The appearance of the phantom of the God of War startled Xu Xiao.
"God of War!! You're not dead?"
His whole body tensed up, his mental energy surged forth, and he simultaneously contacted the World-Crossing Gate, ready to immediately cross over and escape if he could not resist the opponent's power.
"Don't be so tense, young man. I'm just a remnant of my consciousness from the past; I pose no threat to you."
The phantom of the God of War made no attacking move, and even ignored the swarming spiritual power from Xu Xiao.
He stood facing Xu Xiao through the mask, his words filled with peace.
"No threat? Heh, if I hadn't come to my senses, I probably would have unwittingly accepted your inheritance long ago, and then accidentally become the vessel for your resurrection one day!"
Xu Xiao's expression was grim. If it weren't for the reminder from the Heavens World-Crossing Gate, he wouldn't have known that he had almost fallen into a trap.
They didn't make a direct move because they wanted to see what this war god was up to.
The phantom of the God of War smiled calmly and explained to Xu Xiao:
"You're a very good young man. Even in my time, your mental strength is quite strong. However, you haven't clearly discerned your own path and have become obsessed with pursuing desires, which is why you have the illusion that you've been influenced by me."
"Actually, I didn't influence your behavior in any way; I was just letting you experience my life."
"You experienced my life, and unconsciously became attached to my power, which is why you feel that I have influenced you."
"Ha! So, I'm the one in the wrong?" Xu Xiao's face turned cold, and he immediately prepared to make a move.
Although it was true that he himself had entered the illusion of the God of War, and he had indeed envied that kind of powerful strength, Xu Xiao would not allow the other party to shift the blame.
Whether the other party has truly influenced me is not important. What is important is that the other party's consciousness truly exists within this War God's inheritance, which is a loophole with uncontrollable risks.
Even if a tiger has no intention of harming people, should people be completely without any sense of caution?
Impossible, Xu Xiao certainly couldn't do it.
If the God of War really does possess my body and bring me back to life, then I'll have nowhere to cry.
If it weren't for the cheat code's reminder, no one would know what kind of power and methods these beings possessed as backup plans.
"Whether you're a war god or a phantom of consciousness, your mistake was staying in this world!"
Xu Xiao's spiritual power surged forth, instantly enveloping the illusory figure of the God of War, determined to annihilate it.
The phantom of the God of War also did not expect Xu Xiao to be so ruthless. The forty-nine War God Atlas, representing the inheritance, all shone brightly, completely blocking Xu Xiao's spiritual power.
"Boy! Why must you annihilate even a wisp of consciousness?"
The phantom of the God of War sighed. He was just looking for a successor, how did things suddenly turn into a fight?
If Xu Xiao hadn't been the only person in thousands of years to comprehend his inheritance, and hadn't possessed extremely strong spiritual power, he wouldn't have shown up to talk to Xu Xiao.
The other party has a preconceived notion that he has ill intentions, making it difficult to continue the conversation, but he also can't retaliate.
A wisp of remnant soul could only manipulate the power of this small grotto-heaven to the limit for defense; offense was out of the question.
The forty-nine War God Atlas emitted light, firmly blocking Xu Xiao's mental attack. Unable to attack, the God of War could only try to persuade him with words to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Boy, your mental attacks are powerful, but you can't hurt me unless you can break this small cave."
The God of War offered his earnest and heartfelt advice.
"God of War, you have some tricks up your sleeve, but I don't believe you can hold out forever!"
Xu Xiao disregarded everything else, unleashing his full mental power and exerting maximum Telekinesis, but none of it could effectively affect the layer of light outside the War God's phantom.
As for personally stepping forward to use other methods, he was even more afraid that the illusory god of war was pretending to be weak while actually being strong, so he could only suppress it with his mental power.
"Don't waste your mental energy. You haven't even grasped the meaning yet, so you can't unleash even a tenth of its power."
"As for your cultivation method of achieving enlightenment through martial arts, you haven't even reached the crucial stage yet. You haven't even formed Golden Core, so it's impossible for you to shake this world."
The phantom of the God of War looked at Xu Xiao, who was giving it his all, and couldn't help but offer his comments.
Seeing that Xu Xiao remained silent, He could only watch silently.
Thus, Xu Xiao unleashed all his mental power to fight back, determined to kill this hidden danger—the War God's phantom—he didn't want to miss out on the War God True Formula.
This fight lasted for more than an hour.
During this time, Xu Xiao also considered attacking the reliefs and even other things inside the hall to cause damage, but none of it worked.
Whether he used Telekinesis, manipulated matter, or even risked his life to take action himself, it was all in vain.
He couldn't even turn around and leave the War God Temple.
The phantom of the God of War manipulated the layer of light, constantly blocking Xu Xiao's attacks and even hindering his escape.
After such a long period of confrontation, Xu Xiao was also starting to feel the strain.
'Damn it! This guy isn't fighting back, but he won't let me leave either. Is he plotting something else?'
'If I continue acting recklessly like this, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to escape this place through World-Crossing Gate!'
The vast Sea of Consciousness of consciousness within Xu Xiao's mind was about to dry up again, and he felt a buzzing pain in his head.
This was a side effect of the rapid depletion of his mental energy in a short period of time, and he couldn't avoid it.
"What? Your mental energy is almost depleted? Do you want to stop and have a proper talk with me?"
The phantom of the God of War also noticed Xu Xiao's dejected state and once again proposed to discuss the matter.
Xu Xiao hesitated for a moment with a serious expression, but ultimately stopped his attack.
'Let's see what he's up to! If all else fails, we'll have to leave this world through the World-Crossing Gate and then re-enter the Great Tang Twin Dragons World.'
With a way out in hand, Xu Xiao remained calm. The phantom of the God of War hadn't made a move yet, and Xu Xiao wanted to know why.
As a human who had personally experienced the life of a war god, Xu Xiao knew that the war god was a warrior who fought against heaven and earth, and such peace must have a purpose.
"Tell me, God of War, what exactly do you want to talk about?"
"A path!" The phantom of the God of War held up one finger, "A path to the Great Dao that can belong to you!"
"So? Interested?"
"Stop with the nonsense, do you think I'm stupid?"
"Someone like you could easily scheme against me, and I wouldn't even have a place to cry."
Xu Xiao's face was full of disdain and contempt.
"Rest assured, I can swear Great Dao Oath. As long as you agree to my conditions, I can directly disperse this wisp of my consciousness and truly disappear from the world. How about it?"
The phantom of the God of War spoke solemnly, without a hint of joking.
"Oh? Interesting. What kind of conditions would make you do this?"
Xu Xiao remained calm on the surface, but he was pondering in his heart.
'He's even using the Great Dao Oath; could this guy really be trying to discuss something important with me?'
Something unusual must be going on, Xu Xiao couldn't help but think it through.
For a war god to offer such a generous reward, the matter entrusted to him must be anything but simple.
However, it wouldn't hurt to listen first before making a decision!