The Heavenly Travel Palace shot forth, transforming into a streak of light that vanished beyond everyone's sight. Yang Kai froze on the spot.
"It flew away... What's going on?" the Earth-Splitting Divine Bull bellowed.
"Meng Wuya — he's right over there!" The Thunder Dragon's eyes narrowed as he declared with certainty.
Yang Kai had already quickened his pace, racing in the direction the Heavenly Travel Palace had departed, his expression caught between excitement and tension.
Great Sovereign Thunder Dragon swept his hand forward and commanded in a low voice, "Everyone, follow me. That greatest human powerhouse of old — he may truly be here."
"The greatest human powerhouse, is it? I'd very much like to see that for myself," the Earth-Splitting Divine Bull said, his eyes brightening considerably.
To be hailed as the strongest meant that fellow called Meng Wuya must have possessed extraordinary abilities; otherwise, the humans of the world would never have acknowledged such a title.
An open expanse of ground lay before them, resembling a field of scattered rubble, with chunks of broken stone strewn across the surface.
Within that expanse stood eerie stone pillars — eight in total, arranged in an octagonal formation. Each pillar radiated intensely powerful energy fluctuations.
Moreover, these energy fluctuations possessed entirely different attributes — the searing breath of flame, the biting chill of ice, the pervasive presence of deadly poison, and the swift, coursing power of lightning.
All manner of different force concepts flowed through this place, converging into a region of terrifying might.
At this moment, upon one of those eight stone pillars, a white-haired old man was bound by an invisible force. He could not move, could not speak, his head hanging low. His clothes were torn and tattered like a beggar's, and his life force flickered weakly — on the verge of death.
Crack, rumble — the sounds were relentless. From the eight stone pillars, waves of terrifying power erupted at intervals, surging toward the old man's body.
That was power sufficient to destroy heaven and earth. The old man seemed to have been whipped by these forces for a long time already, reduced to his last breath, yet he clung stubbornly to that final wisp of vitality, refusing to let his life force be extinguished.
Flames burned across the old man's body, scorching his flesh until it charred. Lightning pierced through him, incinerating his insides. Deadly poison spread through every inch of his flesh and blood, causing his entire skin to shimmer with a sickly black-green hue.
Beyond the octagonal pillars, a woman sat upon the ground. She was veiled, her eyes clear as crystal and free of the slightest blemish. Strange power emanated from her slender body, timing itself with the surging forces within the eight stone pillars, her delicate hands constantly waving to offset and alleviate the horrific damage befalling the old man.
The woman was petite in stature, a thin veil obscuring her face so her true appearance could not be seen. A blue sapphire adorned her forehead, as clear and radiant as her beautiful eyes.
Faint tear tracks marked her lovely face, though no tears were falling now — it seemed she had already cried herself dry.
Her slender body trembled as she continuously poured out her own power, desperate to rescue the old man from the octagonal pillars, yet utterly powerless to do so.
Pill after pill was consumed, restoring her dwindling strength.
Boom —
Another bolt of lightning lashed out from one of the pillars, thick as a man's thigh, and struck the old man's body. In an instant, his skin split open and blood sprayed into the air. Jolted by this bolt of lightning, the old man finally stirred from his unconsciousness. He raised his head slightly, and those dim, fading eyes fixed upon the woman. He pressed his lips together, struggling to speak, but no sound emerged.
The woman understood his meaning and shook her head ceaselessly.
Guilt surfaced in the old man's eyes, along with a deep, fierce unwillingness to yield.
Just then, the old man suddenly seemed to sense something. He gathered every last shred of strength and looked off to one side.
There, a streak of light was hurtling toward them with the speed of lightning, plunging straight into his body.
The old man's body shuddered, and a look of utter disbelief washed over his face. Those dim, faded eyes suddenly blazed with astonishing brilliance.
The next instant, a palace-like barrier of light flared to life, enveloping the old man's entire body and blocking the forces lashing at him from every direction.
Perhaps because of that streak of light's return, the old man's complexion turned slightly ruddy, a measure of vitality restored to him.
The woman seated beyond the octagonal pillars let out a soft gasp. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she turned to look in the direction from which the streak of light had come — and there, gradually materializing through the gray haze, was a heroic, imposing figure.
Their gazes met, and the tears that the woman had long since exhausted suddenly welled up again, rolling down her cheeks.
Yang Kai gazed at her in a daze, feeling the blood in his entire body boil. His fingertips trembled slightly, and he broke into a smile, his voice so gentle it could have softened stone: "Little Senior Sister, I've finally found you."
Standing before him was none other than Xia Ningshang — the one he had been searching for ever since coming to the Profound Mystic Continent, for ten long years.
She looked exactly as she had when he had left Zhongdu, unchanged in the slightest. Time seemed to have left not a single mark upon her.
The only thing that had changed was her figure — considerably more filled out than before.
"Junior Brother?" Xia Ningshang could scarcely believe what she was seeing, murmuring, "Am I dreaming?"
Yang Kai shook his head and took a step toward her.