At the moment heaven tilted and earth overturned, the spatial barrier of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven shattered with a thunderous boom.
A massive crack split the sky, and four figures stood shoulder to shoulder at its edge, like four evil dragons peering down from the clouds!
On the plaza of the Pear Blossom Palace, Yang Kai looked up, his gaze sweeping across each of the four in turn.
The white-haired old woman he had crossed paths with before — Xia Linlang had told him she called herself Granny Dove, a woman of vicious temperament and cruel methods whose origins no one knew. Among all the residents of the Shattered Heavens, she was one of the earliest to come and settle here in seclusion. At the very least, when Xia Linlang had arrived all those years ago to hide under a false name, Granny Dove had already been here.
The middle-aged man was named Zong Zheng, and he was rumored to have ties to some Sect in the Azure Frost Domain, though no one could confirm it.
The beautiful woman, Zhu Lingshan, was loose in her morals and had countless lovers — even within the Shattered Heavens, her reputation was terrible. But her cultivation at the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was solid, and no one dared underestimate her in the slightest.
The Purple Night Child, with his skyward-bound topknot, cultivated some unknown heterodox art — the deeper his cultivation grew, the more his appearance regressed to that of a child. Don't let his delicate, porcelain-like features and innocent demeanor fool you; he had a particular fondness for eating human livers, especially those of women. Whenever someone offended him, the result was a fate worse than death. He had countless ways of forcing his enemies to watch helplessly as he consumed their fresh liver, until they could only beg him for a quick end.
In the Shattered Heavens, there was no order and no justice — only fists and strength. It was a place where dragons and serpents mingled together, a cesspool of filth, as if all the darkness of the Three Thousand Worlds had converged here.
Xu Wang of King Ming Heaven had once told Yang Kai that the waters of the Shattered Heavens ran deep. Yang Kai hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now he felt it firsthand. To encounter such a spectacle after seeing only the tip of the iceberg — what would it be like to behold the full picture?
The four High-Rank cultivators had burst forcefully into the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven, and their gazes locked onto Yang Kai in an instant, eyes gleaming. They had clearly all learned that the Heaven and Earth Spring had been collected and refined by Yang Kai. Now, whoever captured him would have the chance to become the master of that Heaven and Earth Spring.
There were few treasures in this world capable of moving a High-Rank Open Heaven cultivator, and even fewer worth fighting to the death over. The Four Pillars of the Universe were definitely among them.
With one of the Four Pillars of the Universe, whether facing enemies or nurturing living beings, one held an overwhelming advantage. Had it not been for this immense allure, these four High-Rank Open Heaven cultivators — who were united only in appearance — would never have joined forces to come here.
Yang Kai tapped his foot lightly on the ground and grinned. "Guests have arrived — time to present a gift!"
The Pear Blossom Palace hummed, and then the world force of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven surged madly into the palace. In the blink of an eye, the Pear Blossom Palace — a mobile palace Artifact and the very core of the entire Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven — transformed into a bottomless vortex.
Within the grotto-heaven, lush vegetation withered in an instant, and the world was thrown into utter chaos.
The entire world force of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven poured into the palace in the span of a mere three breaths, transforming what had been a vibrant, life-filled grotto-heaven into a wasteland.
At the peak of its spear intent, the Pear Blossom Palace tore itself from the earth and hurtled straight toward the four uninvited guests.
The four had just shattered the spatial barrier, just caught sight of Yang Kai — the very target of their journey — and had just begun to feel elation surge within them, when the turn of events struck without warning.
Even though all four were High-Rank cultivators, they could barely react in time.
Zhu Lingshan's beautiful face drained of color as she cried out: "Xia Linlang, have you lost your mind?!"
Granny Dove, Zong Zheng, and the Purple Night Child all saw their expressions change drastically. What had been immense joy turned to terror in the blink of an eye, and they felt their livers and gallbladders tremble with fear.
There was no other way to feel. In the battle they had envisioned, this scenario had never once factored in. This was a devastating, all-or-nothing strike from Xia Linlang — a blow that channeled the entirety of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven's power.
The Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven was a grotto-heaven left behind by a deceased cultivator of at least the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. With Xia Linlang's abilities alone, even though she could mobilize the world force of the grotto-heaven and exploit some of its territorial advantages, she could never have drawn out its full potential.
Because she did not master the Dao of the Spear!
The original master of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven had been a consummate practitioner of the Dao of the Spear, and after his death, he had left behind a vast number of Dao Mark inscriptions of the spear. Without comprehending them, one could never inherit his legacy.
If the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven were likened to a long sword, then with Xia Linlang's power alone she could wield it in battle, but she could never draw the blade from its sheath — the effect would naturally be greatly diminished.
But with Yang Kai's assistance, it was a different matter entirely. Yang Kai had previously absorbed all the spear Dao Mark inscriptions of the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven, and although he still had not fully comprehended them, it was enough to allow the Pear Blossom Palace — that long sword — to be unsheathed.
Combined, the two of them channeled a strike powered by every last ounce of the grotto-heaven's force. It could not match what the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven's original master could have unleashed in life, but it far surpassed what a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator could normally achieve.
This was a blow infused with the total power of the entire Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven, and it could only be made once!
This was a one-time deal.
On this matter, Yang Kai and Xia Linlang had previously found themselves in serious disagreement. Xia Linlang felt that with their territorial advantage, there was no need to be so decisive — staking everything on a single strike. After all, if this blow failed to achieve its goal, their territorial advantage would be completely lost. It would have been better to use the Pear Blossom Grotto-Heaven as a battlefield, fighting the invaders on familiar ground, perhaps even gaining the upper hand and forcing them to retreat on their own.