Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"This secret concerns me as well?"

After a moment of silence, Yang Xiao frowned and asked softly.

"Indeed."

Elder Long nodded in approval and continued, "Secret Patterns originate from the Ancient Divine Race, and Demon Patterns from the Ancient Demon Clan. Though gods and demons are seen as irreconcilable, they actually share the same root. Their essence is fundamentally the same. You could even say their relationship is one of mutual creation and destruction. Once fused, they give birth to a perfect form of Secret Pattern, just like the perfect Child of God-Demon of old. It's just that compared to him, you would be considered a weaker version of the Divine-Demon Body."

"The Divine-Demon Body?"

Yang Xiao was perplexed.

"Correct. Since the time of the Child of God-Demon, other beings have managed to fuse Divine and Demon Patterns. The constitutions they possess are known as Divine-Demon Bodies. However, compared to the perfect Child of God-Demon, these bodies are far from perfect. As for you, you can barely be considered to have the weakest form of a Divine-Demon Body."

Elder Long stated calmly.

"So I have the traits of a Divine-Demon Body? Is that the secret you were talking about?"

Yang Xiao asked.

"Correct. The secret of the Divine-Demon Body is actually quite simple: it causes malice to fester and goodwill to become everlasting. In short, anyone who bears you ill will becomes even more malicious, to the point they want you dead. On the other hand, anyone who bears you goodwill will maintain those kind intentions forever. That's why I said those people might not have reached a point where they absolutely had to kill you. It's just that they harbored some ill will, and your body amplified it."

Elder Long's words brought instant clarity to Yang Xiao.

He had originally thought that after fusing with the Demon Pattern, he could only draw out the malice in others—especially in those who already bore him ill will—intensifying it to the point of murderous intent.

He never knew...

...that it also had a good side.

That it could amplify goodwill and make it last forever.

'In that case, doesn't this mean I can make those who admire me even more devoted? It would make it much easier to win the hearts of the people.'

A thought struck Yang Xiao.

A faint smile touched his lips.

'This so-called Divine-Demon Body of mine doesn't seem so bad now. Although amplifying malice is a real headache and will cause me a lot of trouble, the flip side is that making goodwill permanent will make those who submit to me even more loyal. For my Path of the Human Emperor, this is an incredible boon.'

'Besides, it's always better for malice to be brought into the open rather than festering in the dark. After all, those people already bore me ill will. Even without my constitution amplifying it, they might have acted against me in the future anyway. Now that it's intensified, at least I can know about it immediately and respond accordingly.'

'Still, it looks like I shouldn't get too close to overly powerful individuals from now on... No, wait. My constitution amplified Human Emperor Xuanyuan's malice before, but he managed to suppress it. Does that mean my Divine-Demon Body isn't all-powerful?'

With this in mind, Yang Xiao asked, "Elder Long, I've only fused with a single Demon Pattern, so my Divine-Demon Body must be very rudimentary. Its influence should be quite limited, right?"

Hearing this, Elder Long was slightly taken aback.

He gave Yang Xiao a long look, then nodded. "For you to have realized this, you are truly worthy of being the Saint Prince chosen by the Human Emperor. It is a great fortune that my Lu Family supports you wholeheartedly. You are correct. With your current constitution, you can at most influence those beneath the Divine King realm. Those at or above the Divine King realm, especially Top-tier Divine Kings, have an immense mental and spiritual fortitude. You cannot affect them in the slightest. So, you can rest easy about that second boy of the Lu Family. I will personally cleanse the Demon Thought from him shortly."

"The second boy of the Lu Family? Uh, you mean the Lu Family's Second Elder?"

Yang Xiao was stunned.

Then again, he mused, Elder Long knew so many secrets from Ancient Times that he was probably even older than Yang Xiao had been in his first life. Calling the Lu Family's Second Elder "boy" wasn't that out of place.

Besides, Elder Long had made his position clear. Yang Xiao thought for a moment before finally nodding. "Very well. Since you've said so, Elder Long, it would be petty of me to keep pursuing this. Besides, if we were to actually fight, I'm no match for the Second Elder. Let's just drop it."

He waved his hand dismissively.

He was telling the truth.

Upon hearing this, Elder Long let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Since you're being so magnanimous, I won't be stingy. Didn't you win a bet against that Lu Family junior? On behalf of the Lu Family, I'll double your number of entries into the Greater Yang Pool to six. As for the Lu Family's secret archives, you may access them whenever you please. I will also give you two Greater Yang King Fruits. Adding the one from the Lu Family's Second Elder, that makes three in total. I imagine you aren't lacking for anything else, so that will be all. How does that sound?"

Yang Xiao nodded.

He had never intended to covet anything from the Lu Family in the first place.

It was just that Lu Fangxing had been too arrogant, even trying to usurp his title of Saint Prince. Yang Xiao had only wanted to teach him a lesson.

Now that they had decided to reconcile,

these rewards

didn't mean much to him.

However, while he cared little for those items, there was one thing he was very interested in.

The Last Three Layers of the Rising Dragon Tower. Only there could he obtain the final three layers of the Greater Yang Secret Pattern. Once he successfully cultivated this Secret Pattern, he could condense a Supreme Divine Pill.

Only then would soaking in the Greater Yang Pool have the best effect.

Therefore, Yang Xiao didn't hesitate to ask Elder Long for permission to continue challenging the Rising Dragon Tower.

"Although your cultivation is only at the Small Divine Ability Realm, I can see that your true strength is no less than that of a Tier Three Peak True God. While most of that power is borrowed from the living beings of this continent, it's still quite impressive. You may enter. You can also obtain Greater Yang King Fruits from the last three layers of the Rising Dragon Tower."

"A single Greater Yang King Fruit can transform a Mortal into a Low-grade Greater Yang Treasure Body. Ten of them can forge a Mid-grade Greater Yang Treasure Body. If used in conjunction with the Greater Yang Pool, you could even attain an Upper-Grade Greater Yang Treasure Body. From what I can tell, although your constitution is profound, it's only at the level of a Middle-grade Treasure Body, and it's just a Fire Constitution, correct?"

"If you can clear the Ninth Layer, you can elevate your constitution to the next level and transform it into a Greater Yang Body. Your cultivation will likely rise by several levels as well. Go on in."

With that said, he waved his hand.

Yang Xiao's figure flickered.

When he reappeared, he was already inside the Rising Dragon Tower.

Specifically, he was before the 7th Layer of the Rising Dragon Tower.

'It's been almost two years. I should be able to clear the Last Three Layers with ease now, right?'

He gazed at the enormous Transmission Light Gate before him.

A thought stirred in Yang Xiao's mind.

However, he wasn't reckless. Just like before, he first stayed outside to study the Greater Yang Secret Pattern contained within the Light Gate.

With his current Spiritual Power at the Divinity Communication Realm, he quickly memorized the Secret Pattern.

He consumed a Desolate Divine Fruit.

In an instant,

Yang Xiao comprehended the Seventh Layer of the Greater Yang Secret Pattern to the point of Perfection.

He stood up and walked toward the Light Gate.

Meanwhile, outside the tower, Elder Long stroked his beard as he witnessed this scene.

He nodded.

'This boy is poised and steady—the very image of an enlightened ruler. With his Divine-Demon Body, his future accomplishments will be limitless, provided he survives. It seems I really must do something to make sure all the juniors and descendants of the Lu Family understand that this Saint Prince, Yang Xiao, is our family's hope.'

With a flicker of his thoughts,

Elder Long's figure

vanished without a trace.

At the same time, a voice echoed in the minds of all the Lu Family's upper echelons.

"Come and see me at once!"

In an instant, every single one of them shot to their feet, dropping whatever they were doing.

They hurried toward the Greater Yang God Hall, the Lu Family's council chamber.