In the span of a single heartbeat, life and death were decided!
The Soul Severing Sting was a double-edged sword—devastating to the enemy but equally punishing to the user. Its power was immense, and only someone like Yang Kai, who had endured it multiple times, had grown somewhat accustomed to the agony of having his soul torn apart. Any enemy struck by the Soul Severing Sting would, in that instant, wish for death.
And then, they truly died.
The moment that powerful aura withered away, every being in the vicinity sensed it.
On the Bixi Warship hidden in the shadows and hurtling toward them at breakneck speed, a group of young warriors were stunned beyond belief.
They had received word from the Bixi Avatar and were prepared to assist Yang Kai in battle, steeling themselves for what they expected to be a grueling fight. Yet they never imagined that before the clash had even truly begun, a Domain Lord would fall!
The power that erupted from that exchange was ferocious and chaotic, but the Dao of Time, the Dao of Space—even the Dao of the Spear—were unmistakably clear. How could Yang Xiao and the others fail to perceive it?
For the first time, they witnessed Yang Kai's true strength! Though they could only sense it from afar, without seeing it with their own eyes, that overwhelming power filled them with yearning and reverence, making them want to bow in worship!
On the battlefield, the Ink Clan Domain Lord who had struck first was annihilated in an instant, and Yang Kai grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
To guarantee a single killing blow, he had completely abandoned his own defenses. The black light spat out by the second Domain Lord had pierced clean through his body.
Dense Ink Force coiled around the wound, rapidly corroding his flesh.
That Domain Lord was both alarmed and elated. He had already known his companion would meet a grim end—ambushed at close range by an Eighth-Order human, one would either die or suffer devastating injuries. But for his companion to be killed so effortlessly still took him by surprise.
At least he had injured the human Eighth-Order in return.
Strike while the enemy is down! This Domain Lord slammed another palm strike toward Yang Kai, showing no mercy. He had no intention of Ink-Fying this human Eighth-Order. Ink-Fying an Eighth-Order was no easy feat—in all the years the Ink Clan had waged war against humanity, the number of Eighth-Order who had been Ink-Fied could be counted on one hand, and most of those required the Kings to personally deploy King-level secret arts.
Domain Lords, though formidable in their own right, could only dream of Ink-Fying a human Eighth-Order. The only way was to trap the Eighth-Order and grind them down with a sustained bombardment of Ink Force until they succumbed.
Leave nothing standing! Losing one companion was acceptable—killing this Eighth-Order would more than make up for it.
But at the very moment he launched his attack, on the Bixi Warship, a ragged band of women warriors suddenly exploded into action. One after another, divine abilities and secret arts thundered from the warship's deck. Phantom images of dragons and phoenixes flickered into existence and vanished in a flash—soaring dragon roars and resounding phoenix cries echoing through heaven and earth.
A single attack was nothing to this Domain Lord. But what about ten?
Even a Primordial Domain Lord would not dare underestimate the combined assault of ten human Seventh-Order cultivators, let alone the fact that several among them were Sacred Spirits!
These human women… they had been feigning weakness!
The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
He had thought these human Seventh-Order were fragile and unremarkable, far weaker than he'd imagined. Only now did it dawn on him—not that they lacked power, but that they had deliberately appeared feeble to lull him and his fallen companion into complacency.
This was a trap!
The Domain Lord was seized with terror. Faced with ten devastating secret arts hurtling toward him, he dared not show the slightest carelessness and scrambled to defend himself.
He could no longer spare any thought for killing the Eighth-Order he had wounded.
In truth, he wasn't even sure he would get another chance. Though that Eighth-Order's body had been pierced clean through, his expression hadn't changed in the slightest—all that showed was cold indifference. In his hand, a spear blurred into a sky full of phantom thrusts, blanketing the Domain Lord in an impenetrable web of strikes.
Under normal circumstances, a single Primordial Domain Lord could hold his own against ten human Seventh-Order fighting in concert. But when several of those ten were Sacred Spirits, the pressure became considerable.
And when an Eighth-Order joined the assault as well, even the most powerful Primordial Domain Lord would be overwhelmed.
Raging energies swept outward in every direction, warping and shattering the void. In that brief exchange, all ten women on the Bixi Warship were violently shaken. Even the Bixi Warship itself was blasted backward.
Yang Kai was sent hurtling in retreat, blood gushing from his wound. The Domain Lord opposite him was faring no better—after that onslaught, his towering form was riddled with damage, covered in more wounds than he could count, black blood streaming from every gash.
His expression was one of utter horror.
The strength of those human Seventh-Order was beyond expectations, and this human Eighth-Order was unfathomably powerful.
This was no ordinary Eighth-Order. This was the absolute pinnacle of human Eighth-Order!
In the span of a single exchange, the Domain Lord had arrived at a clear assessment: even one-on-one, he might not be able to defeat this opponent. With ten Seventh-Order at his side, the odds were hopeless.
He needed to flee immediately. If he didn't, his chances of survival were slim. He still had three companions pursuing another warship. If he could regroup with them quickly, he would not only survive but might even turn the tables.
In that instant, the Domain Lord's will to retreat crystallized. Seizing the moment when the Bixi Warship and Yang Kai were both sent flying backward, he flickered and transformed into a streak of black light, ready to flee.
"Freeze!" Yang Kai's gaze turned cold as he roared. The surrounding void solidified, and the streak of Ink Force plunged into it as if sinking into a quagmire, its speed drastically reduced.
At the same time, behind Shan Qing Luo on the Bixi Warship, the enormous shadow of a great spider materialized. On its forehead, a crescent moon blazed with unmistakable radiance.
Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!