Under everyone’s gaze, Zhang Ruoxi suddenly threw herself toward the edge of the large crater, falling to her knees. Digging frantically with both hands, she clawed at the earth covering the hole, tears streaming continuously down her cheeks as she sobbed without pause: "Master, Master..."
Her choked sobs were filled with utter despair; she seemed to have lost all rational thought, not even employing her Source Qi. She used only her bare, flesh-and-blood hands to fling the dirt aside.
In the blink of an eye, her slender fingertips were covered in blood and torn flesh, yet she seemed numb to the pain, continuing to dig with all her strength.
The emotion of heart-wrenching sorrow and hopelessness spread outward from her almost tangibly, moving all the Demon Beast Kings and the controlled members of the Stone Spirit Clan. The tears that fell from her eyes began to mix with faint streaks of crimson, as if what flowed from her were not merely tears, but an accusation of blood and weeping.
"Don't leave Ruoxi behind... Master, don't leave Ruoxi behind..."
Blood-tears blurred her vision, robbing Zhang Ruoxi of sight, but her hands continued their mechanical, desperate effort to pull Yang Kai from beneath the earth.
"This little girl..." Fan Wu narrowed his eyes, furrowing his brow slightly as he stared at Zhang Ruoxi’s kneeling form, his feelings complex.
"Her relationship with that young man seems deep," Luan Feng sighed softly. "It's a pity her strength is too low. Third-Order Dao Source Realm—what can she do here? Any one of the Demon Beast Kings here is at least a Second-Order Emperor Realm powerhouse. Third-Order Dao Source is simply not enough."
"Hmph!" Shi Huo glanced sideways at Zhang Ruoxi for a moment, then gave a cold snort and reached out to grab her.
He had already broken his word and ambushed to kill Yang Kai. Now, this human girl suddenly appeared at the site of Yang Kai's demise, causing a disturbance—wasn't she just rubbing salt in his wound?
Ruoxi, utterly unprepared, was plucked from the ground by his massive palm, lifted by her waist as effortlessly as one might pick up a small doll.
Shi Huo, towering at five zhang, held Zhang Ruoxi as if she were a tiny figurine.
The growing distance from where Yang Kai lay shocked Zhang Ruoxi back to awareness. She raised her head, her crimson, beautiful eyes fixing on Shi Huo, who loomed nearby, examining her. She suddenly began to struggle fiercely, kicking and punching, pleading: "Let me go! Please, let me go! I have to save him! Master isn't dead, I have to save him!"
But her strength was incomparable to Shi Huo's. No matter how she struggled, he didn't budge an inch.
Shi Huo sneered repeatedly. "Your Master is already dead beyond a doubt. Don't waste your effort."
Ruoxi shook her head, tears falling like rain. "I don't believe it, I don't believe it! Master won't die! Master absolutely will not die!"
Shi Huo's expression turned angry. "You stubborn little girl! Do you believe I will crush you to death right now?"
Ruoxi gritted her teeth and suddenly raised a hand. A large, square seal materialized out of thin air before her.
The Myriad Beast Seal!
From within the seal, streaks of pitch-black energy shot forth. Instantly, the surrounding air grew gloomy and sinister, filled with the wailing of ghosts and the howling of wolves. The dark energy that erupted from the seal transformed in the blink of an eye into beast spirits of various shapes and sizes.
"Beast spirits!" Shi Huo raised an eyebrow, looking at the seemingly ethereal beasts before him with some surprise.
With his discerning eye, he immediately recognized them for what they were—beast spirits.
Fan Wu, Luan Feng, and Cang Gou also furrowed their brows. They were the Holy Sovereigns of the Ancient Lands, rulers over the billions of demon beasts therein. The sudden appearance of so many beast spirits from Zhang Ruoxi's Myriad Beast Seal left them slightly irritated. After all, every demon beast was one of their subjects. Even in death, their spirits should not be captured and sealed within an Artifact by a human.
This Artifact was absolutely something the demon beasts of the Ancient Lands could not tolerate.
In the brief moment the four Holy Sovereigns were distracted, the number of beast spirits pouring from the Myriad Beast Seal swelled to tens of thousands, and the number continued to increase. The fluctuations of power emanating from each spirit varied greatly, but many were no weaker than the Demon Beast Kings present.
"Where did all these beast spirits come from?" Shi Huo's expression finally changed.
If the Myriad Beast Seal had contained only a few dozen or a hundred beast spirits, that could be explained away—perhaps the girl had captured them after slaying the beasts. But tens of thousands of spirits, with many twelfth-rank beasts among them... that was shocking. And judging by the momentum, the seal seemed to contain even more.
"Little girl, don't tell me you entered the Tomb of Ten Thousand Spirits?" Shi Huo blurted out the outlandish thought.
As he spoke, he slapped a palm down toward the Myriad Beast Seal. The power of a Holy Sovereign surged forth, striking the seal and causing its radiance to flicker wildly, its spiritual essence severely damaged.
The tens of thousands of beast spirits that had been swirling in the air were, in the instant the seal was attacked, all sucked back inside, unable to exert even the slightest effect.
The gap in strength was too vast. Even wielding the Myriad Beast Seal, Ruoxi could not pose any real threat to Shi Huo.
Shi Huo flung his great hand, tossing Zhang Ruoxi aside. "This little girl's Artifact is problematic. It needs to be examined closely."
Luan Feng nodded slightly, extending a hand to draw Zhang Ruoxi toward her, holding her immobilized before her.
Meanwhile, Shi Huo toyed with the Myriad Beast Seal in his hand, his divine sense penetrating it. After a moment of probing, his expression suddenly changed dramatically, and he exclaimed in shock: "A million beast spirits!"