Pfft—
Xu Weizhou fell heavily to the ground from a height of a hundred meters, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Of course, if it were just falling from a hundred meters, for a powerful cultivator in the Hedao realm, it would only be a minor inconvenience, or perhaps not even an issue.
But the problem was, before Xu Weizhou fell, he had been hit by that pile of feces.
That pile of feces had condensed his Dao intent of Heaven and Man as One, possessing world-destroying energy. Although its power had been greatly reduced after being kneaded by the Earth Demon, it had still hit Xu Weizhou squarely in the face, causing him severe injuries.
Seeing Elder Xu fall to the ground, the Saint Son and Saintess of the Earth Sect rushed over.
“Elder Xu, are you alright?”
“Elder Xu, how are you?”
The two helped Xu Weizhou up and asked.
Xu Weizhou’s face was ashen. Although there were no visible injuries on the surface, he had actually suffered severe internal injuries and his cultivation had been greatly damaged.
And these were not the most serious issues.
“It’s over, it’s all over, I’m finished, I’m completely finished…”
Xu Weizhou looked at the Saint Son and Saintess, muttering to himself.
“Elder Xu, what… what’s wrong?”
Li Miaozhen asked worriedly, noticing Xu Weizhou’s unusual state.
“My Dao intent, my Dao intent has scattered…”
Xu Weizhou’s face was filled with dejection, his complexion ashen. All his injuries combined did not strike him as hard as this event.
“What? Dao intent scattered? Oh no, what can be done about this…”
Li Miaozhen immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
Dao intent, as it was known, was a trace of intention generated by a cultivator upon reaching the Hedao realm and achieving the unity of Heaven and Man.
This trace of intention was used to communicate with the upper immortals, which was also known as the Dharma Aspect.
However, with the scattering of his Dao intent, there was no longer any possibility of communicating with the upper immortals, as the upper immortals no longer recognized this person.
This also meant that Xu Weizhou had regressed to the Huaxu realm and would never be able to enter the Hedao realm again in his lifetime.
This was because losing the recognition of one upper immortal meant losing the recognition of all upper immortals.
Therefore, this was the point that truly caused Xu Weizhou despair and pain.
Perhaps for the vast majority of cultivators in the Xianyin Realm, the Huaxu realm was an unreachable height.
But Xu Weizhou was clearly not among them. He was one of the several dozen cultivators at the pinnacle of the Xianyin Realm, and his goal was to ascend one day.
With his Dao intent scattered today, all his lifelong efforts had gone to waste, and his life no longer had a purpose. The magnitude of this blow could be imagined.
“Elder Xu, you… you must try to be more optimistic…”
Li Miaozhen didn’t know how to comfort Xu Weizhou, as she understood very well what losing one’s Dao intent meant for a powerful cultivator in the Hedao realm.
Xu Weizhou shook his head in despair and said with a bitter smile, “Saint Son, Saintess, please don’t mind me anymore. It seems I cannot stop this Earth Demon. You two run quickly, run as far as you can, otherwise, you will all be refined by that beast!”
“Hou Tu City is sealed, where can we possibly run? Even if we want to run, how can we outrun a powerful cultivator in the Hedao realm…”
Li Miaozhen said with a wry smile.
Xu Weizhou shook his head, “No, you don’t need to outrun the Earth Demon, you just need to outrun everyone else… Hold on for another half an hour, and your master, along with the elders of the Earth Sect, should break through the city’s protective formation. By then, you will be saved.”
Hearing this, Li Miaozhen’s expression turned grim.
However, Li Shouxuan nodded in agreement and said in a low voice, “Elder Xu, Junior Sister, you two hide first. Let me create a diversion and stir up chaos!”
After speaking, Li Shouxuan stood up and shouted loudly at everyone, “Everyone, it seems we are doomed today. You have all seen that even our Earth Sect’s Elder Xu is no match for this Earth Demon. What this means, I believe I don’t need to explain further, right?”
The already despairing crowd, upon hearing Li Shouxuan’s words, became even more desperate.
Some people even blamed him, shouting at him, “What’s the point of you spouting nonsense here? If you ask me, it’s all the Earth Sect’s fault. The preliminary selection for the Heavenly Talent Competition was organized by you, but you can’t even guarantee everyone’s safety. What is the Earth Sect good for?”
“Yes, what is the Earth Sect good for? If we all die here today, the responsibility will fall entirely on the Earth Sect!”
“The Earth Sect is too arrogant, sending such a useless elder to maintain order. Didn’t they consider this situation? Where are the other elders? What are they all doing!”
The crowd, one after another, blamed Li Shouxuan.
Li Miaozhen, standing beside him, muttered speechlessly, “Senior Brother Saint Son, is this what you call creating a diversion? Stirring up chaos? It turns out you’re drawing the trouble towards yourself, aren’t you?”
As for Xu Weizhou, he became even more despairing, simply sighing and covering his eyes, saying, “Just let me die…”
Even the Earth Demon watched Li Shouxuan with amusement.
Since the people of the Earth Sect couldn’t break through the city’s protective formation anytime soon, he had plenty of time.
He wanted to see what this junior from the Earth Sect was planning, treating it as watching a monkey show!
“Everyone, everyone, please calm down!”
Li Shouxuan pressed his hands down, trying to appease the crowd. “I admit that the Earth Sect bears an undeniable responsibility for the current situation, but it’s useless for you to blame the Earth Sect now. Moreover, the Saintess of the Earth Sect and Elder Xu and I will all die here today. But before we die, we must expose the real culprit, and absolutely not let him get away with it!”
“The real culprit? Saint Son of the Earth Sect, what do you mean by that?”
“Yes, who is the real culprit? You should make it clear!”
The crowd shouted loudly.
Li Miaozhen’s heart stirred, and she immediately understood what Li Shouxuan was planning.
She shook her head helplessly and said with a wry smile, “My Senior Brother Saint Son is as petty as ever.”
“Heh heh, the real culprit is him!”
Just as Li Miaozhen had predicted, Li Shouxuan pointed his finger, indicating Chen Xiao.
“Have we all forgotten? How did this Earth Demon emerge from underground? Wasn’t it because of this kid, Li Beiwu of the True Martial Sect! It was all for him to show off, to gain attention…”
Li Shouxuan didn’t know if there was a direct connection between the Earth Demon’s appearance and Chen Xiao, but as long as he could smear dirt on him, it was enough.
At this moment, someone suddenly recalled and shouted, “Yes, he is the culprit. The Earth Demon just said earlier that thanks to this little fellow…”
With this reminder, everyone remembered, and the crowd became boisterous, accusing Chen Xiao.
“Li Beiwu, are you trying to die? If you want to die, then go away and die somewhere else, why drag us all down with you?”
“Exactly, it’s all your fault, you culprit, you damned Li Beiwu, I swear I won’t let you go even as a ghost!”
The crowd was incensed, while Su Meinan, who was mixed in the crowd, felt awkward. “Poor Li Beiwu, he’s dead, yet he has to endure such undeserved abuse.”
Chen Xiao was also speechless. “Since it was all Li Beiwu’s doing, what does it have to do with me, Chen Xiao?”
“What do you mean, I won’t let him go even as a ghost? I’m not letting him go now. Let’s all go together and finish him off. If we can’t defeat the Earth Demon, can’t we still defeat him, Li Beiwu?”
Li Shouxuan shouted, continuing to stir up trouble.
Hearing this, everyone got worked up and surrounded Chen Xiao.
Su Meinan immediately became worried. “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, what should we do?”
Chen Xiao sighed helplessly. Do these idiots really enjoy being used as pawns so much?
“Ptooey!”
However, at this moment, a glob of phlegm fell from the sky, instantly hitting and killing one of the people who had surrounded Chen Xiao.
“Let’s see who dares to touch him today!”
The Earth Demon stood proudly in mid-air, with his hands behind his back.
The crowd immediately stopped in their tracks and shrunk back fearfully.
This kid helped the Earth Demon, so perhaps they were in cahoots from the beginning!
With the Earth Demon protecting him, everyone, despite gnashing their teeth in anger, dared not do anything further to Chen Xiao.
“Little fellow, I helped you, why aren’t you thanking me quickly?”
The Earth Demon sized up Chen Xiao with amusement. This kid was clearly different from everyone else.
Chen Xiao said indifferently, “You helped me, and I helped you. We are at best even. Why should I thank you?”
“Oh?”
The Earth Demon’s ferocious face actually revealed a smile. “You’re quite interesting, little fellow. I like you very much!”
Everyone was now certain that ‘Li Beiwu’ and the Earth Demon were not in league.
However, this was not something to be happy about, because the Earth Demon said he found this kid interesting and liked him.
“I can protect you for a while, but I can’t protect you forever. How about this, I’ll recognize you as my godson. That way, no one will dare to bully you in the future. What do you say?”
The Earth Demon stroked his chin and said tentatively.
Hearing this, Li Shouxuan became even more despairing. It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. The Earth Demon wants to take this kid as his godson. How can he deal with him now?
Everyone’s thoughts were similar to Li Shouxuan’s, and their hearts sank.
Su Meinan, however, breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately, Brother Chen’s life was now safe… And if Brother Chen became the Earth Demon’s godson, perhaps I wouldn’t have to die either.
Just as Su Meinan’s calculations were running wild, Chen Xiao suddenly said, “Who do you think you are? What are you? You want to be my godfather?”
Su Meinan was stunned, Li Miaozhen was stunned, everyone was stunned.
Did this kid have a screw loose? How dare he speak to the Earth Demon like that? Did he not want to live anymore?
Could it be that he dared to speak to the Earth Demon like this because he had helped him?
The Earth Demon frowned deeply and said coldly, “Kid, do you know who you are talking to? Don’t think that just because you helped me, I won’t kill you!”
Li Shouxuan was overjoyed. This ‘Li Beiwu’ was definitely doomed this time, it was truly gratifying.
“Heh heh…”
Chen Xiao suddenly let out a disdainful cold laugh. “You’re just a wisp of residual soul, a thing that is neither human nor ghost, and you dare to act arrogant in front of me? Are you worthy?”