Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'Hmm? This kid has another power in his body? This power seems... No, this is bad! I've been tricked! The kid's power is sealed! Everything I was just devouring was the power of the seal!'

The very moment Yang Xiao felt the seal in his body shatter, freeing him to use his own power, Lu Dingyuan also realized what was happening inside him, and his expression changed drastically.

He knew he had been tricked.

Just as he was about to pull back,

Yang Xiao made his move.

"Trying to pull back now? It's a bit late for that, isn't it? Bloodthirsty Divine Sword, strike!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the moment he sensed the old codger trying to pull back, the already-prepared Yang Xiao instantly summoned the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword. At the same time, he used up the final fifteen percent of the Spiritual Power Ye Tianjue had left him. With this strike, even a genius like Yuan Haotian—who truly reigned supreme over everyone beneath the True God realm—would likely be unable to withstand the blow.

And the man before him was Lu Dingyuan.

In terms of raw power, he wasn't just slightly weaker than Yuan Haotian—the gap between them was severalfold.

In an instant,

Yang Xiao's sword struck him.

"Devouring Power! Block it!"

Lu Dingyuan roared.

His ancestral Devouring Secret Technique activated, circulating at an unprecedented speed in an attempt to block Yang Xiao's killing blow.

It had to be said, in his desperate struggle for survival,

he actually managed to slow the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword for a moment.

This was a testament to just how terrifying the Devouring Secret Technique truly was.

However, it was only for a moment. The Bloodthirsty Divine Sword itself had fused with the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan and also possessed Devouring Power. Thus, upon sensing a resistant force that shared its same origin, the sword shattered the defense in a mere instant.

The strike, powerful enough to slay a newly ascended True God, continued on its trajectory.

Lu Dingyuan could have used that brief pause to struggle free, but for some reason, his body suddenly went limp. He found he couldn't move a muscle.

Under these circumstances,

in just an instant,

the helpless Lu Dingyuan was cleaved in two by Yang Xiao's sword.

He died on the spot.

What was more terrifying was that Lu Dingyuan possessed Secret Techniques that should have allowed him to escape even after being cut in half. But this time, a terrifying yet familiar power rendered them all useless.

This wasn't the same mysterious force that had weakened him moments ago. It was...

"Devouring Power? How is this possible? How can you possess such a power...?"

Lu Dingyuan bellowed,

his face a mask of indignation.

And a trace of regret.

Unfortunately,

at this point, no amount of regret or indignation was of any use.

He could only watch helplessly as all his power was stolen and devoured, just as he had once done to countless others.

Despair.

Struggle.

But it was all for naught.

"I hate this so much..."

Lu Dingyuan shrieked.

But before he could even finish speaking, he dissolved into a long stream of Blood Qi that surged into Yang Xiao's Bloodthirsty Divine Sword.

Upon seeing this,

Yang Xiao finally relaxed.

'This Devouring Power is truly incredible. This guy was clearly worlds apart from Yuan Haotian, yet he still managed to withstand the might of my Bloodthirsty Divine Sword for a moment. If I hadn't prepared a little something for him beforehand, my strike might have missed, and I wouldn't have been able to kill the old bastard.'

Yang Xiao sighed to himself.

At his side, Ye Wanqing's face was filled with adoration and awe.

Previously, Yang Xiao had slain numerous Void Immortals, and even the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord had fallen by his hand, but no one had been there to witness it.

But now,

Ye Wanqing had seen Yang Xiao kill Lu Dingyuan with her own eyes.

That was an expert at the Demigod Peak, publicly acknowledged as one of the strongest existences on the entire Profound Sun Continent.

Yet now, Yang Xiao had killed him with a single strike, leaving not even a trace behind.

How could Ye Wanqing not be astonished and filled with admiration?

'No wonder Grandma Lio saw something in him right away and treated him as the heir to our Ye Family. He really is this powerful.'

As the saying goes, what woman doesn't love a hero?

Who doesn't love a powerful man?

Ye Wanqing had already come to see herself as Yang Xiao's wife. Now, seeing her future husband display such immense power,

her heart was naturally filled with both sweetness and joy.

Seeing Yang Xiao slump to the ground as if completely drained,

she immediately rushed over, helped him up, and asked with concern, "Yang Xiao, are you all right?"

When he saw the look in the girl's eyes, how it seemed even more affectionate than before and held a certain hidden meaning,

Yang Xiao gave a helpless internal smile.

He then shook his head at Ye Wanqing.

"I'm fine. Just a little exhausted."

He was indeed fine. In fact, he was better than fine. By expending that final fifteen percent of the Spiritual Power left by Ye Tianjue, his own Spiritual Power—which was already at the Peak of Void Observation Realm—finally shattered its last shackle.

He had broken through.

He had stepped into the Divine Communication Realm.

Although he had only just entered the Divine Communication Realm, which was comparable to a newly promoted Demigod, this breakthrough simultaneously triggered a breakthrough for his Fire God Clone countless miles away.

It had advanced to the Demigod Realm.

At the same time, what Yang Xiao most anticipated was the feedback from the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword after it had devoured Lu Dingyuan—and it did not disappoint.

Under Yang Xiao's control, the power from Lu Dingyuan was refined a second time within the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword, transforming into streams of Devouring Secret Patterns that appeared inside his body.

Seeing the power manifested by these Devouring Secret Patterns,

Yang Xiao was extremely satisfied.

'Although this guy was much weaker than Yuan Haotian, his power is still enough for me to comprehend the Third Layer of the Devouring Secret Pattern. The Third Layer of the Devouring Secret Pattern should be at least as good as the Sixth Layer of an ordinary Secret Pattern. Huh? This Secret Pattern... It seems Little Blood completed it. It feels much more powerful than Lu Dingyuan's incomplete version.'

After eagerly absorbing it, Yang Xiao immediately noticed it was different from Lu Dingyuan's Devouring Power.

Clearly, the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword had helped him.

Thinking of the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword made Yang Xiao think of his Fire God Clone.

'Now that it has advanced to the Demigod Realm and I possess a Spiritual Level at the Divine Communication Realm, my Fire God Clone can unleash about thirty percent of the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword's might without any external assistance. With that, plus all my other advantages, even with my main body's cultivation still sealed, I'll have enough power to contend with an expert at the Demigod Peak.'

Thinking of this, Yang Xiao felt he finally had a reliable way to protect himself.

Now, he just had to wait for his Fire God Clone to arrive. Then, there would likely be nothing left on the Profound Sun Continent that could stop him.

'But for now, I should see what goodies this old bastard left behind.'

Yang Xiao smiled faintly.

He stepped forward and picked up the Storage Daoist Ring that had fallen to the ground upon Lu Dingyuan's death.