Under the gaze of the World Destroying Demon Eye, an extremely faint trace lingered in the void — a trace that was nearly undetectable, yet now revealed itself under the Eye's observation.
This was clearly the trail left behind by the ambusher's departure.
Yang Kai was about to give chase when the ground beneath his feet suddenly lit up with faint, obscure runes. Immediately after, the sound of objects tearing through the air came from every direction, instantly engulfing him.
Those numerous attacks were in fact the power of a killing formation erupting, converging into the shape of wind blades that slashed toward Yang Kai at the center.
The ambusher had apparently anticipated that Yang Kai would come to investigate, and had set up the formation here in advance.
Booming explosions rang out as Yang Kai burst forth from the formation, covered in dust and grime. Though he hadn't sustained significant injuries, his face was ashen with fury.
The ambusher's archery was extraordinary, and though he had knowledge of formations, his expertise in that field was likely not particularly deep. As a result, the killing formation's power wasn't especially formidable — even if Yang Kai had stood perfectly still, it couldn't have done much to him.
But it had successfully hindered his pursuit. Being outmaneuvered to this degree truly infuriated Yang Kai — it felt like his intelligence had been completely trampled, leaving him with a distinct sense of frustration.
From this, it was clear that the ambusher was first-rate in both cunning and capability.
And that wasn't all. The moment Yang Kai broke free from the killing formation, three streaks of golden light came hurtling toward him through the air. They moved with terrifying speed, virtually ignoring the obstruction of space, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.
One aimed for his forehead, one for his chest, one for his lower abdomen — the three streaks of golden light formed a straight line, arriving in utter silence, sending a shiver of dread through Yang Kai.
At this moment between life and death, Yang Kai fully mobilized the Laws of Space, activating the Inches-to-Thousand-Miles secret technique. The void before him stretched to infinity.
Space seemed to freeze in that instant, and Yang Kai could clearly see the three streaks of golden light heading toward him moving as slowly as a crawling turtle under the influence of the secret technique.
However, in the span of a single blink, the violent power contained within the golden light shattered the technique, regained its vitality, and pierced through Yang Kai's body in unison.
The next moment, Yang Kai's body collapsed and vanished — it was nothing more than an afterimage left behind. His true self had already activated the Laws of Space and teleported to a location a thousand miles away.
At that very moment, on a fragment of heaven and earth a thousand miles away, Yang Kai appeared abruptly and unleashed a savage punch at the fragment.
Violent power erupted, reducing the fragment — only a few dozen miles across — to dust in an instant, and a figure was revealed in the process.
The figure was completely shrouded in a black robe, with even their face hidden beneath a hood. Their true features were entirely obscured — it was impossible to tell even whether they were male or female. The person appeared to be of modest height, holding an ancient longbow that was even taller than they were.
Seeing the suddenly revealed figure, Yang Kai's face twisted into a savage grin. "Got you!"
This Ink Disciple hailing from the Divine Feather Paradise possessed truly terrifying archery. Even someone as powerful as Yang Kai had suffered at his hands time and again. What chance would other humans have against him? They would likely be killed without ever knowing who struck them down. Leaving such a formidable figure unchecked was an absolute threat to humanity.
If this person had fled immediately when Yang Kai began his pursuit — with the killing formation's interference — Yang Kai might not have been able to track him down again.
But this fellow was simply too audacious. Leaving behind a killing formation to trap Yang Kai wasn't enough — he had also hidden here to attempt a snipe kill. That had given Yang Kai the opportunity to close in.
Having been ambushed in turn, the person was clearly stunned for a moment — they hadn't expected Yang Kai to arrive so quickly.
The instant their position was exposed, using the impact of Yang Kai's punch to propel themselves backward, they pulled back the bowstring. With a sharp twang, streaks of golden light rained down toward Yang Kai like a torrent of rain.
Yang Kai's vision was instantly flooded with golden light. He summoned the Azure Dragon Spear, deflecting each attack in turn. When he looked up again, the ambusher's shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Far off in the distant void, a single streak of golden light faded from sight.
So fast! Yang Kai clicked his tongue inwardly, growing even more incensed. Through gritted teeth, he let out a cold snort. "If you get away from me, I'll take your name!"
Possessing the Laws of Space, if he still let someone slip away in a situation like this, then Yang Kai might as well have wasted all those years of cultivation.
His figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.
He had assumed he could catch up to the person easily, but who would have thought that even with teleportation, he couldn't gain ground in short order? Whatever escape technique this person was using, its speed was almost on par with the Laws of Space. Each time Yang Kai gave chase, he could only catch a distant glimpse of a streak of golden light vanishing far ahead.
The problem was that he couldn't teleport too far ahead to intercept — if he did, he would very likely lose track of the target entirely.
With no other option, he could only trail behind at a distance, waiting for an opening.
The chase lasted an entire day and night. Neither knew how many tens of thousands of miles they had traversed through the void.
Yang Kai had initially worried that the person might flee into the Ink Clan's heartlands. If that happened, Yang Kai wouldn't dare pursue too deeply, lest he encounter an overwhelmingly powerful opponent.
But it turned out this fellow had no intention of fleeing into the Ink Clan's territory — he was simply circling around within this theater of war, keeping Yang Kai engaged.
And whenever he was given even the slightest opening, he would unleash a thunderous strike to ambush Yang Kai. Each attack was devastatingly powerful, and even Yang Kai dared not take them lightly, finding himself hard-pressed to fend them off time and again.