At this moment, within Xiao Yan's body, a blazing sun quietly hovered at the center while nine other stellar orbs revolved around it like planets. The arrangement unmistakably resembled the Solar System of his past life. Could this be the manifestation of the so-called Ten Divine Veins? However, Xiao Yan quickly rejected that idea. He had a lingering feeling that this transformation—perhaps even the Ten Divine Veins themselves—were somehow linked to the cosmic explosion vision he had previously glimpsed.
Under normal circumstances, activating spiritual veins required a long period of refinement. But they were still in the middle of a desperate escape, and there simply wasn't time to waste. If they couldn't leave this place swiftly, the Extraterritorial Evil Race would soon dispatch more forces to encircle the area—and those arriving next would likely be even more terrifying Demon Emperors.
Although the Heavenly Tomb could drastically compress the time required for cultivation within it, even with its temporal acceleration, Xiao Yan would still need three days in the outside world to complete his refinement. And in three days, the Extraterritorial Evil Race could seal off every exit with absolute precision. Therefore, Xiao Yan had Qing Yanjing take over for now, continuing to fly outside while he entered the Heavenly Tomb to refine his spiritual veins.
But he couldn't help worrying. In a place like this, would Qing Yanjing be able to endure three full days on her own?
If they were still in the Great Thousand World, even a year of constant flight wouldn't significantly drain a Heavenly Sovereign's strength. But here, surrounded by corrosive demonic energy, not only could they not absorb external spiritual energy to replenish themselves, but they had to constantly expend power just to resist the encroaching demonic aura. On top of that, there was always the threat of sudden attacks from more members of the Extraterritorial Evil Race.
So, Xiao Yan was left with no choice. He activated both his long-unused Soul Clone and Origin Clone, rotating them with Qing Yanjing to hold the front line while he focused on refining the spiritual veins within his body. In addition, he had to find a way to erase the brand left within him by the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor. Otherwise, no matter where he fled, he would always be tracked.
Previously, due to his limited strength, Xiao Yan hadn't even been able to detect the brand, let alone remove it. But now that he had broken through to the Heavenly Sovereign level and his soul strength had surged dramatically, pinpointing the brand's location was no longer difficult.
The Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor, whose strength could rival a Saint-grade Heavenly Sovereign, had indeed left a trace within him. But it was just a mark—a tiny sliver of power. Moreover, when the mark was originally placed, the Demon Emperor had only used a fraction of his strength. So while difficult, erasing it wasn't an impossible task.
That was also why Xiao Yan chose to hide within the Heavenly Tomb. This place was his personal space. Not even someone as powerful as the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor could locate it. If Xiao Yan had chosen to remain in the open, the moment he emerged, his location would have been exposed. His escape route would be seen through immediately.
Xiao Yan understood that the earliest stage of their escape was the most critical. Their enemies still didn't know their exact direction or strength. This window of confusion was their best chance to gain distance. That was why he forced his clones to rotate without pause, no matter how exhausting the pace.
Once the Extraterritorial Evil Race figured out their plan, things would become far more perilous.
As expected, the first few days passed without serious threat. Qing Yanjing flew unhindered, and although they encountered a few scattered groups from the Extraterritorial Evil Race, the strongest among them were only at the perfected Earth Sovereign level. A wave of her hand was enough to obliterate them.
Yet despite their tireless efforts, they were still far from their ultimate destination. After all, they needed to traverse nine trillion li. Even for Heavenly Sovereign-level experts, such a journey was astronomical in scale. It was not something that could be accomplished so easily.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan finally succeeded in refining his spiritual veins and simultaneously erasing the brand left by the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor. Without delay, he emerged from the Heavenly Tomb, relieved Qing Yanjing, whose spiritual energy had nearly reached its limits. With a flap of his wings, he turned into a streak of light and vanished over the horizon.
At the same moment Xiao Yan removed the brand, far away on the Holy Demon Continent, the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor suddenly opened his eyes. He immediately sensed the disappearance of the mark he had left on the human brat.
This could only mean one thing—the boy had broken through to the Heavenly Sovereign realm.
Moreover, the three Demon Emperors he had previously sent had still not reported back. Judging from this, it was highly likely that they had all been slain by Xiao Yan.
This possibility startled even the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor himself. The last time he had seen Xiao Yan, the brat had only been a Lesser Earth Sovereign—a mere ant not even worth squashing. And yet, not even half a year had passed, and the boy had already become a Heavenly Sovereign?!
"Such talent... could surpass even the Immortal Emperor who once sealed the Heaven Evil God..." The Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor's eyes gleamed with rare seriousness.
They had spent tens of thousands of years preparing for their conquest of the Great Thousand World. If they failed now because of some brat from an unknown place, it would be the ultimate humiliation—something he would never allow.
If Xiao Yan had remained in the Great Thousand World, the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor might have been powerless to intervene. But now that the boy had stepped into his territory, he would never allow him to leave alive.
"No matter what heights he might reach in the future—now is the time to strangle him in the cradle!"
His voice turned cold and thunderous. "Notify all units stationed at the border intersections. Double their vigilance. Deploy several Heavenly Demon Emperors to each checkpoint. I don't care what it takes—those two must not escape!"
He shared the same thinking as Qing Yanjing—Xiao Yan and she were most likely aiming for the borderlands, trying to sneak back into the Great Thousand World from some remote passage.
"Also, inform every tribe under my command: Patrols must be intensified in every sector. If there's even the slightest irregularity, it must be reported immediately—no mistakes allowed!"
"One more thing," he added, voice icy. "I don't care how they've slacked off in the past. If anyone dares to cut corners this time... I'll sacrifice their entire clan in blood."
"Yes!" the messengers from the Extraterritorial Evil Race responded quickly. But inwardly, they were baffled. All this commotion—just for two humans? Wasn't it a bit too much?
They didn't yet know that the three Demon Emperors had likely perished. To them, Xiao Yan and Qing Yanjing were still just Earth Sovereigns. Why would the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor go to such lengths over two people at that level?
They couldn't understand it.
But they would soon learn the truth.
(End of Chapter)
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