Chapter 840: The Captain is Still on the Way

Above the Dong Tian Wang Cheng, the Xu Kong Dao floated in the void.

The magnificent ancient city, with its weathered walls, had been partially drawn out from the spatial fragments in just a few days.

Thick Tian Dao chains were tightly bound to a corner of the immense city, as if trying to drag it back into the spatial fragments and seal its history and truths forever within an unknown realm.

However, an immense force continued to compel the Sky City to edge outward, little by little, into the external world.

The wind howled sorrowfully.

Below the Sky City, hidden within the Tian Ji Array and bound by Dao principles, were groups of figures in red and white robes—the largest deployment of personnel outside the heavily guarded Yun Lun Shan Mai.

Even with such defenses, many Zhan Dao and Tai Xu cultivators still attempted to use their own methods to slip through and enter this mysterious island, pursuing that faint trace of the Feng Sheng Dao Ji.

The royal city remained calm.

The Xu Kong Dao, however, concealed deadly dangers, with layers of domains exploding and battles raging in unseen territories.

On the Tian Dao chains that bound the city's corner, within a concealed spatial barrier,

A disheveled middle-aged man led a handsome young man in a red skirt, dodging through the intense fighting as they climbed along the chains toward the Xu Kong Dao.

“Brother, slow down.”

Shuo Shu Ren said worriedly, “Now that your cultivation has dropped to the Houtian level, if you slip and fall, you'll die instantly—that would be the stuff of legends!”

Ba Zun An strode quickly, grumbling, “Shut your crow's mouth and just keep an eye on me. If I do fall, it'll be all your fault.”

“It's already happened twice!”

Shuo Shu Ren tried to step forward and support him, but Ba Zun An wouldn't allow it. He pouted and snapped, “Even the aftershocks from a Zhan Dao battle can knock you flying—I'm truly bewildered. Why not just summon the Xu Kong Dao to the Yun Lun Shan Mai? Why rush in ahead of time?”

“Of course, I have important business to attend to,” Ba Zun An didn't even turn his head.

Under the cover of the ancient space, the two evaded the Tian Ji Array and reached the city walls in half a day.

But the Xu Kong Dao had been appearing for days, and it seemed the Sheng Shen Dian Tang had already set up heavy defenses.

The moment Ba Zun An climbed onto the island, a barrier on the city wall flashed with light.

“Oh no!”

Shuo Shu Ren burst out laughing. “Brother, looks like you've been spotted.”

“Let's get inside first.”

On the city wall, a black-and-white Taichi diagram appeared, as if verifying their identities.

Ba Zun An remained unfazed. He pulled out the Zi Ji Ba Zi Order and pressed it against the wall, declaring coldly, “The black and white lineages both bow to me as their lord!”

A hum resonated—

A mysterious wave rippled out.

The Taichi diagram shimmered with starlight, transforming into a spatial teleportation channel.

“Go!”

The two pushed off with their toes and dove into the channel, vanishing in an instant at the corner of the ancient wall.

In the Sheng Shen Dian Tang headquarters at Dong Tian Wang Cheng,

In the council hall, Yu Zhi Wen stared blankly at the massive Tian Ji Array before her, lost in thought.

Suddenly, after days of inactivity, the array flickered with a bright light.

Then, an image was transmitted.

It showed two oddly dressed men: a disheveled man in black with only eight fingers and scars on his neck, and a handsome man in red holding an ancient book.

Yu Zhi Wen's heart skipped a beat.

She recognized them both.

“Ba Zun An, Shuo Shu Ren!”

“They're here…”

Without the Xu Kong Order, outsiders couldn't enter the Sky City even if they found the gate.

Yet these two entered as if they were returning home, effortlessly opening the teleportation door.

The situation was urgent.

Yu Zhi Wen took out her communication bead and called, “Chu Lao.”

Chu Li Sheng appeared in a flash, materializing in the council hall.

His sole duty here was to keep a close watch on the Sky City.

If Yu Zhi Wen's communication bead remained silent, he could simply wait and claim credit later.

But now that it had rung, something must have happened.

“What's going on?” Chu Li Sheng asked hurriedly as soon as he arrived.

“Chu Lao, take a look,” Yu Zhi Wen gestured, replaying the footage of Ba Zun An and the other entering the island.

Seeing the weary, decrepit man who looked like he was on his last legs, even with only eight fingers, Chu Li Sheng initially didn't believe it.

Was this the true face of the Eighth Sword Immortal?

But then, hearing the words “The black and white lineages both bow to me as their lord,” he panicked.

“He's right… The Dao Hall Master was telling the truth!”

“The Eighth Sword Immortal really controls the entire inner island of the Xu Kong Dao? The black and white lineages… Did he go in decades ago and complete the unification?”

“This is bad—how did he get in?”

Chu Li Sheng's scalp tingled with alarm.

Yu Zhi Wen turned to him, appearing calmer by comparison. “Chu Lao, the Eighth Sword Immortal's Ba Zi Order is equivalent to the Xu Kong Order. As long as the Sky City is present, we have no way to stop his entry. Our only option now is to notify Rao Jian Xian immediately.”

“Agreed!”

Chu Li Sheng snapped back to his senses, pulling out his communication bead. As he infused it with spiritual energy, he rose to leave. “I'll go find Rao Jian Xian in person for a direct discussion. You keep watching—if there's any new development, notify me at once.”

“Understood.”

Yu Zhi Wen nodded and watched as Chu Lao departed.

The hall fell silent again, as if nothing had happened.

“Xu Kong Dao, Sky City, Feng Sheng Dao Ji…”

Yu Zhi Wen murmured to herself.

With a wave of her hand,

The Tian Ji Array displayed over a dozen battle scenes.

These showed red-robed and white-robed fighters clashing with various throne holders, Zhan Dao practitioners, and even Tai Xu powerhouses whose faces were obscured.

These battles were unfolding just outside the Sky City.

Yu Zhi Wen couldn't quite determine whether these Zhan Dao practitioners were seeking the Feng Sheng Dao Ji or simply courting death.

From the moment the Sky City descended, she had used the Tian Ji Array to observe all the scenes, and she'd witnessed similar battles dozens of times.

Without exception,

Not a single one had broken through the red-robed and white-robed blockade.

The Sky City was like a massive trap, with a few scraps of meat thrown inside, luring countless fierce beasts to fight for a share.

But aside from death and the dissipation of their Dao, there was no other outcome.

No one dared to confirm with absolute certainty that the Feng Sheng Dao Ji even existed, yet they kept coming, one after another, to their doom.

“Those outside want to get in, while those inside want to get out…”

Yu Zhi Wen rested her elbows on the table, her slender fingers interlaced and propped under her chin, murmuring, “Master, why won't you tell me the secrets of the Xu Kong Dao?”

Perhaps out of boredom, after watching for a while with no surprises,

Yu Zhi Wen shifted her focus, and the Tian Ji Array's display changed.

In a corner, an unassuming spirit mirror enlarged before her eyes.

“Xu Xiao Shou, you must have entered the scene by now, right?”

“With a grand event like this in Dong Tian Wang Cheng, and you've even joined the Sheng Nu, how could you miss it?”

Yu Zhi Wen stared at the spirit mirror, a slight curve forming at the corners of her mouth beneath her veil.

The mirror showed exactly the scene of Xu Xiao Shou sitting in meditation at the Tian Shang First Tower.

Whenever someone approached, Yu Zhi Wen would switch the view.

When the council hall was empty, she would stare at this suspicious scene, trying to find evidence…

Because her task was simply to monitor the Tian Ji Array for the Sky City; as long as nothing happened here, other matters were beyond her as a junior.

So she had plenty of time to play this little game of spotting clues.

“He's really putting on a good act…”

Yu Zhi Wen adjusted to a more comfortable position, tilting her head and resting her cheek on the back of her hand, watching intently. “It's just a shame I have no evidence to prove it's you. Otherwise…”

As she spoke,

Suddenly, her starry eyes blinked, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. She reached out and gestured in the air, furrowing her brows uncertainly.

“It seems… he's grown a bit taller?”

In the eastern part of the Yun Lun Shan Mai,

After a quarter of an hour, Xu Xiao Shou emerged from his meditative state, opening his eyes with delight.

He took a step forward—and in an instant, he was ten steps away!

There was no fluctuation at all; the afterimage he left behind faded slowly, as if he had teleported.

“Space rules—shrinking the ground into inches!”

Xu Xiao Shou was thrilled.

This time, he hadn't used “One Step to Heaven.” He had simply integrated the Dao rules he just comprehended into his own transformations.

Paired with his “Agility,” his speed had more than doubled!

This wasn't true teleportation yet, but space attributes were renowned as the pinnacle of speed, and it lived up to the reputation.

Just by grasping the threshold and applying it slightly, he had elevated his already exceptional evasion skills to a whole new level.

Before this, despite his array of passive abilities, Xu Xiao Shou only had “One Step to Heaven” that touched on space rules.

But that was just an awakening skill, not a true space attribute, and he had no real understanding of its intricacies.

However, after consuming the Yuan Jing Essence and comprehending the true spatial Dao,

Xu Xiao Shou could now confirm that he had indeed, through his own efforts, gained a basic grasp of the space attribute.

“It seems my comprehension has improved?”

To his surprise, Xu Xiao Shou had thought his “terrifying” insight, which allowed him to learn Bai Yun You You's style in three years, wouldn't enhance his Dao comprehension.

But the results were completely different.

With Wang Zuo-level mastery passive skills, it was as if he had built a solid foundation for sensing Dao principles.

By analogy, even comprehending the notoriously difficult “space rules” led to noticeable progress in just a quarter of an hour.

“What a pleasant surprise!”

Xu Xiao Shou deduced that this wasn't just from the mastery passive skills—it also involved the long-term boosts from “Perception” and “One Finger of Illusion and Extinction,” which enhanced his soul and spirit.

With stronger soul strength,

His comprehension naturally rose with it.

“As long as it's a good thing, that's what matters.”

Xu Xiao Shou stopped overthinking, refocused his mind, and looked around.

His two guardians, over forty masters, and more than nine hundred Xu Bang members were all watching him intently.

“Xu Shao, made some big gains?”

Liu Chang Qing hadn't known what Xu Shao's true attribute was before.

But seeing him emerge from meditation radiating space rules, he finally understood what a real genius looked like.

Not only was he ahead in sword Dao and alchemy,

He also possessed the rare “space” attribute, seen once in a millennium?

How were others supposed to compete?

“Just a minor breakthrough.”

Xu Xiao Shou waved it off casually, not wanting to explain further.

He turned to Rong Da Hao. “How about it? Made your decision?”

He had given the young fatty an incense stick's worth of time earlier, but killing the cloud beasts had only taken three strikes.

Instead, consuming the Yuan Jing Essence had taken longer.

Now, looking back at Rong Da Hao, Xu Xiao Shou wanted to see if, after witnessing his abilities, the fatty still harbored any resistance.

“Xu Shao!”

Rong Da Hao bowed deeply, his expression full of submission. “For the rest of this Yun Lun Shan Mai expedition, I, Rong Da Hao, will follow your lead completely!”

This was the result of Rong Da Hao's careful deliberation.

Aside from the ghost beast parasite he knew about but had no evidence for,

Even if he was defeated and subjugated in the trial, forced to submit,

If it came to light later, he believed the red-robed forces wouldn't hold his Rong clan accountable.

Because this was a normal act of submission.

As long as he, Rong Da Hao, wanted to continue the trial, joining the Xu Bang was straightforward and beyond dispute.

Of course, the most crucial reason was…

Rong Da Hao was afraid of dying.

Xu Shao's soul-extinguishing finger had been the final straw, giving him countless reasons to convince himself.

Even if there weren't any, he could force himself to come up with plenty.

“Xu Shao!”

Rong Da Hao lowered his head, and the nearly forty masters from the original Rong team followed suit, shouting in unison with respect.

Without a doubt, Xu Shao's character and strength had won them over.

If their boss surrendered, they would too—or else, what? Wait to die?

“Excellent.”

Xu Xiao Shou scanned the group and nodded approvingly, appreciating Rong Da Hao's choice.

The young fatty had strong potential; given time, he could become a powerhouse on par with the Six Department Heads or the Seven Sword Immortals.

Unfortunately, he was still just a youth.

Xu Xiao Shou never took anyone from his generation seriously.

His sights were always set on higher levels, like Zhan Dao or Tai Xu.

Though facing them now, he could only flee…

But even so, among his peers, few could withstand even one punch or one sword from him!

“Since Xiao Hao Zi has come around, I'll announce a major decision.”

Xu Xiao Shou's gaze swept over everyone.

Xiao Hao Zi… Rong Da Hao trembled but didn't dare complain.

Xu Xiao Shou continued, “The Xu Bang will establish a sixth squad. Besides the Five Tiger Generals, all who have reached the Zong Shi level will join the sixth squad!”

At this, all the Zong Shi present lit up with excitement.

This move was clearly meant to fully integrate the Rong team.

After all, the largest group of Zong Shi here was from the original Rong team.

Was Xu Shao planning to keep them together, without scattering or mixing them, under unified management?

In that case, the squad leader would be…

Rong Da Hao lifted his head, seeming to understand, but he didn't voice it.

Lei Ze glanced around and quickly caught on, asking on his behalf, “Then, Xu Shao, who will lead the sixth squad?”

Xu Xiao Shou looked at Rong Da Hao.

Rong Da Hao's heart raced.

“You'll serve as the vice captain. For now, handle the captain's duties and report directly to me.”

Xu Xiao Shou said.

Rong Da Hao was stunned.

Vice captain?

Acting captain?

Among everyone here, who else was more suitable for leading the sixth squad than him?

“But just the acting captain?”

Lei Ze was indignant and stepped forward. “What about the actual captain? Is there anyone here stronger than Hao Ge?”

There is… Xu Xiao Shou subtly glanced at his two guardians and smiled. “The captain is on the way.”