Chapter 838: Illusion Extinction One Finger, Terrifying Output

"Come, take this healing medicine. It's my secret concoction, Chi Jin Liquid, quite effective for your Minor Heavenly Master cultivation level." Xu Xiaoshou took out a pot of honey and handed it to Rong Dahao.

Rong Dahao's expression was complex.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in your points. You've earned them the hard way. But with my team and yours combined, that's over nine hundred people. Earning points will be easy for us!" Xu Xiaoshou patted Rong Dahao on the shoulder.

Rong Dahao's face twisted like a bitter melon.

"As a Sword Dao Wangzuo and a Fourth-Grade Dan Dao Wangzuo, with an unparalleled sacred body and the strength to sweep across the entire Yunlun Mountains, why would you, Rong Dahao, a disciple of the Jiang Clan and a semi-saint lineage, refuse to follow me?" Xu Xiaoshou feigned anger.

Rong Dahao clutched his chest wound and remained silent for a long time.

He truly didn't understand why this young man valued him so highly.

He was just a Tai Xu disciple, that's all!

Can't you find someone else? There are plenty in the Yunlun Mountains, but I, Rong Dahao, really don't dare to follow you!

"Are you not going to speak?" Xu Xiaoshou furrowed his brows.

"I'm sorry, Xu Shao. I am deeply grateful that you won't kill me, but I truly cannot serve under you," Rong Dahao felt a touch of gratitude, but mostly he was frozen with fear.

"Why not?" Xu Xiaoshou asked in return.

"No particular reason..." Rong Dahao shook his head lightly and concocted an excuse on the spot. "My master doesn't get along with the Xu Family of Bei Yu, so on principle, I cannot proceed with you, Xu Shao. I hope you can make this easy for me."

Xu Xiaoshou laughed.

He had fabricated his own semi-saint lineage, and now Rong Dahao was saying the Rong Clan really had a grudge against the Tai Xiang Xu Family of Bei Yu?

What nonsense!

"How exactly do you want me to make it easy?" he asked.

"Either kill me or let me go—it's up to you," Rong Dahao faced him, ready to die.

"Oh ho!" Xu Xiaoshou became interested. Was this little fatty really unafraid of death?

"I won't kill you, but if you refuse to submit, I will take down every one of your hundred-plus subordinates, not leaving a single one alive." Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe he couldn't handle this little fatty.

Of course, taking them down meant ending their trial and crushing their hopes of entering the Sheng Gong.

"You!"

Rong Dahao was furious, provoked by this moral coercion.

Was this Xu Shao like a dog-skin plaster, sticking to him no matter what?

And besides, was it necessary to value talent this much? He was giving up nearly forty Zongshi just to get him, Rong Dahao?

What have I done to deserve this... Rong Dahao's emotions became a mix of flavors as he glanced at his companions, who were also subdued on the ground.

Each one had eyes full of defiance or expectation...

But without exception, they were all looking at him, believing in him.

Rong Dahao was certain that if he just shook his head and said "no," these loyal followers would pay the price for his choice and face death calmly.

But could he do that?

Rong Dahao was a man of emotion. His old subordinates cared for him so deeply—how could he repay their loyalty with his own debts?

"Xu Shao..."

"Think it through before you answer!"

Xu Xiaoshou interrupted, holding up a finger. "I'll give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. Whether you choose death or submission, it's up to you. I have other matters to attend to."

With that, he ignored Rong Dahao and looked up at the sky.

High above the nine heavens, clouds shrouded everything.

Within the sealed barrier of sword qi, that foolish cloud beast was still bumping around aimlessly, unable to escape.

Xu Xiaoshou had come for the cloud beast's ten thousand points in the first place, and after conveniently taking down the Rong team, how could he ignore the main target?

He left his Xu Gang and the others behind, soaring alone toward the top of Luo Yun Peak.

"Xu Shao..."

Rong Dahao watched the young man's retreating figure with a sword in hand, his expression incredibly complex.

Truth be told, if it weren't for that ghost beast parasite he had seen at the Duojin Merchant House earlier, he might have been touched by Xu Xiaoshou's actions.

But now...

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" Rong Dahao wailed inwardly, his face crumpled in distress. He'd never felt so wronged in his life.

This choice was truly difficult.

"Give it up, Rong brother. You can't escape." The Five Tigers approached and surrounded Rong Dahao, also gazing at the sky.

Tai Xing said, "We didn't want to submit at first, but Xu Shao is just too strong. Forget the nine hundred plus people here—even if there were twice as many trying to attack him, they probably couldn't take him down."

Zhu Dong added, "Xu Shao values you far more than the rest of us. We've been with him for a day now, and anyone else like this, he just sends them off with a single sword. He wouldn't waste words like this. Think about the pros and cons yourself!"

Mo Bei Bei chuckled, "He's persuaded you three times and invited you earnestly. That's full sincerity."

Zhao Xiu snapped, "What are you acting like a woman for, all hesitant and twitchy? Xu Shao's taken a liking to you, so just go along with it. Why make such a fuss?"

Xi Guang Han nodded, "Yes, they're right."

Rong Dahao: "..."

He was stunned for a moment. How had Xu Shao won over these people so thoroughly in just one day, even getting them to help persuade him?

He knew that to keep his own hundred-person group loyal, he'd had to offer them substantial benefits.

"I don't know..."

Rong Dahao's indecision flared up again.

He had no way to escape and didn't want to die, so was he really going to submit?

"One incense stick... Think it over carefully!" The Five Tigers turned and walked away, leaving Rong Dahao to discuss with his team of dozens of Zongshi.

One incense stick... Rong Dahao stared at the sky, his face a mix of emotions.

Suddenly, his expression shifted as he realized something.

"One incense stick?"

"Does that mean he plans to handle the cloud beast in just the time it takes for one incense stick to burn?"

High above the nine heavens.

"Woo—"

The strange beast cry echoed as the cloud beast had collided with barriers over a dozen times.

Even with its gentle nature, it was starting to feel a bit angry.

It didn't understand how this seemingly empty sky could keep making it feel uncomfortable.

Even its cloud body couldn't pass through that odd barrier—it would just get torn apart.

"Under attack, passive value: 1."

As soon as Xu Xiaoshou landed on the peak, he heard the cloud beast's cry, and his mind swelled with dizziness.

In the blink of an eye, he snapped out of it and looked at the formless cloud beast in surprise.

"Spiritual attack?"

Wow!

At the Zongshi level, a casual cry could act like a spiritual attack—this cloud beast was impressive!

You had to know that aspects of spiritual offense and defense were something innate, Zongshi, or even ordinary Wangzuo might never touch in their lives.

Those proficient in this were usually special attribute Wangzuo or supreme experts who had comprehended the Dao deeply, able to captivate minds with a gesture.

"A little cloud beast, and it's this formidable?"

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts raced as he gripped his Zang Ku sword and charged forward: "Take this!"

With a backhand flourish, a sword flower bloomed.

White sword qi shot out instantly.

He had used about half his strength for this strike.

To his surprise, the sword qi did slash through the cloud beast in an instant, but it passed right through, vanishing into the horizon without causing any damage.

"What the—?"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

Did this cloud beast's constitution make it immune to all physical attacks?

In the sky, the cloud beast, which had been wandering aimlessly, suddenly felt attacked and grew angry.

Its cloud body expanded and twisted in an instant, its rear turning into its head, with two glowing eyes locking onto the sword-wielding human on Luo Yun Peak.

"Woo woo!!"

A high-pitched sound wave tore through the air like a barrage of arrows, ripping apart the clouds on the horizon. The invisible blades of sound raced toward Luo Yun Peak at incredible speed.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

Explosive roars echoed.

Down below, the Xu Gang and Rong clan members clutched their ears, their faces twisted in pain as they looked up in shock.

After the cloud beast's sound wave attack, the peak was thrown into chaos.

The entire top of Luo Yun Peak was shattered!

Rocks the size of fingernails broke off like an avalanche, tumbling down the mountain in a massive cloud of dust.

"So strong?"

Rong Dahao and the others were stunned.

They had seen the cloud beast before but hadn't had a chance to attack.

They never imagined its sound waves could deal such terrifying damage!

"Xu Shao... he's not done for, is he?" Someone asked in a daze.

The whole peak had been roar-shattered, taking out a third of the mountain—if that hit a person, they couldn't survive.

But Rong Dahao thought of Xu Xiaoshou's effortless strength under the Xuan Zhong Ancient Gate and shook his head. "Impossible. His defense is extremely high."

"But this is a spiritual attack!" someone retorted.

Rong Dahao paused and scanned the crowd, realizing that even at this distance, everyone around was affected by the sound waves, with swollen temples and bleeding from their orifices without noticing.

Upon closer inspection, Rong Dahao wiped his own eyes and nose...

His hands were covered in blood!

"Damn!" Rong Dahao was terrified.

If the sound waves were any stronger, would everyone here die without even knowing how?

Or worse, not even realize when they died?

"Retreat!"

"Defend!"

Rong Dahao shouted instinctively, taking command in Xu Xiaoshou's place and leading the Xu Gang and Rong clan members to back away step by step.

"That really hurts!"

In mid-air, Xu Xiaoshou clutched his ears, grimacing.

When he lowered his hand, his palm was full of blood.

From his "perception," he saw that his skin was covered in dense cracks, and even his internal organs had been shaken by the sound waves.

Though the injuries healed in a few breaths, Xu Xiaoshou was amazed that a Zongshi-level cloud beast could hurt him like this.

His body was healed, but his clothes weren't—Xu Xiaoshou was soaked in blood, as if he'd just been pulled from a blood pool.

"I only nicked your rear with one sword—do you have to get this angry?" Xu Xiaoshou was fired up too. He raised his sword and struck again defiantly. "Net Sword Style!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A dense web of sword qi formed a three-dimensional net, completely blocking the cloud beast's paths.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle...

Explosions rang out in the void as the cloud beast's body was torn and shredded repeatedly.

But clouds are formless.

No matter how powerful the sword technique, as long as it was a physical attack, it couldn't harm it at all.

Instead...

The cloud beast grew even angrier.

It opened its mouth, baring fangs that materialized.

"Woo woo woo!!!"

Another piercing cry rang out.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank as he covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying to flee immediately.

But it was too late.

The sound waves were too fast, and he endured another terrifying assault.

Buzz buzz buzz—

His head buzzed like a swarm of ten thousand mosquitoes had invaded, sending chills over his entire body.

Only then did he realize he had no defensive spiritual techniques against sound waves or similar spiritual attacks.

"Hold on."

"I do have one!"

A flash of insight hit him.

Xu Xiaoshou remembered the special passive skill he'd obtained: Huan Mie One Finger.

He didn't have spiritual defense, but he did have a spiritual counterattack.

"Huan Mie One Finger (Charge Value: 2.67)."

The cloud beast's two sound wave attacks had built up so much charge value for Huan Mie One Finger that Xu Xiaoshou was surprised.

He realized that his earlier quick recovery from the daze was due to Huan Mie One Finger's effect!

"Huan Mie One Finger: Increases charge value when under spiritual attack. Every 1 point of charge allows triggering 'Spiritual Awakening' to break free from spiritual control and choose whether to release Huan Mie One Finger."

Xu Xiaoshou understood— that immunity to daze was "Spiritual Awakening"!

And Huan Mie One Finger couldn't be released actively; it had to be triggered by spiritual attacks or control.

So, dealing with this cloud beast suddenly seemed straightforward...

With that thought, Xu Xiaoshou raised his sword and sent another sword qi slash.

This time, he wasn't aiming to injure it, just to provoke it.

Sure enough, the foolish cloud beast opened its mouth again.

"Woo woo woo woo woo—"

A wail like ghosts crying and wolves howling pierced through space with immense force, causing anyone who heard it to suffer ear-ringing, blurred vision, and splitting headaches.

But this time, the moment it hit Xu Xiaoshou...

"It's here!"

As he felt the daze, he snapped back to clarity.

Then...

He pointed a finger, like an immortal guiding the way.

"Huan Mie One Finger!"

A faint, light sound echoed.

A beam of soul-blue light flashed by.

No earth-shattering boom, no spectacular phenomena.

The cloud beast, lurking in the void and thrashing about, disintegrated the instant it was struck by the blue light, dissolving into wisps of cloud that vanished into the air.

The battle was over!

"It's dead?!"

Far away, the Xu Gang and Rong clan members, who had fled the battlefield but couldn't resist peeking from afar, were all shocked by the sight.

The cloud beast's final cry had made even them, at a distance, feel their hearts stop and their bodies on the verge of exploding.

Yet Xu Xiaoshou, right in the thick of it, was unscathed and unfazed by the sound wave daze, calmly striking back.

With one finger...

He had obliterated the entire cloud beast?

"Incredible!"

"Am I seeing things, or did the cloud beast's roar create an illusion?"

"Is this something a Sword Dao Wangzuo can do? That cloud beast ignores sword techniques and physical attacks—how could it not withstand that finger strike?"

"Xu Shao even has soul attacks! The cloud beast specializes in spiritual attacks, so its spiritual defense must be strong too, but that one finger wiped it out completely."

"If that finger were pointed at us..."

Rong Dahao listened to the murmurs around him, and his face turned deathly pale.

He suddenly realized—if Xu Shao had used that finger on him, he'd be lucky to just get kicked out of the Yunlun Mountains and end the Wang Cheng trial.

The only outcome would be his body expelled...

And his soul eternally lost!