Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

”Senior Brother Yang Tian, are we really just going to hole up here and watch that guy Zhang Mengfei die?”

Yang Lin was the first to cry out indignantly.

Of everyone present, only he and Yang Tian still had any fighting strength.

That was because his body wasn’t a physical entity.

As for Yang Tian, he was just genuinely powerful.

For some reason, however, he couldn’t unleash his true power. The most he could use was strength equivalent to the Small Divine Power Realm Third Level.

’I thought this much power would be more than enough in a minor place like this. I never expected...’

Yang Tian felt a twinge of regret.

He felt he had been far too arrogant.

But in this situation...

”Just wait longer!”

A series of strange symbols flashed through his eyes. His face grew even paler, yet he managed to spit out those three words.

”Still wait? For how long?”

Yang Lin demanded, displeased.

”Ten days! We wait for ten days, and ten days only. If nothing changes by then, I’ll go out myself!”

Although Yang Tian looked somewhat weak, his tone was resolute.

Seeing him like this, Yang Lin had no other choice.

He nodded.

”Fine. We’ll wait ten more days.”

Hearing the rowdiest among them—and the only other one with any real strength left—finally concede, Yang Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Bing Xin spoke up. ”It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be hunted by that monster. I...”

”This has nothing to do with you!”

Yang Tian shook his head.

”Even without you, that creature wouldn’t have spared us. You just happened to be there when we met. It was a coincidence, not your fault. Don’t read too much into it.”

”Then why has it been hunting us this whole time?”

Bing Xin wasn’t convinced.

She believed it was all because the inheritance she’d received had angered the monster.

After all, the inheritance she had obtained this time was extraordinary.

It was likely even greater than the one that genius from the Pure Yang Sword Sect had received six thousand years ago. Attracting the attention of a Barbarian Beast King seemed only natural.

But Yang Tian shook his head. ”If I’m not mistaken, that monster is the overlord of this 1st Layer. The Little Celestial Cyan Snake was very clear on that point.”

At this, Yang Tian glanced toward Yang Lin’s arms.

The Little Celestial Cyan Snake was nestled there.

While not nearly crushed to pieces like Zhang Mengfei, it had fallen into a deep slumber. Its body was enveloped in its innate Void Secret Patterns, a sign it had entered a state of hibernation between life and death.

If it wasn’t awakened by someone with a deep understanding of the mysteries of the Void, it would likely never wake up again.

Shaking his head to clear it, Yang Tian continued, ”As the overlord of the 1st Layer, it wouldn’t come after you just for an inheritance. Besides, didn’t you see? It was coming for all of us. I think it’s possible Yang Xiao did something to provoke it. Since it couldn’t do anything to him, it’s taking its anger out on us instead!”

”Then... what about Yang Xiao? Should we go look for him?”

Bing Xin instantly grew flustered upon hearing this.

She had no real connection to Zhang Mengfei. Although they had just faced life and death together, he couldn’t compare to Yang Xiao, who had already found a place in her heart.

Beside her, Yang Ziling also looked over.

Her expression was clearly fraught with anxiety.

At the same time, the look she gave Bing Xin was complicated.

”There’s no need. If our Junior Brother Yang Xiao were really in trouble, that behemoth wouldn’t be coming after us. If my guess is correct, he must have already passed the Inheritance Tower’s trial and entered the next layer. The creature couldn’t follow, so it came for us instead.”

It had to be said, Yang Tian’s insight was on another level; he had easily deduced the truth of the situation.

However, even though he had figured it out, it didn’t solve their current predicament.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ziling and Bing Xin, though still somewhat worried, also breathed a sigh of relief.

The atmosphere suddenly grew silent.

Even Yang Tian seemed somewhat lost in thought.

He stared blankly into the distance.

’Junior Brother Yang Xiao,’ he thought, ’there are only ten days left. I hope you can make it in time.’

Even as he thought this, Yang Tian felt it was a vain hope.

Even if Yang Xiao had already entered the 2nd Layer...

Ten days.

...was only the equivalent of a hundred days there.

Could Yang Xiao really make it in time?

He had no confidence at all.

「At this very moment.」

「In the 2nd Layer of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.」

Yang Xiao.

...was deeply immersed in comprehending the Fourth Level Time Secret Pattern.

He had already consumed a Desolate Divine Fruit.

In the distance, the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon was lazing on the ground, basking listlessly in the sun.

It had already finished processing the corpse of the Golden-winged Hairy Roc.

The Inner Core and wings were set aside.

As for the flesh and blood, aside from a few particularly useful parts, the rest had all been refined into Essence Blood.

It was incredibly condensed.

If Yang Xiao were to use it to cultivate a Supreme True Body, he could probably obtain a Golden Roc True Body very quickly—one that would be at least at the level of a Tier Six Beast King.

With constant refinement and nurturing in the future, it could even reach Tier Seven.

The bloodline of this Golden-winged Hairy Roc was countless tiers higher than that of the previous Earth Fire Qilin Beast. Likewise, if Yang Xiao decided to extract the bloodline of the Purple-scaled Blood Horned Flood Dragon, it too would have the chance to reach Tier Seven in the future.

Perhaps even higher.

This was because, in terms of pure bloodline, the Purple-scaled Red-horned Flood Dragon was a cut above.

But right now, Yang Xiao was clearly in no mood for that.

His entire focus was on the Time Secret Pattern.

In the blink of an eye, a century passed within his mindscape.

Yang Xiao opened his eyes.

A hint of disappointment flickered across his face.

’Before, a single Desolate Divine Fruit allowed me to comprehend the mysteries of the first three levels of Time, with power to spare, and even perfect my comprehension of the first three levels of the Greater Yang Secret Pattern. But now, I haven’t even fully grasped the Fourth Level, only getting about eighty percent of the way.’

A hundred years.

And he had only grasped eighty percent.

Yang Xiao considered this unacceptably slow.

In reality, if anyone else were to learn that a mere Martial Grandmaster Sixth Layer cultivator had begun to comprehend the Fourth Level Time Secret Pattern, and had grasped eighty percent of it in just one hundred years, they would probably cough up a mouthful of blood in sheer shock.

One had to understand that comprehending the Time Secret Pattern itself was a completely different matter from learning a Swordsmanship that incorporated it.

For most people, if their cultivation and realm weren’t high enough, they wouldn’t be able to comprehend a Secret Pattern even if it were placed right in front of them.

Take Xuan Tianzhan, for example.

He had spent ten years comprehending the first three moves of the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship.

But if he were asked to comprehend the Time Secret Pattern directly, a thousand years would likely pass before he could even grasp the First Level.

And yet, Yang Xiao thought he was being too slow.

If Xuan Tianzhan ever found out, he would probably die of pure indignation.

’Fortunately, I still have nineteen Desolate Divine Fruits. That should be enough.’

He glanced at the tall tower in the distance.

Yang Xiao resumed his meditation.

This time, he intended to memorize the Time Secret Pattern from the 5th Layer.

With the Fourth Level Time Secret Pattern as his foundation, simply recording the next one was much easier.

Yang Xiao only took three days to finish recording the secret pattern from the 5th Layer.

Next came a long, three-hundred-year period of comprehension.

He used up three Desolate Divine Fruits.

And with that, Yang Xiao comprehended the Fifth Level Time Secret Pattern.

Then came the 6th Layer.

This time, it took quite a while longer.

It took Yang Xiao a full ten days just to memorize it.

And that was with him having already comprehended the first five levels and gained a considerable understanding of the Time Secret Pattern.

As for comprehending it, that took a full one thousand years.

And ten Desolate Divine Fruits.

Seeing that he only had six Desolate Divine Fruits left, Yang Xiao winced at the expense.

At the same time, he was also excited.

’Now, I just have to pass the trial, and only the Time Secret Pattern from the final layer will remain.’

Yang Xiao strode toward the Inheritance Tower.

But at this moment, he had no idea...

...that on the Third Layer...

...a terrifying creature...

...was waiting for him to walk right into its trap.