Chapter 1659: Playing with the Endgame is Too Casual, One Piece of Advice is Also Deadly

“Dao Nitian, you cursed one, you’re completely slandering me!”

Yue Gongli could no longer suppress his inner urge to kill and rushed out of the Divine Punishment Pillar.

Afterward, he froze in place.

As a remnant soul sacrificed by Chongyin Ranming to seize soul power, he had indeed recovered some combat strength.

However, compared to Dao Qiongcang, Xu Xiaoshou, and Ba Zun'an, there was a world of difference.

The heart to kill was there, but the sword to kill… was too soft!

He drew his sword, only to feel a profound sense of bewilderment.

Yue Gongli could only lament, glaring furiously at Dao Nitian while looking at Xu Xiaoshou’s stomach to defend himself:

“Brother-in-law, I never thought that way.”

“You must believe me!”

He pointed at the scoundrel beside him and angrily retorted:

“Dao Nitian, you petty man, you always judge others by your own malicious standards.”

“Are you saying that anyone’s thoughts, once processed by your mind, become so vile and repulsive?”

“At that time, the incident happened so suddenly; how could I think of all that you’re saying? I only wanted to save my sister.”

“Putting everything else aside, let’s start with the fundamental contradiction: I never intended to compete with my sister for the position of Saint Emperor’s successor. To this day, I haven’t claimed the Saint Emperor’s title or become the head of the Yue family; I’m simply waiting for my sister’s return. This is the best proof!”

It was rare for someone plagued by demonic energy to maintain such rationality, pinpointing the “fundamental contradiction” in Dao Qiongcang’s argument.

Ba Zun'an remained silent.

Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he was watching a grand play, his gaze shifting from Yue Gongli’s indignant soul to the flamboyant old Daoist.

Cao Erzhu, an outsider, had initially been listening with a desire to learn, but suddenly realized that not everything could be absorbed so haphazardly—he was completely bewildered.

Now, with his soul’s mind overheating, Cao Erzhu blankly clutched his aching head with both hands, his gaze shifting between Xu, Dao, and Yue, his mind completely blank.

He had a thousand words he wanted to say, but they ultimately condensed into a single sound, encapsulating the chaotic and complex emotions in his heart:

“Wow!”

Dad said that in the Spirit Refinement World, semi-saints were as common as dogs, and human hearts were complex, so I should be careful...

Dad was still too conservative!

In the real Spirit Refinement World, semi-saints didn't even qualify as cannon fodder, and even Saint Emperors could be instantly possessed and killed.

Even Ancestral Gods weren't invincible; they could be manipulated until they were homeless and displaced.

No one was “eternal”!

As for human hearts...

This was even more terrifying, beyond comprehension.

Ever since Dad died, everyone I've encountered—whether it was Brother Xiaoshou, this Dao Qiongcang, or Yue Gongli—all of them were terrifying.

Except for Lord Li, who was always kind to me, these people all seemed to have five hundred brains packed into one body.

They changed their minds faster than flipping a book, and their thoughts shifted more rapidly than the weather; ordinary people like me simply couldn't keep up.

In comparison, the neighbors in Changde Town were truly simple and kind-hearted.

And that's putting it nicely.

To put it less nicely, compared to them, the townspeople were like brainless robots!

“Like me…”

Cao Erzhu panted heavily, staring at his own body.

His intuition told him that this monstrous uncle—whose mind was terrifyingly explosive, whom even Dad had warned him to be wary of but ultimately couldn't guard against when he possessed his body—wouldn't be refuted by a single word from Yue Gongli.

He quickly felt admiration.

Because a normal person, when faced with such a rebuttal from Yue Gongli—like himself—would absolutely shout back loudly.

Dao Qiongcang was too calm.

After Yue Gongli finished scolding him to his face, he still maintained a mischievous smile at the corner of his mouth.

Cao Erzhu felt that even if he practiced in front of a mirror, he would never be able to produce such a smile with his own body in this lifetime.

Dao Qiongcang remained silent for several breaths, deliberately staring the agitated Yue Gongli, who was on the verge of exploding, into calmness.

Only then did he slowly open his mouth, looking as if he had “already anticipated such a defense,” but what came out was not a rebuttal, but praise:

“Yes, that's precisely your cleverness, Yue Gongli!”

Yue Gongli was instantly dumbfounded, all thoughts in his mind interrupted, and a bad premonition arose.

Wait, you should be scolding me. Why are you praising me?

We're confronting each other now. If you praise your opponent, he'll be scared!

Before insulting someone, you should first praise them… Cao Erzhu felt he had learned even more; this was a line of thought he had never considered.

He pricked up his ears, only to hear Dao Qiongcang remark with a tut-tut:

“If I were you, I'd play it that way too.”

“Anyway, the Saint Emperor's title is within easy reach; whether to take it or not is entirely my decision.”

“Even if my sister returns from the Cold Prison, no matter how great her talent, she's still thirty years behind me; she'll never be able to catch up in this lifetime.”

“Even if she still gains great fortune and truly catches up to my progress… her romance with Ba Zun'an, her time in the Cold Prison, and so on, are all stains on her life's resume.”

“The elders of the Cold Palace Imperial Realm aren't idle; considering both sides, it's obvious who they'll ultimately choose.”

“I'm holding the Saint Emperor's title high not because I want to respectfully return it to my sister, but because by doing so, everyone will praise me… everyone!”

Dao Qiongcang paused as he spoke, lowered his head, and took three steps back.

Suddenly, he looked up, stars twinkling in his eyes, his fingers covering his lips in a gesture of surprise:

“Wow, he's so good to his sister!”

“Someone so emotional, he must be kind-hearted deep down, right?”

“A person so benevolent, righteous, affectionate, and trustworthy—if he doesn't become the leader of the Five Great Saint Emperor Families, who will?”

He put down his hands, took two steps forward, turned sideways, and adopted a shy, hesitant, and coy manner, as if playing hard to get.

Then, manipulating Cao Erzhu's burly body, he clasped his elbows, pressed his knees together, held his fingers delicately like an orchid, turned his feet inward, swayed his shoulders slightly back and forth, gently twisted his waist, and spoke coyly with his head down:

“Hmm…”

“Even if you say so, I won't become the family head; that position belongs to my sister.”

After finishing his act, he sneered and looked up at Cao Erzhu:

“It allows me to gain reputation without putting myself in the spotlight, while stabilizing Yue Gongnu and Ba Zun'an, and secretly observing the attitudes of the other four great Saint Emperor Families towards me.”

“You can advance or retreat; if it were you, would you take that Saint Emperor's title?”

Cao Erzhu didn't even know what the Saint Emperor's title looked like, and seeing that terrifying human look at him, he instinctively shook his head in panic:

“I wouldn't take it.”

“Only a fool would take it.”

After saying that, he scratched his head and foolishly nodded again: “Yes, only a fool would take it!”

So strong…

He truly is so strong!

Cao Erzhu felt as if the door to a new world was opening before him.

So, there were so many implications to taking or not taking something.

And a person's character, whether pure or not, could be observed through such a thing.

Yue Gongli, you're truly not human; that's your sister. How could your thoughts be so vile?

Cao Erzhu thought of his sister.

If one day he became someone like Yue Gongli, or his sister became such a person.

He…

He…

He thought and thought, unable to accept it.

He couldn't even imagine how he would, or should, respond after such a change.

Beside them, the completely ignored Yue Gongli's eyelids were twitching, his knuckles clenched in anger. He wished he could strike out and tear apart the hateful face before him.

Ah! But even this physical body wasn't Dao Nitian's; it was too hateful!

“I'll kill you!”

“I must kill you!”

Yue Gongli's murderous intent surged, becoming unstoppable, but suddenly his mind chilled as he noticed demonic energy gushing around him…

Oh no!

Have I become a Chongyin?

Realizing this, he should have calmed down, but instead, a wave of uncontrollable fury welled up in his heart.

After a long period of emotional turmoil, Yue Gongli realized that no matter what he said, Dao Qiongcang would have a counter-strategy. He felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he slumped, defeated.

With a plop, he weakly knelt on the ground again, facing Xu Xiaoshou's stomach:

“I'm sorry, truly sorry.”

“But brother-in-law, you have to believe me, I'm absolutely not like what he says. I didn't think about any of that then; I was just… stupid!”

“I'm just clumsy, I'm just foolish, I'm a waste! A useless dog!”

He hadn't even finished speaking when sensitive words came from Dao Qiongcang—whom he had intended to ignore—strongly overwhelming his mind.

Dao Qiongcang: “Usually at a time like this, when tough methods don't work, what do you resort to?”

Cao Erzhu: “Softer ones.”

Dao Qiongcang: “What do you mean by softer?”

Cao Erzhu: “Begging for mercy on my knees?”

Cao Erzhu was telling the truth.

When he couldn't stand up to his dad, he always begged for mercy.

For example, the last time he wanted to leave the Spirit Refinement World independently, but his dad wouldn't allow it.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Cao Erzhu's peripheral vision caught sight of Yue Gongli collapsing to his knees beside him, facing Brother Xiaoshou's stomach, and yelling, “I'm a useless dog”…

The world was too quiet.

Only a useless dog remained, weeping in the Divine Ruins, completely unable to stop:

“Wah!”

“I'm not! I didn't! He's talking nonsense!”

“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, save me! He wants to kill me, he really wants to kill me! He's not joking anymore!”

Yue Gongli prostrated himself, crying loudly, continuously pounding the ground with his fists.

He dared to be angry but not speak.

He dared to hate but not act.

As a scoundrel he had known since childhood, he understood Dao Qiongcang's character too well.

The fact that this guy dared to say such things at this moment proved that he truly harbored “killer intent” towards him, in his most vulnerable moment.

He wants to kill me.

But he doesn't want to take the risk of killing me.

Because if he actively made a move, even if he succeeded in killing me, the various karmic consequences of a Saint Emperor's successor's demise, and the various soul-chasing and life-claiming methods of the Saint Emperor Families…

He couldn't handle it; he feared trouble, and it would be detrimental to his future development.

—Someone who wants to return to the Sacred God Continent, even if he dares to kill and is capable of killing Chongyin, wouldn't dare to actively kill me.

But passively, he can!

These are two completely different scenarios!

At this moment, Dao Qiongcang needs a knife to kill with borrowed power.

Ba Zun'an is the knife he overtly wants to control.

Covertly, if I don't react in time, I'll be his real knife!

—If I were impulsive at this moment and truly attacked him, he could perfectly well “accidentally” kill me in self-defense.

The value of a living Saint Emperor's successor certainly far surpasses that of a mere practitioner from a Saint Emperor Family, but if I were killed in self-defense due to my own proactive attack, the Qianshi Imperial Realm wouldn't even have time to protect Dao Qiongcang!

Yue Gongli could even imagine Dao Qiongcang's excuses at that time:

“He attacked me at that time.”

“I just finished fighting Chongyin, I was scared, and I was also guided.”

“I was using Kuileihan's son's body, so I couldn't control my power precisely.”

“Yes, you're right to say that, so the real murderer is Cao Erzhu.”

“Right, right, right, a son's debt is paid by the father. Kuileihan should have died; I said he should have died thirty years ago, but you didn't listen to me.”

Two birds with one stone?

No, too many birds with one stone, so many you can't count.

If I die, the structure of the Five Great Saint Emperor Families will be rewritten, Kuileihan and Cao Erzhu will be held accountable, and Xu Xiaoshou and Ba Zun'an won't be able to escape responsibility…

One hair moves the whole body; Dao Qiongcang could use me as a lever to pry open the entire Sacred God Continent.

It's impossible!

Completely impossible!

I can't kill him!

I absolutely can't kill him!

In this victorious endgame, Dao Qiongcang plays with people as if they were dogs.

Except for prostrating oneself and desperately begging for mercy, any single outrageous move would lead to a fatal disaster.

And Yue Gongli, who had hidden in the Divine Ruins to survive until now, had successfully done so.

If all his efforts were to fall short, and he died under Dao Qiongcang's “convenient disposal” that wasn't even a settling of accounts later…

Wouldn't that be too humiliating a death?!

“Enough.”

After nearly half a tea's worth of time spent wailing bitterly, shamelessly before these people.

Yue Gongli finally heard his brother-in-law's voice, which carried a hint of coldness and a sense of unfamiliarity and distance.

He lifted his head, his face filled with terror, while his heart felt as if it had received a great pardon.

I… I survived…

Dao Qiongcang squinted, regretting it inwardly, but also understanding, as Ba Zun'an was not foolish.

Xu Xiaoshou's stomach rumbled, and Ba Zun'an then spoke, completely omitting any mention of Yue Gongli or himself:

“I will depart, leaving this battlefield to you; it no longer concerns me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yue Gongli wailed:

“Brother-in-law!”

“Take me with you, at least take me, I…”

He subconsciously wanted to say, “my sister still needs me to deliver food,” but abruptly stopped himself.

Goodness, that's not something to say right now.

In such a delicate atmosphere, even if he was sincere, saying it would only turn into a “threat.”

Ba Zun'an originally didn't want to bother with this mess, but before leaving, he might unleash a sword strike out of anger for his sister… Even if he would eventually realize and regret being used, this wasn't entirely impossible.

The Eighth Sword Immortal was, of course, calm.

But in the Spirit Refinement World, were there few cases of passionate killings?

Moreover, ancient sword cultivators acted on impulse; if they suddenly wanted to kill you today, would they need a reason?

That damned Dao Nitian!

Don't let me find an opportunity, seriously!

I will make you suffer immensely, wish you were dead, and be utterly worthless even in death!

“I… I will die…” Yue Gongli's words trailed off, leaving only a bitter expression on his face.

Ba Zun'an's words carried no discernible emotion:

“It's better to rely on yourself than on others.”

“Moreover, at this moment, you should rely not on me, but on Young Master Shou.”

Xu Xiaoshou?

Yue Gongli hastily looked up, his gaze meeting Xu Xiaoshou's, catching a fleeting glimpse of ferocity in his eyes.

It's worth mentioning that at first, Xu Xiaoshou only thought Dao Qiongcang was joking with Yue Gongli.

With things having progressed to this point, he truly wanted to be the flamboyant old Daoist's sword and kill someone!

He was already a doomed man with too many karmic burdens; he estimated that even Chongyin was plotting how to land on the Sacred God Continent to retaliate against him.

Adding the Cold Palace Imperial Realm as an enemy was just a matter of time; it wouldn't matter.

While Rao Yaoyao's lesson was indeed there—if one foolish person died, a clever one would emerge.

It was also said that if one Saint Emperor's successor died, there would be another; they simply couldn't be killed off, and the foundation of a Saint Emperor Family couldn't be that simple.

But this also depended on the situation.

If Yue Gongli died, Yue Gongnu would take the position, and wouldn't she be one of their own?

True, Li Fugui had also said that anyone who could become a Saint Emperor's successor could only be loyal to their family…

“Young Master Shou!!!”

Just as he was thinking, Yue Gongli burst into tears:

“I've been good to you, haven't I? Ever since I took over as the Red Robe Enforcer, I haven't targeted you, have I?”

“How did Rao Yaoyao treat you, and how have I treated you? Ask yourself!”

“I didn't attack you in the Four Symbols Secret Realm, nor did I attack the Saint Slaves, did I?”

“And upon entering the Divine Ruins, it was all minor skirmishes. At critical moments, we weren't enemies, but teammates, right?”

“Can't you see that Dao Qiongcang wants to kill me? He's a selfish person. Young Master Shou, you should understand the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold'!”

“If I'm here, he'll have to be wary of us uniting. If I'm not, his next target might not be you… but you'll certainly move up one spot on his list of people to deal with!”

It must be said that the power people can unleash in desperation is infinite. Yue Gongli's thoughts were so clear at this moment that he didn't seem like someone provoked to the brink of madness.

Xu Xiaoshou calmed down and from Yue Huli's words, heard a profound insight:

Dao Qiongcang is a selfish person!

This was almost identical to Ba Zun'an's previous warning:

In the Divine Ruins, one should be teammates with the flamboyant old Daoist, but outside the Divine Ruins, one must maintain distance.

One could be anyone's sword, but never Dao Qiongcang's.

Because neither the killer nor the killed would have a good end.

“Hmph.”

Dao Qiongcang sneered upon hearing this.

Just as he considered himself, he was not a petty person and didn't care about Yue Gongli's vague warning.

Instead, he ignored that fellow and, before Ba Zun'an left, called out to him:

“Ba Zun'an, give me a piece of advice!”

Cao Erzhu, for once, managed to pull himself back from the changing situation, and was confused again upon hearing this sentence.

There was only ever 'I'll give you a piece of advice,' but when did someone leave someone behind and then say something like that?

This strange uncle's way of thinking and speaking truly wasn't something a normal person could synchronize with.

Forget it, stop thinking…

Yue Gongli also let out a sigh of relief.

When Xu Xiaoshou also gave up the idea of killing him, this matter could finally be put behind them.

Xu Xiaoshou could clearly feel Ba Zun'an's impending departure, because the figure in the ancient book world was as blurry as before, its spiritual intelligence gone.

But Ba Zun'an's faint and intermittent voice still came through, not minding such a small request:

“If I were you… the body… return it… to Erzhu…”

No one could have predicted such a piece of advice.

Dao Qiongcang raised an eyebrow slightly, immediately knowing that his previous conjecture was correct.

Kuileihan couldn't enter the game personally, so he must have broken through the town's defenses in some way and contacted Ba Zun'an.

So now, although Kuileihan hadn't yet become a saint, the Spirit Refinement Way should no longer be used to measure his combat strength.

Has the Divine Consciousness Penetration already surpassed the third generation?

The third generation of Divine Consciousness Penetration refers to the six variations mastered by Cao Erzhu.

And for Kuileihan to break through the town's blockade, he must have pushed it forward another realm, or even more than one?

“Thank you for the advice, I will follow it. Finally, I'll give you a word!” Regardless of whether Ba Zun'an had already left, Dao Qiongcang, with eyes downcast and a calm demeanor, said:

“I will not become the Saint Emperor's successor of the Qianshi Imperial Realm.”

“In the future, I can still cooperate with the Saint Slaves and the First Tower in the Sky. Look forward to it.”

“If you ask why…”

He paused, then Dao Qiongcang smiled, pulled a card from Cao Erzhu's body, and completely withdrew himself:

“I am only loyal to myself; I cannot pass the 'Questioning Heart' trial of the Saint Emperor's Successor assessment.”