The expenditure was enormous, but the effect was equally striking. Bei Yushan, enveloped in that purple lightning, immediately shivered like a sieve, every strand of his hair standing on end. The lightning danced across his body's surface, dispersing the blood mist and leaving him frozen in place, unable to move an inch.
At that very moment, the Azure Dragon Spear struck!
The spear shot forth like a dragon, piercing through Bei Yushan's chest and emerging from his back—a clean, heart-piercing blow.
Bei Yushan's eyes bulged. His hands seized the Azure Dragon Spear and shoved it backward with such tremendous force that even Yang Kai lost his grip, his massive form tilting forward uncontrollably.
A fist hurtled toward him head-on.
The aura of death rushed over him. The alarm bells in Yang Kai's mind rang ceaselessly, and he roared, "Dragon Shield!"
The Dao Seal within his body blazed with radiance, and earth-yellow power overflowed from his frame, transforming into shield after sturdy Dragon Shield between him and Bei Yushan. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Dragon Shields materialized, layered one atop another.
Though the Earth Element power Yang Kai had condensed possessed extraordinarily high quality, he had not yet advanced to Open Heaven. This was merely a straightforward application of a single element. Its defensive strength was nothing to scoff at, but against the world-shaking might of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivator's sky-burning fury, it simply fell short. Were it not so, he would not have been forced to summon over a hundred shields at once.
The reason the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had been able to be blocked by some lower-order Open Heaven cultivators was precisely the same.
Crack, crack, crack…
Wherever the fist swept, Dragon Shield after Dragon Shield shattered—as if they were made of paper.
Still, the shields' destruction was not entirely without effect. At the very least, they had diminished the power of Bei Yushan's punch.
Over a hundred Dragon Shields lasted fewer than three breaths before being utterly annihilated. The fist rapidly expanded in Yang Kai's field of vision and slammed brutally into his abdomen.
Dragon scales flew. Yang Kai's colossal form was sent hurtling backward through the air, blood spurting from his mouth with every spin.
Gritting through the searing pain, he reached out and summoned the Yuan Magnetic Divine Gourd. The gourd's mouth opened, and dense Yuan Magnetic Divine Light surged forth, sweeping toward Bei Yushan.
Originally, after Bei Yushan had activated that secret technique, his body had swelled and his strength had skyrocketed. Blood mist had shrouded his body, fortifying his defenses like an iron citadel. But after Yue He had struck him with a bolt from the Grand Formation, the blood mist had shattered, exposing a gap in his defenses—which was how Yang Kai had managed to land his spear thrust.
Now, moreover, Bei Yushan's chest bore an enormous gaping hole, straight through from front to back, his heart already burst from the spear.
Such a wound could nearly be called fatal, and yet Bei Yushan still would not die—testament to his tenacious vitality.
The dense Yuan Magnetic Divine Light poured in through that very hole, flooding into Bei Yushan's body and rampaging wildly through his flesh and blood.
Bei Yushan appeared utterly oblivious. He took great strides forward, charging toward Yang Kai step by step, determined to finish him off.
Sword qi crisscrossed. Blinding streaks of sword light slashed down toward Bei Yushan as Lu Xue intervened, but her efforts bore little fruit. She could only watch as Bei Yushan closed to Yang Kai's side, her heart leaping into her throat.
Yang Kai, grievously wounded, could no longer maintain his dragon form. Bei Yushan had only struck him once, but this was the full-force blow of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivator's sky-burning wrath. That Yang Kai had survived the hit at all was nothing short of a miracle—owed entirely to the over a hundred Dragon Shields that had defused the impact and the formidable resilience of his half-dragon body. When he had been sent flying, he had already reverted to his human shape.
The small giant rushed in front of him and swung his fist down. Yang Kai neither dodged nor evaded. He simply raised his head to stare upward, his expression indifferent.
Just as the fist was about to connect, Bei Yushan's movement suddenly seized. A moment later, a shrill scream tore from his throat. Blinding radiance poured forth from his seven orifices—not only from his face, but across his entire body, rays of brilliant light bursting forth in every direction.
That radiance was none other than the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that had previously flooded into his body!
The light poured out in an unbroken stream, lasting a full dozen breaths before gradually subsiding. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was drawn back into Yang Kai's control. But Bei Yushan, who had been standing before Yang Kai, was utterly lifeless—like a stone sculpture with its fist raised high, frozen in place.
The next instant, with a wet splattering sound, Bei Yushan's entire body collapsed into a puddle of blood, dead on the spot!
He had already sustained an irreversible wound when Yang Kai's spear had pierced his heart. Lu Xue had been ceaselessly attacking him throughout, and the accumulated damage was truly horrific. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had then rampaged through his body, destroying his flesh and meridians. That he had held on this long was remarkable in itself.
But he was dead at last.
Lu Xue exhaled a long breath, the tension finally leaving her body. Just moments ago, she had almost thought Yang Kai was the one who would die.
This battle had been extraordinarily arduous. Both being Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivators, Lu Xue and Bei Yushan's strength was roughly comparable—one-on-one, the outcome would have been anyone's guess. Throughout the fight, Yue He had needed to channel the Grand Formation's power to assist them, Yang Kai had cycled through one trump card after another, and the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon had contributed no small effort—all of it necessary to slay Bei Yushan here.
Much of the credit also went to Bei Yushan himself for having activated that secret technique, which had impaired his own mind. Had he not fought to the death like this and instead chosen to flee, Yang Kai and Lu Xue might not have been able to keep him here. Alas, while the secret technique had granted Bei Yushan tremendous power, it had also severed any thought of retreat.
"Recover quickly!" Yang Kai coughed lightly and immediately stuffed a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth. He sat cross-legged and silently circulated his profound technique, regulating his breath to tend his wounds.
Bei Yushan was dead, but Chen Tianfei and Zhao Baichuan remained. Those two had to be killed no matter what—only by killing them could they truly take control of the Seven Strange Grounds.
Lu Xue's injuries were not too severe. During the preceding battle, she had primarily engaged in hit-and-run tactics rather than trading blows head-on with Bei Yushan, and had therefore retained much of her combat strength.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, had been pursued and pounded relentlessly by Bei Yushan, and was considerably worse for wear.