Su Xi's eyelids twitched as she heard the sounds reaching her ears. She stopped her forward steps.
Since she had already realized this place was unusual, she naturally wouldn't continue forward.
After all, she didn't know what risks lay ahead. She wasn't foolish enough to seek them out.
What if she accidentally lost her life? She wouldn't even know where to go to cry about it.
With her decision made, Su Xi immediately began to retreat.
It was fine if she had taken a wrong turn, as long as she could still go back. She didn't need to worry about the steps she had taken.
However, just as Su Xi was about to turn back, she suddenly heard a hoarse voice from behind, "Since you have come, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"Hmm?" Hearing the voice behind her, Su Xi stopped in confusion. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, wanting to know what was happening.
Not far behind her, an old man, clad in tattered clothes and bound by chains, quickly appeared before her eyes.
The old man had a pair of white wings on his upper body, while his lower half had vanished, his remaining form floating in mid-air.
Su Xi only glanced once, not even having time to exclaim how strange it was, when she instantly felt a tremor deep within her soul, as if someone were slicing at her soul with a dagger.
Feeling the change in her body, Su Xi hastily averted her gaze, daring not to continue staring at the old man before her.
The old man, seeing Su Xi automatically breaking free from his restraint, showed surprise in his eyes and a hint of interest.
This woman was truly interesting, actually managing to escape his confinement.
"You are not from this world. Who exactly are you?" the old man asked Su Xi, voicing his inner doubts.
Su Xi's eyes flickered upon hearing the strange old man say she wasn't from this world.
She had been in this world for such a long time, yet no one had ever discovered her identity. Now, this person had seen through her at a glance. Clearly, his abilities were considerable.
Su Xi took a few steps back, then cautiously eyed the old man before her, remaining silent.
At this moment, without understanding the old man's true nature, she would not reveal too much. If too many of her trump cards were exposed, it would undoubtedly be extremely disadvantageous for her.
Moreover, she could clearly feel that the old man before her was very powerful. This overwhelming pressure made her unable to muster any resistance.
Gui Lao noticed Su Xi's wariness towards him. He smiled and said to pacify her, "You don't need to be so hostile towards me. I merely have something I wish to ask for your help with. Don't be nervous."
Su Xi heard Gui Lao's words,
"???"
(ÒwÓױ)!
She didn't know Gui Lao at all, yet he was already asking for her help. Didn't he know she wasn't someone who liked to meddle in other people's affairs?
Furthermore, she could feel Gui Lao's immense power. Now that he was asking for her help, she didn't need to think to know how difficult it would be.
She was still young and naturally wanted to live longer.
Knowing the difficulty, Su Xi unhesitatingly refused, "Senior, my abilities are limited, and my mother is already cooking dinner waiting for me to go home. I won't stay out any longer and will be heading home now."
After speaking, Su Xi prepared to turn and leave.
She believed that since Gui Lao was bound by chains, his movements must be affected. If so, she naturally had to leave quickly.
Gui Lao watched Su Xi leave, a smile playing on his lips, and did not stop her.
He had known long ago that Su Xi wouldn't agree so easily and was prepared. Su Xi's desire to escape his control was sheer fantasy.
Although most of his spiritual power was currently suppressed, it didn't mean he could let Su Xi leave his sight.
He hadn't seen a living person before him for thousands of years. Now that he had finally encountered one, he couldn't let Su Xi leave.
Su Xi felt as if she were on the verge of escaping. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly saw the exit before her vanish.
Then, she saw Gui Lao before her once again, smiling at her.
"Hi, little girl, we meet again," Gui Lao waved at Su Xi, his face still wearing a smile.
Su Xi looked at the smiling Gui Lao, a hint of helplessness on her face.
Through this scene, she had already understood that she had no way of escaping from Gui Lao. Any method she tried would be in vain.
"Senior, please let me go," Su Xi looked at Gui Lao, on the verge of tears. She truly didn't want to help.
She just wanted to slack off and didn't want to take risks. Acting against what she knew was futile could cost her life.
Gui Lao looked at the tearful Su Xi before him and smiled, "What do you think?"
Hearing Gui Lao's reply, Su Xi's expression instantly became one of utter misery.
What had she done? She had toiled all the way up the mountain, not only gaining nothing but also attracting a huge problem. With one wrong move, she might even lose her life.
"Senior, what do you want me to do?" Su Xi sighed, looking at Gui Lao helplessly, her expression full of resignation.
Since she couldn't escape, she had to accept. At least she could conserve some strength.
Gui Lao nodded approvingly at Su Xi's response and said to comfort her, "Don't be too sad. I just need you to do a small thing for me. Don't be so tense."
Su Xi remained silent, looking at Gui Lao with an expression that clearly said, "I don't believe a word you're saying."
She was an adult now, how could she be tricked by such tactics?
Gui Lao knew it wouldn't be so easy to fool Su Xi, so he didn't try to deceive her further. He stated his purpose and said, "You just need to help me unlock the chains on my body. You don't need to worry about anything else."
Su Xi's face instantly showed disbelief at Gui Lao's words.
She was just a minor character, why would she be given such a huge task?
This task sounded simple, but it was obviously very difficult to accomplish.
If the chains on Gui Lao were truly that easy to remove, why would he need her? With his power, couldn't he have done it with a mere flick of his finger?
After weighing it in her mind, she still dared to risk offending Gui Lao and said, "Senior, isn't this request making things difficult for me?"
Gui Lao knew what Su Xi was worried about and chuckled, saying, "This request isn't difficult at all. I'm rooting for you."
Su Xi, "..."
She really wanted to say that Gui Lao was crazy for spewing so much nonsense.
But now she couldn't defeat Gui Lao, so she could only look at him with a tearful expression. She certainly didn't have confidence in herself. If he was spouting nonsense, she could only listen.
"Senior, then what should I do?" Su Xi sighed, preparing to assess the situation first.
If the situation wasn't too complicated and only required a simple effort on her part, she would be willing to help.
Although she didn't know what kind of being Gui Lao was, it was clear she couldn't refuse now. Losing her life would definitely be too costly.
Gui Lao was pleased with Su Xi's compliance and said, "The Demon Binding Chains on my body were forged by Xuan Yi, that bald donkey from the Great Xuan Empire. Therefore, to resolve my predicament, you must obtain his Sarira."
Su Xi's expression instantly became one of disbelief. She then handed her Meteor God Sword to Gui Lao and said resolutely, "Senior, if you want to do this, you might as well kill me."
She had never heard of the place names Gui Lao mentioned. But without needing to investigate, she knew with certainty that these places would not be insignificant. Moreover, the person who could trap Gui Lao would not be simple, and she definitely couldn't deal with him.
What's more, obtaining his Sarira would be even more difficult.
After all, a master of this caliber, his Sarira was a treasure. Others would certainly not be willing to hand it over to her.
Gui Lao looked at Su Xi's conflicted expression and suddenly laughed, "You don't have to agree. Anyway, you've already been poisoned by me. If you don't have my antidote, it wouldn't be bad for us to stay together and keep each other company."
What???
Hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi immediately checked her body, wanting to know if something was indeed wrong with her or if Gui Lao was just bluffing.
As expected, after a thorough examination, she quickly discovered a persistent black aura within her body.
Even with the help of her supercomputer for scanning, she couldn't analyze what it was. Naturally, there was no way to get rid of it.
After all, the supercomputer could only analyze things from the mortal realm. These things from the underworld were not in its database.
Sensing the anomaly in her body, Su Xi's expression became even more helpless.
In this situation, it seemed she had no choice but to agree.
Gui Lao had already said so much. If she didn't agree, she would surely be silenced.
Knowing that the situation was irreversible, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao, "Senior, you also know how dangerous it is up ahead. My cultivation might not be enough to complete the task."
Since he wanted her to do something, he couldn't do so without offering some benefit.
Upon hearing Su Xi's words, Gui Lao nodded and said with certainty, "Your cultivation is indeed too weak. Going now would be useless and only seeking death."
Su Xi's eyelids twitched at Gui Lao's candid remark.
Although Gui Lao was speaking the truth, why did it sound so strange?
After criticizing Su Xi's cultivation, Gui Lao plucked three hairs from his head and handed them to Su Xi.
Seeing the hairs Gui Lao placed before her, Su Xi's forehead creased with confusion. She subconsciously asked, "Are these three life-saving hairs?"
Moreover, Gui Lao didn't have much hair to begin with. Wouldn't this make him bald?
This world had no Head & Shoulders, so there was no anti-hair loss treatment.
After a moment of internal grumbling, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao and asked in confusion, "Senior, what do you intend to do?"
"Each of these three hairs can summon my phantom once. As long as you don't provoke someone too powerful, I can help you resist," Gui Lao said proudly.
His cultivation was significantly suppressed now, so this was all he could do. After accumulating for thousands of years, he finally had three opportunities to act, and he was giving them all to Su Xi.
He earnestly hoped Su Xi wouldn't let him down, otherwise, it would truly break his heart.
Upon hearing Gui Lao's words, Su Xi's spirits immediately lifted. She quickly put away the hairs.
Although she didn't know Gui Lao's cultivation level, it was clearly not weak. Now that she had obtained three opportunities for him to act, obtaining the Sarira might not be too difficult.
After securing the hairs, Su Xi looked at Gui Lao again, "Senior, I have one more question."
"Why so many questions?" Gui Lao chided Su Xi, then said, "Go ahead."
"What is on the uppermost level of the Sword Cave?" Su Xi asked the question that was puzzling her.