Mo Duo glared at Yang Kai with wide eyes, teeth clenched in a snarl — only to receive a fist full in the face.
The tremendous force smashed into his features, twisting his face into a grotesque mask and sending him tumbling through the air. The suppressive feeling that had clung to his body finally vanished, and Mo Duo hurriedly steadied himself. But the moment he found his footing, that strange bell chime rang in his ears once more.
The suppressive force that had just faded enveloped him again, causing a subtle hiccup in the circulation of his power. That brief hesitation was all it took to prevent him from dodging properly — another fist slammed into his chest. The crack of breaking bone rang out as Mo Duo's torso caved inward, and he went flying.
A bona fide Demon Saint, tossed around in midair by a Barbarian King like a punching bag, utterly unable to fight back — it was an unspeakable humiliation. Rage churned in Mo Duo's chest like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Although none of the attacks were truly lethal, being made to look this pathetic in front of millions of demons was something Mo Duo could not tolerate.
The root of all his problems was that strange little bell. On his own, this Wu Niu fellow posed no threat to him whatsoever, yet that bizarre little bell could even suppress a Demon Saint's power. It had cost him the initiative right from the start, and from that first misstep, everything else had spiraled out of control, leaving him no chance to turn the tide.
Every time the bell rang, the momentum and strength Mo Duo had just gathered were crushed back down, and then Yang Kai's storm of attacks would rain upon him.
In the span of a single incense stick's worth of time, Yang Kai had struck Mo Duo over a thousand times, each blow delivered with full force — enough to instantly kill an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator.
Yet even such a dense barrage had done nothing more than leave Mo Duo looking bedraggled. He bore not a single serious wound. No matter how badly his chest was caved in, no matter how many bones were shattered, he seemed to recover fully in an astonishingly short time.
Demon Saint Mo Duo possessed tenacious vitality beyond compare.
Yang Kai was physically and mentally drained, gasping for breath. His strength had surged enormously after activating his dragon transformation, but the consumption of his own energy had multiplied as well. On top of that, he had to activate the Mountain and River Bell before every strike, which was yet another considerable burden. Had his reserves been any shallower, he would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.
But he remained calm and unhurried. He was waiting for an opportunity — a single, decisive chance to finish things.
The opportunity came quickly.
Mo Duo had been pushed into a frenzy. His face was twisted into a savage grimace, teeth chattering audibly as he ground them together, eyes blazing crimson. He looked as though he had lost all reason.
The Mountain and River Bell rang again, and a visible wave of sound hurtled toward Mo Duo.
But this time, Yang Kai's timing seemed off. By the time the sound wave struck, Mo Duo had already dodged ahead of it. Without the bell's suppression, he was finally free to fight without restraint. A ferocious grin split his face as demonic qi surged around his body, and he lunged at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai put on a convincing show of panic, stumbling backward in a hurried retreat. Yet he could not widen the gap between himself and Mo Duo.
Mo Duo soared over his head and brought a palm crashing down, the destructive aura in his palm engulfing Yang Kai.
It was then that Yang Kai shot his hand upward. The Mysterious Boundary Bead flew out, and under his control, it vanished into thin air. At the same time, a vortex-like passage materialized between him and Mo Duo.
A torrent of Divine Sense surged forth, wrapping around Mo Duo. It coalesced into an invisible net, and Mo Duo was the great fish caught within.
Yang Kai grunted, his feet planted immovably as though rooted to the ground, channeling the power of his soul to haul in the net.
If he could drag Mo Duo into the Small Mysterious World, he would hold the Demon Saint's life in his hands. Even a genuine Demon Saint — one who could only wield seventy percent of his power — should not be his match inside that realm.
The critical thing was getting Mo Duo in there.
The moment the vortex appeared, Mo Duo's expression shifted. He clearly sensed the danger. Alarm bells ringing in his mind, he pulled back his palm and tried to retreat, but the space around him was thick and viscous, as though he had sunk into a quagmire. He could not break free.
That viscosity was the combined effect of Yang Kai's soul projection and his spatial abilities.
Mo Duo reacted swiftly. His saint-grade Divine Sense power poured outward as well, splitting into countless needle-sharp drills that frantically stabbed in every direction.
The net woven from Yang Kai's soul power was riddled with holes in an instant. Worse still, his soul suffered a devastating blow — blood seeped from all seven of his orifices, giving him a ghastly appearance.
"How foolish, to contest me in Divine Sense?" Mo Duo wore the expression of a man who had already won, contempt etched across his features. He was in no rush to flee anymore. He had realized that this Wu Niu fellow was simply tying himself in knots, attempting to restrain him with soul power alone.
The invisible, formless clash raged on every instant. Yang Kai's soul was sustaining increasingly severe damage, and the invisible net had long since been torn to shreds — yet he still refused to let go.
Mo Duo's contempt turned to shock. Yang Kai's stubbornness had far exceeded his expectations.
The soul was the wellspring of every living being's consciousness. If the soul sustained too much damage, the creature would become nothing more than a walking corpse.
His attacks had been ferocious and relentless. By all logic, this Wu Niu fellow should have long since lost all his Divine Sense and been reduced to an idiot. Yet that was not what Mo Duo found. The Wu Niu's face was twisted in agony — clearly he was enduring tremendous pain to his soul — and yet he remained lucid and rational.
Something was protecting his soul!
Mo Duo was a Demon Saint after all. Though he did not know of the Warm Spirit Lotus's existence, he deduced the truth in a matter of moments.