Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Have you all really thought this through? You want to leave?"

Liu Shangwu might have been blunt and straightforward, but he was methodical when it came to getting things done.

Instead of directly announcing Yang Xiao's decision to the troublemakers, he first addressed the agitated Mining Slaves.

"Lord Martial Artist, can you act on Young Master Yang Xiao's behalf and let us go?"

A Mining Slave named Huu the Third spoke up.

Speaking of which, Yang Xiao had some impression of this Huu the Third. He was one of the first to appear, wanting to become his food.

Naturally, he was also one of the first to take a Strengthening Pill and become a Martial Artist.

However, what Yang Xiao hadn't expected was for this fellow to become the ringleader of the troublemakers.

But to him, these people were unimportant.

'If they want to leave, they can just leave after paying their debts.'

Hearing Huu the Third, Liu Shangwu sneered, "Let you go? How ridiculous. Do you think my Young Master would force you to stay? As long as you return every single thing you've received from my Young Master, you're free to go. No one will stop you!"

"Return them..."

Huu the Third and the others felt their hearts tremble.

In recent days, they had consumed Strengthening Pills and Barbaric Beast Meat, using up far more resources than they could have imagined. Now that they were being asked to repay them, their faces all turned deathly pale.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

But when he thought about how they could become Human Emperor Disciples if they went to the Central Domain, Huu the Third once again mustered his courage and asked, "How do you want us to repay you?"

"Simple. Isn't there an Elemental Stone Ore here? Go in and mine it yourselves. Each person just has to hand over one hundred pieces of Elemental Stone Ore, and they can leave. Oh, and those who took a Strengthening Pill need to pay ten times that amount—one thousand pieces. How about it? My Young Master isn't making things difficult for you, is he? With your current strength, if you really put your minds to it, you could probably mine that much in just a few days."

Liu Shangwu said.

This plan had clearly been relayed to him by Yang Xiao through the Fire God Clone.

Otherwise, Liu Shangwu would never have thought of it.

Hearing his words, the Mining Slaves breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just mining. They weren't actually being asked to return the miraculous Pills and Barbaric Beast Meat in their original form. For them, this lowered the difficulty immensely.

Just as Liu Shangwu had said, it was practically no trouble at all.

Thus, the Mining Slaves all agreed and went off to mine.

Seeing them leave, some of the other Mining Slaves also got ideas.

Not all of them were driven by the thought of becoming Human Emperor Disciples; some simply didn't want to stay at the Fire Cloud Mine any longer and wished to leave.

Normally, Yang Xiao would have just let them go.

But now, with this situation, he made everyone go mine to prevent people like Huu the Third from trying to be clever and shirk their debts.

The difference was that Huu the Third and his group felt that once they mined the ore, their debt to Yang Xiao would be cleared.

This other group, however, felt they would still be indebted to Yang Xiao even after mining. So, even if they left, they would still remember his kindness.

Whether people like this were here or not had no impact on Yang Xiao's Path of the Human Emperor, because in their hearts, they were already loyal to him.

By the same token, even if people like Huu the Third stayed, it would be useless if their hearts weren't with Yang Xiao. It would just be a waste of the resources he provided.

The Path of the Human Emperor is all about winning the hearts of the people.

So, whether it was Huu the Third's group or those Martial Artists from the backwaters.

If they wanted to leave, Yang Xiao would absolutely not stop them.

Seeing that Huu the Third and the others had dispersed and gone off to mine, the Martial Artists from the backwaters also planned to leave. They were just thinking about stirring up some other foolish pawns to oppose Yang Xiao when Liu Shangwu blocked their path.

"What's this, Steward Liu? You're blocking us? Don't tell me you want us to go mining too?"

one of the young men, who clearly recognized Liu Shangwu, said with a flippant look.

Seeing this young man, Liu Shangwu gave a cold smile. "Are all you people from the Zou Family such ungrateful, disloyal curs? I, Liu Shangwu, don't want to beat around the bush with you. You want to leave, don't you? The Young Master has already spoken. Everyone, including you lot, can leave as long as you return all the resources you've used and hand over all the benefits you've gained here. No one will keep you."

"Are you serious?"

The young man surnamed Zou looked astonished.

Although Liu Shangwu had just said something similar to those Mining Slaves, in his eyes, how could those Mining Slaves possibly compare to people like him?

But it now seemed that in that fellow Yang Xiao's eyes, they were all the same.

Suddenly, a strange anger flared up in the young man's heart.

But it was mixed with a sense of disbelief.

"Of course it's true. Hurry back and get ready. If you want to go, then go. Don't waste time here."

With that, Liu Shangwu turned and left.

He left the group staring after him, dumbfounded.

It took them a long while to snap out of it before they each returned to inform their elders.

Their elders found it just as incredible. However, they all saw it as a good opportunity. Still, intimidated by the few Demigod Level masters from the Lu Family, they didn't dare to act too presumptuously.

Instead, they banded together to seek out Yang Xiao for questioning.

But Yang Xiao paid them no mind and had Liu Shangwu deal with them again.

This time, they were clearly convinced.

They left behind a large amount of Cultivation Resources and departed in droves.

In the following days, people continued to leave—some were Mining Slaves, and others were those Martial Artists from the backwaters.

Yang Xiao naturally paid these people no mind.

But in the shadows, he began to set his plans in motion.

On the surface, nothing seemed to be happening at the Fire Cloud Mountain Mine, but secretly, large groups of people were already coming and going.

Even Yang Xiao himself and his Fire God Clone left the mine once.

They returned to the Celestial Cloud Region, where he used the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion to gather all his loyal followers and over seven hundred Demon Beasts, bringing them all back to the Fire Cloud Mountain Mine in one fell swoop.

Then, he sent them all out again.

They were to assist Yan Chixiao and the others in attacking the Yan Family. After its fall, they began assaulting other Immortal Dao Influences and establishing schools to teach the Martial Dao across the land.

And just like that, Yang Xiao's plan began to proceed smoothly.

In just half a month, across the vast Profound Sun Continent, nearly everyone—be they Immortal Cultivators, commoners, or unambitious Martial Cultivators—except for those solely focused on climbing the Ascension Platform, had come to know of Yang Xiao.

They knew he was walking the Path of the Human Emperor.

Furthermore, the vast majority, whether through receiving his favor or for other reasons, had ultimately pledged their allegiance to him.

「In an instant.」

The power of the Emperor Golden Dragon Secret Technique within Yang Xiao's body multiplied by an unknown factor.

Combined with the Devouring Secret Technique, which he had now fully comprehended, Yang Xiao could feel that he could probably break the seal within his body with but a single thought.

And once it was broken, with all the hearts he had gathered, his strength would become terrifyingly immense.

'It's been over half a month. I hear the only Ascension Platform left is in the Central Domain now. The three strongest youths from the Three Domains have been decided, and they're competing for the final spot—the right to become a Human Emperor Disciple. Those who haven't pledged allegiance to me are obviously watching this event. It's about time for me, Yang Xiao, to make my entrance.'

Yang Xiao smiled faintly.

He began to head toward the Central Domain.

「And right at this moment.」

The Silver Moon Envoy of the Blood Robe Tower, traitor to the Lu Family, the Longevity Demon Lu Changsheng—who had spent nearly twenty days rushing here from a continent near the Divine Land Continent—had finally arrived on the Profound Sun Continent.

And with a single sweep of his Heart Spirit, he discovered Yang Xiao's tracks.