However, as the Sacred Land's defensive system continued to collapse, Divine Sovereign Kasyapa's mood sank further and further.
He could clearly tell that time was running out for him.
If he didn't launch his attack soon, once the defenses crumbled, he would be completely exposed. At that point, the plan for a surprise attack would be ruined.
"Can't wait any longer!"
Kasyapa's mind was crystal clear. Clenching his teeth, his avatar flickered, and an ancient trident appeared in his hand.
With a flip of his left hand, he produced a golden ancient talisman.
"This strike must either kill the enemy instantly, or I will inevitably be surrounded." Divine Sovereign Kasyapa knew there was no third possibility.
Any cultivator who had reached the Divine Dao possessed a formidable heart and unwavering conviction.
Having made his decision, Kasyapa wasted no time. He hurled the golden talisman, and countless blinding bolts of golden lightning erupted forth like a swarm of tiny serpents.
The golden lightning converged in an instant into a vast golden ocean, crashing down around the sallow-faced Divine Dao cultivator.
The sallow-faced man had been unleashing his full assault against the defensive system. At the sight of the sudden golden lightning, he gave a cold snort. His dharma robe swelled high and billowed outward, releasing wave after wave of eerie cyan radiance — almost as if perfectly designed to intercept the golden bolts.
It was precisely at that moment that Divine Sovereign Kasyapa's dharma body slashed out diagonally from within the golden light, his trident lunging toward the sallow-faced man's waist and ribs with the speed of lightning before thunder.
This was also the hardest region to defend.
By the time the sallow-faced cultivator dodged the golden lightning, he had already sensed the ambush. A cold gleam of light swept outward in a backhanded strike as he tried to block the second wave of attack.
This was the instinctive response of a powerhouse. And one had to admit — that instinct was remarkably timely. Just as the trident was about to pierce through, his backhanded slash caught it squarely.
However, the momentum behind Divine Sovereign Kasyapa's trident was utterly ferocious. Though the slash halted its initial thrust, the residual force did not relent. The trident punched through the cyan radiance and pierced into the man's dharma robe. In an instant, blood seeped along the fabric, dyeing half the robe red in a single heartbeat.
"Damn it!"
The other three Divine Dao cultivators immediately rushed to his aid.
Three devastating attacks hammered toward Divine Sovereign Kasyapa from his left, right, and rear without a shred of mercy.
Divine Sovereign Kasyapa silently cursed his bad luck. Two devastating killing moves in succession, and all he managed was to wound his opponent — not a single fatal blow.
With his allies rushing to his aid, the sallow-faced cultivator managed to break free. His figure dissolved into a streak of green light and shot backward, his face still drained of color from the close call.
Though his robes were stained with blood, the wound the sallow-faced cultivator had taken clearly hadn't touched his foundation.
"An Kasyapa — heaven had a wide-open road for you to walk, yet you barged straight through the gates of hell instead. Fine, fine. Today, we'll see just how we hunt you down!"
The sallow-faced cultivator viciously flung his robe aside, hoisting his long saber high above his head. His eyes burned with hatred, locked firmly onto Divine Sovereign Kasyapa.
The bald cultivator, meanwhile, sighed: "Fellow Daoist An, you brought this on yourself. Don't blame us for forgetting old ties."
The bald cultivator had still harbored a degree of goodwill toward An Kasyapa. But now, with An Kasyapa having launched the first attack, that thin thread of goodwill had snapped for good.
The strength of those two great guardians far surpassed that of the sallow-faced and bald cultivators. Seeing the sallow-faced cultivator take a wound, their expressions remained utterly unruffled.