Suddenly, Yang Kai's eyes went wide, fixed on the dazzling sphere of light. Even as tears streamed from his eyes under the blinding glare, he refused to blink.
He saw something inconceivable.
Within the sphere, visions flashed past like a revolving lantern.
Among those images, he caught sight of a figure shrouded entirely in Ink Force, carrying a massive severed head by its hair. Ink Blood still drifted from the ragged stump of the neck. And surrounding that figure were countless Ink Clan members, arrayed in formation as though performing a coronation rite.
But before he could make out the details, the vision vanished in a flash, replaced by something even more staggering.
Star after star—thriving, prosperous worlds—and realm after realm brimming with vitality, all of them consumed by Ink Force, rapidly devolving into barren wastelands where every trace of life was extinguished.
This vision too faded almost at once.
He saw an enormous tree that seemed diseased, its branches and leaves withered and drooping. Even the fruit it bore had lost all luster, shriveled into wrinkled husks as though baked too long under a scorching flame.
Vision after vision flickered past—strange, inexplicable scenes. Many flashed by so quickly that Yang Kai had no chance to examine them at all; the ones he could actually make out were few.
In the span of a single heartbeat, over a hundred images raced through the sphere of light before being swallowed by absolute blackness, as though every shred of light in the world had been extinguished.
Yang Kai's mind went blank.
What were those visions?
He had activated the Sun Moon Divine Wheel before, but never once had such a strange phenomenon occurred.
Yet before he could dwell on it, the sphere dissipated entirely. Under the lingering might of the Sun Moon Divine Wheel, the Goat-Headed Royal Lord stood drenched in Ink Blood, his face contorted in terror. His aura, already weakened from unleashing a Royal-level secret art, had grown even more feeble.
The visions Yang Kai had seen, the Goat-Headed Royal Lord had seen as well—but since even Yang Kai himself didn't know what they meant, how could the Royal Lord possibly understand?
Moreover, the Royal Lord had no mind to ponder such mysteries at this moment.
The might of the Sun Moon Divine Wheel had exceeded Yang Kai's expectations, and far surpassed his imagination. Profound and mystical, the power of Space and Time was now corroding his body and mind, inflicting agony beyond endurance.
Still, this battle should be drawing to a close.
Under the onslaught of a Royal-level secret art, that human in front of him had no hope of resisting.
The next instant, his expression changed drastically—because the Ink Force-shrouded Yang Kai across from him had suddenly broken into a grin!
Pillars of Heaven and Earth!
Those four words exploded into the Goat-Headed Royal Lord's mind.
A Royal-level secret art was not without its counter. The Pillars of Heaven and Earth could neutralize the power of such arts, shielding human powerhouses from the risk of Ink Corruption.
Yet as far as he knew, the Pillars of Heaven and Earth were a supreme treasure of Creation—there were only a handful in the entire universe. Those who could withstand a Royal-level secret art were correspondingly few.
He had never imagined that the human he had been hunting all this time possessed one as well.
Wasn't it said that supreme treasures like the Pillars of Heaven and Earth were always entrusted to Eighth-Order masters? The man had only just reached Seventh-Order—how could he possibly wield the Pillars?
In that instant, the Goat-Headed Royal Lord was consumed with regret. He should never have so casually activated a Royal-level secret art, leaving himself weakened.
Otherwise, he might have been able to weather the opponent's divine ability.
Already weakened, and now struck by yet another devastating technique, his condition had gone from bad to catastrophic.
Sensing the danger, the Goat-Headed Royal Lord immediately shook his entire body and unleashed another secret art. At the same time, from the nearby Royal-level Ink Nest where his own realm resided, dense power surged across the void and poured into him, causing his flagging aura to skyrocket.
His Royal-level Ink Nest was close at hand, allowing him to draw upon its power at any moment to forcibly maintain himself at peak strength.
So despite appearing battered and bleeding, the situation remained firmly under his control. He still had every chance to kill his enemy.
At the very moment he drew upon the Ink Nest's power, Yang Kai suddenly twisted in agony, his features contorted as though enduring some unbearable torment. A piercing scream tore from his throat.
The Goat-Headed Royal Lord froze, unable to grasp what had just happened to Yang Kai. The next instant, an almost identical scream ripped from his own lips.
In that moment, he felt an immense force shatter through his Divine Soul's defenses, grievously wounding his spiritual sense. Combined with the lingering effects of the power of Space and Time, his thoughts went almost entirely blank.
Soul-Sacrificing Needles!
The first batch of Soul-Sacrificing Needles that Yang Kai had commissioned the Troublesome Master to forge numbered twelve. He had spent them one after another inside the Domain Lord-tier Ink Nest, destroying and crippling the spiritual souls of numerous Domain Lords and Eighth-Order Ink Servants. Afterward, outside the Ink Clan's royal city in Great Yan, he had used the very last one to kill Chekong.
Having tasted their potency, how could Yang Kai not keep a stockpile on hand?
During the Great Yan army's expedition, Yang Kai had gathered additional materials and commissioned the Troublesome Master to forge more Soul-Sacrificing Needles, spending time and spiritual energy to refine and attune them.
Now he had dozens of Soul-Sacrificing Needles in his possession, all carefully nurtured. Even when activating the Sun Moon Divine Wheel earlier, he had held them in reserve.
The main reason was that deploying Soul-Sacrificing Needles wounded the user before they wounded the enemy—a weapon that killed a thousand foes while harming oneself eight hundred times. Short of the direst necessity, Yang Kai truly despised using them.
But now, with no other option, he had no choice.
The Goat-Headed Royal Lord was formidable. Though the Soul-Sacrificing Needles and the power of Space and Time had disrupted his thinking, he recovered with startling speed. But when he looked around, there was no trace of Yang Kai to be found.
In that single heartbeat when his mind had gone blank, Yang Kai had vanished without a sound.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Goat-Headed Royal Lord whipped around, eyes bulging with fury, and bellowed: "You're courting death!"