He had intended to activate the Sun Mark and Moon Mark to sever the Ink Clan King Lord's qi lock, but on second thought, Yang Kai chose not to do so. Instead, he dragged his battered body and fled for his life.
With the Purifying Light, even if the King Lord locked onto him with his qi, he could still execute spatial teleportation. He had perfected this technique—back when he was chased by that ram-headed King Lord, he had relied on this very method to distance himself countless times before finally escaping into the Ocean Heavenly Phenomenon.
This time around, he had destroyed three King-level Ink Nests, killed a Primordial Domain Lord, and slain tens of thousands of low-ranking Ink Clan—it was worth it!
But for Yang Kai, the most pressing matter now was shaking off this King Lord's pursuit. Having suffered such devastating losses right under the King Lord's nose, this one was clearly furious.
After the King Lord burst out of No-Return Pass, more than a dozen Primordial Domain Lords followed in pursuit. Most of these Domain Lords were wounded, having retreated from the Three Thousand Worlds, and they intended to use the Ink Nests at No-Return Pass to recuperate.
Unfortunately, their speed was a tier below the King Lord's. After chasing for more than half a shichen, they had lost all trace of the King Lord and Yang Kai. Frustrated, they had no choice but to turn back.
On the other side, Yang Kai was cursing his luck.
Being chased by a King Lord wasn't exactly new to him, but the crux of the matter was that he didn't want to casually activate the Purifying Light, which meant he couldn't use spatial teleportation. Without it, shaking off his pursuer was simply impossible.
The distance between them was steadily closing. The King Lord was also launching frequent attacks from behind, each blow carrying tremendous power that tore through the surrounding void, sending Yang Kai tumbling and suffering injury after injury.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was tough and thick-skinned, and with his Dragon Vein Body bolstering him, ordinary attacks couldn't kill him in a single strike—otherwise, he really wouldn't have lasted this long.
In addition to the physical attacks, the King Lord's divine sense surged ceaselessly, manifesting as spiritual assaults that constantly tried to cause trouble for Yang Kai.
However, the Warm Spirit Lotus protected his divine soul. Even the King Lord's divine sense assaults were ineffective against him—all the attacks were blocked by the Warm Spirit Lotus.
Yang Kai was waiting.
Waiting for this King Lord to lose patience and resort to a King-level Secret Art.
Whether the King Lord would actually use a King-level Secret Art, Yang Kai couldn't be sure. It wasn't something he could force, so he had to gamble.
All he had to do was keep provoking his pursuer, fanning the flames of his rage.
A King-level Secret Art deployed by a King Lord was a killing move that spelled certain doom for Human Race eighth-order cultivators and those below. In the Void Domain battlefield, one King Lord had used a King-level Secret Art to convert Lu An and two other veteran eighth-order cultivators into Ink Servants. Though the King Lord had been weakened by the technique and swiftly slain, the Ink Clan had leveraged those three eighth-order Ink Servants to revive the Ink-colored Giant Spirit God at the Sacred Spirit Ancestral Land and open the passage between the Void Domain and the Wind Storm Domain.
It could be said that the King-level Secret Art used by that King Lord was crucial to the Ink Clan's full-scale invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds. That slain King Lord was a hero to the entire Ink Clan.
Under the current circumstances, Yang Kai didn't need to do anything special. He just had to flee with all his might. He had destroyed three King-level Ink Nests and killed a Primordial Domain Lord—the pursuing King Lord was determined to kill him, but if he couldn't take him down over a prolonged period, he would likely resort to a King-level Secret Art.
The moment he did, Yang Kai's opportunity would arrive!
Outside the Ocean Heavenly Phenomenon, that ram-headed King Lord had activated a King-level Secret Art, which weakened him enough for Yang Kai to land a devastating blow with the Sun Moon Divine Wheel, leading to his death.
That time's ability to slay a King Lord had involved a measure of luck, since even Yang Kai himself didn't know how exactly he had managed to kill that lord.
Yang Kai had no confidence in replicating that past glory, but if this King Lord truly activated a King-level Secret Art, even if he couldn't kill his opponent, forcing a mutually devastating outcome was at least possible.
As long as both sides were grievously wounded, Yang Kai would come out far ahead. His Dragon Vein Body, combined with the essence of the Ageless Tree he had refined in his early years, gave him recovery capabilities beyond compare. The Ink Clan King Lord, on the other hand, did not share this advantage. Once severely injured, he would need to enter slumber within an Ink Nest for a long period of healing.
During that recovery period, Yang Kai could make a significant impact at No-Return Pass.
It was precisely this line of thinking that had prevented him from immediately activating the Purifying Light to sever the King Lord's qi lock. If he wanted to enrage and provoke his opponent, he had to let the King Lord see a glimmer of hope of catching him—yet ensure he could never quite succeed.
This approach was undoubtedly extremely risky. One slip, and Yang Kai could truly fall to his opponent's hands.
But he felt the gamble was worth taking.
One chasing, one fleeing—two silhouettes rapidly distanced themselves from No-Return Pass, heading deeper into the Ink Battlefield.
Half a day passed, and the Ink Clan King Lord still showed no signs of using a King-level Secret Art. Perhaps in his view, a single Human Race eighth-order cultivator wasn't worth the risk.
But Yang Kai was reaching his limit.
Unable to shake off his pursuer and outmatched in strength, being chased like this, no one could hold out for long. Seeing that the King Lord had nearly closed to a critical distance, knowing that if he didn't act now he truly wouldn't escape, Yang Kai finally activated the Purifying Light, enveloping himself within it.