The wilderness reeked of blood. A beast the size of a calf lay sprawled in a pool of gore, while seven or eight gaunt jackals tore at its flesh, gulping down chunks without chewing.
It was a perfect hunt. Under the alpha's direction, this small pack had finally found sustenance after half a month of starvation.
The alpha, slightly larger than the others, had already eaten its fill. It now lay lazily to one side, licking its injured foreleg.
Suddenly, both ears pricked upright. Its golden eyes locked onto a spot in the void where that direction seemed to warp and twist. Streaks of ink-black纹路 appeared like jagged rents torn through reality.
A sense of unease rising, the alpha slowly stood, baring its fangs, and let out a low growl toward that spot.
The rest of the pack, still fighting over scraps, all turned to stare. Moments later, howls erupted one after another.
The black rents crisscrossed and spun faster and faster. A strange force burst forth, and four figures materialized like ghosts before the wolves' eyes.
Behind them gaped a massive black hole that exuded an aura of void and chaos. Under the laws of heaven and earth, it slowly closed.
The alpha's golden pupils contracted to pinpoints. After a faint, pitiful whimper, it turned and bolted — in that instant, the instinct of a wild beast had sensed the approach of death.
Across the wilderness, the pack fled and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Of the four who had appeared so abruptly, Yang Kai alone remained standing in place, seemingly unfazed. The other three, including Hua Rong, had gone deathly pale. They clapped hands over their mouths, stumbled aside, and retched violently.
The first experience of spatial transmission was never pleasant. The sensation of spatial disorientation felt as though one's entire body had been shattered into countless tiny particles and then reassembled.
Yang Kai had anticipated this. Hua Rong and the others were considered fairly capable cultivators in this Divine Weapon World, but they were nowhere near resilient enough to endure spatial teleportation unprotected. Had he not shielded them with his own power, the spatial turbulence would have carved them into innumerable fragments.
He glanced back at the black rent slowly sealing itself and furrowed his brow slightly. The laws of heaven and earth in this world were more robust than he had imagined.
He had been in this Divine Weapon World for several years now. His cultivation had risen to the ninth layer of Heaven Stage, and he had unlocked a considerable amount of his Dragon Vein power. Over the past year, his primary focus of cultivation had been two-fold: further awakening the Dragon Vein power and comprehending the Dao of Space.
Yet whether due to constraints imposed by his current cultivation level, his progress in the Dao of Space was less than satisfactory. Many spatial techniques remained beyond his reach.
Still, he had earned the title of Void Great Emperor back in the Star Realm through the Dao of Space. Even here in the Divine Weapon World, the Dao of Space could still shine.
At the very least, escaping from Old Man Qi had not been a problem.
What surprised him somewhat was that this whole affair with the Void Spirit Sword Sect had been orchestrated by the Mystic Pill Sect. First they lured him away, then drew him back to the sect, where Old Man Qi and two other Spirit Stage cultivators lay in ambush…
If his earlier guess was correct, then the Mystic Pill Sect must have confirmed that he had no real connection to that supposedly nonexistent master. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for them to act so boldly.
Fortunately, Wu Zhengqi had told him that the people of the Void Spirit Sword Sect had been relocated to Mystic Pill City half a month ago, and none had come to harm.
Still, this meant he would inevitably have to return to the Mystic Pill Sect.
The ninth layer of Heaven Stage was still too low. After a year of accumulation and consolidation, it was time to advance to the Spirit Stage.
"Just now…" Hua Rong walked back, her face utterly devoid of color. "What on earth happened? Where did Old Man Qi and the others go?"
"Lost them," Yang Kai replied casually, surveying the surroundings. He had no idea where they had ended up. Though he could channel spatial energy to a limited degree now, his control was far too imprecise to choose an exact landing point.
He picked a direction at random and called out, "Let's move. First, we find someone to ask the way."
Hua Rong was still dazed, utterly unable to understand how three powerful Spirit Stage cultivators had been shaken off. She followed Yang Kai over to Yang Huai and poked him in the ribs, whispering, "Big guy, do you have any idea what just happened?"
Yang Huai's expression was cold and grim. He said nothing.
"I'm talking to you. Are you deaf or something?"
Yang Huai glanced down at her. His expression grew even darker.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I think… I need to go throw up again!" Yang Huai spun around, rushed to the side, and was soon dry-heaving once more.
…
After walking for less than half a shi-chen, they passed through a small village. Hua Rong went to gather information and returned in short order, pointing in a direction. "Tianwu City is that way!"
Yang Kai nodded slightly and looked at her. "Can you still fly?"
Hua Rong pointed at her ashen little face. "Does it look like I can fly in this condition? I can barely walk right now."
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Then let's find somewhere to rest for the night."