The swordsman suddenly spoke: "A lady of the Sacred Spirit race should be free and unfettered. Why entangle yourself in this conflict? It would be better to withdraw now and leave behind a goodwill gesture."
Zhu Jiuyin replied flatly: "My duty will not allow me to retreat."
The swordsman was visibly taken aback, then let out a cold snort: "Does the lady insist on making enemies of the two of us?"
Zhu Jiuyin's response was an obvious echo of his own words from moments ago, and he naturally felt somewhat displeased—though a Sacred Spirit was formidable, he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator after all, with a companion at his side. There was no need to fear.
What he didn't know was that Zhu Jiuyin truly was bound by duty. As Yang Kai's guardian, within the borders of Void Land, it was her responsibility to protect him.
"You two are the ones making things difficult for this palace. What am I supposed to do?" Zhu Jiuyin shot them a cold glance.
The high-level Open Heaven cultivator from Myriad Demons Heaven had a fiery temperament. He sneered: "I've never actually killed a Sacred Spirit before. Looks like I'll get to try something new today."
With those words, he shook his body, and monstrous demonic energy billowed outward. The surging, dense power of his Small World radiated forth, causing all of Void Land to tremble ceaselessly. The demonic energy churned and roiled as he lunged at Zhu Jiuyin.
When words failed, only battle remained!
The swordsman let out a soft sigh, his figure flickering as he moved to follow the Myriad Demons Heaven cultivator, attacking from the other side in a pincer assault.
Zhu Jiuyin urgently sent a voice transmission to Yang Kai: "Boy, watch yourself. These two are no pushovers—I'm afraid I won't be able to look after you!"
Hearing this, Yang Kai knew Zhu Jiuyin was about to fight at full power. Facing two high-level Open Heaven cultivators working together, even a Sacred Spirit couldn't afford to be careless.
In the blink of an eye, the three clashed into a whirlwind of combat, fighting with such ferocity that heaven and earth seemed to crack apart and the sun and moon lost their light. Void Land shuddered continuously, the ground splitting open.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue in astonishment.
The earlier battle between Mo Mei and Luan Baifeng—both Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators—had already been incredibly intense, but compared to fighting at this level, it was child's play.
The entirety of Void Land was now divided into four battlefields. The first was naturally the clash between Zhu Jiuyin and the two Seventh-Order cultivators. The second was the contest between Mo Mei and Luan Baifeng. The third was Yue He, single-handedly holding off the combined forces of the mid-Order cultivators. And the fourth was the battle raging within the Illusory Grand Formation.
Of the four battlefields, the most restrained was undoubtedly the fight between Mo Mei and Luan Baifeng. Though both were at the Sixth Order, one had been immersed in that level of power for years while the other had only just advanced—there was a clear gap in their abilities. Luan Baifeng held the overwhelming advantage, but since she wanted to capture Mo Mei alive, she held back in her attacks. Mo Mei was still managing to hold her own, and their battle was comparatively restrained.
As for the Illusory Grand Formation, it was a one-sided slaughter. Three hundred Open Heaven cultivators from Void Land charged in together while the Hundred Clans Alliance, trapped within the formation, were utterly disoriented. Hallucinations proliferated before their eyes—how could they possibly fight back? However, a gap had now been torn in the Illusory Grand Formation by the swordsman's blade light. With this breach, the formation's power instantly diminished greatly, giving the hard-pressed members of the Hundred Clans Alliance a sliver of hope. They were no longer in as dire a state as before and could even mount occasional counterattacks.
Yang Kai controlled the master jade slip for Void Land's grand formations and had a clear picture of everything happening across the entire territory. A mere shift of thought allowed him to grasp the overall situation at once.
He couldn't help but call out to Zhu Jiuyin: "Can't you take the fight up into the sky instead of trampling all over my Void Land?"
The previous battle between Mo Mei and Luan Baifeng had been fought in the heavens. Fighting at this level produced shockwaves that were no small matter. Void Land was only a spirit continent, after all—push it too hard and it could very well fall apart.
Void Land was Yang Kai's foothold in the Three Thousand Worlds. How could he not worry?
But Zhu Jiuyin completely ignored him. Whether she hadn't heard or simply couldn't relocate the battlefield, she continued to streak back and forth with the two high-level cultivators across Void Land, the thunderous booms never ceasing.
"Boy, instead of worrying about your little domain, you'd better start thinking about how you're going to die!" A sinister voice suddenly drifted over from the side.
Yang Kai's heart lurched. He had forgotten—Kong Feng was still watching him like a tiger crouching in wait! With the current situation, every fighting force from both Void Land and the Hundred Clans Alliance had been deployed, leaving only the two leaders standing alone on each side. Such a perfect opportunity—how could Kong Feng possibly let it slip by?
Though he had been caught off guard earlier and severely wounded by Zhu Jiuyin's strike, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator's reserves were nothing to scoff at. Even gravely injured, killing an Emperor Realm cultivator posed no difficulty whatsoever.
However, his objective on this trip was not to kill Yang Kai. So despite the boundless killing intent in his heart, he had resolved to capture him alive.
As long as he could take Yang Kai, the entire situation would be resolved in an instant. Yang Kai had no one left to call upon—he was literally fish on a chopping board, ready to be molded and twisted at will.
When Yang Kai turned his head, he saw Kong Feng's deathly pale face as the latter spat a mouthful of blood to the side, gazing at him with a frigid expression.
Their eyes met, and Yang Kai instantly felt Kong Feng's aura lock onto him with ironclad precision. The surrounding space was sealed by immense force—it was clear Kong Feng was wary of his Space Laws and feared he might use the opportunity to flee. Not only that, Kong Feng was advancing toward him step by step, and with each stride, the oppressive might of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator gradually settled over Yang Kai.
Yang Kai exhaled softly and said evenly: "Kong Feng, if I were you, I would retreat now while I still could. Insisting on being stubborn will only end in tragedy."