Chang Qi and Hao An's situation was virtually identical to Ning Xiangchen's. The only difference was that both of them had long known just how sophisticated and terrifying Dragon Cave Mountain's grand array was, so each had claimed a position and settled in to wait at their leisure.
From time to time, an enemy would inexplicably stumble into their presence, only to be struck down.
With Yang Yan having returned to command Dragon Cave Mountain's grand array—using its power to split the enemy forces and then redirect their movements one by one, funneling them straight to the waiting Chang Qi and Hao An—it was as easy as turning over a hand.
And so Chang Qi and Hao An wore far more relaxed expressions than Ning Xiangchen.
The Saint King Realm cultivators went without saying. Their cultivation wasn't high enough, and once caught in the array with their Saint Yuan suppressed, they couldn't last even three breaths against Chang Qi and Hao An. Even Return Void Realm Stage One cultivators of the same level could do little more than struggle like cornered beasts. As time wore on, enemy after enemy fell at the duo's feet.
The ranks of martial artists from the Xie family, Haixin Gate, and Liuyun Valley were shrinking at a terrifying rate. Panic spread among the survivors, and the screams that pierced the air from time to time turned this place into an asura's nightmare, filling them with bone-deep terror. They wished more than anything that they had never come, and swore to themselves that if they somehow survived this, they would never return to Dragon Cave Mountain again.
Xie Li himself hadn't encountered any real danger, but he'd led several Saint King Realm cultivators into an illusion array from which they couldn't escape no matter what they tried. He was as frantic as an ant on a hot skillet, yet utterly helpless.
The arrays Yang Yan had set up were simply beyond anything the martial artists of the Dark Star could comprehend. Trapping them required no effort whatsoever.
On the left side of Dragon Cave Mountain, Old Man Du of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain had led his disciples in a desperate charge, hacking through thorns and brambles, and finally broken free of the seemingly endless swarms of fire spirit beasts, pushing deep into the mountain's interior.
Gazing at the elegant pavilions and wide stretches of open ground not far ahead, the surviving members of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain trembled with excitement and charged toward them with every last ounce of strength.
Moments later, the group finally reached a safe area and looked back with lingering fear. They found that the seemingly endless fire spirit beasts had stopped pursuing once they crossed a certain boundary, dissolving into nothing instead. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Old Man Du sat atop his Azure-eyed Blood Toad, his narrow eyes scanning the surroundings. When he realized that only seven or eight people had survived and remained by his side, his heart went cold.
There had been thirty or forty people following him before, but now only these few remained. And even among the seven or eight, every one of them was wounded. Only two had reached Return Void Realm Stage One; the rest were all Saint King Realm!
What kind of place was Dragon Cave Mountain? They'd only broken through a single barrier and already lost so many. What further horrors awaited them?
The thought set Old Man Du's heart pounding, and an urge to retreat gnawed at him. But there was no going back—they'd only end up surrounded by fire spirit beasts again.
There was only one option: take out the leader.
Old Man Du narrowed his eyes toward the cave where he'd previously sensed many martial artist auras. A glint of ruthlessness flashed in his gaze.
But when he looked, a look of mingled shock and fury spread across his face. Not far ahead, a tall young man stood with a mocking smile on his lips, regarding them with cold indifference.
Whether the young man had been there all along or had appeared out of thin air, Old Man Du had no idea. But he recognized him at once—the master of Dragon Cave Mountain. The man who had purchased the Profound Gold at the auction: Yang Kai!
He matched the intelligence reports exactly—nothing more than Saint King Realm Stage Three!
What delighted Old Man Du even more was that the young man stood alone, brazenly blocking their path. It had the air of a mantis trying to stop a chariot. After all, even after their devastating losses, his side still had three Return Void Realm cultivators and four or five Saint King Realm ones—not to mention that he himself was at Return Void Realm Stage Two. Capturing the young man should pose no problem.
The only concern was whether the fellow had some trick up his sleeve.
With that thought, Old Man Du let out a furious roar: "Boy, daring to stand against my Ten Thousand Beast Mountain—today you'll die without a grave!"
"Big words!" Yang Kai chuckled darkly. "Now that you've entered my Dragon Cave Mountain, whether you live or die is no longer your choice!"
He couldn't be bothered with further pleasantries. When he finished, he called out softly: "Yang Yan!"
The moment the words left his lips, the scenery around them shifted. The elegant pavilions that had been there moments ago vanished amid a wave of distortion, replaced by an endless expanse of verdant grassland.
"An illusion array?" Old Man Du's expression shifted. He'd never imagined Dragon Cave Mountain's restriction arrays extended this far. In theory, a sect's headquarters would be ringed with restrictions on the outside, with even more powerful ones protecting the innermost core. But open areas like this were typically left free of arrays—after all, the cultivators living here needed room to move. What if a disciple accidentally triggered one? That would be an embarrassing fiasco.
That was precisely why Old Man Du and the others had charged in with such joy when they saw the open ground.
Who could have guessed that what they'd thought was a safe haven had also been rigged with arrays?
Dragon Cave Mountain was just a small hill. There was no reason to set up so many restriction arrays, as though an enemy attack could come at any moment. Had they known all along that this day would come?