The crisis had erupted far too suddenly. From the moment Kong Feng and Luan Baifeng were trapped to their escape, only three breaths had passed. Yue He had paid the price of having her Artifact destroyed and sustained injuries to herself, yet she had successfully rescued Lu Xue and the others from the Heavenly Sword Alliance's airship.
Seeing the Void Land cultivators retreating, Kong Feng's shame turned to fury. He bellowed: "Kill!"
The moment the word left his lips, he and Luan Baifeng surged forward together. Of everyone present, they were the two strongest—only they could hope to pin down Void Land's two Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators. No one else had the qualifications.
Dense waves of World force erupted upward. Both Yue He and Mo Mei wore grave expressions, each deploying their own secret arts to meet the charge.
Though all were Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators, neither Yue He nor Mo Mei had advanced to this realm long ago. By contrast, Kong Feng and Luan Baifeng had immersed themselves in this level for far more than a thousand years. With such different foundations, the disparity in their true strength was only natural—let alone the fact that Yue He was currently wounded. The instant they clashed, the two women were driven to the back foot.
But though the situation was unfavorable, Kong Feng and Luan Baifeng could not immediately find a way past Yue He and Mo Mei either.
Meanwhile, from the hundred-plus airships surrounding them, the numerous Open Heaven cultivators struck in unison. Having been rallied here by Kong Feng, they had already torn all pretense with Void Land. Originally, no one had taken a mere upstart force like Void Land seriously—after all, how deep could a newly established power's reserves possibly run?
But after Mo Mei appeared at the head of over a dozen Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivators, every last one of them was shaken. Only then did they realize that Void Land had such formidable manpower.
Today, with their overwhelming numbers, they had jointly moved against Void Land. If they failed to deliver a decisive blow now and allowed Void Land time to recover, the consequences would be dire—they would never be let off.
Having already boarded the Heavenly Sword Alliance's ship, they had no choice but to see it through to the bitter end.
And so, when the cultivators of the various forces attacked, they showed no quarter. Killing moves cascaded one after another.
Void Land's people fought while retreating. Though they possessed two Sixth-Order and over a dozen Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivators, they were outnumbered. In barely a dozen breaths, several had already been wounded—fortunately, none had fallen, or the losses would have been devastating.
The injured immediately pulled back behind the defensive perimeter, hastily tending to their wounds.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth and raised his arm in a rallying cry: "Hold on a little longer!"
Behind them lay the Void Land. Once they made it inside the Nine Heavens Grand Formation, everyone would be safe.
Kong Feng clearly realized this too. His eyes went red with fury as he roared: "Don't let them escape!" The phantom of his Inner World flickered behind him and vanished, and he drove his power to even more savage heights. Luan Baifeng was no less ruthless—her figure flickered and darted as she struck with cold, lethal intent.
Those prisoners had all been hers, and now Yang Kai had spirited them away. How could she tolerate such a thing? There was no time to blame Kong Feng for his shoddy intelligence; she could only do everything in her power to keep the Void Land cultivators from retreating.
Thunderous booms rang without cease as World forces collided and clashed.
A mere thirty breaths of combat felt as though decades had passed.
By the time the Void Land cultivators charged into the Nine Heavens Grand Formation, everyone—save Yang Kai and the rescued prisoners like Lu Xue who had been sheltered at the center—was wounded. Even Mo Mei bore a bright crimson gash on her lower abdomen, blood streaming freely. Yue He was deathly pale, her body trembling faintly, a vivid streak of blood at the corner of her lips. As the two most powerful among them, they had guarded the rear and absorbed the brunt of the assault. Pang Duo and the others were all panting like oxen, their auras fluctuating wildly.
For those who had only recently advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, combat at this level of intensity was simply too much to adapt to. They could not come close to drawing on the full might of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator. Fortunately, everyone had worked together without reservation—that was the only reason they had survived. Had even a single person faltered, the entire group would have been doomed.
The Nine Heavens Grand Formation roared back to life, sealing the inside from the outside. The fires of battle fell, for the moment, silent.
Yang Kai radiated an icy aura as he slowly turned around. His gaze swept over Kong Feng and Luan Baifeng, their faces twisted with unwillingness, then settled on the forest of airships. He drew a deep breath and spoke softly: "If my Void Land survives this calamity today, we shall come to visit each and every one of you at your headquarters in the days to come!"
His words were quiet, yet they struck like a hammer against every heart present. Many turned pale, their scalps going numb.
Were this an ordinary second-rate force, such verbal threats might not have been taken seriously. Marching across vast distances to assault another power's headquarters would demand absolutely overwhelming strength.
But after witnessing Void Land's terrifying reserves with their own eyes, no one dared dismiss his words lightly.
Two Sixth-Order cultivators. Over a dozen Fifth-Order cultivators. Such a lineup could nearly rival the Heavenly Sword Alliance itself! This was the kind of depth that only the truly elite among second-rate forces could boast. Unless a Cave Heaven or Blessed Land intervened, who could dare face them head-on?
Ninety percent of the hundred-plus forces gathered here did not even possess a single Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator. If Void Land came knocking at their gates, what could they possibly use to resist? The only outcome would be the annihilation of their sect.
And this was the depth a newly established force could command? How on earth had Void Land developed so rapidly? How had they amassed so many Open Heaven cultivators in such a short time?
Kong Feng's face was livid. He spoke in a frigid tone: "You think your Void Land still has a chance? Today, right here, is when Void Land meets its end!"
Yang Kai sneered coldly: "If you've got the guts, then break in and find out who dies and who lives!"
With that, he waved his hand: "Move out!"
He led the Void Land cultivators back inside, where the swirling mists of the grand formation churned and swallowed them from sight.