A day later, Xuan Yang Mountain came into view on the horizon.
Zhou Ya heaved a sigh of relief, gently patting Yun Feibai's back. "Second Brother, just hang on a little longer. We'll be home soon."
Yun Feibai nodded slowly, his face pale as paper.
Throughout their flight back, he had been suppressing his injuries the entire time, but the Golden Crow True Fire was far too formidable. The pitch-black flames coiling around his chest burned with an agony that was nearly unbearable.
Geng Qing suddenly lifted his gaze toward the front, a look of suspicion crossing his face. "Who is that?"
Atop a hill ahead, a figure stood motionless, resembling a dead tree. He simply stood there, gazing in their direction. When their eyes met, the corners of his mouth curled upward into a mocking smile. He flicked the massive spear propped beside him, pointing it straight ahead, and called out in a low voice, "You're too slow. I've been waiting and growing impatient!"
Zhou Ya's face drained of color. "It's him!"
Geng Qing's jaw dropped. "How could he be blocking this road? How dare he block this road?"
They had fled back at tremendous speed. Even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he shouldn't have been able to get ahead of them—let alone the fact that they had dozens of subordinates with them earlier. Had he broken through that entire force single-handedly?
Moreover, this location was perilously close to Xuan Yang Mountain. If a fight broke out here, the First Mountain Lord could arrive at any moment to provide reinforcement. With all four Mountain Lords joining forces, who in the entire Shadowless Heaven could stand against them?
Where did he get the nerve to ambush them here?
Before the thought had even finished forming, Yang Kai had already lunged forward with his spear, roaring, "Yun Feibai, give me your life!"
No words could describe the magnificence of that thrust. A direct spear strike that defied the constraints of space, as if it would shatter heaven and earth together. Though it was aimed solely at Yun Feibai, to Zhou Ya and Geng Qing it felt as though the blow enveloped their own figures as well.
All three Mountain Lords were horrified. Zhou Ya danced her long sword, Geng Qing unleashed his divine ability, and Yun Feibai, disregarding his unhealed injuries, bellowed and summoned his Sword Scripture. Strokes within the scripture came alive, transforming into boundless sword qi that poured forth in a torrent.
Boom, boom, boom…
The deafening explosions shook the heavens. Waves of radiance rippled outward one after another. All three Mountain Lords were blasted backward, their eyes trembling with shock.
"Impossible!" Zhou Ya cried out.
The combined strength of the three of them had nearly failed to withstand a single thrust from that young man. As fellow Sixth Grade Open Heaven cultivators, how could he possibly be this powerful? Earlier outside Twin Islands, when the youth had suddenly awakened from his unconscious state and erupted, she hadn't exchanged many blows with him—she had simply rescued Yun Feibai and fled. As a result, she hadn't fully grasped the extent of his strength.
Now, after a single exchange, she understood just how terrifying Yang Kai truly was.
His vast and overwhelming World Force was far deeper and denser than her own.
Yang Kai thrust his spear again without pause. The Carefree Spear Art erupted into motion—a rain of spears cascading like a waterfall, filling the sky with spear shadows that bore down on the three Mountain Lords. Every single strike was laced with horrifying amounts of World Force.
Yun Feibai and the other two dared not show the slightest carelessness. Their minds were stretched to the absolute limit as they threw every technique they had into defense. Yet even then, they could barely withstand the relentless bombardment from that spear. Every strike was as powerful as a thunderbolt, and dragon might radiated outward, shaking their very souls.
The Azure Dragon Spear in Yang Kai's hands had previously been little more than a particularly sharp weapon. But after his ascension to the Open Heaven realm, its true might had gradually revealed itself.
When Yang Kai had achieved Open Heaven, he had refined the Small World and merged it into his own Small Universe. The Small World had a profound foundation, one enriched further by the many resources it had devoured from the Blood Demon Grotto-Heaven, allowing him to leapfrog the lengthy stage of gradual accumulation. This gave him sufficient capital to rival seasoned Open Heaven cultivators.
However, without the Azure Dragon Spear in hand, he might not have been able to take on all three alone. Their thousands—tens of thousands—of years of accumulated strength were no joke.
The Landlady had only been able to achieve similar feats by relying on the Blood Demon Battle Garment.
In Open Heaven realm combat, the depth of one's Small Universe carried enormous weight.
Strike after relentless strike, overwhelming them into a daze. Zhou Ya and Geng Qing were holding on reasonably well—their strength was still intact—but Yun Feibai was in a wretched state. The searing agony of the Golden Crow True Fire had left him severely wounded, his power drastically diminished. Now, more than half of Yang Kai's attacks were directed at him. If not for Geng Qing and Zhou Ya fighting desperately at his side, he would have long since become a corpse beneath that spear.
Even so, his situation was dire. The young man seemed determined to take his life, locking onto him relentlessly and refusing to let up, leaving Yun Feibai crying out in silent misery.
After a dozen or so breaths of fierce combat, the surrounding hilltops had been leveled flat. Sand and stones flew through the air between heaven and earth, and the sky itself seemed to change color.
On the Azure Dragon Spear, the pitch-black Golden Crow True Fire blazed and burned, making all three Mountain Lords deeply wary. Yun Feibai's grim experience served as a warning—Geng Qing and Zhou Ya dared not let those flames touch them, constraining their movements considerably.
On top of that, space periodically grew thick and viscous, a clear sign that the young man was employing his spatial divine abilities even while attacking.
"Who dares to fight outside my Xuan Yang Mountain!" A thunderous shout suddenly rang out from the direction of the mountain. Immediately after, an enormous silhouette materialized from the mountain's peak, blotting out the sky. Stern, imposing eyes turned toward the battle.
Amid his desperate struggle against Yang Kai's assault, Yun Feibai cried out in a panic, "Eldest Brother, save me!"
Those imposing eyes sharpened instantly, locking onto the scene. Fury immediately flooded the face behind them, and a furious roar erupted: "Boy, how dare you!"
As the words left his mouth, the colossal figure shrank back in an instant. A streak of radiance then shot forth from the direction of Xuan Yang Mountain—the First Mountain Lord, Mao Zhe, had sensed the situation and was rushing over at full speed to provide aid.
Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were overjoyed. The three of them had been utterly unable to withstand Yang Kai's attacks. If their eldest brother arrived to help, things would be entirely different—after all, they knew firsthand just how powerful Mao Zhe truly was.