Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

boom!

A violent tremor came, but the ground remained completely still.

"Huh?" The bucket, which was waiting for the ground to collapse, got stuck.

That shouldn't be the case. He used so much force, even elemental power. If it were hollow, it should have collapsed long ago.

"We probably don't have enough manpower yet. Let's all work together."

Hu Tao looked at Ye Lan, who nodded, tacitly approving of their actions.

boom!

Several attacks of different colors struck the ground, causing it to collapse. Everyone lost their footing and fell into the unfathomable abyss below.

The group, who were prepared, were not too flustered and used their wind wings to descend slowly.

Upon landing, the first thing you see is a cave, and there is even vegetation growing inside.

"Phew, finally at the bottom, it's so deep here."

"Could we be in another sealed place where there are no records?" Ye Lan pondered, looking at the surrounding scenery.

The General Affairs Department has records of all the dangerous places in Juyuan, including all the battles that have taken place there over the years.

However, this space does not exist in any of the files.

"Have we already entered the space?" Hu Tao asked Zhong Li.

“Hmm.” Zhongli nodded. “This space is extraordinary; we’d better not stay too long.”

"Does that mean we're already in the same space as Xiao?" Paimon stomped his foot impatiently. "Kong, let's call out to Xiao together and see if he can hear us."

Since Xiao can't hear me when I shout outside, he should be able to hear me when we're in the same space, right?

The two nodded and began shouting, "Xiao! Xiao! Can you hear me?"

Zhongli looked in one direction and heard rapid breathing coming from that direction.

"It's Xiao! It's Xiao's voice!" Paimon shouted excitedly.

"He seems to be injured!" Kong noticed the unusual sound in his voice.

Hu Taoxin jumped up, "Xiao, how are you? Where's Jiang Bai?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Xiao on the other end was clearly surprised.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

"We have come here to find you."

Zhongli spoke softly, and an invisible light surged forth from beneath his feet.

Upon hearing this voice, Xiao's eyes snapped open, and a phantom figure appeared.

To the others, it was as if they were looking through a layer of flowing water, unable to see him clearly.

But the blood on his body was so clear, and his violently trembling chest heaved, clearly indicating that he had been through a fierce battle.

Xiao glanced at Zhongli, but didn't dare to look up.

"How did you get so badly injured!" Hu Tao tried to check on him, but couldn't touch anything when she reached out.

"Who hurt you? Is there some kind of monster in here?" Paimon couldn't understand what could have injured Xiao like this.

"It's not a monster, it's..."

Xiao remained silent, unsure of how to begin.

"What is it?"

"...It's...Jiang Bai..."

The sound of the demon was intermittent and difficult to hear clearly.

Upon recognizing the name from his words, the pupils of all of them suddenly contracted.

"Jiang Bai? How could that be!" Hu Tao was the first to disbelieve such a thing.

She frantically tried to grab Xiao, wanting to ask him clearly, "Xiao, where are you! Can you come over here?"

"...Not for now...I've exhausted too much of my power..."

Xiao's voice was intermittent, like an old-fashioned television set that had lost signal, until finally even its shadow disappeared completely.

Hu Tao panicked and grabbed Zhong Li's arm tightly, crying out, "Grandpa, what should we do? Jiang Bai is in trouble!"

She couldn't believe that Jiang Bai had actually injured Xiao, and injured Xiao so badly.

What exactly happened to Jiang Bai? Was he being controlled? But what could possibly control Jiang Bai?

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became, and the more panicked she became, the less she could calm down.

Zhongli gently stroked the top of her head, "Master, calm down. Xiao may not have encountered a real novice."

His gaze was somewhat complicated.

He had watched Hu Tao grow up, but even when the old master passed away, she had never been so flustered.

He sighed almost imperceptibly.

People always grow up, start families, and grow old without even realizing it.

Chapter 622 Was that Jiang Bai from the past?

“Yes, yes, Jiang Bai would never do such a thing!” Paimon tried to reassure her.

Hu Tao took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "The most important thing right now is to find Xiao. Once we find him, we'll know what happened."

"Zhongli, did you sense Xiao's location just now?" Paimon asked Zhongli.

Zhongli raised his hand, and a talisman lit up and flew into the depths of the cave.

"Follow it."

The group followed the talisman deeper into the maze. Under the guidance of the talisman, the original maze seemed to disappear. Finally, the talisman stopped in front of a stone wall.

“There’s no way out,” Paimon said, shrugging.

Ye Lan examined it carefully. "There is a hidden seal here. Please wait a moment."

Breaking through the formation, a brand new path appeared.

As soon as you step inside, the path you came from behind disappears instantly, and the passage returns to the appearance of a stone wall.

"Hmm? How did we get here?"

Yi Dou, refusing to believe in superstition, prepared to go back and check, only to bump his head against the stone wall.

"Hiss~" He covered his forehead and kicked the stone wall hard, but the stone wall did not move at all.

Zhongli shook his head gently, "It's no use, we've already arrived in a new space."

"A new space?" Hisaki Shinobu looked at the learned guest master, waiting for his answer.

"Hmm, this underground space must be a special space formed by the overlapping of multiple spaces. Let's try calling out 'Xiao' here again."

Paimon did as he was told, and soon after, Xiao's illusory voice reappeared, and the figure was much clearer than before.

His condition was clearly very poor.

"Xiao, you should be able to come over now," Zhongli said softly.

Xiao nodded, and soon, leaning on his spear, he appeared before the crowd in a rather disheveled state.

Kong quickly helped him up, looking at the bloodstains on his body with some heartache.

"How did you get so badly injured?"

Xiao ignored his injuries and looked at Zhongli, not daring to raise his head.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault for not protecting Jiang Bai."

Zhongli said helplessly, "You have done nothing wrong and do not need to apologize to me."

Xiao remained silent.

Jiang Bai had come down with him, yet he had lost her; he couldn't get over it himself.

Yi Dou Dui Xiao's appearance was really unbearable to look at. "Brother, you are so badly injured. You should apply some medicine first. Don't faint in a little while. Even if you do faint, you have to tell us what happened before you faint."

"Boss!" Hisaki warned with a glare.

Yi Dou pouted, found a corner, squatted down, and went to play by himself.

"Take care of the wound first, there's no rush." ​​Hu Tao helped Xiao sit down, surprisingly calm.

If Jiang Bai really attacked Xiao and injured it like this, then it means that Jiang Bai's condition is much better than Xiao's.

"Let me bandage you up. I have a medical certificate. I also brought food and water. Everyone should take a rest."

Hisagi Shinobu took out bandages, food, and water.

Even though I didn't feel like I'd been in this space for very long, I felt extremely tired, and a proper rest was definitely necessary.

Upon hearing about food, Paimon, who had been feeling exhausted, suddenly became energetic.

"What's good to eat?"

"There are sunset fruits."

The group sat on the ground to rest and replenish their energy.

Hu Tao and Jiu Qi Shinobu bandaged Xiao's wounds.

After removing his outer clothing and wiping away the blood that stained his entire body, Xiao's wounds were fully exposed.

Those were sharp knife wounds, some even reaching the heart, showing no mercy.

Hu Tao stared at the wounds, her expression darkening.

"What exactly happened?"

She simply couldn't understand what had happened to make Jiang Bai treat Xiao so cruelly.

"Jiang Bai and I got separated when we entered this space. Later, I came to the space where he was, but I couldn't find him. I continued to go deeper, but he suddenly appeared in front of me..."

"And then?" Hu Tao asked anxiously.

“He was very different from usual. I couldn’t get any response when I spoke to him. He looked at me as if I were an enemy…”

Xiao recalls what Jiang Bai looked like.

Jiang Bai was disheveled and exuded a decadent and crazy aura. His eyes were devoid of any light. If it weren't for the fact that they looked exactly alike, he would have thought they were two different people.

"I didn't know what was happening, and could only passively dodge, but he showed no sign of holding back..."

With one side having many concerns and the other resorting to deadly attacks, Xiao could only passively accept their assault.

Jiang Bai, however, fought like he was courting death, completely disregarding his injuries.

"How could this be?" Hu Tao was completely baffled.

Zhongli thought for a moment and offered a conjecture.

"I think it's because of this space; the one you encountered wasn't the real Jiang Bai."

As for what it actually is, there are many explanations.

Perhaps it is the intense desire captured in this space that projects the thoughts in one's heart, perhaps it is a silhouette of the past captured from the long river of time, or perhaps it is the filth formed by the accumulation of earth veins...

Perhaps all three of them are combined together.

Xiao nodded slightly. "This space is very strange. As the wounds increase, I feel my soul becoming weaker."

This space seemed to be using "Jiang Bai" to devour his power.

"Where exactly is Jiang Bai?" Hu Tao asked, somewhat uneasy.

Xiao encountered Jiang Bai, so did Jiang Bai also encounter a similar Xiao?

Xiao shook his head. "When my desire to find Jiang Bai grows stronger, that [Jiang Bai] will appear before my eyes."

"Doesn't that mean that as long as I really, really, really want to find him, I can see the Jiang Bai you're talking about?"

Hu Tao no longer suppressed the overwhelming desire in her heart to find Jiang Bai.