Chapter 625 624: The Two Great Forbidden Lands

"This Dark Night Demon Venerable… his cultivation and aura are no weaker than my own. Dealing with him will likely be very difficult. We must devise a proper plan and not act rashly."

Elder Long's voice spoke, calm and measured.

Yang Xiao's face, however, lit up when he heard this.

He took a step forward and asked eagerly, "Elder Long, does this mean you have a good plan?"

Seeing his eagerness, Elder Long chuckled.

He deliberately drew out his words. "There is a way, yes. The question is whether you can pull it off."

"Pull it off? What do you need me to do, Elder Long? I will absolutely not refuse."

Hearing this, Elder Long nodded slightly. "It seems you finally understand what a Common Lord of the Human Race, a successor to the Human Emperor, ought to do. You understand the need to protect your people. Good. I am gratified. In that case, I'll put everything on the line to help you."

As he spoke, Elder Long's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Yang Xiao was taken aback.

'He was only this anxious because the Demon Venerable was threatening the Huang Family and his daughter.'

'But in Elder Long's eyes, he thought I was doing it to protect my people.'

'What a misunderstanding!'

'But it was a misunderstanding Yang Xiao liked.'

'It saved him the trouble of a lengthy explanation.'

Elder Long continued, "If it were just me against this Demon Venerable, I couldn't possibly touch him. Even with the element of surprise and a perfectly laid trap, killing him would be impossible. And if he survives, he'll surely go into hiding. His eventual retaliation would be more than we could ever bear. So, if we're going to make a move, it must be a killing blow!"

"Indeed. But how can we ensure it's a killing blow?"

Yang Xiao couldn't help but ask.

"Like I said, I alone cannot defeat that Demon Venerable. Therefore, I will go stand guard over the Carefree Sect to ensure he doesn't dare to act recklessly. You, on the other hand, need to make a trip to either the Burial God Celestial Abyss or the Mystical Ancient Desert."

"The Burial God Celestial Abyss? The Mystical Ancient Desert?"

Yang Xiao was confused.

He didn't understand why Elder Long had suddenly brought up two of the other Four Great Forbidden Lands.

Soon enough, Elder Long gave him the reason.

"Whether in the Burial God Celestial Abyss or the Mystical Ancient Desert, if you are successful, you can find something—or someone—to counter that Demon Venerable. For instance, in the Burial God Celestial Abyss, there is a stone stele known as the Divine-Demonic Stele. It contains the Three Thousand Divine and Demonic Daos and is also a Supreme Treasure. It was a Magical Treasure refined by an Alien who had also attained the Divine-Demon Body. If you can claim this stele, you can borrow the power of its Three Thousand Great Daos to suppress the Demon Venerable. If you do that, and I make my move, we'll have a sixty percent chance of killing him."

"Only sixty percent?"

Yang Xiao frowned slightly.

He was clearly not satisfied with those odds.

Elder Long just smiled. "If you can't obtain the Divine-Demonic Stele in the Burial God Celestial Abyss, then your only other option is the Mystical Ancient Desert. You will face many tribulations there. You might even die and never be able to leave, as it is far more dangerous than the Burial God Celestial Abyss. But, if you pass its trials, you'll meet a certain old fellow."

"What old fellow? Are you saying there are still living things in the Mystical Ancient Desert?"

This piqued Yang Xiao's curiosity.

"Of course there are. That old fellow has been holed up in there for ages, paying no mind to the outside world. However, if you can pass his trial, you can ask him to do one thing for you. When that time comes, you'll ask him to come out and join forces with me. With his power combined with mine, I'll have an eighty percent certainty of killing that Demon Venerable."

"Eighty percent? Excellent! Rest assured, Elder Long. I will not let you down!"

Yang Xiao's spirits soared.

'Eighty percent certainty was very high indeed.'

'Besides, from what Elder Long was saying, there was an expert in the Mystical Ancient Desert on par with him. Yang Xiao was quite keen to witness this person's abilities for himself.'

He was about to rise to his feet at once.

But Elder Long pushed him back down.

"I know you received the inheritance of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion. I also know you earned the favor of Human Emperor Xuanyuan because of the Xuanyuan Sword Wall in the Nine Nether Earth Rift, which is how you've achieved what you have today. But if you underestimate the Burial God Celestial Abyss and the Mystical Ancient Desert because of that, you are in for a world of pain."

"Comparatively, whether it was the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion or the Nine Nether Earth Rift, you probably didn't face any real danger when you entered, did you? The Burial God Celestial Abyss and the Mystical Ancient Desert are different. They are incredibly dangerous, so I need you to treat them with the utmost seriousness."

His words were spoken with earnest gravity.

Yang Xiao naturally took his words to heart.

Although he could be conceited at times, he understood that any place Elder Long regarded with such gravity—a place known as a forbidden land—could not be underestimated.

Indeed.

Just as Elder Long had said, his experiences in both the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion and the Nine Nether Earth Rift hadn't been particularly arduous. The former was inherently a place of inheritance, so the danger level was low.

As for the latter, it was only because he had cultivated the True Greater Yang Fire, which naturally suppressed the Nine Nether Evil Qi, that he was able to enter.

'Of course, it now seemed likely that the Lu Family had known about that place all along. With their Greater Yang Body, they could probably enter it as well.'

'However, he hadn't sensed the aura of the Void Sword Manual on any of the Lu Family members.'

'From this, Yang Xiao knew that they probably hadn't received the inheritance.'

'It seemed he had just been lucky.'

'But being lucky once didn't mean he would be lucky forever.'

So, Yang Xiao understood the meaning behind Elder Long's words.

'It was always better to be more cautious.'

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Long."

Yang Xiao said respectfully.

Only then did Elder Long nod in satisfaction. "Good. You should go. As for the Demon Venerable, I'll head out now. As long as he senses my aura, he won't dare make a reckless move."

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. You asked me to look for your friend, didn't you? I couldn't find any trace of her on the Profound Sun Continent. If she's truly still on this continent, then the only possibility is that she's in one of the Four Great Forbidden Lands. The Nine Nether Earth Rift is an unlikely place for her; as a woman, it's impossible for her to enter. You've already claimed the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, so you should be able to check there yourself. That being the case, the Burial God Celestial Abyss and the Mystical Ancient Desert—the very places you're headed—are where you're most likely to find her. If she isn't in either of those places, then she may no longer be on this continent at all."

The moment his voice fell,

Elder Long was already gone,

his form vanishing in a flash.

Yang Xiao, however, froze when he heard this.

A sliver of worry entered his heart.

He was worried about Xue Yi's situation.

'Elder Long gave me such a stern warning about those two forbidden lands, and I'm the one going in. If Xue Yi is trapped in there… I just hope nothing has happened to her.'

The mere thought made Yang Xiao's heart clench.

It was a terrible feeling.

But time was short. Besides, if Xue Yi was truly trapped in one of the two forbidden lands, this trip was a chance to rescue her.

So, Yang Xiao shook his head, driving all such grim thoughts from his mind.

With a flash of movement,

he too left the Lu Family Secret Realm.

He headed for the Burial God Celestial Abyss.

At that very moment,

Yun Huan—or rather, the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable—finally laid eyes on his first target.

Huang Tianling.