Dizzy and seeing stars,
Having been forced to deploy the Soul-Sacrificing Needles yet again had pushed him to his absolute limit.
Even with the Warm Spirit Lotus shielding him, he no longer had the capital to use the Soul-Sacrificing Needles a third time.
The Domain Lords failed to detect his outward strength masking inner exhaustion. This human Eighth-Order's overwhelming power had already been seared into their minds—first, he had single-handedly slain three Domain Lords, and now another had been killed in a single strike. Not one Domain Lord had even discerned what technique he had used.
The Domain Lords hesitated, but the remnant army did not. Seizing on Yang Kai's burst of power, the forces that had barely been able to advance finally broke through. The
In those brief moments, every human warrior was pouring everything they had into the fight.
Warships were blown apart. Warriors left without protection threw themselves at the enemy in suicide charges—even in death, they would die with purpose.
But the gap in combat power between the two races was, in the end, simply too vast.
Setting aside the Ink Clan army itself, nearly twenty Domain Lords had been stationed at No Return Pass alone.
Ten had initially charged forward. Yang Kai had used the Soul-Sacrificing Needles to kill three, then deployed the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel to kill two more. Five remained, and when the Royal Lord made his move, six additional Domain Lords surged into the fray.
Every one of these Domain Lords was an Innate Domain Lord of Chekong's caliber—each one supremely powerful in their own right.
Discounting the one Yang Kai had just slain, a full ten Domain Lords now besieged the remnant army, while the humans had a mere four Eighth-Order cultivators.
Even though
The humans' decline did not escape the Ink Clan's eyes, and the deterrent power of Yang Kai's intervention rapidly dissipated.
The further the remnant army pushed, the more dire their situation became. From every direction, Ink Clan forces closed in. The Domain Lords no longer attacked rashly, fearing Yang Kai might catch them off guard and kill them. Instead, they lingered behind their armies, using the troops to wear down the humans' strength while occasionally unleashing secret techniques that blew apart one warship after another.
Yang Kai watched with eyes nearly splitting from rage, wishing he could grab his spear and slaughter every last Domain Lord. But his head was pounding so hard it felt ready to explode, and he could do almost nothing against those Domain Lords hiding at the rear.
He dared not leave the Purification Ship lightly. If he departed and the Domain Lords attacked, the ship and its defenders would be unable to hold.
The remnant army's advance slowed to a crawl, as though wading through a swamp. When they were less than a hundred thousand li from No Return Pass, the Ink Clan army had completely surrounded them.
Gazing at the gateway that seemed almost within arm's reach, despair settled over every heart.
If they could just pass through that gateway, the remnant army would break free of No Return Pass and return to the Three Thousand Worlds. None knew what awaited on the other side, but it was, after all, their homeland.
Yet so close, yet so impossibly far.
No one regretted anything. The moment they had decided to charge No Return Pass, everyone had already foreseen this outcome—even Yang Kai himself.
But deep down, he and every warrior had clung to a sliver of hope, a thread of expectation.
More than anything, they simply refused to continue lurking in the
They would rather die on the battlefield. Only then would a lifetime of cultivation not be wasted.
"Kill!"
When that final hope of making it home was snatched away, a strange calm settled over them all, as though they had finally let go of something.
Battle cries shook the heavens. Murderous intent converged like a tide. The remnant army, nearly immobilized by the Ink Clan's encirclement, erupted in that instant with astonishing power. Countless beams of light from secret techniques and Artifacts surged outward in every direction.
In that fleeting moment, untold numbers of formations and Artifacts, unable to bear the enormous strain, dimmed and then shattered completely.
Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators darted out from their protective warships, summoning Artifacts to slay the enemy.
The Four Symbols formation centered on the Purification Ship rapidly shrank as warships were blown apart one after another.
The remnant army's final explosion of power was almost more than the Ink Clan could bear. In mere dozens of breaths, innumerable Ink Clan warriors fell. Even one Ink Clan Domain Lord was severely wounded under Ouyang Lie's life-for-a-life fighting style and forced to retreat in terror.
This was the remnant army's final blaze of glory.
Yang Kai too had released the shackles in his heart. If they were destined to perish here, then he would kill until he was satisfied first!
But before he could even charge off the Purification Ship, a deep bovine cry rang out through the void!
In the next instant, the Ink Clan army surrounding the remnant forces fell into chaos. Countless auras withered and died. Yang Kai whipped his head around and saw an enormous Azure Bull charging through the Ink Clan army from the void. Demonic energy rolled off its body like a flood tide, and under its four iron hooves, countless Ink Clan warriors were reduced to pulp.
With its head lowered, it charged forward unopposed. Even a Domain Lord was sent flying by its horn strike, blood spraying through the air as it was knocked who knew how far away.
"Little ones, keep up," the Bull Demon spoke in human tongue, brushing past the remnant army and carving a heavenly path straight ahead.
Everyone's spirits surged. The warriors manning the warships hurriedly steered their vessels to follow in the Bull Demon's wake.