Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Such terrifying strength. Is... is he really just an ordinary Martial Artist?"

At this moment, not a single person dared to underestimate Yang Xiao. This included the mortals who had previously thought so little of him. Now, all traces of disdain and panic were gone.

Replaced by sheer admiration.

Some of the younger ones even had looks of envy in their eyes.

"This is how it should be! The Human Race needs its own backbone! Otherwise, how could we possibly contend with the All Heavens and Myriad Races for mastery over the world's fortune?"

Yang Xiao was very pleased.

He was also quite satisfied with his gains this time.

Not only had he integrated and created an advanced, all-in-one version of Celestial Moon for both offense and defense, but he had also gained a deeper understanding of the Sword Dao. His Thousand Feather Sword Transformation Technique, for instance, had shown significant improvement.

Originally, even though his Golden Roc True Body had reached the Peak of the Great Divine Power Realm, the small golden swords transformed from its feathers were too numerous and scattered, greatly reducing their power. With Yang Xiao's previous understanding of the Sword Dao, being able to kill existences at the Daoist Tier Third and Fourth Layer was already quite impressive.

But now, he could kill Immortal Cultivators below Daoist Tier Seven with a single sword strike.

Even those above Daoist Tier Seven wouldn't survive a simultaneous attack from several swords.

Therefore, after a few rounds of the Thousand Feather Sword Transformation Technique, the only ones left alive were the Sect Leader of the Purple Flame Sect and two bedraggled Daoist Tier Nine Sect Elders.

As for the rest.

They were all dead.

Not a single one had escaped.

Nothing remained but a field of corpses.

Yang Xiao flew forward.

Two beams of sword light flashed.

The two Daoist Tier Nine Sect Elders were dead, too.

Instantly, the only one left of the Purple Flame Sect's upper echelon was the Sect Leader.

He had also fled the farthest.

But his direction...

...seemed to be leading him deeper into the Profound Celestial Sect's territory, not away from it.

This struck Yang Xiao as rather strange.

'Is this guy trying to lure me deeper inside?'

A smile played on his lips.

'If that's the case, then this just got interesting.'

And just as he'd expected, while Yang Xiao pursued him at a leisurely pace, the man suddenly stopped.

This place was teeming with mortals.

There were very few Immortal Cultivators.

"Why aren't you running?"

Yang Xiao chuckled mockingly.

The Sect Leader of the Purple Flame Sect, however, looked utterly exhausted, as if he had no strength left to flee. He looked at Yang Xiao with a pleading expression.

"Young... Young Master, we have no deep-seated grudge. Why not spare this Sect Leader's life? If you let me go, I, Zi Yuntian, will agree to any condition you name."

"Oh, is that so? I've killed so many people from your Purple Flame Sect, and you're telling me you won't hate me? I think killing you would be the safer bet."

Yang Xiao still wore a faint smile.

"This..."

Zi Yuntian, the Sect Leader of the Purple Flame Sect, showed a look of fear and hesitation.

Watching Yang Xiao approach step by step, he seemed to finally make up his mind. He spoke up, "As long as you don't kill me, I, Zi Yuntian, swear I will never seek revenge against you. Moreover, I know a world-shattering secret. If you let me go, I'll tell you. How about it?"

"A world-shattering secret?"

Yang Xiao paused, looking at him with great interest.

"That's right. You just have to be willing to let me go."

Zi Yuntian seemed to have thrown all caution to the wind.

Yang Xiao glanced at him, his curiosity piqued.

"Let's hear it."

"You promise you won't kill me?"

Zi Yuntian's face lit up with joy.

"If it's truly a great secret, I can spare you. But if you dare to try and trick me, that's another story."

Hearing this, Zi Yuntian began to laugh.

"Good, you're straightforward. I believe you! Look at these people. Do you know why these lowly mortals are here?"

Yang Xiao raised an eyebrow, displeased with the man's choice of words, but still replied, "Weren't they driven here by you?"

"Indeed, we drove them here. Because there's a world-shattering secret here. You've probably heard that this was originally the territory of the Profound Celestial Sect, right?"

"Now, the Profound Celestial Sect is no more. It's been wiped out. You'd never guess what destroyed it. A treasure. A treasure left behind by the Ye Family Main Lineage. It seems to be related to the legendary Profound Sun Secret Realm."

"The reason the Profound Celestial Sect was wiped out is that this treasure, for some unknown reason, actively attacks Immortal Cultivators. It's terrifying—not even Void Immortal Realm powerhouses can withstand it. However, it doesn't harm uncultivated mortals in the slightest. That's why we speculate that this treasure must have been left specifically for Martial Arts Powerhouses. And that's why we drove the mortals inside, to explore this treasure."

Zi Yuntian rattled off this long explanation.

If Yang Xiao were truly some Martial Cultivator who had appeared out of nowhere, he might have actually been fooled.

But as things stood...

"Is what you're saying true?"

"Absolutely! Otherwise, why would I flee in this direction? My goal was to trade the secret of this treasure for my life. If you don't believe me, you can go check it out yourself. I imagine someone of your strength wouldn't dare, right?"

Zi Yuntian said excitedly.

Yang Xiao shot him a look.

'This guy is even resorting to goading me. Does he think I'm that young and naive?'

"Fine, I'll go take a look."

After speaking, Yang Xiao actually started walking deeper inside.

This action made Zi Yuntian absolutely ecstatic.

'This guy is so gullible! The poisonous thing in there is the Thousand-leaf Life-taking Willow! It's said that back in the day, a Martial Arts True God of the Ye Family had to personally act to suppress it. That thing probably hates Martial Cultivators more than anything. Once this brat gets close, heheh, he's a dead man for sure!'

Watching Yang Xiao walk forward step by step, about to enter the attack range of the Life-taking Thousand-leaf Willow, Zi Yuntian's expression grew more and more smug.

It was as if he could already see Yang Xiao being killed by the Life-taking Thousand-leaf Willow.

But suddenly...

...his vision blurred.

Yang Xiao was gone.

"What happened? Where did that brat go?"

Zi Yuntian's expression changed drastically.

Then, a faint voice sounded by his ear, "I've suddenly decided it would be better to take you with me. You know, to avoid any hidden traps or schemes. What do you think?"

"I... Die!"

Zi Yuntian was stunned for a moment, but then he steeled his resolve and struck with his full power, sending a palm strike flying at Yang Xiao.

But since Yang Xiao had made his move, he was naturally prepared.

He opened his palm, and a Void Divine Sword, long since prepared, shot out from his hand. It struck the palm attack head-on, and its Sword Qi directly shredded the attack before continuing forward, piercing Zi Yuntian's lower abdomen and shattering his Qi Sea.

"You... You actually destroyed my Spiritual Sea?"

Zi Yuntian's face was filled with disbelief.

But Yang Xiao just smiled.

He grabbed him.

"Didn't you want me to go in there so that thing could deal with me? Now, I'll take you in to see it for yourself."

With that, Yang Xiao grabbed Zi Yuntian and, with a WHOOSH, they were inside.

In an instant.

A verdant green branch shot toward them.

Seeing it, Zi Yuntian's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He muttered, "This madman... how did he dare come in? What an idiot. We're done for now! But there's no way this brat will escape either!"

"Is that so?"

Yang Xiao let out a light laugh.

He raised his hand to meet the branch.

Then, Zi Yuntian witnessed the most unbelievable scene of his entire life.

The branch that shot out—the one that even a cultivator at the Peak of Dao Tier or possibly even a Void Immortal couldn't rival—didn't pierce Yang Xiao's palm as he had imagined. Instead, like a dog seeing its master, it affectionately coiled around Yang Xiao's hand.

"Th-this... How is this possible?"

Zi Yuntian was utterly stunned.