Chapter 918: Carl's Secret

The High Priest clearly understood that Xu Yang was toying with him in such a domineering manner. It was clear that crushing this guy would take Xu Yang no more than a single thought. Yet, the High Priest showed no panic; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

"You can kill me anytime. Powerful as you are, like a king who controls everything, I have no other choice. But don't forget, you will never guess where my ancient jade is. Go ahead, fulfill my tragic destiny and satisfy your desires."

The High Priest calmly closed his eyes, presenting himself as if requesting judgment. However, after waiting for a long time, Xu Yang's all-annihilating power did not descend.

"What? Are you scared? If you lack the courage to simply erase me, and you're still thinking about the ancient jade, then don't pretend to be superior in front of me, because you can no longer threaten me."

With a satisfied look, the High Priest reopened his eyes, landing firmly on the ground, seemingly having regained a position equal to Xu Yang's.

"Oh? You think I can't control you?"

"Isn't that right? You have a desire, and the way to achieve it requires my help. You are beholden to me, so naturally, you have no leverage to threaten me!"

Xu Yang scoffed, "Then you've probably overestimated yourself. If my judgment is correct, I already have the answer to the location of your ancient jade. The answer, in fact, lies with Carl."

The High Priest's expression froze, and he stood dumbfounded. "You, how did you know?"

Xu Yang's gaze grew even colder. "Do you really think you're the only smart one, and everyone else is a fool? Carl isn't some damn undead chanter at all; he's simply a part of your soul!"

The High Priest stared at Xu Yang, utterly shocked. He truly couldn't believe that Xu Yang had even uncovered this secret.

"From the first appearance of the undead chanter until the first time I eliminated him, his weaknesses began to show. You've just witnessed my control over power. Yet, during the battle at Xi Huang Ridge, he didn't die by my hand, and when we met again, his essence wasn't even damaged. Do you find that normal? This guy claimed his true form was this ancient book, but I found no trace of life essence within it. He thought such a lie could deceive me. It wasn't until I met you, and after what just happened, that I could finally conclude that Carl and you are simply two wills of the same person. The role he played on the Eastern Domain battlefield could perfectly replace your will; he is your puppet, a part of your soul, and your other self. And the energy source that allows him to exist in the world is the ancient jade! However, what I don't understand is how you used the ancient jade's power to hatch Carl as an independently existing soul entity. That's why I was so eager to come here, and it's what interests me the most."

The High Priest gasped. He had to admit that all his schemes had been thoroughly seen through by Xu Yang, leaving him no opportunity to even offer a defense.

"Alright, I must admit, you are more formidable than I imagined. You're right, Carl and I are essentially one person. In other words, he is the soul of the ancient jade, and the ancient jade has been integrated into my life essence using immortal power, merged into every fiber of my flesh. No one else can extract it."

The High Priest sneered, yet he never dreamed that the moment he uttered those words, the Moon Goddess's voice would once again sound in Xu Yang's mind.

"Master, if he has truly integrated the immortal power with the ancient jade's energy, then you can not only perfectly acquire this portion of his ancient jade's power but also gain the means to fuse the four ancient jades ahead of time. As long as you completely absorb his life force into your body, I can help you integrate this power."

Hearing this, Xu Yang burst into laughter. "With your words, the problem becomes much easier to solve."

The next moment, Xu Yang no longer held back. He slowly began to walk forward, approaching the High Priest.

"Thank you for helping me understand all of this and resolving all the doubts in my mind. Your existence is, in itself, the perfect solution to the power of the curse."

The High Priest instinctively panicked, retreating repeatedly, but was suddenly tripped by something concealed behind him, falling to the ground. As he saw Xu Yang's silhouette and shadow continually growing larger, and the black aura becoming increasingly menacing, the High Priest, panting, tried to back away further.

"You, what are you going to do? Do you really intend to give up the ancient jade?"

Xu Yang sneered, "That's not what you need to worry about. You should be concerned with how you'll face Xi Huang and the others in the afterlife..."

*Rumble!*

With a sweep of his hand, Xu Yang unleashed an incredibly powerful palm strike, instantly engulfing the High Priest's head into his palm.

"You will hear your life force rapidly draining away, just as your curse power infected the people of the Eastern Domain. The satisfaction you gained will be perfectly replicated in the next instant."

This was Xu Yang's final exchange with the High Priest. Next, Xu Yang's unstoppable power surged through the High Priest's entire meridians. Rich life essence, accompanied by the ancient jade's unique pure aura, flowed little by little into Xu Yang's body. Under the unified control of the Moon Goddess, it swiftly converged at the center of Xu Yang's chest.

Soon, an incredibly pure, radiant moonlight appeared on Xu Yang, then transformed into a solidified form of the ancient jade.

"My heavens, it can really be reshaped!" Xu Yang, observing his inner body, let out an exclamation of disbelief as he saw the abundant life force indeed returning to its original form under the Moon Goddess's manipulation.

"Exactly. That's because the power within this guy's bloodline, combined with the legacy of immortal power, possesses the ability to mend what is broken. This is also a necessary means to open the Path to Heaven in the future. Congratulations, Master, you have completed more than half of your goal. Next, you only need to find the other two ancient jades to achieve your ultimate objective."

Xu Yang nodded in satisfaction. "If my judgment is correct, the journey in the Eastern Domain should be nearing its end. I will lead the Eastern Domain forces to swiftly suppress all regional battlefield restricted zone powers, making this lineage completely disappear from Yingzhou. Afterward, we will advance into the unknown lands of the Southwest, striving to complete the mission as soon as possible."

Having solidified this resolve, Xu Yang immediately began to act, stripping the altar of all its accumulated civilized achievements. Of course, for the Sacred Fire Divine Sect, this was merely standard procedure, a routine collection of spoils of war. After completing all this, Xu Yang directly used the Law of Earth to utterly shatter the entire altar. As the altar collapsed with a roar, the lineage of the five great restricted zones, hidden in the Eastern Domain for tens of thousands of years, finally met its end at Xu Yang's hand.