Zuo Quanhui, seated in the main hall of Heavenly Sword Palace, wore a dark expression as his hands wove through a flurry of seals, commanding the great formation that powered the palace.
He knew Yang Kai possessed the Laws of Space and could flee at extraordinary speed. If Yang Kai insisted on giving chase, Heavenly Sword Palace would never be able to shake him off.
Yet throughout their retreat, he hadn't caught sight of Yang Kai in pursuit. That led him to suspect Yang Kai had taken a different route, racing ahead to the Star Boundary to prepare its defenses.
The facts proved him right. Barely had Heavenly Sword Palace entered this grand domain when it walked straight into an ambush.
He had guessed Yang Kai would bring some allies, but he never imagined he would bring this many! Over a thousand Open Heaven Realm cultivators — ants in his eyes, perhaps, but Open Heaven Realm cultivators nonetheless.
How had they all gotten here? Even with his mastery of the Laws of Space, Yang Kai couldn't have teleported so many people to this location at once.
As his hand seals shifted, layer after layer of Heavenly Sword Palace's outer defensive formation blazed to life, only to shatter and crumble moments later. Brilliant light flickered violently across the palace's perimeter, and from within, the earth heaved so violently that no one could keep their feet steady.
"Meet the enemy!" Zuo Quanhui barked his command.
Heavenly Sword Palace was impressive, but it was ultimately just a grand palatial Artifact — a defensive vessel with no offensive capability of its own. It couldn't hold out for long under this kind of assault. He still harbored some wariness and didn't dare reveal himself openly, so repelling the attack fell entirely to the Open Heaven Realm cultivators under his command.
A sudden burst of golden light flared across his field of vision. Zuo Quanhui looked up to see a blazing sun balanced on the tip of a spear, hurtling straight toward Heavenly Sword Palace. In its wake, the very void was seared into a pitch-black scar that lingered, refusing to fade.
Divine Ability Manifestation!
Zuo Quanhui let out a cold snort and extended a finger, pointing straight at the incoming sun.
The might of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator erupted. A streak of light flashed from his fingertip and vanished, and in the next instant the sun detonated, unleashing a violent surge of energy in all directions.
Seated high above in the main hall, Zuo Quanhui's body swayed slightly and his eyelid twitched. Though they were enemies, even he had to admit that Yang Kai was a prodigy the likes of which appeared once in ten thousand years. A mere Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator capable of unleashing a Divine Ability Manifestation — Zuo Quanhui himself hadn't yet comprehended one of his own. In a certain sense, he was actually inferior to this Sixth-Order cultivator.
And word had it that Yang Kai had comprehended this manifestation back when he was still an Emperor — a claim bordering on the unbelievable.
The cultivation of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, combined with such a Divine Ability Manifestation, was enough to produce a strike comparable to that of a Seventh-Order. Though Zuo Quanhui had blocked it, his blood still churned and his movements momentarily stalled.
If a Sixth-Order was already this formidable, what would happen once Yang Kai advanced to the Seventh-Order? Would he even stand a chance then? At the thought, Zuo Quanhui's killing intent intensified. He had to eliminate Yang Kai before he broke through to the Seventh-Order, or he would be utterly doomed.
A dazzling array of multicolored lights flashed as an onslaught as vast as a storm of wind and rain battered Heavenly Sword Palace.
The palace naturally refused to sit idle and be slaughtered. The moment Zuo Quanhui issued his command, the defenders launched their counterattack.
In an instant, the void erupted with a fierce back-and-forth exchange, the battlefield blazing with intensity. World Force spilled outward in chaotic torrents.
Yet despite the ferocity of the engagement, not a single casualty had occurred on either side.
On Void Land's side, that went without saying — whether at the Sixth-Order level or below, their numbers vastly exceeded the enemy's. Divine Abilities and secret arts fired from Heavenly Sword Palace were intercepted before they even came close to reaching their lines.
As for Heavenly Sword Alliance's Open Heaven Realm cultivators, they had their own advantage: they could shelter inside the palace. So long as the palace stood, they enjoyed an ironclad defense and had nothing to fear in terms of personal safety.
But with a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator anchoring its defenses, how could Heavenly Sword Palace be destroyed so easily? That grand Artifact had consumed countless resources and the labor of the entire Heavenly Sword Alliance when it was forged.
Countless attacks aimed at the palace were intercepted, with only a handful actually striking home. Even those were cushioned by the formation barriers, making it impossible to inflict significant damage in any short span of time.
On the surface, Void Land held an overwhelming advantage, but Heavenly Sword Palace was like a porcupine — thoroughly unappetizing to tackle. If this dragged on, the defenders inside would simply bide their time while the attackers grew exhausted, putting Void Land at a severe disadvantage.
Yang Kai wielded the Azure Dragon Spear in sweeping arcs, unleashing the Unfettered Spear Art with full force. Each thrust was powerful enough to shatter a star and punch through one more layer of the palace's defenses, but Heavenly Sword Palace's defensive formation consisted of layer upon layer, an endlessly frustrating chain of barriers.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, Zi Yan and the others had also noticed something was wrong. After clashing with Void Land for over a year, they already knew Void Land had superior numbers and greater strength — but the Void Land of the past had never been this formidable.
Seizing a brief lull to observe, they discovered that Void Land now fielded several Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators they had never seen before. Not one or two, but a full eight of them!
These were Sixth-Order cultivators, not cabbages — where had they all come from?
A careful count revealed that Void Land now boasted a total of twenty Sixth-Order cultivators!
The members of the Heavenly Sword Alliance were horrified. They had only ten of their own — the enemy had double their number. If not for Zuo Quanhui's presence, they would have fled long ago.
"Master!" Zi Yan sent a voice transmission to Zuo Quanhui while engaging the enemy.
"I see them!" Zuo Quanhui remained seated and motionless, but his gaze swept the battlefield on all sides, sharp and penetrating. "Remarkable, truly remarkable — all newly advanced Sixth-Orders. That Star Boundary must contain extraordinary fortune!"