After receiving the praise, Tan Luoxing smiled obsequiously. "Serving the Divine Lord is naturally my duty. However, Divine Lord, several Open Heaven Realm cultivators were with him this time. They didn't make a move, so I couldn't gauge their cultivation, but none of them seemed like pushovers."
Black Crow gave a cold laugh. "That's exactly what I'm counting on. The higher their cultivation, the better the blood sustenance tastes for this Lord. Hmm?" As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head to gaze in a direction, clearly having sensed something.
At that same moment, a tremendous rumbling erupted from that direction. The Heavenly Power that burst forth trembled violently, and a powerful, eerie aura rose into the air — those stationed on watch had clearly engaged Yang Kai's group.
"A Holy Spirit!" Black Crow's expression shifted, his eyes widening in disbelief. How could that brat Yang Kai have a Holy Spirit accompanying him? Moreover, judging by the fluctuations of that Holy Spirit's power, it was unmistakably a fully mature one — in other words, at minimum a Seventh-Order Open Heaven!
Black Crow's face darkened. For him, the higher the opponent's cultivation, the better the blood sustenance and the greater the benefit — but a Holy Spirit was someone he still had to be wary of. Never mind that he now had a host of powerful subordinates, with Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivators everywhere and even a handful of Sixth-Order ones, but against a Holy Spirit, they still held no clear advantage.
Wary as he was, he didn't truly fear it. More than twenty Middle-Order Open Heaven cultivators were still a formidable force. If they fought to the death, they could at least inflict devastating mutual damage against that Holy Spirit.
Just as he was hesitating over whether to withdraw immediately, a voice drifted into his ear: "Black Crow! An old friend has come to visit — why not show yourself?"
Hearing that voice made Black Crow want to kill! It was unmistakably the voice of that despicable brat who had repeatedly ruined his plans inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven — first sabotaging his possession scheme at the Blood Lake, then destroying his attempt to refine the Blood Demon Cave Heaven within the Blood Demon Divine Palace, forcing him to flee to this Broken Heaven and scrape by in misery. The very culprit behind all of his hardships. Every time he thought of this youth in recent days, Black Crow itched to flay his skin and devour every last drop of his blood and flesh.
He had long sworn a great oath: the day his cultivation was fully restored, he would search through the Three Thousand Worlds until he found this brat, then subject him to every torture under heaven. He had never expected to actually run into him today.
His crimson eyes flickered. Black Crow spread his arms and commanded, "Let them through!"
He knew full well what his subordinates were capable of. With a Holy Spirit escorting them, if Yang Kai truly wanted to force his way in, there was nothing that could stop him. So why bother blocking? He also wanted to know what had driven Yang Kai all the way out to Broken Heaven to seek him.
The thunderous commotion immediately died down, and the fighting in the distance ceased.
Before long, under the watchful eyes of dozens of Middle-Order Open Heaven cultivators, Yang Kai led the way, walking forward with Yue He, Zhu Jiuyin, and the others in an unhurried manner, heading straight toward Black Crow.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh...
Figure after figure concealed in the surroundings shot forward, surrounding Yang Kai and his companions on all sides so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through!
On that tiny Broken Spirit Island, nearly thirty Middle-Order Open Heaven cultivators had gathered in an instant, including the Holy Spirit Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. If anyone who didn't know the situation had witnessed such a spectacle, their jaw would have hit the ground.
Their gazes met. Yang Kai wore a pleasant smile and offered a courteous bow. "Black Crow — we meet again. What a world this is, where paths always seem to cross."
Black Crow's eyes blazed with fury. "Watch your tongue! How dare a whelp like you address this Lord by name?"
Yang Kai chuckled. "It's just a title. Why should the Divine Lord trouble himself over such a thing?"
Black Crow let out a cold snort. "You little brat ruined this Lord's great plans in the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, and now you have the audacity to stand before me? You think that with a Holy Spirit protecting you, I can't touch you?" As he spoke, he spread his arms wide with a burst of bravado. "Take a good look — this Lord now commands a host of powerful warriors. One word from me, and you'll lose your head!"
Yang Kai replied amiably, "I certainly believe you have that capability. But even if you killed me, what would it accomplish? The Blood Demon Cave Heaven is already gone, and you've been declared wanted by every major Cave Heaven and Blessed Land. You've been forced to hide out here in Broken Heaven — life hasn't been easy for you, has it?"
The mention of this only stoked Black Crow's rage. "If you hadn't interfered, how would I have ended up in this wretched state?"
Had he succeeded in refining the Blood Demon Divine Palace, he could have seized control of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven. With the resources left behind by the Blood Demon Divine Lord, he could have cultivated peacefully within the Cave Heaven and gradually restored his strength — no need to scurry about in hiding, hunted like a rat in the street.
"The circumstances left me no choice. Had you refined the Blood Demon Divine Palace, I would have been the one to die. For the sake of survival, I had to oppose you," Yang Kai said with a genial smile, as though the whole affair had nothing to do with him.
Black Crow seethed, "What exactly do you want, brat? You traveled all this way to Broken Heaven — don't tell me it was just to infuriate me? If so, this Lord won't let you off easily!"
"Of course not." Yang Kai shook his head slowly, his expression turning solemn. "I've come to propose a partnership with the Divine Lord."
Black Crow eyed him askance. "A partnership? You want to partner with this Lord? Are you mistaken, or did I hear you wrong?"