The Ghost King's strike was overwhelmingly imposing. Before the attack even landed, the savage wind alone sliced across Yang Kai's skin, stinging painfully.
Huumm…
The Million Sword hummed along its blade. Yang Kai swept it upward in a diagonal slash, pouring his Emperor Yuan into the motion with ferocious intensity. Sword light blazed, dazzling and brilliant.
CLANG—sparks erupted in every direction.
The Ghost King's charging figure faltered slightly, its enormous body even tilting backward. The sheer force of Yang Kai's blow was plain for all to see. The feedback rippling through the Ghost King made both Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen's eyes narrow in disbelief—they couldn't accept what they were seeing.
At the same time, Yang Kai was sent hurtling backward like a ragdoll, slamming directly into the pale white barrier before he finally stopped.
A flash of shock crossed his eyes. He hadn't expected the Ghost King's strength to be this formidable.
Over on Yin Lesheng's side, seeing Yang Kai take a hit, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "With Master-Uncle Hua and me combining our efforts to drive it, this Ghost King's power rivals that of a third-layer Emperor Realm cultivator! Yang Kai—what do you have to fight me with? Hurry up and die!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he spurred the Ghost King into lunging at Yang Kai once more. The momentum made it clear he intended to take Yang Kai's life before he could catch his breath.
Shk, shk, shk, shk…
The enormous black sickle came cleaving down again, its might unstoppable. It sliced Yang Kai's body cleanly in two.
Hua Feichen's brow rose, and he said without hesitation, "An afterimage!"
Working together, the two of them seemed to sharpen each other's perceptions to an extraordinary degree. They instantly recognized that Yang Kai had already dodged—what had been cut in half was nothing more than an afterimage he'd left behind.
"Ghost King—back!" Yin Lesheng bellowed without a moment's thought, his hands rapidly forming a series of seals. The Ghost King suddenly burst apart into a cloud of black mist and vanished eerily from its position.
The next instant, Yang Kai's figure materialized out of thin air three zhang in front of Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen, his expression cold and detached. The Million Sword's edge blazed with radiance that surged and flickered, poised to slash down at the pair.
Yin Lesheng met his gaze and sneered repeatedly. Not a trace of panic showed on his face.
Behind Yang Kai, a mass of black mist abruptly revealed itself. Within it, the Ghost King's form flickered in and out of visibility. The colossal sickle swept horizontally through the air.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed. A chill surged from his back—how could he not realize the Ghost King had already caught up behind him?
He hadn't expected this thing to be so tenacious, clinging to him like a maggot on bone, impossible to shake off. He had originally planned to strike at the head—take out Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen directly—without engaging the Ghost King head-on.
But now it seemed that plan wasn't going to work so smoothly.
In a rush, Yang Kai could only dodge from his position once more. When he reappeared, he was more than a dozen zhang away.
"Hopping around like that—what's the point? Yang Kai, if you're still a man, then face us head-on in a real fight!" Yin Lesheng was furious. He'd discovered that while he'd sealed off this pocket of space to prevent Yang Kai from using his space divine ability to flee, Yang Kai could still slip around within the sealed area with eerie fluidity—slippery as an eel, utterly impossible to pin down.
Yang Kai sneered. "You've teamed up with your own Master-Uncle, and you've got all these senior brothers supporting you with a formation, yet you have the nerve to talk about facing me head-on? Is something wrong with your head?"
Yin Lesheng's face flushed with embarrassment, but he shot back stubbornly, "If you've got the skill, go find your own Master-Uncle and senior brothers. I wouldn't say a word about it."
Yang Kai snorted. "Shameless sophistry." He leveled the Million Sword at Yin Lesheng and provoked, "Listen here, Yin—old scores and new ones are going to be settled today. If you've still got a shred of manhood in you, face me one-on-one. We'll see whether I can beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you."
"My mother's long dead—what does she have to do with anything!" Yin Lesheng raged.
Yang Kai ridiculed him. "You're supposedly the chief disciple of the Yellow Springs Sect, and a overlord of the Great Desolation Star Field to boot. What? You don't even have the guts to fight me one-on-one?"
Yin Lesheng's expression turned dark, his fury churning within. Even the Ghost King under his control flickered with unsteady light in response.
Whether as the chief disciple of the Yellow Springs Sect or as a hegemon of the Great Desolation Star Field, Yin Lesheng had his own pride. If anyone else had said such things to him, he would've rushed over and slapped them across the face long ago. But facing Yang Kai—honestly, he didn't dare take him on alone.
He'd seen Yang Kai's strength and capabilities with his own eyes. He was absolutely no match. Letting temper get the better of him here would only hurt himself.
"Nephew—he's stalling for time!" Hua Feichen said with a cold expression. As he spoke, his gaze drifted—whether intentionally or not—toward the Ghost King.
The Ghost King's body was crawling with Soul-Devouring Insects. A constant crunching sound rang out as they devoured the Ghost King's energy. In just this short span, Hua Feichen could already feel the Ghost King growing markedly weaker. If they kept dawdling, they might not kill Yang Kai—but the Ghost King would be finished first.
If the Ghost King was destroyed, every Yellow Springs Sect disciple present would suffer severe backlash—including himself and Yin Lesheng.
"I know!" Yin Lesheng said through gritted teeth.
"There's no time—strike now!" Hua Feichen roared, already forming hand seals once more.
Yin Lesheng coordinated with him, his gaze flicking deliberately or otherwise toward Lin'er standing outside.
"Utterly useless!" Lin'er snorted coldly. A whole group against one person, and they'd even deployed the Heavenly Net Sealing Formation, yet they were still getting thrashed like helpless chickens and scattered dogs. How could these Yellow Springs Sect people be this incompetent?
If she'd known beforehand, she never would have come asking them to settle her grudge.
Now her anger hadn't been vented at all—in fact, it had only built up even more. Especially watching Yang Kai over there strutting around like he owned the place, arrogant beyond measure—Lin'er's lungs were about to burst with fury. She practically wanted to charge in and teach him a lesson herself.
Not that she stopped to think: she was only a third-layer Dao Source Realm cultivator. How could she possibly teach Yang Kai a lesson? Hadn't she noticed that even Hua Feichen and Yin Lesheng were treating him like a mortal enemy?