Space Laws surged as two figures shot toward the depths of the Shattered Sky — Yang Kai and Xia Linlang. Even though they had left the battlefield far behind, Yang Kai's killing intent and the dragon bloodline within him still churned uncontrollably.
The white-robed man's blood mist had corroded him, and now an unknown force was rampaging through his body, stirring even his dragon bloodline into a state beyond his control. He felt an almost overwhelming urge to transform into a half-dragon.
He forcibly suppressed this inexplicable impulse and channeled his power to expel the foreign force — but the force seemed to possess a will of its own, surging toward his left shoulder in unison. The next instant, the searing pain of a branding iron lanced through him.
Yang Kai let out a low grunt.
But his boiling killing intent and raging dragon bloodline finally settled.
"What happened?" Xia Linlang turned to ask. She had sensed something was wrong with Yang Kai from the moment the white-robed man appeared. Had she not forcibly dragged him away, he likely would have fought the man to the death before letting go.
Of course, given the strength Yang Kai had displayed, even with the white-robed man's helper, they probably couldn't have stopped him — but with Zhao Yi present, Yang Kai would never have gotten the chance.
"Ran into an interesting fellow," Yang Kai snorted coldly. He lifted his shirt and turned to look at his left shoulder, where a bird-shaped mark now sat, vividly imprinted on his skin.
At first glance, the mark looked almost alive — its wings seemed to beat as though about to take flight, and its eyes glimmered with an unmistakably human sense of mockery and ridicule.
"What is that?!" Xia Linlang exclaimed.
Yang Kai said nothing. He simply raised his hand and sliced away the flesh bearing the bird-shaped mark. The marked tissue was instantly carved off, and under the vibration of his power, it exploded into a fine powder.
At the wound, flesh writhed and regrew with the formidable restorative power of his dragon bloodline and Wood Element energy. In just over a dozen breaths, the excised flesh had grown back entirely.
Yet the bird-shaped mark, which should have been destroyed along with the flesh, remained etched on his shoulder just as vividly as before — as though it would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Yang Kai snorted. He had anticipated this outcome, but seeing it with his own eyes still left him somewhat displeased.
Xia Linlang's expression was grim. "We've been tracked?"
Yang Kai nodded and turned to face her. "My situation is dire now. I advise you to part ways with me. Those people are after the Heaven and Earth Spring — there's no need for you to wade into this with me. If you act alone, you might still have a chance to escape."
Xia Linlang shook her head. "Even splitting from you wouldn't help anymore. News of us traveling together has surely already spread throughout the Shattered Sky. I'm just as much their target as you are." She gave a bitter smile. "Your words turned out to be prophetic — we really are grasshoppers on the same string now."
Even though Granny Jiu and the others had pushed them to their doorstep before, the situation hadn't been this dire. Who could have guessed that after barely half a year, the two of them would be wanted by everyone in the Shattered Sky — a vast expanse of heaven and earth in which they now had almost nowhere to stand.
"The way I see it, we either find a way to turn back and fight our way out. As long as we leave the Shattered Sky, we'll be safe — but the chances are slim. Turning back now means fighting through countless battles. Seventh-Order cultivators would be manageable, but now even Eighth-Order cultivators seem to have been deployed. If we run into them, we won't stand a chance."
Xia Linlang nodded. "The Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth are enough to attract the envy of Eighth-Order cultivators."
Yang Kai turned to look at her. "So we need to find a place that even Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators would have difficulty reaching. I'm not familiar with the Shattered Sky — do you have any suggestions?"
The bird-shaped mark on his shoulder had tracking properties. Though Yang Kai wasn't sure how far its range extended, he had to assume the worst.
The white-robed man had Lord Shengyang behind him. Hiding somewhere was unrealistic — they'd be found eventually.
"If we could find an undiscovered Blessed Realm or Minor Realm..." Xia Linlang began.
Before she could finish, Yang Kai raised his hand to cut her off. "The odds are far too slim. To be honest, I've been observing along the way, but I've found nothing."
Xia Linlang pressed her lips together tightly, a look of hesitation on her face.
Yang Kai frowned. "No matter how bad things get, they can't be worse than they are now. Perhaps only by stepping into death's door can one find a path to life. If you have somewhere in mind, just say it."
"The Shattered Ruins!" Xia Linlang looked up. She knew Yang Kai wouldn't know what the Shattered Ruins were, so she explained: "The Shattered Ruins lie at the deepest reaches of the Shattered Sky. Legend has it they were the site of the final battle of that cataclysmic ancient war — countless High-Rank Open Heaven cultivators perished there. As a result, the place is littered with residual divine abilities and secret techniques left behind by ancient powerhouses. The conditions are extraordinarily hostile. Even the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order cultivators hidden within the Shattered Sky rarely venture there, because besides the lingering techniques, there are also formations and Artifacts — if you accidentally trigger one, no one can guarantee you'll make it out in one piece."
"But..."
"But what?" Yang Kai asked.
"But the Shattered Ruins are home to many Sacred Spirits. That's why the place has always been forbidden to us human cultivators."
"Sacred Spirits!" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Are there any of the Dragon Clan?"