Chapter 2051: Strong Demand

"So powerful!""How can he be so powerful?"

Even the spectators watching from behind the transmission screen of the Apricot Realm felt their blood boil with excitement, observing Xu Xiaoshou's effortless and graceful movements as he cut his way in and out of the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom.

Inside the battlefield, Medicine Ancestor Shennong Baicao, who was directly facing Xu Xiaoshou's overwhelming pressure, was utterly terrified.

Unlike Shen Yi, who was brave but reckless, Xu Xiaoshou was not only advancing fiercely but also meticulous, precisely calculating Saint Xin's every counter-move.

In response, he unilaterally crushed and toyed with Saint Xin in a methodical, rhythmic, and undulating manner.

He was toying with him!

As an Ancestor God, facing an opponent like the Zeroed Saint Xin, even the Dao Ancestor was once pressured into willingly submitting in front of the world. While there might have been an element of jest, if he could truly defeat Saint Xin, who would make such a joke? What’s more, against Saint Xin, it wasn't just a fight; Xu Xiaoshou was putting on an incredible "show," even outright "toying" with him!

Who else could achieve this?

If Saint Xin's previous torment of ancient sword cultivators like Yu, Mei, and Wen was ruthless, Xu Xiaoshou was now repaying him manifold.

After a few rounds of confrontation, the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom's symbol of invincibility was completely shattered. Saint Xin's head was pierced through, and his heart was impaled. Along with the Sword Tower and its Twelve Swords, all were confiscated by Xu Xiaoshou, who, after leisurely toying with his opponent, retreated completely unharmed.

"Saint Xin, could he truly fall by this fellow's sword?"

The Medicine Ancestor found the thought utterly absurd when it surfaced in his mind. Yet, he had to admit that Xu Xiaoshou was not only powerful beyond imagination but also, up to this point, hadn't even used his most terrifying trump card.

"My eighteen Life Medicine Pools are still with him!"

The Medicine Ancestor felt it was necessary to inform Saint Xin about this, urging him to be more cautious. However, when he turned and saw Saint Xin's enraged face in the distance, this idea was immediately dismissed.

Wouldn't that just be adding fuel to the fire?

What if, in his rage, he shifted his focus and targeted me instead?

Don't forget, Saint Xin was no benevolent figure; he had previously planned to seize the Way of Renown embodied by Xu Xiaoshou, and then turn to seize the Ways of Life and Reincarnation!

"Flee!"

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, escape was the best policy.

While Saint Xin was occupied with Xu Xiaoshou, he should flee from the Holy Divine Continent and escape to the stars. Once his divine court was fully reshaped and he had accumulated another thirty-six pools of life medicine liquid, he might not lack the power to face Saint Xin in a direct battle.

Just as these thoughts churned in his mind, the Medicine Ancestor was about to act, but his peripheral vision caught Xu Xiaoshou, outside the divine kingdom, holding the Sword Tower and the Twelve Swords, subtly glancing in his direction.

The Medicine Ancestor's hairs stood on end; he had the distinct illusion that his thoughts had been seen through. He was momentarily paralyzed, frozen rigidly in place, like a marionette trying to become invisible, but utterly incapable of doing so.

"Where to go? What to do?"

"Not bad, Saint Xin."

"I can only say that after so many years of planning and scheming, you've truly taken all the good things for yourself."

Outside the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom, Xu Xiaoshou's palm-world held the Sword Tower, and his power of Renown sealed the Twelve Swords. Firmly suppressing these thirteen turbulent demonic artifacts, the more he looked, the more he liked them.

The Sword Tower's power of suppression was indeed unparalleled.

Although in Saint Xin's hands, it could only be used to sustain himself and didn't even cause harm to Xu Xiaoshou. Was it because the Sword Tower was weak? No!

No matter how strong the Sword Tower was, there were likely two people in this world it couldn't suppress. Saint Xin probably knew this and therefore didn't try much. One, was Xu Xiaoshou himself. The second, naturally, was Bazen, who was generally acknowledged as slightly inferior to Xu Xiaoshou.

As a divine artifact that once suppressed the Demon Ancestor's spirit for several Ancestor God eras, although it was eventually infiltrated by the Demon Ancestor, was it because the Sword Tower's suppressive power had gradually failed to keep up with the Zeroed Ancestor God's strength? Also no!

It was purely because the Sword Ancestor, who forged the Sword Tower, had long since entered reincarnation and was unable to personally control it. A grand array with a sword array master overseeing it is on a completely different level of strength compared to a sword array that operates on its own without control. Especially when the one controlling the sword array is not a spirit array master but a sword array master, the power of the sword array is multiplied several times over. Thus, it's clear that a Sword Tower controlled by an ancient sword cultivator, one controlled by a spirit refiner, and one without any control, are almost as different in power as Xu Xiaoshou, Bazen, and a mere object.

"For the Sword Tower to fall into your hands is truly a waste of a divine artifact."

"This item has a destiny with me; it must have been born to be wielded by me."

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't put it down, caressing the Sword Tower in his hands, memorizing every layer of its structure, every piece of material, and every array pattern. Then, by mentally deducing, he soon found a way to completely control and wield the Sword Tower. The only thing still preventing him from intimate contact with the Sword Tower was the incongruous consciousness imprint left by the Demon Ancestor within it.

"Saint Xin, would you like to gift this tower to me?" Xu Xiaoshou asked politely, looking into the divine court.

"Dream on!"

Saint Xin's face flushed with anger. He was still repairing his broken body, barely managing to re-form the wound on his head, but found it difficult to remove the imprints of intent from his skull and heart. Upon hearing this, he immediately activated the internal imprints of the Sword Tower, allowing the demonic imprints to spread throughout the entire structure. How could anything belonging to Saint Xin be handed over willingly? Not just the Sword Tower, but even its Twelve Swords, were out of the question!

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The Sword Tower vibrated violently, its resistance growing stronger. Along with the accompanying Twelve Swords, which could augment the Sword Tower's array and elevate its suppressive power by several levels, all were attempting to break free from their seals.

"Little things, so energetic!"

The more Xu Xiaoshou looked, the more he liked them, and with a backhand, he increased the sealing power. "I'll truly claim you today!"

"Alright, I won't force you to give me your things," Xu Xiaoshou said, pulling out something. "How about I buy them from you?"

What was it?

Saint Xin paused, slightly bewildered, and looked closely, nearly spitting out blood. It was actually a spirit crystal! "You want to buy my Sword Tower and Twelve Swords with an old, broken spirit crystal whose spiritual energy concentration isn't even enough for a post-natal spirit refiner to break through?"

"Xu Xiaoshou, you are insulting…"

A streak of light flashed.

Xu Xiaoshou flicked his finger, and the spirit crystal was sent arcing into the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom, flying in a parabola towards Saint Xin.

The ground beneath his feet shattered as Saint Xin suddenly retreated violently, pulling back more than ten zhang.

"Clang—"

The spirit crystal fell to the ground without breaking, bouncing twice and making a sound consistent with a spirit crystal's moderate hardness as it dropped. It was just a spirit crystal falling. There was no hidden trick, no secret killing move.

Saint Xin stared intensely at the spirit crystal, feeling his cheeks burn red, stinging as if his face had been ripped off and smeared with an entire bottle of chili powder. What an insult!

A single spirit crystal forced Saint Xin to retreat ten zhang! Standing on the Holy Divine Continent, Saint Xin couldn't hear the ridicule of the world, but he could clearly imagine that this embarrassing incident would be infamous for ten thousand years and recorded in history. What would those ants think? Xu Xiaoshou moved in and out seven times, treating the divine court as nothing. Yet, in Saint Xin's mind, Xu Xiaoshou had become a formidable deity, treated as the greatest enemy of his life, and feared like a tiger!

"It's just a spirit crystal, no need to be afraid."

Xu Xiaoshou slightly raised his eyelids, glancing at Saint Xin with a hint of amusement, then pursed his lips. "Or, the best way to conquer fear is to face it. Perhaps you could bend down, pick up the spirit crystal, crush it, and from now on, the spirit crystal will no longer be a deity in your heart."

"It's a trick! It must be a trick!"

At first, everyone just thought it was merely a spirit crystal and didn't think much of it. As soon as Lord Shou said this, even the Apricot Realm spectators realized that the spirit crystal couldn't possibly be just a simple spirit crystal; Lord Shou must be finding new ways to toy with Saint Xin!

And ten zhang away from the spirit crystal, Saint Xin was also filled with doubt and suspicion. Finally, after steadying his mind, he realized he absolutely couldn't follow Xu Xiaoshou's rhythm and couldn't let a mere spirit crystal distract him. So, he looked back, glaring angrily at the person in the distant sky.

But before he could speak, the spirit crystal in the distance trembled.

Saint Xin instantly retreated thirty zhang, like a startled bird. When he finally stopped and looked, the spirit crystal had merely flipped over on the ground; nothing special had happened, nor had it transformed into a tiny Xu Xiaoshou.

"Pffft." From high above, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't hold back his laughter. "Sorry, I can usually hold it in."

"You—"

Saint Xin's eyes widened in fury, and his finger, pointed from afar, was trembling. Feeling as if he couldn't catch his breath, he let out a muffled groan as a sweet taste surged in his throat. He desperately didn't want anyone to notice and quickly swallowed it down.

"Calm down!"

"I must calm down!"

Xu Xiaoshou still couldn't break through the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom. He was enraging him in various ways!

"Break."

But just as Saint Xin's blood rushed to his head in anger, Xu Xiaoshou in the distance finally seized the moment when the demonic imprints were weakest. His Sea of Intent manifested, directly attacking Saint Xin's imprint with brute force. Right in front of Saint Xin, he forcibly took Saint Xin's Sword Tower, destroying with just one strike the bond between Saint Xin and the Sword Tower that should have been unbreakable while he was still alive.

"Pffft!"

Saint Xin had just swallowed a mouthful of blood, which hadn't even reached his stomach. The backlash from the Sword Tower's seizure struck him; he could no longer hold back and spat out vital blood. With a rumble, the sounds of the Way surged around him, and demonic energy spread. He couldn't control his own power for a moment, partly from rage, partly from the backlash, and partly from the heavy damage inflicted remotely by the Sea of Intent.

With a gasp, the Apricot Realm spectators truly couldn't sit still this time. Because from an outsider's perspective, Saint Xin had been provoked to spit blood by just a few words from Lord Shou!

"With such weak mental fortitude, can he really be an Ancestor God of Zero?""He's probably worse than me; at least in front of Lord Shou, I could definitely ignore his trash talk and not be affected at all.""No, Saint Xin hasn't been baptized by Lord Shou's 'heart-slaying' technique yet. I think even Fairy Rao, if resurrected, could do better than him… Hmm, how should I put it? My assessment of Saint Xin is 'average'.""Brother Zhao is even giving his evaluation? If you say 'average,' then my evaluation is also 'average,' or 'below average'.""Then I'd give him three points out of ten.""I disagree with that. He should at least get six points out of one hundred."

Whether he had fallen into the Sea of Intent or something else, the mocking voices from the Apricot Realm, which he clearly couldn't hear moments ago, now seemed to echo in his ears. Those "average," "three points," and "six points" were like sharp thorns, piercing Saint Xin's heart from afar.

A group of mere ants dared to evaluate a Zeroed Ancestor God; did they really not know how to write the word 'death'?

This was intolerable! How could he endure this?

Saint Xin was furious and turned to leave the divine court, intending to enter the Apricot Realm and slaughter every single one of those providers of the power of Renown.

That's right!

Thinking about it, from beginning to end, Xu Xiaoshou had been borrowing the power of Renown from the Apricot Realm's people! Even with Great Dream of a Thousand Years, he hadn't managed to inflict real damage. In the end, he had also used the power of Renown to form a sword to pierce his own head and heart. If all the people of the Apricot Realm were eliminated, Xu Xiaoshou's combat power would plummet by more than fifty percent!

"Die!"

But in the instant before flying out of the divine court, Saint Xin suddenly came to his senses, realizing if this was some kind of guidance. Though he could exit the divine court in a single step, his feet felt like lead, and he couldn't take another step, stopping abruptly, which caused Saint Xin great discomfort. Saint Xin endured this indignity, which a Zeroed Ancestor God absolutely could not endure.

It wasn't about not erupting when on the verge of doing so, which would be the mark of a true man! It was about not falling into a trap!

"As long as I'm in the divine court and guard against Great Dream of a Thousand Years," he thought, "Xu Xiaoshou can actually do nothing to me."

"If I leave the divine court, there's a risk of being harmed…"

At this thought, Saint Xin groaned again, feeling the pain of backlash assaulting him a second time, and nearly spitting out blood again. He turned to look and saw that Xu Xiaoshou hadn't used any trick? After throwing down a spirit crystal, he had happily begun removing the imprints from the Sword Tower's Twelve Swords.

"Break."

With a single command, the Sword of Enmity trembled, and the demonic imprint was instantly annihilated. Xu Xiaoshou then placed his own Intent Way imprint into the sword, establishing that deep, root-level connection between an ancient sword cultivator and their sword. How could the Sword of Enmity still acknowledge Saint Xin as its master? It turned around and affectionately acknowledged its new master. Only because Zang Ku didn't mind such things would he not have severed this "third party"!

"Break."

With another command, the Sword of Malice also defected. Closely following, the Sword of Slaughter and the Sword of Delusion also recognized Xu Xiaoshou as their new master. One-third of the Sword Tower's Twelve Swords were forcibly taken from him while he was still plotting against the Apricot Realm without success. Could he tolerate this?

"Obscure Way Demonic Imprint, activate!"

Secretly activating a technique, Saint Xin no longer stood idly by. He secretly altered the essence of the imprints, so that anyone who touched them would be cursed with ill luck and their fortune absorbed to strengthen the demonic imprints' power.

But at the same time, Xu Xiaoshou, who was supposed to systematically break the fifth sword's demonic imprint with brute force, suddenly stopped his movements. He raised his eyelids, a half-smile on his face, and cast a teasing glance at Saint Xin in the distance, then raised the Sword of Saha in his hand and said with mock seriousness:

"Oh, Sword of Saha, you are an honest little one."

"If you were given another chance to choose, would you choose the mere Saint Xin, or the invincible Lord Xu Xiaoshou?"

The entire Apricot Realm transmission screen was broadcasting this absurd and comical scene, yet everyone's heart was in their throat. Even Saint Xin was no exception; setting aside Xu Xiaoshou's odd behavior, his true intention was what was most worth investigating.

The Sword of Saha trembled, erupting with surging demonic energy, nearly breaking free and slicing Xu Xiaoshou's throat.

"Pfft ha ha ha!"

Saint Xin didn't suppress his laughter; instead, he burst into unrestrained laughter, and his eyes held a touch of disdain. Although Xu Xiaoshou was an ancient sword cultivator, after he seized the Sword Ancestor's Way, was he not a sword cultivator himself? With the presence or absence of demonic imprints, and the difference between someone diligently controlling them versus no one controlling them, for Xu Xiaoshou to seize another sword now would be as hard as ascending to heaven compared to before.

"Utterly foolish!"

Saint Xin scoffed, but in his mind, he continued to plot against the Apricot Realm: if these providers of the power of Renown were not eliminated, Xu Xiaoshou's combat power would be inexhaustible. The Way of Renown was even more nauseating than Xu Xiaoshou's foul mouth!

Especially the Renown Sword Technique!

Outside the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom, Xu Xiaoshou didn't mind that he was nearly harmed by the Sword of Saha. At that moment, he activated his Sword Viewing Art.

Right in front of the Demon Ancestor! Right in front of the indelible imprint between the Demon Ancestor and the Sword of Saha! He actually flirted with the Sword of Saha, and through multiple cycles of back-and-forth sword thoughts, brought their relationship to a state of perfect harmony in an instant.

"You—"

Saint Xin perceived all of this clearly through the imprint. He could even clearly read the Sword of Saha's spiritual intelligence, which, after the Sword Viewing Art, developed self-loathing, a craving for sword thoughts, and a yearning for Xu Xiaoshou. That was… the taste of impending betrayal!

And Saint Xin, being in the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom of the divine court, could only watch from afar, powerless to stop it. He could do nothing at all!

After Xu Xiaoshou finished using his Sword Viewing Art and only offered a few sweet words, he took away all the refined sword thoughts that had been nourished within the Sword of Saha. Then, two fingers gently brushed over the sword's body.

Completely different from its previous reactions, this time the Sword of Saha offered no resistance to the stranger's caress and hummed with pleasure. It even felt dissatisfied by Xu Xiaoshou's intermittent hovering, touching, and distant finger caresses, and actually actively moved its blade to respond to this stranger who was not its master.

Saint Xin clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot. It was clearly just a sword, truly just a sword. Yet he felt a thorough and utter humiliation, a heart-piercing pain even greater than the literal piercing of his heart earlier. What was most nauseating was that after Xu Xiaoshou finished caressing the sword body, he held the Sword of Saha in front of his chest, positioned between himself and Saint Xin, and spoke again:

"Did you feel that, Saha darling?"

"Saint Xin cannot satisfy you, but the invincible Lord Xu Xiaoshou can make you ecstatic."

"So now, if you were to make a choice again, even though you currently bear Saint Xin's imprint, who, deep down, do you wish to follow?"

The Sword of Saha trembled violently, but did not release even a wisp of demonic energy. Having gained sentience, it fully understood that between Ancestors Xu and Saint, it could only choose one, and releasing demonic energy would signify aversion, likely meaning it would never again enjoy the nourishment of sword thoughts.

Ultimately, the Sword of Saha wasn't human; it was just a sword.

Renowned swords becoming obscured and dulled was inherent to their nature, a natural consequence in an era of declining Dao laws, something that should and ought to happen. For renowned swords to emerge from obscurity, their greatest aspiration was naturally to find a master who fully recognized them and perfectly harmonized with their body and spirit.

From this perspective, the choice was already clear. In fact, under the Sword Viewing Art, neither spirit swords nor renowned swords inherently had a second choice, unless Saint Xin also knew the Sword Viewing Art.

"Buzz!"

The Sword of Saha trembled, actually self-shattering the demonic imprint within its blade. Risking the loss of more than half of its spirituality, and even the consequence of completely incapacitating itself, it unilaterally severed its connection with Saint Xin and pledged allegiance to its new master.

With a hiss, the demonic imprint, after all, originated from Saint Xin. With such a forceful unbinding of the connection, the Sword of Saha's spirituality suddenly plummeted, and its blade immediately lost all its luster. Even its aura, once that of a renowned sword, rapidly fell to a first-grade, third-grade, sixth-grade level, visibly about to plummet to the low point of ninth or tenth-grade spirit swords.

"Good child," Xu Xiaoshou said. "A good bird chooses its tree to nest, a wise sword chooses its master to serve. Since you have firmly chosen me, I will not let anything happen to you."

Xu Xiaoshou activated his Sword Viewing Art again, and sword thoughts surged forth, injecting into the Sword of Saha's blade. In an instant, he stabilized the Sword of Saha's declining quality. Then, as it reciprocated and absorbed, he quickly repaired the damage the Sword of Saha sustained from its self-unbinding. Although it was impossible to restore it to its original state instantly, drawing on the Sword of Saha's inherently good foundation, he stabilized it at the level of a first-grade spirit sword.

"My goodness…"

Beneath the Apricot Realm's transmission screen, the expressions of the numerous spectators were now incredibly complex. They had a thousand words of emotion they wanted to express, but when the words reached their mouths, they could only be condensed into a few short sentences:

"Lord Shou, incredible.""Honestly, this is truly impressive.""Ah—"

Inside the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom, seeing this scene, Saint Xin unleashed a punch, directly shattering the space in front of him. But how was this different from powerless rage? His enemy was right before him, yet he wanted to strike but dared not, he wanted to leave but dared not. In the end, a single spirit crystal forced him to retreat forty zhang, and a few words made the Sword of Saha betray him right to his face. And he himself was hiding in the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom like a cowardly turtle?

Humiliation!

Unimaginable humiliation!

"Ahhh—"

Saint Xin roared hoarsely, his eyes now completely bloodshot. He felt that the taut string in his heart, which had been provoked multiple times and had chosen to endure, and endure again, and yet again, after repeatedly reaching the limits of his patience, snapped right then and there.

"Explode!"

Saint Xin raised his hand and completely gave up on the Twelve Swords. He instantly detonated the demonic imprints within the remaining seven swords, blasting Xu Xiaoshou in the face and catching him off guard. Seizing this brief moment, he pulled away and stepped out of the Delaying Law Divine Kingdom, appearing directly above the Apricot Realm, with overflowing killing intent and a crazed expression:

"Dare to claim my Twelve Swords? Then let your billions of Apricot Realm citizens repay with their lives!"

Rumble…

High above the Apricot Realm, demonic clouds gathered, casting a heavy pall over the entire world and blocking all light. A giant hand of demonic energy condensed, descending with a defiant, crushing posture, pressing down heavily as if to pulverize countless ants.

But at this moment, a whoosh of wind sounded beside Saint Xin. The black-clad figure, who deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces, latched onto him like a maggot to bone and said playfully:

"Is it possible that all along, everything was waiting for this very moment, for you, Saint Xin, to willingly step out of your shell?"