After observing for a while and giving everyone ample time to prepare, the old surnamed Cheng once again swung his massive hand downward.
Whooshes and hisses filled the air as an immeasurable torrent of violent energy crashed against the invisible barrier. To break through it as quickly as possible and explore the palace beyond, no one held back this time—even Yang Kai used a bit of his real power.
Had this invisible barrier been in its pristine condition, the collective cultivation of this group would have been utterly insufficient to shatter it, no matter how many decades they spent trying.
But this ancient ruin had existed for far too long, and every single restriction within it had weakened dramatically. The barrier before them was no exception.
When the second wave of dense, relentless attacks struck, the barrier buckled inward significantly further—yet this time, it seemed to have reached its absolute limit.
Crack...
Numerous fine, eerily-shaped fissures materialized in midair. Before long, those cracks spread outward in every direction, revealing more and more fractures before everyone's eyes.
The crowd cried out in alarm, watching with bated breath, every pair of eyes brimming with eager anticipation.
With a crisp shattering sound—like a mirror being smashed to pieces—the invisible barrier burst open.
The instant the barrier shattered, every martial artist present seemed to have been waiting for precisely this moment. Without waiting for any Transcendent Realm expert to give the order, each of them activated their movement techniques and surged forward at full speed.
The Transcendent Realm leaders were no different. Every one of the seven-family coalition's powerhouses fixed their greedy gazes upon the glowing sphere. Before even reaching it, they extended great hands toward it, desperate to claim it as their own.
In the blink of an eye, the temporary cooperation gave way to a fierce undercurrent of open conflict among those who had just worked together.
True Yuan fluctuated wildly as they shoved and jostled, terrified of falling behind.
Yang Kai didn't move. He merely observed the shifting situation with cold, wary eyes. The Holy Maiden of the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground didn't move either. Apart from them, quite a few suspicious-minded martial artists also remained rooted in place.
They knew their own strength was lacking. Rushing forward would likely get them nowhere in the scramble for that mysterious artifact, and instinct told them that danger probably lurked ahead. So they didn't dare act rashly, preferring to let others charge in first and gauge the situation.
Sure enough, before those charging fighters could even get close to the glowing sphere, a halo of pure white light suddenly erupted from it, spreading outward in all directions. The halo carried a strange, enigmatic wave of energy—swift as lightning.
The martial artists who had been rushing forward saw this and their faces changed dramatically. Despite their preparations, the halo caught them completely off guard.
No one had time to react. The moment they laid eyes on the light, they were already enveloped by it.
In the span of an instant, their movements became rigid, and they tumbled to the ground like gourds rolling downhill, without even the faintest strength to resist.
Yang Kai's expression shifted dramatically. Without a second thought, he retreated at maximum speed.
In the instant the halo swept past the forward fighters, Yang Kai felt waves of energy—varying in strength—being ripped from within their bodies and drawn into the sphere.
But even with Yang Kai's current speed, he couldn't escape the halo's pursuit. He had barely pulled back a short distance before the white light had already engulfed him.
His divine soul trembled violently. His sea of consciousness churned as though caught in a tempest. Yang Kai felt the ground heaving beneath his feet and the sky splitting overhead, as though his very soul were about to be torn away from his body.
Not daring to delay, he immediately steadied himself, held his breath, and focused his mind to stabilize the violent shaking of his soul.
In the midst of the chaos, he glanced around and was stunned to discover that every martial artist who had exercised caution and not joined the scramble—not a single one—had been spared the same fate as Hai Wangu and the others. They had all collapsed to the ground.
Even the Holy Maiden of the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground was among them.
However, she seemed to have held on a moment longer. Before succumbing, she turned her head and fixed Yang Kai with a lingering gaze, her red lips moving several times as though trying to say something.
Yang Kai guessed she was pleading for his help!
But how could he spare the attention? He was barely hanging on himself. Enveloped by that inexplicable halo, Yang Kai felt his divine soul as though seized by an invisible hand, on the verge of being ripped out from his sea of consciousness.
Shaken to his core, Yang Kai had no idea what kind of profound mystery lay behind this phenomenon. He hurriedly sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness.
The World-Destroying Demon Eye snapped open instantly, but even that was not enough to avert disaster.
He held on for fewer than ten breaths before the world before his eyes blurred. His divine soul detached from his sea of consciousness and plunged into a vast, blindingly white expanse.
One figure after another materialized before him. Every face was etched with panic and alarm, each person scanning their surroundings in stunned disbelief, unable to fathom what had happened.
These were all spiritual manifestations of divine souls—the very same group of martial artists who had been gathered outside. Not a single one was missing; all hundred or so were present.
"Hey!" A voice called from the side. Yang Kai turned his head warily and was startled to see the Holy Maiden of the Nine Heavens Sacred Ground hiding in a neglected corner, waving him over.
Yang Kai frowned, but under her repeated urging, he finally walked toward her.
She too was now a spiritual manifestation of her soul—neither fully solid nor entirely ethereal. Having lost her ability to alter her appearance, she had reverted to her true form.