Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

”This is bad! Suppress him, quickly! Or he’ll really destroy Yang Xiao’s body!”

Within the Divine-Demonic Stele, Xue Yi shouted anxiously.

They all knew full well that the only reason they had managed to scheme against the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable was because the fiend wanted to seize Yang Xiao’s body.

He was also incredibly greedy and coveted the Divine-Demonic Stele, which was the only reason an opportunity had presented itself.

Otherwise, with his power, it would have been child’s play for him to truly kill Yang Xiao.

Just like right now.

Even though he had already been severely wounded, if the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable truly intended to destroy Yang Xiao’s physical body and take him down with him, it would be all too easy.

Thus, the Divine-Demonic Stele immediately sprang into action.

In fact, even before Xue Yi’s voice could be heard, it was already moving to suppress the threat.

Unfortunately, even so, it was too late.

The black mist surged wildly.

In the end, it transformed into a supreme, colossal blade that could split the heavens and sunder the earth. It aimed to slice open Yang Xiao’s sea of consciousness and destroy his physical body from within.

And once his sea of consciousness was shattered and his physical body destroyed, even with all of Yang Xiao’s heaven-defying skills, he likely wouldn’t be able to save this body, or even his own life.

After all, he was no True God.

’What do I do?’

This time, even the ever-composed Yang Xiao’s expression turned grim.

But frustratingly, he had just poured all his strength into that last sword strike.

He was now completely spent.

He couldn’t even muster a basic defense.

All he could do was watch helplessly as the supreme blade tore through his sea of consciousness, destroying the body he had in this lifetime.

But just then, to Yang Xiao’s great surprise, a massive cloud of black mist suddenly billowed forth from outside his sea of consciousness.

From all sides, it rushed toward Yang Xiao’s sea of consciousness.

This black mist was clearly also the power of the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable. The moment it entered the sea of consciousness, it surged madly toward the cataclysmic black blade.

’It’s over now!’

It wasn’t just Yang Xiao.

The Divine-Demonic Stele’s Artifact Spirit.

Xue Yi.

Upon seeing this, all of them felt that the situation was hopeless.

Just moments before, they had thought that with the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable’s power greatly diminished, his first strike might not be enough to annihilate Yang Xiao’s sea of consciousness. In that scenario, the Divine-Demonic Stele could have directly suppressed his remaining power.

There would have still been a chance.

Even if it was a less than one-in-ten-thousand chance.

But now, with the influx of the black mist, the terrifying blade became even more powerful. Instantly, even that last sliver of hope was extinguished.

How could they not fall into despair?

However, what Yang Xiao, Xue Yi, and the Divine-Demonic Stele’s Artifact Spirit perhaps didn’t know was that this scene was also somewhat surprising even to the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable himself.

This Demonic Power was something he had left inside Yang Xiao’s body to acclimate and fuse with it. It also served as a contingency plan. For instance, in his earlier fight with Yang Xiao, most of his consciousness had been obliterated.

In reality, however, a remnant of his consciousness had already infiltrated Yang Xiao’s sea of consciousness beforehand.

This was the foundation for his comeback.

The power now surging in was meant to be the same.

’But now... I didn’t summon them, so why are they returning on their own?’

’And it looks like they’re being forced back.’

’Whatever. Before, I was just threatening these detestable bastards. My real goal wasn’t to destroy his body, but simply to escape. As long as I can get away, I can recover sooner or later. I’m not about to take him down with me, especially now that I’m so weak.’

’But now... with this reinforcement of power, I can destroy this kid’s body and still escape. In that case, I’ll destroy it! A Divine-Demon Body is rare, yes, but those bastards schemed against me. I have to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. Otherwise, wouldn’t I, a magnificent Demon Venerable, become a complete laughingstock?’

With a shift in thought, the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable couldn’t be bothered to wonder why the Demonic Power was returning. He simply began to actively absorb it, merging it with himself.

As he did, his power began to surge.

At the same time, the speed of his descending blade slowed just a fraction.

It was only a fraction slower.

The Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable was a master of calculation. He believed that even with this slight delay, he could still shatter the sea of consciousness before the terrifying stone stele arrived.

His remaining power would be more than enough to destroy this Divine-Demon Body.

This outcome was far more perfect than his original plan—talking tough on the outside while secretly just planning to breach the sea of consciousness and flee.

But just as he was reveling in his success, feeling as though he had divine assistance, a series of dragon roars suddenly echoed.

Before he could even react, countless brilliant golden Divine Dragons transformed into a formation resembling a Heaven and Earth Net.

From every corner of the sea of consciousness, the net formed by the Divine Dragons ensnared all of his power. This included his earlier remnant power, the power that had just surged in, and even the Demonic Power that had scattered after its will was obliterated by Yang Xiao.

Moreover, as the net steadily tightened, the space in which his power could move grew increasingly smaller.

Even as this happened, the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable’s own power began to strengthen as it was compressed.

But within the net formed by the Divine Dragons, he was unable to struggle at all. He could only be bound, bit by bit, until he was compressed into a black sphere.

The sphere was covered in a dense network of golden patterns, each one resembling a True Dragon.

They pulsed with a power that sealed and annihilated, and began to grind away the will of the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable.

He let out waves of pained cries and unending curses.

”Damn you! Who dares to plot against me, this Demon Venerable?! Ah, you damn thing! Are you trying to refine me into a mindless Essence Pill? You animal! Ah, which divine being are you... no, Great Master, I beg you, spare my worthless life! As long as you don’t refine me, I’m willing to be your slave! I’ll do anything... No, stop the refining! I’m begging you...”

In just a few moments, his curses turned into pleas for mercy.

His voice grew progressively weaker.

And the sphere began to look more and more like a Pill.

Yang Xiao, Xue Yi within the Divine-Demonic Stele, and the Artifact Spirit could only watch, utterly dumbfounded.

Yang Xiao in particular was stunned. Just moments ago, his entire life had been on the verge of being wasted.

His sea of consciousness would have been shattered, his body destroyed. His only option would have been to possess another body and start his cultivation anew, and even then he would have faced the risk of utter annihilation. Yet, in the blink of an eye, everything had changed.

’These methods...’

’Divine Dragons? Elder Long? That’s it, it must be him! He came to save me.’

At this moment, Yang Xiao’s heart overflowed with immense gratitude.

Including this time, Elder Long had now saved him three times.

All three were life-and-death situations.

How could Yang Xiao not be filled with gratitude?

As Yang Xiao came to this realization, the Divine-Demonic Stele also pieced things together. In fact, it understood far more.

’True Dragon Soul Refining Silk? A God-Trapping Array! And half of an Ancient Dragon God’s Origin Essence Blood! It seems an Ancient Dragon God has made a move. This kid... he truly has some incredible fortune. To think an Ancient Dragon God would be willing to expend their own Origin Essence Blood to save him. Not bad. He is indeed worthy of the Inheritor!’

The Divine-Demonic Stele’s Artifact Spirit looked at Yang Xiao with great satisfaction.

The feeling was just like a mortal father-in-law sizing up his future son-in-law; the more it looked, the more pleased it was.

Not to mention, with its vast knowledge, it could naturally see that the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable’s power had been fused and refined by the True Dragon Soul Refining Silk in concert with the God-Trapping Array. Once the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable’s will was completely ground away from the core, what remained would be a Demon Venerable Level Essence Pill.

With this item, Yang Xiao just needed to follow the steps, and he could raise his Spiritual Power to a level comparable to a Demon Venerable. His future path of cultivation would be incredibly smooth.

He would likely not be the slightest bit inferior to the Inheritor herself.

Add to that the help of an Ancient Dragon God and his own innate luck and talent, his future accomplishments would be immeasurable.

’It’s just a shame the Inheritor is unwilling to see him. Sigh... If not for the Master of Gods and Demons’ orders, I’d really want to give them some time together. If another woman snatched away such a perfect Dao Companion, how heartbroken would the Inheritor be? No, I can’t let that happen. For such an outstanding Dao Companion, I, this Artifact Spirit, must find a way. At the very least, I have to let the Inheritor meet him once.’

A glint appeared in its eyes.

The Artifact Spirit of the Divine-Demonic Stele had suddenly made a decision.