"What the hell!" The Demon King was stunned. When had he ever witnessed such bizarre secret arts? Panicked, he tried to pull back, but the Dharma Body grinned hideously and swung its palm down at him.
Unfortunately, there was still a gap in their strength, and he could only watch helplessly as the Demon King broke free of the Heaven-Devouring Domain and escaped to the side.
And just at that moment, the burly Sacred Envoy's attack arrived.
"Don't worry about me!" Yang Kai suddenly barked sharply. The Dharma Body, which had been about to lend a hand, heeded the command and indeed held back.
Swoosh...
A streak of light flashed, and an ancient small bell suddenly appeared in Yang Kai's hand. The bell bore the patina of ages, yet its surface was etched with clear patterns of flowers, birds, rain, beasts, mountains, and rivers.
Yang Kai tapped the bell gently. As Emperor Yuan surged through it, the small bell abruptly grew to the height of a person, blocking the way ahead.
ROAR...
The phantom of the massive, mottled tiger lunged before Yang Kai at precisely that moment, its jaws clamping down — directly onto the great bell.
DONG...
The bell's chime shook the nine heavens as ripples suddenly spread outward from Yang Kai. Those ripples seemed to contain an extraordinarily profound power. Every living being that heard the sound — whether among the thirty-odd Demon Kings or the Stone Spirits — found their movements momentarily frozen, as though suppressed by some invisible force.
The mottled tiger phantom was shattered on the spot, dissolving into motes of light that vanished without a trace.
Pfft...
The burly Sacred Envoy vomited a mouthful of blood, his spirit plummeting in an instant.
The phantom tiger had been powered by the full might of his own inner core — a blow at maximum force. Having the Mountain and River Bell shatter it had subjected him to a degree of backlash.
"The Mountain and River Bell!" The burly Sacred Envoy clutched his chest with one hand, staggering backward, the corners of his eyes twitching violently, his mind going blank — he simply could not believe what he was seeing.
"The Mountain and River Bell?"
"That's impossible!"
"Wasn't this thing stolen tens of thousands of years ago? How has it appeared here again?"
The assembled demons were horrified, and the Sacred Envoys cried out in astonishment, their eyes wide with shock.
There was no helping it — the Mountain and River Bell's reputation was simply too fearsome. The artifact had originally spread outward from the Primordial Ancient Land, and as creatures who lived within that land, no one understood the terror of the Mountain and River Bell better than they did.
Yet when they looked at the great bell standing before that human, it was identical to the legendary primordial treasure. Combined with the suppressing force they had just witnessed — if this wasn't the Mountain and River Bell, then what was?
In an instant, a trace of wariness crept into the gazes of the many Demon Kings.
A mere human at the first level of the Emperor Sovereign realm — they might not have given him a second thought. But if this human possessed the Mountain and River Bell and could wield its power at will, then the situation was an entirely different matter.
No one was willing — nor did anyone have the courage — to test the terrifying might of the Mountain and River Bell.
With a single bell in hand, Yang Kai had turned the faces of the many Demon Kings and Sacred Envoys pale with dread, yet they held back, afraid to act rashly.
Yang Kai raised the Mountain and River Bell high and roared, "Follow me, all of you!"
The Stone Spirits recovered their wits and, seizing the moment while the Demon Kings were still dazed, rushed toward Yang Kai's position, gathering around him.
"Block me and die!" Yang Kai bellowed fiercely, gripping the Million Sword in one hand and holding the Mountain and River Bell aloft in the other. Fixing on a direction, he blurred forward at full speed.
In that direction, several Demon Kings stood staring in stunned disbelief. Seeing Yang Kai charging toward them with a horde of Stone Spirits in tow, they were all startled.
Before they could clear the path, Yang Kai had already raised the Million Sword and struck the Mountain and River Bell with all his might.
DONG...
The deep, resonant chime nearly coalesced into a visible shockwave that hurtled straight toward the Demon Kings blocking the path. Wherever it passed, the very space was suppressed.
Several Demon Kings' faces changed drastically, and they cursed loudly. Not daring to hesitate for even a moment, they scattered to the sides, narrowly escaping the shockwave's range.
No sooner had they retreated than Yang Kai led the Stone Spirits charging through the gap between them. His arrogance was so overwhelming it was as if he were walking through an empty field.
The expressions on every Demon King's face were ugly, and the eight Sacred Envoys looked so dark that frost could have been scraped from their brows.
Nearly the most elite combat forces of the entire demon race of the Ancient Land had gathered here, yet they had been cut through with such brazen impunity by a single human. If word of this got out, where would they ever show their faces?
But Yang Kai looked every bit the part of a bloodthirsty killer. They truly did not dare be the first to test him — who knew what the consequences of being struck by the Mountain and River Bell would be? Hadn't they seen the burly Sacred Envoy's wretched state, weakened and still coughing up blood? That was merely the backlash. If hit directly, there likely wouldn't even be scraps left.
The demons each harbored their own reservations, and as a result, Yang Kai led the Stone Spirit clan right through the encirclement with absurd ease, on the verge of making his escape.
It was at that moment that Yang Kai, flying at the forefront, suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared blankly in a certain direction.