These four were all founding heroes of the Divine Sojourn Kingdom. In their early years, they had followed Zhou Dian in pacifying the realm, waging campaigns across the south and north, and seldom met their match.
Even across the entire world of the Divine Sojourn Mirror, they were renowned powerhouses.
Yet before Zhou Dian, their strength was utterly overshadowed by one man's brilliance.
"Split into four groups and search the mountain. Find those troublemakers and bring them to me before the King!" Zhou Dian pointed forward and commanded in a deep voice.
"Yes!" The four answered in unison, immediately mustering their troops and dividing into four parties before swiftly vanishing into the Heavenly Demon Mountain.
Zhou Dian remained alone.
A gust of wind swept past, rustling his hair. After a long while, he urged his mount forward — the Nine-Response Kui Dragon Beast beneath him stepped gently ahead.
This demon beast was of the twelfth-rank, and even at the early stage, its cultivation was comparable to a Sovereign Realm First Layer martial artist. Yet despite that, it obediently carried Zhou Dian on its back.
Back when Zhou Dian had subdued this beast, he had expended considerable effort and time before finally succeeding.
Gazing deep into the Heavenly Demon Mountain Range, Zhou Dian's eyes flared with an inexplicable surge of fighting spirit, as though somewhere within that forest, a rival he deeply cared about was waiting for him.
…
Yang Kai and the others, who had entered the mountain to train, naturally knew nothing of what was happening outside. No one had expected that a simple training exercise would stir up such a massive storm.
At this moment, Yang Kai was facing off against a Lei Geng Azure Wolf deep within the Heavenly Demon Mountain.
This demon beast was only at the peak of Tier Ten, roughly on par with the first creature they had encountered upon entering the Divine Sojourn Mirror. Yet Yang Kai's expression was solemn.
Not without reason — this beast seemed different from the rest. It could actually wield the power of lightning.
The crackling arcs of electricity dancing across its body spoke of fearsome destructive power, making Yang Kai quite wary.
He was currently manifested here as a spiritual soul form, not in his physical body. Any damage sustained would not heal quickly, and even with the Warm Divine Lotus by his side, he dared not recklessly engage such power.
Fortunately, he had no intention of fighting personally.
When moving together with Xia Sheng and the others, many of his techniques were difficult to reveal, leaving him constrained and uncomfortable in battle.
But now, with no one else around, he had no such reservations.
The Lei Geng Azure Wolf across from him had clearly sensed that Yang Kai was not to be trifled with. Yet wary of the gap in power, it merely maintained its distance, occasionally baring its fangs and letting out a threatening snarl, hoping to scare Yang Kai off.
But Yang Kai would never give it what it wanted…
"Come out!" Yang Kai suddenly roared.
As the cry rang out, his body trembled slightly. With a flick of his sleeve, a dense cluster of tiny black dots materialized from thin air.
At first, there were not many, but in the blink of an eye, they multiplied beyond counting, rapidly coalescing into a cloud of black.
The cloud was as large as a tabletop, and upon close inspection, one could clearly see that it was composed of minuscule insects, each one barely visible to the naked eye.
Soul-Devouring Insects…
Or rather, Soul-Devouring Demon Insects.
Ever since they had devoured a massive amount of pure Demonic Origin in Yang Kai's sea of consciousness, all of these Soul-Devouring Insects had turned pitch-black. If magnified, each one would appear terrifyingly grotesque, radiating a sinister aura.
The moment the insect cloud appeared, a buzzing hum filled the air.
The Lei Geng Azure Wolf clearly had no idea what this thing was, but the instinct of a living creature told it something was very wrong. Seeing the insect cloud charging straight toward it, the beast opened its mouth — arcs of electricity flickered within, and with a sharp crack, an arc of lightning shot out, striking the insect cloud dead-on.
The insect cloud was scattered in an instant…
But it quickly regrouped.
And after unleashing that strike, the Lei Geng Azure Wolf turned and fled without the slightest intention of staying.
"Chase!" The word burst from Yang Kai's lips. In truth, he didn't even need to issue the command — the Soul-Devouring Demon Insects' own instincts drove them to do exactly that.
The insect cloud surged forward like parasites clinging to bone, heading straight for the Lei Geng Azure Wolf. Despite the beast's considerable speed, it was overtaken in moments. The cloud simply pounced downward and enveloped the demon beast entirely.
Screams erupted instantly, mournful and continuous, chilling to the bone.
The insect cloud churned and writhed like a living mass…
Yang Kai stood motionless, observing it all.
The Lei Geng Azure Wolf's aura weakened at a moderate pace — neither fast nor slow.
"The power is still somewhat lacking…" Yang Kai mused thoughtfully.
Though the Soul-Devouring Insects' nature made countless creatures deeply wary of them, Yang Kai's particular swarm had grown from a very low level. Over the years, he had never paid them much attention, merely letting them live and evolve freely on the treasure island conjured by the Warm Divine Lotus.