Chapter 685 - 684: A Flash of Spirit Light

"Brat, what are these stone steles? Hmph! If you think you can defeat this Divine King with just these, you are sorely mistaken. Obediently offer up your body, and this Divine King might grant you a quick death. Otherwise, I have endless methods to make you beg for death, but find no release!"

The Flame Domain Divine King suppressed his panic and spoke with a cold expression.

But a closer look revealed the deep-seated dread in his eyes for the steles that had suddenly appeared.

Their appearance seemed to suppress his strength, causing it to stagnate.

It was almost as if sixty to seventy percent of his power had been sapped away.

This was no small amount.

It had instantly knocked his consciousness—which had been barely maintaining the level of a Peak Divine King—down to the level of an ordinary Divine King. How could the Flame Domain Divine King not be filled with dread and alarm?

’Looks like these stone steles really do have some effect.’

Seeing this, however, Yang Xiao simply smiled faintly.

He was also a little surprised.

The idea for these steles had just been a flash of inspiration, something he had decided to try on a whim.

He hadn’t expected them to actually be effective.

’It seems that Divine-Demonic Stele is truly an incredible thing. I only subconsciously manifested its aura and some of the runes I could recall, and it’s already this useful. No wonder it was able to completely suppress a Demon Venerable comparable to a Top-tier Divine King with the power of a single stele.’

Yang Xiao was delighted.

He had other tricks up his sleeve, of course. Even without these steles, he was confident he could annihilate the Flame Domain Divine King’s will.

However, that would have involved taking some risks.

But now...

that was no longer necessary.

Thus, Yang Xiao paid the Flame Domain Divine King no mind.

He simply focused on marshaling his power, absorbing the energy from the Essence Pill left by the Demon Venerable, and transforming it into one stone stele after another.

They formed layer upon layer, completely surrounding the Flame Domain Divine King’s will.

Instantly.

The Flame Domain Divine King, who had hoped to intimidate Yang Xiao into submission, felt his own power draining away, growing weaker and weaker.

No.

It was becoming harder and harder to command.

His expression grew increasingly grim.

He had originally thought this brat was merely a Furnace Cauldron, a vessel he could seize and discard at will.

He never imagined...

...that things would take such a turn.

Before entering, he had never once imagined it would be this perilous inside.

But now, it was too late for regrets.

’I should have just killed this brat from the start! How could I have fallen to such a state? No! I am the Flame Domain Divine King! I am the most exalted Divine Spirit of fire in all of creation! How can I be trapped by this whelp? Kill! I have to kill him!’

With a furious roar, the Flame Domain Divine King could hold back no longer.

He lunged toward Yang Xiao’s Divine Soul.

And the moment he moved, Yang Xiao’s smile widened.

’This guy’s mind has completely shattered. He can’t keep his composure at all. But that’s good. Otherwise, it might not have been so easy to take him down.’

If he were facing an entity with a stable mind, it would have taken Yang Xiao a great deal of effort to extinguish this will.

Perhaps...

...the bastard would have even escaped.

But now,...

...it was so much simpler.

In a head-on clash, Yang Xiao wasn’t the least bit afraid of him.

He had already sensed that the creature’s core consciousness was split into four parts. This main part, under the suppression of the imitation Divine-Demonic Steles, had already fallen from the level of an Early Stage Tier Four God King to the Peak of Third-tier Divine King.

One should not underestimate this seemingly small gap.

This was precisely the difference between an ordinary Divine King and a Peak Divine King.

Especially when it came to the level of one’s will.

This difference made him much easier to deal with.

Moreover, the creature was incapable of strategy, only knowing how to clash head-on. This meant that the Essence Pill within Yang Xiao’s Sea of Consciousness—one formed from the Demon Venerable’s Essence and half of Elder Long’s Origin Essence Blood—once activated, could directly draw out Elder Long’s will contained within.

Combined with the power it held, defeating this creature would be almost too simple.

However, Yang Xiao didn’t do that right away.

Instead, he decided to slowly wear him down.

He intended to use the least amount of effort possible to slowly grind the will of this once-Supreme Divine King into oblivion.

And so it went.

Within the array formed by innumerable Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles, the Flame Domain Divine King’s core consciousness rampaged about without a moment’s rest. Yet, his aura grew steadily weaker.

Although he managed to shatter some of the Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles from time to time, their numbers only continued to grow.

Meanwhile, the three clones of his will that had been lurking in Yang Xiao’s Sea of Consciousness were forced out by Yang Xiao and annihilated, one by one.

At this point, even with his mind shattered, the Flame Domain Divine King’s core consciousness realized it had made a terrible blunder.

He should never have split his consciousness further.

In hindsight, he had ultimately made the fatal mistake of underestimating his enemy.

It was this that had given Yang Xiao an opening.

And with this realization, the Flame Domain Divine King’s already shattered mind descended further into madness.

Despair began to set in.

As a result, his attacks grew even more ferocious.

His own consciousness... was also being consumed at an ever-increasing rate.

Even his very will was starting to destabilize, threatening to dissipate completely.

Once it truly dissipated, even if his Power of Consciousness remained, it would be utterly fragmented, leaving him with no strength to resist Yang Xiao.

In response to this, Yang Xiao adopted an extremely cautious approach.

He simply let it happen.

He continuously drew power from the Essence Pill, transforming it into one Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Stele after another.

With each stele he formed, his comprehension of the steles deepened.

As he formed them one by one, Yang Xiao suddenly sensed something.

But when he tried to grasp it, there was nothing there.

’A flash of insight? And a crucial one at that. I have to grasp it. If I can, perhaps the problem of condensing my Divine Aspect can be solved.’

At this thought, Yang Xiao’s heart stirred.

He calmed his mind and began to focus even more intently on condensing the Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles.

This time, however, he was no longer concerned with the Flame Domain Divine King trapped within.

That creature.

His death was a certainty.

What mattered to Yang Xiao now... was how to capture that fleeting flash of insight.

If he could just grasp it, perhaps... his cultivation could take another leap forward.

As for the trip to the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm in six months’ time, his chances of success would be that much higher.

’To contend with the experts in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List, I must at least cultivate to the Peak of the Sixth Revolution of the Cyan Flame Realm and awaken my fifth Talent Ability. But to reach that peak, it’s not just a matter of lacking one type of Supreme Yang Divine Fire; there’s also the question of what Divine Aspect to condense. This is an absolutely crucial step.’

Yang Xiao knew this very well.

If he could condense the Divine Aspect most suited to him, he could maintain his advantage in the Small Divine Ability Realm.

But if he couldn’t, then even if he broke through to the Great Divine Power Realm, his combat prowess would likely not increase, and might even decline.

His potential would also plummet.

Naturally, Yang Xiao wouldn’t do something so foolish.

’The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm opens in six months. I’m running out of time!’