Chapter 68: I Am Xu Xiaoshou

Shao Yi, however, was less burdened by concerns. Living carefree, he suddenly turned to look at the rockery…

Hmm?

No one!

His peripheral vision caught a dark figure not far to the side, and he immediately glanced over.

It was a man in white robes, his hands clasped behind his back, hair disheveled over his shoulders, head bowed and silent.

The very person who had been standing by the rockery just moments ago…

This time, he was facing them directly!

Shao Yi's pupils contracted. The man's head was bowed, obscuring his face, but Shao Yi clearly noticed the tattered clothing on his body.

It seemed to have been torn by a sword, and his exposed skin was covered in bruises.

Faint bloodstains were visible on his chest clothing, but the rain had washed them away, making them almost imperceptible.

Shao Yi wasn't foolish; he simply couldn't keep pace with the terrifying thought processes of the other two. He still possessed basic judgment.

The injuries on this man's body—sword marks, bruises…

Xu Xiaoshou has Innate Sword Intent, an Innate Physical Body…

Therefore, he is not Xu Xiaoshou!

But he fought with Xu Xiaoshou!

The real Xu Xiaoshou…

Is dead!

“This…”

The rain beat down fiercely. The person beside him didn't even dare to turn around. Shao Yi just stared at the white-robed man in the rain, feeling inexplicably horrified.

“Boom!”

With a clap of thunder, the white-robed man abruptly looked up.

“What the hell?!”

Shao Yi stumbled back in fright, pressing himself against the barrier wall, and exclaimed in horror, “Xu Xiaoshou?!”

This is absolutely insane!

He had just deduced that the person in front of him wasn't Xu Xiaoshou, yet when the man looked up, his pale, bloodless face was identical to Xu Xiaoshou's!

No wonder Brother Kong was scared. So, thinking can be this terrifying?

“He is Xu Xiaoshou!”

Hearing a cry of alarm, Feng Kong could no longer restrain himself and sharply turned his head.

A streak of lightning flashed across the night sky again, and for a brief moment, silver light illuminated the white-robed man's face.

Both saw the disheveled man's mouth twitch into an eerie, insincere grin, as if the face didn't quite belong to him, unsettlingly out of place.

Goosebumps instantly erupted all over their bodies!

This was utterly terrifying!

Forget Feng Kong, who had already been pushed to the brink of losing his judgment; even Shao Yi, who had just started to think, felt his mind short-circuiting at that moment.

“Is he really Xu Xiaoshou?!” This thought almost simultaneously surfaced in both their minds.

“I am Xu Xiaoshou!”

The white-robed man seemed to have perfectly perceived their thoughts, and he grinned again, his smile so wide it seemed his skin and flesh might separate.

“I don't believe a word of it!”

Their hair stood on end. They exchanged glances, seeing undisguised terror in each other's eyes.

Even if this person was Xu Xiaoshou, they couldn't fight anymore!

This was simply too terrifying!

“Run!”

“Run!”

Two voices cried out almost simultaneously. Shao Yi, holding his short sword inverted, cut into the barrier wall, and with a booming sound, forcibly tore open an opening.

“If you're tired of playing, then stay and rest. Why run?” Xu Xiaoshou said chillingly.

The information panel finally stopped refreshing, but this didn't mean they had confirmed his identity. On the contrary, he had finally steered the two of them in a misleading direction.

Not Xu Xiaoshou, yet also Xu Xiaoshou!

This fear stemming from the unknown was, in fact, the true source of their panic. As for whether he was truly Xu Xiaoshou, it no longer mattered.

Hmm…

To them, that is.

Although he wanted to let them go, the performance had to be complete.

Perhaps this was also part of that profound individual's scheme?!

He couldn't afford to take that gamble.

Watching the two about to escape through the barrier's opening, Xu Xiaoshou drew the finger blade tucked behind his waist. For the sake of the act, his fake, insincere grin almost became genuine…

With a snap of his fingers, blood splattered.

“Ember-blaze Heaven Incineration!”

He tilted his head, making no apparent movement, yet invisible flames instantly erupted on Shao Yi's body, accompanied by sizzling sounds.

This spiritual skill, of unknown rank, was the only one Xu Xiaoshou could effectively use at the moment. His other skills were either too distinctive, or ineffective from such a distance, lacking sufficient damage.

He absolutely couldn't use “Hidden Suffering” either; if those two didn't recognize that sword, Xu Xiaoshou would eat his hat.

Indeed, only “Ember-blaze Heaven Incineration” was unknown to others, and its power was considerable.

As expected, as soon as these invisible flames began to burn, Shao Yi's expression instantly turned grim. He instinctively summoned spiritual energy to protect himself, but the flames could even corrode spiritual energy.

He panicked, exclaiming, “What the hell is this?!”

The Xu Xiaoshou before him was already synonymous with horror and uncanny strangeness in his mind. The appearance of this “ghost fire” completely shattered his psychological defenses.

“Shao Yi!”

The crack in the barrier wall wasn't large. Feng Kong had already slipped out first and, seeing that Shao Yi was still inside, immediately shouted through a sound transmission.

“You go first, I'll cover the rear!”

Shao Yi desperately resisted the strange flames on his body. At that moment, to any onlookers, he appeared almost unchanged, as “Ember-blaze Heaven Flame” was invisible.

“You know!” Shao Yi said something incomprehensible, and Xu Xiaoshou watched as the profound man outside swiftly made his escape.

What was going on?

A code word?

Only the rapidly fleeing Feng Kong knew that Shao Yi was proficient in seven escape techniques, while he himself only knew one: Blood Escape. Thus, whenever a mission failed, Shao Yi would cover their retreat, allowing Feng Kong to escape first.

Yet every time, Shao Yi would catch up moments later, running ahead of him with a wine gourd in hand, drinking as he urged Feng Kong to run faster in his peculiar accent.

“Hmph!”

Thinking of this, Feng Kong couldn't help but smile. That guy...

He was very confident in Shao Yi's escape techniques. With a full seven different methods, who could possibly catch him?

He hadn't expected tonight's mission to be so bizarre. Could it be that Brother He had also entrusted others to assassinate Xu Xiaoshou?

And he didn't even tell them! Honestly!

It was one thing not to trust Shao Yi, that unreliable fellow, but not to trust him?

“Heh!”

…

“I'm so sorry, Brother Kong.”

“Perhaps this time, I won't be able to return…”

Shao Yi's heart was bitter. Despite his Innate Peak cultivation, he still couldn't withstand this “ghost fire.”

Was this some demonic art?

He had never encountered such an eerie spiritual skill!

It seemed capable of incinerating anything; in just a short time, it had burned away more than half of his spiritual energy. When his energy was completely depleted, perhaps that would be the moment both his spirit and flesh would be incinerated.

Shao Yi looked at the white-robed man in the rain, clutching the short sword in his hand tightly.

Why wasn't he attacking?

Did he want to watch him burn to death?

What a twisted sense of humor…

Perhaps, in the eyes of these great experts, his meager cultivation was no more than that of an ant!

So be it. I'll just stall for time!

Brother Kong, whatever you do, don't look back…

“Suspicion detected. Passive Points +1.”

“Disdain detected. Passive Points +1.”

“Mockery detected. Passive Points +1.”

“Curse detected. Passive Points +1.”

“...”

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know what the man was overthinking. He could only maintain a facade of calm indifference, trying his best to make the atmosphere even more terrifying.

He diligently vaporized the falling rain, stirred the boiling water whirlpools on the ground, and made the surrounding flowers and trees tremble…

That was all he could do.

He couldn't make a move!

One move would expose the fact that he was truly only at the Ninth Stage!

Wouldn't he be utterly pummeled by this guy in front of him?

Don't be fooled by his apparent foolishness; this guy is at least Innate Peak!

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly panicking internally.

“What should I do? What should I do?”

“Ninth Stage Refining Spirit versus Peak Primordial Court — is there any hope?”

“Can anyone come save me?!”

“Help—!”