I Am Loaded with Passive Skills

Chapter 3339: Chapter 1672: Grey Shadow Now Invites the Daughter to the Mountain, As You Wish Please Invite the God of Death_3

What mattered was that Xu Xiaoshou remembered the ghostly aura clinging to the young Red Coat.

A Red Coat, yet a ghost beast host body—truly bizarre.

This was also the reason he and Yu Zhiwen had parted ways back then.

She clearly knew something. He had asked her about it, but she pursed her lips and said nothing…

Though Xu Xiaoshou could now somewhat understand her difficulty.

At the time, however, he had only felt betrayed—Yu Zhiwen wasn’t the Holy Maiden after all. Beneath her beautiful face was a twisted, ugly heart filled with horrifying secrets. No wonder she always hid behind a veil!

For Lu Ke and Green Scale Ridge to appear on the sacred mountain didn’t surprise Xu Xiaoshou at all.

These people belonged to the Red Coat faction, a circle with backgrounds and secrets. Returning to the sacred mountain was just going home—it couldn’t be more normal.

The thing that puzzled him was this: since that “guy” had shown up, how had a weakling like Lu Ke still managed to survive? Were they acquainted?

“The Five Decays of Heaven and Man…”

Initially, when Qin Duan had dared to insult him publicly, Xu Xiaoshou had thought about transporting himself there directly or using Spatial Upanishad to drag Qin Duan over.

He just wanted to see whether that old man had the nerve to utter even half a cruel sentence in front of him.

But unexpectedly, the orange figure climbing the mountain disrupted all his plans!

Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t wrap his head around why the Five Decays of Heaven and Man would choose this exact moment to ascend the sacred mountain and steal his spotlight.

Could it be possible that this lone star of calamity remembered their vague alliance and thought of him as a good friend? Seeing him ascending the sacred mountain alone, would he really be considerate enough to come and help?

Laughable!

Even Yu Zhiwen, who had walked alongside him through thick and thin, would ultimately choose to hide secrets at crucial moments.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t believe that a member of Yama randomly encountered on Abyss Island would faithfully uphold a casual joke of an alliance, risking himself without hesitation for friendship’s sake.

“Has he gone mad?”

“The mountain belongs to Ai Cangsheng. I can come and go freely, but does he think he has the same privilege?”

“The Five Decays of Heaven and Man—when did he become this audacious?”

Xu Xiaoshou started to worry.

Oddly enough, upon closer reflection, he realized that the Five Decays of Heaven and Man were horrifyingly brutal in their methods toward others.

But to him—they had been rather kind!

At least, Xu Xiaoshou hadn’t sensed even a trace of betrayal from a figure that inherently represented “treachery.”

He didn’t deliberate for long before making a swift decision:

“Stop him!”

…

Through the Dao Imparting Mirror, more survivors were gradually located.

But without exception, none were like the young Red Coat—completely unscathed from head to toe.

Most survivors were either gray-haired and hollow-eyed as if their souls had been drained, or shriveled and decaying, their flesh rotting away.

“Tap, thunk…”

“Tap, thunk…”

In the distance, the fading sound of footsteps echoed softly.

Feng Zhongzui shuddered in terror. He dared not search for more survivors because he realized that he himself might be one of them!

He wanted to descend the mountain.

But the “gray” blanketing the path down merged with the retreating orange-robed figure and started chasing after him.

Ten miles…

One mile…

Ten feet…

Those ascending the mountain sought renewal, while his own path lay in ruin and decay.

This boundary between life and death finally caught up to him, reaching his very feet!

Terrified, Feng Zhongzui staggered back wildly, scrambling up the mountain but still noticing the “gray” creeping after his boots, seemingly trying to climb onto him.

“Damn it!”

Feng Zhongzui let out his first scream.

On the heavens, there was Qin Duan; on the earth, there was Grey Shadow. Could it be that, as a dignified ancient swordsman, he would have to resort to earth escape techniques and burrow underground to flee?

The problem was—he didn’t know how!

All around, the world was a canvas of gray. Feng Zhongzui could only race toward the orange figure.

He realized that the most dangerous place was actually the safest—for now, the danger hadn’t converged there yet.

Just as he reached the point of desperation, catching up to the orange-robed man’s back, a random thought flashed in Feng Zhongzui’s mind:

“Even I’m this curious about the orange senior…”

“Across all five regions, surely everyone must be urging me to call out to him. Should I do it?”

The man had spared his life.

To stop him now might seem too excessive. After all, it was just part of the Dao Imparting process—there was no reason to gamble his life…

Thinking this, Feng Zhongzui felt an involuntary urge rising within him and called out:

“Senior, hold on!”

…

Thud.

The orange senior stopped.

Yet before he could turn, something terrifying occurred.

Previously heading south with an aura bent on slaughtering Xu Xiaoshou in the Southern Region, Qin Duan suddenly paused overhead and gazed down.

He froze for a moment.

It seemed he couldn’t comprehend how someone he believed to be dead had appeared in his field of view.

In an instant, his murderous rage surged like a vulture swooping to seize its prey, his claws outstretched, descending with a vicious roar:

“Feng family brat, you dare mock this Saint?!”

Did I shout too loudly…? Feng Zhongzui never thought he’d die such a ridiculous death—it was absurd!

He wanted to retaliate.

But maybe the pressure was too overwhelming.

After approaching the orange senior, he found himself dazed, and by the time he snapped out of it, there was no time to counterattack.

Dodging the first threat didn’t mean he could escape the second…

Feng Zhongzui felt helpless, unsure what possessed him to grab the Dao Imparting Mirror and hide behind the orange figure, absurdly crying out:

“Xu Xiaoshou! Save me!”

What did I just say?

Have I gone mad, recklessly calling a big name after repeatedly hitting dead ends?

What’s my relationship with Lord Shou anyway? He’s not the savior of my world. Why would he come all the way to Sacred Mountain just to save me at a time like this… So, was Qin Duan acting as bait for Cang Sheng the Emperor?

Indeed, Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t Feng Zhongzui’s savior.

But in the moment when he crouched, clutching the mirror and shouted “Xu Xiaoshou,” Feng Zhongzui distinctly felt the orange figure ahead stiffen.

The next instant, the puppet-like figure shifted, as if a soul suddenly reawakened within.

He moved.

No longer mechanically climbing the mountain, his head tilted upward, gaze focused on the swooping vulture-like Qin Duan, while his right hand extended forward.

…

“Boom!”

A thunderous quake erupted from the mountainside.

Rocks exploded and cascaded down like rain.

Feng Zhongzui stood in shock, clutching the Dao Imparting Mirror, feeling as if he were in the safest cradle—not only warm and cozy but shielded from any trace of battle’s aftershocks.

The orange senior—had protected him?

Wait, one person creates thousands of children… You’re not the orange senior; you’re Lord Shou?

“That old Qin Duan fellow still wants to kill me, but I’m no longer scared!”

“From now on, the orange senior is my guardian angel, at least that’s what I feel!”

Feng Zhongzui dusted himself off, hastily rising to his feet, trying to distance himself from the battleground. Meanwhile, he directed the Dao Imparting Mirror at the two combatants.

At such a moment, with imminent death upon him, Feng Zhongzui wasn’t about to extend any respect.

He touched his head, his ribs, seeming confused about what he was searching for, then loudly declared into the mirror:

“Brothers, I’m alive!”

“The aura—you remember the ‘aura,’ right? Earlier, it was cold and murky…”

“Now, it feels so warm!”

“Orange—truly warm!”

Feng Zhongzui dashed backward with jittery energy, pointing fiercely forward while analyzing the battle:

“The orange senior is a demi-saint too!”

“Sacred Mountain really is crawling with demi-saints. Anyone who ascends has terrifying strength!”

“Orange senior, since you’re so strong, help me kill this mad dog… Lord Shou shouldn’t have spared him. He should’ve obliterated his demi-saint avatar completely—pull him out root and branch! Consider this a plea from me!”

Everyone knows that in Dao Imparting, exaggeration is a necessary technique.

Sometimes, to heighten tension in the narrative and excite the audience, Feng Zhongzui would amplify his emotions, speaking with wild abandon.

He disliked neutrality. He chose sides outright.

He decisively opposed Qin Duan, trying to invoke shared outrage among the Five Domains spectators and rally them to his cause.

Unexpectedly, after voicing such words…

As the dust settled ahead, it revealed Qin Duan’s astonished expression—his vulture-like claw was firmly seized by the orange senior, paralyzed like the feeble punch of a newborn!

Strangely, the orange senior, upon hearing Feng Zhongzui’s cry, ignored the formidable demi-saint opponent before him entirely. His head abruptly “dropped.”

Not tilted, not turned—it simply hung backward, chin raised and the back of his skull plastered against his shoulders—all to glance at Feng Zhongzui.

From the folds of his oversized hood emerged an orange Yama mask, venomous serpent-like eyes locked onto Feng Zhongzui, the Dao Imparting Mirror, and all Five Domains spectators.

Feng Zhongzui broke out in goosebumps.

But as if responding to death’s beckoning plea, the voice beneath the Yama mask was low, raspy, calm, and steady:

“As you wish.”