Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

'I can't fuse them?'

Yang Xiao, who had found his path and was deep in cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes, his expression shifting slightly.

Just a moment ago, he had tried to fuse the Time Secret Pattern and the Pure Yang Secret Pattern with his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame. But after many attempts, he had failed to fuse even one.

After all, he had already cultivated both the Time Secret Pattern and the Pure Yang Secret Pattern to the point of condensing a Heart of Secret Patterns. One could say he had comprehended them to their highest level. The only steps beyond that were to congeal a Divine Format, nurture a Dao Seed, and grow a Heaven-Reaching Dao Tree.

Likewise, Yang Xiao had also comprehended the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire within his body to an extremely profound level.

Logically, since he had comprehended both powers to their limits, it should have been easy to find their commonalities and fuse them.

But now it seemed otherwise. 'I must have underestimated the difficulty of fusing Secret Patterns. It looks like I need to think this through more carefully.'

A thought struck Yang Xiao.

His brows, however, furrowed.

At his level of cultivation, he naturally understood that there were commonalities between Secret Patterns.

But there were also differences.

Commonalities allowed for fusion, but differences caused repulsion. To fuse two completely different Secret Patterns, one had to find their common ground. In this case, the Pure Yang Secret Pattern and the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame seemed like the most suitable pair. It was like before, when the True Greater Yang Fire he had cultivated wasn't actually True Greater Yang Fire in the truest sense of the term.

Instead, it was a combination of the Star Secret Pattern, the Fiery Yang Secret Pattern, the Greater Yang Secret Pattern, and the Fire Element Secret Pattern contained within his Heaven and Earth Origin Fire.

This combination, while not comparable to how the Golden-winged Roc Clan directly fused the Gold Element Secret Pattern and the Void Secret Pattern to create the unique Golden Roc Secret Pattern—a Secret Pattern that could form a true Great Dao—was still a preliminary fusion of Secret Patterns.

Originally, Yang Xiao had thought this might be difficult for others.

But for him, it shouldn't have been that hard.

After all, he had already succeeded before when condensing the True Greater Yang Fire.

But now, it seemed that was not the case at all.

'I see now. Fusing a Secret Pattern with another Secret Pattern is indeed easy. But my previous plan was to use the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame as a vessel for the Secret Patterns. That's where I was wrong.'

A thought struck Yang Xiao.

He began another attempt.

This time, it was much easier than before.

After all, he had managed to combine the Four Great Secret Patterns back when his cultivation was still low.

It was even easier now.

But as Yang Xiao combined the Fire Element Secret Pattern and the Pure Yang Secret Pattern,

his expression suddenly changed.

'No, this is wrong. My foundation is the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire, not some ordinary fire. Even if this Fire Element Secret Pattern combines these powers, how can it possibly serve as the ultimate foundation for fusing everything? No, I was mistaken. This was the wrong step.'

Instantly, Yang Xiao broke apart the newly combined Pure Yang Secret Pattern and Fire Element Secret Pattern.

His Heaven and Earth Origin Fire was, naturally, different from ordinary fire.

Could ordinary Gold Element Power even compare to Gold Element Origin Power?

Furthermore, the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire contained not only the power of Origin, but also the power of Heaven and Earth itself, making it a supreme existence.

Only a power like this could serve as his foundation.

And so, Yang Xiao's problem remained unsolved.

However, while the problem itself persisted, he had now found the right direction and the key to solving it.

'If I can truly analyze the profound mysteries contained within the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire, and then integrate those mysteries into all my Secret Patterns... I might not be able to create Heaven and Earth Origin Gold, or the Pure Yang of Heaven and Earth, but it should elevate the level of these Secret Patterns. Moreover, it would provide the foundation needed for the future when the Ten Thousand Daos Unite.'

A thought struck Yang Xiao.

He suddenly realized that he understood far too little about his own fundamental power, the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire.

In fact, he had been operating under a misconception all this time.

Or perhaps, a mental block.

He had only ever enjoyed the benefits of the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire's growth, without ever stopping to dissect the foundation of this power.

'In my first life, I was born an Innate Fire God. Back then, my spiritual awareness and wisdom lagged far behind my strength, making it impossible for me to perceive the true foundation of the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire.'

'But it's different now. I'm in my third life. My spiritual awareness, wisdom, and even my Spiritual Power have surpassed the current level of my Heaven and Earth Origin Fire. If I don't study it now, once my power truly increases, I'll be back where I started—unable to see my own foundation clearly.'

Therefore, Yang Xiao had to grasp the nature of his own foundation while he still could.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles."

If he couldn't even understand himself,

how could he ever forge his own path?

Yang Xiao had an epiphany. In that instant, he cast aside all other thoughts and began to observe his Heaven and Earth Origin Fire with his entire being.

He sought to experience its profound mysteries.

As he did, Yang Xiao immediately noticed something different.

He felt a mysterious and profound power stirring within his mind.

It was as if he was seeing himself with perfect clarity for the first time.

His first life.

Even his second life.

And now, his third life.

A new understanding and a new discovery dawned in Yang Xiao's mind regarding all of them.

And it was from this moment that he truly began to slowly fuse the power of his three lives, seeing through to their very foundation.

The foundation of the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire.

That power which came from Heaven and Earth.

That power which came from the Origin.

A long time passed.

A very long time.

Yang Xiao's entire Heart Spirit immersed itself in the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire. He forgot everything, his mind singularly focused on comprehending this power that had been born and had grown alongside him.

It was as if he had returned to a state of primordial Chaos.

In that time, before the world began, all things were yet to be born or grow; therefore, they could neither die nor truly live.

Everything was a state of undifferentiated Chaos.

After an unknown eternity, the first living being was born within this Chaos. It possessed spiritual awareness and intelligence, and its first waking thought was to tear apart the Chaos that surrounded it.

Thus, Heaven and Earth came into being. There was up and down, high and low, left and right. There was Yin and Yang. All manner of powers were born in a great explosion.

Among them, what most attracted Yang Xiao's gaze was a ball of fire.

A crimson flame.

The very first flame in all of Heaven and Earth.

Upon seeing that flame, Yang Xiao's Heart Spirit trembled.

He snapped back to awareness.

His expression was one of boundless shock and immense joy.

'I've got it! So this is the power of the Heaven and Earth Origin! It's Chaos! Perhaps... I can call it the Chaos Secret Pattern!'

Yang Xiao smiled.

He knew he was on the right path.

But at the same time, he felt a little annoyed.

'What a fool I've been. I've cultivated for three lifetimes, searching the world for all sorts of profound Cultivation Techniques and mysteries, yet I never realized that I myself am the greatest mystery in Heaven and Earth. My own being is the most powerful Cultivation Technique in the world! Talk about neglecting the fundamental for the trivial, wasn't that me exactly? Haha! But in the end, I've finally understood. Now that I have the Chaos Secret Pattern, it's time to break through the Small Divine Ability Realm!'

With a thought from his Heart Spirit,

terrifying waves of energy surged forth from within his body.

This energy was a convergence of the power from the Seventy-two Small Divine Techniques.

Under the Secret Technique of the Nine Yang Celestial Skill, these powers combined, transforming into a brilliantly golden, perfectly round Divine Pill.

He had reached the Small Divine Ability Realm!