Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"That's some decent power."

Yang Xiao smiled faintly at the sight.

Yan Chixiao, however, was completely shocked.

Decent? It was terrifying!

It was several times stronger than his most powerful strike at his peak. Even more incredibly, the arm had fused perfectly with his body, showing no signs of rejection.

And what's more...

"My Immortal Cultivation... it's all been converted! This... this is a miracle!"

Yan Chixiao exclaimed.

"What? Your Immortal Cultivation was converted? Brother Chixiao, you're not lying to us, are you?"

An Immortal Cultivator stepped forward and asked.

Yan Chixiao just smiled without answering. He clenched his fist, and the power contained within it surged forth. All the Daoist Tier Cultivators present instantly realized that this was no longer the power of the Immortal Dao—it was the power of the Martial Dao.

"Just by replacing an arm, his body's Immortal Dao Aura was completely converted into Martial Dao power? That's... that's incredible!"

"Exactly! I thought that old bastard Yan Chixiao was trying to trick us. I never imagined that not only was he telling the truth, but he was actually saving us! If not for this, we'd eventually die of old age as our cultivation fades away. Now, we finally have hope."

"Tell me about it. I was so resentful when he tricked me into taking that Poison Pill. But now? I'm actually glad I was on good terms with him. It's because of that relationship that I have this opportunity."

Every one of these Immortal Cultivators began to feel a renewed sense of hope.

They completely abandoned their previous plans of only pretending to obey Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao was very pleased with this.

This was exactly why he had done it.

'Now that Emperor Xuanyuan has turned all the Martial Cultivators against me, I might as well not bother trying to win them over—at least for the time being. Let them fight over the Ascension Platform and the title of Emperor Xuanyuan's disciple.'

'That leaves me with only two kinds of people to win over.'

'The first is the Immortal Cultivators, who are barely clinging to life. The second is the mortals who were once enslaved by them.'

'And as long as I can subdue the former, winning over the latter will be simple, despite their numbers. It's just like with the tens of thousands of Mining Slaves here at the Fire Cloud Mine.'

'It only took a few days to win their loyalty. It's clear that these commoners, who have no one to rely on, are quite easy to bring to my side.'

'As long as I give them status, teach them the Martial Dao, and offer them hope, how could they possibly refuse to follow me?'

It's the cultivators who are the real challenge to subdue.

'But now, the Immortal Cultivators are facing a calamity, and I have something they desperately need. More importantly, thanks to the Guiding Spirit Seeds, almost every talented person has entered the Immortal Dao.'

'If I were to abandon these people, it would mean giving up on every genius who has appeared on the Profound Sun Continent in the last several thousand years.'

'For instance, these dozen or so Daoist Tier Cultivators, including Yan Chiyun—whom I ordered Yan Chixiao to kill—all possess talent equivalent to a Low-grade Treasure Body or higher.'

'Otherwise, they never would have been able to reach the Daoist Tier.'

'The most talented among them, Yan Chiyun, even had the aptitude for an Upper-Grade Treasure Body. With such talent, he would be considered a minor prodigy even on the Divine Land Continent.'

'If I truly want to build the Profound Sun Continent into my own nation, I can't possibly abandon these people.'

'That's why I went to the trouble of starting with Yan Chixiao to bring them completely under my control.'

'Next, I'll use them to recruit more Immortal Cultivators. Once I have the Immortal Cultivators and the commoners on my side, what does it matter if those Martial Cultivators refuse to submit? If worst comes to worst, I'll just kill them all!'

A confident gleam flashed in Yang Xiao's eyes.

Of course, he was just thinking out loud.

'Subduing those ambitious Martial Cultivators seems difficult now, but for me, it's actually not that hard. I just need to extinguish the ambition in their hearts, and they'll be easy enough to win over.'

However, subduing the Immortal Cultivators and commoners first was the prerequisite for everything else.

So, to strike while the iron was hot, Yang Xiao's Fire God Clone flickered and appeared before Yan Chixiao. He raised a finger and tapped it between Yan Chixiao's eyebrows. Instantly, a Secret Technique flowed into his mind.

At the same time, he spoke, "This Fire Dragon Secret Technique is a perfect match for your arm. Take it and cultivate. Before long, you can truly become a Martial Cultivator."

After doing all this,

The Fire God Clone acted again.

Flames surged from its body, and several types of Spirit Medicine fell into them. In just a moment, a dozen or so Strengthening Foundation and Nourishing Essence Pills were forged.

One for each of the Immortal Cultivators present.

He tossed them out.

"These are Strengthening Foundation and Nourishing Essence Pills. They can stabilize your fading cultivation. You've all seen Yan Chixiao. He was the first Immortal Cultivator to submit to me—oh, wait, he's a Martial Cultivator now. You are the second batch. As long as you all work with Yan Chixiao to bring more Immortal Cultivators to our side, you too will soon become Martial Cultivators. You'll no longer have to live in fear of your cultivation completely disappearing."

As soon as he said this,

the Daoist Tier Cultivators, who were already thoroughly convinced, nodded eagerly.

One by one, they knelt and kowtowed.

Pledging their allegiance to Yang Xiao.

They vowed to do everything in their power to crush the Yan Family and recruit more Immortal Cultivators.

Yang Xiao was very pleased.

Although he had recalled his Fire God Clone and had the Lu Family's help, his forces were still far too small compared to the vastness of the Profound Sun Continent.

He needed more people to pledge their loyalty and work for him, allowing his influence to snowball.

This was the first step.

After giving each of the Daoist Tier Cultivators one of the Poison Pills he had previously given to Yan Chixiao, Yang Xiao dismissed them.

He was then left alone with his Fire God Clone.

Seeing the Immortal Cultivators leave, the Fire God Clone smiled faintly. "Actually, we have plenty of manpower. It just depends on whether you're willing to use it."

Hearing this, Yang Xiao frowned slightly and said, "You mean those Barbaric Beasts in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion?"

"Exactly. Over the past few days, I've been taking batches of Barbaric Beasts out to undergo their tribulations. Although many Tier Six Barbaric Beast Kings have fallen, quite a few have survived. Right now, in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, there are 763 Tier Seven Demon Beasts. You can have them take human form, which would be equivalent to 763 Great Divine Power Realm Martial Cultivators. Given the current situation on the Profound Sun Continent, who could possibly compare to you?"

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up instantly.

"That's right, how could I forget about this force? With so many Demon Beasts, our plan can probably be achieved in just half a month."

Yang Xiao smiled.

The Fire God Clone also smiled.

They were two parts of the same whole, their minds connected as one.

They didn't even need to speak to communicate.

Their earlier conversation had just been for their own amusement.

'Looks like my Path of the Human Emperor will soon be a success.'

Yang Xiao smiled.

But just then, Lu Fangliang and Liu Shangwu came hurrying over.

From the look on their faces, something major had happened.

At the same time, the Fire God Clone's Spiritual Power swept out, and its expression changed.

Yang Xiao sensed what it saw.

His expression turned grim as well.

Because Emperor Xuanyuan's machinations were escalating. Even the forces Yang Xiao had just brought under his control were beginning to show signs of turmoil.