Qu Huashang had condensed Sixth-Grade power and aimed to achieve a Sixth-Grade Open Heaven, so she naturally had that confidence.
Yang Kai said gravely, "Senior Sister must not take this lightly. The Dao-Breaking Seal is genuinely formidable." He had refined more than a dozen drops of Dao One Divine Water and fortified his Dao Seal to an extraordinary degree, yet even so it had been shaken enough to throw his Five Elements into disarray — let alone anyone else. Qu Huashang's foundation was solid, certainly, but if she were caught off guard by a sneak attack, she could very well suffer a serious blow.
Qu Huashang nodded repeatedly, "Mm, mm, I've noted it."
Seeing her careless demeanor, Yang Kai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On second thought, he had only taken that hit because he was completely unprepared. Qu Huashang and the others hailed from the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, and their knowledge ran deep — if they actually encountered the Dao-Breaking Seal, they would surely recognize it, and with proper caution they should be fine.
"We've finally reached the end. This path was just too long," Qu Huashang said, her eyes suddenly lighting up.
Yang Kai looked ahead and indeed saw a sliver of light in the distance — they had clearly reached the end of the passage. They hadn't stopped walking while talking, and judging by the distance, this seven-colored passage stretched for at least a hundred li.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Junior Brother, be careful — there might be an ambush at the exit!" Qu Huashang warned.
Yang Kai chuckled, "I'll scout the way for Senior Sister!"
With that, he shot forward in a flash and burst through the exit. Sure enough, the moment he materialized, countless attacks rained down on him from every direction.
The cultivators gathered at the exit numbered quite a lot — they all appeared to belong to the same faction, easily a thousand strong. Seeing someone emerge, they attacked without bothering to ask questions. The combined might of their secret techniques and Artifacts blazed forth, enveloping Yang Kai's entire body.
Yang Kai snorted coldly and activated the Void technique, immediately banishing himself into the void, drifting and flickering. The barrage of attacks, though numerous, struck nothing but empty air.
The ambushers at the exit exchanged uneasy glances, many assuming Yang Kai had been obliterated. But in the very next instant, his figure reappeared in place. Flames erupted brilliantly around him as droplets of Golden Crow True Fire transformed into small golden crows that scattered in every direction.
Screams erupted immediately, one after another. Cultivators were engulfed by the Golden Crow True Fire, their bodies turning to ash at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"That's the killing star from Red Star!" someone recognized Yang Kai and screamed in terror.
"Run for it!" another bellowed.
The surviving cultivators no longer dared remain and scattered in all directions, fleeing in an instant and leaving behind over two hundred corpses, all reduced to ash by the Golden Crow True Fire.
Yang Kai had no intention of giving chase. With a slight tremor of his body, the Golden Crow True Fire that had spread outward flew back and merged into him, vanishing without a trace.
Qu Huashang leaped out through the exit and glanced around, sticking out her tongue. "They really were unlucky. Of all the people to target, they had to provoke Junior Brother."
Yang Kai said flatly, "They were just courting death by guarding here." Even without him, these people would have suffered a grievous loss sooner or later.
But since ancient times, men have died for wealth just as birds have died for food.
"Junior Brother, are you really not going with me?" Qu Huashang gazed at Yang Kai wistfully, her face full of hope.
Yang Kai turned and waved, "We part ways here. May Senior Sister's fortune flourish!"
"Stinky man!" Qu Huashang pouted dramatically, her chest heaving, but before long she broke into a bright smile and called out sweetly, "Junior Brother, you'd better leave the Taixu Realm alive! When Senior Sister has free time, I'll come find you so we can try Yin-Yang dual cultivation!"
Yang Kai stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face as Qu Huashang's bell-like laughter echoed from behind.
The Taixu Realm was ancient, but the Land of No Elders was even more ancient.
The entire Land of No Elders was suffused with an aura of antiquity. This peculiar place seemed to have been preserved from an immeasurably distant era, its Heavenly Dao Laws subtly different from those of the Taixu Realm — bearing traces of the primordial age.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was extraordinarily dense. With each breath Yang Kai took, he could feel the spiritual essence seeping through every pore into his body, making him feel thoroughly comfortable. Cultivating in a place like this would absolutely yield twice the results with half the effort, and even recovering from injuries would be faster than usual.
Over two hundred thousand people had flooded into the Land of No Elders. Even accounting for the heavy losses suffered along the passage, only a few tens of thousands had been eliminated — over a hundred thousand cultivators were gathered here. If there was anything of value hidden in the Land of No Elders, it was unlikely to escape their search.
After emerging from the exit, Yang Kai picked a random direction and streaked away.
Along the way, battles between cultivators could be seen everywhere — some fighting over a spirit herb, others over a rare treasure. Life fires were extinguished one after another, and blood stained the earth.
Yang Kai had already reaped enormous rewards within the Taixu Realm, and his standards had risen accordingly. Ordinary treasures could hardly stir his interest. The primary objective of this journey was the Innate Spirit Fruit — any additional gains would simply be a bonus.
As he pressed forward, the cultivators gradually dispersed. The Land of No Elders was vast beyond reckoning. There was no sun or moon in the sky, yet it was suffused with light, and when one looked up, enormous stars hung from the heavens above. Those stars seemed to hover right overhead, imparting a strange sense of oppression.
Along the way, Yang Kai did make occasional gains — he harvested a few spirit herbs and tossed them into his Medicine Garden for the two little wood spirits, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, to tend. He also came across several Yin-Yang Five Elements treasures, though none of particularly high quality.