Pei Wenxuan had already been charging toward Black Crow Divine Lord after launching his attack earlier, and now it looked as though he had delivered himself straight into the enemy's hands. Caught completely off guard, he was seized firmly by Black Crow Divine Lord.
Blood energy shrouded him, and the power within his body seemed to be suppressed by something, clogged in his meridians and unable to flow freely. Pei Wenxuan was absolutely terrified.
Could this be the strength an Emperor Realm cultivator was capable of? Zhou Yi was nothing more than a disciple of the Great Thousand Blood Ground. In terms of aptitude and comprehension, he couldn't compare to Pei Wenxuan at all. Before the body had been possessed, Pei Wenxuan was confident he could have taken on three or five Zhou Yis single-handedly.
Yet after being possessed by Black Crow Divine Lord, he had been subdued in a single move! It was only now that Pei Wenxuan understood — this was still Zhou Yi's body, but the "Zhou Yi" before him could no longer be viewed through the same lens as before.
"Die, junior!" Black Crow Divine Lord snarled with a savage grin, his grip tightening as he prepared to kill Pei Wenxuan on the spot.
But in the very next instant, his eyelids twitched as a massive sense of crisis engulfed him, the aura of death descending right over him.
The identity medallion that had always hung at Pei Wenxuan's waist suddenly erupted with a blinding flash of white light. So dazzling was it that it pierced straight through the blood mist's shroud. The white light leapt from the medallion like a candle flame — faint at first, but in the blink of an eye it swelled into a long blade shrouded in demonic energy.
The blade cleaved down toward Black Crow Divine Lord's head!
Black Crow Divine Lord was stunned, and sensing the terrifying power contained within that blade, how could he dare remain in place? He released Pei Wenxuan and transformed into a streak of blood-light, retreating at top speed.
But no matter how he dodged, he could not escape the blade's might.
The blade struck. A miserable scream rang out as the blood-light was cleaved in two, splitting left and right, and two halves of a blood-soaked body tumbled out.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Pei Wenxuan hit the ground hard, clutching his throat and coughing without end. He glared viciously at Zhou Yi's bisected corpse and said through gritted teeth: "Old dog, you didn't know what was good for you — you actually dared to make a move on me. Dead now, aren't you?" A sinister, low laugh followed, like a specter's whisper.
As he spoke, the identity medallion at his waist cracked with a sharp snap and crumbled to dust.
Yang Kai watched this with clicks of amazement.
He had long known that the identity medallions carried by the Core Disciples of these caves-heavens and blessed-lands were remarkable things. They were not merely symbols of personal identity — sealed within them was a protective divine art bestowed by their masters. Once the bearer encountered mortal danger, it would activate on its own. It could only be used once, but at critical moments it could save a life.
Just like what had happened right here!
That blade strike had been overwhelmingly powerful. Yang Kai suspected that even a Mid-Order Open Heaven cultivator hit by it would have a hard time shrugging it off. Pei Wenxuan's master had to be an Upper-Order Open Heaven!
Black Crow Divine Lord had possessed Zhou Yi. Though he himself had the foundation of an Upper-Order Open Heaven, he was constrained by Zhou Yi's body — and on top of that, he was merely a damaged remnant soul. The strength he could bring to bear was limited. To be struck by such a powerful divine art — how could the outcome possibly be good?
This old fox had schemed for countless years, only to suffer tragedy the very moment his possession succeeded. He probably hadn't expected such an outcome either. Yang Kai couldn't help but feel a touch of wistfulness.
Although Zhou Yi's body had been cut in two, Black Crow Divine Lord's remnant soul had still not appeared. Yang Kai didn't let his guard down, his divine sense surging as he remained ready to strike at any moment.
Yet under his close watch, he was surprised to discover that scarlet blood was flowing from the two halves of the body. The blood seemed drawn by some invisible force, drifting toward each other and quickly merging together.
In the next instant, the two halves of the corpse slammed back together, reforming into a complete whole.
Black Crow Divine Lord's tightly shut eyes snapped open at the same moment, and he slowly rose from the ground.
Inside the great hall, Yang Kai and the other two were struck dumb!
"The Great Origin Indestructible Blood Radiance Scripture — its reputation is well earned indeed! Hahahaha!" Black Crow Divine Lord laughed without restraint. When he had just stood up, there had still been a visible line of blood running from the middle of his head down to his neck along the exposed skin, but as he spoke, the wound rapidly vanished.
Now Black Crow Divine Lord appeared completely unscathed!
The only difference was that his aura had dropped significantly.
Pei Wenxuan was horrified beyond measure. This old dog was actually still alive? He had watched with his own eyes as the man had been cut in two — how could he possibly be unharmed?
Yang Kai found it somewhat incredible as well, but the next moment he recalled what Black Crow Divine Lord had told him before — the Great Origin Indestructible Blood Radiance Scripture, when cultivated to its extreme, could achieve rebirth from a single drop of blood, granting immortality and indestructibility.
While those words surely contained exaggeration, looking at what was unfolding before him, the Great Origin Indestructible Blood Radiance Scripture truly was an extraordinary and peerless technique. The fact that Black Crow Divine Lord had died and come back to life was undoubtedly thanks to this Blood Radiance Scripture.
Having risen once more, Black Crow Divine Lord cracked his neck and said coldly: "Stop resisting, juniors. With your abilities, you cannot hope to withstand me. Why waste your energy and suffer pain for nothing?"
"My Lord jests," Yang Kai shot back in a low voice. "Even ants cling to life, let alone warriors like us."