Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

’Hm? Killing intent?’

Yang Xiao had used the power of the Bloodthirsty Divine Sword to slay the man transformed from the Seven Evils, and the sword had absorbed the remaining seventy percent of the man’s power along with him.

Just as he was waiting for this power to flow back and replenish both himself and the Divine General Talisman,

he felt a terrifying killing intent coming from the Void.

At the same time, the Thousand Mechanism Eye inside him began to vibrate rapidly.

With a single thought,

a vision appeared before him.

There in the Void was a woman in feathered robes, clutching a pitch-black Jade Talisman. She hurled it at him, and the vision ended with his own instantaneous obliteration.

’Yue Lingxi? Why would she...’

Yang Xiao could hardly believe it.

He knew she had forgotten him,

but he never imagined,

that she would actually want to kill him.

That Jade Talisman.

It was clearly an unparalleled weapon of destruction.

Did it really...

have to come to this between them?

A pang of anguish shot through him.

Yang Xiao’s gaze turned to the Void, to the exact spot where Yue Lingxi was.

’Are you going to kill me?’

It was a silent question.

Their gazes...

met and tangled in the Void.

But Yang Xiao, unable to see Yue Lingxi, couldn’t feel it.

He could only rely on the location provided by his Thousand Mechanism Eye.

He stared at that empty patch of the Void,

his heart a mess of complicated feelings.

He didn’t understand why Yue Lingxi wanted to kill him.

If Yue Lingxi had sent the man he just killed, then why was that man sealed by an Array formed from the Power of Taiyin?

Clearly,

it was because Yue Lingxi had secretly helped him.

Otherwise, Nangong Tianling would have likely died before he even finished his seclusion.

But why?

Why would she help him, only to try and kill him?

Yang Xiao couldn’t figure it out.

He couldn’t understand at all.

Seeing the confusion, bafflement, and heartache in his eyes,

Yue Lingxi, hidden within the Void, faltered.

Her conviction, once absolute in her vow to slay the Demon God, suddenly began to waver.

The Jade Talisman in her hand suddenly felt,

as if it weighed a billion tons.

She couldn’t bring herself to throw it.

’Why? Why does my heart ache? He... he’s clearly a manifestation of the Dark Night Demon God’s power. Everyone has a duty to hunt down and kill the Dark Night Demon Gods, so why...?’

Yue Lingxi was paralyzed by hesitation.

Utterly conflicted.

If it had been anyone else displaying power akin to that of a Dark Night Demon God, she would have struck them down without a second thought.

After all, for so many years,

the four great Saint-level Influences, including her own Taiyin Holy Palace, and even the Immortal Cultivators, had been locked in a constant battle against the Dark Night Demon Gods of the Void Dark Realm.

They fought to contain them within the Void Dark Realm.

But even so,

Dark Night Demon Gods would still occasionally appear in the mortal realm, wreaking havoc and slaughtering innocents.

Once,

Yue Lingxi had witnessed such an event.

It was nothing short of a living Hell.

From that day forward, Yue Lingxi had sworn to herself that she would hunt down the Dark Night Demon Gods,

no matter the cost.

But now...

she found that a single look from this man was enough to shatter her resolve.

Her entire body felt weak.

Her eyes grew red,

as if she were about to burst into sorrowful tears.

She couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard she tried.

She couldn’t stop the urge to turn and flee.

’What should I do? What should I do? What did this guy do to me? Why am I acting like this?’

She lamented inwardly,

yet she unwittingly found herself making excuses for Yang Xiao.

’Maybe he’s not really a Dark Night Demon God. Maybe it’s just some Secret Technique... That must be why I feel this way, why I don’t want to kill him...’

’No, that’s wrong! What Secret Technique in this world is so brutal that it can obliterate an opponent into nothing? This is clearly the power of a Dark Night Demon God!’

’But there are countless Secret Techniques in the world. How could I have seen them all? Besides, he doesn’t seem like some crazed, heartless monster!’

’Then again, maybe it’s all just an act...’

The thoughts in her mind...

swirled in chaos.

The longer she lingered,

the more chaotic Yue Lingxi’s heart became.

She looked at Yang Xiao, trying to harden her heart,

to finally hurl the Jade Talisman in her hand.

But in the end,

she just couldn’t do it.

Her body was limp,

all because of Yang Xiao’s gaze.

She could no longer bring herself to strike the killing blow.

After a long moment,

Yue Lingxi turned away.

She couldn’t bear to look into his eyes any longer.

With a flash,

she was gone.

As Yang Xiao stared into that patch of the Void, he felt the Thousand Mechanism Eye within him grow calm.

’She left?’

Yang Xiao was stunned.

He could no longer feel the slightest trace of killing intent.

But inwardly,

he was more confused than ever.

’First she helps me, then she wants to kill me, and now she just leaves... What is with that woman?’

Yang Xiao couldn’t figure it out.

He forced himself to stop thinking about it

and turned his attention to Nangong Tianling.

With a thought,

the heavily injured Nangong Tianling appeared before him.

”Y-Young Master... As long... as long as you’re okay...”

Seeing Yang Xiao,

the woman, on the verge of passing out, gave a brilliant smile.

At the same time,

it was also the first time

she had ever called Yang Xiao ”Young Master.”

She was no longer calling him ”the mistress’s child,” ”that brat,” or ”that kid.”

Perhaps

it was because she knew

that she was about to die.

At a time like this, there was no longer any need to put on a stern face, to act the part of the adult, the elder, and lecture him.

Nangong Tianling thought to herself.

She felt a sense of release.

’Mistress, did you see? The Young Master has grown up. He... he’s so much stronger than I am now. Tianling can finally rest.’

As for Yang Xiao,

he quietly observed Nangong Tianling. Her body was covered in endless Evil Qi, she was enduring immense pain, and her aura was incredibly faint.

Seeing her in such a state,

any trace of dissatisfaction he still held for Nangong Tianling

vanished like smoke.

She...

’...may be a bit foolish, but in the end, her heart is in the right place.’

’She just likes to take matters into her own hands.’

’Besides, it was my fault she ended up like this, suffering such torture. To have endured under that Evil Qi for so long... ’

’...it’s truly been hard on her.’

He raised his hand.

Yang Xiao tapped lightly,

his finger landing on Nangong Tianling.

”It’s no use, Young Master. Most of my life force is already gone, and this Evil Qi... it’s too powerful. It can’t be expelled. Don’t waste your energy on me. As long as you managed to escape, that’s all that matters...”

But before she could finish,

she felt the Evil Qi in her body surge outward like a bursting dam.

It poured into Yang Xiao’s fingertip,

forming what looked like a miniature black hole.

It flowed out of her without end.

And as her body was freed from the Evil Qi, her vitality instantly returned.

Nangong Tianling was completely and utterly stunned.

’This... How is this possible? The Young Master... how is he so powerful? He didn’t... Wait, we’re still at Star God Academy. He didn’t run away. Could it be... the Young Master killed that man?!’

And as Nangong Tianling stood there, jaw agape and eyes wide with shock,

two different observers were quietly watching the scene from the Void.

One observer,

had a complicated expression. She wore a shimmering, transparent gown that concealed her figure. Her eyes were hesitant, but when she saw that Yang Xiao’s first instinct was to save a life, her expression seemed to relax considerably.

The other,

however, had a sinister expression, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. He was dressed in magnificent, light purple robes.

The first observer

watched for a little while longer,

then vanished.

The second observer,

however, continued to stare fixedly at Yang Xiao and Nangong Tianling,

his heart filled with murderous intent!