It didn’t take long.

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin completely devoured the severed finger.

As the severed finger disappeared, Demon Venerable Xuan Yin’s aura ascended to the peak of the ninth stage, seemingly just a step away from advancing further.

He looked at the blood pool on the ground and then used his power to devour it clean as well.

The blood pool was formed from the blood that dripped from the severed finger, even though its power had dissipated significantly, it was still a considerable supplement.

As expected.

With the blood pool devoured.

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin’s aura shook, undergoing a remarkable transformation.

"Whew!"

He let out a long breath, a smile appearing on his face.

Though still far from his peak state, he had made significant progress, incomparable to before.

Gu Qingyang said, "Devouring the severed finger, your cultivation must have recovered considerably, right?"

"Reporting to the Divine Emperor, I should now have entered the Quasi-Immortal level, though regrettably, there was only one severed finger. Otherwise, even with the severance of Immortal Qi in the Lower Realm, I would have the assurance to restore my Immortal cultivation!"

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin’s smile faded, and he spoke solemnly.

Though he had restored his Quasi-Immortal cultivation, he dared not be presumptuous before Gu Qingyang, maintaining his lowly demeanor as always.

"The ancient Spiritual Forbidden Areas in Immortal Extinction State are not just the Ancient Wilderness, there are other Spiritual Forbidden Areas as well. If nothing unexpected happens, these Spiritual Forbidden Areas should all have remnants of Fallen Immortals.

If you were to devour all these remnants, how confident are you in breaking through to the tenth stage?"

Gu Qingyang asked.

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin shook his head, "I would need three to four times the power of the severed finger to ensure my breakthrough."

"Very well, then you’ll handle leveling these Spiritual Forbidden Areas and devour all the Fallen Immortal remnants."

Gu Qingyang nodded, straightforwardly leaving the task of clearing the Spiritual Forbidden Areas to him.

Previously, Demon Venerable Xuan Yin had no prospects of leveling the Spiritual Forbidden Areas, but now, having reentered the Quasi-Immortal level and with his status as an Upper Realm True Immortal, his power was only more formidable.

Thus.

Clearing the Spiritual Forbidden Areas posed no significant problem.

Furthermore.

Even if Demon Venerable Xuan Yin lacked the ability to level the Spiritual Forbidden Areas, Gu Qingyang would naturally intervene.

The roots of the Divine Tree permeated the entire Cyan Yang Divine Realm; as long as Gu Qingyang was willing, he could take action at will.

However, Gu Qingyang had always been cautious, rarely showing his true self, usually acting through incarnations.

"I accept the command!"

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin rejoiced.

To him, Gu Qingyang’s command was a great opportunity.

One Spiritual Forbidden Area in the Ancient Wilderness enabled him to reenter the Quasi-Immortal level, reaching the capacity limit of the Lower Realm. If he devoured other Fallen Immortal remnants, further breakthroughs in cultivation were inevitable.

Not to mention.

Once he reentered the tenth stage, Demon Venerable Xuan Yin would have the qualifications to traverse the Starry Sky with impunity.

The Immortal Path was severed.

The strongest in the entire starry sky were only at the half-step of the tenth stage.

Once he broke through to the tenth stage, unless opposing beings like Gu Qingyang who defied convention, other cultivators posed no threat to him.

Very soon.

Demon Venerable Xuan Yin left the Spiritual Forbidden Area of the Ancient Wilderness, heading towards other parts of Immortal Extinction State.

The entire Immortal Extinction State.

There were five ancient Spiritual Forbidden Areas in total.

Each ancient Spiritual Forbidden Area had remnants of Fallen Immortals or sleeping Fallen Immortals.

To Demon Venerable Xuan Yin, these Fallen Immortals were substantial sources of nourishment.

As Demon Venerable Xuan Yin departed, Gu Qingyang stepped into the air, arriving above the Spiritual Forbidden Area.

Currently, with the absence of Fallen Immortal remnants and many Mysterious Emperors being slain, the eerie and chilling aura of the entire Spiritual Forbidden Area had dissipated considerably.

Not only that.

The ever-expanding range of the Spiritual Forbidden Area was now gradually slowing down and receding.

The pace of this deceleration was extremely slow, imperceptible to the naked eye.

At this rate.

In a few thousand or even tens of thousands of years, the Spiritual Forbidden Area of the Ancient Wilderness would completely vanish.

"Taking tens of thousands of years to dissolve a Spiritual Forbidden Area is way too slow!"

Gu Qingyang shook his head, murmuring to himself.

For other cultivators of Immortal Extinction State, purifying an ancient Spiritual Forbidden Area in ten thousand years wouldn’t seem slow to anyone.

These ancient Spiritual Forbidden Areas existed for eons, once burying numerous Great Emperor powerhouses, being considered a latent threat throughout Immortal Extinction State.

Solving such a lingering threat that even Great Emperors couldn’t in tens of thousands of years certainly represented a significant opportunity.

However.

In Gu Qingyang’s eyes.

Tens of thousands of years is too lengthy.

Rather than waiting for Cyan Yang Divine Realm to purify itself, he’d rather expedite the process.

By thoroughly purging the Spiritual Forbidden Area, it would equate to cleaning the source of pollution from Heaven and Earth, which would grant immense benefits to the entire Cyan Yang Divine Realm.

Immediately.

A movement from Gu Qingyang’s Divine Thought.

A towering Divine Tree’s visage manifested from the void, unleashing infinite radiant light from the Divine Tree, channels of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi condensed tangibly, ascending like a celestial river.

Instantaneously.

Immortal Extinction State trembled intensely.

All cultivators in the Ancient Wilderness turned their gazes towards the direction of the Spiritual Forbidden Area, eyes filled with astonishment.

"That’s the direction of the Spiritual Forbidden Area!"

"The Divine Tree... that’s the intervention of the Divine Emperor."

"The Spiritual Forbidden Area, the Divine Tree, could it be that the Divine Emperor intends to level the Spiritual Forbidden Area?"

Numerous veteran powerhouses of Immortal Extinction State were now visibly excited.

Leveling the Spiritual Forbidden Area.

This was something that generations of Great Emperors never achieved.

If any other cultivator attempted to clear the Spiritual Forbidden Area, they’d be scoffed at without a doubt.

After all, if the Great Emperors failed, why would any other cultivator succeed?

But Gu Qingyang is different.

He is recognized as the paramount powerhouse of Cyan Yang Divine Realm.

Also considered a likely True Immortal of the era.

Such a peerless powerhouse, if stepping forward, could certainly level the Spiritual Forbidden Area.

Very soon.

Many powerhouses could not help but proceed towards the direction of the Spiritual Forbidden Area.

As they reached the boundary of the Spiritual Forbidden Area, they instinctively halted, not daring to advance further.

The Spiritual Forbidden Area was terrifying.

Within lay eerie cursing powers.

Even for an eighth-stage powerhouse, survival within was near impossible.

However.

A cultivator glanced at the Spiritual Forbidden Area momentarily and quickly noticed something.

"Look, the Spiritual Forbidden Area is retreating!"

Upon hearing this.

Everyone was visibly stunned.

When they cast their gaze upon the land ahead, they indeed saw the black-brown soil receding at a visible rate, with the eerie cursing powers dissipating, and vibrant vitality resurfacing.

This scene allowed everyone to comprehend that the Divine Emperor could truly eradicate the Spiritual Forbidden Area.

With that thought.

Every cultivator’s expression turned fervently excited.