The sword light descended, and an Eighth-Order perished.
"Despicable!" Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao was furious. Right before her eyes, that Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had slain an Eighth-Order. How could she not be enraged?
From afar she struck out with a palm, landing it squarely on the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple's back and sending him vomiting blood in streams.
The other four surviving Eighth-Orders also attacked simultaneously from all directions.
Powerful divine abilities and secret techniques erupted, tearing the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple's figure into countless fragments.
The four attacking Eighth-Orders froze in surprise for an instant, but before they could celebrate, the fragments seemed to possess a will of their own—transforming into streaks of sword light that pierced through their layered defenses, converging rapidly toward a point tens of thousands of li away.
In the blink of an eye, the countless streaks of sword light reassembled into the figure of the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple.
Compared to before, his aura had clearly taken a significant hit, and his expression was haggard.
"Ten Thousand Swords Body Condensation Art!" Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao, still at a distance, recognized the secret technique at once with a sharp intake of breath.
Though the Great Dao had fallen thirty thousand years ago, as one of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, it naturally possessed its own unique methods and secret arts never passed down lightly.
The Ten Thousand Swords Body Condensation Art was one of them. The Eighth-Orders might not have known about it, but Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao had lived through that era—how could she not?
This kind of secret art was not something just anyone could cultivate, even within the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands. Only those with truly extraordinary talent—real dragons and phoenixes among men—could comprehend it and achieve mastery.
That this Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had successfully cultivated the Ten Thousand Swords Body Condensation Art was proof enough of his heaven-defying talent. Otherwise, after being corrupted by the Ink, he could never have advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven.
The Ten Thousand Swords Body Condensation Art was an immensely powerful secret technique. Rumor held that when cultivated to its pinnacle, the body transformed into ten thousand swords, and there was no one in the world who could not be cut down.
This Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had used this technique solely to flee.
Mo Zhao had already fallen. Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao had freed herself to deal with him. If he didn't run now, he would surely follow in Mo Zhao's footsteps.
After reforming his physical body, the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple merged with sword light, relying on a strand of indestructible sword qi to desperately break out of the battlefield. Wherever the sword light passed, human warriors could offer no resistance, exploding into mists of blood. Even warships were cleaved in two by the sword light, shattering instantly.
Though Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao pursued immediately, she was unable to catch up for the time being.
Of course, given enough time, this Ninth-Order Mo Disciple might not escape Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao's pursuit, but for the moment he was virtually unstoppable.
"Everyone, get out of the way!" Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and shouted.
Though the human warriors blocking the path ahead might not be able to dodge in time.
The next instant, Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao's face drained of color and she roared, "Spare him and I'll let you live! You dare kill him, and I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and destroy you!"
But a split second before Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao's cry, Yang Kai—who had just slain Domain Lord Chekong and was feeling rather triumphant—suddenly felt his skin prickle and his scalp go numb.
Right now, he had been about to go support the Old Turtle Squad.
The Old Turtle Squad had used their warship's power to restrain a Domain Lord, but Yang Kai had no idea how things stood. He was somewhat worried.
If that Domain Lord was truly pushed to fight with his life on the line, the Old Turtle Squad might not be able to withstand it.
But before he could set off, a sharp killing intent from afar locked onto him—its intensity making even Chekong look like a mere shoe-shiner.
A Ninth-Order Mo Disciple!
He had never imagined that this Ninth-Order Mo Disciple, having broken free from his own battle circle, would come charging straight at him. He couldn't tell if it was intentional or not.
But judging from the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple's behavior, it was almost certainly deliberate.
The battlefield was vast, and there were plenty of human Eighth-Orders, each locked in fierce combat with a Domain Lord, none able to disengage easily. If this Ninth-Order Mo Disciple wanted to kill Eighth-Orders, he could have struck at any one of them and met with success.
But he hadn't targeted a single human Eighth-Order. Instead, he had set his sights on Yang Kai—a mere Seventh-Order.
If this wasn't deliberate, Yang Kai wouldn't believe it.
Was it the Purifying Light that had drawn his attention? This Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had probably realized that Yang Kai was the source of the Purifying Light.
So even while fleeing for his life, he wanted to take Yang Kai out first?
Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao's voice rang out from afar, and the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple's figure visibly faltered for a moment. Then, with even greater resolve, he charged straight at Yang Kai.
The more Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao reacted this way, the more it proved his judgment was correct—and the more it showed just how important this Seventh-Order was to the human race.
Such a target, and such a rare opportunity—how could he pass it up!
Furious, Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao's figure flickered as she pursued at top speed. But the Ninth-Order Mo Disciple had merged his body with sword light, giving him an inherent advantage in speed. For the moment, Old Ancestor Xiaoxiao simply couldn't catch up. She roared at Yang Kai from afar, "Run!"
Meanwhile, in the nearest Eighth-Order battle against a Domain Lord, a human Eighth-Order Open Heaven master had, after a prolonged battle, gained complete superiority, beating his opponent until the Domain Lord coughed blood continuously and could barely fight back.
Given just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he would be able to slay that Ink Clan Domain Lord on the spot.
But at this very moment, the human Eighth-Order decisively abandoned the victory that was almost within his grasp—not even bothering about exposing his back to the Domain Lord as he rushed directly toward Yang Kai.