Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Saint Prince, how are you?"

When Li Mubai came to his senses, his expression changed drastically as he saw the incredibly evil black Secret Patterns surging into Yang Xiao's body all at once.

His eyes filled with self-reproach.

He knew it was his own reckless action that had caused these black Secret Patterns to surge toward Yang Xiao.

But now, he had no idea how to remedy the situation.

Especially when he saw Yang Xiao standing motionless in front of him.

Completely deaf to his words.

His heart was filled with extreme self-blame.

'It's all my fault. If I hadn't rashly attacked these Secret Patterns, the Saint Prince wouldn't have suffered such a calamity. No, this won't do. I have to help the Saint Prince!'

A resolute look filled Li Mubai's eyes.

He thought for a moment.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

A brilliant golden Pill had appeared in his hand.

The Pill radiated a sharp, imposing aura, completely different from an ordinary Spirit Pill.

It was Li Mubai's most precious treasure.

'I hope that scoundrelly old man wasn't lying to me. I hope this Sword Pill can truly help one comprehend the Sword Dao, bring the dead back to life, and sever all things. Otherwise, even if I, Li Mubai, died ten thousand times, it wouldn't be enough to atone for my mistake.'

He murmured to himself, and finally, his resolve hardened.

He took the Sword Pill in his hand.

And fed it into Yang Xiao's mouth.

At the exact moment the Sword Pill entered his body, Yang Xiao—whose Heart Spirit was fully withdrawn as he fought a desperate battle against the invading Secret Patterns—

felt his Heart Spirit tremble.

'What's this? Huh? It's actually Cousin Xuanyuan's Essence of Sword Dao? What's going on? Could Cousin Xuanyuan have known I was in trouble and come to save me? No, that's not right. If it were really him, he would never feed me the Essence of Sword Dao. It was Li Mubai! That guy... he must have panicked and tried a desperate remedy. He had a perfectly good Essence of Sword Dao and didn't even use it himself, giving it to me instead. What a waste.'

Yang Xiao sighed internally.

He knew, however, that Li Mubai must have acted this way out of desperation.

But this Essence of Sword Dao...

'Huh? These insights... they're actually useful?'

Yang Xiao was suddenly stunned.

He had originally thought that the Essence of Sword Dao would be useless against the black Secret Patterns. Besides, he was walking his own path of the Sword Dao, so he hadn't paid much mind to the essence, even if it came from Human Emperor Xuanyuan.

But as the Essence of Sword Dao flooded his Heart Spirit and merged with his own Sword Dao comprehensions,

Yang Xiao's expression suddenly changed.

The most refined part of this Essence of Sword Dao was its focus on Sword Arrays.

Combining Sword Arrays.

Using all kinds of Sword Daos to form Sword Arrays.

Then, from Sword Arrays, one could form a Sword Realm. Although this followed the same path as the Void Sword Manual, it was clear that Human Emperor Xuanyuan had analyzed and simplified the original path. The original path was extremely difficult to begin, requiring one to comprehend a single Dao that could contain the Ten Thousand Dao, a single sword that could form a realm—a path of the Sword Dao that demanded immense comprehension. It had now been broken down to the level of Sword Arrays.

'This way, cultivating the Void Sword Manual becomes much simpler. Even if I can't fully comprehend it in the end, this Sword Array method can still guarantee a certain level of combat power. No wonder when Li Mubai pointed his finger earlier, it formed a Sword Array. So that's how it is. Moreover, these Sword Arrays are also of great use to my own cultivation.'

A glint flashed in Yang Xiao's eyes.

He was currently walking his own path of cultivation, and his path, coincidentally, was also one of merging the Ten Thousand Dao, rooted in the concepts of the Void Sword Manual.

However, his path was even more difficult than that of the Void Sword Manual.

It didn't just involve the Sword Dao.

But now, after seeing Human Emperor Xuanyuan's Sword Array method, he suddenly had an epiphany.

If Human Emperor Xuanyuan could use the Sword Array method to allow people to progressively cultivate toward the realm of one Dao merging the Ten Thousand Dao,

then couldn't he use Arrays to achieve the same goal?

Of course he could.

In fact, for Yang Xiao, merging the Ten Thousand Dao through Arrays would be even easier than using Sword Arrays. This was because forming a Sword Array required linking different types of Sword Qi, an exceptionally complex operation. Yang Xiao, however, already had twelve Divine Pills of different attributes within his body.

As long as he used the Divine Pills to form an Array, he could create all sorts of formations.

At the same time, Yang Xiao gained a clear understanding of the path ahead.

He began to purposefully search for Secret Patterns that would be useful for his Array formations.

For example, the Great Yin Yang Five Elements Array was one of the most widespread Arrays in the world, yet its power was extraordinary, containing the ultimate principles of the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements Dao.

If Yang Xiao could form it with his Divine Pills, his own strength would absolutely rise to a terrifying new level.

There was also the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Evil Array he had used in the Starburst Skill, and even the Celestial Stars and Constell Array, as well as the Array of the Origin of All Things that he knew of.

And right now, the Essence of Sword Dao from Human Emperor Xuanyuan also contained powers of various attributes and all kinds of Sword Arrays.

All of this gave Yang Xiao more options and a deeper foundation in Arrays.

It allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the Dao of Arrays.

'For instance, right now, it seems I can use the Supreme Condensing Essence Returning One Sword Formation to condense all my power into a single point!'

With a thought, Yang Xiao's Heart Spirit stirred.

All the powers in his body that had been desperately resisting the black Secret Patterns instantly contracted.

Whether it was the Visible Flood Dragon formed from his flesh and blood, the twelve Divine Pills in his body, the True Greater Yang Fire, or the power of his Divine Soul.

In that instant, under the effect of the Supreme Condensing Essence Returning One Sword Formation, everything condensed together into a tiny point, gathering in the area composed of a full forty thousand mysterious patterns.

This was also the most heavily defended area in Yang Xiao's body.

He had had this idea before, but although this cluster of mysterious patterns numbered forty thousand, the area it covered was still too small to protect all of his power.

But now, having comprehended the Dao of Arrays, all the power in his body was reduced to a single point under the effect of the Supreme Condensing Essence Returning One Sword Formation.

Naturally, it could now be hidden behind these mysterious patterns.

And as all his power converged there, Yang Xiao discovered something. The black Secret Patterns, which had previously seemed capable of invading and corrupting any form of power, were rendered ineffective when they encountered these equally mysterious patterns.

'It really worked! I'm now in an invincible position. Next is to decipher these evil Secret Patterns. As they say, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles. As long as I can grasp all the mysteries of these Secret Patterns, forget just deciphering them—I could probably even cultivate a Divine Pill from them with ease. When that time comes, not only will I save my own life, I'll even turn this disaster into a blessing!'

Yang Xiao's eyes lit up.

His Heart Spirit instantly swept out.

He began comprehending the mysteries within the black Secret Patterns while simultaneously resisting their corrosion.

Yang Xiao discovered that by using the Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable Map to resist, he could barely withstand the corrosion of the black Secret Patterns' power. Furthermore, his own mastery of the Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable Map was rapidly increasing.

He was instantly overjoyed.

'These black Secret Patterns may be a disaster, but now they've become my whetstone. I can use them not only to hone my understanding of Secret Patterns, but also to temper my Spiritual Power. If I can seize this chance to comprehend the mysteries of the Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable Map, that would be truly wonderful.'

Yang Xiao smiled faintly.

He felt more and more that these black Secret Patterns were a blessing, not a curse.

「Meanwhile.」

Li Mubai saw the vital energy and power in Yang Xiao's body seem to decay all at once.

His heart filled with extreme anxiety.

Just as he was about to recklessly try and draw out the Secret Patterns that had invaded Yang Xiao's body,

a phantom-like figure

instantly appeared before him.

Seeing this figure, Li Mubai was slightly taken aback.

'Why is he here?'