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A Void Crack suddenly appeared above the barren peak, and through the crack came the violent Astral Wind.
Mao Zhe was both surprised and shocked.
He was surprised because his speculation was right. The origin of the Astral Wind was really where the exit was. The Astral Wind didnât belong in the Shadowless Cave Heaven to begin with; instead, it blew into this place from the outside world. Perhaps they could leave the Shadowless Cave Heaven by going past the crack.
However, he was shocked because it was the first time he saw such an intense Astral Wind.
He had lived in the Shadowless Cave Heaven for about 10,000 years, but it was the first time he came across such a violent gale.
On second thought though, it wasnât so surprising. This place was considered the source of the Astral Wind, so it was expected that the gale here was fiercer than other parts of the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
Mao Zhe could clearly feel the Astral Wind gusting into his Small Universe, bringing his World Force away and undermining his heritage. All of his vitality weltered, and it was as though his bones had softened.
âYouâre insane!â Mao Zhe glared at Yang Kai in a way as though he wanted to eat him alive, âEven if you want to die, donât drag us down with you!â
While he reproached the young man, he kept looking for somewhere that could fend off the Astral Wind. Unfortunately, there wasnât such a place within his sight. The Astral Wind seemed to have filled the entire universe, and no place was safe.
Yang Kai, however, was just standing in front of the Void Crack. There was an ancient tree behind him that exuded vibrant vitality. He was engulfed in the low-hanging branches and as the Astral Wind gusted through the canopy, the branches swayed lightly but the man inside wasnât bothered one bit. He just stared silently at the three of them who looked like they were on pins and needles.
Mao Zhe swept a glance over the ancient tree, then his pupils contracted as he shouted, âYouâre able to fend off the Astral Wind?â
âWhatâs so hard about that?â Yang Kai put on a faint smile.
âThatâs impossible!â Mao Zhe growled.
Although he wasnât willing to believe it, what he was seeing wasnât fake. Yang Kai was just standing outside of the wind source. Supposedly, he would be more severely affected than the others; however, the reality was that within the ancient treeâs range, the Astral Wind was warded off as though it was blocked by an invisible force.
[Thatâs the reason heâs so confident!] A realization dawned upon Mao Zhe. Just now, he doubted why Yang Kai had come all the way here to look for the exit instead of staying on Twin Spirit Island; after all, the Astral Wind would strike once a month, and every strike could cause immense losses to a cultivatorâs Small Universe.
Nevertheless, it now seemed that Yang Kai wasnât afraid of the Astral Wind.
At that instant, he recalled that Yang Kai had told him to keep it up and he must never beg him for help. The young man was clearly waiting to embarrass him.
Mao Zhe was so infuriated that his murderous intent surged and he roared, âKill!â
Upon finishing his words, he charged towards Yang Kai.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ya and Geng Qing followed right behind him. The three Mountain Lords had joined forces again as they pounced on the young man in an imposing manner.
They had previously done that on Profound Yang Mountain, but they were eventually defeated by Yang Kai. It wasnât that they were weak. It was because Mao Zhe believed that he was the strongest cultivator in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so he had underestimated Yang Kai. Once a mistake was made, it was hard for him to turn things around.
After the incident, he gave it a thought and reckoned that if he hadnât been negligent, things wouldnât have ended up in such a terrible state. Regardless of how powerful Yang Kai was, he hadnât reached the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. He was just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Given the harsh lesson previously, Mao Zhe wouldnât dare to lower his guard now; therefore, he went all out from the start. His Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura shook the World as he attacked.
When Yang Kai, who was standing outside the Void Crack, saw that the Mountain Lords were as ferocious as tigers, he merely shook his head and before the three of them could strike him, he directly disappeared from the spot.
Mao Zhe almost sprayed out a mouthful of blood with exasperation.
He was ready to strike, but his target had gone missing all of a sudden, which made him feel like he had punched a pile of cotton. It was expected that he was vexed.
Turning his head, he saw Yang Kai standing just more than 10 kilometres away and staring silently at them.
âBig Brother!â Geng Qing awaited his order.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Mao Zhe said through gritted teeth, âGo!â
Then, he directly plunged into the Void Crack and disappeared. Seeing that, Geng Qing and Zhou Ya hurriedly followed him.
âTheyâre pretty resolute.â Yang Kai watched them leave and nodded gently.
As the Astral Wind devastated the surroundings, the three of them were losing their strength with each passing breath. If this dragged on, it could cause their Small Universes to collapse.
Rather than getting tangled up with Yang Kai, they figured it was better to look for the exit through the wind source. As long as they could get out of the wind source, they would be able to leave the Shadowless Cave Heaven and obtain their freedom.
However, it wasnât an easy feat to leave.
Yang Kai looked silently at the Void Crack he had torn apart with a meaningful grin on his face as the relentless Astral Wind caused the branches of the ancient tree behind him to sway.
After just ten breaths of time, three figures shot out of the Void Crack, looking battered with unstable auras. They were Mao Zhe and the others who had entered the crack just now.
In just ten breaths of time, their auras had dropped significantly. It was apparent that they had suffered some huge losses. Presently, they all looked horrified as though they were being pursued by some kind of hideous beast. In quick steps, they ran as far away as possible from the Void Crack and disappeared over the horizon.
Before they vanished from sight, Mao Zhe glared at Yang Kai and snarled, âThis Monarch will never forget what youâve done to me and will get even with you one day!â
Yang Kai put on a faint smile and nonchalantly chased after them.
Mao Zhe and the others thought that they would just stay as far away from the wind source as possible, but regardless of how far they went, they were still unable to get rid of the Astral Windâs harassment.
What made them even more incensed was the fact that Yang Kai was calmly following them, and they were unable to get rid of him.
He didnât attempt to attack them as he just gazed at them from afar as though he was watching a good show.
Two hours later, Zhou Ya screamed with a pale face, âSomething is wrong, Big Brother!â
Mao Zheâs expression was so cold that it was as though one could scrape a layer of frost off his face. Certainly, he had also realised that something was off. Usually, the Astral Wind would only last for about an hour before it stopped, but now it had far exceeded its normal duration.
After giving it a thought, he realised that the cause of the Astral Wind this time was that Yang Kai had torn the Void apart and exposed the wind source. If the Void Crack wasnât closed, the wind source wouldnât disappear; therefore, they were unable to draw on their past experiences to make a judgement.
However, under the influence of the Astral Wind, the heritages of their Small Universes were draining away at a steady pace. There would come a moment when their cultivation regressed or their Small Universes might even fall apart directly.
One hour later, the Astral Wind still didnât seem to be stopping anytime soon and Zhou Ya appeared to be in a desperate state.
Geng Qing took a glance at the relentless Yang Kai and said through clenched teeth, âWhy donât we fight it out with him, Big Brother?â
There was a bitter smile on Mao Zheâs face as he shook his head, âWeâre no longer a match for him.â
If they were still in peak condition, they could have joined forces and fought against Yang Kai; however, presently, their strengths had plummeted significantly, so how were they supposed to defeat him?
They were unable to flee either. If Yang Kai had the intention, he could wait for their strength to drop further and easily kill them off. He didnât even need to make a move actually, for it would only take three to five days before the three of them were killed by the Astral Wind.
All of a sudden, Mao Zhe stopped in his tracks and turned around. As he stared at the approaching Yang Kai, he questioned in a grim voice, âWhat do you want?â
Yang Kai stopped and hovered in mid-air. The branches of the ancient tree behind him hung low and his stable aura suggested that he hadnât even been affected by the Astral Wind one bit in the past three hours.
He looked condescendingly at Mao Zhe and asked, âYouâre an intelligent man, Head Mountain Lord, so why is there a need to ask the obvious?â
Mao Zhe asked, âYouâve torn space apart and exposed the wind source. Now, the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven will be devastated by the Astral Wind. What benefits would that bring you?â
Yang Kai shook his head, âI just wanted to see if I could break through the Void and connect to the outside world. Exposing the wind source was just an accident.â
Mao Zhe scoffed, âEven if thatâs true, what are you trying to achieve by following us but not attacking? I hope youâre not going to tell me that you want to collect our corpses.â
Yang Kai sneered, âI donât have such a distasteful hobby.â
Mao Zheâs face fell as he took a glance at the tree behind the young man, âDo you want us to submit to you, then?â
Yang Kai replied with a smile, âIâm just trying to give you all a chance to survive. In this situation, youâre going to lose your lives if you donât submit to me. I believe no one is willing to lose their life when there is another option, including you all. Why would you turn me down when thereâs a chance to survive?â
Mao Zhe said through clenched teeth, âThis Monarch has lived for a long time, and has killed countless people before. Do you think I fear death?â
Yang Kai rubbed his palms together, âI admire the fact that youâre not afraid of death, Head Mountain Lord. Youâre truly valiant. If you insist on dying today, I wonât stop you. After you pass away, Iâll help you find a proper place and bury your corpse. However⌠sometimes simply dying isnât the worst fate a man can face. Seeing the cultivation youâve accumulated over millennia slowly being scraped away, all your hopes, dreams, and aspirations taken from you piece by piece, now that sounds like a fate worse than death.â
Mao Zheâs expression darkened when he heard that.
Just like what Yang Kai had said, life or death already didnât matter to someone like Mao Zhe. He had lived for a long time and killed innumerable people in the past. He could accept it if he were to die in battle.
However, seeing his lifeâs work slowly taken from him, the heritage of his Small Universe shaved off one piece at a time while being powerless to resist, it was simply intolerable. It was just like seeing a thief barging into his house, taking away all his properties and burning his home down while he was forced to watch.
The whole point of cultivation was to traverse oneâs Martial Dao. No one could tolerate the notion of their cultivation being stolen from them.
Geng Qingâs face was livid as he shuddered in rage and unwillingness. It was as though he could imagine himself perishing into nothingness.
Zhou Ya pressed her lips together and her eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.
Yang Kai extended his hand and said, âI truly admire the fact that youâre so calm in the face of death. Since youâre determined to die, I will stop persuading you. All of you may set off on your journey to the Yellow Springs now!â
He appeared ready to watch them slowly perish on their own.