Chapter 444 - Fourth Sword, Sword Spirit?

He returned to his room.

His Energy Reserve was completely filled.

Halfway through the journey, the "Breathing technique" absorbed a bit of spiritual essence as its foundation and 'High Spirits' began to do its work.

Within minutes, Xu Xiaoshou's condition had returned to normal.

"Pa.s.sive Points: 57,959."

Xu Xiaoshou went into deep thoughts again.

It had to be said that with 'Stealth', he indeed did not need to deliberately suppress his cultivation level anymore.

But this also required a foundation..

"If even a Sovereign is currently unable to detect my cultivation level, then this 50,000 pa.s.sive points can be directly used on 'Breathing technique'."

Xu Xiaoshou understood the benefits of pa.s.sive cultivation.

Up until now, the total amount of time he had spent cultivating on his own didn't even exceed a day.

And his cultivation level was so solid that there wasn't the slightest sign of instability.

Without a doubt, the greatest contributor was the 'Breathing Technique' that had always existed, exerting its strength secretly.

In addition, that terrifying breath he had inhaled before the battle.

Regardless of whether it was absorbing the spiritual essence in someone else's body or the medicinal pills in someone else's hand.

This kind of unexpected move was often the key method that determined the outcome of a battle.

And at the Innate level, the power of that crucial 'breathing technique' was definitely not as great as that of a Master.

"Then..."

Xu Xiao composed himself and came to a decision.

He didn't impulsively upgrade on his skills. Instead, he touched his chest and turned into a speck of light before disappearing.

..

Abrogated Origin Residence.

Today's Abrogated Origin Residence gave Xu Xiaoshou a shock.

All kinds of poisonous flowers and strange plants near the spirit pool had already germinated under the nourishment of the surging vitality.

Those that grew faster were already as tall as a human.

The ground was no longer barren.

Instead, it was covered by a strange purple vine-like creeping vegetation that stained the ground of the entire Abrogated Origin Residence.

Of course, even poisonous gra.s.s could not penetrate that part shrouded by the Chaotic Mist.

"Thriller Paradise?"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned for a moment by the completely changed Abrogated Origin Residence before he came back to his senses .

"Meow~"

A low voice called out.

Greedy the Cat Spirit had obviously recovered from Xu Xiaoshou's Abrogated Origin Residence's drunken state.

As soon as it saw Xu Xiaoshou enter, it immediately jumped from under the Spirit Mark of Life and onto his shoulder.

It seemed to be completely unafraid of strangers.

It rubbed against Xu Xiaoshou's face vigorously.

"What's the situation?"

Xu Xiaoshou flicked his finger, and Greedy the Cat Spirit was sent flying.

It wasn't angry.

Seeing that Xu Xiaoshou didn't have any special reaction, it went into the spirit pool and started playing with the big spirit fishes again.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou noticed that even the spirit fishes had some purplish-black patterns on their bodies.

Obviously, the Abrogated Origin Residence that was filled with life force and poisonous gas had caused the creatures inside to begin to mutate abnormally.

"This..."

For a moment, Xu Xiaoshou didn't know whether the outcome was good or tragic.

However, there wasn't much poisonous gas and it wouldn't affect him, so he didn't mind it too much.

"The planting plan can be realized."

"If that's the case, I should really search for some spiritual herb seeds or directly transplant a medicinal garden over in the future."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded his head in satisfaction.

As for whether the poisonous gas and spiritual herbs would interfere with each other or not, in his opinion, it was not a problem at all.

If needed, he would only need to divide the two areas and set up some spiritual arrays. Even if they wanted to interfere with each other, they would not be able to do so.

..

"You're awake?"

Walking to the front of the broken Hidden Scriptures Pavilion, Xu Xiaoshou asked Xin Gugu, who had a dispirited look on his face.

In order to kill Zhang Taiying, this fellow had directly transformed into his ghost beast form.

After the battle, he collapsed and was thrown into the Abrogated Origin Residence by Xu Xiaoshou.

Obviously, even though was so much spiritual energy in this place, this guy's sequela was still not getting better.

"This is the difference between 'Eternal Vitality' and 'High Spirits'."

Xu Xiaoshou sighed.

He had also transformed into Raging Giant, but he seemed to be fine after a nap.

"I'm awake."

On seeing that the person who had come was Xu Xiaoshou, Xin Gugu exited the cultivation state and opened his eyes.

"You..."

When he raised his head, he frowned. "Have you broken through? Or..."

"Suspected, Pa.s.sive Points, + 1."

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted.

This was exactly what he wanted.

"I have broken through."

"Can you see what level of cultivation I'm at now?"

Xin Gugu's eyes flashed with confusion.

What's going on? A while ago, he was still able to see through this fellow's cultivation.

Now that this fellow has broken through, he can't see through it?

What kind of joke is this!

A Sovereign expert can't see through the cultivation of a mere Innate realm?

Even if Xu Xiaoshou had broken through to Master realm, he should be able to see through it with a single glance!

Furthermore, if this fellow had broken through, he should be at the advanced stage of Origin Court. How could he possibly become a Master realm cultivator?

"Suspected, Pa.s.sive Points, + 1."

"Suspected, Pa.s.sive Points, + 1."

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Xu Xiaoji, who was curled up with his neck shrunk.

Clearly, the second message was sent from him.

This guy was not simple.

Xu Xiaoshou had always known.

And from their reactions, he knew that his pa.s.sive skill, "Stealth", had definitely worked wonders.

"How do you feel?"

He asked again.

Xin Gugu hesitated. "I can't see through your cultivation?"

"That's how it should be."

After getting an affirmative answer, Xu Xiaoshou grinned.

"I've cultivated a special spiritual technique that's pretty strong. It's normal that you can't see it."

Xin Gugu:"..."

I'm the Sovereign!

It's only normal if I can see through it all no matter what spiritual technique you've cultivated!

"Cursed, Pa.s.sive Points, + 1."

..

Verification successful.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't have to worry about this anymore.

He looked around and noticed that Ah Jie was lurking around on the far side.

The 'Cardinal Wheel' was in front of him.

"Ah Jie is actually interested in the 'Cardinal Wheel'?"

Xu Xiaoshou was surprised.

This was something he noticed. Other than being addicted to fighting, being bloodthirsty, and 'Ma ma', Ah Jie would have another special reaction.

"I'll talk to you later."

He told Xin Gugu and set aside the plan in his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou walked to the other side.

His Abrogated Origin Residence seemed to have become larger.

He had been distracted by the strange changes in here and had not noticed it at all.

At this moment, after Xu Xiaoshou walked around, he realized that the s.p.a.ce in his Abrogated Origin Residence was indeed slowly growing larger with time.

The 'Cardinal Wheel' was originally placed next to the Chaotic Mist.

Xu Xiaoshou remembered its location.

It clearly did not move, but right now, it was several feet away from the Chaotic Mist.

As expected, it had the nourishment of the 'Spirit Mark of Life'.

Even if it could not completely repair this ruined Abrogated Origin Residence, time could always change everything.

After all, it was one of the powerful world-guarding treasures from Tianxuan Gate!

"What are you looking at?"

With a low voice, Xu Xiaoshou came to Ah Jie's side.

Ever since Xu Xiaoshou knew that this fellow's background was definitely not ordinary, he had been very attentive to his every move.

At this moment, Ah Jie had his head lowered and was staring at the Divine Patterns on the 'Cardinal Wheel'. His eyes revealed a thoughtful expression.

"Is this... learning?"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

This behaviour was undoubtedly that of learning.

But how could it be?

Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou's gaze froze.

With the Divine Patterns on the 'Cardinal Wheel' in front of him and the experience gained from upgrading his 'Weaving Expertise' to Master level, Xu Xiaoshou was completely able to sense the faint radiance flowing on Ah Jie's body.

"Divine Spiritual Veins?"

This discovery was an eye-opener for him.

"Ah Jie was created using Divine Secret?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had broken through the door of a new world.

A half-intelligent creature created by using Divine Secrets?

How powerful must the person be to give the object he created a soul!

"Could it be that Ah Jie's existence is really related to the Hallmaster of Holy Divine Palace, Dao Qiongcang?"

Based on the knowledge gained from hearsay, the current Hallmaster of the Holy Divine Palace, Dao Qiongcang, was a master of the Divine Secret.

If he said that he was the ranked second amongst Divine Sorcerers, perhaps no one in the world would dare to claim to be first.

To be able to create an existence similar to Ah Jie... perhaps only a mighty figure like him would be able to do it, right?

Currently, amongst all the things Xu Xiaoshou had come into contact with, the existence that had the most spiritual quality were probably only famed swords.

But this was only spiritual quality

Even a famed sword could not have the ability to talk, think, and learn!

He had heard that if the spirituality of a sword continued to grow, it was possible for a sword spirit to be born.

But the world had seen very few of such an existence, let alone him.

"Divine Secret..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt that his 'Weaving Expertise' had gained a new direction to study.

He didn't say anything.

He silently observed the 'Cardinal Wheel' and Ah Jie.

The Master level 'Weaving Expertise' made him no longer feel that the Divine Patterns on the plate were obscure and difficult to understand. Instead, it gave him a feeling of being able to understand them at a glance.

After all, the foundation of someone who was proficient in pa.s.sive skills was huge enough.

Even if he only had the master level of 'Lv. 1', Xu Xiaoshou was confident that probably, all the spiritual array Masters in the world might not be able to surpa.s.s him in terms of foundation.

He could clearly see through the 'Cardinal Wheel'.

Xu Xiaoshou realized that he still didn't understand the obscure Divine Patterns on Ah Jie's body.

He couldn't understand a single bit.

"Too strong."

"These Divine Patterns are not something that the current me can understand at all."

"Coupled with Ah Jie's the Power of the Higher Void that appeared back then... Yes, I'm afraid that even if the person who made Ah Jie is not Dao Qiongcang, it would be someone of the same level."

"At the very least, it has to be a Divine Sorcerer of the Higher Void realm, or even higher!"

After coming to this conclusion, Xu Xiaoshou's heart palpitated.

The higher void.

Above the Cutting Path Level.

What kind of terrifying realm was this?

But even so, it was still not enough.

Only when their Divine Secret had reached the same level could there be a chance to create a creature like Ah Jie.

"When I return, I must ask Elder Qiao where Ah Jie came from."

"How could such an existence be sealed in Tianxuan Gate with a double seal?"

Xu Xiaoshou suppressed the astonishment in his heart and left without disturbing Ah Jie's studying.

..

"What else do you remember? Tell me!"

Xu Xiaoshou squatted down in front of Xu Xiaoji.

This fellow didn't put in any effort during the battle. He simply laid on the ground and pretended to be dead.

At that time, Xu Xiaoshou didn't have the time, and was afraid that something unexpected might happen, so he didn't bother with him.

Now, it was time to deal with him.

An unknown yet strange inhuman thing..

"Is it a time bomb?"

Xu Xiaoshou narrowed his eyes. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

In the end, it still came..

Xu Xiaoji's face turned bitter.

"I really don't remember much. I've already said what I should have said. It's just as you understand it."

He looked at Ah Jie, who was quietly studying, and said submissively, "I was attracted here by a special induction. I wanted to take the cardinal wheel, but I met you and brother Jie after that."

"What about before that?"

Xu Xiaoshou was not very satisfied with this answer.

"Before..."

Xu Xiaoji hesitated.

"Answer, or die."

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened.

He was no longer the warm-hearted and kind-hearted Xu Xiaoshou from the Windcloud Compet.i.tion.

Regarding life and death, regarding choices, he already had the most decisive decision, and the right to choose.

"I..."

Xu Xiaoji was so scared that his body trembled.

If it was anyone else who said this, he would be the first to beat them up.

But Xu Xiaoshou..

Not only was this guy terrifying on his own, there were also two Sovereign level experts sitting calmly beside him.

How could he resist?!

I'm completely at his mercy.

Just admit it, Xu Xiaoji. You can't beat this guy.

"I actually don't know either."

Little Chicken Xu laid out his cards.

"Before you gave me my name, I didn't even know who I was. I only knew that in order to survive, I've used many names. After all, I can transform."

"As for strength, you also know that I'm very weak. Although sometimes, I have the cultivation of a Sovereign, after a while, it disappears."

"So last night, it's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I couldn't!"

As Xu Xiaoji spoke, he pointed at his own body, expressing that he was not a threat at all, at this very moment.

"After that feeling, my cultivation will be zero again."

Xu Xiaoshou became troubled when he heard that.

He had actually verified Xu Xiaoji's ident.i.ty and knew that this fellow was probably not lying.

However, what was the point of asking if the things he said were of no use?

"You're not a human."

Xu Xiaobei said firmly, "So what exactly are you?"

Xu Xiaoji shrunk his neck.

He felt insulted, but he did not dare to resist.

"If I'm not a human, what am I? I'm really a human. I just know how to transform."

"No!"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head.

Perhaps even Xu Xiaoji himself was not very sure.

But the system had already verified that this guy was indeed not a human.

"You've been deceived by yourself. Have you ever thought that 'human' was only a form after you transformed?"

"In order to survive in the human world, you've used the 'human' form many times. Subjectively, you feel that you're a human."

"This..."Xu Xiaoji hesitated.

He had actually suspected this before.

But if he wasn't a human being, what else could he be?

"What about the beginning? What was your original story and where did it begin?"

Xu Xiaoshou planned to help this fellow recall.

If the memories were useful, Xu Xiaoji could stay.

If he was a scourge, then it would be better to rid him earlier before he brings trouble.

"Initially, I should have been in a small s.p.a.ce?"

Xu Xiaoji began to recall, "I don't remember very clearly. There seemed to be a rift in the void. I entered, and came out."

Entered?

Came out?

Xu Xiaoshou was not confused. Instead, he tried to help himself by helping Xu Xiaoji speak more clearly.

"Entered the void rift, came out, and came to the human world? Escaped from that small s.p.a.ce of yours?"

Xu Xiaoji shook his head.

"It doesn't seem like that."

He tried hard to recall and said, "I should have came out from a small s.p.a.ce to a large s.p.a.ce."

"It was quite big and very dangerous. There were white flaming skeletons, people, and other creatures."

"At that time, I didn't have the strength yet. I relied on my transformation to escape."

"Then I came out of a void rift again."

Xu Xiaoji straightened his face, as if he had just arrived at a clear place in his memory.

"Because I suddenly had the strength of a Sovereign, I directly pa.s.sed through the Void Rift and ran out of that large s.p.a.ce again."

"Only then did I come to the human world!"

Dual s.p.a.ce..

Small and large?

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself.

Maybe it was just a reflex.

After all, there had been a lot of incidents in the extradimensional s.p.a.ce recently. The first thing he thought of was the "White Cave".

"Human? You said you saw people in that large dimension?"

Xu Xiaoji nodded.

"There were fewer people. More of them were those skeletons burning with white flames..."

"Who were they?"

Xu Xiaoshou interrupted him. He had a vague guess in his heart.

Xu Xiaoji paused and recalled, "The obvious characteristics are that they are all wearing red robes, but there aren't many. I only met a few."

Red Coats!

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils suddenly constricted.

s.p.a.ce, red robes.

Weren't these the patrolling Red Coats in the extradimensional s.p.a.ces?

"It's similar to the Night Guardian..."

The moment Xu Xiaoshou opened his mouth, he stopped.

Xu Xiaoji seemed to have never met Night Guardian before?

Ever since he brought him into the City Lord's mansion, this fellow had disappeared.

The next time Xu Xiaoshou saw him was when the sea of flowers exploded. The stone that this fellow had transformed into was kept into his Abrogated Origin Residence along with the Cardinal Wheel.

When he was released again, it was outside the banquet hall, where he followed Xin Gugu to do some work.

During this process, it seemed like he had never met Night Guardian before?

As expected, a look of confusion flashed across Xu Xiaoji's face.

"Night Guardian?"

"It's nothing."

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand. It wasn't much of a problem.

Little Chicken Xu actually came out from the White Cave?

Or rather, if he wasn't from the White Cave, he came out from extradimensional s.p.a.ce too?

But this fellow wasn't a ghost beast, so what exactly was he?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt that his brain wasn't enough.

"Small s.p.a.ce?"

That's right, before entering the White Cave, this guy had stayed in a small s.p.a.ce.

How did he come out?

"Do you still remember what happened in the small s.p.a.ce?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"No."

Xu Xiaoji shook his head. "Even the memories after coming out are vague. Only those after I had gained consciousness, and that was after coming to the human world."

"And then you followed your senses all the way to the City Lord's Mansion?"Xu Xiaoshou added.

"It wasn't so fast..."

Xu Xiaoji's expression was a little awkward. "After all, after I came out, I suddenly lost the power of a Sovereign. In order to survive, I stubbornly used all kinds of methods and lived for quite a long time."

"How long have you been out?"

"About a month. I don't remember much."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

The general process was probably just like this.

"White Cave?"

"It has something to do with the Cardinal Wheel again?"

"Small s.p.a.ce?"

Xu Xiaoshou thought about it and fixed his gaze on the groove on the Cardinal Wheel.

According to his previous judgment, this groove should be caused by a sword.

It was also very likely that it was the home of the "Fourth Sword"!

After piecing all the pieces of information together, it formed a slightly complete story. It should be:

"Xu Xiaoji is the sword spirit of the Fourth Sword?"

"That small s.p.a.ce was the internal s.p.a.ce of the Fourth Sword?"

"After the sword spirit of the Fourth Sword awakened, it escaped from the broken sword and went to the White Cave?"

"At this time, the sword spirit was still not very stable, and its memory was also intermittent."

"But because it is a sword spirit, it could occasionally obtain the power similar to a Sovereign, and then successfully escaped and came to the human world

"Sensing his previous home -- the Cardinal Wheel, the sword spirit wanted to come over and take a look, and then it fell into my hands?"

Xu Xiaoshou's expression became strange.

If that was really the case, then it was too much of a coincidence, and was ridiculous too.

The Legendary Sword of the Eighth Sword Immortal "Fourth Sword,"and its sword spirit was actually such a coward. Who would believe this?

But it seemed that at present, there was no better explanation than his own speculation.

Xu Xiaoshou knew that he still had a certain level of reasoning ability.

Before an outcome was derived, this shall be the correct answer.

If the verification was successful, then his deduction would become the conclusion.

If it failed, then he'll think of other possibilities.

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou took out his Hidden Bitter.

Grade eight spirit sword!

His personal sword had already evolved into grade eight under the nourishment of the sword observation manual and Black Scabbard.

But this wasn't important.

Xu Xiaoshou took out the Hidden Bitter and casually tossed it away.

"Black scabbard..."

This thing, its real name, could not be called the black scabbard.

It was the real Fourth Sword's scabbard, one of the Eighth Sword Immortal's personal belongings!

He still remembered that when he brought this thing out from Black Cliff, Xu Xiaoshou had promised to help find its owner.

And now, he seemed to have arrived at this critical moment.

"Do you know him?"

Gently stroking the scabbard, Xu Xiaoshou knew that this thing's spiritual quality was very high.

He received an unperturbed response.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately knew that the black scabbard did not know Xu Xiaoji at all.

"What's going on?"

"Could it be that my speculation is wrong?"

Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled.

He looked at Xu Xiaoji and raised the scabbard in his hand. "Do you know him?"

"No."

Xu Xiaoji also shook his head.

He felt that Xu Xiaoshou always liked to make such unrealistic jokes.

A scabbard that he obtained from G.o.d-knows-where.

How could he recognize it?

"Mocked. Pa.s.sive Points, + 1."

"That's weird."

Xu Xiaoshou put away the Hidden Bitter and scabbard and scratched his head in frustration.

"That's not right!"

He suddenly realized that the Black Scabbard had been separated from Fourth Sword decades ago.

What if Xu Xiaoji was another sword spirit born from the Fourth Sword during this period of time?

With a smack of his head, Xu Xiaoshou's train of thoughts suddenly opened up.

"That's right. The Fourth Sword, how could it have such a weak sword spirit? Xu Xiaoji must have secretly been born when the Fourth Sword wasn't paying attention!"

"If that's the case..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt that his deduction had been verified once again.

According to Xu Xiaoji, he came out from the void rift in that small s.p.a.ce.

If that small s.p.a.ce belonged to the Fourth Sword, then that meant that there was a problem with the Fourth Sword.

"Crack?"

"Could it be that the sword body cracked and shattered?"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart constricted as he thought of something again.

He hurriedly took out the bronze carving piece from the Broken Hidden Scriptures Pavilion of the Zhang Mansion from within his ring.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly recalled the scene he saw after he had deviated in his cultivation

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, the black sword alone remains!

"That was really the Fourth Sword?"

"So, after the body of the sword was broken, this carving piece fell off."

Raising his eyes, Xu Xiaoshou planned to ask Xu Xiaoji if he recognized this thing.

However, the situation of the person in front of him was completely out of his expectations.

Xu Xiaoji stared at the bronze carving piece and began to tremble all over.

It was as if after lighting the highest level of the "Breathing technique", and taking a large handful of Origin Court Pills right after. His entire body was trembling so much, he became blurry.

"Keke Keke..."