Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

”You’re calling me ’Inheritor,’ sir? And you’re not going after my flame anymore?”

Yang Xiao laughed.

This guy was so eager to kill him before. Later, though he didn’t dare touch him due to the protection of the Inheritance Altar, he still didn’t give him any respect.

He had still snatched away his Heaven and Earth Origin Flame.

But now, he was putting on such an act. It was truly laughable.

’Does he think I’m an idiot?’

’That a few soft words will make me hand over the prize I just won?’

’And he says he won’t touch my flame.’

’I’d have to be crazy to believe him.’

”That’s right, Lord Inheritor. As you know, I was once a Divine King. Although I wasn’t as renowned as the Northern Wilderness Divine King, I was still a top figure in the Middle Ages. I would never go back on my word. Besides, this Fire God’s Heart is truly important to me. Sir, for the sake of us both being from the Northern Wilderness lineage, please return it to me.”

Taoyan God King’s face was a mask of desperation.

He was lowering himself, pleading so earnestly.

An ordinary person might have actually been deceived by him.

But Yang Xiao...

...was no ordinary person.

”You really are shameless. You act so righteously when you steal from others, but now that you’ve lost something of your own, you show this kind of pathetic face. I used to think that even though you resented the Northern Wilderness Divine King, you at least had your reasons. Maybe calling you shameless was going too far. I never imagined you were this kind of person.”

”I bet the only reason you survived is because you slacked off and didn’t put in any real effort during that battle, right?”

Yang Xiao’s words were harsh.

Worse, he had seen right through Taoyan’s thoughts.

Because that was, in fact, exactly what the man had planned.

And just as Yang Xiao said, the Northern Wilderness Divine King had saved his life. Later, he had taken him in. Although they were master and servant in name, he had always been treated like a brother.

Even before that final battle, he had clearly explained the stakes.

He had let all his followers choose whether to leave or to fight alongside him.

It was he, Taoyan...

...who hadn’t dared to show his cowardice and fear of death in front of everyone else.

So, when he saw that not a single person had backed down—that even the Demigod Level servants were willing to die with the Northern Wilderness Divine King—

how could he, one of the four great Divine Kings under the Northern Wilderness Divine King, have the face to quit?

If he had actually done that...

Wouldn’t everyone have looked down on him?

He would have drowned in their criticism.

Under such circumstances, Taoyan God King had no intention of helping. He naturally slacked off and even prepared a backup plan. Now that Yang Xiao had exposed him, his face flushed crimson.

He shrieked, ”You ignorant child, do you have any idea how powerful that person was? With a mere wave of his hand, the Northern Wilderness Divine King and everyone else were turned to ash! Even if I hadn’t prepared a backup plan, the outcome would have been the same. It wouldn’t have changed a thing!”

”Since that’s the case, why should I have died with them?”

”So it’s true. You really are an ungrateful traitor who slacked off.”

But in response to Taoyan’s frantic explanation...

Yang Xiao seized on a single point.

The man really was ungrateful, harboring dissent at such a critical moment during the final battle.

Perhaps, as he said, the enemy was too strong.

But what if they weren’t?

What if it was a battle between equals?

With a treacherous person like him around, a battle that could have been won would likely have been lost.

He was the one bad apple that spoiled the bunch.

”It seems you have no intention of returning the Fire God’s Heart to me, then?”

Taoyan God King’s expression turned cold and stern.

All traces of his previous fawning were gone.

”Of course not. Why should I hand over a treasure I worked so hard to get?”

Hearing this, a thought struck Taoyan God King. He said, ”What if I were willing to offer a suitable bargaining chip? Would you be willing to trade?”

”Oh? Go on. Let’s see what you can possibly offer me in exchange.”

Yang Xiao’s interest was piqued.

’A Divine King-level expert should have some good stuff on him.’

If the value exceeded that of the Fire God’s Heart in his hand, a trade wasn’t out of the question.

Although this Fire God’s Heart was very useful to him.

Especially after it had fused with the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire, this thing could be turned into a Clone for him with just a bit of simple refinement.

Its future accomplishments wouldn’t match his first life, but it would be far stronger than it would have been without fusing with the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire.

At the very least, it could reach the level of a Peak Divine King.

With a few other techniques, it might even become a Supreme Divine King capable of slaying a Great Emperor.

However, breaking through to the Realm of Dominator...

...would probably be impossible.

But this was already countless times better than what Yang Xiao had previously expected.

Therefore, he placed great importance on this Fire God’s Heart.

But if Taoyan God King had something better, he wouldn’t mind making a trade.

”Really? You’re really willing to trade?”

Taoyan God King felt a surge of delight.

”That depends on whether you can offer something that can actually move me.”

Hearing this, Taoyan God King began to ponder.

The Fire God’s Heart was his foundation. Only by getting it back would he have any hope in this life. Otherwise, he would have to make do with the Demigod Level Heart of Fire Spirit he had snatched from Yang Xiao.

If that were the case, he probably wouldn’t be able to break through for a very long time.

This was clearly not the outcome Taoyan God King wanted.

’But what can I trade him?’

’This guy, even though he’s the Inheritor, is clearly still a Mortal who hasn’t even reached the Divine Power Realm. His knowledge must be limited. I don’t have anything good on me right now, so why don’t I…’

An idea for an item came to him, and he couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

He had made his decision.

With a thought, a stone-like object pulsing with dense Fire Elemental Power appeared in his hand. He held it out to Yang Xiao.

At the same time, he put on a pained expression and said, ”Lord Inheritor, I wonder if this Divine Stone is sufficient for a trade? This Divine Stone contains a massive amount of Divine Flame Power. I can see that the aura within your body is also of the Fire Elemental Power system. With this, once you refine it, I’m afraid your cultivation will see a huge leap.”

Taoyan God King said with great enthusiasm.

However, he failed to notice that the more he spoke, the colder Yang Xiao’s expression became.

A chilling glint even flashed in his eyes.

’Does this guy really take me for an ignorant rookie? This is just an ordinary Divine Essence Stone, and it’s only Mid-Grade at that. Besides, with my current cultivation, using something as high-level as a Divine Essence Stone… is he trying to get me killed?’

Yang Xiao was practically exploding with rage inside.

Divine Essence Stones, like Spiritual Essence Stones, were Treasure Ores that contained primordial power.

The difference was that Spiritual Essence Stones could only be used by those at the Martial Saint level. For some reason, in a small place like the Celestial Cloud Region, no Spiritual Essence Ore had ever been discovered.

As a result, Yang Xiao had yet to find a single Spiritual Essence Stone.

As for Divine Essence Stones, they were the next step up from Spiritual Essence Stones and were the common currency among True Gods.

For example, the Low Grade True Divine Artifact on Yang Xiao, the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace, was worth at least one hundred thousand Upper-Grade Divine Essence Stones.

Although it was more precious because it was a palace-type Divine Artifact, even for a Low Grade one.

But in Yang Xiao’s opinion, the Fire God’s Heart was in no way less valuable than the Heaven-Fighting Divine Palace. In fact, it was even more useful to him, so its value should be even greater.

Yet this guy before him...

...was actually trying to trade a single Divine Essence Stone with him, and a Mid-Grade one at that.

Was he insulting him, trying to bully him for his supposed ignorance?

The sheer audacity!

Killing intent surged in Yang Xiao’s heart.