Seals flew through the air, the sun and moon intertwined, and under the drive of the Space Laws, Yang Kai thrust a palm forward.
The blazing sun and the full moon rotated around each other in a spiral. As the sun vanished and the moon waned, it was as if thousands upon thousands of years had flowed by in a single instant. Bolstered by the Space Laws, the wondrous power of time and space was born.
Solar Lunar Divine Wheel!
A thick sense of crisis surged into Zuo Quan Hui's heart. At this moment, how could he even think about rescuing Zhou Ti? Yang Kai's technique had completely surpassed anything a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator should have been capable of. Even as a Seventh-Order, he had never heard of such a thing, never laid eyes on one.
Before this, no matter how exquisite Yang Kai's moves were or how remarkable his divine abilities, Zuo Quan Hui hadn't taken any of them to heart. The gap in their cultivation realms could not be bridged by mere technique. Even the Golden Crow Forging the Sun, which he knew about, had only made him mildly cautious.
He himself truly had no Divine Ability Dharma Idol, but a Dharma Idol manifested by a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator was unlikely to pose any real threat to him. If Yang Kai had actually used the Golden Crow Forging the Sun, Zuo Quan Hui had his own methods to deal with it.
But the technique Yang Kai unleashed now was more than sufficient to pose a tremendous threat to him.
A sword gleamed with cold light that filled the void. The phantom projection of Yang Kai's Small World materialized behind Zuo Quan Hui — a flourishing world whose power was being driven to a fever pitch. The might of Zuo Quan Hui's Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivation surged to its absolute peak in an instant.
The longsword was raised skyward, and a single downward slash followed! This one strike poured in all of Zuo Quan Hui's cultivation, holding absolutely nothing back.
The Solar Lunar Divine Wheel arrived right on schedule. Its blinding radiance swallowed Zuo Quan Hui's silhouette in an instant.
A horrifying explosion of energy erupted. A ring of light expanded outward through the void, stretching untold millions of miles, as though the end of the world had come.
The shockwaves rippled outward, and every person present felt as though they were aboard a lone skiff sailing through a tempest, at constant risk of capsizing.
Behind Yang Kai, Mao Zhe and Geng Qing stared at the scene before them with blank expressions, their minds involuntarily drifting back to what had happened in the Shadowless Hollow — Xuan Yang Mountain had been destroyed by this very move.
It hadn't been that long since then, and seeing this technique once more, it appeared even more powerful than before.
The lingering shockwaves gradually subsided, and the chaotic battlefield fell silent once more. When those waves of force had erupted moments ago, every person had been focused on self-preservation, with no capacity to engage anyone else.
Pairs of eyes converged on Yang Kai and Zuo Quan Hui. The outcome of this clash would be revealed in moments, and no one could help but feel tense.
In the void, Yang Kai's face was pale as paper. Blood flowed ceaselessly from the piercing wound in his waist and abdomen, and his entire body swayed on the verge of collapse — he was clearly on the verge of complete exhaustion.
Zuo Quan Hui, by contrast, appeared entirely unscathed from head to toe. Yet his expression was ashen, and he remained frozen in the posture of his final sword strike, utterly motionless.
The Yellow Spring Heavenly Lord and the others were overjoyed at the sight. What they saw could only mean that Zuo Quan Hui had successfully blocked Yang Kai's technique. After all, he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven — he couldn't be measured by common sense!
Eyes met, and the Yellow Spring Heavenly Lord roared, "Kill!"
His figure flickered as he broke free from the Grey Bone Heavenly Lord and lunged straight toward Yang Kai. The Scarlet Flame Heavenly Lord and the Vajra Heavenly Lord followed close behind, as did the Sixth-Order woman.
The only one who couldn't move was Zhou Ti. He had been trapped in that maelstrom of attacks earlier, and before Zuo Quan Hui could come to his rescue, he'd been dragged into Yang Kai's Solar Lunar Divine Wheel. Mo Mei, Old Bai, and the others had seized the opportunity to unleash a barrage of techniques on him. He was now in a wretched state, his life or death unknown!
Four Sixth-Order fighters came bearing down from all sides, while Yang Kai stood rooted in place, seemingly without even the strength to move a muscle. At this critical moment, Mao Zhe and Geng Qing exchanged a glance and hurriedly moved to intercept.
"Courting death!" Yue He also cried out sharply, rushing forward alongside Hua Yong and Shu Mu Dan, the husband-and-wife pair, along with the Grey Bone Heavenly Lord to provide aid.
Another chaotic melee broke out, but this time, Void Land held a clear advantage. They simply outnumbered the enemy by a significant margin, easily repelling the attacking Yellow Spring Heavenly Lord and his cohorts.
However, the one everyone feared most was Zuo Quan Hui. With a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator still present, no one's heart wasn't pounding with dread. They dared not linger in combat, instead shielding Yang Kai and withdrawing to the side.
To the surprise of all, Zuo Quan Hui had remained completely motionless from beginning to end, still holding the posture of his final sword strike like a statue.
By now, even the dullest observer could tell something was off. Zuo Quan Hui had not blocked Yang Kai's technique unscathed — otherwise, he would never have passed up such a perfect opportunity to cut Yang Kai down.
Only after everyone had retreated with Yang Kai to a safe distance did Zuo Quan Hui's body suddenly shudder. A ring of air exploded outward, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Master!" the Sixth-Order woman cried out in alarm.
She looked up, and her gaze froze. A patch of flesh no larger than a fingernail had peeled away from Zuo Quan Hui's face. Countless fine cracks spread across his cheeks, resembling the parched, fissured earth of a drought-stricken wasteland, or perhaps a ceramic vessel that had been shattered and poorly reassembled.
It wasn't just his face — every exposed inch of his skin bore the same grotesque marks. Through the peeling flesh, a bizarre energy could be seen churning beneath the surface.
Her master had been wounded! The Sixth-Order woman's mind reeled. She could scarcely believe her own eyes.
A veteran Seventh-Order cultivator, injured by a newly advanced Sixth-Order — such a thing was unheard of since the beginning of time.
The Yellow Spring Heavenly Lord and the others stood rooted to the spot, stunned.
Zuo Quan Hui raised a hand slightly, cutting off whatever the woman was about to say. His cold, dark gaze slid toward Yang Kai. "What technique was that?"