Though they had jumped off the cliff one after the other, Yang Kai was falling freely while Yu Chengkun had launched himself off with force, so their speeds were naturally incomparable — the latter was moving much faster.
"You little brat — even if you die, it'll be by my hand!" Yu Chengkun shouted, diving headfirst toward Yang Kai with savage intent.
In midair, Yu Chengkun waved his ghostly claws, and a twisted human face suddenly shot out from his palm. The face bore a striking resemblance to the one Yang Kai had seen during his first encounter with the Earth Demon. It howled hideously, brimming with immeasurable resentment and malice, like a vengeful specter, and in the blink of an eye it lunged straight at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai thrust his palm forward, striking at the resentful spirit's face, but felt no resistance whatsoever. Instead, the specter surged into his body.
A chill spread through his arm, and Yang Kai couldn't help but shudder. Frost rapidly coated his entire limb.
Yu Chengkun burst into triumphant laughter. "You're dead meat!"
This technique was the Ghost King Seal, an evil martial art from Ghost King Valley, cultivated from human souls. The practitioner would capture a living person, then torment and humiliate them endlessly without letting them die, filling them with rage and resentment until it reached a critical point. After that, they would kill the victim and extract their resentful soul through a special method, then absorb it into their own body for cultivation.
Under normal circumstances, this move from a Ghost King Valley disciple was virtually impossible to defend against. Once the resentful spirit invaded the body, the target was essentially a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Yu Chengkun didn't want to waste time — he needed to finish Yang Kai off quickly so he could extract the blood bead condensed from his flesh and Yuan Qi.
Having landed his first strike, he grabbed at Yang Kai with reckless abandon and seized him.
But the next instant, Yu Chengkun's body trembled violently. His face drained of color to the whiteness of gold paper, and he spat out a fountain of blood.
Just moments ago, he had felt the connection between his resentful spirit and himself get severed! That spirit contained his vital essence, true Yuan Qi, and a portion of his soul. With the spirit destroyed, Yu Chengkun suffered a significant backlash.
"What's going on?!" Yu Chengkun was horrified. He looked down and saw the frost on Yang Kai's arm melting at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, a smug smile played at the corner of this Lingxiao Pavilion disciple's lips.
"Heh heh heh heh..." The Earth Demon laughed wildly inside Yang Kai's body. "Well, well, well — who would've thought? Old man can't make a move myself, yet someone actually delivers a delicious meal right to my doorstep! Not bad, not bad — this resentful spirit carries quite a heavy malicious energy. Truly delectable!"
After a few quick bites, the resentful spirit was devoured by the Earth Demon. The Earth Demon licked his lips, still unsatisfied. "Young Master, ask him if he's got any more of those. Have him conjure up a few more so this old man can at least get half-full."
"He probably doesn't have any more!" Yang Kai had seen that Yu Chengkun was injured, which meant that resentful spirit must have been something precious. There was no way Yu Chengkun would have a second one.
Hearing Yang Kai muttering to himself, Yu Chengkun's expression turned ice-cold. "It was you! What did you do to destroy my Ghost King Seal?"
Yang Kai gave a cold laugh. "Why don't you guess?"
"I'll kill you!" Yu Chengkun flew into a rage, slamming his clawed hand down toward the crown of Yang Kai's head. A sinister gleam flashed from his ghost claws, and killing intent surged forward.
With a soft "whoosh," two beams of fiery red light suddenly blazed from behind Yang Kai. Sensing the violent wave of Yuan Qi, Yu Chengkun's heart lurched in shock. He hastily released Yang Kai and instinctively retracted his strike, raising both hands in front of him in a defensive posture.
But no sooner had he assumed this position than he realized that Yang Kai — who had been falling alongside him — had suddenly frozen in place. He, on the other hand, continued plummeting downward at tremendous speed.
Yu Chengkun looked up, and his pupils contracted sharply in an instant.
He saw that Lingxiao Pavilion disciple standing proudly in midair, gazing down at him with cold, indifferent eyes. Like a great eagle surveying the earth below, he radiated an aura of imposing authority that none could look down upon.
And behind him...
There was a pair of blazing red wings! Like roaring flames, they burned fiercely, distorting the surrounding air into infinite ripples.
He simply stood there, supremely defiant, surveying all beneath him with absolute dominance.
Yu Chengkun could scarcely believe his own eyes.
What kind of Artifact was this? No — the Artifacts here couldn't be used. It wasn't an Artifact. Could it be a martial technique? What sort of technique could produce such a spectacular effect, and what kind of technique could manifest two broad wings from a person's back out of thin air?
In his moment of shock, Yu Chengkun's mind briefly faltered.
But Yang Kai had already spread his Yang Flame Wings and was swooping down with blinding speed.
The situation had completely reversed from before. Now their positions were entirely swapped. Yu Chengkun's heart sank, and he dared not slack off. He burst forth with true Yuan Qi, drastically slowing his descent until he nearly hovered in place.
Would Yang Kai give him that chance? In the time it took for a spark to flash, Yang Kai had already flown above Yu Chengkun's head and drove a vicious fist straight down at the crown of his skull.
Yu Chengkun cursed inwardly. He was indeed a Zhenyuan Realm cultivator, but at only the third level, he had only just learned to fly. Without interference, he could maintain aerial movement, but with a powerful enemy attacking, how could he fly steadily?
In other words, a Zhenyuan Realm warrior had barely learned the basics of flight and was fundamentally incapable of fighting while airborne.
With Yang Kai's strike bearing down on him, he had no choice but to channel all his true Yuan Qi and raise his hand to meet it head-on.
BOOM!
Yu Chengkun rocketed downward at an even greater speed than before. During his high-speed plunge, the oncoming wind howled from below so fiercely he could barely keep his eyes open, and cold air flooded his nose and mouth.