"A Golden-winged Roc? How is that possible!"
Seeing the figure lunging at him at high speed, Yang Xiao was stunned.
He had never, ever expected this.
The being that wanted to kill him was actually a Golden-winged Roc.
A pure-blooded Divine Beast.
Although, it looked like just a Divine Beast cub.
But...
'Holy shit! Even if it's a Divine Beast cub, it's at least comparable to the Great Divine Power Realm, and maybe even a Demigod! Heavens, are you messing with me?'
He was filled with rage.
And indignation.
But for Yang Xiao...
There was only one path to take.
And that was to flee.
But he couldn't even move. How was he supposed to flee?
'Right, the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.'
Just as the Golden-winged Roc was about to lunge forward and deliver a killing blow, Yang Xiao finally reacted, activating the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace and throwing it up in front of himself.
BANG!
At last, he had blocked this terrifying Divine Beast cub, the Golden-winged Roc.
"Hm? You actually have a Divine Artifact? No wonder you could kill my brother. But, do you think you're the only one with a Divine Artifact?"
The Golden-winged Roc was surprised at first, but then it let out a cold snort.
Its body, which didn't look particularly majestic, suddenly erupted with brilliant Golden Light.
Then, the Golden-winged Roc actually transformed into a form with a human body and an eagle's head. In its hand, a gleaming golden spear appeared, which radiated an intimidating sharpness at first glance.
It contained the profundities of the Void and Five Elements Gold.
'Holy shit, a Low Grade True Divine Artifact! What do I do now?'
For the first time...
Yang Xiao felt such a strong aura of death.
With a piercing sound...
The golden Divine Artifact spear stabbed directly at the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
In an instant...
The blow made the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace tremble.
And sent it reeling backward.
Yang Xiao's expression grew even uglier.
"You can still block it? Hmph, this Roc would like to see how many of my blows you can withstand!"
As it spoke, the Golden-winged Roc struck the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace heavily with its spear again. The two artifacts were of a similar grade, but their wielders were worlds apart.
Yang Xiao was far too weak.
He couldn't operate the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace on his own at all.
He could only rely on the Artifact Spirit, Han Ziye, to control it.
This made it...
very difficult for Yang Xiao to defend himself.
'What should I do?'
"Master, you go first. I'll cover the retreat."
The Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon, who had been trembling in fear, suddenly stepped forward and said to Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao was momentarily stunned.
He glanced at the slick Flood Dragon.
He truly hadn't expected this fellow to actually step up at a moment like this.
But very soon...
Yang Xiao shook his head. "No. Your strength is greater than mine, but you're still far too weak compared to that thing. It's a Divine Beast cub! If we're going to escape, we escape together."
Just then...
A voice entered Yang Xiao's mind.
"Brother Yang, get into the Divine Palace. I remember now! I've been to this third level before. I think there's a residence of a Divine King Powerhouse not far from here. If we can just escape to that place, we'll be safe."
It was Han Ziye.
"Really?"
Yang Xiao's expression immediately lit up with joy.
Without another word, he grabbed the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon and lunged toward the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace, which was on the verge of collapsing under the assault.
With a flash of Golden Light...
The man and the beast vanished.
Even the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace instantly shrank to its smallest possible size.
If not for the Golden-winged Roc's incredibly sharp eyes, it probably would have completely missed the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace, which now looked like a single grain of golden sand.
"Hmph, trying to escape? Do you really think you can get away?"
With a cold snort...
The Golden-winged Roc pinpointed the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace's location.
And thrust its spear out.
With this thrust...
It used its full power.
It mobilized endless Void Power and the power of Five Elements Sharp Gold.
It was a terrifying amount of power.
It seemed as if it could pierce through space itself.
The tip of the spear landed squarely...
...on the golden speck that was the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
BANG!
The entire Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace shuddered violently.
Inside, Yang Xiao...
And the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon were thrown off balance, unable to even stand properly.
Even Han Ziye, the Artifact Spirit...
Yang Xiao could feel...
...that his aura had weakened considerably in that instant.
"So strong! This thing is incredible! Brother Yang, how did you manage to provoke a creature like this? If I'm not mistaken, it must be a descendant of the Golden Roc God King, the mount of the Northern Wilderness Divine King!"
Han Ziye was also thoroughly frightened.
One had to understand that a descendant of the Golden Roc God King was in no way inferior to him in terms of strength or status.
Moreover, the Golden Roc God King had been the Overlord-level God King who presided over the third level of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, his strength a notch above even Han Ziye's father.
How could Han Ziye not be afraid?
"What do we do now?"
Yang Xiao's expression was also grim.
'If I had known killing that Hairy Roc would provoke a Divine Beast cub...'
'I would have definitely been more cautious.'
'At the very least, I wouldn't have killed it so decisively.'
'Wouldn't it have been better to use it as a hostage?'
'Maybe I could have even gotten some benefits out of it.'
'Instead of this...'
'...being hunted by this creature.'
But now, it was too late for regrets.
"The only way is, as I said before, to escape to the nearby Divine King's residence. If I go all out, we still have a chance. The Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace can break through space."
Han Ziye also knew that it had come to a life-or-death moment.
He no longer blamed Yang Xiao.
Nor did he hide the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace's abilities any longer.
He fully activated the power of this palace-type Divine Artifact.
SWOOSH!
He activated all the Void Secret Patterns on the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
A brilliant silver light flared.
Just as it was about to tear through space and escape...
"You're simply courting death!"
the Golden-winged Roc sneered again.
The golden spear in its hand...
was raised once more.
"How dare you use Void Power in front of one of the Golden Roc Clan! Truly laughable! Watch as I skewer you with this spear! You'll be thrown into the Void Dark Realm, to be trapped in endless darkness!"
As it spoke, the golden spear thrust straight forward.
Its target was aimed directly at the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
"Not good! We're- we're going to be hit!"
the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon cried out.
Yang Xiao's face paled as well.
Everyone knew that if you were struck by an external force while in the middle of Void Traveling...
...it was very likely...
...that you would become lost in the Void Dark Realm.
Just like Yang Xiao himself, back then.
A wisp of his remnant soul had drifted in the Void Dark Realm for a million years...
...before finally finding a chance to leave that place.
And be reborn as a human.
And that was only because Yang Xiao had previously been at the Divine King Peak, and his Divine Format and level of Spiritual Power were still intact.
Furthermore, when he had broken through back then, he had borrowed the power of an Unparalleled Divine Pill. The combination of these two things was almost comparable to the energy of two Great Emperors.
Although most of it was consumed fighting the Lord of Immortal Dao...
...what remained had allowed him to survive.
And find an opportunity.
After wandering for a million years, just as he was about to be completely exhausted, he found a turning point.
But now...
If he entered the Void Dark Realm again...
...forget Yang Xiao.
Even Han Ziye, the immortal Divine Artifact Spirit...
...would probably be ground to dust by the void currents inside.
And die there.
At this moment, the situation was extremely critical.
It had reached the point of life and death.
"Hmph, die!"
With a cold snort, the Golden-winged Roc, naturally aware of this, made its golden spear move even faster, becoming even more terrifying.
What it wanted was for Yang Xiao to die.
As for whether he was killed by its own hand...
...or exiled to the Void Dark Realm...
...and destroyed by the void currents...
...a certain death with no hope of survival...
...it didn't care.
It struck without mercy.
The golden spear was about to strike.
It was about to hit the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
And at this moment...
Whether it was Yang Xiao, Han Ziye, or the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon, none of them had the power to fight back.
'What can we do?'
'Are we really going to die here?'
On Yang Xiao's face...
...a trace of despair couldn't help but appear.
'Death isn't frightening.'
'But my great revenge is unfulfilled. I haven't even killed that bastard Xuan Tianzhan.'
'I can't accept this!'
But just then, Han Ziye, who had been merged as one with the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace, suddenly manifested his form.