Yang Kai casually tossed the Primordial Dragon-Binding Net to Lang Qingshan, who caught it and froze for a moment before erupting with joy. "This subordinate thanks the Lord for his generous reward!"
The others watched with undisguised envy. Having all been bound by the net themselves, they knew full well its power. Not that it could necessarily deal with Open Heaven Realm cultivators, but anyone below that realm who got caught in it would be utterly powerless to resist.
With this net in hand, one was practically invincible beneath the Open Heaven Realm.
Still, envy was envy — nobody could harbor any ill thoughts about it. When danger had struck earlier, Lang Qingshan had been the first to charge out, displaying unwavering loyalty and courage. It was only right that Yang Kai should reward him.
"Cultivate it carefully. This net… Hmm? Watch out!"
Yang Kai suddenly bellowed, whipping his head around. From ahead within the seven-colored passage, an enormous cone was rotating through the void, hurtling toward them and filling their entire field of vision.
The attack came without the slightest warning. It struck at the very moment the scrawny old man had been slain and everyone's guard was down — clearly premeditated.
The cone was terrifyingly fast, arriving in the blink of an eye. The several dozen people behind Yang Kai all turned pale.
But Yang Kai stepped forward three paces of his own accord, extending a massive hand wreathed with the forces of wood, fire, earth, and water, and seized downward at the cone.
His grasp closed on empty air. The cone passed right through his attack without so much as slowing, slicing through his body as if it weren't there, and hurtled straight toward the others behind him.
"This is…" Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly. Before he could react further, the cone struck his body. His whole frame jolted, blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his face turned deathly pale.
Behind him, every single one of the several dozen people let out a stifled groan as their auras plummeted.
"A Divine Ability!" Understanding dawned in Yang Kai's mind. He had initially thought the cone's overwhelming momentum meant it was some powerful Artifact. Now he realized it wasn't an Artifact at all — it was a Divine Ability, a sinisterly targeted one.
It was aimed directly at a cultivator's Dao Seal!
The instant the cone struck his body, Yang Kai felt his Dao Seal shudder violently. The wood, fire, earth, and water forces within it were thrown into sudden disarray. Fortunately, he had always devoted a portion of his mental focus to maintaining the technique of the Inverse Yin-Yang Five Elements Mysterious Cosmos Heart Scripture — otherwise, this single blow alone would have been enough to destroy his foundation.
He also had to thank all the Dao One Divine Water he had refined earlier, which had rendered his Dao Seal extraordinarily sturdy. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
His face darkening, Yang Kai flickered and vanished on the spot. When he reappeared hundreds of zhang away, he threw a punch at a stretch of empty void, causing it to collapse — but no one was there.
"Fled fast!" Yang Kai scowled. He had been targeted by the cone and immediately traced the source, yet he still couldn't find whoever had launched the attack. It was clear that the attacker was deeply wary of him, fully aware of his strength — having struck once, whether the blow succeeded or not, they had fled immediately.
What truly rankled Yang Kai was that he hadn't even managed to figure out who was targeting him!
Was this person like the scrawny old man, simply robbing people along the way? Or was this a deliberate attack aimed at him specifically?
His thoughts churned, and he had a growing suspicion that the latter was more likely. If it were simple robbery, there would be no reason to flee immediately after a single strike. The fact that this person had done exactly that suggested a deliberate, targeted assault. Though perhaps it wasn't aimed solely at him — perhaps at all the vessels chosen by the Sacred Spirits!
This person is a vessel too! Yang Kai saw it clearly now. They had lain in ambush here, hoping to eliminate some of their competitors ahead of time.
"My Lord!" Lang Qingshan and the others hurried over, their faces flushed with shame.
They had followed Yang Kai into the seven-colored passage barely half a cup of tea ago, and they had already been ambushed twice — and both times they had been utterly useless. The first time, Yang Kai had single-handedly turned the tide and killed the scrawny old man. This time, he had again shielded them from the brunt of the attack.
As subordinates, Lang Qingshan and the rest were overcome with guilt and unease.
The cone had been a Divine Ability targeting the Dao Seal. Yang Kai had absorbed most of its force himself, with only the remainder trickling down to the others. Though it had set their Dao Seals trembling violently, it hadn't been enough to claim any of their lives.
Yang Kai regarded them and immediately grasped that they were in no condition to continue fighting. He spoke gravely, "Relax your minds. I'll send you somewhere safe."
With that, he reached out toward them.
Lang Qingshan and the others didn't understand his intent, but they hurriedly relaxed their defenses.
When Yang Kai's hand descended over them, their vision spun in a dizzying reversal. When they came to their senses, they found themselves in a place of verdant mountains and clear waters.
They stared at one another in bewilderment, unsure of where they were, when Yang Kai's voice reached their ears: "Focus on your recovery. Think of nothing else."
His voice still lingered, but there was no sign of him.
Lang Qingshan and the others bowed respectfully in acknowledgment, then quickly settled into cross-legged positions and began circulating their cultivation techniques in silence.
Back in the passage, Yang Kai spat out the stale blood from his mouth, wiped the corner of his lips, and strode forward.
The passage was long, and at intervals, corpses lay strewn about — clearly, the cultivators who had entered before them had already been fighting among themselves. Yang Kai paused to examine several bodies slumped on the ground.
These corpses bore no visible wounds. Their possessions hadn't been looted either — spatial rings still sat on their fingers, and their body warmth lingered, indicating they had only just died.
He swept his divine sense through their bodies and discovered, with a jolt, that their Dao Seals had all been shattered.