Above the sea of consciousness, Yang Kai's divine soul form stood quietly atop the Warm Lotus, calmly watching the grey mist.
If Black Crow Divine Lord had possessed a physical body at that moment, cold sweat would have drenched him. In a tone of utter disbelief, he asked, "You brat — you were plotting against me the entire time?" If he remembered correctly, Yang Kai had acted panicked and flustered multiple times just moments ago. Only now did he realize that with a heaven-and-earth treasure like the Warm Lotus as his backing, what was there for the brat to panic about? That had clearly been an act.
The Warm Lotus was a supreme treasure for nourishing the divine soul, and the one before him was even the seven-colored variant. With such a foundation, the boy's divine soul was practically indestructible, its power inexhaustible. Black Crow had been hoping to seize the boy's body once he was exhausted, but that now seemed like a foolish fantasy.
"Same to you!" Yang Kai regarded the grey mist with indifference. Now that he knew his opponent was a remnant soul of a Divine Lord, how could he have shown his full hand? Who knew what tricks these Divine Lords possessed?
Black Crow Divine Lord's teeth itched with hatred. The grey mist roiled and shifted unpredictably, betraying his inner turmoil. In this situation, he found himself in a bind he couldn't easily escape, regretting deeply that he hadn't chosen the brat with the blood dao foundation instead. He'd initially thought Yang Kai's more vigorous aura would give him an advantage when cultivating the Blood Radiance Scripture later, but it now looked like he'd stepped straight into a deep pit and was sinking fast.
"You asked me earlier if I only knew those two moves!" Yang Kai said, slowly raising one hand as he spoke.
A powerful sense of alarm surged through Black Crow Divine Lord's heart. A profound unease welled up from the depths of his divine soul. Instinctively, he realized Yang Kai was about to unleash another secret art.
"Now I can answer you — I have another move," Yang Kai said. "I just don't know if you, Divine Lord, can endure it!" As the words left his mouth, Yang Kai thrust his palm forward. "Kill him!"
Hum…
A dense, buzzing hum suddenly filled the air. Immediately after, countless tiny black specks shot out from every corner of the seven-colored Warm Lotus. The specks were innumerable, quickly coalescing into a dark cloud that swept toward the grey mist.
Black Crow Divine Lord was horrified beyond measure. "Soul-Devouring Insects!"
Those specks were no specks at all — they were swarms of bizarre, grotesque insects.
He had encountered Soul-Devouring Insects before. These strange, exotic creatures specialized in devouring the power of the divine soul, making them the natural bane of all spirits. It was precisely because of this that they were extremely difficult to raise and sustain. They often perished while still weak.
Generally speaking, Soul-Devouring Insects posed little threat to martial artists above the Emperor realm.
But the ones before him now exceeded all his understanding. Each insect radiated a savage, ferocious aura that even sent shivers through his own soul. He was almost certain that if his divine soul were enveloped by that insect cloud, the outcome would be grim. His soul might be formidable, but it couldn't withstand endless devouring.
Of course — the boy possessed the seven-colored Warm Lotus, granting him an endless, inexhaustible supply of soul power. He had no need to worry about damaging his own soul while raising these insects. Using his own soul energy to nurture them over countless years, how could they not grow powerful?
At his peak, Black Crow Divine Lord might not have cared much about a cloud of insects like this. But now, he was merely a remnant soul. In front of these Soul-Devouring Insects, he was nothing more than a delicious meal.
Previously, Yang Kai had hidden them within the Warm Lotus, so they hadn't stirred. But the moment they were released, they acted like cats that had caught the scent of fish, pouncing eagerly toward the grey mist.
With a strange shriek, Black Crow Divine Lord turned and fled. The insect cloud gave chase, relentless.
Standing atop the Warm Lotus, Yang Kai watched coldly. Since he had begun his cultivation journey, Black Crow Divine Lord was neither the first to invade his sea of consciousness nor the first to attempt body seizure. But anyone who dared breach his sea of consciousness would meet an unfortunate end.
All of this was thanks to the Warm Lotus. Worthy of its status as a heaven-and-earth treasure, it had not only nourished his divine soul over the long years, making its power incomparably strong, but had also allowed him to repeatedly defeat stronger opponents and turn defeat into victory.
It could be said that without the Warm Lotus, he would have died countless times already. This early acquisition had been of immense help along his growth, a fact that filled Yang Kai with gratitude.
It had to be said that Black Crow Divine Lord was quite capable. This was Yang Kai's sea of consciousness, and the intruder's soul was naturally suppressed here. Even so, Black Crow fled with impressive speed, and the Soul-Devouring Insect cloud couldn't catch him for the time being.
Seeing this, Yang Kai focused his mind. The cloud of insects instantly split into four, transforming into four streams of black smoke that moved to intercept Black Crow Divine Lord from different directions.
Now Black Crow was in serious trouble. Despite his desperate struggles, he couldn't escape the fate of being swarmed. Soon, a layer of black insects clung to his grey mist. Silently, the Soul-Devouring Insects gnawed at his divine soul, devouring its power. Black Crow let out agonized screams, his escape slowing considerably.
The moment he slowed, even more insects covered him.
In just over a dozen breaths, the grey mist was completely engulfed by the black insect cloud.
"Brat! Spare me, and I will teach you the true Great Extinction Indestructible Blood Radiance Scripture! I'll take you to the Blood Demon Divine Temple to inherit that old Blood Demon's legacy!"
"The true Great Extinction Indestructible Blood Radiance Scripture?" Yang Kai's brow furrowed. "You mean everything we saw before was fake?"