The three Saint Realm demon cultivators, unaware of the truth, engaged Nan Shenggu in battle and were instantly locked in a desperate struggle.
Though they outnumbered her three to one, Nan Shenggu's cultivation exceeded each of theirs by a small sub-realm. Even fighting all three simultaneously, she showed no signs of being at a disadvantage.
Yang Kai's eyes lit up with delight when he saw this.
Without a word, he grabbed An Ling'er and fled at top speed!
"That kid..." Yu Mo caught sight of the scene but had no way to break free and stop them. He gnashed his teeth in fury, realizing that this mission was likely doomed to fail. He redirected all his pent-up rage onto Nan Shenggu, striking without mercy and unleashing the full devastating power of his saint-grade artifact.
Half an incense stick's time later, Yang Kai and An Ling'er had already fled over a hundred li away. Even at this distance, the earth-shaking fluctuations from the battle between those Saint Realm powerhouses were still palpable, sending a chill down his spine.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the Saint Realm and the Transcendent Realm were fundamentally different. It wasn't simply a gap between major realms—it was that every Saint Realm expert he had encountered so far seemed to possess a true essence flowing through their bodies that was distinctly different from that of a Transcendent.
Not having reached that level himself, Yang Kai had no way of knowing what secrets the Saint Realm held. He'd have to find someone to ask about it later.
"Huh..." An Ling'er suddenly let out a soft exclamation, her delicate brows knitting together as if she were silently sensing something.
At the same time, Yang Kai's expression darkened. Under his divine sense, he detected several powerful, top-tier experts charging toward their position with tremendous speed!
The auras radiating from these individuals were no weaker than Yu Mo's group—and one of them could even be compared to Nan Shenggu!
In the middle of nowhere like this, to suddenly have so many Saint Realm experts appear—Yang Kai couldn't afford to stay unconcerned.
Just as he was about to pull An Ling'er aside to avoid the oncoming experts, An Ling'er's face suddenly broke into a bright smile, her expression relaxing completely. "They're from my Holy Land!"
"What?" Yang Kai was stunned.
"We're saved! It must be Grand Elder Xu Hui with reinforcements!"
Hearing her words, Yang Kai's brows furrowed slightly. It seemed like quite a coincidence, but not entirely implausible. If these really were experts from the Nine Heavens Holy Land, they only needed to track Nan Shenggu's movements to locate An Ling'er—provided she was still alive.
An instinctive impulse to flee immediately surged within Yang Kai. He had no desire to come into contact with people from the Nine Heavens Holy Land. But the moment the thought arose, he suppressed it.
Leaving now would look terribly suspicious, like the behavior of a guilty man. It would only make those experts suspicious. Moreover, Yang Kai couldn't be sure that once he and An Ling'er separated, Nan Shenggu would let him go. If she drove back Yu Mo's group and then turned her attention to hunting him down alone, he would have absolutely no way to resist. Given the current situation, staying with the experts ahead was undoubtedly the safer option.
"An Ling'er..." Yang Kai suddenly called out softly.
"Hm?"
"How have I treated you during this time?"
"How?" An Ling'er blinked, then thought carefully. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she said quietly, "Very well."
Whether it was on the ocean floor, inside the Minor Mystic World, or in the Demon Territory, Yang Kai had always looked after her. Even during their escape, he had kept her by his side. Over this past year of sharing hardships together, An Ling'er had long since come to regard Yang Kai as the person she depended on for survival.
"Then do me a favor. When you meet the people from your Holy Land, absolutely do not mention anything about the Holy Master. And don't tell them that I learned three moves of the Nine Heavens Divine Art from you!"
"You really don't want to be the Holy Master?" An Ling'er saw through his intentions with sharp perception.
Yang Kai shook his head slowly. "I already told you. Even without becoming your Holy Master, I can reach that height. But if I do become your Holy Master, I probably won't last three hundred years before I turn into a pile of white bones! My death doesn't matter, but a lot of people would be heartbroken!"
"All women, I suppose?" An Ling'er asked in a small voice, her tone slightly sour.
"Ahem... just one or two, that's all," Yang Kai said with an awkward expression.
"Fine. Since you're so opposed to it, I won't say anything. Once we reach a safe place, you can leave on your own. I'm sure the Grand Elder and the others won't make things too difficult for you," An Ling'er said, gently biting her red lips.
"Mm." Yang Kai gave a slight nod without slowing his pace, heading straight toward the figures approaching from the front.
As they talked, several threads of divine sense swept over from the other side, probing and sensing their location. In just a short moment, all of those divine sense threads carried an unmistakable note of joy and excitement—they had clearly recognized An Ling'er's life signature.
Moments later, several streaks of brilliant light appeared in Yang Kai's vision. From far away, a voice called out: "Is that Her Highness the Holy Maiden?"
"Grand Elder!" An Ling'er quickly responded.
"It really is the Holy Maiden!" The streaks of light accelerated even further, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived before Yang Kai and An Ling'er.
Four Saint Realm experts!
The one in the lead was presumably the Grand Elder Xu Hui that An Ling'er had mentioned, a cultivator at the second level of the Saint Realm—his strength was every bit a match for Nan Shenggu's. He wore a long gray robe, his eyes glinting with a sharp light, and his expression carried a natural air of authority.