Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'I originally thought this little fellow might not need me to truly make a move. Now, it seems I have no choice.'

Emperor Xuanyuan sighed to himself.

Among the Five Domains, the resistance from the Eastern and Southern Domains was, relatively speaking, the weakest.

Whether it was the Ye Family of the Eastern Domain or the mysterious Lu Family, both were friendly toward Yang Xiao. The Southern Domain was even less of a concern. To protect the secrets of Flame Mountain, the Yan Family had always suppressed not just the Martial Dao, but even the Immortal Dao with all their might.

Aside from Lu Dingyuan's group hiding out in the barren wilderness, there were no other powers to speak of.

If Yang Xiao could control the Yan Family, the Southern Domain would naturally be considered subjugated.

However, the Central, Western, and Northern Domains were different. Even in the Western Domain, where the Immortal Dao Influence was strongest, a mysterious Martial Dao family still existed alongside the Qin Family.

The Qin Family!

That's right. The Qin Family clan was split into two branches: one practiced the Immortal Dao, the other the Martial Dao.

The two branches shared a common origin, yet they had fought for generations.

Originally, because the Immortal Dao was dominant, the branch that practiced it had always suppressed the Martial Dao branch. But now, with the complete decline of the Immortal Dao, the entire Western Domain had probably undergone a massive shift.

Beyond that, there were also the Central and Northern Domains.

They also possessed incredibly formidable hidden Martial Dao Noble Families.

And for these families to have survived this long under the suppression of the Immortal Dao, still counting as significant powers, meant that not a single one could be underestimated.

Especially since, according to Emperor Xuanyuan's senses, this generation seemed to have produced quite a few brilliant talents.

Some of them had even managed to pique his interest.

But for now, suppressing Yang Xiao was the main event.

Emperor Xuanyuan already felt that the individual strength of these powers was likely no longer enough to deal with Yang Xiao. Therefore, he decided to make these forces unite and confront Yang Xiao together.

And achieving this was very simple.

'All I have to do is give the younger generation of these families a common goal.'

Emperor Xuanyuan smiled faintly.

In his hand, a snow-white sacrificial altar with countless steps appeared.

"Ascension Platform, go!"

With a gentle toss,

the snow-white altar shot through the sky.

Immediately after, it manifested nine phantoms, which descended upon important cities in the Central, Northern, and Western Domains.

At the same time, a voice echoed throughout the entire Profound Sun Continent.

"I am Human Emperor Xuanyuan. I am currently traveling through this land and have seen signs of a great revitalization of our Martial Dao. Therefore, I have established the Ascension Platform trial. If you can cause the nine platforms to become one and reach the summit of the unified platform, you may become a disciple of me, Human Emperor Xuanyuan. But be warned: do not resort to insidious plots or schemes. Otherwise, I, the Human Emperor, will personally execute you!"

The moment these words were spoken,

the entire Profound Sun Continent erupted into a frenzy.

Especially in the Western, Northern, and Central Domains, many people had witnessed the appearance of the Ascension Platforms with their own eyes, which only served as further confirmation.

Instantly, those mysterious powers that wouldn't have shown themselves even if the Profound Sun Continent were facing destruction began to stir.

The Martial Dao Qin Family of the Western Domain, the hidden sect Tianyi Sect of the Central Domain, and the Cold Ice Mo Family of the Northern Domain.

These three great, top-tier powers immediately dispatched their most brilliant young talents.

Because, as it happened, there was an Ascension Platform right near each of their territories.

Beyond that, even in the Eastern and Southern Domains, which Yang Xiao had already vaguely brought under his control, some people began to grow restless.

Take the forces once under Lu Dingyuan's command that had been subdued by Lu Yijun, Liu Shangwu, and the others. Although they had all gathered under Lu Dingyuan because of the Ye Family,

many years had passed, and the Ye Family's power had long since vanished. Their current submission to Yang Xiao was due to three main reasons. First, he held the moral high ground, backed by the persuasion of their family elders. Second, Lu Yijun, a Demigod Level powerhouse, was present to keep them in line. And third, there were no conflicts of interest.

That was why they had chosen to submit.

But now... a Human Emperor Disciple.

Who wouldn't want a piece of that pie?

In fact, it wasn't just these factions whose loyalty was weak. Even within the Celestial Cloud Region, controlled by the Carefree Sect, many people—including numerous Carefree Sect disciples—began to harbor a sliver of extravagant hope.

They wanted to become a disciple of Human Emperor Xuanyuan.

And once they became a disciple of Human Emperor Xuanyuan, would they still be deferential to Yang Xiao?

On what grounds?

As a result, even though many people were not the least bit qualified to become a Human Emperor Disciple, when this opportunity appeared so close at hand, some of the fickle-minded and less intelligent began to have delusions. They started to think they had a chance to become a Human Emperor Disciple, and naturally, they no longer held any respect for Yang Xiao.

It could be said that

Emperor Xuanyuan had played this move beautifully.

The Path of the Human Emperor isn't about the strength of one's power; the most important thing is winning the hearts of the people. But he had dangled such tempting bait.

Even if Yang Xiao could stop his subordinates from participating in the trial, could he stop their hearts from straying?

Once people's hearts stray, the Path of the Human Emperor will collapse on its own.

Never mind that Yang Xiao was only on the verge of subjugating the Eastern and Southern Domains—the two with the least resistance. Even if he controlled the entire Profound Sun Continent and was about to become the Human Race's Common Lord, the appearance of this Ascension Platform would shatter his power base.

And yet, this was an open and honorable scheme.

Even if Yang Xiao was unwilling and saw through the ploy, he could do nothing about Emperor Xuanyuan.

At most, he could only harbor resentment.

If he couldn't see through it, that would be even better. It would prove that Yang Xiao's comprehension of the Power of the Emperor was insufficient. No matter how great his talent or potential, he would be unqualified to become the Human Emperor.

Emperor Xuanyuan also felt at ease with his decision.

'After this little fellow fails, I'll need to properly console and compensate him. Right, although he received the Void Sword Manual from Cousin Jiang Yan, he probably hasn't comprehended its subsequent transformations and developments well enough. When the time comes, I'll just thoroughly impart the complete Sword Manual to him.'

With that thought,

Emperor Xuanyuan's originally somewhat uneasy heart settled down.

And in the days that followed, Yang Xiao's every move further convinced him that he had done the right thing.

Because ever since the Ascension Platform appeared,

people's hearts had begun to stray.

Yet Yang Xiao remained in seclusion, seemingly completely unaware.

It truly seemed, just as Emperor Xuanyuan had thought, that his comprehension of the Power of the Emperor was extremely shallow.

Coupled with the fact that his cultivation was sealed, he felt there was no way Yang Xiao could participate in the competition for the Ascension Platform. Besides, as a candidate for Human Emperor, Yang Xiao had already been acknowledged by him and could be considered a Human Emperor Disciple in his own right.

There was simply no need for him to compete.

Emperor Xuanyuan felt that the outcome was already decided.

Yang Xiao would likely be stopped at the Southeast Two Domains.

「And just like that, three days later.」

The matter of the Ascension Platform had long since become a massive sensation. As brilliant young talents emerged from all over the Profound Sun Continent, their fame soaring,

Yang Xiao finally emerged from his seclusion.

Although he immediately met with Yan Chixiao and the Yan Family members he had brought upon exiting seclusion,

it seemed that from this moment on, he was going to start consolidating the forces under his command.

He was going to truly unify the Eastern and Southern Domains.

But compared to three days ago, before the Ascension Platform had appeared, the difficulty of this task was now clearly much greater.

'This little fellow probably won't be able to make any waves.'

Emperor Xuanyuan smiled faintly.

However, would things really go as he expected?

Yang Xiao refused to accept it!