That burly Sacred Envoy's punch shattered Yang Kai's Million Sword's sword light, and the sheer force of his fist wind even sent Yang Kai's body reeling.
"Overestimating yourself!" The burly Sacred Envoy snorted coldly, killing intent already surfacing as he threw another punch. The motion was simple and direct, without a hint of flourish, yet it was a strike that had returned to pure simplicity—a blow of refined, unadorned power.
If the Sacred Envoy still harbored some hope of subduing the Stone Spirit clan and was unwilling to fight them to the death unless absolutely necessary, then for Yang Kai, this human... what was a mere human? If he killed him, he killed him!
Before the fist even arrived, the howling fist wind was already upon Yang Kai, scraping across his skin until it stung.
He couldn't block it! There was no way to block it—their cultivation was far too far apart.
The only reason he had managed to wound a Sacred Envoy-level powerhouse earlier was through sheer surprise, and the lion's share of that credit belonged to Great Emperor Yue's Time Flies Seal. Now, with this punch coming at him for real, he didn't even have time to form a hand seal.
"Come out!" Yang Kai shouted urgently as he retreated.
In the next instant, a colossal stone giant materialized with a thunderous boom. The stone giant looked exactly like the Stone Spirits, except its eyes held less savagery and a touch more intelligence.
The Dharma Body!
The moment it appeared, the Dharma Body swung its fist forward to meet the incoming blow.
The burly Sacred Envoy's triumphant strike hadn't yet reached Yang Kai when, impossibly, a Stone Spirit materialized before him. The corner of his eye twitched—he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But when that fist came hurtling toward him, he knew this was no illusion.
Changing his move at the last moment was impossible; he had no choice but to grit his teeth and meet the Dharma Body's fist head-on.
BOOM...
A deafening crash shook the air. The Dharma Body stumbled back two steps, but the burly Sacred Envoy let out a muffled grunt as a faint crack of breaking bone echoed from his wrist, his entire body hurtling backward like a ragged burlap sack.
In terms of cultivation, this burly Sacred Envoy, at the Third-Order Emperor Realm, far surpassed the Dharma Body. But in terms of raw strength, the Dharma Body could crush him without effort! In this exchange of blows, the burly Sacred Envoy had taken a painful beating without even seeing it coming.
The remaining six Sacred Envoys watching from nearby were stunned.
They stood frozen as if petrified—motionless and seemingly drained of consciousness, unable to accept what they had just witnessed.
This human, who by all outward appearances was the weakest among them, had in an incredibly short time forced back a Demon King and wounded two Sacred Envoys. Although the burly Sacred Envoy hadn't been injured by his own hand, this was still a terrifying feat.
What puzzled the demons the most was where this Stone Spirit had come from.
Hadn't it been said that the Stone Spirit clan naturally numbered no more than ten, and any beyond ten would surely perish? Counting this one that had just appeared, the Stone Spirits now numbered eleven! The legend of "beyond ten brings certain doom" had been shattered.
This was unacceptable. If the Stone Spirits could break past the limit of ten, then what race in the world could stand against them? These creatures were born battle maniacs, and every single one that reached maturity was terrifying beyond measure.
"Go help them!" Yang Kai flew onto the Dharma Body's shoulder, turned to look at the Stone Spirit clan's battle, and called out in a low voice, extending his hand and curling a finger toward a certain direction as though summoning something.
The Stone Spirits' situation was dire. Even though they were born war machines who never knew fatigue, even though they possessed tremendous strength and formidable bodies, facing three times their number in Demon Kings had left them hard-pressed and struggling desperately.
Each Stone Spirit fought like a mad thing, unleashing their full power without restraint, yet they simply couldn't overcome those agile Demon Kings. Worse still, the Demon Kings had scattered widely, making it impossible for the Stone Spirits to watch each other's backs—they were forced to fight alone.
Each Stone Spirit essentially faced three Demon King-level powerhouses, and these Demon Kings were cunning beyond measure. They coordinated their efforts: two would keep the Stone Spirit occupied on the ground, while a third hovered in the air, looking for openings to unleash devastating demon arts.
Though the Stone Spirits weren't in mortal danger yet, if this continued, their total annihilation was only a matter of time.
The Elder had clearly realized this as well. A flash of determination crossed his eyes, and he bellowed, "Muna, assist me!"
The moment those words left his mouth, streams of multicolored light suddenly surged from behind him, the radiance gathering and extending behind his back to form two wings shimmering with flowing, prismatic colors.
Yang Kai stared in surprise, suddenly realizing that the Wood Spirits were lending their power. Those brilliant, iridescent wings were the Wood Spirits' strength bestowed upon the Stone Spirit clan.
No wonder the Wood Spirits hadn't been visible when he summoned the Stone Spirits earlier. No wonder the Wood Spirits had followed along before the march. The two clans truly lived together in symbiosis, bolstering each other—not a simple relationship of shelter and dependence.
The Stone Spirits' greatest drawback was their inability to fly, a limitation tied to their physical structure. But the Wood Spirits could grant the Stone Spirits the gift of flight.
Swish, swish, swish...
A pair of vividly colored wings suddenly appeared behind each Stone Spirit. The wings beat and carried them gracefully through the air, moving as naturally as a part of their own bodies, with not the slightest hint of awkwardness.
The Demon Kings' expressions darkened as they took to the sky en masse, attacking from front and back, surrounding left and right, determined not to let them break through the encirclement.
The Sacred Envoys who had been watching couldn't stay idle any longer either, and they moved in to join the fray.
In an instant, the sky became a battlefield where numerous powerhouses clashed so fiercely that the heavens and earth changed color and the sun and moon lost their light. The collision of various Laws seemed as though it might shatter the very world.
"What about you?!" Yang Kai's face darkened as he looked at the Dharma Body, asking with concern. The battle had shifted to the skies, where the Dharma Body couldn't fight effectively.
The Dharma Body grinned and said, "I have the Wood Spirits' help too."