Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'How did these guys end up together?'

Ye Dongge's expression turned grim.

He was certain he had split them into pairs earlier.

That was the only reason he'd felt safe enough to continue the pursuit alone.

But he never expected them to regroup and track him all the way here. This gave Ye Dongge a terrible feeling.

He was also baffled.

'Have these guys also tampered with the Primordial Pearl, just like I did?'

'No, that can't be it. I get it now. They must have joined forces to set up a Sensing Array. That has to be it. Otherwise, there's no way they could have found this place so quickly. Heh, to think they'd go this far just to steal my credit. They've really outdone themselves.'

A moment later, Ye Dongge had figured it out.

And as he and Yang Xiao burst out from the cavern,

they were immediately spotted by the arriving disciples of the Profound Celestial Sect. When they realized that Ye Dongge—the very Senior Brother they were trying so hard to outmaneuver—was also present,

the expression on each of their faces changed slightly.

Just as Ye Dongge had guessed, they had united for the sole purpose of opposing him.

His strength and cunning were simply too outstanding.

He had always kept them completely suppressed.

This had long bred resentment among many of them. While they didn't dare defy Ye Dongge openly, they had seized this opportunity to team up. Their goal was to find the Primordial Pearl first and present it to their master, Ye Xuanfeng.

If they succeeded, perhaps they could even embarrass Ye Dongge.

Even if they couldn't, it would still damage his standing in their master's eyes and stop him from hogging all the glory.

But now, it seemed Ye Dongge had beaten them to it once again.

'Huh? That young man seems to be only at the Peak of Profound Tier. Why would someone as proud and arrogant as Ye Dongge be with him?'

While most of them were fuming, some grew suspicious.

Their gazes fell upon Yang Xiao.

For a moment, Yang Xiao found himself the center of attention.

Especially since no one present was below the Dao Tier; their strength was not to be underestimated.

Their gazes were piercing.

As if trying to see through his relationship with Ye Dongge.

"Young Master..."

Ye Dongge sent the voice transmission, his expression hesitant.

Yang Xiao, however, simply shook his head, signaling for him not to speak.

Instead, he walked slowly toward Yue Lingxi.

"Lord Xiao, don't come over! These people must be Ye Dongge's fellow disciples. If you stay with Ye Dongge, they won't dare touch you. But if you come over here, they'll treat you as my accomplice and kill us both!"

Yue Lingxi transmitted her words urgently.

Yang Xiao smiled.

"In that case, wouldn't it be even better? My Bloodthirsty Sword is lacking the energy to evolve. If it can devour the essence of their flesh and blood, perhaps my sword can advance another grade."

The Bloodthirsty Sword was currently a Middle Grade Treasure Weapon.

If it advanced another grade, it would become an Upper-Grade Treasure Weapon.

If that happened, its power would increase dramatically once again.

It might even be possible that after the appearance of the Blood-colored Sword Qi within the Celestial Demon Force Field, more changes would occur, making the Celestial Demon Force Field even stronger.

Yang Xiao was very much looking forward to it.

"Huh? That young man seems to know the female thief."

Sure enough, as soon as Yang Xiao moved, one of the dozen or so disciples of Ye Xuanfeng noticed his actions.

He cried out softly.

Then, the dozen or so of them exchanged a glance.

They all saw the understanding in each other's eyes.

Ignoring Yang Xiao, and even Yue Lingxi, they surrounded Ye Dongge directly.

And confronted him.

Among them, a powerful expert at the Peak of Daoist Tier Five, clearly the leader of their group, spoke up.

"Senior Brother Dongge, please give us an explanation."

His words were polite, but his gaze was not.

Clearly, no matter what Ye Dongge said,

their minds were already made up.

So, before Ye Dongge could even speak, the others chimed in.

"That's right, Senior Brother Dongge! Master placed so much trust in you. To think you'd be involved with the one who stole the Primordial Pearl! You've truly wasted all of Master's teachings. Kneel and surrender at once, and come with us to beg for Master's forgiveness!"

"Senior Brother Yang Cheng is right! Ye Dongge, are you still not going to admit your guilt? Do you intend to betray our Master and the Sect?!"

"Ye Dongge, confess! You are Master's favorite disciple. As long as you repent, you still have a chance to obtain Master's forgiveness."

One after another, they spoke,

acting as if they had Ye Dongge cornered, completely ignoring Yang Xiao and Yue Lingxi.

What they didn't know,

was that when Yang Xiao reached Yue Lingxi's side, he had her put away the Primordial Pearl.

Then, in a flash,

he brought her

to Ye Dongge's side.

And this development

seemed to confirm Ye Dongge's collusion with Yang Xiao and the others.

The disciples present, who had long been suffocating under Ye Dongge's dominance, were ecstatic.

They felt they held the moral high ground.

They were eager to close in

and capture Yang Xiao and the others in one fell swoop.

It never even occurred to them to wonder how a minor character at the Peak of Profound Tier like Yang Xiao could suddenly appear within their encirclement.

And though Ye Dongge's expression was incredibly grim,

why hadn't he said a single word?

Because this was all part of Yang Xiao's plan.

The goal was to get them all together.

ROAR!

Just as Yang Xiao reached Ye Dongge's side and grabbed his hand, the Evil Spirits from the cavern finally swarmed out.

They hesitated for a moment as they neared the cave entrance.

For low-level creatures like them, the outside world instilled a natural sense of fear.

If Yang Xiao hadn't taken the Cold Yin Spirit Fire, they would never have chased him this far.

And as more and more Evil Spirits poured out,

they seemed to gain courage.

They swarmed out all at once.

Their target, naturally, was Yang Xiao.

But as they pounced,

Yang Xiao had vanished.

His aura disappeared in an instant.

Having lost the Cold Yin Spirit Fire, the Evil Spirits instantly went berserk.

"What's going on?"

"What are these things? What's happening?"

"We've been tricked! It was Ye Dongge! He plotted against us!"

"These are Evil Spirits, and they're strong! We have to run! As long as we escape and report this to Master, Ye Dongge is a dead man for sure!"

In the midst of the chaos, someone shouted this.

Immediately, everyone began to scatter and flee.

Of course, some were not so lucky.

They were struck directly by the berserk Evil Spirits.

And suffered heavy injuries.

Most, however, were surrounded by the Evil Spirits.

Just as they had surrounded the trio before, they were now trapped in a bitter fight.

Only a very small number

managed to escape the battle.

But these people

were the most pitiful of all.

A flash of silvery-white sword light, like moonlight, appeared.

Instantly, a body, split in two, fell from mid-air.

But before the two halves could even hit the ground, they vanished, turning into nothingness.

It was Yang Xiao.

He had made his move.