Chapter 993: The Night Guard is Dead, From Today On, Call Me Black Night

Another lightning strike descended.

Xu Xiaoshou’s mind was struck by a thunderbolt.

Although Shou Ye didn't say much, the meaning was clear, and he couldn't possibly not understand.

"So, your Tai Xu power back then was simply ghost beast power that didn't carry the scent of ghost beasts?" Xu Xiaoshou felt that the secrets he was uncovering from Shou Ye were even more shocking than Can Yue Xian Cheng's blabbering!

He thought of Lu Ke.

What kind of person was that small figure in red?

A simple ghost beast host, or someone similar to Shou Ye?

"Perhaps." Shou Ye smiled ambiguously. "As you said, some answers need to be sought by yourself, and for those that aren't certain yet..."

He suddenly lifted his gaze towards the thunder at the peak of the deep sea, his eyes filled with determination.

"I will find them!"

The thunder roared again, illuminating the distinct expressions on their faces with stark clarity.

"Damn, that hurts like hell..."

Xu Xiaoshou clutched his head, which was a bloody mess, unable to let go of the pain.

He felt that the agony from the lightning strike was nothing compared to the shocking words from Shou Ye that shattered his worldview.

This was too outrageous!

The Sheng Shen Dian Tang had specifically established a red-clothed organization, and correspondingly, a white-clothed one.

One primarily hunted ghost beasts, the other targeted dark criminals.

Yet, the Sheng Shen Tang itself was using ghost beasts, stripping away their abilities, and "parasitizing" them onto spirit refiners?

How was this any different from those brutal ghost beast hosts they condemned?

"No wonder..."

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts raced at that moment.

He recalled the words Jiao Tangtang had spoken when she entrusted her ghost beast contract to him in the Bai Ku.

He also thought about why Ba Zun An, who seemed so upright, had become the leader of the dark forces, determined to overthrow the Sheng Shen Dian Tang's rule.

Similarly, Sang Lao's "cage theory" from Tian Sang Ling Gong now made even more sense.

"When a stone is thrown into a lake, is the ripple on the lake's surface its own, or is it because the sky is watching and forcing it to ripple?"

By the same logic...

"When the sky that imprisons the world is pierced, is it because man can conquer heaven, or because there's a heaven beyond heaven, and what you see after defying the heavens is just what that outer heaven wants you to see?"

"The truth I've fought to uncover" and "the truth I've fought to uncover, which is actually just another layer of lies from the mastermind behind it all"—these two are worlds apart.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't calm down from Shou Ye's words.

He thought back to everything about the Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

It was undeniable that this most powerful force on the continent provided immense protection to all spirit refiners and ordinary people in the five domains.

Without them, the world would likely descend into chaos.

Dark forces rampant, ghost beasts rising, power struggles everywhere, and people suffering—it was easy to imagine.

So, from Shou Ye's perspective, applying Sang Lao's "cage theory," was what he was seeing and questioning perhaps just another narrative from the Sheng Shen Dian Tang?

This supposedly most righteous organization might have its own unspoken difficulties?

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled by the layers upon layers of schemes in this world's structure; he couldn't believe anything anyone said.

Ba Zun An had his reasons.

The Sheng Shen Dian Tang had their own ideas.

Both sides were convinced of their justice, both radical, and both seemed perfectly reasonable.

"The great dao conflict..."

Xu Xiaoshou recalled that long-forgotten term.

Perhaps what everyone was fighting over was the right to write history?

Answers... Returning to Shou Ye's words, Xu Xiaoshou thought that compared to the previously completely righteous Shou Ye, the current Shou Ye, who spoke calmly but with more malice, was even more dangerous.

"How do you plan to find those answers... or rather, what do you intend to do?" Xu Xiaoshou chose his words carefully before adding, "What I mean is, what's your next move?"

Shou Ye silently raised his eyes, gazing at the lightning strike falling from the sky. After enduring another strike with only minor damage, he smiled and said, "Survive the thunder tribulation."

Xu Xiaoshou was once again blasted, his skin splitting and his teeth gritted in pain.

He suspected the thunder tribulation was angry, realizing there were two people in the deep sea ignoring it and chatting, so each strike was getting stronger.

"What after surviving the thunder tribulation?" Xu Xiaoshou asked again.

Comparing their performances under the thunder tribulation, he figured Shou Ye in his current state had about a seventy percent chance of making it through.

—As long as nothing unexpected happened.

"Take it one step at a time." Shou Ye looked at Xu Xiaoshou's blood-soaked body, puzzled as to why this guy insisted on talking amid the thunder tribulation.

Couldn't they wait until it was over?

Faced with anyone else, Shou Ye in his current state might hide, counterattack, or even kill to silence them.

But with Xu Xiaoshou, he never would!

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent at those words.

He heard a strong resolve in Shou Ye's voice.

This confidence and conviction were different from when he was in red clothes.

Back then, Shou Ye just followed orders; now, he seemed to have a very precise goal and might go to extremes for it.

Imagine a red-clothed enforcer, firm in justice and light, suddenly struck by a thunder tribulation and turned into the very ghost beast host he despised most in life.

Even if Shou Ye appeared calm now, Xu Xiaoshou could guess with his toes that his inner self was completely twisted.

The calmer Shou Ye was, the more uneasy he felt!

"What does 'take it one step at a time' really mean?"

Even knowing his persistent questioning might annoy someone, since Shou Ye was already being evasive and unwilling to answer directly, Xu Xiaoshou still pressed on.

Shou Ye remained calm, his eyes hidden under the ghost energy showing no trace of impatience.

Instead, he said with a hint of mockery, "In the words of the Sheng Shen Dian Tang, it's 'press forward vigorously and forge ahead.'"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

What a way to pass the buck.

But the more Shou Ye held back, the more Xu Xiaoshou pushed.

"How should I interpret this full-of-justice-and-passion statement?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes burned intensely, his body torn and bleeding under the thunder tribulation.

Shou Ye smiled: "To get the answers, by any means necessary."

Boom!

Another lightning strike struck, leaving Xu Xiaoshou's head split open and his heart racing.

By any means necessary...

How could someone say that so calmly?

In any other place, time, or person, Xu Xiaoshou would think it was a joke.

But right now, Shou Ye's words held no hint of humor—pure seriousness.

"I have to say, you look just like an evil big boss about to turn dark..."

Xu Xiaoshou ultimately didn't voice that sarcastic thought aloud, but Shou Ye reminded him of protagonists from storybooks in his past life.

After enduring hardships, deceptions, and torments...

One day under heavenly tribulation, their identity completely changed, transforming into the ruler of the dark world, commanding winds and rains.

And fittingly, Shou Ye was inherently of the dark attribute...

"Maybe the best way right now is to take him out, nipping this potential threat to the continent in the bud?" Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself, shaking his head hard.

He was overthinking!

What was he even considering?

Based on Shou Ye's previous character, even if he had become like this, he probably wouldn't turn into the extreme figure Xu Xiaoshou imagined, right?

But to be safe, Xu Xiaoshou still asked, "What's your stance now?"

Earlier, Shou Ye's words were all about "their Sheng Shen Dian Tang" and "in their words"...

Clearly, after transforming, he didn't plan to stay in red clothes anymore.

"Neutral." Shou Ye answered calmly.

After a pause, he added with a smile, "Don't worry, no matter what happens in the end, I will never be your enemy."

"Why?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't buy it; he felt that following Shou Ye's line of thinking, they might end up on opposite sides.

"Why are you here?" Shou Ye countered.

Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily stunned, at a loss for words.

Shou Ye smiled and said, "I encountered Rao Yao Yao in the deep sea, but even she didn't give me so much as a lowest-tier nine-grade or eight-grade pill."

Xu Xiaoshou felt awkward: "I only had these left; I don't have any high-tier pills anymore..."

"I didn't mean to blame you." Shou Ye chuckled. "On the contrary, I'm grateful. I'm thankful you came back to see me a second time, and even more so for..."

Boom! The thunder tribulation interrupted him.

After the pause, he continued in a sarcastic tone:

"I begged her shamelessly, even pointing out that I knew the secrets of the Sheng Shen Dian Tang, implying that if she didn't save me, she should kill me...

"But she hesitated again.

"If she had saved me then, or killed me outright.

"Instead, she did nothing, turned, and walked away, leaving my life to this deep sea..."

Shou Ye sighed and mocked, "I think she made another mistake. She's indecisive in killing; she doesn't even match a fraction of Wu Yue Jian Xian's resolve."

Xu Xiaoshou responded with silence.

In Shou Ye's calm words, he detected deep resentment.

It wasn't just about Rao Yao Yao's refusal to save him; it carried all the bitterness Shou Ye felt about the situation after his transformation.

Boom!

The thunder tribulation struck again.

Xu Xiaoshou felt he could barely hold on.

Shou Ye's innate attribute power and his Dao-cutting foundation were already strong.

Now, having transformed into a ghost beast host, the nine deaths thunder tribulation, weakened by the deep sea, barely harmed him.

But that didn't mean the thunder tribulation was weakening; it was because Shou Ye had grown stronger.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know which strike this was, but he felt a few more could kill him on the spot.

"You should go." Shou Ye saw the young man's predicament and smiled. "I don't know why you're so insistent on talking to me during the thunder tribulation, but I have one promise for you."

"What promise?"

"I'll leave red clothes behind. From now on, I won't pursue you anymore. No matter what path I take next, as long as you need me, I'll be there at your call."

Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback.

Shou Ye suddenly dispersed the ghost energy around him, revealing his body covered in black feathers and his broken dark night wings. He bowed slightly and said sincerely, "Thank you."

"For what..." Xu Xiaoshou was flustered by the solemn thanks. "I just..."

"What might be 'just' to you was a huge help to me." Shou Ye straightened up, smiling. "Even if it was just a jar of honey or a single word from you."

Boom! The thunder roared again.

Xu Xiaoshou was blasted, his limbs mangled, and his body flung backward.

"You really should go." Shou Ye waved. "That's the one hundred and seventh thunder tribulation. After the next one, it'll change qualitatively. Then, no matter how capable you are, at your mere master level, you could be killed in one strike."

Is he kicking me out?

Xu Xiaoshou felt there were still so many questions unanswered.

But with Shou Ye's promise, he thought they might meet again someday.

"I understand."

He turned to leave, but then something occurred to him.

When he first entered this thunder tribulation area, he had sensed two waves of tribulation energy, strong and weak, meaning there should be two people undergoing it.

Shou Ye was in great shape.

So, he might be able to help the other one.

After all, that could be his former comrade; aside from the Sheng Shen Dian Tang's higher-ups, their comradeship should make Shou Ye willing to help, right?

But after all this time, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't "sensed" anyone else—not even a corpse.

"You..."

After hesitating, Xu Xiaoshou recalled Shou Ye's hunched figure taking pills when they first met.

Those low-tier Red Gold Liquid and Spirit Refining Liquid—could they have lasted this long?

They should have run out ages ago, right?

And...

The most important question he hadn't asked yet.

Logically, under the nine deaths thunder tribulation, Shou Ye should be like others—limbs broken, in a weakened state.

Could transforming into a ghost beast host alone make him this effective, strolling through it like a walk in the park?

If ghost beast power could be equivalent to Tai Xu power, it should still be suppressed by the forbidden array, right? So how could it be used in the deep sea?

What had happened before Xu Xiaoshou arrived?

Staring at Shou Ye's flawless, smooth face, Xu Xiaoshou's voice trembled slightly: "There are still hundreds of thunder tribulations. Do you have a way to survive them?"

"Yes." Shou Ye nodded.

"Do you have any pills left?"

"No, but I don't need them anymore."

"No pills? When did you run out?" Xu Xiaoshou's voice grew louder.

Shou Ye paused, met his gaze directly, thought for a moment, and didn't hide it: "A long time ago."

Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat, his hands gripping his dual swords trembling even more.

"Then just now—what were you eating?"

A dead silence spread through the deep sea.

Shou Ye took too long to answer this time.

He had been forthcoming with previous questions, but this one hit his sore spot.

"Sorry, I had to stay alive..."

Boom! The one hundred and eighth thunder exploded, lighting up the darkness of the deep sea and cutting off the rest of his words.

Xu Xiaoshou was left battered and bruised, while the thunder made Shou Ye's swirling ghost energy and dark aura stand out even more.

Unscathed!

After another strike, Shou Ye recovered quickly—practically unscathed!

This state was too strong!

Xu Xiaoshou was both shocked and angry. He raised his sword and roared in disbelief: "Shou Ye, did you..."

Before he could finish,

Bang!

A brilliant, pure Tai Xu power burst from Shou Ye, instantly tainted black.

The black righteous energy enveloped Xu Xiaoshou in his weakened state and hurled him out of the thunder tribulation's range.

"You really need to go...

"The next thunder tribulation will be too much for you..."

Shou Ye murmured softly, looking up toward the peak of the deep sea, as if sensing the imminent qualitative change of the one hundred and ninth thunder tribulation.

But he didn't care. His eyes narrowed, glancing in the direction Xu Xiaoshou had been thrown, his voice suddenly dropping, deep and ominous, like it came from the depths of hell.

"And, I almost forgot...

"Shou Ye is dead. From today on, call me Hei Ye!"