Chapter 302: Xi Gaoqi! Let Me See Your Limits!

Xi Gaoqi's lips curled into a dry, stiff smile.

Hearing Zhou Yun's tone—feigning admiration and praise, yet filled entirely with mockery and taunts—His clown face twitched uncontrollably.

How did He even get into the Black Library?

Oh, right—the Door of Anywhere!

Having watched a few episodes of Doraemon, Xi Gaoqi was already aware of the Door of Anywhere's existence.

Though He still didn't understand its precise mechanics or limitations, He knew its general function.

But Xi Gaoqi had instinctively trusted the Black Library's security, never considering that the Door of Anywhere could enter it directly.

"Hearing your words, Xi Gaoqi, a warmth instantly rises in my heart—I almost believed my beloved Eldar Empire is as eternal as my own life."

Xi Gaoqi slowly bowed to Zhou Yun, voice dripping with sarcasm:

"Did you come to my humble little refuge and library merely to mock this pitiful, lonely old god?"

"Just a test. A small trick," Zhou Yun smiled. "I never expected the Eldar God of Deception and Trickery would fall for it."

"It was the loyal Hilarandri the Veil-Walker who guided me to this Black Library."

Hilarandri the Veil-Walker, standing nearby with an embarrassed face, widened her eyes and gasped sharply.

Xi Gaoqi's gaze also fell upon Hilarandri the Veil-Walker.

The clownish Shadow Seer frantically waved her hands, trying to make her tangled tongue untie itself and explain.

But Zhou Yun spoke faster than Hilarandri the Veil-Walker could.

"Of course, Lord Xi Gaoqi, you needn't doubt Hilarandri the Veil-Walker's unwavering loyalty."

Zhou Yun turned to the clown with the mirror face and gave her a gentle, smiling nod.

Hilarandri the Veil-Walker paused, confused—why was Zhou Yun suddenly defending her?

"Just as she said, her heart has always held only you, Lord Xi Gaoqi, as her sun."

"But sunset is a natural law—no one can stop it."

"She likely realized that following only one god could never restore the Eldar."

Zhou Yun continued smiling.

Hilarandri the Veil-Walker suddenly felt a chill crawl up her spine.

The phrase "my heart holds only one sun" was something she'd learned from Zhou Yun.

But how did Zhou Yun know she'd just said that to Xi Gaoqi? Had he been watching all along?

Thinking of this, Hilarandri the Veil-Walker involuntarily gasped.

Based on what she knew of Zhou Yun, could it really be that she'd led him here?

Hilarandri the Veil-Walker also noticed Xi Gaoqi's gaze fixed on her.

Seeing Xi Gaoqi's twitching eyelid and clenched fists, Hilarandri the Veil-Walker let out a few awkward laughs.

Cold sweat kept pouring from her body; inside, she felt like she was being roasted alive.

Xi Gaoqi tore his gaze from Hilarandri the Veil-Walker and turned it back to Zhou Yun and Sanguinius.

"But don't you two think it's a bit too arrogant to break into my home?"

Xi Gaoqi asked in a lowered voice:

"Though I am but a clown, I am still the Eldar God of Deception and Trickery, the Great Jester and Fool, the Laugh of the Deceiver Star."

As he spoke, Xi Gaoqi's body surged upward, swelling violently.

His face—composed of hooked beak and sharp brow—expanded into a colossal crescent moon, hovering above the Black Library; his clown suit, woven from flowing colored ink, became a sky of rainbows.

Divine power, overwhelming and vast, erupted from Xi Gaoqi.

"For hundreds of millions of years, the Eldar's faith in me has accumulated. Even while lying dormant in this library, I remain one of the Eldar Pantheon's gods! You, offspring of the Human Emperor and Death God of Humanity—don't underestimate me!"

Xi Gaoqi! Show your performance skills! Think back—how did you trick the Outsiders back then!

Xi Gaoqi roared inwardly at himself.

The Eldar Pantheon had gathered faith over countless ages, but Xi Gaoqi himself was merely a minor deity within it.

Worse still, on the eve of the Eldar Empire's fall, most Eldar had abandoned faith in the Pantheon entirely.

Among the Eldar gods, Xi Gaoqi's duties were always to jabber, spark creativity, deceive, and joke.

Fighting? That's Kain's job!

If it had been Roboute Guilliman, Xi Gaoqi might have had some confidence.

But Sanguinius—this was the second most revered figure in human faith, the Emperor's heir, and who knew what the Emperor had stuffed into their bodies when forging the Primarchs? Sanguinius had clearly fully embraced his Warp aspect.

Xi Gaoqi's instinct told him he couldn't defeat Sanguinius.

And besides, Zhou Yun stood beside him—how many bizarre artifacts did he have in his pockets? Xi Gaoqi dared not imagine.

So he swiftly made his judgment:

He would bluff. He would charm these two.

Pretend. That was one of the three rules Xi Gaoqi had learned since the War in Heaven to survive the galaxy.

Know how to pretend. Maintain mystery. Charm them. That was the clown's trick.

And this was the Black Library—his home stage. He could fool them.

Xi Gaoqi! Unleash your performance potential! You're the God of Clowns!

Asurmen! Lilith! Hock! Val! Kurnos! Morri-Blackgrip!

Use whatever remains of your will, even if it still lingers in Slaanesh's belly, to protect me!

To project authority, Xi Gaoqi lowered his massive form, bringing his crescent-moon clown face down to Zhou Yun's level.

"You dare come before me in this fragile mortal body? How confident you are."

"I must even hold my breath, lest I accidentally harm your precious form—hmm?"

Before Xi Gaoqi finished speaking, Zhou Yun suddenly pointed his finger at the Door of Anywhere.

"See that door?" Zhou Yun asked earnestly.

Xi Gaoqi stared blankly at Zhou Yun.

"I asked you—do you see that door?" Zhou Yun raised his voice.

Xi Gaoqi nodded frantically.

"Good."

Zhou Yun smiled brightly again, placing his hand on the door and asking Xi Gaoqi:

"What do you think would happen if I opened a door connecting Slaanesh's bedchamber to this Black Library?"

Open a door connecting Slaanesh's bedchamber to the Black Library.

Connecting Slaanesh's bedchamber to the Black Library.

Slaanesh's bedchamber.

Slaanesh.

"Dad!"

Xi Gaoqi's form shrank instantly; his knees slammed onto the ground as he knelt before Zhou Yun:

"Did I just imagine things? You look so much like my long-lost father!"

"Do you have Ancient One blood? Why do I feel so close to you?"

"Come, Dad, let Xi Gaoqi perform for you—could you please take your hand off the door first?"

Cower. That was the second of Xi Gaoqi's three rules since the War in Heaven.

Back then, Kain ignored his advice and charged straight into the battle between Khorne and Slaanesh—now he couldn't even be reassembled.

As for shame, dishonor, lack of decency—Xi Gaoqi, as the God of Clowns, felt zero guilt about any of it.

Scored! Zhou Yun watched Xi Gaoqi kneeling on the ground; his expression remained still, but inside, he exhaled slightly.

He had no intention of opening a door to Slaanesh's bedchamber—he couldn't even if he wanted to, since he had no map of it.

This was purely to fool Xi Gaoqi—combined with the performance-enhancing abilities granted by the Hot-Seat Prompter & Robot Director, Zhou Yun had succeeded.

In Zhou Yun's past-life memories, Xi Gaoqi had always been a mysterious figure, with almost no reliable intelligence on him, his power an enigma.

To guard against surprises, Zhou Yun had specifically brought Sanguinius along, to ensure he wouldn't lose even the chance to bluff Xi Gaoqi with the Door of Anywhere.

Of course, Zhou Yun also suspected that Xi Gaoqi might have been trying to fool him too.

But Xi Gaoqi knew nothing of Zhou Yun's limits, while Zhou Yun knew Xi Gaoqi's limits perfectly.

"Don't kneel, get up," Zhou Yun reached out to help Xi Gaoqi to his feet, his expression sincere. "Look at this—what's going on? I meant well, you misunderstood."

"I feel sorry for you. The Eldar gods are dead or broken; among the few left, Isha barely speaks to you, Kain is more shattered than Magnus, Ingead is half-stuck in a shit-pit—you can't even take a proper family photo without it being just you taking a selfie."

"I felt so sad for you, I decided to invite the young, beautiful Eldar goddess Slaanesh to join you for a proper two-person family photo."

"Oh no no no! Thank you, but no!" Xi Gaoqi waved his hands frantically. "I appreciate your kindness—just tell me what you really want. I want to repay you!"

Xi Gaoqi deliberately emphasized the word "kindness."

"Hand over the Webway map first," Zhou Yun extended his hand directly toward Xi Gaoqi.

Xi Gaoqi's face tightened; his pale muscles rippled. But seeing Zhou Yun's hand on the Door of Anywhere, he took a deep breath and shouted to Hilarandri the Veil-Walker beside him:

"Hurry! Bring me my beloved Zhou Yun Dad the Book of Hell!"

Hilarandri the Veil-Walker gasped, then dashed into the Black Library and returned with a thick, heavy tome.

The book's cover was forged of dense metal; three sturdy clasps on its spine connected to a complex device that trembled faintly—like a metallic heart beating in Zhou Yun's hands.

The Book of Hell—the Webway map.

Zhou Yun was slightly surprised—he hadn't expected Xi Gaoqi to produce this particular volume.

In his memory, this book should have been taken away by the Emperor's Inquisitor Chevak.

Zhou Yun took the large book from HilanDeli, "The Curtain Walker," but did not open it; instead, he shoved it straight into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

【Item Name: Infernal Map (Fake)】

(End of Chapter)