"Do you remember the first time you appeared before me? Back then, you were high and mighty, unbelievably domineering. You wanted to take my life at the slightest disagreement. If it weren't for the Earth Fire Qilin Beast, I'd probably be just another vengeful spirit you've slain by now, wouldn't I?"
Looking at the sniveling creature crying and begging before him,
Yang Xiao's heart remained completely unmoved.
He said flatly,
"My lord, that was just this lowly one being ignorant and offending you. I beg for your forgivenessā¦"
Xuan Tianzhan's expression stiffened.
He had already suspected that Yang Xiao wouldn't let him go.
But even at this moment,
hearing Yang Xiao's words,
his first thought was still to beg for mercy,
not to resist.
'A joke. Even the Immortal Lord's clone was destroyed. I'm just a Martial Grandmaster Peak, and even if I've cultivated four techniques from the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship, what the hell can I do to resist?'
Xuan Tianzhan had been scared witless by Yang Xiao.
"Ignorant? Forgive you?"
Yang Xiao laughed. "You tried to kill me time and time again. From the moment we first met, you wanted me dead. Now that I have the upper hand, you actually want me to forgive you?"
"Hilarious. Truly hilarious. Why don't you think back to when you were coming after me? Did the thought of sparing my life ever cross your mind?"
"It's too late to beg for mercy now. Or did you think that by putting on a pitiful act, I would see you as harmless and let you go?"
The barrage of questions plunged Xuan Tianzhan's heart into ashen despair.
"Youā¦ you're really not going to give me a single chance?"
Xuan Tianzhan was desperate.
"Did you ever give me a chance? If I'm not mistaken, letting the Barbaric Beasts into the Land of Inheritance this time was your doing, wasn't it? Do you have any idea what you've done? Not to mention, your status as an Immortal Cultivator alone is reason enough for me not to spare you!"
"And that's before we even get to the fact that you've opposed me at every turn."
At this, Yang Xiao decided he'd wasted enough time on him.
And Xuan Tianzhan saw it too.
A look of indignation appeared on his face.
"I've groveled and pleaded, and you still won't spare me? Heh hehā¦ Do you have any idea what kind of disaster you've courted by destroying the Immortal Lord's clone? Do you know that once the Immortal Dao invades, every single Martial Artist in the Celestial Cloud Region will die? Killing me now is sealing your own doom! It won't be long before all of you are dead!"
Xuan Tianzhan screamed frantically.
'An Immortal Dao invasion?'
"Even if that happens, you won't be alive to see it. Besides, you think a mere Demigod Level Immortal Cultivator can kill me? Is that even possible?"
Yang Xiao shook his head.
He raised his hand and struck down with his palm.
BANG!
Xuan Tianzhan tried to flee.
But before the Yang Xiao of this moment, the once-invincible man was utterly powerless to fight back.
He had only just begun to turn when the palm strike smashed him to pieces.
He had followed in the footsteps of the East Domain Immortal Master's clone.
Looking at this man who had once been so lofty, who had seen him as nothing but an antāthis so-called most monstrous genius in the history of the Celestial Cloud Region.
Now, he couldn't even withstand a single casual palm strike.
Yang Xiao felt a brief pang of melancholy,
yet it also felt entirely natural.
His strength had indeed progressed immensely in the past year.
Long before entering the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, Xuan Tianzhan was already no longer his match, needing Xue Yi's protection just to escape his Vibrating Sword Wave. Now, even though he had entered the Sword Mansion and learned four forms of the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanshipā¦
...before Yang Xiao, who had comprehended the Sixth Level Time Secret Pattern, he seemed even weaker than before.
Especially now that his Spiritual Power had reached the Void Observation Middle Stage, Yang Xiao's application of his techniques had grown increasingly profound.
Whether it was a Sword Technique or a Fist Technique,
or anything else,
he could now execute it with casual ease,
unleashing its full might.
A casual palm strike was like his old killing move, Meteor Fall. It would have been a miracle for Xuan Tianzhan to survive!
'But this isn't enough. It's far from enough. With my current strength, I'm at most equivalent to a cultivator at the Second or Third Layer of the Small Divine Ability Realm. The only reason I could handle the Golden-winged Roc and obliterate that so-called Immortal Lord's willed clone was all thanks to the power of the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace. Once I'm outside the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, and if Brother Hanx leaves the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace, with my own strength, I won't even be able to use the Divine Palace's power.'
Yang Xiao knew very well.
He had indeed encountered great opportunities and made huge breakthroughs in the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.
But compared to his enemiesā
especially the one who could use the entire Immortal Dao as a chessboardā
he was still far, far too weak.
Besides, this was no time to be thinking about such things.
If Yang Xiao had been half-convinced and half-doubtful about the cry for help from Yang Tian that had suddenly appeared in his mind before he broke through to the Void Observation Middle Stage,
then now, he was absolutely certain: Yang Tian was truly in trouble.
And Yang Ziling and the others were definitely in danger.
When he connected this to the fact that the Barbarian Beast King had been able to enter the Land of Inheritance, Yang Xiao's expression turned grim.
He knew all too well how much danger Yang Lin, Yang Ziling, and the others would be in without the protection of the Land of Inheritance, especially with Yang Tian severely wounded and unconscious.
The situation had to be absolutely critical.
'If they run into the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle...'
The mere thought sent a chill down Yang Xiao's spine.
He dared not delay a second longer.
'Yang Tian, Ziling, wait for meā¦ I hope I can still make it in time!'
After casually taking Xuan Tianzhan's Storage Ring, Yang Xiao didn't even glance at the mutilated corpse on the ground. With a flash, he appeared before the Nine-Layered Inheritance Tower.
This time, he didn't stop to observe the Time Secret Pattern on the exterior but went straight to the 7th Layer.
Because timeā¦
was truly running out.
And to return to the First Layer of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion,
Yang Xiao had only one path.
And that was to become the master of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion!
[...]
ćBeyond the Celestial Cloud Region, in the Eastern Domain of the Profound Sun Continent.ć
In the bustling Eastern Domain Immortal Dao City, Immortal Cultivators bustled to and fro.
Ever since the Dominator of the Profound Sun Continentāthe lord of the Central Domain's Vast Heaven Immortal Sect, the Vast Heaven Immortal Lordāissued the Slaying Martial Order, not a single Martial Cultivator had been seen on the entire continent.
Every Immortal Cultivator was eagerly awaiting the day they would be guided to the Immortal Realm, the day the entire Profound Sun Continent would shatter the void and ascend.
Meanwhile, in the Immortal Master's Mansion of the Eastern Domain Immortal Dao City,
The patriarch of the Ye Race and the only Void Immortal Level expert in the Eastern Domaināa powerhouse comparable to a Demigod Level Martial ArtistāYe Donghuang, was currently wearing a thunderous expression.
'Damn it! Damn it all! A mere Mortal Martial Artist dared to destroy my willed clone! And to top it off, the brat has a True Divine Artifact! Despicable!'
Ye Donghuang's face was a mask of fury.
If Yang Xiao had been present, he would have recognized this man. Wasn't he the so-called Lord of the Eastern Domain's Immortal Dao that Xuan Tianzhan had summoned?
'Of the entire Profound Sun Continent, only my Eastern Domain still contains this cancerous pocket of Martial Cultivators. The Vast Heaven Immortal Lord himself said that as long as a single Martial Cultivator remains on this continent, we cannot receive the call from the Immortal Realm! Hmph! With this plan failed, that old bastard from the Western Domain will have fodder to mock me for another thousand years! Despicable!'
Ye Donghuang was seething with resentment,
but he was also helpless.
The Celestial Cloud Region was extraordinarily unique, surrounded on all four sides by deadly, impassable lands that formed a natural barrier. Even he, a Void Immortal Level expert on par with a Demigod Martial Artist, could not break through even one of them.
Of these four barriers, the easiest to breach was the Northern Wilderness Forest to the direct north of the Celestial Cloud Region. All they needed was someone on the inside to cooperate and seize the inheritance of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.
With that, they could control the Divine King Array that had the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion as its core. Then, the entire Immortal Dao Army could march straight in and annihilate every Martial Cultivator in the Celestial Cloud Region in one fell swoop,
thus completing the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord's grand plan.
'I can only hope the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord has the patience to wait another thousand years for me. Damn it all!'
Ye Donghuang roared inwardly,
but he was also worried,
afraid of being reprimanded by the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord.
Just then, an attendant announced from outside.
"Reporting to the Domain Lord! A distinguished guest has arrived from the Central Domain's Vast Heaven Immortal Sect. The Lord City Lord requests that the Domain Lord personally go out to greet them."
Upon hearing this,
Ye Donghuang's expression changed.
'Could it be? Has my failure been discovered? Did the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord send someone to punish me?'
But he quickly shook his head. 'No, I am the only one who knows of my failure at this moment. In that case, this visitorā¦ I'll go take a look.'
Straightening his robes, Ye Donghuang walked out of the quiet chamber.