A sky full of spear shadows enveloped Black Crow, the piercing sounds of impacts ceaseless. Black Crow roared in fury. Under normal circumstances, Yang Kai's attacks would have been trivial for him to deflect—or at the very least, dodge entirely. But right now, he was in the midst of refining the Central Grand Array, pinned in place with his mind and spirit heavily invested. He could neither evade nor muster his full strength to defend.
In the blink of an eye, Black Crow's entire body was riddled with holes by Yang Kai's barrage, massive bloody wounds dotting his flesh with fresh blood streaming out.
Such injuries would have killed an ordinary man outright, but Black Crow had cultivated the Great Profundity Immortal Blood Illumination Scripture. He had previously been killed outright by the divine ability triggered by Pei Wenxuan's identity medallion and had revived on the spot. Injuries of this nature would cost him some Yuan Qi at most—hardly anything worth mentioning.
Meanwhile, the Chef's kitchen cleaver had already come crashing down again and again, his roar splitting the air: "Cut, cut, cut!"
Blades of cold, gleaming light shrouded the Artifact Spirit.
Three breaths later, the Chef grunted and his massive frame rapidly shrank back to its normal size. The chopping board flew back to him as well, his face pale as paper. "The rest is up to you," he said.
The last time he had used this secret technique, it had left him utterly spent, and Yang Kai had had to stow him away in the Small Universe to recover. Now, having deployed it again so soon, the toll was even worse than the first time.
Yang Kai flickered to his side in an instant, grabbed him with one hand, and tossed him into the Small Universe.
On the other side, the flesh around Black Crow Divine Lord's wounds was already writhing and knitting itself back together at a speed visible to the naked eye. Moreover, with Yang Kai no longer contending against him for control, the Central Grand Array was practically defenseless. If he pushed hard enough, he could finish refining it completely.
But Black Crow seemed entirely unaware of this fact. His grim gaze was locked on the spot where the Artifact Spirit stood.
Yang Kai stared at the Artifact Spirit as well, his long spear held horizontally at his side, face taut with a mixture of tension and vigilance. His other hand had already gripped the Landlady's divine ability pearl, channels of Emperor Yuan coursing through it, ready to activate at a moment's notice.
The Artifact Spirit appeared completely unscathed, standing motionless where it was. The Chef's secret technique seemed to have had absolutely no effect on it.
Black Crow let out a laugh so hearty it nearly brought tears to his eyes. But as he laughed, his expression gradually stiffened.
Over there, the Artifact Spirit looked down at its own body, then let out a soft sigh. "This ending isn't so bad," it murmured to itself.
The moment those words left its lips, its body collapsed with a thunderous burst, dissolving into motes of luminous light that vanished into nothing.
It was, after all, merely an Artifact Spirit. Without the ability to draw upon even the slightest power of the Blood Demon Divine Palace, there was no way it could withstand the Chef's ferocious secret technique.
The Artifact Spirit was destroyed.
Yang Kai's and Black Crow's gazes snapped to the Central Grand Array in unison. Yang Kai's eyes were cold and sharp, while the corner of Black Crow's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Crack…
A soft sound suddenly echoed from somewhere within the array. Both men looked up to see that a crack had split open at one corner of the formation.
Yang Kai's heart soared with elation. His conjecture had been proven correct. The Artifact Spirit had appeared useless, but its very existence was intimately connected to the grand array. The Chef had been powerless to damage the array itself, but destroying the Artifact Spirit was well within his capability.
With the Artifact Spirit gone, the array had indeed been affected.
There was no reason to hesitate. Yang Kai raised his spear and drove it straight into the crack.
"Don't you dare!" Black Crow Divine Lord bellowed, launching a bolt of blood straight at Yang Kai. Yang Kai completely ignored it, activating the Dragon Shield to guard his body as he thrust forward with all his might.
BOOM!
A violent surge of power erupted outward. The crack in the array instantly spread in every direction like a spider's web. At the same time, the Dragon Shield protecting Yang Kai shattered, and his body was sent hurtling through the air.
Crack, crack, crack…
A cascade of sounds echoed from every part of the grand array. Black Crow Divine Lord frantically poured his strength into the formation, desperately trying to stabilize the Central Grand Array. But the damage was done, and no matter how hard he struggled, it was to no avail.
In barely ten breaths, the entire array lost its spiritual essence completely, crumbling into a network of chasms and ravines across the ground.
"You brat, you deserve to die!" Black Crow Divine Lord's eyes were bloodshot with rage, the fury blazing within him threatening to consume him whole. He had been so close—just that last sliver, and he would have fully refined it. With complete control over the entire Blood Demon Cave Heaven, he could have restored himself to his peak strength with ease.
But that final sliver might as well have been an insurmountable chasm. At the very last moment, everything had fallen apart.
Never before had his killing intent toward Yang Kai been so overwhelming. Back at the Blood Lake, Yang Kai had ruined his plan for possession, but that had been of little consequence—he had ultimately taken Zhou Yi's body and been reborn into the world regardless. This time, however, there was no alternative to choose from.
Regret flooded his heart. If he had known it would come to this, he should have killed that brat back at the Blood Lake.
If he had known, he should never have let him set foot inside this Blood Demon Divine Palace!
But now, it was far too late for any of that!