That web sealed heaven and locked earth, preventing Yang Kai from even mobilizing the Space Laws. He watched helplessly as the web descended, and with a furious roar, a blazing sun rose behind him.
The Golden Crow Forges the Sun — a Divine Ability Manifestation!
Yet in the very next instant, the web enveloped Yang Kai completely, and the small sun that had just risen dissipated into nothingness.
The web appeared to be tangible and corporeal, but the moment it touched his body, it rapidly merged inward and vanished. Yang Kai immediately felt an inexplicable yet powerful restriction take hold inside him, leaving his strength unable to circulate freely.
"Senior!" Yang Kai cried out in alarm and fury, glaring at Zhu Jiuyin. "What are you trying to do?"
"Don't be afraid." Zhu Jiuyin rose slowly, her voice soft and gentle. "You should know I have no ill will toward you. You are my chosen vessel. I merely wish to help you increase your strength."
"Increasing my strength requires methods like this?" Yang Kai scoffed, disbelief flooding his heart. He couldn't shake the feeling that this demoness harbored some sinister scheme.
Moreover, having one's strength forcibly boosted through another's assistance wasn't necessarily a good thing. It could be like pulling seedlings to help them grow — ruining one's very foundation.
What baffled him, however, was that Yue He had also become an accomplice. He turned to look at her, his heart aching with disappointment.
Yue He clearly felt some guilt, unable to meet his gaze. She simply murmured, "Young Master, I'm doing this for your own good."
Yang Kai snorted coldly and turned to face Zhu Jiuyin. "Might I ask, Senior, how exactly do you intend to help me increase my strength?"
"Come with me." Zhu Jiuyin beckoned and stepped outside.
Though Yang Kai's strength was sealed, his movement wasn't restricted. He shot Yue He and Lu Xue a vicious glare that made both women shrink their necks before they followed after Zhu Jiuyin.
Before long, the four of them arrived at a subterranean chamber. With a casual wave of her hand, Zhu Jiuyin illuminated the walls with streaks of light, revealing every detail of the massive chamber in perfect clarity.
Yang Kai stared in astonishment. He had no idea a secret chamber had been built beneath his own residence — this was clearly Zhu Jiuyin's handiwork. Grooves lined the floor, with a crimson liquid flowing through them. He couldn't tell what it was; it looked like blood, yet carried not the faintest metallic scent.
The grooves covered the entire floor, tracing out an extraordinarily complex and mystical formation. At the center of this mysterious array stood a small altar.
"Get on." Zhu Jiuyin nudged her chin toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai turned his head away, ignoring her as his mind raced for a way out. He still had no idea what Zhu Jiuyin was planning.
"Childish." Zhu Jiuyin chuckled, seized Yang Kai by the collar, and flung him onto the altar. The restriction inside him tightened sharply, and Yang Kai involuntarily found himself seated upon it.
Yang Kai was furious. He looked at Yue He and Lu Xue and demanded, "You two heartless women — you're just going to watch her do this to me?"
Lu Xue's face reddened and she stammered, "We're no match for her."
A flicker of struggle crossed Yue He's eyes, but she said nothing.
Zhu Jiuyin laughed. "This is entirely at my behest. Blaming them is pointless."
Yang Kai regarded her coldly. "I know perfectly well this is your doing. But at this point, perhaps you should tell me what exactly you're planning."
"The Battle of Soul Seizure is about to begin."
Zhu Jiuyin sighed. "In a year at the shortest, two or three at the longest, the Land of No Elders will open!"
This matched the information Xu Zhen had told him. As expected, just as Xu Zhen had said, these Sacred Spirits had been born and raised here, making them exquisitely attuned to every shift in this world. If the Zhu Yan could sense it, then naturally so could Zhu Jiuyin.
Seeing that Yang Kai showed no surprise, Zhu Jiuyin was slightly taken aback. She continued, "Do you know how many Sacred Spirits there are in the Grand Ruins?"
Yang Kai replied flatly, "How would I know?"
"Roughly a hundred!"
Yang Kai's expression tightened. He had known there was more than one Sacred Spirit in the Grand Ruins, but he had never imagined there were so many. Roughly a hundred — that meant at least a hundred Sacred Spirits?
What a terrifying number. Each of those hundred Sacred Spirits was equivalent to a High-Rank Open Heaven cultivator. If they all left the Grand Ruins, even the great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands would struggle to contend with them.
"Setting aside those without ambition who are content to go with the flow, the old monsters who are determined to escape the Grand Ruins number roughly half." She was one of those old monsters herself. Half — that meant at least sixty or seventy.
"Each of them has their own vessel. In other words, during the Battle of Soul Seizure, their objectives are the same as yours — to seize that one and only opportunity."
"So what?" Yang Kai said with defiant arrogance.
"You may be powerful, but you're not guaranteed to be the last one standing." Zhu Jiuyin sighed softly. Her previous vessel had been just like that — among all the vessels, his strength was absolutely top-tier, yet in the end he had still died, leaving her unable to leave this place. "So you need to become stronger."