Chapter 648 647: Ice Soul Profound Pearl

"Petty tricks, and you dare show them off in front of me?"

Seeing the icy mist surging toward him, Yang Xiao just smiled faintly.

He held the Void Divine Sword, which had materialized in his hand, upright.

It was the opening stance of Celestial Moon.

He had assumed the pose in an instant.

Just now, Yang Xiao had used a modified Meteor Fall to kill Lin Yuantu.

That single slash had been incomparably ferocious.

Now, he assumed the opening stance of Celestial Moon.

This technique, however, was incomparably soft and yielding.

With the longsword held vertically, its blade began to emanate an invisible, devouring force field.

Countless wisps of icy mist were swallowed and absorbed by the Void Divine Sword in Yang Xiao's hand.

It was as if a vortex existed around the blade.

Anything that drew close to Yang Xiao...

...would be devoured without a trace.

Watching from a distance, Han Xuanming's expression shifted once again.

'This kid actually has another trick up his sleeve? He's a bit of a handful... But so what? My Cold Ice Profound Palm isn't so easy to take. I'd like to see how long he can last!'

Han Xuanming's expression turned cold and sharp once more.

He raised his hand and sent out several more palm strikes.

Each palm he sent forth...

...was a surge of cold qi.

Moreover, this was no ordinary cold qi. It contained a special toxin that, once it invaded the body, would cause hallucinations while causing the victim's Inner Qi to stagnate and freeze.

Therefore, when Han Xuanming saw that Yang Xiao could devour his cold qi, he wasn't worried in the slightest.

In fact, he was eager for Yang Xiao to devour even more of it.

When the time came...

...and he succumbed to the cold poison...

...how could he possibly continue to fight?

But seeing his opponent's actions...

Yang Xiao just smiled.

'This fellow is really cooperating with me. All the better, it saves me the effort.'

With a thought,

Yang Xiao offered no resistance.

He simply maintained the opening stance of Celestial Moon, devouring all the incoming cold qi.

As for the cold poison within?

With the Ten Thousand Poison Source Pearl in his possession, what poison would he ever need to fear?

And so, Han Xuanming's continuous palm strikes from afar had no effect on Yang Xiao whatsoever.

On the contrary, they gave him an opportunity to accumulate even greater power.

Because, in truth, the strongest power Yang Xiao could currently unleash wasn't much different from his opponent's.

It might even be a little weaker.

The Meteor Fall he had just unleashed was the most powerful strike he could currently produce with his own strength.

After all, this was not the Profound Sun Continent, and he did not have his Emperor's True Body with him.

He had only managed to unleash that strike—one that reached Demigod Peak and approached the Quasi True God level—by using the Five Elements Divine Pill in his body, augmenting it with the power of an Array, and adding his Physical Strength on top of every other power boost he possessed.

If Lin Yuantu hadn't underestimated him so severely, giving Yang Xiao the opening for a one-hit kill...

...if they had gotten into a prolonged fight...

...even if Yang Xiao could have won, it would have taken a great deal of effort.

Just like now.

This Han Xuanming—if he hadn't attacked from a distance, or if he hadn't continued this useless effort after his first palm strike failed...

...but had instead closed in to fight Yang Xiao for real...

...Yang Xiao would have a real headache on his hands.

Even if he could eventually kill the man, the onlookers would have gauged his true strength.

That was not the outcome Yang Xiao wanted.

At least, not before he could safely reach Yun'Er; Yang Xiao did not want these people to see his full hand.

Therefore, Han Xuanming's actions...

...were very much to Yang Xiao's satisfaction.

Furthermore, the smile he had just shown...

...made Han Xuanming's expression turn even uglier.

He thought Yang Xiao was looking down on him.

Immediately, the Palm Power from his hands intensified as he began to strike with more vigor, pouring almost all his strength into it. An endless barrage from a Half-Step True God Level expert going all out...

...that power...

...was considerable.

Soon,

Yang Xiao's Void Divine Sword had accumulated power that was on the verge of surpassing that of a Quasi True God.

It reached the level of a Tier One True God.

And it was still rising steadily.

Yang Xiao immediately understood what his opponent was thinking and shot him an even more mocking gaze. In turn, the man's attacks grew even fiercer.

Soon,

Yang Xiao decided it was enough.

If he continued any longer...

...he feared someone might see through his ruse.

Instantly, his figure flashed.

The Void Divine Sword in his hand slashed toward Han Xuanming.

It was incredibly fast.

At that very moment, Han Xuanming was at the point of exhaustion. His face changed drastically, and he instinctively wanted to dodge.

But when he recalled the faint, mocking expression on Yang Xiao's face, a thought suddenly surged in his mind.

'I can't retreat!'

At the same time, his hand moved slightly.

He was grasping something.

'If I really can't block this, I'll just use the Ice Soul Profound Pearl. When I do, forget this little brat—even a True God would be doomed!'

Han Xuanming was very confident.

Years ago, he had used this very Ice Soul Profound Pearl to kill a True God—and a True God at the Peak of Tier Two, no less. Under the pearl's power, his target hadn't even had the strength to resist.

He had been frozen to death in an instant.

Han Xuanming was naturally self-assured.

If not for the lack of opportunity,

he even felt this pearl could probably kill a Tier Three or even a Tier Four True God. The power contained within it was simply too terrifying.

'Years ago, I fell into that Cold Pool. If I hadn't accidentally refined the weakest of the pearls, I would have died long ago. But even that weakest pearl allowed me to break through to the Demigod Realm in one go, directly forming the Heart of Ice and leading me to where I am today. If not for my Spiritual Level rising far too slowly and still not reaching its critical point, I probably would have entered the True God Realm long ago.'

Thinking of the pearl's terrifying power,

Han Xuanming's confidence surged. He raised a hand in a palm strike.

He brought it down directly on Yang Xiao's sword.

With this strike,

Han Xuanming began to smile.

He couldn't sense the slightest hint of a sharp edge.

The most important part of any Swordsmanship was its sharp edge. When a sword strike was delivered, never mind an expert at Demigod Peak, even a common Mortal Martial Artist could make one sense the invincible edge of the Sword Dao.

But Yang Xiao's strike...

...was completely devoid of any sharp edge. Han Xuanming immediately thought, 'This little brat is all for show, just as I suspected. He must have charged over because he finally realized he's been poisoned, right?'

'This sword strike... is it because his Inner Qi is frozen and his strength is failing?'

'That must be it. This kid... is finished.'

However, before a triumphant expression could fully blossom on his face,

Yang Xiao's sword had already struck his palm. It then sliced his palm in two and continued downward.

It brutally cleaved the man in two, from head to toe.

Moreover,

the moment the sword entered his body, the devouring power contained within it erupted.

All of Han Xuanming's power, even his very flesh and blood, was completely sucked dry in that instant.

Not even his Divine Soul escaped.

In a flash,

he was dead, slain by Yang Xiao's sword.

The Ice Soul Profound Pearl in his hand rolled onto the ground.

The cold qi it contained...

...immediately...

...caught Yang Xiao's attention.

Seeing the pearl,

Yang Xiao's expression changed at once.

'This guy... he actually had something like this...'