Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'Heh, if this old geezer devours these seals, he'll be doing me a massive favor!'

Sensing Lu Dingyuan's Devouring Secret Technique continuously consuming Emperor Xuanyuan's seal, Yang Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

'If this guy can really devour the seal, things are about to get interesting.'

'Hm? Why is it so difficult to devour? Just what kind of power does this brat have?'

Lu Dingyuan, however, was frowning.

His Devouring Secret Technique had always been unstoppable, allowing him to easily devour an opponent's flesh, blood, Essence Qi, and even their Origin to strengthen his own body.

But this time, it was proving to be incredibly difficult.

A sense of unease crept into Lu Dingyuan's heart.

'Could it be the effect of that fruit? But my Devouring Power has clearly already seeped into his body, hasn't it?'

Despite these thoughts, Lu Dingyuan didn't give up.

He continued to devour the seal Emperor Xuanyuan had placed within Yang Xiao's body.

Yang Xiao, of course, was more than happy to let him.

He maintained a calm expression.

He began using his Spiritual Power to continuously scan and analyze Emperor Xuanyuan's seal, as well as Lu Dingyuan's Devouring Power.

These two powers were something Yang Xiao would normally have no hope of comprehending, no matter how much effort he poured into it. But now, as they clashed with one another, they gradually lifted their mysterious veils, allowing him to see their very essence.

'A Devouring Secret Pattern? Is this the complete Devouring Secret Pattern?'

A thought stirred in Yang Xiao's mind.

The first thing he examined wasn't Emperor Xuanyuan's seal, but Lu Dingyuan's Devouring Power. Compared to the Great Emperor, this man's power was clearly far cruder. Though powerful in essence, it was not yet at Perfection and was full of flaws.

Observing such a power was naturally far easier than studying Emperor Xuanyuan's Sealing Power, and promised much greater results and progress.

'I might even be able to discern all the Devouring Secret Patterns from this.'

With this in mind, the mysteries of the Devouring Power utterly fascinated Yang Xiao.

He became completely engrossed.

Of course, Yang Xiao didn't completely ignore Emperor Xuanyuan's power either.

Although he dedicated far less of his Heart Power to it than to the Devouring Power.

However, because Yang Xiao was more familiar with Emperor Xuanyuan's power to begin with, he quickly discovered elements within the Sealing Power that were similar to the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique and the Void Sword Manual.

These powers were so flawless that they revealed few openings, preventing Yang Xiao from truly comprehending their inner mysteries. However, they did provide him with a point of reference.

The future path for both the Void Sword Manual and the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique was now faintly visible to him.

This made Yang Xiao grow even more excited.

He couldn't resist the urge to scream inwardly.

'Keep going, keep going! Don't stop!'

In stark contrast to Yang Xiao's excitement, Lu Dingyuan's expression grew increasingly grim. He had originally assumed that once he used his ultimate technique, the Devouring Secret Technique, this detestable brat would die instantly.

He never expected this to be the result.

It had reached the point where he was forced to focus all of his attention and power on Yang Xiao.

He felt stifled and utterly frustrated.

'Damn you! Once I've completely devoured the power inside you, we'll see what tricks you have left!'

Flying into a rage born of humiliation, the more stifled and frustrated Lu Dingyuan felt, the more ruthlessly he attacked Yang Xiao.

And the more ruthless his attacks, the more of the seal he broke, and the more he exposed.

In turn, the more Yang Xiao gained.

At the same time, Lu Dingyuan began to neglect his surroundings.

This gave Ye Wanqing, who had been standing silently while watching their unseen battle, an opportunity.

'Although Yang Xiao also ate that Exotic Fruit, judging by that old geezer Lu's expression, he clearly thinks he's got this in the bag. No, I can't let him hurt Yang Xiao. Even if I can't stop him, I can at least interfere!'

As soon as the thought formed,

Ye Wanqing sprang into action.

The Spirit Sword in her hand erupted with a terrifying glow. Mustering every last bit of her strength, Ye Wanqing once again attacked Lu Dingyuan with everything she had.

She aimed for a vital point: his head.

At that moment, Lu Dingyuan's entire Heart Spirit was focused on Yang Xiao.

He only reacted when the sword's light was nearly upon him.

In a flash, he dodged the Spirit Sword aimed at his head while hastily channeling his internal power to form a Body-Protecting Divine Light.

But he had been too hasty. The divine light had not yet fully formed, and while Ye Wanqing's sword missed his head, it plunged deep into Lu Dingyuan's body.

A massive amount of Pure Yin Power erupted in an instant,

invading Lu Dingyuan's body.

"Damn it! I actually forgot about this brat," Lu Dingyuan roared. "But do you two really think you can take me down like this? How naive! I am on the verge of becoming a True God! You think a little slip of a girl like you can hurt me? You're courting death!"

With a cold snort, Lu Dingyuan stood perfectly still.

But a terrifying aura erupted from his body.

It sent Ye Wanqing, sword and all, flying backward.

She slammed hard against the cavern wall.

However, thanks to the Desolate Divine Fruit, she was completely unscathed. She immediately got back to her feet.

She lunged forward,

thrusting her sword at Lu Dingyuan once more.

CLANG!

This time, he was prepared, and Ye Wanqing's attack failed.

Instead, she was sent flying once again.

Even so, Ye Wanqing's attacks were causing Lu Dingyuan immense trouble.

Because she seemed to feel no fatigue whatsoever.

She thrust her sword out again and again.

With the power of the Desolate Divine Fruit, she had no fear of injury. No matter how powerful the rebound force, it couldn't harm her in the slightest.

In fact, even without the Desolate Divine Fruit,

Ye Wanqing would have disregarded her own life to save Yang Xiao, attacking relentlessly.

She wouldn't have stopped for a single moment, even if she were sent flying and gravely injured with each blow.

And as it was, she couldn't be injured at all.

Unless Lu Dingyuan gave up on Yang Xiao and used his Devouring Power against her instead.

But would Lu Dingyuan, who was already failing against Yang Xiao, do such a thing?

The answer was obviously no.

He had no idea that while his Devouring Power would have worked on Ye Wanqing, in Yang Xiao's case, it was pitted against the Sealing Power of Emperor Xuanyuan, the Sword Emperor of the Human Race.

Instead, he mistakenly believed all his difficulties were due to the effects of that fruit.

'So,' he reasoned, 'if an Alchemist with no cultivation is this much trouble, wouldn't Ye Wanqing, with her cultivation at the Peak of the Third Stage of Small Divine Power Realm, be even more difficult to handle?'

If not for the fact that neither of them had the strength to actually kill him,

Lu Dingyuan probably would have already fled.

This line of thinking, however, ended up giving Yang Xiao the greatest advantage.

Especially with Ye Wanqing's interference, he could no longer use his Devouring Power with any subtlety; he could only be crude and forceful.

As a result,

while the power he unleashed was greater,

and destroyed more of the seal's power,

Yang Xiao was also able to perceive more and more of the Devouring Secret Patterns.

Even so,

he vaguely sensed that these were not the complete Devouring Secret Patterns. However, he also felt that if he combined them with the Secret Patterns displayed by the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan—that is, the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword—

they would form the complete Devouring Secret Pattern.

In addition, the Sealing Power had now been damaged to a certain extent.

Yang Xiao's eyes

instantly lit up.

'Right now, if I wanted to kill him... one strike would be enough!'