After cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the remains of the human eighth-rank cultivators who had fallen here, the group pressed onward, their hearts heavy with solemn silence.
In this iteration of the Qiankun Furnace, both the human and Mo Clan had sent considerable numbers of their strongest fighters. The Mo Clan alone fielded nearly twenty Pseudo-King Lords, perhaps even more.
Teams like Yang Kai's were hunting Mo Clan powerhouses, but the Mo Clan's Pseudo-King Lords were no less eager to hunt human powerhouses in return.
In the outside world, the balance the two races had maintained for thousands of years had been completely shattered by the appearance of the Qiankun Furnace. A large-scale confrontation was inevitable. The great war that would truly decide the fate of both races had already begun, which made the struggle within this furnace world all the more critical.
If the humans could slay more Mo Clan powerhouses here and seize more opportunities, it would greatly benefit the situation out there. Conversely, it would grant the Mo Clan even greater advantages.
Throughout history, every time the Qiankun Furnace appeared, the powerhouses who entered it competed for far more than just opportunities—they competed for the very destiny of their respective races.
Fortunately, this time the situation was different. Because the Mo Clan that had originally occupied the Battlefield of the Mo had been annihilated, their intelligence and heritage had been severed. The Mo Clan knew nothing about the Qiankun Furnace, while the humans, relatively speaking, possessed far more knowledge.
But such an intelligence advantage could not determine the ultimate outcome of this affair. It still came down to the many human powerhouses fighting with everything they had.
This time, the Qiankun Furnace had produced nine supreme-grade Opening Heaven Pills. The only one whose current whereabouts could be confirmed was the one refined by Ouyang Lie. The remaining eight were all drifting without a trace.
It was impossible for the humans to seize all nine Opening Heaven Pills—Yang Kai had long since anticipated this.
Setting aside the Mo Clan entirely, in the race for the Opening Heaven Pills, the native Chaos Spirit Clan held innate advantages. The Chaos Spirits were spread throughout the entire furnace world, and wherever a supreme-grade pill fell, it would most likely be obtained by the Chaos Spirits first.
Wasn't the spirit pill Yang Kai had previously obtained snatched from a Chaos Jellyfish entity?
Now, those remaining eight pills had likely already fallen into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan. If the humans or the Mo Clan discovered them in time, they might still be able to seize them back. But if they were too late—if the Chaos Spirits had already refined them—then even finding the pills would be pointless.
That was why Yang Kai felt that out of the nine supreme-grade Opening Heaven Pills, if the human side could secure four, that would be a tremendous haul. Five or six would naturally be even better.
He did have the Sun Moon Mark as a trump card, but locating the supreme-grade Opening Heaven Pills was no easy task—otherwise he wouldn't have only found one until now.
Just as he was considering how to more efficiently track down the remaining pills, Yang Kai suddenly sensed something. He turned his head toward a particular direction, a strange expression crossing his face.
It truly was the case of searching everywhere fruitlessly, only to find what you sought without any effort. Here he was wondering how to locate the remaining pills, and the Sun Moon Mark actually produced a faint pulse of resonance!
When luck arrives, not even fate can hold it back?
Yang Kai rejoiced inwardly. Lei Ying, perched on his shoulder, noticed the change and sent a voice transmission: "What did you find?"
"A spirit pill!" Yang Kai replied briefly, then transmitted to the group: "Suppress your auras and move stealthily. Follow me!"
With that, he was the first to dart in that direction. Everyone quickly reined in their auras, while Lei Ying activated its innate divine ability to envelop the group.
In the silent void, the party of six humans and one leopard drifted onward like a dark shadow, utterly soundless.
After a moment, the joy on Yang Kai's face gradually faded, replaced by an increasingly solemn expression.
He faintly detected the commotion of powerful beings clashing up ahead. But because the distance was still too great, he didn't dare probe recklessly, making it difficult to discern the strength of the combatants.
Yet at such a distance, the shockwaves still reached them—the combatants were clearly no ordinary fighters.
Mo Clan Pseudo-King Lords fighting a human eighth-rank? No—that wasn't right. Only two parties were involved. If a human eighth-rank had truly run into a Pseudo-King Lord, they would be hopelessly outmatched and unable to sustain such a fierce battle.
Pressing onward, Yang Kai's expression grew even graver.
By now, even Tian Xiuzhu, the most seasoned veteran among the eighth-ranks, had caught wind of something. He couldn't help glancing at Yang Kai with suspicion, unable to fathom how Yang Kai had sensed the anomaly and headed straight in this direction.
As the distance steadily closed, Zhan Tianhe and the others finally detected it as well. Each of them formed their battle formations and prepared themselves, secretly circulating their power, waiting for Yang Kai's command to charge in and tear the enemy apart.
This was how they had been operating these past days—every battle had been an overwhelming victory. A considerable number of Domain Lords had already fallen to their hands.
But Yang Kai suddenly halted in his tracks, his expression grave as he looked toward the source of the battle's aftershocks. In his left eye, a golden cross-shaped vertical pupil revealed itself—both eerie and majestic.
The scene that entered his sight made his heart sink to its heaviest depth.
His worst fear had come true, and it was happening right under his nose.
Tian Xiuzhu also sensed that something was wrong, but without Yang Kai's eye technique, he couldn't make out the distant battlefield clearly. He couldn't help transmitting: "Junior Brother Yang, who are the two parties fighting?"