Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Laughing? You're still laughing? Did you think luring me in here meant you could rest easy? I'll kill you right now!"

Yang Xiao was laughing outside the Array, and his Time Clone inside was laughing too, which made Yuan San's face burn with fury.

Ignoring everything, he raised his hand and struck out at Yang Xiao once more.

However, this time, just as he raised his palm, he saw Yang Xiao's form dissipate.

Gone!

"Th-that's impossible! He was right there a moment ago..."

Yuan San felt like a complete idiot.

A great True Immortal like him had actually been played for a fool twice by a Martial Artist—a mere True Intent Stage Martial Artist.

He was an absolute moron.

"Damn you! If I ever see you again, I'll..."

He hadn't even finished his sentence.

From the spot where the Time Clone had just disappeared, a voice suddenly sounded out, "You were saying?"

"I'll... huh? You damned bastard!"

Yuan San lashed out with a palm strike.

But he only hit empty air.

Yang Xiao, who had just materialized, had vanished again.

"Damn it! If you've got any balls, stop hiding from me!"

After being toyed with again and again, Yuan San was practically exploding with rage. The man who constantly referred to himself as 'this Immortal' began to curse, his eyes turning red as he stared at the spot where Yang Xiao had disappeared.

He was seething with hatred.

Watching from outside the Array, Yang Xiao found this immensely satisfying.

He never expected his Time Clone to have this kind of ability.

'That's right. The Time Seals. I hadn't entered this Array myself, so I couldn't leave any Time Seals. But my Time Clone went in. The moment it did, it was as if I'd entered myself, so it naturally began creating one Time Seal after another. As long as I'm careful and don't let this guy destroy them, the entire space will eventually be covered in my Time Seals. One seal, one Clone... This is just... awesome.'

Of course, his ability to do this was also a testament to how much his cultivation had improved since he first condensed the Heart of Time.

Although his cultivation at the Green Flame Third Revolution Peak was only equivalent to the True Intent Sixth Layer Peak, thanks to his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, Yang Xiao's cultivation was naturally a full realm higher than others at his level.

That made him equivalent to the Small Divine Ability Realm Sixth Layer Peak.

He was over a hundred times stronger than he had been back when he was only at the Yellow Flame Realm.

With such a massive improvement, Yang Xiao's mastery over the Heart of Time had naturally deepened. However, his current cultivation was still too weak.

Unleashing the full, proper power of the Heart of Time was still a difficult task.

But for the moment, it was more than enough to delight Yang Xiao.

"Come out! Show yourself!"

In stark contrast to Yang Xiao's delight, Yuan San was on the verge of being driven insane by the torment.

This was especially true inside the Nine Seals and Ten Elements Array.

His power was severely restricted.

Yet Yang Xiao continued to flicker in and out of existence—sometimes provoking, sometimes mocking, and at other times, even attacking directly—constantly doing things that drove Yuan San mad.

Sometimes, more than ten images of Yang Xiao would even appear before Yuan San at once.

It was enough to drive him completely mad.

"So you won't come out, is that it? Fine! I'll show you what true devastation looks like!"

Finally, after being toyed with for the umpteenth time, the furious man could no longer bear it. He took out a Black Jade Talisman and a white one.

"A grand True Immortal like myself, forced into this corner by a mere junior... Kid, you really are something else. Yuan Haotian was right, you truly are a despicable, treacherous bastard. But no matter how cunning, no matter how despicable you are, let's see if you can survive this—the Heaven-Shattering Talisman, bestowed by the Immortal Monarch himself!"

Yuan San let out a crazed laugh.

Then, he activated the white Jade Talisman in his hand.

This was a Protective Jade Talisman, also bestowed by Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch, and granted specifically for this mission. It could withstand the full-force attack of a Tier Five Divine General.

Likewise, the Black Jade Talisman in his hand—the Heaven-Shattering Talisman he'd mentioned—was an Attack Jade Talisman he was only authorized to use because of this mission.

Once activated, its power could match that of a Tier Five Divine General.

In other words, even the Protective Jade Talisman on Yuan San's person would be instantly broken by the Heaven-Shattering Talisman.

However, with the Protective Jade Talisman active, he would be spared a fatal blow.

This just went to show how thoroughly Yang Xiao had driven him mad.

Under normal circumstances, no sane person would take such a self-damaging course of action.

Meanwhile, outside the Array, Yang Xiao's expression also turned grim.

It wasn't because of the so-called Heaven-Shattering Talisman.

'Even if that thing explodes, I just have to disperse the Time Clone back into a Time Seal. Not even a Divine King could do anything to my Clone then, let alone a mere Attack Jade Talisman.'

What concerned him was what Yuan San had just said.

'So, Yuan Haotian really did betray me. It seems I won't be getting a subordinate with an Ultimate Grade Dao Body after all.'

Yang Xiao let out a soft sigh.

He watched as Yuan San, inside the Array, activated the Heaven-Shattering Talisman.

Furthermore, to ensure Yang Xiao was annihilated, he used a method of complete-coverage annihilation.

This was precisely why Yuan San had activated his Protective Jade Talisman first.

'What a lunatic. I wonder if he can destroy the whole Array with this?'

Yang Xiao set aside his regret over Yuan Haotian and fixed his gaze on the scene within the Array.

A sense of anticipation began to build within him.

If this madman really managed to break the Array with such a mutually destructive tactic, it would be an incredible stroke of luck for him.

And so, Yang Xiao watched with great anticipation.

Yuan San, too, was filled with anticipation.

He was anticipating the sight of this endlessly reappearing pest being ripped from the void and blasted into dust.

Then...

BOOM!

A sound as if the sky were falling and the earth were cracking apart erupted from within the Array.

Immediately after, Yang Xiao could clearly see the Heaven-Shattering Talisman that Yuan San had activated explode, transforming into waves of a black torrent that surged outward in all directions.

Everything in its path was utterly annihilated.

It was a terrifying sight.

'This power... it probably exceeds the strongest attack of a Tier Five Divine General. Can Yuan San even withstand it himself?'

Yang Xiao couldn't help but wonder.

Soon, however, he had no time to ponder the question, because he saw the power of the Heaven-Shattering Talisman tear through the Four-layered Array's Array Patterns with unstoppable force, completely destroying them.

Even the palace was obliterated into nothingness.

And it was still expanding.

'Not good! This thing is way more powerful than I thought. Shit, I need to hide!'

With a single thought, Yang Xiao scrambled for his life, burrowing into the ground.

He was already deep inside Flame Mountain; any further down lay the subterranean magma.

The deeper he went, the more terrifying the heat became.

If not for Yang Xiao's innate Fire Control ability, he truly would have had nowhere to run at that moment.

After a long moment, Yang Xiao finally sensed that the commotion outside had ceased.

He emerged from the ground.

As soon as he was out, he was utterly stunned.

The palace was gone. More than half of Flame Mountain had vanished, as if something had gnawed it away.

The surrounding area was a complete wasteland.

And in the middle of it all, Yuan San was still standing.

His aura was faint, but he was alive.

His gaze was locked onto something in front of him.

A cluster of purple flames.

Divine Fire!

'There really is a Divine Fire!'

Yang Xiao's expression changed in an instant.

He was overjoyed!