"Yang Xiao, face my sword!"
At that moment, Xue Yi didn't notice the strange look in Yang Xiao's eyes at all.
Instead, she slowly grasped the Blood-Colored Broken Sword that was emerging from her body and pulled it out. As she did, her pair of cold, indifferent eyes turned blood-red.
They were filled with a bizarre aura.
She pointed the sword directly at Yang Xiao.
With a soft cry,
a terrifying and strange aura emanated from her entire being.
It was as if she could destroy everything.
Sinister and tyrannical.
'As expected of the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan. Its ability to influence the mind is truly extraordinary,'
Yang Xiao, however, just smiled.
His smile seemed to instantly infuriate Xue Yi. A flash of blood-red light appeared, and the Blood-Colored Broken Sword was right before Yang Xiao.
Fast.
Incredibly fast.
So fast that it left no time to react.
If Yang Xiao were just an ordinary Martial Artist, even at his current Small Divine Ability Realm, and even with his Spiritual Power at the Void Observation Middle Stage,
he probably would not have been able to dodge this strike.
This was because, under the influence of the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan's power, this sword strike could already affect Yang Xiao's mind, just as Yang Xiao had done to Xue Yi before.
He had used his Spiritual Power to block Xue Yi's perception.
And now, the Blood-Colored Broken Sword, the manifestation of the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan, was doing the same.
Unfortunately,
Yang Xiao was no ordinary person.
He had already comprehended the Time Secret Pattern to the Sixth Layer. Even though his understanding of the Seventh Layer, deduced from the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship, was only superficial, it was more than enough.
After all, a mastery of the Sixth Layer of the Secret Pattern was something that not even some Demigod Powerhouses could achieve.
So, with just a thought,
the sword thrust from Xue Yi became incredibly slow in his eyes. This was because his own speed had become incredibly fast—twenty times faster in the blink of an eye.
In other words, Xue Yi's speed had been slowed down by twenty times.
Under these circumstances, it would have been effortless for Yang Xiao to dodge, but he chose not to.
'To make you accept your defeat completely, I'll let you see my true strength now.'
As the thought crossed his mind,
the aura around Yang Xiao changed abruptly.
It became incomparably fierce.
Incomparably terrifying.
Beneath his skin, a glazed, colored radiance surged.
He raised his hand and threw a punch.
Without any flourish, it struck squarely against the Blood-Colored Broken Sword in Xue Yi's hand. The terrifying, immense force knocked the sinister sword right out of her grasp, sending it flying.
Xue Yi herself wasn't severely injured, but the hand that held the sword was trembling uncontrollably.
Because Yang Xiao's punch was simply too terrifying.
Even though it was completely focused on the Blood-Colored Broken Sword, the mere force of the recoil made Xue Yi, whose Innate Sword Body was one with the Blood Sword, feel an immense destructive power.
"That punch..."
Xue Yi was in a daze.
Originally, she felt that although Yang Xiao was strong, he was only on par with her normal self. And if he used that Mysterious Technique from before, he could easily defeat her.
But just now, she was not in her normal state.
She was merged with the Evil Sword. In this state, Xue Yi had always been invincible and unstoppable.
But now...
Yang Xiao, with just that one punch.
He hadn't used the Mysterious Technique from before, nor had he used that strange palace that had suppressed her.
Relying on his own strength alone, he threw a single punch.
And shattered her most terrifying state.
Even the Evil Sword was sent flying.
Such a terrifying punch was simply beyond Xue Yi's imagination.
"ZWING ZWING!"
Just then, a ray of blood-red light shot back from outside.
It was none other than the Blood-Colored Broken Sword that Yang Xiao had just knocked away.
At this moment, the aura of the Broken Sword had diminished greatly. The moment it entered, it seemed to have a spirit of its own, as if intentionally trying to avoid Yang Xiao.
After discovering Xue Yi's location, it shot over with a WHOOSH, trying to burrow into her body.
'Still trying to devour her life force? How ridiculous.'
Yang Xiao's figure flashed.
He directly grabbed the Blood-Colored Broken Sword.
However, he didn't touch the Blood-Colored Broken Sword with his bare flesh. This was the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan, a terrifying life form that had existed since the Ancient Era.
It was the great enemy of all flesh-and-blood creatures.
Yang Xiao had seen one before, during his first life.
Back then, he had just left his place of birth and was traveling to gain experience.
Fortunately, at that time, he was not a creature of flesh and blood, but a special life form transformed from a Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, with a Companion Flame Stone for a body.
He had no flesh and blood.
And so, he had escaped disaster.
Otherwise, the renowned Supreme Divine King of the Ancient Era, the Overlord Heaven Flame Emperor, would likely have ceased to exist long ago.
"In the Ancient Era, your ancestors were besieged by the powerhouses of all flesh-and-blood races and ultimately sealed in a forbidden land. I never expected that a peculiar creature like you would reappear in a small place like the Celestial Cloud Region. This place is getting more and more interesting. No wonder the Northern Wilderness Divine King wanted me to protect this place at all costs. It seems this region holds many secrets I am not yet privy to."
The True Greater Yang Fire on Yang Xiao's palm blazed intensely, enveloping the Blood-Colored Broken Sword.
This caused the Blood-Colored Broken Sword, already weakened by the earlier punch, to lose even more of its previous ferocity. Its blade trembled slightly.
It was as if it were afraid.
Just like a real living being.
"Yang Xiao..."
Just then, Xue Yi looked over.
Her gaze was fixed on the Blood-Colored Broken Sword in Yang Xiao's hand.
She seemed hesitant.
Yang Xiao naturally knew what she was thinking.
'But this thing...'
'It's no good for her.'
'A dignified Innate Sword Body, if properly cultivated, could one day become an existence no less than a top-tier Dao Body Level genius. At the very least, she could be comparable to a second or third-rate Ultimate Treasure Body Level genius.'
'Don't look down on being second or third-rate. Anyone who can be called a genius in the Divine Land is already extraordinary, and this isn't the lowest, unranked tier, but the second and third ranks.'
'A person of this caliber is already qualified to join the first-rate factions under a Great Emperor's Dojo, with a high chance of becoming a Great Emperor's direct disciple in the future.'
But now, Xue Yi's physical body had been invaded by the Blood-Colored Broken Sword forged from the Bloodthirsty Celestial Cyan. Her vitality was completely drained, and she could only barely sustain her life with the power of a Desolate Divine Fruit.
Such a genius was on the verge of being destroyed.
Fortunately, she had met Yang Xiao.
"If I recall correctly, you are now my follower. Besides, this sword isn't suitable for you. You should be aware of your own condition, right?"
Yang Xiao's indifferent words made Xue Yi's expression fall.
This, however, made Yang Xiao's expression flicker.
"You value this sword so much, nourishing it at the cost of your own life. Could it be that you have some connection to the Evil Sword from three hundred years ago?"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Xue Yi's expression changed dramatically.
Her previous composure vanished completely.
She hadn't shown such a change even when the Golden-winged Roc had seen through her at a glance, revealing she was a living dead sustained only by the Desolate Divine Fruit.
She was clearly utterly shocked.
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Just don't lie to me."
Just when Yang Xiao thought she would continue to conceal the truth or remain silent,
Xue Yi spoke: "The Evil Sword you speak of... He was my father!"
Those four short words seemed to release three hundred years of buried pain.
From Xue Yi's withered, decaying, and lifeless eye sockets, tears began to fall, drop by drop.
The tears were murky and tinged with blood.
It was an utterly miserable sight.
Pitiful.
Even Yang Xiao couldn't help but feel a trace of pity.