In his moment of triumph, Yin Lesheng let out a wild laugh. "Yang Kai, did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?"
He had every reason to gloat. A powerhouse who commanded spatial power, capable of tearing through space at will, was now trapped here and slowly being ground to death. The sheer delight in his heart was almost impossible to put into words.
And so, even though he knew it wasn't wise to waste words on Yang Kai at a time like this, Yin Lesheng simply couldn't resist taunting him.
Hua Feichen said nothing, continuously probing for openings and launching fierce attacks.
Yang Kai deflected a blow, retreated, and held the Million Sword horizontally across his chest in a defensive stance. He snorted coldly, "A frog at the bottom of a well, mistaking the sky for the size of its own little hole. Today, I'll open your eyes and show you trash exactly how I'm going to break your worthless formation!"
As he spoke, his hand flipped over, and a bracelet suddenly appeared. Though it was a piece of feminine jewelry, it clearly wasn't meant to be worn by any ordinary woman—the bracelet was covered in intricate, pulsing runes, spiritual energy surging through them. At a glance, it was unmistakably a powerful Emperor Artifact.
"You've still got the nerve to act this arrogant!" Yin Lesheng fumed. Taking advantage of the Heavenly Net Sealing Formation's cover, he crept close to Yang Kai, raising his hand to launch a sneak attack—only for a strange buzzing sound to suddenly fill his ears.
The noise was utterly bizarre, sounding like countless mosquitoes and flies swarming toward him.
"What the—!"
Yin Lesheng's brow furrowed. Not daring to fall for a possible trap, he aborted his attack and retreated a few steps.
"Something that's going to take your miserable lives!" Yang Kai stood in place, sneering without pause. With a wave of his hand, he released countless pitch-black insects from the bracelet.
The bracelet was naturally the Insect Slave Bracelet, and the pitch-black insects were none other than the evolved Soul-Devouring Insects.
Back in the cave, when he'd been besieged by countless ghostly spirits, a sudden thought had occurred to him—would his Soul-Devouring Insects have any effect against these ghosts?
The Soul-Devouring Insects fed specifically on spiritual soul energy, and they could even devour demonic Qi. The ghostly spirits, in a sense, were nothing more than concentrated spiritual soul energy.
The problem was that there had been too many eyes on him back then, and Yang Kai hadn't been able to release the insects for a proper test.
It was only just now that he'd quietly let a few out, stalling against Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen while waiting to see the results.
And sure enough, things unfolded exactly as he'd predicted. The ghostly spirits were practically a feast prepared specifically for the Soul-Devouring Insects. Not only could the insects devour the spirits, they didn't spare the dark mist lingering in the area either.
They seemed to absolutely relish these kinds of energy!
Now that he'd confirmed the results, Yang Kai naturally felt no reason to hold back against the Yellow Springs Sect any longer. The Insect Slave Bracelet was deployed in full, and countless Soul-Devouring Insects swarmed out from it, scattering in every direction. Each insect was like a wolf plunging into a flock of sheep, latching onto the drifting ghostly spirits and refusing to let go.
In an instant, shrill, piercing wails erupted everywhere. Though the ghosts had long since lost all traces of their former consciousness, they still screamed under the gnawing—a sound so spine-chilling it made one's hair stand on end.
Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen both started, completely caught off guard. They didn't understand what was happening, only that their side seemed to be suffering devastating losses.
With the situation unclear, they didn't dare launch any more reckless attacks, afraid of falling into some trap Yang Kai had set.
"What's going on?!" Hua Feichen had no choice but to shout toward the more than twenty Disciples maintaining the formation.
Only they had the clearest picture of what was happening inside. They were the ones who had set up the formation. The formation's foundation was their own Artifacts—their lives were bound to this formation, rising and falling together.
"E-Elder Hua!" one of the Disciples cried out in terror. "That man suddenly released a swarm of insects!"
"A swarm of insects?" Hua Feichen's eyes bulged. "So what? It's just a bunch of bugs—what's there to panic about? Exterminate them!"
What a bunch of useless trash. The Heavenly Net Sealing Formation could even slaughter those at the Emperor Realm—what was there to fear from a handful of insects? What kind of Disciples had the Sect been recruiting these past years?
The Disciple stammered in panic, "Elder, the insects can't be killed! They're devouring the Banner spirits!"
"What?!"
This time, Hua Feichen was genuinely shocked. The ghostly spirits filling the black sphere were all Banner spirits summoned by the Yellow Springs Purgatory Banner—they had no physical form. Much like the spirits in the Ancient Land's passages, they were condensed from the resentment of the dead, cold and sinister, not to be trifled with.
Insects that could devour Banner spirits?
What kind of insects could possibly do that?
Before Hua Feichen could press further, a wave of killing intent surged from the front, hurtling straight toward his face.
Hua Feichen's expression twisted in alarm. "You dare launch a sneak attack, you little brat?!"
The killing intent was clearly Yang Kai's doing. He roared as he hurriedly raised his defenses. A thunderous explosion rang out. The corners of his eyes nearly split, and his body was sent flying backward. Horror was written all over his face.
This was essentially his first direct confrontation with Yang Kai. All their previous exchanges had been Hua Feichen striking through the formation's power, so he'd never expected Yang Kai's true strength to be this terrifying.
Even with the formation suppressing Yang Kai, the kid had still sent him—the second-level Emperor Realm Hua Feichen—stumbling backward.
Was this kid even human? An unsettling sense of unreality crept over Hua Feichen, as though he were trapped in a dream.
Yang Kai laughed heartily, "You fired the first shot—did you really think I wouldn't fire back? Why so surprised by a little sneak attack, Elder Hua? Did you really think I should just stand here and wait for you to cut my throat?"
Hua Feichen's mouth twitched. He couldn't help but snort, "That would have been ideal."
Yang Kai grinned. "Then let's see if you've got what it takes!"
Even as the words left his mouth, his figure flickered violently. No one could tell how he had so precisely locked onto Hua Feichen's position, but his very first strike came bearing down like an apocalyptic assault.