'What profound power to shift through the void. I'm starting to get really excited about this Northern Wilderness Sword God.'
The moment the mysterious power from the Northern Wilderness Sword Order entered Yang Xiao's body, his vision went black. A lurching, tumbling sensation immediately wracked his entire being.
Yang Xiao immediately knew what this power was.
Void Power.
It was one of the most powerful forces in existence.
It was also a power that anyone wishing to become a True God had to comprehend.
Only by comprehending Void Power and at least the First Layer of its Void Secret Pattern could one hope to ignite their Divine Fire and forge a Divine Format.
In his first life, Yang Xiao had been born a True God.
He had originally lacked this stage of comprehension, but after his death in his second life...
...a wisp of his remnant soul had survived for a million years in the rifts of the void, gradually making up for that deficiency.
His comprehension was now even greater and more profound than that of an ordinary Divine King at their Peak.
So, the moment this power appeared, Yang Xiao recognized it.
However, Void Power was different from ordinary powers. Few people below the Demigod realm could comprehend it, unless they possessed a special constitution. And even with a special constitution...
...one's Spiritual Level still needed to reach the Void Observation stage to cultivate it.
Right now, Yang Xiao wasn't quite there yet.
'Huh, the scenery here isn't bad... And over there, that tower... it's very strange!'
As the profound power of void teleportation subsided, Yang Xiao gradually began to see light.
When the scene fully materialized...
...Yang Xiao found himself in a valley lush with green grass and filled with strange flowers and Exotic Fruits.
To his delight, there were quite a few plants that would be considered to be at the Spirit Medicine Level in the outside world.
And they were of a high grade, no less.
All of them were Tier Seven and Above.
This made him wonder.
'Could I find a Medicine King of the Ancient Spirit Medicine Level here in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion?'
If so...
'...that would be absolutely incredible.'
However, these things were not what surprised Yang Xiao the most.
The thing that surprised him the most...
...was deep within the valley.
There stood a tower that looked simple and ancient, etched with the traces of time.
However, the tower looked very strange.
It was only a single story high.
The patterns on the tower itself were also fascinating.
It looked plain and unadorned, but in reality, there were fine Secret Patterns on it.
They immediately captivated Yang Xiao's gaze.
He completely lost interest in picking the Spirit Medicines, which, despite being High Tier, were no longer of much use to him.
He just stared fixedly at it.
His feet seemed ready to carry him forward on their own.
After staring for a long timeâhe didn't know for how long...
...Yang Xiao suddenly snapped back to his senses.
'I'm in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion right now.'
'Getting lost in thought like this...'
'Heaven knows what dangers might be lurking?'
Snapping out of his trance, he looked at the tower again.
He still felt an irresistible pull, a desire to immerse himself in it.
At the same time, he found it somewhat strange.
Because the Secret Patterns on the tower...
...were patterns he had never seen before.
'It seems the master of this Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion was a being who cultivated a special kind of Secret Pattern. No wonder they were so powerful!'
In his past life, Yang Xiao had been incredibly knowledgeable, proficient in most Secret Patterns.
Even for unique ones like the Void Secret Pattern and the Star Secret Pattern, he could identify them at a glance.
Even if he didn't know the cultivation method, he could usually identify their origin and attribute.
But he had never before seen the Secret Pattern before him now.
This made Yang Xiao even more curious.
He couldn't help but wonder just who this Northern Wilderness Sword God was.
'If he was born before my time...'
'...why had I never seen him?'
'Never knew of this person?'
'If he was born after my time...'
'...what level did he reach?'
'What mysterious Secret Pattern did he cultivate?'
All of it...
...made Yang Xiao want to investigate.
But now didn't seem to be the right time.
Yang Xiao snapped back to reality.
As he did, he immediately realized something was wrong.
'Huh? Where are Brother Lu and Bing Xin?'
Yang Xiao was stunned.
He clearly remembered entering together with Lu Fangliang and Bing Xin.
But now...
...it seemed that aside from the unconscious Yang Ziling at his sideâoh, right, and the Northern Wilderness Sword Order from Pure Yang Ancestor that was on his personâthe other two were gone.
'What's going on? Brother Lu and Elder Pure Yang never said this would happen.'
Yang Xiao was dumbfounded for a moment.
But he quickly collected himself.
While this development was unexpected, it wasn't as shocking as the tower before him.
'Perhaps Elder Pure Yang and Brother Lu didn't know about this either. Otherwise, they definitely would have mentioned it.'
The Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, after all, only opens once every thousand years.
Although Pure Yang Ancestor and Lu Fangliang knew some of its secrets, neither had ever been inside.
It was natural they wouldn't know everything.
Having reasoned this out, Yang Xiao sighed softly. 'Forget it. If we're not together, we're not together. With Brother Lu's strength, even if he can't win a fight, he can certainly protect himself. Besides, we all entered at the same time. If I look around, there's no reason they should run into Xuan Tianzhan before they run into me.'
He comforted himself with this thought.
He wasn't worried about Lu Fangliang.
With the Greater Yang God Arrow, even if he couldn't win, how could he fail to escape?
Yang Xiao was more worried about that girl, Bing Xin.
While her strength wasn't badâhaving reached the Martial Grandmaster Sixth Layer, perhaps even possessing the power of the Seventh Layerâshe was still far weaker than Xuan Tianzhan.
And that was to say nothing of Xue Yi.
If she ran into those two, given Xuan Tianzhan's character, her chances of survival would be slim.
Yang Xiao couldn't help but worry.
But worrying now was useless.
He had no idea where Bing Xin was.
Besides, at this very moment, Yang Xiao truly didn't know how to face Bing Xin.
Remembering that earlier scene, he felt a surge of frustration.
'That was a bad move. So impulsive. I really should have thought it through. Who knew that girl would react like that?'
Yang Xiao recalled the look of admiration on Bing Xin's face.
His heart skipped a beat.
He had only intended to save her life, but judging by her reaction afterward, it seemed she had misunderstood something.
It gave Yang Xiao a headache.
'If that girl really thinks that way...!'
Yang Xiao's head throbbed even more, and he couldn't help but inwardly groan.
'Seriously? We've only met twice. Does it have to move this fast?'
Alas.
What was done was done. Complaining wouldn't change anything.
Besides, he was the one who had caused this mess.
He had no one to blame but himself.
'Why couldn't I have been more tactful?'
'Just knocking her unconscious...'
'...wouldn't that have been better?'
But since Bing Xin wasn't here at the moment...
...Yang Xiao didn't have to deal with that particular headache just yet.
However, the problem he currently needed to solve...
...still had to do with a woman.
Just not Bing Xin.
But the woman right in front of him.
Yang Ziling.
He had rescued her from Fang Aohan.
Since then, Yang Xiao had been busy fighting.
It seemed...
...that the effects of the drug on her hadn't been dealt with yet.
After a moment of thought, Yang Xiao decided to neutralize the drug's effects first. After all, everything here was unknown. If danger struck, he couldn't guarantee her safety.
Therefore.
It was best to neutralize the drug and wake her up first.