Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Half of the 200 people were gone, which greatly alleviated Yang Kai’s burden. The rest of the people who were outside were all in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm and above. If they really came across any danger upon leaving the Shadowless Cave Heaven, these people would be able to help.
Since everything was ready, Yang Kai walked up to the spot where he previously tore space apart. Then, he turned his head and nodded to motion for them to be careful.
As Space Principles undulated, Yang Kai performed different hand seals and then shouted, “Open!”
The sound of something cracking was heard, then a Void Crack suddenly appeared and rapidly expanded.
The moment the Void Crack appeared, the Astral Wind started gusting in, which caused the expressions of these people to change drastically.
Yang Kai immediately used his Towering Evergreen, and as an emerald light expanded, the gigantic tree crown seemed to cover the entire sky. Its branches hung low and engulfed the hundred or so people.
Standing within the range of this Wood Element Divine Manifestation, everyone could feel a surge of vitality around them, and their minds were immediately soothed.
All of their anxiety was gone as they looked up and tutted in amazement.
It was the first time Hua Yong saw this Divine Manifestation, and as he listened to the howling wind and looked around, he muttered in disbelief, “The wind really got blocked out!”
Standing under this humongous tree, he realised that he wasn’t harassed by the Astral Wind one bit. It was even safer than when he was on Twin Spirit Island.
He was both shocked and excited, thinking that he had made the right decision to leave with Yang Kai.
Since Yang Kai had such a Divine Manifestation, he could ensure their safety while navigating through the Astral Wind. If Hua Yong had chosen to stay, besides the fact that the Shadowless Cave Heaven might collapse one day, his unborn child would also be unable to cultivate properly, thus making his future bleak. Just like his Wife had said, they would have to personally bury their child one day.
Mao Zhe and the others had experienced this before, so they immediately stood beside Yang Kai the moment he activated Towering Evergreen.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai shouted, then charged towards the Void Crack. The other cultivators didn’t hesitate to follow him as they made sure they were always within the tree’s protection range.
The Void Crack that Yang Kai had torn apart was huge; after all, more than 100 people had to cross it, so a small crack wouldn’t serve its purpose.
As soon as they left the Shadowless Cave Heaven, they felt that time and space were disturbed.
An even more violent Astral Wind came at them from all directions, which caused the branches of the great tree to sway. Yang Kai’s expression changed as he finally realised why Mao Zhe and the others previously returned so soon after they moved past the crack.
They had indeed fallen into the source of the Astral Wind after leaving the Shadowless Cave Heaven. The wind here was even more violent than the one gusting into the Shadowless Cave Heaven.
In such an environment, even Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Mao Zhe and the others would soon lose their lives as their Small Universes broke apart.
Yang Kai found it hard to sustain his Towering Evergreen as the branches shook wildly and these cultivators were worried that the Divine Ability would be broken. By then, all of them would be exposed to the gale.
Fortunately, even though the tree swayed, the Divine Manifestation remained stable.
Yang Kai turned around and manipulated Space Principles once again to seal the Void Crack.
Some people had decided to stay in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, so if he didn’t repair the crack, the Astral Wind would continue blowing indefinitely. By then, the people who stayed would be doomed.
After Yang Kai was finished, he realised that everyone was staring at him.
They had finally left the Shadowless Cave Heaven, but just like what was expected, they had indeed fallen into the source of the Astral Wind. Only by leaving this region would they stand a chance to survive.
No one knew which direction they should head.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, but it was immediately shredded by the Astral Wind after it left Towering Evergreen’s range, giving him a headache since he was unable to scan the surroundings.
Gritting his teeth, he simply led these people in a random direction.
It wasn’t like the source of the Astral Wind was boundless, so as long as they kept moving forward in the same direction, they would eventually escape.
The fierce gale caused everyone to be anxious. It felt terrible to have their lives hanging by a thread.
As Yang Kai sustained his Towering Evergreen, his energy left his body like the water discharged from a dam. He felt fortunate that he had put more than 100 people inside the Six Fated Paths Bag; otherwise, he would’ve consumed even more energy.
The branches hanging from the ancient tree shook violently as though they would be gone with the wind at any moment; however, they still steadfastly blocked the Astral Wind out.
After they moved forward for a bit, Yang Kai’s expression changed suddenly.
The Proprietress was just beside him, and upon seeing his expression, she quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something over there.” Yang Kai stared intently ahead with his dark gaze as though he was trying to see through the gale; however, the endless wind had even caused space to warp, so he was unable to see anything.
His words made everyone stiff.
Hua Yong asked, “Perhaps only High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters are able to resist this violent wind. What could it be that’s lurking in the wind?”
There was absolutely no living creature in the world that could live in this gale; however, Yang Kai wouldn’t lie to them in this situation. What’s more, he was protecting everyone with his Wood Element Divine Manifestation, so he was more sensitive to the surroundings than all of them.
“I have no idea.” Yang Kai shook his head with a solemn expression, then yelled, “It’s coming!”
Right after he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically as he turned to look in a particular direction. Over there, a hole was torn in the protective shield of his Towering Evergreen. Even though he was trying his best to repair the tear, a visible wisp of green smoke still snuck in through it.
Following that, the green smoke contorted and turned into a translucent Human-shaped creature with four limbs, but its height was only half of the average Human adult.
There were no facial features on its face, which was eerily flat.
“A Wind Spirit!” The Proprietress exclaimed, “The Astral Wind has nurtured a Wind Spirit. Stay on guard, everyone!”
All of them immediately raised their defenses.
Before anyone could react, the Wind Spirit directly snuck into the body of the cultivator nearest to it and disappeared.
The cultivator was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm and soon began screaming as the aura coming from his body fluctuated unstably.
The people around him leaped away in shock.
The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master yelled in horror, “It’s inside my Small Universe! Save me!”
Hua Yong bellowed, “No one can help you since the Wind Spirit is inside your body, only you can save yourself! Don’t panic! Focus on using your World Force to drive it out.”
Upon hearing that, the man hurriedly did as he was told; however, his cultivation was too weak. It wasn’t certain what the Wind Spirit was doing in his Small Universe, but everyone could feel his aura plunging rapidly. In just over ten breaths of time, his aura dropped from the Fourth-Order to the Third-Order, then the Second-Order and eventually the First-Order.
“Help me!” The man wailed as his aura flickered. Right after this final cry, he suddenly grunted and exploded into a blood mist. The people around him were instantly covered in blood.
“His Small Universe collapsed!” Mao Zhe’s pupils contracted.
A Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had lost all his World Force in such a short time, so it was only natural that his Small Universe would be critically destabilised. The moment his Small Universe came apart, he died a horrible death.
No one could resist the Astral Wind as it could sneak into an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe and wear away their heritage. Now, it seemed that this Wind Spirit was significantly more powerful than the Astral Wind.
After the man was killed, the green Wind Spirit reappeared. It had apparently shot out of the dead person’s Small Universe. Then, the green smoke moved and charged towards another cultivator.
Mao Zhe directly used a Divine Ability which struck the Wind Spirit. He was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so his methods were naturally formidable. However, since he was surrounded by so many people in such close quarters, he was rather restricted in his movements.
Nevertheless, the power of this Divine Ability was not to be underestimated. The immense force caused the Wind Spirit to pause.
As though the Wind Spirit was infuriated, it abandoned its target and dashed towards Mao Zhe instead.
Mao Zhe’s expression changed, but he was unable to dodge the Wind Spirit in such a place, so he had no choice but to continue using his Divine Abilities to force back the creature. At the same time, Geng Qing and Zhou Ya made a move together. Since three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had joined forces, they were able to hold the Wind Spirit at bay. Despite that, they weren’t able to destroy the Wind Spirit, which was strange.
The Proprietress suddenly yelled, “Don’t use your World Force. This thing can absorb it to strengthen itself!”
Mao Zhe examined the creature with narrowed eyes and realised that the Wind Spirit’s colour had become darker than when it first appeared, and it had also become more agile. The Proprietress was right to say that the Wind Spirit was able to absorb all kinds of World Force to strengthen itself.
The creature had just dived into a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe, which caused his aura to plunge and his Small Universe to collapse. It seemed that the creature really was becoming stronger after it fed on the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s heritage.
However, how was an Open Heaven Realm Master supposed to fight without using their World Force?
An Open Heaven Realm Master was only an Open Heaven Realm Master because they could use World Force.
The foundation of an Open Heaven Realm Master’s power was the World Force in their Small Universe. If they couldn’t use World Force, they were no different from a toothless tiger.
Seeing that the Wind Spirit was charging towards him, Mao Zhe respectively grasped Zhou Ya and Geng Qing with his hands before he fled backwards.
Nevertheless, there was nowhere else they could go as they soon reached the edge of Towering Evergreen’s protection. If they moved any further, they would be exposed to the Astral Wind directly.
At the most critical moment, a whip broke through the air and wrapped itself around the Wind Spirit. Following a thunderous noise, the whip tightened itself, which caused the Wind Spirit to fall apart.
But soon, the Wind Spirit took shape again. However, the strike allowed everyone to see a glimmer of hope.
The Proprietress, who was holding the whip, yelled, “Use your artifacts!”
Although an Open Heaven Realm Master had to activate their World Force to use their artifact, the attack of an artifact itself wasn’t composed purely of World Force. It was also mixed with the artifact’s own power, which could apparently not be absorbed by the Wind Spirit.
The Proprietress was just giving it a try, so it surprised her that she actually found the solution right away.
