After hearing Li Xiaotian's words, the Demon Lord was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"You may leave, but leave the corpse. If the time truly comes when I must act, I will devour it to break through, but for now, I still wish to try again."
"Very well, Master. Do not put too much pressure on yourself. Invincibility is not an endpoint, but a new beginning. You may be a step behind others now, but you will not be behind forever," Li Xiaotian said, not persuading further.
He knew that having the Demon Lord devour the giant beast's corpse to break through would undoubtedly be an insult to the latter.
The Demon Lord, who created the demonic path of the Nine Provinces world, could be called the greatest genius since ancient times. He even developed the path of Devouring and cultivated Li Xiaotian.
Few individuals throughout the long river of history in the Nine Provinces could compare to such a figure.
Therefore, it was understandable that the Demon Lord did not accept Li Xiaotian's suggestion.
More importantly, the Demon Lord's path was the demonic path, not the path of Devouring. Devouring the giant beast's corpse would surely have some impact on him.
Unlike Li Xiaotian, who could digest anything he devoured, as long as he could digest it.
Li Xiaotian left, and the Demon Lord did not appear.
Within the dark barrier, the Demon Lord sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by corpses that were devoid of any life.
They were the Demon Lord's own demon soldier legion from back then.
The world believed that the Demon Lord had deliberately captured a group of people to cultivate a demon soldier legion, with each person being a top-tier force in their own right.
But only he himself knew that it was not the case.
Back then, when he created the demon soldier cultivation technique, his intention was to enhance the strength of these people. He had no idea of the dangers of the demon soldier cultivation technique.
By the time he discovered it, it was already too late.
The demon soldier cultivation technique was irreversible, and only an invincible expert could break it.
However, he had missed his chance. While he was in slumber, Qiong attacked and severely wounded him. Without his power's protection, his demon soldier legion had already died over the long years.
He didn't even have the chance to save them.
When he saw Li Xiaotian break through to invincibility and rescue the Dragon King Hall warriors who had cultivated the demon soldier technique, the Demon Lord was filled with envy and immense regret.
Li Xiaotian succeeded, but he failed.
His brothers, the brothers who fought alongside him, were all gone.
At the same time, in the void outside the Nine Provinces world, tens of thousands of miles away from the Nine Provinces, a pair of eyes as large as the sun suddenly appeared. They looked at the glowing Nine Provinces world in the distance, their eyes filled with greed and apprehension.
It was a demonic beast resembling a crocodile, but with six legs and densely packed spikes covering its back. Its size, as far as the eye could see, was more than double that of the giant beast Li Xiaotian had previously slain.
It was a void demonic beast, born from the void universe. Due to the chaotic energy of the void universe, every void demonic beast looked different; even direct offspring did not resemble their parents.
Terrifying divine sense emanated from the giant beast's body. It deliberately bypassed the Nine Provinces world and extended to two other directions of the Nine Provinces.
There, too, were void demonic beasts.
"Roar! I am the Crocodile Venerable. You three quickly come and pay your respects!" the giant beast growled.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
In the blink of an eye, three illusions appeared before the Crocodile Venerable. These were the condensed divine senses of three void demonic beasts. Due to the great distance, they could not arrive immediately.
"We pay our respects to the Crocodile Venerable," the three giant beasts said cautiously.
Two of them were demonic beasts resembling wild bulls, while the other resembled an eagle, but with two heads.
At this moment, the three giant beasts were filled with trepidation. The Crocodile Venerable, an invincible stage three expert, was a renowned top-tier powerhouse in this region.
"Hmph! You also wish to devour this universe?" the Crocodile Venerable asked dismissively.
"Reporting to Venerable, we dare not. We were unaware that Venerable had set your sights on this universe. We shall depart immediately," the three giant beasts said hastily, filled with fear.
In the void universe, there was no fairness or justice, only the principle of might makes right. As the weak, one had to be prepared to be killed at any moment.
To these three giant beasts, the Crocodile Venerable before them was a powerhouse. If the latter wished to kill them, it would not require any reason.
"Hmph! No need to leave. Did you see what happened just now? An invincible stage two demonic beast was killed by those two humans working together, and one of the humans carries the shadow of a powerful figure from the Divine Realm." the Crocodile Venerable said unhurriedly.
If the Crocodile Venerable had not witnessed Li Xiaotian and the Tongtian Sword Master in action, it might have driven away these void demonic beasts weaker than itself and then singly devoured the universe before them.
But now, it no longer thought that way.
It felt that with its own strength, it might not be able to conquer this universe, and thus, it needed helpers.
"You shall remain and assist me in taking this universe. In return, you may devour the creatures within," the Crocodile Venerable said, its tone brooks no refusal.
"This..." The three void demonic beasts exchanged glances, their eyes filled with hesitation and apprehension.
"Roar! What? Do you dare disobey my command?" the Crocodile Venerable roared.
"We dare not, Venerable Sir. It is simply that this universe has some issues with its origin, and it is very likely the private property of a powerful figure from the Divine Realm." the two-headed eagle said.
Previously, Li Xiaotian had successively revealed the inheritances of two powerful figures from the Divine Realm, the Ancient God and the Blood God. These void demonic beasts, as long as they were not foolish, knew that this universe must be related to the Divine Realm. Where would they dare to harbor any other thoughts at this time?
Originally, they had already prepared to leave, but unexpectedly, they were summoned by the Crocodile Venerable.
"Heh heh, no need to worry. I can guarantee to you that this universe has no relation to the Divine Realm, and if we devour this universe, we might even receive rewards from the Divine Realm."
The Crocodile Venerable chuckled upon hearing this, as it knew some of the origins of the Nine Provinces world. Although it did not know much, it was inwardly clear that this world before it absolutely did not have the Divine Realm as its backing.