.

Only Ba Zun An could give him a somewhat clearer outline in such vague terms.

For most people, or even most Tai Xu, they'd avoid it like the plague.

- Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed!

"You've successfully talked me into it," Xu Xiaoshou sighed after a long pause.

He realized that the final goal wasn't that important anymore, but the journey ahead was still long and crucial.

"Sheng Gong..."

"Si Xiang Secret Realm..."

"Void Island..."

From far to near, Xu Xiaoshou thought of the particularly tricky problem he still had to face.

"So, if I've broken through to Zongshi and still participate in the Wangcheng Trial, won't that be like what you said - charging into enemy lines with a banner, basically asking for death?"

Cen Qiaofu glared at him irritably and scowled, "That depends on your own skills. Isn't your strongest talent all that trickery of yours?"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

How could I be that kind of person?

At that moment, Cen Qiaofu stared at Xu Xiaoshou, sizing him up and down with a tsk of admiration. "But how on earth did you do it? You've broken through to Zongshi, yet in the eyes of Tai Xu, you still seem like just Xiantian. This ability to hide the truth is probably even better than the sect leader's."

Xu Xiaoshou straightened his chest and lightly flicked his sleeve. "Just a minor trick, nothing worth mentioning."

Cen Qiaofu immediately curled his lip.

"Contempt received, passive value +1."

After saying his piece, Cen Qiaofu felt he had conveyed everything clearly, and Xu Xiaoshou seemed to understand it all.

He glanced out the window at the sky, his gaze toward the north, and said softly, "Time's getting late; I have my own matters to attend to. The sect leader called me here mainly to deliver a few instructions."

"One, participate in the Wangcheng Trial; two, secure a top-three spot and head to the Si Xiang Secret Realm."

"Whatever happens in between, you'll see for yourself. Whether you want to get involved is entirely up to your own heart."

"But as long as you complete these two steps, he says you'll understand everything."

He paused, set down his teacup, and tapped the table with his finger. "These surface instructions might sound like orders. I didn't really want to spell them out - I thought you'd get the hint - but it doesn't matter if I say them or not. I believe you understand, since you're not stupid."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless again.

Why don't you just not say it then?

You've said both the good and the bad, probably just to cover yourself in case someone turns around and accuses you of not giving clear instructions.

What a sly old fox!

Am I, Xu Xiaoshou, the kind of person who would backstab like that?

Having delivered the instructions, Cen Qiaofu didn't bother with Xu Xiaoshou's reaction anymore. He stood up and headed straight for the door.

Xu Xiaoshou followed suit and asked as he stood, "So, what about the others on Yun Lun Mountain Range? How are they doing?"

"Don't worry, everything's going according to plan."

Cen Qiaofu stopped and glanced back. "This time, the Sheng Shen Hall took the biggest loss. They put in all that effort for nothing and didn't even catch many ghost beasts. Rao Yao Yao is probably in a worse spot than Gou Wu Yue right now."

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent.

He thought about how Sheng Shen Hall's operation had been led by Rao Yao Yao, only to be completely disrupted by him and Ba Zun An, leaving them empty-handed after all that back-and-forth.

So, who would have to bear the brunt of the Jian Xian's wrath next?

At least Gou Wu Yue had captured a Sheng Nu second-in-command on the surface back then.

"Let's go!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou lost in thought, Cen Qiaofu didn't press further. He waved his hand and vanished.

The Tian Shang First Tower was under "Xu Shao's" influence, and as a Sheng Nu member, staying too long could cause complications.

After all, even their "Ban Sheng successor" organization hadn't fully cleaned up its own mess yet!

"And that's the end of it..."

Xu Xiaoshou watched the old woodcutter disappear after his persuasive talk and couldn't help but sink back into his thoughts.

Without a doubt, during or after the Wangcheng Trial, Sheng Nu would make another major move.

Void Island!

Now that it had been summoned, Rao Yao Yao might delay its descent, but its landing point was definitely the Yun Lun Mountain Range.

Maybe with one more push, appearing midway through the Wangcheng Trial, Void Island could descend even earlier.

That would be a headache even for the Sheng Shen Hall headquarters.

And very few outsiders knew the inside story of "Void Island."

In contrast, the name "Sky City," tied to the legend of "Feng Sheng Dao Ji," was far more widely known.

So, with this "Sky City" floating above Dong Tian Wang Cheng for months, the rumors of "Feng Sheng Dao Ji" would likely be confirmed.

By then, the only ones truly trying to seize the "Feng Sheng Dao Ji" would be those Tai Xu closest to Ban Sheng - the pinnacle figures of the continent.

Among them, the leaders of various forces... or rather, the major dark forces, with ghost beasts as their hosts, would dominate.

Because those who could reach Feng Sheng through the righteous path had mostly been educated by the Sheng Gong and should be "righteous" individuals.

Those who couldn't achieve it through the righteous path would need something like Void Island as an opportunity to perfect their dao and ascend to the Sheng Road.

So, how would the Sheng Shen Hall continue their arrangements, or try to stop and intercept it?

Or perhaps, they wouldn't need to stop or intercept at all...

As Xu Xiaoshou pondered, he looked up and used his "perception" to probe the Void Island, which was slowly being pulled out of the spatial fragments. He found the scene deeply unsettling.

It was as if Void Island was waving cheerfully at the continent's hidden dark overlords, saying:

"Come on over, esteemed guests! Up in Dong Tian Wang Cheng, the pies are about to fall from the sky. Just get past the Sheng Shen Hall's defenses, and you can all achieve Feng Sheng."

- It gave off an absurd sense of an open conspiracy!

But Xu Xiaoshou knew this was all orchestrated by Ba Zun An.

The Sheng Shen Hall originally hadn't wanted to make Void Island public.

So, was it all just coincidence?

Sheng Nu and the other dark forces were thrilled, and the Sheng Shen Hall's righteous side seemed to have no extra grief over Void Island being summoned.

Because from another angle, they just needed to prepare everything and wait to catch the turtles in the jar.

"Ugh!"

Thinking about it, Xu Xiaoshou shivered.

He decided it was best to focus on his own path with the Wangcheng Trial.

Even after the Wangcheng night battle, the trial still felt like a storm was brewing, with signs that the conflict was escalating.

But those were concerns for the real big shots who needed the "Feng Sheng Dao Ji."

He was only at Zongshi... wait, no, Xiantian level. He just needed to stick to the path of the younger generation.

"Wangcheng Trial!"

Thinking of the Wangcheng Trial, Xu Xiaoshou remembered the trial spots.

Now that his true cultivation was Zongshi, if he wanted to pretend to be Xiantian and enter, he'd first have to pass the Sheng Shen Hall's detection.

Could his concealment hold up?

Xu Xiaoshou was a bit worried, but he quickly let it go.

It was just the Wangcheng Trial; it wouldn't logically draw a Ban Sheng. That shouldn't happen...

Just as he was deep in thought, there came a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Xu Xiaoshou set aside his urge to return to his room and quickly upgrade his passive skills, looking toward the door.

Xiao Wanfeng pushed the door open, his eyes ringed with dark circles, his whole body visibly exhausted.

He was just an ordinary person.

But ever since joining the Tian Shang First Tower, it was as if he'd been drained by some spirit.

It was supposed to be a simple job of serving tea and water, yet he'd been dragged into things like the Tian Luo War and the Wangcheng night battle.

Following Xu Shao around causing trouble had completely messed up Xiao Wanfeng's routine, making him look like he might collapse at any second.

"Xu Shao, the young lady Xiao Lian from Duojin Merchant Guild is here to see you."

Xiao Wanfeng perked up at the door as best he could.

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a while, looking at the young man, before saying uncertainly:

"Do you want to go rest first? Or maybe I could give you a raise, or... how about you try cultivating? If you work hard, you could become a Lian Ling Master who doesn't need sleep."