A black hole manifested, blood energy poured in and was annihilated without a trace. Yang Kai broke free and thrust his spear straight at Black Crow Divine Lord. This thrust was delivered with casual abandon — it appeared straightforward and unadorned, utterly plain, yet concealed deadly intent within. The Great Freedom Spear Art revealed its true might in this moment.
"Space Laws!" Black Crow Divine Lord's eyes narrowed. In that brief instant, he had clearly felt the fluctuation of Space Laws, and from that fluctuation, he deduced that the young man before him possessed an unfathomable level of mastery over the Dao of Space.
Even as the words left his lips, the spear pierced through the air toward him. Black Crow Divine Lord intended to dodge, only to discover with shock that this single thrust had completely sealed off all his escape routes — there was nowhere to evade.
With a sickening sound, the spear punched through Black Crow Divine Lord's skull and out the back of his head!
Had this been an ordinary warrior, such a devastating wound would have been absolutely fatal. But the one before him was Black Crow Divine Lord — a being who had been cut in half moments ago and still risen from the dead.
And so Yang Kai felt not the slightest joy in his success. As it turned out, this thrust had done nothing to Black Crow Divine Lord. Though the Azure Dragon Spear had pierced clean through his skull, Yang Kai hadn't felt the slightest sensation of striking anything solid — it was as if, in that instant, Black Crow Divine Lord's head had offered no resistance at all.
"Boy, where did you get this spear?" Black Crow Divine Lord asked, surprised.
He was a man who knew quality when he saw it. One glance and he could tell the Azure Dragon Spear was extraordinary — imbued with Space Laws and a treasure of such caliber, this boy was surely no ordinary figure.
"Enough nonsense! Old fool, die!" Yang Kai snorted coldly. He shook the spear, and a wave of pitch-black flame suddenly spread along its length, rapidly igniting Black Crow Divine Lord's head.
"Aah!" Black Crow Divine Lord let out a piercing scream and recoiled violently. The hole in his forehead rapidly sealed shut, leaving him unscathed — but the pitch-black flame continued to burn him relentlessly, causing him excruciating pain. He shrieked again and again: "Golden Crow True Fire! Golden Crow True Fire! You've actually refined Golden Crow True Fire!"
As he screamed, his heart was flooded with bitter regret.
He had attempted to possess Yang Kai earlier, only to suffer a devastating loss within his sea of consciousness. His Yuan Qi had been gravely wounded, forcing him to sacrifice a portion of his soul to execute the Cicada Shedding Its Shell escape. After he subsequently possessed Zhou Yi and gained a physical body once more, he had assumed dealing with these young juniors would be child's play — yet this boy had actually unleashed a High-Grade power.
That was the Golden Crow True Fire — the legendary flame said to be capable of incinerating all things! Didn't that mean this boy had refined the power of High-Grade Open Heaven? If he could refine the Golden Crow True Fire, then refining other High-Grade elemental powers should pose no problem either. In other words, this boy had the potential to directly achieve High-Grade Open Heaven!
What terrifying talent! Throughout all of history, how many people had ever been qualified to directly achieve High-Grade Open Heaven? And with such a lofty starting point, his future accomplishments would be beyond imagination.
Black Crow Divine Lord was consumed by remorse. Had he known this beforehand, he would never have abandoned this boy's body under any circumstances. He should have fought to the bitter end to possess him — there might have been a slim chance of success. Failure would have meant eternal damnation, yes, but what if he had succeeded? Then he would have gained an incredibly lofty starting point, and his future achievements would have surpassed those of his prime many times over.
But now he had already possessed Zhou Yi, and regret was of no use. He was nothing more than a wisp of a remnant soul, further crippled by heavy damage, with no power left to attempt another possession.
As he screamed, blood energy surged outward, forcing the Golden Crow True Fire from his body. It fell to the ground, where it continued to burn fiercely in midair, its flames roaring without cease.
Yang Kai had already charged in with his spear once more — his face fair as jade, his spear moving like a dragon. He shook out a skyful of spear shadows, every strike aimed at Black Crow Divine Lord's vitals.
At the same time, Pei Wenxuan drove his Dragon Twisting Scissors in from the side, the weapon emitting crisp clicking sounds as it opened and closed, continuously shearing away the blood energy surrounding Black Crow Divine Lord.
Qu Huashang was far from idle either. With her pipa in hand and slender fingers plucking gently, the sound of pearls — large and small — falling upon a jade plate rang out clear and bright. These notes transformed into invisible, formless attacks that disrupted Black Crow Divine Lord's mind. Meanwhile, scarlet Threads of Passion wove back and forth through the great hall, spinning a web of emotion that gave Black Crow Divine Lord no end of grief.
In that instant, Black Crow Divine Lord was beset on three fronts. For a moment, the situation looked dire.
Of the three, the one who gave him the greatest headache was not Pei Wenxuan's Dragon Twisting Scissors, nor Qu Huashang's pipa music and the Threads of Passion that darted back and forth — it was Yang Kai's Azure Dragon Spear.
Spear thrust after spear thrust executed to the absolute pinnacle of perfection — this was the finest spear art he had ever witnessed in his life. He truly could not fathom how a warrior could wield a spear technique to such a degree. It was as if the greatest master were wielding a brush dipped in ink — every thrust was a masterpiece.
If some lesser warrior cultivated a spear technique, he could understand that — lacking in raw power, they had to compensate with skill.
But at the Emperor Sovereign realm, technique could no longer decide the outcome of battle. What truly determined everything was raw power — no matter how masterful one's technique, it was worthless if one's strength fell short.
This boy's spear art was absurdly good — he could accept that. But the key was that the spear itself was no ordinary weapon, and it was wreathed in pitch-black Golden Crow True Fire to boot. That combination had truly made Black Crow Divine Lord suffer.
A moment's carelessness led to Yang Kai stabbing him several times in rapid succession. He howled in agony and had no choice but to force out his own blood energy to expel the Golden Crow True Fire clinging to his body.
Under these circumstances, Pei Wenxuan's Dragon Twisting Scissors also proved their worth again and again — snip after snip, continuously shearing away Black Crow Divine Lord's vital energy, causing his aura to steadily wane.
"That's enough, juniors!" Black Crow Divine Lord roared in fury. He reached out and beckoned, and two streaks of blood-colored light suddenly shot from the skeletal remains on the round platform, transforming into a pair of butterfly twin blades. He caught one in each hand.
These were clearly Artifacts from Black Crow Divine Lord's lifetime, and any Artifact deemed worthy by a High-Grade Open Heaven cultivator was guaranteed to be of exceptional quality.
With the butterfly twin blades in hand, Black Crow Divine Lord's flagging aura surged violently. He crossed the blades and struck down upon the Azure Dragon Spear.
A tremendous force slammed into him, sending Yang Kai hurtling backward. Black Crow Divine Lord did not press the attack. Instead, he gave the twin blades a slight shake, and they transformed into two arcs of blade light, splitting left and right toward Pei Wenxuan and Qu Huashang.
Pei Wenxuan's face drained of color. He frantically urged his Dragon Twisting Scissors to intercept — but the moment the scissors met the blade light, they shattered with a resounding crash. His Artifact had been unable to withstand even a single strike.