The Void King-grade Artifact's attack was extremely powerful, and Xue Yue was no ordinary warrior — her own strength was quite formidable. Yet even her strikes couldn't annihilate all the Illusory Void Butterflies charging in, which only went to show how terrifying these aberrant insects' defenses truly were.
The moment Xue Yue made her move, Yang Kai acted as well.
With a flick of his spiritual sense, over twenty strands of Golden Blood Threads radiating gold and crimson light materialized from thin air. Under a series of distortions and transformations, they each took on the form of Blood Beasts.
Thunder Flame Flying Lizard, Crown-Tail Serpent, Steel Flame Ghost Spider, Scarlet Ridge Bird, Star Emperor Turtle, Eight-Eyed Demon Toad, Thunder Spirit Purple Sky Leopard — and so on, a whole menagerie. The moment these Blood Beasts appeared, they spread out, surrounding Yang Kai and Xue Yue to form a robust defensive perimeter. Then, under Yang Kai's spiritual command, they each unleashed their abilities, launching fierce assaults on the Illusory Void Butterflies all around.
The Blood Beasts had inherited most of the abilities these demon beasts possessed in life. Though commanding them required effort and left them somewhat rigid and lacking in fluidity, in a situation like this they were invaluable allies.
With over twenty Blood Beasts of varying sizes springing into action, an ironclad defense formed in the blink of an eye, and the pressure on Yang Kai and Xue Yue dropped dramatically.
Buzz, buzz, buzz… The sound of Illusory Void Butterflies beating their wings was ceaseless, as they surged forward in endless waves, utterly heedless of death. They seemed to possess no fear of dying — only the instinct to kill living things.
And the Blood Beasts, which radiated intense waves of blood energy, became the perfect targets to draw the Illusory Void Butterflies in.
With Yang Kai and Xue Yue positioned in the center, they were momentarily safe and sound.
Seeing this, Xue Yue felt a surge of delight. She went all out without reservation, continuously commanding her Artifact to slaughter the Illusory Void Butterflies.
Yang Kai wasn't idle either. The remaining several dozen Golden Blood Threads shot outward, crisscrossing through the void to slice apart one butterfly after another, cutting each clean in half.
But as time passed, he realized the situation wasn't improving. The four Void King realm powerhouses were still fighting independently, surrounded by a seemingly infinite number of Illusory Void Butterflies. The corpses of the slain butterflies had already piled up in a thick layer across the ground.
His brow furrowed.
The situation before him made one thing clear: wiping out all the Illusory Void Butterflies was impossible. If the battle dragged on like this, everyone would surely be drained of their strength, and then they'd be at the mercy of these creatures.
And his twenty-odd Blood Beasts had also taken significant damage. Although they were formed from Golden Blood Threads and weren't truly alive, under the relentless attrition of the butterflies, the waves of blood energy emanating from within them grew weaker and weaker.
"Xue Yue, we need to leave this place," Yang Kai said in a low voice beside her.
"But Uncle Ni…" Xue Yue hesitated, glancing toward where Ni Guang was, but she couldn't even see him. His location was entirely engulfed in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors, with only violent energy fluctuations hinting at what raged within.
"Ni Guang's cultivation reaches the heavens — there's no need to worry about him. As long as we manage to escape, he should be fine," Yang Kai reassured her.
"Then do you have confidence we can get out of here?" Xue Yue turned her head to ask.
Yang Kai said gravely, "Whether I'm confident or not, we have to try. It's better than sitting here waiting to die."
At his words, Xue Yue finally nodded, gritting her teeth. "Fine. I'll go with you!"
She had received Ni Guang's instructions beforehand and had anticipated a situation like this, so she didn't hesitate for long.
"Then stay close," Yang Kai said, his expression solemn. With a thought, he sent the twenty-odd Blood Beasts into a coordinated, violent assault in a single direction. In an instant, a gap was torn in the dense swarm encircling the two of them.
"Go!" Yang Kai barked, his figure flickering as he seized Xue Yue's arm and charged through the breach.
The next moment, the twenty-odd Blood Beasts also dissolved in a series of distortions, reverting to gold-and-crimson Golden Blood Threads that he retracted back into his body.
Having suddenly lost their targets, the Illusory Void Butterflies seemed to pause for a moment. But it wasn't long before they spread their wings and gave chase in the direction Yang Kai and Xue Yue had fled.
At this point, Yang Kai could no longer afford to hold back. Spatial power wrapped around his body as he hurtled forward at an incredible speed.
With the use of spatial power, his velocity surged dramatically. Xue Yue was momentarily stunned, for only at this moment did she truly understand what it meant to move like a bolt of lightning.
But before long, Yang Kai's brow furrowed again, because he discovered that his spatial power was being severely restricted within this Lost Land.
This wretched place was riddled with spatial rifts, making spatial energy inherently unstable. On top of that, the flapping of the Illusory Void Butterflies' wings caused further interference with space, rendering his manipulation of spatial power sluggish and imprecise — far from the effortless control he was accustomed to.
This discovery darkened his expression. And what truly set his blood boiling was that, right after he had broken free from the encirclement, someone was chasing them from behind.
It was none other than Xu Wei, the Elder of the Abandoned Nest!
Xu Wei was in no better shape — he was exhausted and desperate, with countless Illusory Void Butterflies in pursuit behind him. Yet he paid them no mind, pushing himself to the limit as he chased after Yang Kai and Xue Yue. Even when struck by attacks, he didn't bother retaliating, only scrambling to dodge.
"What does he want?" Xue Yue sensed the danger dawning.
Yang Kai let out a cold snort. "He just wants us to serve as his shield so he can escape!"
There was an old saying: when being chased by an enemy you cannot defeat, don't try to outrun the enemy — just outrun your companions!