Chapter 4254 – A Cunning Escape Strategy
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Above his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar stood silently on the Soul Warming Lotus and stared at the grey mist calmly.
If Black Crow Divine Monarch had a physical body right now, he would be dripping with cold sweat. He spoke in a voice full of disbelief, “Junior, were you plotting against me all this time!?”
If he remembered correctly, Yang Kai had appeared panicked and flustered several times before. Only now did he realise that there was no reason for Yang Kai to panic when the latter had the support of a Supreme Treasure like the Soul Warming Lotus. It was clearly all just a ruse.
The Soul Warming Lotus was a Supreme Treasure that constantly nourished the Soul. Moreover, the lotus in front of him shone with seven colours. With such a foundation, Yang Kai’s Soul was a virtually indestructible existence and his Spiritual Energy would be replenished at many times the average rate. He was hoping to possess Yang Kai when he exhausted himself, but now such hopes were clearly nothing more than an illusion.
“I simply replied in kind!” Yang Kai glanced at the grey mist faintly. How could he possibly hold back after learning that the other party was the Remnant Soul of a Divine Monarch? Who knew what kind of means these Divine Monarchs might have?
Black Crow Divine Monarch gnashed his teeth in hatred. The grey mist shifted erratically for some time, indicating the fluctuations in his mood. He was currently stuck in this situation with no way out, so he was secretly feeling regretful. If he had known about this earlier, he would have chosen the Junior with the foundation in the Dao of Blood instead. At the beginning, he simply felt that Yang Kai’s aura was much more vibrant which would be more advantageous when cultivating the Blood Light Scripture in the future. From the looks of the situation though, he walked himself right into a deep pit-fall. There was no way to extricate himself now that he was so deeply trapped in this situation.
“Divine Monarch, you asked if this Junior only knows those two tricks!” Yang Kai leisurely lifted his hand while speaking.
A sense of crisis suddenly filled Black Crow Divine Monarch’s Soul and he instinctively realised that Yang Kai was going to unleash a far more dangerous move.
“Now I can finally answer your question, Divine Monarch. This Junior indeed has another trick, but… I wonder if you’ll appreciate it!” After saying that, Yang Kai gestured forward with his hand and commanded, “Consume him!”
A loud buzzing sound suddenly filled the air. Immediately after that, small black dots suddenly flew out from a bracelet on Yang Kai’s wrist. Those black dots were innumerable and soon turned into a large black cloud that swiftly enveloped the grey mist.
Black Crow Divine Monarch was extremely horrified as he shrieked in terror, “Soul Devouring Insects!”
Those small black dots were not black dots at all. There were distinct and oddly-shaped insects.
It was not as if Black Crow Divine Monarch had never seen Soul Devouring Insects before. These kinds of Exotic Insects specialised in devouring Spiritual Energy and could be said to be the natural nemesis of all Souls. That was also precisely the reason why they had a hard time surviving or reaching maturity because most cultivators who came across them would exterminate them while they were still young and weak.
Generally speaking, it was difficult for even mature Soul Devouring Insects to threaten cultivators who were in the Dao Source Realm and above; however, these Soul Devouring Insects far surpassed his cognition. Each insect exuded a ferocious aura that caused Black Crow Divine Monarch’s Soul to feel terrified. He was almost certain that things would not end well for him if he were to be enveloped by this cloud of insects. No matter how powerful his Soul was, he could not withstand the devouring of these insects.
His guess was right. Yang Kai had the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, so his Spiritual Energy was virtually inexhaustible; as such, there was no need to worry about his Soul being damaged. He could safely use his own Spiritual Energy to rear these insects. After so many years, how could they not become powerful?
If Black Crow Divine Monarch had been at his peak, he might not have been threatened by this cloud of insects. Unfortunately, he was currently just a weakened Remnant Soul. He was nothing but delicious food in front of these Soul Devouring Insects.
The Soul Devouring Insects had been dormant when Yang Kai hid them inside the Insect Enslavement Bracelet earlier, but now that they were released, they eagerly swarmed towards the grey mist like a cat that had caught the scent of a delicious fish.
Black Crow Divine Monarch gave a strange cry before turning and fleeing. The cloud of insects followed closely behind, relentlessly giving chase
Standing on top of the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai coldly watched from the side-lines. Black Crow Divine Monarch was not the first person to invade his Knowledge Sea, or even the first person to try and possess him. However, anybody who dared to invade his Knowledge Sea had suffered a tragic ending.
All of this was thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus. It was certainly worthy of being known as a Supreme Treasure. Not only did it nourish his Soul over the years, but it also made his Spiritual Energy become unimaginably powerful. It was what allowed him to turn certain defeat into victory numerous times in the past. It could be said that Yang Kai would have died countless times by now if not for the Soul Warming Lotus. This Supreme Treasure that he obtained a long, long time ago had helped him a lot throughout his journey on the Martial Dao; thus, he was very grateful for it.
It had to be said that Black Crow Divine Monarch was both cunning and resourceful. This place was within Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, so his Soul would naturally be subjected to some amount of suppression; even so, he was extremely fleet-footed in his escape. The cloud of Soul Devouring Insects could not do anything to him.
Upon seeing this situation, Yang Kai sent out a few thoughts. The cloud of Soul Devouring Insects immediately split into four and transformed into four columns of black smoke. These four columns of black smoke moved in four separate directions to chase and encircle Black Crow Divine Monarch!
This time around, Black Crow Divine Monarch fell into a dangerous situation. Although he was struggling hard, he could not escape from the jaws of the Soul Devouring Insects. The grey mist was soon covered in a layer of black insects. The Soul Devouring Insects silently and constantly fed on his Soul and devoured his Spiritual Energy. It made him scream in agony. Even the speed of his escape became significantly slower. The moment he slowed down, even more Soul Devouring Insects latched onto him. It only took several tens of breaths for the grey mist to be completely shrouded in the cloud of black insects.
“Junior, let me off! This Old Master can teach you the true Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture and bring you to the Blood Monster Divine Palace to receive Xue Yao’s inheritance in exchange!”
“The true Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture?” Yang Kai frowned at those words, “Are you saying that what we saw before is fake?”
“Those are real. Otherwise, how would people be able to circulate it smoothly? If not, you would not have passed those tests earlier nor would you have reached the palace in the middle of the lake. But, the Blood Light Scripture that this Old Master carved on his skeleton is fake. This Old Master modified several parts.”
“You sure are evil, old dog!” Yang Kai cursed.
“Let me go and I will hand over the real Blood Light Scripture. Your vitality is so abundant, so if you can cultivate the Blood Light Scripture, you will have twice the result with half the effort! It won’t take even a thousand years for you to become the next Blood Monster Divine Monarch!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Stop trying to tempt me. This King cultivates the Grand Dao of Space. The Dao of Blood is useless to me!”
If not because he wanted to obtain the Seventh-Order Monster Core reward, Yang Kai might not have interfered in this chaos in the first place. The Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture might be amazing, but it was not very attractive to him.
Black Crow Divine Monarch kept trying though, “Of course, it’s good to have your own Dao, but the Blood Light Scripture is a miraculous creation! If you cultivate it to the limits, you can even resurrect from a single drop of blood. You will be immortal and indestructible! Doesn’t that tempt you at all!?”
“Blood Monster Divine Monarch died. What do you mean by immortal and indestructible?” Yang Kai snorted with disdain.
The Black Crow Divine Monarch was furious, “Even if you don’t need the Dao of Blood, don’t tell me you don’t want Xue Yao’s inheritance? It’s the inheritance of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! If you obtain that, you will instantly become wealthy beyond your imagination!”
Yang Kai faintly said, “Of course, I want it. How can I not want it? But... I don’t trust you!”
The other party was a Divine Monarch after all. It was better for him to just ignore such tempting words. If he really became interested, then he would surely be devoured to the point where even his bones would be gone. The words of this old fox who had lived for countless millennia were incomparably shrewd. How could they be so easy to deal with?
“Junior, do you really plan to kill this Old Master!?” Black Crow Divine Monarch roared furiously.
“You wanted to possess me, Divine Monarch. Why should I show you mercy? Time is running out. Divine Monarch, please stop resisting and just hurry up and die!”
“How you vex this Old Master!” Black Crow Divine Monarch was furious. If he was given another chance to choose, he would never have tried to possess Yang Kai. Unfortunately, things had already progressed to this point where regret would not make a difference. Thus, he ruthlessly made up his mind and snarled, “Junior, if you want this Old Master to die, then don’t think you will get off easily either! This Old Master will fight you to the death!”
While saying so, the grey mist that was covered in a layer of Soul Devouring Insects abruptly turned around and charged towards Yang Kai. A terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuation came from within the grey mist and it was obvious that Black Crow Divine Monarch was about to unleash a powerful Secret Technique.
How could Yang Kai dare to take the desperate Soul Attack of a Remnant High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s Soul lightly? He immediately drew upon the power of the Soul Warming Lotus. Seven-coloured light shone brightly, wrapping around his Soul Avatar. With the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, he would not be defeated regardless of how mighty the attack unleashed by his opponent.
Yang Kai had only finished preparing when the grey mist arrived in front of him. The grey mist slammed into the seven-colour light barrier without any hesitation whatsoever. Violent Spiritual Energy burst out, killing countless Soul Devouring Insects that were latched onto the grey mist in an instant while the rest were sent flying by the impact.
The seven-colour light barrier shuddered fiercely and even Yang Kai, who was standing atop the Soul Warming Lotus, felt the impact shaking his Soul. He couldn’t help feeling shocked. The desperate struggle of a Divine Monarch’s Remnant Soul was certainly impressive. He had to admit that he had underestimated his opponent’s strength.
A buzzing sound rang out as the Soul Devouring Insects that were sent flying earlier swarmed towards the grey mist once more. It didn’t take long for them to devour the grey mist cleanly.
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback!
[Has Black Crow Divine Monarch died?] Even though the last attack was very powerful, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling that it was more show than substance. It didn’t feel right. Just as Yang Kai was mulling over this matter, he suddenly grunted as he could feel that his Soul defences had been torn open and something was fleeing from his Knowledge Sea.
It was all a diversion to escape!
Resentment filled Yang Kai’s heart. He had taken all sorts of countermeasures and guarded against countless possibilities, but in the end, he still allowed Black Crow Divine Monarch to escape. He had assumed that Black Crow Divine Monarch’s attack was a last-ditch attempt born out of desperation, but who could have known that the other party was simply making a feint?
It was uncertain what kind of Secret Technique it was, but Black Crow Divine Monarch managed to separate out a thread of his consciousness. By doing so, he attracted the attention of Yang Kai and the Soul Devouring Insects while the rest of his Remnant Soul immediately found a chance to escape.
[He truly is an old fox. Cunning indeed.]
Nevertheless, what Black Crow Divine Monarch did would severely damage his foundation even though he survived. In the beginning, he had been slashed countless times by Yang Kai with the Soul Splitting Saber. Next, he suffered several rounds of the Blossoming Lotus and Sealed Lotus Secret Techniques. Afterward, his Soul was gnawed on by the Soul Devouring Insects. In the end, he was forced to split a thread of his consciousness to fake his death and escape. It could be said that Black Crow Divine Monarch had suffered great losses. It would be a miracle if he even managed to retain half of his Spiritual Energy from before.
[Now that he has escaped from my Knowledge Sea, he will surely try to possess somebody else!]
Yang Kai did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly dragged his mind out of his Knowledge Sea, opened his eyes, and glanced around his surroundings. What he saw shocked him greatly. That was because he was the only one who was safe and sound among all the people present. On the other hand, the vitality of the others was churning violently. The blood mist around their bodies was dense; moreover, they had pained expressions on their faces like they were enduring great suffering. They were all experiencing cultivation dissonance!