Martial Peak
chapter-4673

Upon seeing that Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang didn’t stop, Cheng Yang appeared furious as he snapped, “Pointless obstinance!”

He then raised his hand and made a grabbing gesture. As his Word Force surged, a huge green illusory hand appeared in the void and covered Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang like a Heaven Shrouding Palm.

The huge hand spanned a vast area, so they were unable to flee. In an instant, they were captured by the hand. As the hand tightened its grip, they felt a restrictive power coming at them from all directions.

Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang instantly felt their bones dislocating. At that moment, they were unable to see or hear anything, as though they were trapped inside a dark cage.

Just then, a Golden Crow was heard cawing while a Great Sun leapt into existence. With the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands, Yang Kai pushed it out and tore the darkness apart. In the meantime, a Divine Ability from Xia Lin Lang burst forth.

Although Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had made a hurried move from a long distance; therefore, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were able to break through it by joining forces.

The huge illusory hand fell apart while two battered figures shot out of it.

Cheng Yang knew that he couldn’t stop them with that attack; however, his move had successfully delayed them and allowed him to shorten the distance between them significantly.

While he continued charging forward, he balled up his fist and pushed it out.

The power of this attack broke through the barriers of space and a violent force swept out like a tsunami.

Yang Kai felt a crawling sensation on his scalp as all his muscles uncontrollably tightened. He then turned around in a hurry as his Azure Dragon Spear turned into countless spear shadows.

Although Xia Lin Lang was more powerful than him by one Order, she didn’t have as much experience in life-and-death battles against vastly stronger foes as he did; therefore, her reactions were slightly sluggish. Fortunately, following an attack from her partner, she hurriedly summoned a round defensive artifact to protect them.

The attack powered by the World Force of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shot forward and shattered all the spear shadows. Xia Lin Lang’s defensive artifact also turned dim as much of its spirituality was instantly lost.

As though a mountain had crashed into them, the two of them were sent flying away while spraying out a mouthful of blood.

“Hang on!” Yang Kai choked down the searing blood in his throat and grabbed the woman’s arm. By making use of the opponent’s force, he plunged into the Shattered Ruins.

A moment later, Bright Flame Divine Monarch appeared in front of the boundary to the Shattered Ruins. With a solemn expression, he looked up at the multi-coloured lights. Despite his hesitation, he still stepped forward to pursue them.

Although the Shattered Ruins was dangerous, the World Spring was so alluring to him that it was worth taking a risk. However, as soon as he stepped into the Shattered Ruins, he saw a violent Divine Ability coming at him. With widened eyes, he pushed out his fist. The Divine Ability that was equivalent to the full-force attack of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was shattered. Without stopping, Cheng Yang continued forward.

What surprised him was that as he moved forward, countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques came at him from all directions. Even though every attack was equivalent to a strike from a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which wouldn’t kill him, they were dense and continuous, making them annoying to deal with.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang, who were ahead of him, were horrified as well.

Before they even entered the Shattered Ruins, they already felt a very dangerous aura wafting from it, but it wasn’t until they actually entered that they got a real taste of it.

They couldn’t help wondering just how many Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had been left behind in this damned place.

Just like the Astral Wind Divine Ability that Yang Kai had come across in the past, these eerie Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had existed for countless years. Although they were not as terrifying as the Astral Wind Divine Ability, there seemed to be an infinite number of them.

Before their entry, these Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had remained dormant. Nevertheless, as they moved forward, they seemed to have been triggered by their life auras and attacked.

These Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques had come to life following a long time of stillness, and every one was equivalent to an all-out attack from an average Sixth-Order Master.

They were still so powerful even though countless years had passed, so it was imaginable that they were even more destructive when they were at the peak of their powers in the past. These attacks probably had the force of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master when they were first created.

The two of them seemed to have fallen into a place full of traps, and wherever they went, they would trigger these traps.

They wouldn’t dare to stop, nor could they do so. Once they did, they would be doomed.

Fortunately, there was a short delay before these Divine Abilities sprung to life; hence, there was some time for them to keep fleeing.

Bright Sun Divine Monarch, who was chasing after them, suffered in their stead. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques triggered by Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang actually all came right at him instead. He was basically cleaning up the mess for the two of them, and upon realizing this, Cheng Yang became increasingly incensed.

If he hadn’t barged into this place, these Divine Abilities would have targeted Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang; however, since he wasn’t willing to give up on the World Spring, he had followed them and was now being peppered with the attacks meant for the ones he was pursuing.

Although it wasn’t hard for him to deal with Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that were equivalent to attacks from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, he was certainly annoyed by them. As he charged forward, he wielded his fists madly and shattered all those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.

Tremors could be felt coming from behind and Yang Kai certainly knew that those were the noises that Cheng Yang was making. At this moment, he wasn’t in the mood to take pleasure in the other party’s misfortune though. Instead, he was growing more and more apprehensive.

He had heard from Xia Lin Lang that the Shattered Ruins was extremely dangerous, but it wasn’t until he barged into this place that he understood just what she meant.

It never crossed his mind that the inside of the Shattered Ruins would look like this.

While Cheng Yang was in a dilemma, it was the same case for Xia Lin Lang and Yang Kai. They didn’t dare to stop for an instant, for if they did, all the nearby Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques would fly at them.

Bright Flame Divine Monarch was powerful, so he could easily deal with this barrage of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, but Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang definitely couldn’t do that; after all, they were injured after they were attacked by Cheng Yang earlier.

“Do Divine Spirits really live here?” Yang Kai was doubtful. Although the Divine Spirits were formidable, with every mature Divine Spirit being as powerful as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, they shouldn’t be able to survive in such a hostile environment.

“It’s just a rumour. I’ve never come here before,” Xia Lin Lang shook her head.

Then, Yang Kai stopped thinking about it. Regardless of whether there were any Divine Spirits in this place, the lives of Xia Lin Lang and him were truly hanging by a thread.

“Yang Kai, if I pass away, Qin Fen and the others…”

Before she could finish speaking, Yang Kai cut her off by saying, “If you die, do you think I’ll be able to survive?”

Xia Lin Lang was lost for words. After giving it a thought, she realised that if she, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was killed, there was no way Yang Kai could keep his life. Space Principles were not useful in a place like this, for if he used Instantaneous Movement, he might directly fall into some kind of mortal danger.

“Stop thinking about it. I’ve experienced countless life-and-death moments like this since I began cultivating, and I’ve nearly lost my life many times. Although the situation now is terrible, it’s not without hope. We can survive this as long as we don’t give up.”

“I hope so,” Xia Lin Lang replied in a dejected manner.

They continued moving forward, but although they had already fled before most of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques could attack them, there were still a small number they were unable to dodge.

In times like these, they could only parry the attacks, and as time passed, they consumed more and more energy.

A few days later, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang both sported solemn expressions.

That was because as they went deeper into the Shattered Ruins, the dormant Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques became increasingly powerful.

Half a day ago, they triggered a Divine Ability that was equivalent to the full-powered attack of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and as time passed, they encountered more and more Divine Abilities of such strength.

As they went further, the Divine Abilities became more formidable.

When the Divine Abilities struck at them from time to time, they had no choice but to resolve them. As a result, they felt immensely pressured.

After another half a day, all the Divine Abilities they came across were now basically on par with Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm attacks. Xia Lin Lang had to exert her full strength now to deal with them. Fortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t an ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so by working together, they could temporarily ensure their own safety.

At this moment, Yang Kai felt fortunate that after the Divine Abilities were triggered, they still had some time to flee; otherwise, they would’ve lost their lives from exhaustion within an hour at most.

Instead of subsiding, however, the noise behind them became louder and nearer. It was apparent that Cheng Yang was still relentlessly chasing them.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but admire the man’s determination and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s power. While he and Xia Lin Lang only had to deal with a few Divine Abilities from time to time, Cheng Yang basically ploughed through a full barrage to get to them. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that had been triggered by them were all resolved by him.

However, Cheng Yang was surely in a terrible state despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

A few ants meant nothing to an elephant, but a million of them could bite an elephant to death. Similarly, Bright Sun Divine Monarch must have exerted significantly more force than the two of them in order to resolve all the Divine Abilities they triggered and left behind.

That was indeed the case. Presently, Cheng Yang was slightly pale, which was a clear sign of overconsumption. Nevertheless, he didn’t even have time to take a breath. If he had hesitated for a moment now, he would be submerged in Divine Abilities.

In fact, he had thought about backing down several times; however, he had endured so much hardship already that there was no way he could resign himself to giving up.

While being frustrated, he swore that if he could capture the brat that had obtained the World Spring, he would rip his corpse into countless pieces. This was the biggest setback and embarrassment he had suffered in his life since he started cultivating.

A few days later, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were battered and covered in blood.

Although they only had to deal with the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques sometimes and could work together to share the burden, there were still times when they were accidentally hurt under such prolonged pressure. Earlier, a Sword Qi Divine Ability almost cut Yang Kai in half while there was a long cut on Xia Lin Lang’s abdomen. The flesh around her wound had rolled up.

They were almost killed during that incident.

At this point, Yang Kai could feel that some of the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques they had triggered were equivalent to the attacks of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although there were only a small number of them, this was truly terrible news for them.

Given their strength and current states, they would be doomed if they were struck by any Divine Ability that was as powerful as an attack from an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.