The clatter of chains scattered across the ground.
They seemed to be a magical artifact,
but at this moment, it was a broken artifact.
It had been severed by Chen Xiao's sword.
In an instant, everyone was stunned.
The leaders of the Three Sects were stunned, Bai Di was stunned, and most importantly, the old immortal was stunned.
He froze in place, halting all attacks, his eyes gradually regaining a trace of clarity from their dazed state.
Finally, they became completely clear!
Seeing this, everyone's hearts rejoiced, for they knew what this meant.
It meant that the old immortal's consciousness had been restored, and he was no longer enslaved and controlled by Bai Di!
Bai Di stared at the old immortal, his scalp tingling.
The reason he could control the old immortal was not because his strength surpassed the old immortal's.
It was only because he had used schemes, tricks, and the God-Binding Chains, the artifact that had just been severed by Chen Xiao, that he could control the old immortal.
However, now, facing the old immortal who had regained his senses, he was like a beast tamer facing an uncontrollable wild beast!
He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, like a fishbone stuck in his throat…
The old immortal glared fiercely at Bai Di, finally letting out an angry snort.
"Hmph!"
He snorted, but he did not attack Bai Di.
It was unclear whether it was because he was wary of Bai Di having other artifacts, or because he felt it was shameful to have been enslaved by a mere mortal for so many years.
In the end, he merely cupped his hands towards Chen Xiao and then transformed into a stream of light, soaring into the sky, quickly disappearing without a trace.
This… he just left?
The leaders of the Three Sects exchanged glances, somewhat surprised, but not entirely.
As for Bai Di, he breathed a sigh of relief for the moment, but immediately became tense again… no, not tense, but desperate.
Because now, in addition to facing the leaders of the Three Sects, he also had Chen Xiao, who possessed the Seven Gods.
Any one of them was enough to deal with him, let alone the fact that they were now on the same side.
For Bai Di, the tide had turned, and the current situation was a dead end for him.
"Heh heh, I really didn't expect to be defeated by you in the end."
Bai Di said with feigned nonchalance, "Aren't you my greatest creation? Losing to you, I have no regrets…"
Bang!
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Xiao descended from the sky and kicked him in the face, sending him rolling and scrambling like a stray dog.
"I warned you long ago, stop calling me your creation!"
Chen Xiao said coldly.
"Alright, alright, I won't say it!"
It is said that he who knows the times is a wise man. If viewed from this perspective, Bai Di was an undisputed wise man.
When he should have been cowardly, he was truly cowardly.
Of course, even admitting defeat could not save him from death.
Bai Di realized this as well, and said with a bitter smile, "Before you kill me, can I ask you a question?"
"Speak if you have something to say, fart if you have to!"
Chen Xiao said dismissively.
"How did you discover that the key to breaking the deadlock was the God-Binding Chains?"
Bai Di asked.
"Because I have eyes."
Chen Xiao said lightly.
At the same time, the faces of the leaders of the Three Sects darkened… So only you have eyes, and we don't?
"So your original goal was the God-Binding Chains. There's one thing I still don't understand. Your Sky-Slaying Sword is clearly more powerful than the God-Slaying Sword, so why did you choose the God-Slaying Sword instead of the Sky-Slaying Sword!"
Bai Di truly understood Chen Xiao very well, and knew all his artifacts like the back of his hand.
"To confuse you, you idiot!"
Chen Xiao sneered, "If I hadn't held the God-Slaying Sword and pretended to cut down the old immortal, would you have let me pass? Only when you thought I was courting death would I have had a chance!"
After all, Bai Di was a powerful figure from ancient times. If he had been fully on guard against Chen Xiao, even if Chen Xiao could have succeeded, it would not have been this easy.
"So that's how it is, so that's how it is. I still underestimated you! Kid, your performance today has made me look at you with new eyes…"
Bai Di's words were cut short again, and Chen Xiao kicked him again.
"You're too paternalistic, stop acting like a father in front of me!"
Chen Xiao said impatiently.
Bai Di gave a wry smile. The physical pain meant little to him; what hurt more was the mental anguish, the pain of utter defeat.
Anyone would find it difficult to accept his fate.
He had endured for a long time, and had painstakingly planned for hundreds of years, only to end up being outsmarted by his own creation.
The taste of this was hard to describe in words.
If he had to describe it, Bai Di could only think of one phrase.
A hair's breadth difference leads to a thousand-mile error!
"Perhaps from the beginning, I was wrong. How could I have the audacity to try and use you… Heh heh…"
Bai Di laughed self-mockingly.
Chen Xiao caught a hint of something amiss in his words and immediately asked in a low voice, "What do you mean by that? It seems you haven't told me everything?"
"Heh heh heh, of course… This matter concerns your true identity, or rather, your true origin!"
Bai Di said with a sinister smile, "I was able to create you entirely by chance, but your origin is quite extraordinary. In fact, you are…"
"I am what?"
Chen Xiao felt that he was about to uncover the truth.
However, Bai Di chuckled again, "I won't tell you!"
"You damn it!"
Chen Xiao was furious and was about to kick Bai Di again.
However, this time, before he could kick Bai Di, Bai Di's body began to swell as if being inflated.
"What's happening? What's happening to my body…"
Bai Di was panicked, looking at his transformation with fear in his eyes.
"I was wrong, please, don't kill me, I shouldn't have mentioned these things to him."
"Please spare me, I promise I will never reveal any information!"
Bai Di seemed to have seen something terrifying, begging desperately and making constant promises.
However, this did not stop his body from continuing to grow!
At this moment, he had already swelled from his original height of about 1.7 meters to nearly 3 meters.
He had become a balloon! A real balloon!
"You're about to die, why aren't you telling me the news quickly?"
Chen Xiao said anxiously.
"No, I'm not dying… my fate is a hundred times, no, a thousand times, ten thousand times, a hundred million times more tragic than death… Ah…"
Bang—
Amidst Bai Di's pained wails, his body, along with his primordial spirit, exploded into dust and vanished into nothingness.
Chen Xiao gritted his teeth, "You bastard, you're still trying to annoy me even in death, aren't you?"
More than half of Chen Xiao's anger in this life had been directed at this person, whether he was Chen Sihai, Lin Batian, or Bai Di… or even the one who created him.
"What he said earlier seemed to have a deeper meaning. He mentioned your origin, saying it was quite extraordinary… and his death just now, it seemed like there was some terrifying figure involved…"
Ziwei Dao Shou approached Chen Xiao. Seeing Chen Xiao's anger, she wanted to comfort him, but as soon as she spoke, she became incoherent.
Because her mind was also filled with mysteries, and she was very confused.
Finally, she could only sigh, "Alas, we'll figure these things out eventually, won't we?"
Chen Xiao had calmed down and smiled slightly, saying, "It's good. At least I know I'm getting closer to the truth. Let's not worry about this for now, let's talk about the next matter."
Saying this, he turned his gaze to Duan Yanzhuo and Yun Lan.
The next matter he wanted to discuss was mainly related to these two.
"Why are you looking at us like that?"
Duan Yanzhuo asked, looking confused.
"You kid, you're not thinking of doing something to us, are you? I warn you not to mess around. With your strength, you're not qualified to be an enemy of the entire Immortal Hidden Realm!"
Although he said this, the fact that Master Duan Yanzhuo could say this already indicated that he had a considerable recognition of Chen Xiao's strength.
Otherwise, he would have said, "I'll rip your head off."
Yun Lan did not speak, but her gaze towards Chen Xiao was filled with vigilance.
Chen Xiao smiled, "You two don't need to be nervous. What I want to discuss with you, I've mentioned before… Join me!"
"Join you? Do what?"
Duan Yanzhuo seemed not to have reacted, but it was more like he was feigning ignorance.
"What else? Overthrow the Heavenly Dao!"
Chen Xiao said loudly.
"Kid, you can't say such things carelessly. We'll pretend we didn't hear anything. You should leave the Immortal Hidden Realm quickly. Since your goal has been achieved and the God-Slaying Sword is in your hand, from now on, we'll mind our own business. We'll walk our own paths, and you'll walk yours, understand?"
Duan Yanzhuo said excitedly.
"Overthrow the Heavenly Dao. This kid really doesn't know who he is anymore? If he wants to court death, fine, but why drag us along…"
Duan Yanzhuo muttered, sounding less like he was trying to persuade Chen Xiao and more like he was trying to persuade himself.
"Senior Brother Duan, how long are you going to deceive yourself?"
Ziwei Dao Shou shook her head and said, "It's been five hundred years, and you still dare not face your inner heart?"
"What dare I not do? I tell you, there's nothing in this world I dare not do!"
Duan Yanzhuo retorted loudly, "It's just that you ask me to betray my master and ancestors, and I can't do that!"
"But they betrayed us first!"
Ziwei Dao Shou argued, "No matter how grand the words used to package it, this is an undeniable fact, isn't it?"
"It's not like that, Junior Sister Ziwei, you don't understand, it's not like that. Master and the others are doing this for our own good."
Duan Yanzhuo murmured, "Master said that we should wait in the Immortal Hidden Realm for five hundred years. After five hundred years, we can ascend to the Human Realm with them, and then we will be cultivators of the Human Realm, Immortals. Those disciples and grandchildren will have to achieve harmony with the Dao, and they will need our approval…"
Hearing this, Ziwei Dao Shou shouted, "Where are there any disciples and grandchildren anymore? This time, they swallowed the entire Nine Provinces, and within that, it included all your disciples and grandchildren. How long are you going to pretend to be oblivious?"