Chapter 686 - 685: Heavenly Venerable Divine Aspect

"ROAR! No! I am the Flame Domain Divine King, a being of heavenly talent, the most venerated Fire God in this world! How could I... how could I possibly die here? No, I must resist! I can’t die like this!"

Trapped by the dense cluster of Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles, the Flame Domain Divine King’s aura had weakened to an extreme degree. If he grew any weaker,

he would likely fall from the Divine King Realm.

At this moment,

the Flame Domain Divine King was still unwilling to accept his fate, roaring in fury.

Then, he began to fight for his life.

He unleashed all his power, holding nothing back.

However, at this same moment, Yang Xiao, who was outside,

had already forgotten about him.

He was completely focused on capturing that glimmer of inspiration, continuously drawing on the Essence Pill to condense more Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles.

In fact,

he really didn’t need to pay him any mind.

Because every moment, he was drawing power from the Essence Pill to condense Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles, and the rate at which they were being destroyed was far slower than the rate at which Yang Xiao was creating them.

If the Flame Domain Divine King had started fighting for his life from the very beginning, with his will, which was comparable to that of an ordinary Peak Tier Three Divine King, he might have been able to break through the Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles in the Early Stage and use the opportunity to kill Yang Xiao.

But now,

it was too difficult.

Besides, the true source of the Flame Domain Divine King’s power was not his own consciousness but the power nurtured by the entire Forbidden Fire Domain—that is, all the power from his previous life.

That power.

Even a consciousness at the level of an ordinary Divine King could manifest it, posing a threat to even a Great Emperor.

It forced such beings to return empty-handed, unable to even find a way in.

Killing Yang Xiao would have been effortless.

But,

after seeing Yang Xiao’s talent, his original intention was to seize his body, so of course he couldn’t mobilize the power left behind from his previous life to kill Yang Xiao.

If he had done that,

this perfect host body would have been destroyed.

Which led to him later

rashly entering Yang Xiao’s Sea of Consciousness.

He was outmaneuvered by Yang Xiao.

Now, even surviving was a challenge.

Even fighting for his life

was now too late.

And so,

amidst continuous, tearing roars and all-out attacks,

an unknown amount of time passed before the Flame Domain Divine King’s consciousness finally vanished.

As for Yang Xiao,

he was still continuously drawing power from the Essence Pill, condensing one Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Stele after another.

A dense, teeming swarm.

Even though the target of suppression was gone,

they continued to condense and appear.

Until...

...all the power within the Essence Pill—which had been formed from the entire Essence of a Demon Venerable comparable to a Top-tier Divine King, along with half of Elder Long’s Origin Essence Blood—was completely drained, transforming into an innumerable, dense swarm of Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles.

Yang Xiao’s Heart Spirit

suddenly entered a state of empty clarity.

No thoughts, no desires.

No will, no movement.

Not a single stray thought, not a single idea.

It was as if he existed in a world of stillness.

But just then,

that glimmer of inspiration he had been pursuing for so long appeared.

It grew brighter and brighter,

until finally,

it transformed into a blazing sun, illuminating Yang Xiao’s entire Sea of Consciousness.

The dense swarm of Pseudo-Divine-Demonic Steles,

along with all the dark corners of his Sea of Consciousness, were now as bright as day.

’I understand now! The Divine-Demonic Stele can record the Three Thousand God-Demon Daos, and the Void Sword Manual can contain all the powers of heaven and earth. So why can’t I do the same?’

Yang Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Although he knew that the method of the Divine-Demonic Stele was likely the most suitable for him, even more so than the Void Sword Manual, Yang Xiao didn’t adopt it directly.

Instead, he pondered a method that would be even more fitting for himself.

’The cultivation of a Divine Aspect can be based on any object, but generally speaking, a life form is more flexible and has greater potential than an inanimate object. If I use the method of the Divine-Demonic Stele and condense my Divine Aspect into a stele, or use the way of the Void Sword Manual and forge it into a sword, my future achievements would be great, but those functions can be replaced by a Sacrificial Refining Treasure. Moreover, it would lack a certain Spiritual quality.’

’Speaking of which, among the All Heavens and Myriad Races, the Human Race is actually the most Spiritual. However, a Divine Aspect’s Spiritual quality doesn’t need to be exceptionally strong. What’s more important is its aura. For example, Brother Lu’s Golden Crow is a terrifying Divine Aspect that can perfectly merge with Greater Yang Power. Or, like Nangong Tianling mentioned, the South Li Vermilion Bird Star Divine Aspect. Both use these special and powerful life forms as their Divine Aspects.’

Thinking of this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but frown.

In his first life, he was born a Fire God and had never gone through this stage, so he naturally had no personal experience to draw from.

What kind of form...

...would make the best Divine Aspect?

As for the various powers,

Yang Xiao had already figured it out thanks to that glimmer of inspiration from before.

’Since the Divine-Demonic Stele can bear so many powers, the Divine Aspect I cultivate obviously can too. At worst, I’ll just have to find a way to condense all the powers into one place.’

’For example, some kind of special Array.’

Yang Xiao couldn’t think of a specific Array right now, but he had a direction.

This was because he had already started working on this very point long ago.

But the form of the Divine Aspect...

’How should I choose?’

’A Divine Dragon?’

’A Phoenix?’

’Old Hairy’s Golden Roc True Body?’

’Or perhaps a Qilin?’

’Or maybe the legendary Chaos Beast, which even I in my first life had never seen?’

As for other forms,

Yang Xiao didn’t even consider them. These few forms already represented the most powerful races between heaven and earth; there was no reason to choose a weaker form over a stronger one.

’But which one should I pick?’

Suddenly,

Yang Xiao glanced at "himself" inadvertently.

He started to laugh.

’I’ve really been foolish. The physique of the Human Race may not be powerful, but what about an Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable? If I directly use the form of an Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable—that is, the form of my Divine Soul—to condense my Divine Aspect, wouldn’t it be even more powerful? Also, a Divine Aspect requires the fusion of the Divine Soul and one’s aura, which is a crucial step in condensing a Divine Format. Since that’s the case, why do I need to change my form at all?’

Instantly,

Yang Xiao understood.

At the same time, he even came up with the most practical and feasible method.

He would use the Thirty-six Great Divine Techniques to condense individual Divine Aspects that were like true suns, and then converge them within the body of the Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable.

This way, in the future, he would have a chance to recreate the World-Destroying Divine Wheel from the Nine Yang Celestial Skill.

Just thinking about it

made Yang Xiao incredibly excited.

Using the Emperor Dao Celestial Venerable as his Divine Aspect, and then using the method for condensing the Greater Yang Divine Aspect from the Nine Yang Celestial Skill to integrate all sorts of powers.

He would transform them into power sources within the body of his Heavenly Venerable Divine Aspect.

Like acupoints.

Or perhaps something like internal organs.

A Divine Aspect like that...

...would surely be incomparably powerful.

’Now then, let’s have a pleasant start, right here and now.’

Yang Xiao smiled faintly.

He opened his eyes.

Before him, a ball of seven-colored flame

was swaying continuously.

Yang Xiao’s smile widened.