'Hm? It's actually real?'
As Yang Xiao's consciousness swept the area, he quickly discovered a palace deep underground, built upon magma. Moreover, the aura emanating from this palace was clearly left behind by a Divine King.
'One of the four Divine Kings under the Northern Wilderness Divine King, the Taoyan God Kingāthe one with the most explosive temperāwas assigned by the Northern Wilderness Divine King to guard the 1st Layer. To think his Land of Inheritance would be underground... No wonder I couldn't sense it before.'
Yang Xiao chuckled softly.
He picked up the pitch-black orb from the ground, which now appeared to be an ordinary sphere, and a look of satisfaction crossed his face.
Although this time, he had been nearly killed by that unknown man in the white robe.
But there was no denying that this thing was very useful.
At the very least, he could glean a lot of useful information from it.
Like this Land of Inheritance of the Taoyan God King that he had just found.
And that woman who had only shown him her back...
'My strength is still too weak, I'm afraid. If I were a bit stronger, perhaps I could perceive more things. This object is truly extraordinary. I wonder how it ended up in the hands of the Red Blood King?'
A thought crossed Yang Xiao's mind.
He didn't rush to investigate the Taoyan God King's Land of Inheritance.
Instead, the object in his hand had piqued his interest.
'Another special Secret Pattern I've never seen before. The experiences in this life are truly interesting. I was clearly born in the smallest of small places, yet I've encountered special Secret Patterns time and again, along with other strange things. This feeling...'
As Yang Xiao thought of this, his heart suddenly sank.
Because he suddenly felt as if he were being manipulated.
'Could it be that in this life, some terrifying Great Power is still manipulating my destiny?'
His expression instantly turned grim.
In his first life, he was carefree. Yang Xiao had a very straightforward temperament and did as he pleased.
But the experiences of his second life had cast a shadow over his memories.
Those days of being manipulated and plotted against.
Even after a million years, whenever Yang Xiao thought about it, it was as painful as a knife being stabbed into his heart.
It was agonizing.
Unbearable.
'Whether it's true or not, in this life, I refuse to be manipulated or plotted against by anyone. Anyone who dares to scheme against me, I will see them dead!'
As killing intent surged, Yang Xiao's expression turned cold and severe.
But upon closer thought, his experiences in this life had been rather smooth, without any major setbacks. Though he was in a small place, it was unlikely anything could truly trouble someone who was once a Supreme Divine King and the Human Race Medicine Ancestor.
But such an experience was almost too smooth.
For anyone else, this would probably be a bad thing.
However, for Yang Xiao, it didn't matter.
He had had more than enough of a smooth-sailing life in his first incarnation.
Born into nobility, born as a godāhow many beings could ever obtain such a fate?
But by the same token, he had also spent far too long in his second life living cautiously, struggling with every step, as if perpetually walking on thin ice.
Despite being the Flame Emperor's son with an Innate Daoist Body, he was unable to cultivate. His only option was to taste a hundred herbs to refine a Heaven and Earth Divine Pill and break his own shackles, but the result...
was still failure.
Only a wisp of his remnant soul managed to escape, hiding in the Void Dark Realm for a million years,
before descending upon this tiny, insignificant land.
Such a setback.
Wasn't that great enough?
With the accumulated experiences of two lifetimes, Yang Xiao's temperament no longer needed any deliberate honing. He just needed to do what he wanted.
'Perhaps some people think my killing intent is too strong, but how could they possibly comprehend the terrifying treachery of the human heart? In this world, if you don't act ruthlessly, you'll be seen as weak and easily bullied. The moment they find an opportunity, they will strike from the shadows. Even without an opportunity, as long as you have something they envy, they will do the same.'
'In a world like this, how can I carve out a space of clarity without killing?'
'Without killing, how can I obtain a life of peace and freedom?'
Yang Xiao's heart was resolute.
He gripped the pitch-black orb in his hand, and it seemed to sense his inner thoughts.
His unyielding,
boundlessly murderous heart.
Suddenly, a piece of information was transmitted from it.
'Thousand Mechanism Eye? That name really suits your abilities. A thousand mechanisms, a thousand opportunities, all discernable in a single glance! Good. Since you've acknowledged me, then I, Yang Xiao, will not let you down!'
Yang Xiao broke into a smile.
He knew that this pitch-black orb, this incredibly powerful sphere, had acknowledged him.
It wanted to accompany him on his journey.
Otherwise, it would not have revealed its name and purpose.
And with the Thousand Mechanism Eye's acknowledgment, Yang Xiao quickly refined the pitch-black orb and absorbed it into his body.
After he was done, a subtle perception arose within Yang Xiao.
This perception would be of immense help to his future actions.
For example, right now...
'My best future path is to first explore the Taoyan God King's Land of Inheritance? Could the Taoyan God King possibly have something more beneficial to me than comprehending the Nine-layered Time Secret Pattern, or even condensing the Heart of Time?'
Though the thought flashed through his mind, Yang Xiao didn't hesitate in the slightest.
With a flash, his figure entered the earth.
As the master of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, not only could Yang Xiao appear anywhere at any time, but he could also roam freely through the earth and sky.
Although the Taoyan God King's Land of Inheritance was underground, it was still within the space of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.
So Yang Xiao could naturally enter it with ease.
However, the moment he entered, his expression changed slightly.
Because Yang Xiao, who had just entered, was instantly surrounded by countless fiery red creatures.
However, once Yang Xiao got a clear look at these creatures, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Not only was he not worried, but a look of joy appeared on his face.
"They're Fire Spirits! HAHA! In this world, there's no creature I, Yang Xiao, fear less than a Fire Spirit."
Yang Xiao chuckled.
The surrounding Fire Spirits, however, seemed to be enraged by his words.
They swarmed forward.
Each one of them was fiery red and burning with flames. Upon closer inspection, their bodies were ethereal, taking on all sorts of formsāsome looked like humans, others like various Barbaric Beasts. Their faces were ferocious, and their auras all varied.
The strongest among them were infinitely close to the Demigod Realm.
While the weakest were only equivalent to ordinary Martial Saints.
Were it any other living being, being surrounded by such a large number of powerful entities would be a perilous, near-fatal predicament.
To escape, one would have to resort to using the True Divine Artifact, the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
But as for these Fire Spirits...
'Looks like I'll have a chance to kill a few Demigod Level entities today. I might even be able to obtain a Heart of Fire Spirit.'
A glint flashed in his eyes. Yang Xiao no longer hesitated and waved his hand.
The Heaven and Earth Origin Fire within his body surged out.
Instantly, a terrifying pressureāone that only these Fire Spirits could senseāappeared.
All of the Fire Spirits
froze completely.
They stood there,
motionless.
They couldn't advance another inch.
Like lambs to the slaughter.
Yang Xiao stepped forward and grabbed at the Fire Spirit with the strongest aura.
The Fire Spirit subconsciously tried to struggle, but under the suppression of the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire, it still couldn't move.
Yang Xiao, however, had a look of delight on his face.
From within its body, he pulled out a fiery red Crystal Stone.
'It actually formed a Heart of Fire Spirit...'
Yang Xiao looked at the fiery red Crystal Stone, an expression of boundless joy appearing on his face.
Because this thing
could instantly grant him power ten, or even a hundred, times greater than what he currently possessed.
For Yang Xiao, who was currently craving power, how could he not be overjoyed?