Xue Lian's face darkened. "Kid, you really won't give me even a shred of face?"
"Who do you think you are?" Yang Kai sneered contemptuously.
"Fine. There are precious few who dare speak to me like that. That old bastard Tian Jiu is one, and you're another. But today, you die here!" Xue Lian growled. A wisp of blood-red mist suddenly emanated from within his body, enveloping him entirely. Where he stood, he could no longer be seen—only a mass of crimson clouds covering the area.
In the next instant, the blood cloud shot forward at terrifying speed, engulfing Yang Kai in the blink of an eye.
Within the blood mist, horrifying and overwhelming fluctuations of energy surged. Streaks of blood-light writhed toward Yang Kai like living creatures.
At the same time, a mysterious and peculiar force rippled outward.
Yang Kai suddenly found his movements growing sluggish, the Sacred Yuan within his body subtly suppressed.
A Domain!
Yang Kai roared, his own Force surging outward wildly. The surrounding space collapsed and distorted inch by inch.
But his Force was completely suppressed by Xue Lian's Domain, unable to extend more than three inches beyond his body.
"Force nearly at Perfection!" Xue Lian exclaimed in surprise. "The kid really does have the arrogance to back it up—refining his Force to this level at only the second tier of the Return to Void Stage. But... you're still not enough!"
He grinned savagery, separating threads of blood-qi seething with killing intent from his own body. They transformed into wyrms that lunged at Yang Kai from every direction.
This was the baleful qi of the Frenzied Crocodile Demon King itself, condensed into physical form. Any ordinary martial artist who allowed even the slightest touch would instantly lose their mind and descend into madness.
Though Yang Kai didn't understand the intricacies, he would never let them get close.
Over a hundred Golden Blood Threads wove around his body like a hundred extra arms, dancing and weaving through the air.
The pressure from the Domain dropped sharply!
Golden Blood Threads possessed a special property for breaking through Force, and since a Domain was an evolved form of Force, the threads held a mild restraining effect against it. One or two were negligible, but a hundred working together produced real results.
Yang Kai's Force instantly expanded to a foot beyond his body.
He gestured, and the emerald dragon reverted to a streak of green light, flying back into his hand and reforming into the Dragon Bone Sword.
A resounding dragon's cry rang out from the blade. Yang Kai gripped the sword in one hand, flooded it with Sacred Yuan, and slashed forward with savage force.
The jade-green sword-light tore through space itself, ripping the violent blood-red aura in two as it slashed toward Xue Lian hidden within the blood mist.
Xue Lian didn't dare meet the blow head-on and could only dodge. Before he could react further, a burly figure suddenly shot up from underground.
The Stone Puppet!
The Stone Puppet had now transformed into a stone giant. The Heaven-Shaking Pillar in its hand had become equally terrifying—roughly fifty feet long. The pitch-black colossal staff carried the force to split heaven and earth as it smashed down upon the unsuspecting Xue Lian.
Xue Lian was horrified. He would never dare take a direct hit from the Heaven-Shaking Pillar. His figure blurred as he dodged once more, throwing out a punch at the same time.
Horrifying power erupted from that fist, slamming into the Stone Puppet's chest.
CLANG!
The Stone Puppet stumbled back several steps, stone chips flying from its rock-hard chest.
The Stone Puppet seemed to freeze for a moment.
Since its creation, it had never been wounded by anyone. Today was the first time!
Even if it was merely a few chips of stone—it was still damage.
The Stone Puppet's round eyes suddenly blazed with an incredibly savage light. It hammered its fists against its own chest, producing thunderous booms. Then, a wave of terrifying, searing heat erupted from within the Stone Puppet's body.
That scorching aura seemed as if it could incinerate all things in the world, bursting forth from inside.
The Stone Puppet's surface began to melt, its entire body turning a glowing, molten red!
Yang Kai stared in shock, having no idea what the Stone Puppet was doing. He had never witnessed such a transformation before. He hastily retreated, avoiding a direct clash with Xue Lian, and fixed his attention on the Stone Puppet.
He didn't know whether this change would prove beneficial or catastrophic.
Soon, a fluid-like substance formed over the Stone Puppet's surface—like rolling lava, covering its entire body.
At first glance, the Stone Puppet appeared to be wearing a suit of molten rock armor! Steam rose from the lava armor, and even Yang Kai didn't dare approach it lightly.
"True Solar Fire!" Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
He could feel the power of True Solar Fire emanating from the lava armor!
In an instant, everything clicked.
Years ago, the Stone Puppet had indeed devoured True Solar Fire. But over all these years, the Stone Puppet had never wielded that power—even Yang Kai, its master, had been unaware of its true capabilities.
But today, Xue Lian's punch had clearly enraged the Stone Puppet into unleashing everything it had!
Clad in its lava armor, the Stone Puppet had transformed into a magma colossus. In one hand it gripped the absurdly massive Heaven-Shaking Pillar, and the other was clenched into a fist. On its face, usually so stolid and honest, a savage grin now appeared—an eerily unsettling sight.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The Stone Puppet strode forward, charging fearlessly into the mass of blood clouds. It swung its searing, colossal fists, hammering toward Xue Lian.
Xue Lian's shriek rang out. The thick mass of blood clouds visibly thinned, as if being evaporated by the power of the True Solar Fire.