Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to be careful about using the Sword Pill?"

The newcomer appeared with a grave expression, but it changed the moment he saw Yang Xiao.

In the next instant, however, he seemed to sense something.

A flicker of surprise then showed on his face.

Then, he calmed.

He had clearly seen through something.

"You rogue… uh, Senior, please, hurry and save the Saint Prince! His aura…"

Li Mubai was frantic.

The figure before him was, of course, the roguish old man he had mentioned before—the will clone of Human Emperor Xuanyuan.

When he first appeared, Li Mubai was indeed stunned for a moment, but his shock quickly turned to pleasant surprise. Although he felt this fellow had questionable morals, his strength was undeniable.

He might just be able to save the Saint Prince.

"Don't worry. His life force isn't extinguished. He's currently using his own methods to fight these Demon Patterns!"

As he said this, his expression grew puzzled, as if he didn't understand why these Corrosion Demon Patterns would appear here. He swept the area with his Heart Spirit.

His gaze fell upon Yu Xiaodie.

'A Half-human, Half-demon carrying Demon Blood?'

A thought stirred in Human Emperor Xuanyuan's mind.

"Senior, is what you're saying true?"

Li Mubai was skeptical.

But when he saw Human Emperor Xuanyuan's gaze sweep over Yu Xiaodie, his heart seized. He couldn't be bothered with any more questions. In a flash, he appeared before the Emperor, blocking his view.

He looked completely on guard.

This left Human Emperor Xuanyuan completely stunned.

If Yang Xiao were here right now, he would have burst out laughing.

This fellow was actually wary of Emperor Xuanyuan. Did he really think the great Human Emperor would be interested in a girl of ordinary aptitude?

And Human Emperor Xuanyuan's face did indeed darken.

He had once been a great stud, it was true. He had formed his Supreme Divine Foundation by bedding ten thousand women, which allowed him to break through to the Divine King Realm in one fell swoop. He then became a Dao Attainment Emperor and eventually the fifth Human Emperor of the Human Race.

But back then, he had only come up with that Technique of dual cultivation with partners to compensate for his weak Innate foundation. While he might have been a bit wild, he wasn't some lecherous fiend who pounced on every woman he saw.

And now, he was being guarded against like this.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was so furious he could have coughed up blood.

However, this fellow was still someone he valued. Human Emperor Xuanyuan was magnanimous enough not to get angry with him. Besides, while Yang Xiao didn't seem to be in mortal danger at the moment, the Emperor didn't dare let his guard down.

After all, these were Demon Patterns.

And Demon Patterns were strange life forms born in the Void Dark Realm, a power that only the self-proclaimed Dark Night Divine Demons could possess. They were completely different from the beings who lived in the real world.

Although these were the most common type, Corrosion Demon Patterns, their power was not to be underestimated. Even Human Emperor Xuanyuan didn't have a particularly good way to deal with them, other than using his Sword Dao to obliterate them.

Just as Li Mubai had tried to do earlier.

The difference was that Li Mubai was far too weak; it was impossible for him to destroy them. Even Yang Xiao would find it impossible to confront them head-on.

Only he himself could succeed.

The only reason he wasn't acting now and was just watching was because he was very curious.

Curious about how Yang Xiao was blocking these Demon Patterns and clinging to a thread of life.

At the same time, he wanted to see if this young man—whom he held in high regard and saw as a likely candidate to become the sixth Human Emperor—had any other tricks up his sleeve besides Breaking Nine Prohibitions that could amaze him.

With that thought, he withdrew his gaze from Yu Xiaodie, who was behind Li Mubai, and turned his attention back to Yang Xiao.

He muttered to himself, 'I once heard Celestial Emperor Yuan Shi say that the Demon Patterns from the Void Dark Realm and the Secret Patterns from the normal world can be either complementary or counteracting. This young man seems to have quite a few Secret Patterns in his body. I wonder if any of them are complementary or counteracting to this specific Demon Pattern? If there's a complementary Secret Pattern, they can fuse together. If there's a counteracting one, it can be used to slowly grind the Demon Pattern away. Both are ways for him to save himself. In that case, I wouldn't need to act at all.'

Human Emperor Xuanyuan's eyes glinted.

But on second thought…

He couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Even if such a Secret Pattern existed, with Yang Xiao's current means and abilities, it would be incredibly difficult for him to use this principle of complementarity or counteraction to wear down or fuse with the Demon Pattern.

'Even if this young man is capable of Breaking Nine Prohibitions, and is backed by his uncle-in-law, the Flame Emperor, and maybe even has the support of the Golden Emperor Saint Mother… he'd still need to be in the Divine King Realm to pull this off. Ah, forget it. Since this process is beneficial for him, why am I just standing here watching? It would be a disaster if something actually went wrong.'

With that, Human Emperor Xuanyuan decided to intervene.

But just as he was about to act, a strange power surged from Yang Xiao's body.

'Hm? What's happening?'

The moment this power appeared, the energy of the Corrosion Demon Patterns seemed to begin changing.

This change was so surprising that even Human Emperor Xuanyuan was taken aback.

Because this was exactly what he had just been talking and thinking about: fusion.

The Demon Pattern was combining with a Secret Pattern.

'It's the power of time! That's right. No matter how strong the power of corrosion is, it cannot corrode time itself. On the contrary, the passage of years can destroy almost any life and decay everything! To think this little fellow could grasp such a concept… truly remarkable. But, with his current cultivation and insight, can he really fuse with this Demon Pattern successfully?'

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was still skeptical.

The existence of Demon Patterns was simply too heaven-defying, originating as they did from the Void Dark Realm.

For a Cultivator from the normal world, one would need to become a Divine King at the very least to even have a chance of entering the Void Dark Realm.

Although all living beings had a chance to glimpse the Void Dark Realm when they became a True God, that was only its outermost layer, merely a chance to comprehend Void Power.

To pass through the Void, enter the Void Dark Realm, and make contact with the strange beings and powers within… even a Divine King barely qualified to enter.

To learn more, one had to be at least a Great Emperor.

Even for a Great Emperor—a Top-tier Emperor like himself who stood at the Great Emperor Peak and was not far from becoming a Saint Emperor—his understanding of what lay within was still quite shallow.

Just now, for example, although he had recognized the Corrosion Demon Pattern, he couldn't identify a Secret Pattern that would be complementary or counteracting to it.

This showed that Human Emperor Xuanyuan's knowledge of these Demon Patterns was merely rudimentary.

That was why he had been so astonished to see Yang Xiao actually find a complementary Time Secret Pattern that could fuse with the Demon Pattern.

But finding it was one thing.

Making them fuse successfully was no simple matter.

Human Emperor Xuanyuan felt that Yang Xiao shouldn't be able to do it. At least, not at his current Cultivation Level.

'Looks like I'll have to step in after all. Otherwise, if I let this kid force it, something might go wrong.'

With this thought…

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was once again about to act and extract the Demon Pattern from Yang Xiao's body.

But just as he was about to make his move…

The aura around Yang Xiao changed once more.

And Human Emperor Xuanyuan suddenly froze.

"This… How is this possible?"

At this moment, the longest-reigning Human Emperor in the history of the Human Race was, once again, stunned by Yang Xiao's actions.

He just stood there, dumbfounded.

Watching him, Li Mubai and Yu Xiaodie grew even more puzzled.

'What's wrong with this rogue… no, this Senior now?'

His mistrust of the man had reached its peak.

'This guy has none of the dignity a senior should have.'

'He's so much worse than the Saint Prince.'

Human Emperor Xuanyuan was completely oblivious to this.

He just stared blankly at Yang Xiao, completely silent.

After a long while, he finally let out a soft sigh.

"This young man is simply… too full of surprises. Such talent is rare, even since Ancient Times. For him to appear in our Human Race… I don't know if it's a blessing, or a curse…"

For the first time, Human Emperor Xuanyuan felt a sense of worry about Yang Xiao's monstrous talent.

A deep, profound worry.