The seven gourd figurines corresponded to the powers of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, each capable of nurturing a Fifth-Order cultivator. In the Realm of No Old, the bearing chosen by the Sacred Spirit Jinwu—a man surnamed Gou—had once harnessed the power of these seven gourd figurines, leaving a profound impression on Yang Kai.
Back then, however, he had held a trump card in reserve. It wasn't until he had entered the World Fruit and been pursued relentlessly by Yang Kai that he had been forced to unleash his final means.
Now, Yang Kai replicated the same technique. The Gourd Vine pierced through all seven gourd figurines, and the combined Yin-Yang Five-Element powers gathered upon it, radiant with brilliant light. The forces intertwined within, generating and restraining one another in endless cycles of creation and destruction, forming endless patterns of reincarnation that gave rise to infinite mysteries.
Channeling the power of Opening the Heavens evolved through the Gourd Vine, Yang Kai swept the vine toward Chen Tianfei.
Chen Tianfei was shocked. After all, he was only Fourth-Order. Though the gap between Fourth and Fifth Order seemed like just one rank, the difference in true strength was immense—otherwise he wouldn't have been so subservient to Zhao Baichuan.
He raised both hands, surging all his strength, and unleashed a sky full of palm shadows while retreating rapidly.
The Gourd Vine swept in. The palm shadows crumbled. Under Chen Tianfei's terrified gaze, the vine struck his body hard.
"My life is over!" Chen Tianfei wailed inwardly, his face turning ashen.
But the next instant, he realized things weren't quite what he had imagined. He had indeed been struck by the vine, yet the injury wasn't as severe as expected. The aura emanating from the Gourd Vine was genuinely Fifth-Order Opening the Heavens, but the power it could actually bring to bear was less than Third-Order!
This vine was all bluster on the outside and weak within!
It wasn't that the Gourd Vine was lacking—it was that Yang Kai's own foundation was insufficient. Just as the man surnamed Gou had lacked the depth to wield it, even holding such a devastating weapon, Yang Kai couldn't unleash its full might.
Back in the world within the World Fruit, if the man surnamed Gou had truly been able to harness Fifth-Order Opening the Heavens power, the one who died wouldn't have been him—it would have been Yang Kai.
Though Yang Kai could rely on the Golden Crow Forging the Sun Avatar's divine ability to contend with lower-order Opening the Heavens cultivators, he was still no match for a Fifth-Order opponent.
The man surnamed Gou couldn't unlock the Gourd Vine's full power and was slain by Yang Kai. Now Yang Kai found himself in the same predicament—unable to draw out the vine's true potential.
But Yang Kai had never expected to kill Chen Tianfei with the Gourd Vine alone. That brief moment of intimidation was enough!
"Lu Xue!" Yang Kai shouted before Chen Tianfei could attack again.
Lu Xue had been prepared. The moment Yang Kai produced the Gourd Vine, she had already activated her secret art. Now a crack suddenly split open on her forehead, as if a third eye had sprouted. From that point between her brows, a golden sword qi no longer than a finger slashed outward.
The Brow Sword!
This secret art was Lu Xue's strongest trump card. She had once nearly killed the Scarlet Jiao with it in the Grand Void Battlefield. Fortunately, the Scarlet Jiao had an enormous body, the bloodline of the Dragon Clan, and extraordinary vitality, allowing it to survive by the narrowest of margins. Even so, a massive wound had been carved across the Scarlet Jiao's back, nearly severing its head entirely. It had taken many days of recuperation before it recovered.
During her fierce battle against Bei Yushan, Lu Xue hadn't used this secret art—because it couldn't be deployed at will. It required a period of accumulation, and couldn't be used a second time in quick succession.
She had been saving it specifically to deal with Chen Tianfei.
The golden sword qi shot out and in an instant arrived behind Chen Tianfei.
Though Chen Tianfei hadn't seen it, it was as though eyes had grown on his back. He twisted his body and dodged in a panic.
Tsss—blood sprayed. A massive wound instantly appeared on Chen Tianfei's shoulder, a full foot long, slashing diagonally from his shoulder down across his chest, so deep that the beating heart and writhing lungs inside were nearly visible.
Such a wound could only be described as grave, and to make matters worse, pure sword qi lingered at the wound's edges, continuously severing Chen Tianfei's flesh and blood.
Though the injury was severe, the fat man had not died.
Lu Xue inwardly sighed with regret. If the strike had been angled slightly to the left, she could have taken off Chen Tianfei's head. But this wretched fatso's reflexes were simply too fast—he had managed to dodge even a fatal blow in the midst of such a chaotic situation.
Gravely wounded, Chen Tianfei's eyes darted wildly, his face twisted with terror. He had no heart to continue fighting. He didn't even care about his captured boss anymore. He vaulted into the air, rocketing skyward and charging straight toward the breach in the Qiaoqiao Grounds' grand formation, clearly intending to flee.
"You're not going anywhere!" Lu Xue drew her sword and gave chase.
Yang Kai, meanwhile, flickered and appeared directly in Chen Tianfei's path, cutting off his escape. The Gourd Vine in his hand snapped forward once more, lashing down toward him like a whip.
Chen Tianfei gritted his teeth and blustered, all bluster and no backbone: "Get out of my way if you don't want to die!"
He had already seen through the Gourd Vine's true power after Yang Kai's earlier strike, so he wasn't entirely afraid. Without dodging or evading, he charged straight at Yang Kai, raising his palm to meet the vine.
Boom! Chen Tianfei's body shuddered slightly. On the Gourd Vine, the seven gourd figurines were knocked back into their true forms, and the evolved power of Opening the Heavens dissipated into nothing.
Though the artifact was convenient to use, it couldn't withstand too powerful an impact. If the small gourds were damaged, they would fall into a dormant state and become unusable.
Having beaten back the Gourd Vine, Chen Tianfei's speed increased once more.
Yang Kai retracted the Gourd Vine and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear. "A-Fei, Qiaoqiao Grounds shall be your burial ground. Don't bother with futile struggles!" he called out leisurely.
As he spoke, a blazing sun rose behind him, resplendent and blinding, and from within it came the cry of a Golden Crow.
"So what if you have a divine ability and an avatar? Anyone who stands in my way dies!" Chen Tianfei roared.