Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"That's the Earth Evil Flame Cave over there. But this place... it's very sinister. There are many entrances, and I usually only cultivate on the outskirts. I've never gone deep inside. Are you sure you want to go in?"

Ye Dongge pointed to a hole in the ground ahead, his voice tinged with worry.

It wasn't Yang Xiao he was worried about.

He was afraid that if this guy went in and died, how would he get his poison cured?

"Lord Xiao, are you really going in?"

Yue Lingxi also frowned.

She too could see that something was wrong here. It seemed to be a naturally occurring land of Yin and Evil Qi. Places like this might contain Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but they were also bound to be incredibly dangerous.

She was worried.

"Of course. There's something inside that's very important to me. Right, you don't need to come in. Just have him come with me."

Yang Xiao pointed at Ye Dongge.

Ye Dongge froze, his eyes flickering as he thought of refusing.

But Yang Xiao just smiled.

Without a word, he focused his thoughts, and Ye Dongge immediately felt the poison inside him begin to stir.

He was instantly terrified.

With a miserable look on his face, he said, "My lord, I'll go! I'll go, isn't that enough?"

"Now that's more like it. Don't worry, if there's real danger, I won't send you to your death."

Yang Xiao patted Ye Dongge's face.

He was about to walk toward the entrance of the Earth Evil Flame Cave.

But Yue Lingxi called out to him. A snow-white Jade Talisman had appeared in her hand.

"This is a Protective Talisman my master gave me. Lord Xiao, you take it. It can block three True God Level attacks."

Yang Xiao had intended to refuse, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but nod.

He took it.

'The ability to block three True God Level attacks... that was an incredible treasure. Having such a Protective Talisman on him would indeed make things much safer, especially since the inside seemed genuinely dangerous.'

'Even the Thousand Mechanism Eye was warning him.'

However, compared to Yang Xiao's composure...

Ye Dongge cried out in shock, "Three True God Level attacks? Are you kidding me?"

'If Yue Lingxi had said it could block three Demigod Level attacks—that is, Void Immortal Level—he would have been envious and thought, 'These two must really be from a Central Domain Immortal Sect.''

But blocking three True God Level attacks—meaning True Immortal Level attacks?

'Just who are these two?'

'It's simply impossible.'

Ever since the True God Level powerhouse of the Ye Family Main Lineage fell, no True God or True Immortal Level powerhouses have appeared on the Profound Sun Continent for thousands of years, to say nothing of a Protective Talisman that could block three attacks from such an expert.

'I doubt even a True God could create something like this.'

'And these two have one?'

However, neither Yang Xiao nor Yue Lingxi paid him any mind.

After making a fool of himself...

Though Ye Dongge was cursing them out in his head, thinking they were just bragging, he didn't dare let it show on his face.

His life was still in Yang Xiao's hands, after all.

So, seeing that Yang Xiao was almost at the entrance to the Earth Evil Flame Cave, he shamelessly hurried to catch up and took the lead, preparing to scout ahead.

"Wait. Just follow behind me. You can ignore any creatures below the Dao Tier. Only act if you encounter something at the Dao Tier or above."

Yang Xiao said.

"Eh? Such a good deal exists?"

Ye Dongge's eyes lit up.

'I thought I was just brought along to be a bodyguard and cannon fodder.'

'Looks like this guy is more humane than I thought.'

'But... ignore everything below the Dao Tier? Is he going to handle it himself? Besides, the most dangerous things in this cave are the wisps of Earth Evil Flame Qi.'

'They look like fire, but on the inside, they're incredibly cold and dark.'

'Once they invade the body, it feels like ice piercing your marrow, yet it burns like fire. It can scorch a person's very marrow. It's terrifying.'

The reason Ye Dongge had never ventured deep into the cave over all these years was precisely because of this Earth Evil Flame Qi.

The deeper one went, the more powerful the flame qi became.

Now, Yang Xiao wanted to scout the path himself.

He couldn't be happier about it.

He even felt a touch of schadenfreude.

'This kid said he would handle anything above the Dao Tier, so his normal strength is probably comparable to the Peak of the Magic Tier. Let's see how he deals with this Earth Evil Flame Qi then.'

Ye Dongge glanced at Yang Xiao.

He saw Yang Xiao take out a jet-black pearl.

'What's the use of that thing?'

Ye Dongge looked on with curiosity.

Just then, the two entered the Earth Evil Flame Cave, and a wisp of dark red energy surged toward them.

"The Earth Evil Flame Qi!"

Ye Dongge recognized it at once.

He couldn't help but take half a step back.

Yang Xiao, however, walked right toward it.

'Is this kid crazy? Even if he doesn't recognize the Earth Evil Flame Qi, he should be able to sense the danger within it, right?'

Ye Dongge was shocked.

He felt conflicted.

'Should I warn him? Nah, a mere wisp of Earth Evil Flame Qi is powerful, but it won't kill him. As long as he doesn't die, it's fine. It's about time he learned a lesson. I'll just pretend I don't know anything.'

Ye Dongge thought to himself.

The look of someone enjoying a good show intensified in his eyes.

Especially when he saw the Earth Evil Flame Qi get within a meter of Yang Xiao, the excitement in his eyes grew even stronger.

But, what Ye Dongge never expected was...

Yang Xiao.

Walked right through it.

Just like that, he passed through.

Completely unharmed.

No, not completely unharmed. After he passed...

The Earth Evil Flame Qi had actually vanished.

"What's going on?"

Ye Dongge was stunned.

But soon, he saw the small, jet-black pearl in Yang Xiao's hand flash with light.

A thought struck him: 'Could it be that pearl? It seems these two really do have an extraordinary background to possess such a treasure. Could it be... what they said earlier was true?'

'They really have a True God Level Protective Talisman?'

Ye Dongge couldn't help but recall Yang Xiao's miraculous methods from before, and how Yue Lingxi had destroyed his Dharma Body with a single strike.

His heart suddenly grew uneasy.

'Originally, I thought these two were from the Central Domain at most. Now it seems their background is far greater than I imagined.'

'If that's really the case, I'll have to be very careful in how I deal with them.'

The distracting thoughts in Ye Dongge's mind...

...suddenly vanished.

He was an ambitious man; otherwise, he wouldn't have schemed for his master Ye Xuanfeng's Primordial Pearl.

Now, seeing that Yang Xiao's background might be truly immense...

Ye Dongge's mind began to turn with other ideas.

He knew clearly that if he could truly latch onto people like this, his future prospects might be even greater than becoming the Sect Leader of the Profound Celestial Sect.

'The Evil Qi here is so peculiar. It seems there really might be a Cold and Dark Flame of the Spirit Fire Level. If I can obtain it... '

Yang Xiao, however, was unaware of Ye Dongge's thoughts.

But after the Ten Thousand Poison Source Pearl absorbed the Earth Flame Evil Qi, he gained a sufficiently clear understanding of this Evil Qi's properties.

Joy began to well up in his heart.

Because there really might be a Spirit Fire here.

And once he obtained it, the Green Flame Realm...

...would be within his grasp.