Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"No, impossible! How could this be? How could this be?"

Yuan Haotian let out a sudden scream.

Right now, his eyes were red and his face was a mask of disbelief. He kept repeating that one word: "Impossible."

He seemed to be on the verge of madness.

Tears streamed endlessly down his face.

What happened to the calm, composed demeanor from before? The air of a man with everything in his grasp? Where was the bearing of an Immortal Lord who could kill an Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Realm without the slightest change in expression?

Yang Xiao, however, felt not a shred of sympathy.

He had already given this guy a chance.

He'd even been very sincere about it.

He had even given him two Desolate Divine Fruits.

And what was the result?

The man had arrogantly tried to kill him anyway.

That being the case, Yang Xiao would naturally oblige him and let him taste the bitter consequences of his own hubris.

"It was you, you beast!"

Suddenly, understanding dawned on Yuan Haotian.

He glared at Yang Xiao with absolute fury.

The killing intent in his heart swelled, rising higher and higher until it seemed to pierce the very heavens.

"You killed my grandfather and toyed with me. Today, if I, Yuan Haotian, do not kill you, I swear I am no longer human!"

The solemn oath escaped Yuan Haotian's lips.

"Isn't this what you chose for yourself?"

Yang Xiao said coolly.

"You!"

Yuan Haotian instantly flew into a rage.

He felt a surge of energy rush to his head, leaving him momentarily dazed.

But in that instant, to his own surprise, a mysterious aura arose spontaneously from deep within him.

Suddenly, Yuan Haotian understood.

'So that's it! So my weakness, my obsession, my mental block… it was Grandfather. My feelings for him, my attachment to him… that's why I could never break through to the True Immortal Realm and become a true Great Preacher. Now, Grandfather is dead. All I have to do is kill this man before me to avenge him, and I can finally sever this obsession. I won't even need the Divine Fire's help to ascend directly to the True Immortal Realm!'

In an instant, Yuan Haotian understood everything.

When he looked at Yang Xiao again, his eyes had become surprisingly clear.

It was as if the grief in his heart had been greatly diminished in that moment by the mysterious aura.

His heart grew much colder, much harder.

Vaguely, he seemed to be entering a state where his heart mirrored the heart of heaven, and his heart was becoming the Great Dao itself.

A shiver ran down Yang Xiao's spine.

'That's it! That's his gaze! It's too similar—almost identical. Damn it. So it's true… the so-called Preachers, especially the Great Preachers, are they all just that bastard's Clones and Puppets?'

Yang Xiao's expression changed drastically.

He recognized the look in Yuan Haotian's eyes.

That was the gaze of the Lord of Immortal Dao.

The Lord of Immortal Dao who had plotted against him.

This sent a chill through Yang Xiao's heart.

He was gaining a deeper understanding of the Lord of Immortal Dao's methods.

Contrary to what Yuan Haotian believed—that he was elevating his realm—

Yang Xiao knew.

Yuan Haotian wasn't ascending, but being completely controlled.

Before, his heart still held affection for his grandfather. He could be cruel to anyone else, but he could never let go of the one who had sacrificed everything for him.

In fact, in his mind, his grandfather had always been more important than even the Immortal Dao.

That made Yuan Haotian an unqualified Puppet.

And so, naturally, he could never break through to the True Immortal Realm.

But now, Yang Xiao had killed his grandfather, destroying the most genuine part of his heart. In his unbearable anguish, all the emotions that made up his sense of self began to crumble.

All that remained was what came after becoming a Great Preacher—the influence born from the Dao Seed, the corruption spawned by the Seed of the Great Dao. It was an arrogant belief of superiority, a view that all things in heaven and earth were nothing but straw dogs.

He deluded himself into thinking that by comprehending the heart of heaven, he could become like an immortal, like a god.

In reality, he lacked even the most basic human emotions. He had departed from the realm of sentient beings, becoming something like a law of nature, a freakish existence.

Yet he was oblivious to it, believing instead that this was the true path of the strong, the ultimate pursuit of immortality.

'No, I can't let him continue like this. Kill him! I have to kill him! Otherwise, if he really ascends to become a True Immortal… Forget about whether I can escape him; even if I did, he might recognize me!'

At this thought, Yang Xiao grew anxious.

He was too weak right now; he needed more time to grow.

If that bastard found out about him, he would be annihilated before he ever had the chance to mature.

With that bastard's power, killing him in his current state would be all too easy.

A single thought from him could probably obliterate his will, his very life.

Therefore, no matter what, Yang Xiao could not afford to be exposed now.

Then there was only one way.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Coincidentally, just as Yang Xiao let out a cold snort, his killing intent flaring toward Yuan Haotian, Yuan Haotian also let out a furious roar and unleashed his own killing intent.

The only difference was, Yang Xiao's killing intent was to stop Yuan Haotian's transformation.

Yuan Haotian, on the other hand, had to kill Yang Xiao to excise the last wisp of humanity from his heart, transform into an immortal, and ascend to the rank of True Immortal.

In that instant, their auras collided.

This was a clash of Spirit Wills.

A collision of their very minds.

A sharp PING! echoed.

Yang Xiao and Yuan Haotian both took a step back at the same time.

It was a draw!

"I never thought a lowly little Martial Artist like you would possess such a powerful will. Good. Very good. This makes killing you much more interesting! Now, die!"

Yuan Haotian raised his hand and struck out with his palm.

He used the Godslaying Palm, a technique passed down through his lineage.

As the palm shot forward, the void itself trembled.

All living creatures within a hundred-mile radius felt the danger at that moment.

But they were trapped, unable to escape.

Yang Xiao was clearly no exception.

However, he didn't panic.

Instead, he immediately brought out the God-Suppressing Coffin.

With a WHOOSH, he deployed the God Suppression and Immortal Slaying Array.

Under the Array's suppression, Yuan Haotian's Godslaying Palm immediately lost its lock on the void, unable to control Yang Xiao's movements.

Then, with a flash of Golden Light, Yang Xiao's figure vanished.

As long as he wasn't suppressed, with the Golden Roc True Body at the Peak of Great Divine Power within him, not even the Immortal Envoy Yuan San in his prime could have caught him.

Let alone Yuan Haotian, who had yet to become a True Immortal.

"Hmph! You think I'm an idiot like Yuan San? Did you think a mere Array could trap me? Three Thousand Dao Clones, come forth! Let's see how long you can hide!"

Missing his first strike, Yuan Haotian became utterly enraged.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Over a hundred Clones emerged from his body.

Each one possessed the power of the Void Immortal Peak. They fanned out and immediately suppressed the one hundred and three God-Suppressing Coffins.

Seeing this, Yang Xiao's expression changed.

'This guy is truly terrifying… but so what!'

Yang Xiao let out a cold snort.

A soft hum emanated from his body as a dark red longsword appeared—a supreme Divine Soldier covered in peerless golden Divine Patterns.

The Bloodthirsty Divine Sword was unleashed!