Chapter 480: 454 Shadow Asura

Aqin was stunned for a moment and said, "What? Of course I am Aqin!"

Ling Baoyu looked at her sideways, her gaze deep and ghostly, her canine teeth exposed, as if a hungry beast staring at a nest of fledglings, and said, "Then why don't you know?"

Aqin stammered, "Know what? You didn't tell me, did you?"

Ling Baoyu was noncommittal and said, "It's been over a hundred years since we met; pretending to be a little girl from back then is too easy. Prove it to me."

Aqin poked her head out from the reflection and said, "How do I prove it?"

Ling Baoyu stretched out her tongue to lick her teeth and said, "When you were six, what was the birthday gift I gave you?"

Aqin froze, her mind went blank for a moment, and she hurriedly tried to recall frantically. Seeing Ling Baoyu's expression grow increasingly ferocious, she panicked and said, "It... it was a little fox doll!"

Ling Baoyu moved a step closer to her and pressed, "What color was it?"

Aqin continued to try hard to recall and said, "It was white..."

Ling Baoyu sneered, "You see that I am a white fox, so you say it's white? And you say you aren't trying to deceive me?"

Aqin had only remembered it vaguely to begin with, and now, frightened by her, she was even more shaken and said, "It's not... white? But... but..."

It really seemed to be white, didn't it?

Had Ling Gugu ever given any dolls of other colors?

Ling Baoyu continued to press, "What color was the Bead around the doll's neck?"

"The... the Bead?"

Aqin was even more flustered; how could that fox doll have a Bead on it?

It seemed... it did?

Memory is such a thing; if you don't mention it, you can't recall it, but once mentioned, it seems you can. However, whether this impression is true or false is hard to guarantee, because sometimes the mind will fill in the blanks following someone else's words.

Ling Baoyu closed in further, repeating word by word, "What color was it?"

They were both on the surface of the lake. By rights, Aqin, who controlled all the reflections, should have held the initiative; she could run whenever she wanted, and if she didn't run, she could even manipulate the white fox's own reflection to counterattack. But firstly, she was terrified by the ghosts all over the lake and felt deeply surrounded, and secondly, she had been suddenly suspected by someone close to her for no reason. Being young and inexperienced, she was at a loss, almost crying as she was questioned, and said, "I... I really can't remember..."

"You really don't know?"

"I can't remember, who could remember that!"

"If you can't remember, then forget it."

"Huh?"

Aqin was dumbfounded, her tongue tied in knots.

The white fox tilted her head elegantly and said, "You're right, who could remember small details from when they were six? Unless one searches the Soul to flip through memories. You aren't that clever a child; if you had been able to recall the details, it would have actually confirmed that you were being impersonated and had your memories stolen."

Only then did Aqin heave a sigh of relief. Ignoring Ling Baoyu calling her stupid, she said, "So that's it, I was just saying I was the real one... Wait, no, Gugu, why did you suddenly suspect me? Weren't we fighting side by side?"

Ling Baoyu said in a deep voice, "Because I suspect everything right now."

She sighed to herself and said, "I don't blame you, I blame my own greatly increased Doubt."

"My Sword Technique of Suspicion Breeds Dark Ghosts pursued strength too much at the time, leaving behind quite a few troubles for myself. For instance, Doubt. Every time I gave birth to a dark ghost, if I didn't release it directly to kill the enemy, I could only hide it within my own Doubt, and that piece of Doubt could never be relieved. The more ghosts I hid, the more it was like always eating a lot of food; it would stretch my appetite larger and larger. Originally, if I had fought often, it wouldn't have been an issue, but I have been asleep for over a hundred years, yet my consciousness has been wandering the Human World, hasn't it?"

"The Doubt that arose in the Human World and the ghosts that were born all exist within my own Doubt at the bottom of the lake. It was fine when the Doubt was filled with ghosts, which was equivalent to having no Doubt. Now that I've released so many ghosts, it's suddenly empty. My Doubt is now like a raging fire, and I have no choice but to suspect everything."

She said melancholically, "After this battle ends, I must hide a bit more stuff inside my Doubt, otherwise in the future I won't even dare to drink a mouthful of water, nor listen to the slightest sound of wind. Staying vigilant every moment will get one killed."

Aqin felt sympathy and said, "Why don't you store some things in there now?"

Ling Baoyu shook her head and said, "No, one should stay vigilant during battle. Besides, my Doubt is a weapon, and I need to store more. This monster..."

She glanced at the giant that was being gnawed smaller and smaller: "It's definitely no problem. I still have plenty of ghosts; I'll go down and lure a few more over to meet their deaths."

Aqin thought: There are still plenty? How much Doubt is this? She said, "Good, this method is quite good. Although it's a bit slow going back and forth, we have time, so we'll just grind it down slowly."

Ling Baoyu felt it was slow and said, "If only those Sun Birds of Tang Zhao could help us lure the monsters, but I didn't make such arrangements with him at the time. Can he see the battle situation here from the air and discover this opportunity on his own? —I highly doubt it."

Just as she was speaking, she saw a Sun Bird flying over, fluttering.

Ling Baoyu was suspicious at first, then overjoyed, and said, "He really did discover it, as expected of Tang Zhao!"

Tang Zhao actually hadn't discovered anything at all; he had merely followed standard configuration and dispatched an idle Sun Bird to follow Ling Baoyu and the others to assist and maintain contact. Because his mind was not on this.

He was currently at the highest point of the Zhugong, a bit higher than the Yutang Dadian, which could be considered a small vantage point. Beside him followed a Xiangyangzi, and countless Sun Flower Birds were flying around.

These birds were all created by him and Xiangyangzi together, or rather, birthed together.

At that time, after reading Bai Ni's message in the Zhugong, Tang Zhao's face changed immediately: the content of this letter was truly too shocking. If the shock of her message on the Qianqiutai back then was ten, then the shock of this final message was ten thousand!

Saying ten thousand might not even be enough; it was just that Tang Zhao's mind was in such a mess that, besides ten thousand, he had almost forgotten what other levels of numbers existed above it.

Over there, Xiangyangzi was also very puzzled, seeing Tang Zhao first change color, then roll that piece of White Neon Cloth into a ball, and suddenly turn around as if he were about to run away, but then abruptly turn back, his eyes staring blankly as he muttered to himself, "Can't, can't leave, this side is also waiting for me..." While speaking, he used his hands to support the wall, appearing to be tottering.

Xiangyangzi felt a bit panicked watching his erratic behavior, especially since Tang Zhao's turn just now seemed to imply he was leaving, which greatly astonished it. If it hadn't known what kind of person Tang Zhao was, that would be one thing, but since it did, it was hard to imagine that someone like Tang Zhao would so rashly want to give up halfway.

Was the news really so big that it made him lose his composure?

Xiangyangzi couldn't help but wave its thick leaves in front of his eyes to draw back his attention and said, "What's wrong with you? You look very... scared?"

Tang Zhao suddenly came to his senses, touched his own face, and said, "Oh, you can see that I look scared? As expected of a senior."

Xiangyangzi said, "As long as I have eyes, I can see it; you are trembling. What kind of terrible news is it?"

Tang Zhao gritted his teeth and said, "This news isn't a question of whether it's terrible or not, it... has huge implications, and, it involves my hometown, Yunzhou. Forgive my rudeness..."

He squatted down, looked Xiangyangzi in the eye, grabbed its leaf, and said earnestly, "Senior, I must finish this battle quickly and rush back to my hometown. Please help me. If you can properly complete the Baiyujing matter in a short time without delaying my return journey, Tang Zhao will be eternally grateful."

Xiangyangzi naturally agreed readily. It had originally wanted Tang Zhao to resolve the Baiyujing matter, and now that Tang Zhao was staying despite facing an emergency, keeping his word and seeing things through to the end, it still admired him greatly, and putting in effort was part of its duty anyway.

Thereupon, Tang Zhao manipulated the Zhugong, opening an exit from the top. Originally there was no exit there, but the Zhugong, like Baiyujing, could be flexibly operated by a Sword Guest.

The difference was that every blade of grass and every tree in Baiyujing could be differentiated into Cloud Silk, while every board and pillar of the Zhugong could be transformed into light. Tang Zhao manipulated his Sword Intent, and the ceiling opened layer by layer, directly seeing the outer ghosts.

The two climbed out of the Zhugong and re-entered the shadows of Baiyujing. The two didn't even light a Lamp; Tang Zhao only held a Pearl, and the Pearl itself shone brightly, causing the ghosts to retreat on their own without the need for Lamp fire.

Tang Zhao even felt that even without a Lamp, he shouldn't be afraid of the ghosts anymore. After his sword inherited Dongjun's Sword Essence, there was still a portion that hadn't been fully absorbed, which had transformed into a kind of warm Sword Essence that enveloped him, warmer than the atmosphere of the Qianqiu Tower burning Palace Lamps; he figured it could repel the ghosts.

However, since there were plenty of Pearls now, he didn't need to test it back and forth.

Just as they came out, they saw that huge shadow giant emerging from a great hall.

Xiangyangzi had never seen such a scene; just as he was about to lament the darkness of the Shadow Realm, he saw the giant, let out an "eh," and said, "What is that? An incarnation of Wangliang Power?"

Immediately after, he shook his head and said, "Doesn't look like it, the Momentum isn't enough. It's just a monster at the Sword Guest level."

Tang Zhao, however, thought of the books he had read and said, "Could it be a Shadow Asura from the Shadow Kingdom? It is said they are the most loyal lackeys of Wangliang Power, wandering back and forth in the Shadow Realm, and whenever they see shadows that have been dragged in acting out of line, they go up and eat them, then pull out a shadow of a shadow that is even thinner."

Xiangyangzi sneered and said, "I thought it was something else; it turns out to be a Wangliang Warrior."

Tang Zhao asked in confusion, "Why is it a 'Warrior' again? Isn't Baiyujing also full of Colored Cloud Warriors?"

Xiangyangzi said, "When a Sword Immortal forms their Momentum, they all create a batch of big-bodied, strong-handed helpers to maintain their Tianwaitian; these existences are all called 'Warriors.' The Warriors of ordinary Sword Immortals are all stupid enough, only slightly better than puppets. Only when one advances further and truly becomes a Sword Saint can the Warriors become like living people."

He pointed at the shadow giant and said, "Just watch, these guys definitely have weaknesses; they are bound to reveal their flaws within a quarter of an hour."

Then, the two of them watched together as the shadow giant split into five giants, summoned other giants, and performed other actions.

Tang Zhao also saw Ling Baoyu and Aqin; they were very conspicuous because only the two of them had lit their Lamps, and the light from the Lamps was so bright that they were not besieged by the giants. Instead, the giants were still mobilizing everything to find them.

Tang Zhao saw that the giant was about to catch up to Aqin and the others, and feeling anxious, he was about to take Xiangyangzi down to rescue them when he heard a scream coming from behind!

This scream was very far from Ling Baoyu and the others, and it was impossible to tell who was screaming, but Tang Zhao was close by, and he heard it.

Not only did he hear it, he also saw it.

Tang Zhao saw a person grabbed by the shadow giant and stuffed into its mouth; in just a moment's time, a thin shadow like a fart was emitted from behind the giant, and this person disappeared from this world.

Even Xiangyangzi felt a bit numb watching it, and said, "Someone was eaten; is it your companion?"

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "No." He thought for a moment and added, "I don't even know his name, only that his compound surname is Shangguan."