"Ancestor Moyu, by all means, keep talking—there's no need to put on such an exasperated act. You're a Fifth-Order Open Heaven, after all. I refuse to believe you lack even this much composure." Yang Kai eyed Ancestor Moyu with open amusement. "All this theatrics and rambling—really, you're just stalling for time so you can adjust your breathing. But your injuries haven't healed. Even if I gave you all the time in the world, what difference would it make?"
The fury in Ancestor Moyu's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a grave expression as he stared at Yang Kai. "Since you've seen through my intentions, why play along?"
Yang Kai regarded him with practiced ease. "Because I need to stall for time too."
Ancestor Moyu's heart lurched. His spiritual sense immediately swept outward, scanning every direction. But Yang Kai's voice came again: "Don't bother. There are no more ambushes waiting for you. What you see is all of our strength—but it should be more than enough to deal with you."
Ancestor Moyu's mind churned with unease, unsure what Yang Kai's delay was meant to achieve, but cornered as he was, his expression hardened with vicious resolve. "Junior, I'll admit I'm no match for you lot. But a starving camel is still bigger than a horse—taking my life won't be so easy. If I fight to the death in retaliation, I can still level half this world. This is your territory, I imagine. Surely you don't want to see that happen?"
"The Ancestor makes a fair point!" Yang Kai gave a slight nod. "A Middle-Order Open Heaven fighting with nothing to lose is indeed no small matter."
Ancestor Moyu let out a cold snort. "Fine. I concede this round. Name your terms—whatever I can give, I won't haggle!"
Yang Kai flashed a grin. "You've misunderstood, Ancestor. All my scheming, luring you into this trap—it wasn't because I wanted your wealth. It's because…" His expression suddenly twisted into something savage, like a predator eyeing its prey, brimming with eager anticipation. "I want your life."
Ancestor Moyu erupted in fury. "You insist on this, junior? Even if we destroy each other, what do you gain?"
"You'd need the ability for that first!" Yang Kai scoffed.
At that very moment, a scream tore through the air—one of the Low-Order Open Heaven cultivators from the Moyu Sect, unable to withstand the combined assault of Guo Ziyan and the Avatar, had been slain.
Having already fallen into the ambush, the Low-Order Open Heaven's morale was shattered. Guo Ziyan was now a Third-Order Open Heaven himself, stronger in every respect, and with the Avatar's assistance, cutting the man down was no effort at all.
Without pausing, Guo Ziyan and the Avatar surged toward the other Low-Order Open Heaven.
That cultivator had been tangled up with Yu Rumeng and Bei Li Mo, barely holding his own, but the moment Guo Ziyan and the Avatar joined the fray, the pressure skyrocketed. He felt like a lone skiff caught in a raging tempest, moments from capsizing. Terror-stricken, he cried out: "Ancestor, save me!"
Yang Kai's sharp command rang out at the same instant: "Strike!"
A flash of sword light—Lu Xue fused with her blade, becoming a streak of brilliance as she slashed down toward Ancestor Moyu's head.
Ancestor Moyu gritted his teeth, formed hand seals with both hands, and swept them left and right. Two beams of mysterious radiance shot forth, crossing in midair and transforming into a pair of scissor-like Artifacts that snipped toward Lu Xue. At the same time, he roared: "You won't let me have peace, boy—then neither will you!" He recklessly poured the full power of his Minor World into a head-on collision with Lu Xue.
A thunderous boom erupted. Two Middle-Order Open Heaven cultivators clashed, their combined might so staggering that it inverted heaven and earth, tearing at the very laws of the realm.
Just as Ancestor Moyu had warned, in his current state he was no match for Lu Xue—but fighting to the death meant Lu Xue couldn't finish him off quickly either. And two Middle-Order Open Heaven cultivators going all-out inside the Demon Realm would have catastrophic consequences for the entire domain.
This was precisely why Open Heaven cultivators rarely fought within a World—careless destruction could shatter the world itself. The Star Boundary had nearly met that fate not long ago.
Ancestor Moyu had hoped to make Yang Kai hesitate. He hadn't expected Yang Kai to ignore the threat entirely.
Enormous spatial tears yawned open across the void like the gaping maws of invisible beasts, and from those rifts poured the primordial, chaotic aura of the void.
The sky fractured. The earth churned. Within a radius of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, the ground heaved and buckled, the landscape utterly transformed in the span of a dozen breaths.
On the other side, the remaining Low-Order Open Heaven of the Moyu Sect had been thoroughly overwhelmed by Guo Ziyan and the others. With no hope of fighting back, despair etched across his face, he tried to surrender—but the Avatar and the others showed no mercy. Every strike was meant to kill.
Just then, Yang Kai arrived with the Azure Dragon Spear!
He unleashed the Golden Crow Casts the Sun divine ability. A blazing golden sun materialized behind him, radiant and brilliant. Within the sun, golden crows played and cried. Before the attack even landed, the overwhelming aura alone was enough to shatter the Low-Order Open Heaven's courage entirely.
In his panic, his defenses faltered, and Bei Li Mo's palm struck him square in the chest. Frost and cold laws spread from the impact, condensing into a layer of ice across his torso that froze him in place for a heartbeat.
The next moment, the Azure Dragon Spear pierced clean through his chest. Violent force surged along the spear and flooded his body. The Low-Order Open Heaven coughed up great mouthfuls of blood, his face ashen as gold leaf.
At the brink of death, the man gritted his teeth and desperately burned his own vital blood. His aura surged explosively—but before he could launch his counterattack, Yu Rumeng flickered before his eyes. Her beautiful gaze transformed into an endless abyss, seizing his spirit and dragging it down into its depths.
The Avatar descended and brought his palm crashing down, shattering the man's skull completely.