Time ticked by.
Soon, another hour had passed in the outside world.
Only one hour remained until the arrival of the True God Level powerhouse, Nangong Tianling.
Meanwhile, on the third layer of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, two thousand hours had passed for Yang Xiao since he'd received the tip from the Thousand Mechanism Eye.
A period of over eighty days.
In that time, he had finally managed to completely record the Secret Patterns on the top three layers of the Tower of Inheritance.
Furthermore, powered by a massive number of Desolate Divine Fruits...
What was but an instant in the world outside his mind became an immeasurable passage of time within his consciousnessācountless centuries, millennia, even eons...
Yang Xiao had finally comprehended the Nine-layered Time Secret Pattern.
This was only possible because Yang Xiao possessed the profound foundation of three reincarnated lifetimes. Anyone else, like Xuan Tianzhan, would have found it impossible to continuously use Desolate Divine Fruits for comprehension in this manner.
They would have to wait a very long time between uses.
After all, a Divine Soul also has a limited lifespan.
An ordinary person who had never entered the True God Realm and received the baptism of the Majestic Power of Heaven and Earth could never use Desolate Divine Fruits to comprehend for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years.
But Yang Xiao was different.
In his first life, his Divine Soul had been comparable to that of a Great Emperor.
It had long since reached an eternal and inextinguishable level.
Although his power was now lost, its essence remained.
Otherwise, he never would have been able to survive for a million years in the Void Dark Realm.
'It's a pity I couldn't manage to condense the Heart of Time in one go. If I had, my Time Secret Pattern would have reached Great Success and become fully integrated. As it is now, even though I've comprehended all of it, I still need to rely on stances or other techniques to use it.'
Yang Xiao opened his eyes.
He let out a soft sigh.
If he had comprehended the Heart of Time, his power, in conjunction with the Fire God Clone, would have risen by another significant margin. However, he also knew...
...that time was too short.
Moreover, condensing the Heart of Time required a stroke of fate.
It wasn't something that could be achieved through hard cultivation alone.
As he stood up, Yang Xiao's expression shifted, and a faint smile finally touched his lips.
It was because his Fire God Clone, cultivating deep underground, had finally completed its work at this very moment.
With a single thought.
Yang Xiao arrived deep underground.
He saw the Fire God Clone, its entire body radiating a deep cyan light.
His expression couldn't help but fall with a hint of disappointment.
'Only the strength of the Cyan Flame Sixth Revolution?'
Standing opposite him, the Fire God Clone also wore a look of disappointment.
Though they were two separate bodies, they were, in essence, the same individual.
Their thoughts were synchronized.
When Yang Xiao was disappointed, the Fire God Clone was naturally disappointed as well.
'The strength of the Peak of Cyan Flame Sixth Revolution is comparable to the Sixth Layer of the Great Divine Power Realm, but that's still far too weak compared to a Demigod. If it had reached the Blue Flame First Revolution, things would be different. At the Seventh Level of the Great Divine Power Realm, I could unleash thirty percent of the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace's power. As it is now, I can only manage ten percent.'
The Fire God's Heart had merged with the Heaven and Earth Origin Flame, naturally taking on its characteristics.
It was also divided into nine forms: Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white.
Of course, given the fundamental nature of the Fire God's Heart, it would likely never be able to reach the final two forms.
However, the first seven were attainable.
The first three forms were all Mortal Flames.
The difference between their corresponding levels was not significant.
But from Green Flame onward, they were Spirit Flames.
The difference in power between levels became much greater.
Therefore, the Green, Cyan, and Blue forms were each divided into six revolutions, making for eighteen layers in total.
These corresponded perfectly to the four major realms of a Martial Saint: the Pseudo Divine Power Realm, the Small Divine Ability Realm, the Great Divine Power Realm, and the Demigod Realm.
Each revolution corresponded to two minor stages of cultivation.
Thus, the Peak of Cyan Flame Sixth Revolution was equivalent to the Sixth Layer of the Great Divine Power Realm.
But upon breaking through to the Blue Flame First Revolution, even at the initial stage, its power would be equivalent to the Seventh Level of the Great Divine Power Realm.
The Seventh Level of the Great Divine Power Realm marked the Late Stage of that realm, representing a qualitative leap and a critical threshold.
Once he crossed it, Yang Xiao would be able to use many more of his abilities.
But now...
...the breakthrough hadn't happened.
"Master, let your Clone brave the Poison King Valley," the Thousand Mechanism Eye suggested once more. "With his current strength, he should just barely be able to make it through. If he can obtain the inheritance left by the Celestial Poison God King, it might just be the turning point you need."
Intrigued, Yang Xiao nodded.
With a flash, the two figures...
...instantly reappeared outside the Poison King Valley.
The Fire God Clone glanced at Yang Xiao, and without another word, walked inside.
He possessed the Fire God Body. And even though he had not yet truly reached the realm of a Fire God...
...ordinary poisons were completely unable to penetrate his body.
Furthermore, as Yang Xiao's Clone, he shared his main body's profound knowledge of pharmacology and toxicology. Thus, he advanced with ease through the initial stages, all the way to the Mist of Bewitching Spirit.
'I don't know how long it will take him to get through,' Yang Xiao thought. 'There isn't much time, and I can't afford to be idle. That's right, there's still the Golden-winged Roc, that Divine Beast cub. If I can subdue it, it will become a powerful ally. By gathering all these sources of power, I might just have a chance against a Demigod!'
At this moment, however, Yang Xiao was still unaware...
...that his opponent, the woman revealed by the Thousand Mechanism Eye...
...was not a Demigod at all.
She was a True God.
A genuine Divine Spirit.
And not just an ordinary True God, at that.
And so, he was desperately trying to strategize, to find any means possible...
...hoping to increase his odds of victory.
'Also, I can't leave the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion too late. The Carefree Sect isn't far from the Northern Wilderness Forest, but it still takes about ten minutes to travel there via Void Shifting. If I do that, I'll be mentally exhausted by the time I arrive, severely reducing my combat effectiveness.'
'But if the Golden-winged Roc were flying, it probably wouldn't even take ten minutes.'
A glint appeared in Yang Xiao's eyes.
A flash of golden light emanated from between his brows, releasing a golden figure.
It was none other than the Golden-winged Roc.
"Hmph? Finally willing to let this Roc out? Doesn't matter, you're still going to die! Don't think for a second that this Roc will be indebted to you!"
The moment the Golden-winged Roc was free, it spat vicious words and lunged at Yang Xiao.
Under normal circumstances...
...Yang Xiao might not have been too angered by the creature's insolence, given his intention to subdue it.
But now...
...Yang Xiao was fraught with anxiety, worried for the safety of his father, Yun'Er, and the others, and desperate to avert the calamity facing the Carefree Sect.
And this Golden-winged Roc was still acting so outrageously arrogant.
Yang Xiao's expression instantly darkened with fury.
The Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace manifested from between his eyebrows once more.
It ruthlessly suppressed the pouncing Golden-winged Roc.
SLAM!
The noble Divine Beast cub was slammed flat against the ground, blood trickling from the corner of its beak in a pathetic sight.
But the defiance in its eyes didn't lessen one bit as it screeched, "If you've got any guts, fight me without that external power! This Roc will knock all your teeth out!"
The words had barely left its beak when the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace shot upward.
Just as the Golden-winged Roc thought Yang Xiao was actually going to take it on in a fair fight...
SLAM!
The Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace came crashing down again.
It slammed the Roc, which had just scrambled to its feet, flat against the ground once more.
Its injuries were now even more severe.
But that wasn't the most important part.
The most important thing...
...was the humiliation.
The blatant, undisguised humiliation.
But what it never expected was that...
...just then, the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace...
...rose into the air yet again.
The Golden-winged Roc's heart leaped.
It tried to dodge.
But with another SLAM!
...it was crushed once more!
This repeated over and over.
Again and again, Yang Xiao would lift the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace.
And again and again, he would slam it back down on the Golden-winged Roc.
He continued until the Roc was on its last breath.
Only then did Yang Xiao finally speak. "Now, are you ready to swallow your pride?"