Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Ancestor Tianqiu, what exactly happened?"

Ye Wanqing pressed for details.

Ye Tianqiu also began to recall.

He slowly began his tale.

It turned out that when Lu Dingyuan was still very young, he was indeed a talented and hardworking young man. For that reason, Ye Tianqiu admired him greatly.

He took him in as a disciple. And when he learned that Lu Changsheng—Lu Dingyuan's father—had betrayed the Lu Family, it was precisely because of Lu Dingyuan's outstanding talent, combined with Ye Tianqiu's staunch protection, that the Ye Family ultimately decided not to hand him over. They even kept the matter a secret.

It was only circulated among the important disciples of the Direct Lineage.

So much so that, even now, if Ye Wanqing hadn't revealed it, the Lu Family likely would never have known that the one they called their only traitor, the Longevity Demon Lu Changsheng, had a son.

This showed just how much the Ye Family protected Lu Dingyuan.

Unfortunately, this good situation didn't last long before Lu Dingyuan began to show some wicked tendencies.

At first, Ye Tianqiu simply refused to believe he was responsible, thinking it was just the work of jealous people trying to frame him.

After all, at the time, Ye Tianqiu was treating Lu Dingyuan as his personal successor.

But in the end, this was the result.

"Are you saying Lu Dingyuan's change was sudden?"

Yang Xiao was a little puzzled after hearing the story.

Ye Tianqiu nodded. After a moment of thought, he said, "The change started around the time he broke through to the Great Divine Power Realm."

"The Great Divine Power Realm?"

A thought struck Yang Xiao.

The words of the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword flashed through his mind: 'Master, the person we just devoured didn't seem to be a complete person, but a Clone that very closely resembled one.'

'If he really was a Clone, then Lu Dingyuan probably wasn't Lu Changsheng's son, but a Clone that he cultivated.'

The Ancient Era was the nascent period of the Martial Dao, and all sorts of strange Secret Techniques emerged one after another.

Yang Xiao knew of many evil methods for cultivating Clones. For example, one could place a wisp of their own consciousness into a newborn child, using them as a Furnace Cauldron to nourish it. Ultimately, they would refine a Clone and strengthen that wisp of consciousness.

Lu Dingyuan's situation was very likely something like this.

However, he didn't voice this thought.

It was only a guess, after all.

Besides, Lu Dingyuan was already dead. There was no need to bring it up and worry Ye Wanqing and the others.

But deep down, Yang Xiao grew more apprehensive.

'If he were just a descendant, then that Lu Family traitor, the Longevity Demon, would only have a vague sense of his death through their bloodline connection. But if he was a Clone, things would be different.'

Yang Xiao believed it.

'At this very moment, Lu Changsheng—the man the Lu Family called the Longevity Demon—probably already knows about me.'

'And he has his eyes on me.'

'Whatever. Am I supposed to be afraid of this guy?'

Yang Xiao scoffed.

Then, he looked at the ground.

There were over nine hundred pieces of Soul-Catching Jade there. He sensed them carefully and found there were actually nine hundred and ninety-eight pieces. Adding the one that held Ye Tianqiu, that made nine hundred and ninety-nine pieces of Soul-Catching Jade.

And among these nine hundred and ninety-nine pieces of Soul-Catching Jade, a total of eight hundred and thirty-seven souls were trapped inside.

Each piece of Soul-Catching Jade had, to some degree, been set up with torturous Arrays.

Without inspecting them too closely, Yang Xiao waved his hand and erased all the Arrays within.

Instantly, over eight hundred souls WHOOSHED out.

They stared at Yang Xiao and Ye Wanqing.

The souls were somewhat dazed.

Fortunately, they all seemed to recognize Ye Tianqiu, and one by one, their gazes fell upon him.

"They are the ones who saved us. This young lady is a descendant of my Ye Family Main Lineage. This young man is named Yang Xiao. He... Young man, what is your identity? What is your relationship with my Ye Family?"

Only then did Ye Tianqiu realize that aside from Yang Xiao's name, he knew nothing else about him.

He immediately posed the question.

"I once received a great favor from Elder Tianjue. You could say I am his successor."

As soon as Yang Xiao finished speaking,

Ye Tianqiu's expression immediately grew fervent.

At this moment, Ye Wanqing spoke up, somewhat bashfully, "Great-Granduncle Tianqiu, besides that, our Ye Family's Emperor's Weapon has also acknowledged Young Master Yang. And before Grandma Lio passed away, she said... that Yang Xiao should... continue the bloodline for our Ye Family..."

By the end, Ye Wanqing's face was as red as a cloth banner.

'Even though these beings before me are just souls, they were once living creatures.'

To publicly admit such a thing in front of so many people made Ye Wanqing feel incredibly shy.

"Excellent. This young man is excellent. That girl, Ye Lio, had good judgment after all. Wanqing, my girl, who is left in our Ye Family Main Lineage?"

Ye Tianqiu asked.

"Only myself and my younger sister, Ye Wanyu, are left."

Hearing this, Ye Tianqiu's form trembled.

He murmured in a low voice, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't nurtured a viper in my own nest, how could my Ye Family have fallen to such a state? Alas, this is all my, Ye Tianqiu's, sin. How can I have the face to continue living shamefully in this world?"

As Ye Tianqiu spoke, his emotions became agitated. The aura around him stirred, and it seemed he was about to self-destruct.

Fortunately, Yang Xiao had already sensed that something was wrong.

He instantly used his Spiritual Power to control Ye Tianqiu, stopping him.

"You... Young man, has your Spiritual Level already reached the Divinity Communication Realm?"

Ye Tianqiu was stunned.

He had called Yang Xiao "excellent" earlier, but that was merely a pleasantry. Now, he was truly shocked, because Yang Xiao's Spiritual Power was actually no weaker than his own had been at its peak.

It was simply too incredible to believe.

"This junior also benefited from Elder Tianjue's legacy."

Saying this, Yang Xiao explained how Ye Tianjue had gifted him his Spiritual Power.

Hearing this, the way Ye Tianqiu looked at Yang Xiao grew even warmer.

At this moment, Ye Wanqing also spoke up. "Great-Granduncle Tianqiu, the men of our Ye Family Main Lineage all perished while charging the Great Emperor's Tower. It had nothing to do with you. Besides, Yang Xiao is currently walking the Path of the Human Emperor. He needs to become the Human Race's Common Lord on the Profound Sun Continent in a short amount of time. I... I hope you can help him."

"The Path of the Human Emperor? Good heavens, boy, you were actually chosen as one of the candidates for Human Emperor?"

Ye Tianqiu was flabbergasted.

The look he gave Yang Xiao was filled with even more astonishment.

Combined with Yang Xiao's previous claim of being Ye Tianjue's successor, Ye Tianqiu's heart was suddenly stirred.

"Alright, I understand. Even if this old one were to die, it would be of no use. It is better to live and lend you a hand. You will certainly face much resistance on the Path of the Human Emperor. However, most of the Martial Artists on the Profound Sun Continent have roots in my Ye Family's lineage. With me, Ye Tianqiu, stepping forward, I believe that even if I can't make everyone submit to you and acknowledge you, there will still be some who will do me this small favor."

As soon as these words were spoken,

Some of the other souls also stepped forward.

"We were ambushed by that old scoundrel Lu Dingyuan. Our families probably don't even know. If we can return, we will surely persuade our clansmen to pledge allegiance to Young Master Yang and recognize him as the Human Race's Common Lord!"

"That's right! Young Master Yang is favored by Celestial Destiny and has received the Human Emperor's grace. He is also our savior! If we did not pledge our allegiance, would we even be human?"

Just like that, one soul after another stepped forward.

For them to have been targeted and killed by Lu Dingyuan, every one of them must have had an extraordinary identity.

Moreover, most of them were under the Ye Family's command.

With Ye Tianqiu taking the lead,

And with them persuading from within,

Yang Xiao believed that while other places might be a different story, the people under Lu Dingyuan's command would likely all come to pledge allegiance to him.

For him, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

"In that case, I thank you, Elders."

Yang Xiao said.

All the souls waved their hands,

Indicating there was no need for such formalities.

But just then, a hoarse voice suddenly called out.

"Don't be fooled by him! He is absolutely not as simple as he seems!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was startled.

They looked over.

It was a middle-aged man, walking over from a distance.