Without the antidote or until the effect wore off, even Mahayana stage cultivator would not be able to see through his true appearance.

At least his identity would not be exposed.

Given the unclear situation, the male and female leads would not casually kill a few children.

If things turned bad, he would have to escape immediately.

Just as Xiao Shou felt like he was about to collapse under the pressure, a soft chuckle rang out.

Zhong Kui’s laughter swept away the oppressive force in an instant.

Looking at Jian Li with a provocative smile, he transmitted his voice to everyone present.

"Tsk tsk... can any of you explain to me what exactly is going on here?"

"Reporting to the Venerables, we truly do not know," one of the cultivators replied respectfully. "We were merely passing by Endless Grief Mountain when we were suddenly attacked by a late-stage Golden Core cultivator dressed in white clothes. Later, we were captured and imprisoned here."

After the restrictions on the stone chambers were broken, the cultivators who still had the ability to move stepped out one after another once the pressure from Jian Li faded under Zhong Kui’s laughter.

As soon as they exited, they saw the two Venerables standing in midair.

Among them, a disciple wearing the same sect attire, clearly from the same group, and the one with the highest cultivation level, immediately stepped forward and spoke respectfully.

After answering, he added with gratitude, "We, disciples of Grand Blue Peak of the Azure Frost Sect, thank the two seniors for saving our lives."

This leader was quite clever.

His tone was respectful, he answered the question first, then expressed gratitude, and finally revealed his sect background.

Anyone with ties or unwilling to offend the Azure Frost Sect would usually give them some face.

Xiao Shou took a careful breath.

He was different from those imprisoned cultivators.

They had been locked inside stone chambers as prisoners.

But he had been freely moving in the medicinal garden.

No matter how one looked at it, he was the most suspicious one here.

Right now, the two Venerables had not yet reacted to this point.

Once they realized it, things would become troublesome.

He had too many secrets that could not be revealed.

If questioned, he would inevitably expose flaws.

Even worse was soul searching.

Zhong Kui who is one of the male leads was particularly fond of using that method.

Xiao Shou cautiously observed the exchange between the Kunlun disciples and Zhong Kui.

Sensing that the oppressive divine sense of the Deity Transformation experts had truly receded, he did not dare delay for even a moment.

He no longer cared about rescuing anyone or the bold ambitions he had before coming.

A Tier 4 teleportation talisman activated instantly on his body, initiating a random teleport.

At the same time, he quickly tossed a pill into his mouth.

Both actions occurred almost simultaneously. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

At that very moment, as the light of the teleportation talisman flashed within the medicinal garden a streak of crimson sword energy slashed down, sealing off the space around the medicinal garden.

The sword energy crisscrossed the area, yet was controlled with exquisite precision, avoiding harm to the ten thousand year spiritual herbs.

It only struck a human-sized space enveloped in the light of the teleportation talisman.

With nothing but sword energy, the space was sealed and the teleportation was forcibly interrupted, clearly demonstrating the terrifying power of a Deity Transformation expert.

However...

When the severed teleportation light dispersed, there was no figure inside.

Only a palm-sized wooden puppet that has been split into two halves fell to the ground.

This scene was seen clearly by both Zhong Kui and Jian Li.

Jian Li’s expression remained calm, though his brows furrowed slightly before smoothing out again.

Zhong Kui on the other hand showed great interest.

With a casual motion, he drew the broken puppet into his hand and examined it carefully.

"How interesting," he said. "A substitute puppet that should only exist in the Spirit Realm. No wonder even the famed Venerable Jian Li was deceived and let someone escape. I wonder who that little boy is. I am quite interested in the method he used to slip away from you... tsk tsk."

Escape?

Not at all.

Xiao Shou knew from the book that cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage and above could seal space and interrupt teleportation.

So from the very beginning, he had never intended to rely on the teleportation talisman to escape.

Instead, he used it to distract this two people while secretly swallowing a Ripple Transformation Pill to turn himself into an air-like state.

To others, it appeared as if he had escaped from the medicinal garden.

In reality, he was still there.

The effect of transforming into air made him completely undetectable.

As expected, he had successfully deceived both powerful experts.

Seeing his plan succeed, Xiao Shou silently gave thanks for the nine hundred and ninety ninth time for his habit of randomly experimenting and fusing strange items.

If not for that, how could he have created such peculiar but useful things like substitute puppets and Ripple Transformation Pills?

...

[ Substitute Puppet ]

Description: By infusing it with one’s spiritual energy, the puppet can instantly transform into the user. Its appearance, aura, spiritual energy, and cultivation level all seem identical.

However, it has no attack or defense capability and breaks with a single hit. Even being struck by something as trivial as an egg would reveal its true form.

...

[ Ripple Transformation Pill ]

Description: Upon consumption, the user and everything within a one-meter radius instantly turn into an air-like state. Light and intangible, they drift with the wind. The effect is dispelled upon contact with water.

...

He had created many strange little items like these before, thinking they were mostly useless.

He had never expected that at this moment, they would prove so valuable and save his life.

Once again, Xiao Shou realized just how powerful his Absolute Fusion ability truly was.

It was practically a heaven defying advantage.

"Hmph!" Upon hearing this, Jian Li released an even stronger divine sense pressure than before, sweeping across the entire range of the Fate Turning Pagoda.

Yet he could not detect even the slightest trace of the person from earlier.