Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Lord Xiao, why did you kill her..."

Yue Lingxi was surprised.

She had been thinking along the same lines as Ye Hongmei; even though she found the woman overly calculating, the fact remained that they would need her help for what came next, be it leaving this place or going to the Profound Sun Secret Realm.

So she felt that no matter how outrageous the woman was, or how many times she had lied and schemed, they shouldn't have killed her.

But now, Yang Xiao had killed her.

'So what do we do now?'

"Relax. Isn't there still this one?"

Yang Xiao, however, looked completely unfazed. He pointed at Ye Qinghan on the ground, who was impaled with countless willow branches.

'This woman might not seem as agreeable as Ye Hongmei, but her disposition and mental fortitude are far weaker. Controlling her will clearly be much easier than controlling Ye Hongmei.'

As for why he killed Ye Hongmei?

The reason was simple.

She was an Immortal Daoist.

If the woman had been obedient enough to sincerely submit and help him after witnessing his methods, Yang Xiao would never have killed her.

But after their several encounters, it was clear the woman would never change.

She was deferential on the surface, but her mind was always scheming.

'If I ever actually trusted a woman like that, she would have played me and Yue Lingxi for fools and gotten us killed sooner or later.'

That being the case...

...it was better to just kill her.

"Isn't this Ye Qinghan supposed to be dead?"

Before Yue Lingxi's confused words had even faded, Yang Xiao issued a command to the Original Poison Gas within Ye Qinghan's body.

The terrifying willow branches—which had paradoxically looked full of Spiritual Qi, as green as jade—began to wither one by one. They transformed into wisps of black gas that flowed back into Ye Qinghan's body.

Moreover, a portion of the black gas actually transformed into a white Spiritual Liquid, which began to repair her previously ravaged body.

Soon, Ye Qinghan's body was restored to its original state.

"Since you're awake, get up. I imagine you heard what Ye Hongmei said earlier, and you sensed her fate, didn't you?"

Yang Xiao said coolly.

Ye Qinghan, who had been lying on the ground, trembled from head to toe.

She opened her eyes.

'It was true.'

'Although she hadn't been able to move a muscle, her awareness of her surroundings had never faded.'

'She had witnessed every detail of Ye Hongmei's suicidal defiance.'

This only made her fear Yang Xiao even more.

It was as if she were facing a terrifying Demon.

"Wh-what do you want me to do?"

Ye Qinghan asked, terrified.

"It's simple. You heard what Ye Hongmei said earlier. I assume you have a way to get in touch with the people conducting the Blood Sacrifice?"

"I can. One of my senior brothers will be there acting as a guard."

"That's perfect. Find an opportunity to bring him here. You won't have to worry about anything after that."

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up as he spoke coolly.

"Really?"

Ye Qinghan found it hard to believe.

"Of course, it's true. But you'd best not try any tricks. You may not realize it, but with a single thought, I can activate the poison in your body. If that happens, I can guarantee your fate will be a hundred times more wretched than Ye Hongmei's. Because I won't let you die so easily. Understand?"

At his words, Ye Qinghan shuddered and nodded frantically.

"Get going."

"You... you're really letting me go?"

Ye Qinghan was still incredulous.

"Of course. What's more, I'm about to kill everyone else here. Afterwards, you can just say you ran into an unknown enemy and that you were the sole survivor. Everyone else is dead. I imagine that way, no one will suspect you."

"Yes, I understand."

The cold and proud Ye Qinghan trembled once more.

Then she fled as if on wings.

Watching her depart, Yue Lingxi frowned slightly. "Lord Xiao, is it really all right to just let her go like that?"

"Relax. If it were Ye Hongmei, I certainly wouldn't have let her go so easily. But as for Ye Qinghan... don't be fooled by her cold, proud, and seemingly unyielding demeanor. In reality, she's terrified of dying. She'd do anything to avoid it."

Yang Xiao smiled, the picture of confidence.

Yue Lingxi felt reassured.

"You're right. She certainly didn't handle herself as well as Ye Hongmei did."

"Mhm. Next, we need to infiltrate the Ye Family. As long as we can get close to the Profound Sun Secret Realm and activate the Profound Sun Order, the Ye Family won't be able to stop us, no matter how powerful they are. By the way, do you have any items that can hold living people?"

Yang Xiao suddenly asked.

"Living people? Yes, I do. I have a Flying Palace that can house living people."

Yue Lingxi said.

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up.

'A Flying Palace... that must be at least a Daoist Weapon-class item. Though, for non-weapon items, they're generally called Dao Artifacts.'

'The hierarchy of Martial Dao Magical Artifacts goes from Mortal Artifacts to Magical Artifacts, then Spirit Weapons, Treasure Weapons, and finally Daoist Weapons and Divine Soldiers.'

'In other words, an item that has reached the level of a Daoist Weapon is already exceptionally precious.'

'It's not something an ordinary person could ever possess.'

"Then that's settled. When the time comes, I'll take control of the person Ye Qinghan mentioned, and we'll use them to get into the Profound Sun Secret Realm."

Yang Xiao said.

This was his complete plan.

'Compared to this, Ye Hongmei's plan to have them disguise themselves as Ye Family disciples was riddled with holes.'

'It sounded good on paper, but it would have been incredibly difficult to execute.'

'Besides, even if they had succeeded, it would have been all too easy for Ye Hongmei to betray them. If, for the sake of her younger brother, she decided to disregard whether they lived or died...'

'...and just sold them out...'

'...they would have been finished.'

Yang Xiao knew he didn't currently possess the strength to fight the entire Ye Family.

"I understand. So what's our next move?"

Yue Lingxi asked.

Yang Xiao just chuckled and gestured into the distance.

"Next, of course, is killing people! And look, they've already arrived."

Sure enough, his voice had barely faded when...

...over a dozen auras belonging to Immortal Dao Powerhouses surged in from all directions. Each one was at least as strong as a Martial Artist in the Small Divine Ability Realm.

Among their ranks was even a Daoist Immortal Cultivator whose power was equivalent to an expert of the Great Divine Power Realm.

This caused Yue Lingxi's expression to shift slightly.

But her concern vanished as soon as she saw Yang Xiao standing there, completely unperturbed.

'With my current strength, I might not be a match for a Great Divine Power Realm expert, but I am fully confident I could escape if I needed to.'

At the same time, Yue Lingxi was also incredibly curious. 'Just how powerful is my Lord Xiao, who appears to have a cultivation of only the Heavenly Gang Stage Seventh Layer (equivalent to the Martial Grandmaster Seventh Layer)?'

After all, the power he had just displayed had far surpassed the Seventh Level of the Small Divine Power Realm.

With a mere wave of his hand, he had destroyed Ye Qinghan's Upper-Grade Spirit Weapon.

That level of strength was already comparable to the Great Divine Power Realm.

So, Yue Lingxi was desperate to find out...

...just how powerful Yang Xiao truly was.

As for Yang Xiao, watching these Immortal Cultivators swarm toward him, he could feel the Immortal Dao Aura he so despised radiating from them, along with their undisguised killing intent.

His heart...

...began to race with excitement.

"Kill!"

With a low roar and no further words, Yang Xiao took the initiative and charged!