If someone like that cultivator who had just arrived were teleported here, they would very likely meet with misfortune. After all, not every Void King realm cultivator could shrug off the discomfort of teleportation the way Yang Kai did.
They would all suffer from at least some dizziness and disorientation.
With this thought in mind, Yang Kai immediately sprang upward, wanting to leave the area as quickly as possible.
But something completely unexpected happened.
Before he had risen even ten feet into the air, a tremendous pressure suddenly descended from the void above, as though an entire mountain were crashing down from the sky. It slammed him straight back to where he had been standing.
He didn't even have a chance to resist.
"A sky-sealing formation?" Yang Kai's face darkened as he instantly realized what was happening.
Earlier, when Kang Siran had been explaining the interior of the Five-Color Pagoda to him, he had mentioned that inside the pagoda, there were countless natural and artificial restrictions and traps. These restrictions served a bewildering variety of purposes, and sky-sealing was among the most common.
In areas affected by sky-sealing restrictions, cultivators simply could not fly to any significant height. Once they exceeded a certain altitude, the restrictions would activate and force them back down.
What Yang Kai had just experienced was the rebound of a sky-sealing formation.
Though for the moment, he had no way of knowing whether this particular formation had been deliberately placed or had formed naturally.
He had no time to dwell on it either, because the instant he dropped back down, countless lurking crocodile beasts leapt from every direction, lunging at him with gaping maws. Those blood-red cavernous jaws were enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
Yang Kai surged his power, and both fists shot out. In an instant, the sound of thunderous impacts filled the air without cease.
In the blink of an eye, he had sent dozens of attacking crocodiles flying. But these creatures possessed astonishing resilience—even when struck squarely by Yang Kai, they didn't die from a single blow. Instead, every last one of them twisted around and dove into the mud, vanishing from sight.
And still more crocodiles kept pouring in.
Before long, Yang Kai's body was practically covered in crocodiles—on his hands, his arms, his thighs. Their bites stung fiercely.
Crocodiles were creatures with naturally terrifying bite force, and even ordinary ones among mundane beasts could not be taken lightly, let alone these demon beasts, all of which had reached the peak of the ninth rank. An average Void King realm cultivator, even channeling their full strength to defend, would be unable to withstand the bite of even a single crocodile demon beast.
Fortunately, Yang Kai's physical body was extraordinarily tough. With the Indestructible Five Elements Sword Body activated, the sharp five-element sword qi inflicted significant damage on the crocodiles. Blood sprayed from the mouths of many, forcing them to release their grip.
But Yang Kai was still being dragged downward by the crocodiles, sinking into the mud.
Beneath the surface, it was cold and pitch-black. Worse still, this was not clear water but thoroughly murky sludge. Even with his eyes open, Yang Kai could barely see anything. He threw out wild punches, only to find that rather than improving his situation, he was sinking deeper—and the crocodiles swarming him only grew more numerous. His head began to throb.
"Secret Art—Moon Blade!"
His fingers flicked rapidly, sending streak after streak of ink-black moon blades slicing through the mire. Accompanied by a series of sizzling sounds, the pressure on Yang Kai eased considerably.
The swamp bloomed with crimson blood and the severed remains of dead crocodiles, all of them torn and incomplete.
"Demon Eye—Open!" When Yang Kai opened his eyes again, his left eye blazed with a golden hue, and his field of vision finally cleared somewhat.
Through his divine sense, he perceived that his slaughter had done nothing to repel the crocodiles. If anything, the scent of blood and the commotion had drawn even more crocodile demon beasts.
"You're courting death!" Yang Kai seethed with fury. With his current strength, he wouldn't normally be so flustered even facing an ordinary Dao Source realm opponent—yet here he was, caught in such a wretched predicament by a pack of beasts, simply because he had let his guard down.
The humiliation only stoked his rage.
With a wave of his hand, Yang Kai summoned the Insect Mother, which was still recovering its physical body inside the Minor Exile World, and issued his command through divine sense.
The Insect Mother was now effectively Yang Kai's Blood Beast, possessing its own rudimentary intelligence, and it obeyed his orders without hesitation.
The Purple and Green Twin Swords swept outward in a blur of dual-colored light, unleashing torrential waves of sword energy.
Crack, crack, crack...
A frigid sword intent permeated the area, causing Yang Kai himself to shudder involuntarily, while the attacking crocodile demon beasts slowed to a crawl.
Flashes of light danced through the mire as sword energy surged, severing crocodile demon beasts in two. They died instantly, and even those slightly farther away were not spared.
With the Purple and Green Twin Swords in hand, the Insect Mother seemed to experience a dramatic boost in power. Without even resorting to its Snow Ruo Qingtian secret art, the simplest of sword strikes displayed extraordinary brilliance.
Yang Kai gave a cold snort and was just about to seize the opportunity to break free when a flicker in the corner of his eye caught something unusual.
Deep within the swamp, a certain area was emitting a faint, misty glow.
Reaching out with his divine sense, he actually detected a fluctuation of considerable energy.
Yang Kai's eyes lit up immediately. He channeled his power to shield his body and dove deeper, while the Insect Mother followed faithfully at his side like a loyal guard. Any who came to disturb them met the edge of its swords and were cleaved in two.
Before long, Yang Kai had descended to the depths below and arrived at the source of the misty glow.
Through the power of the Demon Eye of Annihilation, he finally made out exactly what it was.