Having divined the secret behind this misty phenomenon, Yang Kai's eyes shifted, and he continued lying still, maintaining his previous posture.
He didn't stir any power, and the surrounding mist showed no abnormality whatsoever.
Examining himself, Yang Kai couldn't help but shed a tear for his own wretched state.
Truly miserable.
Before being pursued by this Royal Lord, he had already been covered in wounds. After being chased by this goat-headed Royal Lord and battered repeatedly, then stumbling into this misty phenomenon, he had only accumulated more injuries on top of the old.
His internal organs had been scrambled into mush—nearly every one of them had ruptured. Seventy to eighty percent of his bones were broken, the jagged shards piercing through flesh and muscle to reveal their horrifying white color.
Even the Dragon Scales that had been hidden beneath his skin had largely fallen away.
If he were to transform into a dragon right now, he'd probably be nothing but a bald one…
Fortunately, while his injuries were severe, they weren't fatal. With his own powerful regenerative abilities and the effects of the Dragon Vein, his body was slowly recovering.
Stealthily producing a handful of Spirit Pills and slipping them past his lips, Yang Kai stole another glance toward the goat-headed Royal Lord. Over there, the spectacle was explosive—stream after stream of exquisite Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques erupting from the goat-headed Royal Lord's hands, battling the mist, turning heaven and earth upside down as the world crumbled around them.
This fellow's intelligence really was lacking!
Yang Kai felt a secret thrill, though he reflected that he himself had needed to pass out a full two times before discovering the mist's secret. The fact that the goat-headed Royal Lord had held out this long without fainting and still hadn't figured it out was hardly surprising.
When anyone encountered danger, their instinctive response was self-preservation and counterattack.
But who would have thought that in this misty phenomenon, doing nothing was actually the best form of self-defense? The more one fought back, the more dire one's situation became.
If only this fellow could finish himself off!
Yang Kai harbored the thought with quiet anticipation.
But his hopes were destined to be dashed—just as his own previous experience had been. The goat-headed Royal Lord gave everything he had, yet still couldn't withstand the crushing force pressing in from all directions. He roared ceaselessly, Ink Force churning, and managed to hold on for several days before his power was finally exhausted and he lost consciousness.
With him finally still, the misty phenomenon gradually settled as well.
Gazing at the motionless goat-headed Royal Lord hovering in the distance, Yang Kai knew the fellow wasn't dead, and couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment.
But he quickly rallied, his gaze burning with intensity as he stared at the unconscious Royal Lord, eyes brimming with killing intent.
The fellow was unconscious now—perhaps he could actually finish him off.
Yang Kai gingerly stirred a sliver of power and immediately sensed the mist's crushing force bearing down on him once more. The more power he channeled, the stronger that force became.
He quickly dispersed his power. This wouldn't work—the misty phenomenon's reaction to external force was far too sensitive. Before he could gather enough power to kill the Royal Lord, he would likely be crushed into unconsciousness again.
Left with no other option, Yang Kai carefully channeled the power of Heaven and Earth onto both hands, feeling out the mist's counterforce and striving to adjust the ebb and flow of his own power until he maintained a delicate equilibrium.
Then, his arms slid slowly through the air, and his entire body moved as if swimming through water, gliding toward the goat-headed Royal Lord.
Though the speed was agonizingly slow.
After more than an hour, the distance between them had been cut by less than half.
Another hour passed before Yang Kai finally arrived within thirty zhang of the Royal Lord.
He slowly drew the Azure Dragon Spear and leveled it at the Royal Lord's neck. Inch by inch, he shifted his body closer.
This process nearly shattered the equilibrium he had worked so hard to maintain, but he hastily dispersed all his power just in time, steadying the mist once more.
The distance closed further and further.
Just as the Azure Dragon Spear was about to pierce the Royal Lord's neck—whether stimulated by the killing intent or simply blessed with formidable recovery—the goat-headed Royal Lord suddenly snapped his eyes open.
Yang Kai drove the spear forward with all his might.
Ink Blood sprayed into the air. The indestructible Azure Dragon Spear could not be resisted even by a Royal Lord's body—the spear tip plunged directly into his neck, poised to punch clean through. But at that very moment, the misty phenomenon's counterattack unleashed itself.
Yang Kai instantly felt an overwhelming crushing force slam into him from every direction. The injuries that had just begun to improve worsened once again, and the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand met tremendous resistance, unable to advance a single inch further.
Yang Kai couldn't help but curse.
In pain, the goat-headed Royal Lord snapped back to awareness. He turned his head and saw Yang Kai with a spear buried in his neck.
This kid wasn't dead?
The Royal Lord stared in disbelief. He had seen how wretched Yang Kai looked before and assumed the fellow had died. Who would have thought this brat was so tenacious—not only had he survived, he had crept over and stabbed the Royal Lord while he was unconscious.
Had he not woken up when he did, he'd have no life left now.
The goat-headed Royal Lord erupted with fury, Royal Lord-level aura surging outward as Ink Force boiled forth.
"Don't—" Yang Kai barely had time to issue a warning before his expression darkened. The crushing force from all directions turned savage beyond measure. Inside his body came the crackling sounds of bones shifting out of alignment, and he couldn't hold back—a mouthful of fresh blood burst from his lips. Then his vision went black, and he knew nothing more.
The goat-headed Royal Lord reached out to seize him, clearly intent on finishing the job—but his massive hand froze less than a foot from Yang Kai, unable to advance even a fraction further.
The Royal Lord's expression shifted. Abandoning Yang Kai for the moment, he suddenly exerted all his strength, desperately trying to break free of the force that restrained him.