Chapter 1669: The Maggot at the Ankle Seeks to Kill, Bearing Beibei's Face to Return Home

The bow vibrated, the string hummed.

Across the entire Guizhe Holy Mountain plaza, a ripple of black and red energy pulsed outwards, captivating everyone's astonished gaze.

"So sudden!"

"Why did Emperor Cang Sheng attack?"

"What's wrong in the Five Regions again? Is it the City of the Dead Buddha? Has God returned?"

It was no longer a secret that Emperor Cang Sheng had previously fired multiple arrows at the City of the Dead Buddha.

Now, everyone knew he was specifically targeting "Gate of Hell, God the Deity," who was also one of the Ten Great Ones.

However, the sensation of this arrow, and the gaze of Ai Cang Sheng, seemed to indicate his target wasn't distant. On the contrary, it was right before their eyes!

"Whoosh!"

While in his "Isolated from the World" state, Xu Xiaoshou merely tilted his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips as he made the sound. The arrow from the Cursed Sin Bow indeed made a similar sound as it grazed past his ear, lifting his hair high before sweeping away behind him.

"A bit cool..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt quite good about himself. It was a pity no one could notice this scene, as everyone had forgotten themselves.

Naturally, the "9999" passive value this head tilt could bring only existed in his imagination.

"Boom!"

Just as it grazed past, the arrow suddenly exploded. In the high sky, a vast domain of Cursed Sin power, spanning a thousand miles, forcefully unfurled, with black and red energy coiling and moving like snakes within it. It appeared to be searching for something. But to no avail.

Xu Xiaoshou, who had just managed to flash onto the plaza with "Ascend to Heaven in One Step," showed a hint of surprise. His combat reaction was so high that he could calmly walk away after putting on a show. In his heart, he naturally had more thoughts about this arrow.

Sure enough, Ai Cang Sheng could sense an "anomaly," but he couldn't "notice" its source—*My dear, you still forgot about me after all.* Therefore, this arrow was just a test. Unfortunately, "Isolated from the World" was of an extremely high level. No matter how much his Cursed Sin power searched with that arrow, as long as he maintained "Isolated from the World" and moved fast enough, Ai Cang Sheng wouldn't be able to find him...

Just as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Xu Xiaoshou clearly saw Ai Cang Sheng, in his wheelchair on the steps, glance towards his location.

"Locked On, Passive Value, 1."

The information bar popped up, and Xu Xiaoshou was immediately moved. "Can he see me?"

If Ai Cang Sheng had locked onto his general location upon his appearance just now, it could be seen as both a coincidence and an inevitability. After all, he had entered the Divine Vestige from this very spot, and with the Ten Great Ones having prepared for over half a month, it wasn't surprising they might detect him. Now that he had teleported to the plaza, Ai Cang Sheng could still roughly follow him with his gaze. This was quite telling. Was his sense of smell a little too keen?

"No, not smell, nor intuition, it's his... eyes!" This was the first time Xu Xiaoshou had noticed Ai Cang Sheng's eyes up close.

The Eyes of the Grand Dao, he had heard about them long ago. Back when he was in the Eight Palaces, his mind had been drawn remotely to Guizhe Holy Mountain once, pulled by an arrow from the Cursed Sin Bow. But at that time, he understood nothing; even if he noticed those eyes, he couldn't discern the profundities within them. Now, reflecting on it...

Not only was Ai Cang Sheng's ability to absorb people's minds with a single arrow extremely unique. The path this person took was entirely different from any Tear Clan Eye owners he had seen before. They were controlled by the Tear Clan Eye. He, on the other hand, *controlled* the Tear Clan Eye, merely using it to assist his primary cultivation path!

Looking at him, Ai Cang Sheng's eyes were now shimmering with brilliant light, a profound Dao rhythm flowing within them. Among countless Dao Principle auras, Xu Xiaoshou keenly caught two fleeting, familiar traces.

"The Way of Space, and the Way of Forgetting!" In an instant, Xu Xiaoshou understood how Ai Cang Sheng had located him.

The Eyes of the Grand Dao hadn't seen him, nor had they detected the beginning and end of his "Ascend to Heaven in One Step." Instead, they perceived the transition of the space he had just occupied after "Ascend to Heaven in One Step," from "empty" to "occupied." The change in spatial state caused a fluctuation in the spatial Dao Principles. Even though this fluctuation was minuscule, appearing almost nonexistent to outsiders. Spatial mystery could sense it—Xu Xiaoshou knew there was a change. The Eyes of the Grand Dao, a Tear Clan Eye that directly perceived the essence of the Grand Dao, could also detect it without needing a deep understanding of spatial rules—Ai Cang Sheng also knew there was a change.

"This was the reason he noticed me!" But even looking over, his gaze still lacked focus. This was "Isolated from the World" at work... uh, at play.

So, the question arose again: With "Isolated from the World" still active, how did Ai Cang Sheng perceive his general location? "It's the 'Grand Dao of Forgetting'!"

Xu Xiaoshou quickly thought of something. He had only mastered "Isolated from the World," not comprehended the Dao Principles of Forgetting, let alone the Dao Disk of Forgetting. Therefore, before this, he didn't know that activating "Isolated from the World" caused fluctuations in the Grand Dao of Forgetting in the surrounding space. Or, even if there were, these fluctuations were very small. So small that even individuals like Dao Qiongcang and Chong Yin, who were intelligent and powerful in combat but whose comprehension of the Grand Dao of Forgetting didn't reach the level of mysteries or transcended-Daoization, couldn't detect them.

The Ten Great Ones and the Ancestral Gods couldn't master this path, meaning that those who could master it in this world were probably few, or even none. But the Eyes of the Grand Dao could!

It was still that same statement: "No need for mastery, only sight." That was enough. For an archer, a pair of sharp eyes that could spot weaknesses could increase combat power by at least fifty percent!

And using Ai Cang Sheng as a mirror, Xu Xiaoshou was able to discern from his eyes that his "Isolated from the World" was not transcendent to the Heavenly Dao of this realm. As he had generally expected, it merely touched upon certain Grand Dao rules, deepening the power of that path, representing a kind of "extreme"!

"That's reasonable." Xu Xiaoshou quickly calmed his mind. In his cultivation journey to date, he had also been exploring the root of the passive system's power, and so far, everything could be rationalized with the phrase "aligned with the Grand Dao."

"Buzz!"

On the other side, the Cursed Sin Bow was drawn taut once more.

Ai Cang Sheng didn't know someone was standing there, nor did he know what "rationalization" Xu Xiaoshou was thinking about. He firmly believed in what his eyes saw. For thirty years he had observed Guizhe Holy Mountain, and any hint of anomaly, no matter how slight, deserved to be eliminated. Essentially, Ai Cang Sheng himself didn't know who he was supposed to eliminate, or why he needed to destroy this anomaly. But relying solely on his intuition as one of the Ten Great Ones, he knew he had to act.

As early as thirty years ago, he had come into contact with the power of forgetting... During his years serving as one of the Three Emperors, he had also experienced the abilities of Dao Qiongcang and the various Saint Emperors on the Heavenly Ladder... Taking a step back, unless he was as mad as the flashy old Daoist, the gathering of so many people in the plaza today to discuss whether "Old Man Yu was fishing" couldn't possibly be valid at its root.

So... Something that was subjectively inexplicable. Looking at it from the side, the only conclusion one could draw was:

"The enemy has arrived!"

Ai Cang Sheng looked around but found no anomaly. He locked onto the anomaly again; it was still in the same spot, a location his Eyes of the Grand Dao couldn't clearly see. Who was it? What spiritual technique?

Perhaps in the eyes of the various Half-Saints in the Five Regions, there were still "invincible" spiritual techniques, abilities, and combinations, such as Ai Cang Sheng and the Cursed Sin Bow. For Ai Cang Sheng personally, true "invincibility" didn't exist in this world; if it did, it only meant the observer was still a frog in a well. Just like now!

When the Cursed Sin Bow was drawn to its full extent, aimed at the shaded area beneath the body of the Nine Sacrifice Osmanthus, almost everyone in the plaza went wild.

"Emperor Cang Sheng?" Beibei, still chatting, suddenly jolted, springing up and drawing her Emperor Sword, not understanding why this "little friend" was suddenly aiming at her.

"Ai Cang Sheng?" The Nine Sacrifice Divine Envoy was even more alarmed. Her true body was right here, so massive it could shade most of the plaza. If this arrow were fired, even with a slight deviation, half of her body would be shattered, wouldn't it? The most crucial question was... For no reason, why shoot *her*? Was something wrong with her, or was something wrong with you, little Ai Cang Sheng?

"Hall Master Ai, what are you doing?"

"Emperor Cang Sheng, absolutely not!"

"Stop! Little Ai! Don't shoot wildly here! Can't we just stop discussing Old Man Yu?"

Old Fang, Old Zhong, Qin Duan, Qiu Gu, and even others from the Holy Divine Palace side, along with other Saints from the external aid faction, all vocally protested with "No!" while their feet greased up, slipping away faster than anyone.

Who was responsible for the last incident with the mountain protection array? Ai Cang Sheng! Who was responsible for the last time the Sacred Grand Hall was shattered? Ai Cang Sheng! Who killed the previous Hall Master of the Holy Divine Palace? Still Ai Cang Sheng! And he, in front of everyone, forcefully shot down Old Man Yu and other obstacles, effectively shooting Dao Xuanji dead before the eyes of thousands on the Holy Mountain!

This fellow, who followed summons but not pronouncements, usually spoke little. But once he decided to act, whether it was out of madness or his own reasoning... He had lived his entire life embodying one principle:

*Once the arrow is on the string, I will loose it!*

"Boom!"

The Saints in the plaza scattered like birds and beasts. And as everyone expected, they had barely shifted their positions when Ai Cang Sheng completely disregarded the situation...

"Thwip!!!"

This second arrow, in front of everyone, fiercely shot towards the Ancestral Tree, the Nine Sacrifice Osmanthus.

"Are you insane?!" Zhong Yuanzi, with his explosive hair, flashed out of the sky in one step, a spatial Grand Dao diagram spinning forth beneath his feet. His reaction was incredibly fast. So fast that he immediately judged that with the Nine Sacrifice Divine Envoy's pathetic combat awareness, she wouldn't be able to react to this arrow and move her true body.

"Go!" The void space shifted. Ai Cang Sheng's arrow had barely touched the Nine Sacrifice Osmanthus's body when the sky a thousand miles away exploded with a thunderous roar. This time, space and Dao Principles collapsed inward, and Cursed Sin power surged and exploded, clearly an arrow fired with the intent to kill everyone in a single shot.

"Why?!" After transferring the attack, Zhong Yuanzi, still trembling with lingering fear, released the Nine Sacrifice Divine Envoy's spiritual body's hand. Ignoring her grateful gaze, he questioned the wheelchair on the steps.

Ai Cang Sheng narrowed his eyes, offering no response. Everyone stared at him, the gazes of over a dozen Half-Saints falling upon him, yet he felt no pressure whatsoever. After three breaths of contemplation, he waved a hand remotely towards Zhong Yuanzi:

"Do not interfere."

In an instant, everyone felt a chill down their spines. The possibility of Ai Cang Sheng suddenly going mad was low. Therefore, it could only be... A danger?

"The person we're waiting for has arrived." From his wheelchair, Ai Cang Sheng finished his sentence, then, without further ado, drew the Cursed Sin Bow once more.

The target he aimed at for the third time was, shockingly, still the Nine Sacrifice Osmanthus!

"Ai..." The Nine Sacrifice Divine Envoy repeatedly backed away, her headpiece swaying rapidly, her regal face now showing clear signs of panic. *Am I your enemy, little Ai Cang Sheng? Why do you keep aiming at me?*

"Where is the person?"

"Where is the enemy?"

Half-Saint Qiu Gu roared hoarsely, his eyes filled with disbelief. He had heard the story of Ai Cang Sheng killing Dao Xuanji, but it was just a story. Witnessing this madman's frenzy today, he realized the world was full of wonders. Suddenly adopting a baseless belief, then shooting whoever he wanted? If this was the case, could he just pull out the Cursed Sin Bow whenever someone opposed his orders, say "The enemy has arrived," and then shoot them dead?

"Unreasonable!"

"This is absolutely preposterous!"

Qiu Gu waved his hands repeatedly, looking at Old Zhong and the Nine Sacrifice Divine Envoy from the Council of Ten, "Everyone, I suggest temporarily stripping Ai Cang Sheng of his Hall Master authority. His tenure as Hall Master is completely a child's... play..." His voice abruptly cut off.

*Zzzing*, Qiu Gu's body suddenly tensed, and his palms and soles began to sweat. He sharply turned his head, and to his horror, saw Ai Cang Sheng aiming the Cursed Sin Bow at *him*!

"Emperor Cang Sheng?"

"Wait, wait..."

A bloody light immediately flashed from Qiu Gu's body. As he frantically fled with his blood escape, he loudly begged for mercy:

"I was wrong!"

"I have no suggestions!"

"Stop, please don't shoot me... Damn it, I said stop!"

Thwip!!!

Like a silver vase shattering, the string hummed with a thunderous crack. Xu Xiaoshou's pupils constricted. As he clung to the unknown Half-Saint "cannon fodder" like a maggot to bone, he gained a new understanding of the notion that "all Ten Great Ones are insane." *He really killed him? I'm just following behind him. This is clearly one of "your own people" whom you invited to deal with me, and you're shooting him too?*

The arrow from the Cursed Sin Bow vanished beyond the sky, traversed space, and when it reappeared, it had already pierced Qiu Gu's back.

"Kingdom of Gold!" Half-Saint Qiu Gu's body suddenly burst forth with golden light. Suddenly, space split, and a phantom golden kingdom unfolded around his body. Within it, invisible spiritual entities chanted, praising the Heavenly Dragon.

"Heavenly Dragon Protection!" With a roar, the golden kingdom around Qiu Gu was instantly shattered by the Cursed Sin Bow's arrow. But the Heavenly Dragon within transformed into nine, emerging instantly as a golden protective light, shielding Qiu Gu's body, which had been blasted backward and was out of control.

"Ooooh—" The massive heads of the nine dragons bit down on the arrow tip, yet they were still pushed along by this tiny arrow. A thousand miles, ten thousand miles, thirty thousand miles, fifty thousand miles... From the center of this realm, it pushed past the former site of Yujing City, all the way to the extreme south of another realm.

"Boom—"

An earth-shattering explosion reverberated across the horizon. Below Guizhe Holy Mountain, countless Spirit Cultivators looked up from afar, their eyes wide with shock.

They saw the nine dragons shattered by a single arrow, and Qiu Gu, with his golden body and saintly bones, was shot until his skin was torn and flesh ripped, then he crashed into the broken currents, vanishing without a trace.

"What's going on?" The people below the mountain were all terrified. Was it a sudden Half-Saint battle? Had someone attacked the Holy Mountain? No, that didn't seem right! Wasn't Old Ancestor Qiu of the Golden Body and Saintly Bones an outsider invited by the Holy Mountain to deal with someone? How could their own people be fighting?

Feng Zhongzui, holding the preaching mirror's main mirror, suddenly stood up. After recording this scene, a look of delight appeared on his face: "It's here!"

"After waiting so long, the great battle is finally about to begin... Eh, wait a minute!" He was about to activate the main mirror to transmit these images to the Feng family in the Southern Region and for the world to see, but he suddenly stopped, a hesitant expression on his face. That's not right. What I've been waiting for seems to be the battle of ancient sword cultivators. How could it be a holy war between Emperor Cang Sheng, an archer, and Old Ancestor Qiu of the Qiu family, a Spirit Cultivator?

"What am I waiting for?" After waiting idly for over half a month, Feng Zhongzui suddenly lost his objective, feeling as though his actions over the past half month had been like sleepwalking, utterly aimless!

Feng Zhongzui wasn't the only one aimless; there were also thousands upon thousands of Spirit Cultivators waiting below the Holy Mountain, hoping to witness something "unexplained." Including the mountain guards and Half-Saints on and around the Holy Mountain, every single one of them also thought Emperor Cang Sheng had gone mad.

Suddenly, he attacked his own people. Aside from the possibility of possession, it couldn't possibly be that Emperor Cang Sheng was using the Cursed Sin Bow to shoot at someone even his Eyes of the Grand Dao couldn't see, could it?

"Ai Cang Sheng!" Beibei walked out, carrying her Emperor Sword. Ancient sword cultivators were just that direct. Though she was somewhat bewildered now, Emperor Cang Sheng's actions were definitely wrong! Even if he really was shooting an invisible enemy... If that enemy kept following his own people, would Ai Cang Sheng have to shoot them down one by one? How was this different from being used? Using someone else's knife to kill, and Ai Cang Sheng willingly becoming that knife—how was that different from betraying the Holy Mountain?

"What exactly are you..." Before Beibei could finish her sentence. Suddenly, Emperor Cang Sheng in his wheelchair drew the Cursed Sin Bow and turned to aim at *her*.

"Eh?" Beibei's head tilted. Suddenly, her small face turned as white as paper. Wait, wait, wait! No, no! What happened? Why did I step out? What's the situation now? This isn't right, no, no, something's very wrong... *I'm* wrong!

Beibei was terrified. Yes, only those targeted by that bow would know what it meant to "be so utterly unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth." Only then would they understand the "Great Terror" that arises from human emotions when awaiting death.

"I have last words!" At this critical moment, Beibei's little head spun rapidly, her small hand shot up high, and she cried out in terror: "Emperor Cang Sheng, please let me speak! I have many last words!"

Ai Cang Sheng didn't immediately fire the arrow this time. He had indeed realized that the invisible enemy had guts no less than the flashy old Daoist, and was clearly using him. But... Where was he? The person, or non-person, where was he?

Ai Cang Sheng's Eyes of the Grand Dao were pushed to their limit, bloodshot in his eyes, yet he could only discern the person's location, having instantaneously shifted from a distance to behind Beibei. Taller than Beibei, roughly the height of the flashy old Daoist... Not bulky, his figure could be described as well-proportioned... But this information was as good as useless—absolutely no help!

"Right, thirty thousand miles in an instant, is he space-attributed?" As for space attributes, only Ye Xiaotian could suppress the fluctuations of instantaneous teleportation to such a small degree, right? Then again, the information just obtained was somewhat useful: Ye Xiaotian wasn't that tall... Huang Quan? Right, there was also Huang Quan who had space attributes. But he wasn't an enigma, so he couldn't teleport without fluctuations; he couldn't suppress natural spatial fluctuations until after settling. Kong Yuhun? He's back? But Kong Yuhun wasn't one to play tricks, and he had no grievances with the Holy Divine Palace... Moreover, if Kong Yuhun teleported, the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower would surely follow. Ai Cang Sheng glanced around, his Eyes of the Grand Dao didn't spot the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower within the Central Region.

"...I haven't even been to the Buried Sword Mound."

"And Sword Tower, whether Sword Tower truly has the Sword God's legacy, when you figure it out, tell Emperor Sword about it too..."

Not far away, Beibei was still rambling on with her "last words," casually fabricating tales to buy time while desperately trying to figure out a way to survive.

To no avail. Ai Cang Sheng's bow was still aimed at her, not listening to a word. "Crouch!"

Beibei didn't even think, quickly squatting down fast with her Emperor Sword, her little white dress puffing up. The spatial fluctuations behind her also shortened...

Ai Cang Sheng looked thoughtful. "Stand up!" Beibei quickly stood up, her small face reddening as she caught a glimpse of hesitant glances from left and right. The spatial fluctuations rose back up... Ai Cang Sheng continued to stare at her: "One step left."

Beibei shuffled to the left. "To the right!" Beibei threw herself to the right. "One step back! Quickly!" This time, the spatial fluctuations swiftly "retreated" backward by roughly two body lengths of a normal adult male. Beibei didn't move. Beibei lowered her head.

Biting her lower lip, her small face filled with humiliation, Beibei suddenly raised her head with a hateful glare, her entire face flushed crimson with indignation:

"Ai Cang Sheng, are you playing with a puppy?!"

The entire plaza fell silent. Everyone was holding back laughter. Everyone knew that in such a serious setting, one shouldn't laugh, but with Emperor Cang Sheng and Beibei putting on such a show... They really couldn't hold it in! They were genuinely about to burst out laughing!

"Pfft!" An uncontrolled chuckle, originating from an unknown source, clearly entered everyone's ears, yet no one paid attention.

Ai Cang Sheng lowered the Cursed Sin Bow and let out a long sigh. He heard the laughter, he noticed the "ghost" behind Beibei; no one else present paid attention, they were all blind.

"Ai Cang Sheng, I need an explanation!" Beibei held up her Emperor Sword high, her sword intent surging wildly as if she would go on a rampage the next moment. She really wanted to kill someone. If there wasn't a good explanation for today's situation, she, Beibei, would have no face left to stay on Guizhe Holy Mountain.

Ai Cang Sheng sighed: "Behind you, there's a 'person'."

"Ya-hahaha!" Beibei turned her head to look, then burst into uncontrolled laughter, suddenly grabbing her Emperor Sword and rushing out, intending to shatter the wheelchair.

No, wait! She suddenly tripped herself, nearly falling headfirst. When she turned around just now, she did see a very tall figure; what she glimpsed seemed like a "chest"? A quick glance around, everyone on Guizhe Holy Mountain was staring at *her*... It was her back! All of them wore expressions of horror, as if seeing something there!

"No, it can't be..." Beibei's small mouth parted slightly, her body rigid, as she slowly twisted her head back around.

"Woohoo, liftoff!" A funny sound suddenly came from overhead. Beibei hadn't even fully turned her head when she felt the flesh on her cheeks being pushed inward, her eyes squeezed into distortion. The next instant, her neck hurt, and her feet left the ground. Air brushed downwards at her sides and behind her; she was being held by the head, taking off straight up!

The plaza shrunk... The Sacred Grand Hall shrunk... Ai Cang Sheng in his wheelchair shrunk... Only in her distorted vision, that wretched face endlessly magnified in her mind, from unfamiliar, to familiar, to etched in her memory!

*Who is he?* Wait! I know him! Xu Xiaoshou?!

With her lips involuntarily pouting, Beibei's eyes blazed fiercely as she stared intently at this damned guy. Xu Xiaoshou, meanwhile, held the hostage by the head, soaring high into the sky, smiling as he looked down at the crowd below:

"Long time no see, friends on and around the Holy Mountain! Did you miss me?"

"Suspected, Passive Value, 9999."

"I, for one, have missed you terribly!"

"Horrified, Passive Value, 9999."