Seeing this scene, Yang Kai and his dharma body wasted no more time. They unleashed their respective divine abilities, blasting them toward the Wuhua Hall's great formation.
Amidst the ancient, intricate draconic incantations, draconic secret arts manifested as golden dragons that surged forward wave after wave. The dharma body's flames blazed fiercely, transforming the ground beneath it into a sea of fire that scorched the formation's barrier.
In an instant, ripples of light spread across the barrier in layer after layer, its glow flickering wildly.
Lei Gu snorted coldly at the sight. A formation flag appeared in his hand, and with a sweep of it he stabilized the formation. Though his personality had been warped by the Devil's Will — transformed so drastically that he was almost an entirely different person — everything Lei Gu himself had once mastered, he could now wield with ease. This formation flag was the master flag of the Wuhua Hall's sect-protecting great formation. With his abilities directing it, the formation immediately became as solid as iron.
Yang Kai's eyes nearly split with fury. If the formation wasn't broken, how could he enter the Wuhua Hall? How could he rescue Wen Zishan and the others? How could he avenge the dead? Anxiety burned through him — was his only option really to go to the Star God Palace for reinforcements? But the round trip would cost days. Who knew what state Wen Zishan and the others would be in by then? They might well be corroded by Demonic Energy and turned into demonfolk.
Lei Gu had chosen this moment to act precisely because he was supremely confident.
Yang Kai turned his head and looked. The dharma body's flames raged, still burning against the great formation, but by the looks of it, breaking through would take far more than a short time — even with his own help.
Lei Gu's cold voice came again: "You brat ruined my plans. I'll make sure you wish you were dead but can't even die."
This scheme had already gone awry. Yang Kai was still alive, and the news of what had happened here would absolutely spread. In other words, the plan had already failed — though not entirely. So many Emperor Realm cultivators and tens of thousands of martial artists had fallen into the trap, which was still something.
If all of them were fully corrupted, it would be a formidable force — enough to pave the way for the greater plans ahead.
Suddenly, Yang Kai withdrew his attack and stepped back, fixing Lei Gu with a frigid glare. He channeled his energy and called out in a loud voice: "Hall Master, can you hold out for one more day?"
Lei Gu frowned at these words, uncertain what Yang Kai meant by giving this one-day deadline. By all appearances, the smartest thing for this brat to do was rush to the Star God Palace for help — but the Palace was far away, far too distant to reach and return in a single day. Even with mastery of Space manipulation, it couldn't be done.
From within the Wuhua Hall, Wen Zishan's voice rang out: "We'll do our best!"
Another voice followed — Ma Qing, the Holy Master of Tianwu Holy Land, sounding exasperated: "Boy, what are you still dawdling for? Go to the Star God Palace, quickly!"
Yang Kai fixed Lei Gu with one long, deep stare, then bellowed: "Good! All of you, hold on! I swear I'll pull you out of this nightmare in one day!"
With that, he turned and departed. His peripheral gaze swept across the cold corpse on that earthen mound, and an inexplicable pain lanced through his chest, as if a hand had seized his heart.
A few flickers of movement, and he vanished from Lei Gu's sight. After he left, Lei Gu ceased driving the formation flag, and the flashing light of the sect-protecting great formation gradually subsided. He turned to regard the dharma body and said, "A Sacred Spirit — Stone Fire?"
The dharma body stood towering, looking down at him from the other side of the great formation. Its two eyes blazed like burning flames that flickered ceaselessly. It shared a direct mental link with Yang Kai, so no lengthy exchange was needed to understand his plan. Fueled by equal parts rage and guilt over Yu Zhuo's death, the dharma body remained here for two purposes: to pin down Lei Gu's attention so he couldn't devote himself fully to dealing with Wen Zishan and the others, and to seize any opportunity to damage the formation. Breaking through before Yang Kai returned would be ideal — but even if they couldn't, they could still weaken the formation's power in preparation for what was to come.
Seeing the dharma body remain silent, Lei Gu said coldly, "The Sacred Spirits are exalted beings. Since when has one of them stooped to serve under a human? You've thoroughly disgraced the name of the Sacred Spirits."
Had the dharma body truly been Stone Fire itself, such taunting might have provoked a reaction. But the dharma body was an extension of Yang Kai, and it paid no heed to these attempts at provocation.
When it showed no response, Lei Gu frowned, abandoned the futile effort, and turned to fly inside.
But before he could get away, the dharma body channeled its flames upward along the formation barrier, sending columns of fire blazing into the sky.
Lei Gu's eye twitched. He swept the formation flag in his hand, and a dark luminescence rippled across the barrier, cutting off the flames' reach.
…
On the other side, Yang Kai tore through the void. In mere moments he returned to the mountain peak where he'd been ambushed earlier. The white-haired elder was still meditating to recover his energy, while the four Demonic Energy-wreathed figures beside him remained unconscious.
The elder started in alarm at the commotion, then brightened when he saw it was Yang Kai returning. "Elder Yang!"
"Go to the Star God Palace at once. Report the situation at Wuhua Hall. Ask for a Great Emperor to intervene, or the Southern Region is finished." Yang Kai spoke rapidly.
"Ah—" The white-haired elder was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Understood." He pointed at the four unconscious figures. "And them—"
"Go!" Yang Kai snapped his head toward him with a glare like a maddened beast ready to devour a man whole.
Meeting that terrifying gaze, the elder dared not say another word. He realized time was precious, immediately summoned his flying Artifact, and shot off toward the Star God Palace.
Only after he departed did Yang Kai wave his hand, sweeping the four unconscious demonfolk into his Small Universe and sealing them deep within it. Then he cast out countless materials and began working atop the mountain peak.
Sending word to the Star God Palace and requesting a Great Emperor's intervention was certainly one way out — but Yang Kai held little hope in it. Not because he doubted a Great Emperor's power, but because the time required was simply too great. By the time a Great Emperor arrived, matters here would long since be settled.