Chapter 185: The Bootlicking Immortal Lord Who Wants to Live Off a Woman (Part 51)

“Ow—!”

“Ancestral Master, be careful!!!”

Everyone’s attention was locked on the two figures battling overhead. They held their breath, eyes fixed on the lightning-fast blurs, terrified of missing even the slightest move.

As the Ancestral Master once again fell behind Xinluo, tension gripped the crowd below, hearts climbing into their throats.

One after another, people couldn’t help but speak up.

Someone said anxiously, “Is the Ancestral Master… actually losing?”

“I’m starting to think so too.”

“Should we go help the Ancestral Master?”

“Absolutely not! That’ll only distract him!” Sect Master Xia immediately cut in. This was a clash between true masters, their Spiritual Energy fully unleashed. If they jumped in, they’d just be cannon fodder.

But still, the Ancestral Master couldn’t keep getting pushed back like this.

Sect Master Xia was nearly tearing his hair out in frustration.

Someone noticed Sect Master Xia standing there like an immovable mountain, calm as an old dog, and couldn’t help but say, “Sect Master Xia, you’ve got nerves of steel, huh? Can’t you see the Ancestral Master’s almost at his limit? You still won’t let us help. Then what now? Say something already!”

Sect Master Xia: “…”

With such a willful Ancestral Master, what could he even do?

Honestly, he was the one who deserved to be speechless.

You people who don’t know the truth… how lucky you are…

Either way, they were all doomed. As Shen Xiuyan took another hit, Sect Master Xia gritted his teeth and shouted, “Ancestral Master, please stop messing around and withdraw your divine sense already!!!”

“???”

Divine sense? What divine sense?

Everyone present couldn’t believe their ears. The Ancestral Master was already this powerful, and that wasn’t even his full strength???

Given the current situation, why hadn’t he withdrawn his divine sense yet? A quick, decisive victory was the way to go!

Was the Ancestral Master muddle-headed or what?

They couldn’t help but join Sect Master Xia in shouting, “We beg the Ancestral Master to withdraw his divine sense and fight with full strength to protect the peace of the Cultivation World!”

The thunderous chorus reached Shen Xiuyan’s ears. Even if he wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard, there was no way now.

While still engaged in the Combat Trial, Shen Xiuyan managed to shoot a glare down at Sect Master Xia.

He knew it. That guy was definitely out to screw him over.

Seeing that the Ancestral Master remained unmoved, the crowd shouted again, even louder.

But Shen Xiuyan just kept up his act, fully immersed in battle, refusing to withdraw his divine sense. What could they do about it?

He had, however, underestimated Sect Master Xia’s audacity. Realizing the man above wasn’t going to budge, he decided to change tactics and go after the one below.

As for whether revealing the Ancestral Master’s avatar would be awkward or not—well, that wasn’t his problem.

When the fate of the Cultivation World was at stake, who told the Ancestral Master to be so stubborn?

With a flash, he appeared right in front of Shen Xiuyan’s alternate body.

Sect Master Xia cleared his throat and gave a respectful bow. “Ancestral Master, please return.”

Shen Xiuyan: “￥u0026￥%#￥%……”

He hadn’t been prepared at all. Sect Master Xia had just popped up out of nowhere.

The disciples from Biluo Peak turned to look, stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.

If Mingyue weren’t staring at him right now, Shen Xiuyan would’ve let loose a furious tirade.

Are you insane?!

You trying to ruin me or what???

He had imagined many ways this secret might get exposed—but this was definitely not one of them…

Sure enough, fate always finds the most unexpected way to screw you.

Elder Su clutched his chest, nearly fainting. “Sect Leader, you must be mistaken. He’s just an ordinary little disciple…”

Sect Master Xia waved him off. “How could I possibly be mistaken about something like this? I’ve known for a long time that the Ancestral Master left an Incarnation in the sect.”

While the battle raged above, the atmosphere below was deathly still.

Even the gathered cultivators from across the Cultivation World fell into stunned silence.

The look they gave Sect Master Xia could be summed up in four bold words—You’ve got guts!

Even if you knew the Ancestral Master had an alternate body, you can’t just say it out loud like that! What if it messed up some important plan of his? Forget the Demonic Cultivator—you’d be the first to die.

Everyone started looking everywhere but at Elder Su’s group. As long as they didn’t look, they could pretend they didn’t know anything.

Shen Xiuyan was mortified. Now that the secret was out, staying here any longer would only make things worse. Better to leave and give everyone time to recover.

He gave Sect Master Xia a few hard slaps on the back—thwack, thwack, thwack—the sound echoing loud and clear.

“You’re really! Something! Else!”

The way he gritted his teeth, like he was ready to eat Sect Master Xia alive, made the man jump.

Only now did Sect Master Xia feel a chill run down his spine.

But he knew how to cling to powerful thighs. Thinking he’d found the perfect way to curry favor, he flashed a slightly sycophantic smile and said, “Ancestral Master, I had no choice. You go teach that Demonic Cultivator a lesson—leave the explaining to me. When you come back, everything will be just like before. That Mingyue girl won’t ignore you.”

Shen Xiuyan asked softly, “Really?”

Sect Master Xia nodded firmly. “Really.”

As a Sect Leader, smoothing things over was his specialty.

Shen Xiuyan turned and gave Su Mingyue a sheepish smile. “Mingyue, I’ll be right back. I’ll explain everything later.”

Su Mingyue stared blankly at his retreating figure, too shocked to say a word.

This was just too much to take in.

Little Junior Brother = Ancestral Master?

Ancestral Master = Little Junior Brother???

What kind of sick joke is this!!!

Just who exactly had she fallen for…?

But thinking back, she had noticed before that Little Junior Brother bore a certain resemblance to the Ancestral Master. And yet, not once had she connected the dots.

Su Mingyue, you’re such an idiot. The truth was right in front of your eyes, and you still didn’t see it.

Even more shocked than she was, perhaps, was Elder Su. Or maybe not shocked—more like unable to accept it.

And really, who would dare give themselves a name like Shen Xiu? Just one character short of the Ancestral Master’s name. If someone’s real name was actually that, they’d probably be scared enough to change it overnight.

But this Shen Xiu had gone around being called that all this time without a care in the world.

There had to be something special about him.

Just one character apart, and yet worlds away.

Thinking back on how he used to speak to the Ancestral Master, Elder Su stiffly reached up and touched his own neck.

Would he even survive this?

Ugh, becoming the Ancestral Master’s father-in-law should’ve been the greatest blessing of his life, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that people would kill for. But his first reaction upon learning the truth wasn’t joy—it was the urge to cry.

This was just too much.

If he had known earlier, he definitely wouldn’t have spoken so harshly…

Sect Master Xia opened his mouth, wanting to say something to comfort the two of them, but seeing how they were both frozen like statues, he realized that no words would help right now.

So instead, he turned to look at the other two people. Those two seemed to be taking it a bit better.