Within three minutes, Lin Xiao had completely devoured himself, constructed from the law of devouring.
His pure white soul then turned half black and half white, before swirling into grey.
It was only then that Lin Xiao fully mastered the law of devouring.
Outside, the changes that had occurred on Lin Xiao’s body vanished, and his aura felt much more familiar.
"He succeeded," Shan nodded, a jade slip appearing in his hand. He handed it to Qi Tian. "This is my lifetime's learning. Keep it for reference."
"I told you, I already have a master."
Qi Tian remained stubborn. He knew that Shan had been pushing him from behind in his refinement of immortal artifacts. If it weren't for the current emergency, he would have liked to argue with Shan about this matter properly.
"I know. This is just a little bit of what I have. Whether you become my disciple or not is irrelevant."
Shan, who had previously insisted on Qi Tian becoming his disciple, had now changed his mind.
This fellow's talent was too high to be wasted.
This was what truly confused Qi Tian. Why did he sense a hint of... a dying wish in this fellow's tone?
He looked at the jade slip in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Since we are both involved in artifact refining, you should be considered an ancestor of my Artifact Sect. I will call you 'First Ancestor.'"
Shan chuckled when he heard this, but Qi Tian was not wrong.
The Artifact Sect of the human world had indeed branched off from his inheritance. Calling him an ancestor was not out of line.
At this moment, Shan spoke to Lin Xiao, who had just regained consciousness, "Now, Lin Xiao, devour me."
"What?"
Both Lin Xiao and Qi Tian were stunned. What kind of request was this?
"I did not achieve sainthood through my physical body. Therefore, if you devour me, you will become an Immortal Emperor within a day, and then you will gain the recognition of the Solar Primordial Gold." Shan's tone was devoid of any fluctuation. "Only by gaining the recognition of the Solar Primordial Gold can you release the divine artifact within, the Xuanyuan Sword."
"With the Xuanyuan Sword, you can then directly slay the Demon Lord."
The answer to the trial told Lin Xiao that everything had been arranged.
When Shan sensed the law of devouring hidden within Lin Xiao's body, he understood what the Heavenly Dao meant.
The law of devouring alone could not digest a Demon Lord who had achieved sainthood through his physical body. At most, it could seal him within oneself, but the Xuanyuan Sword could.
In this world, there were two divine artifacts that could slay a Demon Lord who had achieved sainthood through his physical body: the Xuanyuan Sword and the Pangu Axe.
His imitation of the Eastern Emperor Bell could only trap the Demon Lord.
And the Solar Primordial Gold hid the Xuanyuan Sword.
"Begin."
Shan watched Lin Xiao expressionlessly.
"Don't you think this is a bit unfair to you?" Lin Xiao frowned, and the words of the law of devouring unexpectedly blurted out of his mouth.
"Lin Xiao, as you said, the Heavenly Dao is unfair."
Shan shook his head. "Moreover, I am merely a remnant of the old era. For a cultivator to exchange for the eternal peace of the three realms, this is the Great Dao."
With that, Shan extended a hand, directly forcing Lin Xiao's body to subconsciously unleash the law of devouring!
"You!"
Lin Xiao didn't even have time to react before the law of devouring in his body began to operate, and it was now deeper and more powerful than ever before.
Shan put down the Chaos Bell and voluntarily stepped into the black hole.
At this moment, the heavens and earth displayed an anomaly!
On the horizon of the Northern Frontier, seven-colored auspicious clouds suddenly appeared, stretching for a thousand miles.
In the sky, the heavenly gate reappeared.
This time, the heavenly gate was truly there, and Lin Xiao's body also began to fly towards the sky involuntarily.
His body was flying towards the heavenly gate.
He reached out and brought the bell into his hand.
Then, the heavenly gate opened, and the auspicious light of reception fell upon Lin Xiao from within the gate.
"Devour the auspicious light, and after passing through, devour the heavenly gate as well."
Shan's voice appeared in Lin Xiao's mind.
Lin Xiao did as he was told.
As he flew towards the sky, the myriad of colorful clouds, along with the auspicious light of reception, were all devoured by him using the law of devouring!
His cultivation soared at this moment. In the blink of an eye, the space around him began to shatter!
The mortal world could no longer contain him.
By the time he passed through the heavenly gate, his law of devouring had also instantly devoured the heavenly gate!
"Bold!"
Two celestial beings guarding the heavenly gate shouted and were about to capture Lin Xiao.
Seeing the appearance of the celestial beings, Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, and the spiritual energy within him instantly repelled these two celestial beings with his thoughts.
"A tough opponent?"
"No... his cultivation..."
After a brief scan, the two celestial beings were aghast!
This person who had just ascended had reached the level of an Emperor in the blink of an eye!
How was this possible?!
At this moment, the Solar Primordial Gold finally changed.
Even without Lin Xiao doing anything, a long sword appeared in his hand.
One side of the sword was inscribed with the sun, moon, and stars, and the other with mountains, rivers, and plants. The hilt was inscribed with techniques for agriculture and animal husbandry on one side, and a strategy for unifying the four seas on the other.
The Sacred Sword Xuanyuan.
With the Xuanyuan Sword's appearance, the heavenly realm was enveloped by an aura of sainthood.
The entire heavenly realm was shaken by this aura.
"This is... someone has achieved sainthood?!"
"No! This is the aura of the Xuanyuan Sword?!"
Only Lin Xiao, looking at the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand, summoned the Chaos Bell.
The Chaos Bell, having lost its master, also lost its ability to trap the Demon Lord, who then escaped.
"This is... the heavenly realm?!"
The Demon Lord was stunned for a moment, then let out a loud laugh. "Hahaha! Excellent! Excellent!"
Afterward, the immortal spiritual energy of the entire heavenly realm seemed to have found its source and surged into the Demon Lord's body!
Those two celestial beings were terrified. How could this great saint have appeared?!
Wasn't he sealed in the mortal realm? If he absorbed enough immortal spiritual energy, wouldn't he become...?
Before they could imagine the consequences, the Xuanyuan Sword sliced through the Demon Lord's body.
His voice abruptly stopped, and he turned his head to look at Lin Xiao blankly, looking at the Xuanyuan Sword in Lin Xiao's hand...
"The Heavenly Dao is unfair!"
This was the last sentence he uttered in this world.
With this sword strike, Lin Xiao felt the pressure on him suddenly lighten. He sighed heavily.
"It's finally over..."
"It's time for me to go back and be with Xun'er."
With that, he tore open the space of the heavenly realm and returned home.