One exchanged glance was all it took for them to understand that they could no longer hold back. If they didn't go all out now, Black Crow would escape.
Almost in unison, a mist of blood erupted from all four of them. As their essence blood burned, the auras of these four Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivators surged upward by an entire tier, and the Thousand-Eyed Demon Avatar behind Ti Zheng's back turned a deep, ominous crimson, its demonic might radiating openly.
This kind of secret technique was something no one would employ unless absolutely desperate — it was highly likely to damage one's very foundation, and recovery would be exceedingly troublesome.
But with the situation as it was, they could no longer afford such concerns.
Zhu Jiuyin's pressure increased dramatically. The Celestial Net was barely able to restrain the four of them anymore. Under the assault of the Thousand-Eyed Demon Avatar's countless demonic threads and the slashing blade in its hands, the silken threads snapped one by one, showing signs of complete collapse.
Zhu Jiuyin struggled to maintain the formation, but she was reaching her limits. She hadn't fully recovered yet — having caught the enemy off guard earlier, using her secret technique to trap the four of them for this long was already the absolute limit of what she could manage.
Seeing the four about to break free, Zhu Jiuyin realized the danger. Once these four escaped, she alone would be far from enough to keep Yang Kai safe.
At that moment, the thought of retreat had already begun to form in her mind.
Before the thought could fully crystallize, Zhu Jiuyin's heart lurched. A tremendous boom echoed out, and her massive true body staggered backward. The Celestial Net shattered completely.
A streak of light burst upward from the remnants of the net and shot toward the direction Black Crow Divine Lord and the others were fleeing, clearly aiming to rescue the captured Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivators. In an instant, it vanished into the distance.
The remaining three — Ti Zheng and his companions — unleashed a furious barrage against Zhu Jiuyin. The massive spiritual peak crashed down repeatedly, the Thousand-Eyed Demon Avatar's blade cleaved through the void, and for a time Zhu Jiuyin was thrown into chaos. Her eight legs flailed, and the crescent moon mark on her back flickered with pale, luminous light.
Zhu Jiuyin tried to weave new webs, but the opportunity had passed. The silken threads she spat out were ground to dust by the overwhelming force before they could even take shape.
The three remaining Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivators moved with wordless coordination. Two kept Zhu Jiuyin occupied while the third charged straight toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was their target. Kill Yang Kai, and the mission would be a complete success. After that, they could come and go as they pleased — even someone as powerful as Zhu Jiuyin wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
This third cultivator, wielding the power of his Divine Ability Manifestation, was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven. He broke through several layers of webbing under the weight of his immense World Force, and in the blink of an eye, he was nearly upon Yang Kai.
Yue He, Old Bai, and Qu Huachang saw this and dared not hesitate. All three moved to intercept him.
But the gap in their strength was not something numbers could bridge. A tidal wave of power bore down on them, and in less than three breaths, all three were blasted away, blood spraying from their mouths, looking utterly wretched.
The path ahead was clear. To this Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator, a mere Emperor Exalt was no different from an ant whose life or death could be decided at will.
A colossal crisis bore down on him. Yang Kai gritted his teeth and channeled his own power, deploying the Bixie Remnant Shell to shield himself.
Yang Kai had used the Bixie Remnant Shell to escape death once before, so this Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivator was already on guard. However, while the Remnant Shell's defense was extraordinarily formidable, its operator's cultivation was lacking. He had no need to actually breach the Bixie Remnant Shell's protection — by relentlessly channeling his own force, he could simply batter Yang Kai to death through the shockwaves alone!
And so, even though he saw Yang Kai bring out the Bixie Remnant Shell, the cultivator showed not the slightest intent of holding back. His fists hammered forward, filling the sky with fist-shaped shadows that rained down upon Yang Kai.
Boom, boom, boom… World Force raged without cease.
The Bixie Remnant Shell flickered with light, standing firm as it shielded Yang Kai. But the residual tremors passed through the Shell and into Yang Kai's body. In the span of a single heartbeat, he felt every bone in his body come apart, his chest churning with blood, as though he would explode and die at any moment.
Between life and death, Yang Kai let out a furious roar: "Dragon Transformation!"
A resonant dragon cry rang out. Heaven and earth trembled. An enormous, majestic golden dragon's head flashed into existence behind Yang Kai and vanished in an instant.
Golden light blazed, accompanied by a series of crackling explosions. Yang Kai's body swelled rapidly. His hands transformed into massive dragon claws, horns sprouted from his head, a dragon tail swept behind him, and his entire body was sheathed in a layer of shimmering golden dragon scales that gleamed with brilliant radiance.
Dragon Might surged forth!
A small human figure suddenly transformed into a colossal being nearly three hundred zhang tall! The Dragon Blood Pills he had refined in the Taixu Realm had all been consumed, allowing Yang Kai's Dragon Transformation body to grow even further.
The Bixie Remnant Shell expanded in tandem, blanketing the void as it hovered at Yang Kai's side. Yang Kai reached out and seized it, wielding it like an enormous shield!
With a thunderous dragon roar, Yang Kai's golden dragon eyes locked onto the Mid-Rank Open Heaven cultivator who had attacked him with a withering glare. His dragon beard whipped in the wind. Aiming squarely at his enemy, he swung the Bixie Remnant Shell and brought it crashing down.
"A Dragon Clan member?!" The cultivator clicked his tongue in shock.
Yang Kai's sudden transformation was something he had never anticipated. Sensing the pure Dragon Might, his mind wavered for a split second, and by the time he recovered his wits, the Bixie Remnant Shell was already hurtling toward him like a weapon.
The cultivator bellowed and thrust both palms forward to block. A violent surge of force slammed into him, sending him skidding back several hundred zhang before he barely managed to stabilize. Yang Kai's massive body lurched backward as well, nearly toppling over, and the flesh on his arms split open inch by inch, golden dragon blood scattering across the void.