How was this a sea of consciousness? This was clearly hell.
A mob of witless spirits caught wind of the foreign presence and rushed at Yang Kai from all sides, but before any of them could draw close, a casual flick of his blade swept them all into oblivion. Wu Chi, who had been watching from the shadows, felt a jolt of alarm. His gaze lingered on the long saber with a complicated expression. Instinctively, he felt a deep wariness toward that blade.
What kind of shamanic artifact was this? How could it possess such extraordinary power?
Moreover, the man had actually managed to bring it into his sea of consciousness. How was such a thing possible? No shamanic artifact in all the world should have been capable of this.
The dark souls dwelling within his sea of consciousness had been born from the essence of countless living beings, nurtured and refined by him over countless years — they were nothing like ordinary spirits. Even if a Shaman King's divine soul form were to intrude, they would tear it apart and devour it whole.
Yet after that blade flashed but a few times, Wu Chi could clearly sense the dark souls growing terrified — like mice encountering a cat, they dared not draw too close.
Yang Kai held the saber in one hand and surveyed his surroundings with a cold smirk. "Hiding and refusing to come out? Wu Chi, Wu Chi — you're a Shaman King at the very least. Don't disappoint me too much."
Wu Chi paid him no mind. No one who had cultivated to the realm of Shaman King was a fool. He had yet to discern the true nature of that bizarre shamanic saber, and he certainly wasn't about to risk making a reckless move.
As though reading the wariness in his heart, Yang Kai raised the saber, flicked it with a finger, and spoke. "This blade is called the Soul-Slashing Saber. It does not harm the flesh — it severs only the divine soul. Allowing me to break into your sea of consciousness was your greatest mistake. Wu Chi, come meet your death. I shall be merciful and grant you a swift end."
"Does not harm the flesh, severs only the divine soul?" Wu Chi desperately wanted to dismiss this as utter nonsense, but what he had witnessed before his very eyes left him no choice but to admit the man was telling the truth. This was, without question, the most sinister shamanic artifact he had ever encountered.
"Fine, fine, fine — you won't come out, is that it? Then don't bother coming out at all!" With another cold laugh, Yang Kai raised the Soul-Slashing Saber high above his head, channeling the full force of his divine soul into it, and brought it crashing down in a devastating cleave.
The colossal blade light seemed ready to tear the entire sea of consciousness asunder. As it surged forth, countless dark souls that stood in its path were caught completely off guard and annihilated on the spot. Even Wu Chi, who had been observing from the shadows, felt a searing pain rip through his entire being — an illusion of being torn apart.
This was his sea of consciousness, so any damage Yang Kai inflicted within would be reflected directly onto his own body. Though the wounds were still trivial for now, if this continued much longer, the cumulative toll would become unbearable.
Just as Wu Chi's face turned ashen, Yang Kai was already swinging the Soul-Slashing Saber wildly in every direction, slashing left and right with manic abandon. Between strikes he howled with deranged laughter, "Having fun yet? Having fun? Tell me — are you having fun yet!"
Fun was the last thing Wu Chi could ever feel. With every devastating strike, he felt waves of excruciating pain crash through him, making his very soul tremble.
Realizing that hiding was no longer viable — that letting this madman continue destroying his sea of consciousness would bring nothing but catastrophic loss — Wu Chi finally snapped. He erupted with a thunderous roar, "Enough!"
The moment the word left his lips, he materialized before Yang Kai. A mere flick of his hand, and Yang Kai's attack was deflected.
While the Soul-Slashing Saber was undeniably bizarre and truly possessed the wondrous ability to breach the sea of consciousness, this was his domain — he held dominion over everything here. If it truly came to a life-or-death struggle, the most likely outcome was mutual destruction.
He was not without the power to fight back.
"You like hiding so much? Keep hiding then!" Yang Kai leveled the saber at Wu Chi, his face dripping with mockery and derision.
"Get out!" Wu Chi's expression was ice-cold as he issued his ultimatum. Having an outsider invade one's sea of consciousness was never a good thing. The sea of consciousness was not only the dwelling place of his divine soul but also the vault where he kept his deepest secrets. No one appreciated having a trespasser sightseeing in the most private corners of their mind.
"Beg me. Beg me, and I'll see whether I feel like leaving." Yang Kai flashed a broad grin. The sight of it sent Wu Chi's rage seething — he could feel a volcano building in his chest, ready to erupt at any moment.
"I'll say it one more time — get out!" Wu Chi stared at Yang Kai with frigid eyes.
Yang Kai curled his lips. "You were the one who wanted to claim my divine soul. Now you're the one telling me to get out. Make up your mind — what exactly do you want?"
Wu Chi lowered his eyelids slightly, his voice flat and cold. "It seems I'll have to drive you out myself. Let's see if you can withstand my fury."
In those few exchanges, Wu Chi understood that driving this Great Shaman out would require force. The man had fought hard to seize the initiative — he would not relinquish it easily. And Wu Chi had no intention of wasting any more words. He had made up his mind — even if it meant taking damage, he would expel the intruder. Otherwise, with that bizarre shamanic saber in hand, the man's mere presence here left Wu Chi feeling as though his life hung by a thread, utterly ill at ease.
As the words faded, Wu Chi's form dissolved, as though he had merged with the very fabric of this world.
Yang Kai's expression grew solemn. He knew Wu Chi was about to fight him with everything he had.
The space around him solidified abruptly. The next instant, an enormous repulsive force came crashing toward him — the manifestation of Wu Chi's authority as the sovereign of this sea of consciousness.
Intruding into another's sea of consciousness certainly allowed one to inflict damage at will, but fighting on enemy ground placed one at a severe disadvantage. Such a thing was rarely done — only when the gap in strength was vast would the stronger party dare invade the weaker one's sea of consciousness.
That said, if the gap in strength were truly that overwhelming, there would be no need to resort to such methods in the first place.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai felt the pressure around him surge violently, as though he were about to be expelled from this world entirely.
He tried to anchor himself in place, but no matter what he did, he could not hold his ground.
Just as he was about to be cast out by Wu Chi, Yang Kai suddenly sprang into action. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as the Soul-Slashing Saber hummed and erupted with a blinding burst of light. He swung the blade forward in a devastating slash. "A gift for you — I hope you enjoy it!"
"Impossible...!" Wu Chi's voice came through, laced with shock and fury. The power behind that single strike had suddenly surged — it was nearly twice as powerful as anything the man had unleashed before.
Caught completely off guard, Wu Chi's defenses shattered in an instant. His divine soul was cleaved, and an agony so excruciating tore through him that death would have been a mercy.