Behind them, Jin Wu and the others could tell the situation was dire. Once Zhu Jiuyin and Yang Kai linked up, their plans would surely fall through. At this thought, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Jin Wu's eyes, and he bellowed: "Zhu Jiuyin, I cannot leave the Grand Ruins, and neither will you! Stay here forever!"
As he spoke, he opened his mouth and roared. A beam of golden light surged forth from his maw, hurtling straight toward Yang Kai's position. The golden light was blindingly brilliant, blanketing an area of a hundred li.
A massive surge of crisis erupted in his heart. Yang Kai's eyes narrowed sharply as he felt the aura of death descending upon him.
Although the Grand Ruins suppressed all beings with an invisible force from heaven and earth, preventing the Sacred Spirits from unleashing their full power, this strike was still terrifying. Where the golden light passed, heaven and earth shattered, and the void was riddled with cracks.
What alarmed Yang Kai even more was that Jin Wu's attack had disturbed the very fabric of heaven and earth, shattering the space within a hundred li. The laws were in tatters, and even using his spatial abilities to teleport away was impossible.
A sharp whistle pierced the air. The aura of a Sacred Spirit spread outward, and behind Zhu Jiuyin, an enormous phantom of an eight-legged spider suddenly materialized. The spider's image filled heaven and earth, and behind it hung a silver crescent moon radiating moonlight — it was none other than the Dharma Aspect of her true form, the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!
In an instant, demonic qi surged to the heavens.
The golden light slammed into the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider's Dharma Aspect. The Aspect shuddered, its colors dimming.
"Jin Wu, you're asking for death!" Zhu Jiuyin was consumed by fury, her delicate face contorted with rage.
Just now, had she not reacted quickly enough, Yang Kai would likely have perished under that strike. If Yang Kai died, she would have no way to leverage his power to leave the Grand Ruins, and would have to wait for the next opportunity.
She never expected that Jin Wu would be so decisive — the moment he realized things weren't going his way, he immediately struck to kill, preferring to deny everyone the chance rather than let others benefit. It was the epitome of self-destructive spite.
Jin Wu laughed heartily: "Wretched wench, if you have the ability, come and kill me! I'm just afraid you don't have it in you!"
He and Zhu Jiuyin had fought for countless years, and neither could stand the sight of the other. Their strengths were comparable, and over the years they had each taken losses without either gaining a decisive advantage. Seeing Zhu Jiuyin's fury now naturally brought him joy.
He then called out in a deep voice: "What are the rest of you waiting for? When will you act? Don't tell me you're still clinging to unrealistic hopes. Since that brat cares about the lives of those three hostages, he won't willingly cooperate with you."
These words hit the mark. The Sacred Spirits who had been in pursuit sighed softly upon hearing this, and without further hesitation, they struck.
Terrorizing attacks rained down on Yang Kai from all directions, intent on slaying him on the spot.
Yang Kai's entire body went rigid, his scalp tingling with dread. Just now, Jin Wu alone had nearly sent him between life and death. Now, with seven or eight Sacred Spirits attacking simultaneously, how could he possibly survive?
Even with Zhu Jiuyin's full protection, his chances were grim.
Without a moment's thought, he immediately activated Golden Crow Forges the Sun. The Great Sun leaped out from behind his back, hanging high above him, and his aura rapidly surged.
Boom boom boom...
Seven or eight attacks from the Sacred Spirits struck. Zhu Jiuyin's true Dharma Aspect shattered, her mind shaken as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The Great Sun was simultaneously annihilated. Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood, his appearance wretched.
After just one round of attacks, Yang Kai was already at his limit. Fortunately, Zhu Jiuyin had blocked most of the attacks for him, and on top of that, his foundation was solid — possessing a half-dragon body. Otherwise, he would certainly have perished.
"Hm, this brat's tougher than he looks!" the Golden Crow was somewhat surprised, but that was all. If he survived the first round, he certainly wouldn't withstand a second.
However, before they could launch another attack, the heavily wounded Yang Kai suddenly flickered and vanished from where he stood.
Under their divine sense, Yang Kai's presence had completely disappeared from the world.
Jin Wu froze: "Where did he go?"
The other Sacred Spirits were equally alarmed and perplexed, unable to fathom what had happened.
Zhu Jiuyin, on the other hand, flashed with a strange light in her eyes. Suddenly, a mist of red blood erupted from her body, and her speed surged dramatically. She shot off in a particular direction like a streak of lightning.
She had clearly used some secret technique to boost her speed.
"After her!" Jin Wu roared, giving chase without hesitation.
Yang Kai had vanished inexplicably, but as long as they followed Zhu Jiuyin, they would surely find him.
In the Red Star Market, within Yang Kai's residence — a figure flickered into existence. Yang Kai materialized abruptly, immediately spitting out a cloud of blood mist before collapsing face-first onto the ground, his aura incredibly feeble.
He panted heavily for several breaths, his face still pale with lingering fear.
His current strength was considerable — during the Soul-Seizing Battle, he had dominated all opponents, forcing them to surrender without a fight. But compared to those Sacred Spirits, the gap was like that between clouds and mud. Killing him would be far too easy for them.
Earlier, he had seized the brief pause between those Sacred Spirits' attacks to find a window of escape, using the Void Spirit Pearl to return directly to the market.
There was nothing else he could have done. If he had stayed there, even more terrifying attacks would have come his way. He had survived the first round by sheer luck — he had no confidence he could withstand a second.