The night was cool, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.
Inside a palace on top of a mountain, Princess Lan Xun of Star Soul Palace put her hands together and prayed to the Moon in the sky reverently. She was praying for her Father’s safe return. She would stand there for two or three hours almost every night, hoping that her sincerity would touch the World’s Will and it would provide sufficient protection to her Father in return.
The world seemed to have heard her prayer that night as the Moon that hung in the sky suddenly became brighter. The soft moonlight shone down on the land, spreading over her body. It felt like the large hands of her Father when he used to pat her on the head as a child. It gave her a warm and comforting feeling.
She was taken aback for a moment, thinking that she was hallucinating; however, a careful observation revealed that the Moon in the sky was indeed much brighter than before. Furthermore, the brightness continued to increase as time passed, soon making the whole world as bright as day.
At the same time, all the living creatures across the entire Star Boundary looked up. They were looking at the Moon in the sky that had become as bright as the Sun…
The sparse stars seemed dim and dull because of the Moon’s brightness.
Lan Xun’s complexion suddenly became slightly pale. An inexplicable sense of fear surged up in her heart, causing her to feel terribly distraught.
All of a sudden, the brightness that was as radiant as the sun burst into dazzling points of light. The wisps of light lasted for approximately an incense stick of time. Just like how the Moon had burst into light without warning, it went out just as suddenly. It was as though it had burned out its last brilliance, becoming dim, as if covered by a layer of black gauze.
Several meteors shot across the sky. Soon, the scattered meteors turned into a meteor shower that rained down from above. What followed was a sense of sorrow that permeated the Star Boundary. The world seemed to be crying. The Moon was its eyes and the meteor shower was the flowing tears…
*Dang… dang… dang…*
Heavy and melodious bells tolled throughout Star Soul Palace, nine consecutive times, and when the last bell stopped, Lan Xun collapsed to the ground limply.
“Your Highness!” A maidservant exclaimed and hurried over.
…..
Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor, Chu Tian Ji, and Martial Beast Great Emperor, Mo Huang, sat opposite each other in Heavens Spying Valley. They each held black and white chess pieces, playing against each other. Mo Huang casually placed a piece down. Without raising his eyes, he calmly asked, “What’s making you so restless?”
During the game, he could clearly feel that his old friend was being absent-minded. Although the other party had covered it up very well, they were both Great Emperors, so how could Mo Huang fail to see it?
Chu Tian Ji didn’t place his piece down for a long time and remained silent.
All of a sudden, Mo Huang felt shock going through his heart. He lifted his gaze to look at Chu Tian Ji and saw that he was also looking at him.
“Haaa…” Chu Tian Ji sighed. The white piece in his hand quietly landed on the chessboard and rolled a few times. He looked up at the sky with a trace of sorrow that could not be concealed on his face, “In the end, it came down to this anyway.”
Mo Huang’s expression turned extremely grim, “That feeling just now… it wasn’t a mistake?”
Chu Tian Ji gave a wry smile, “Neither you nor I felt it wrongly. Ming Yue (Bright Moon)… has fallen.”
Mo Huang asked, “Didn’t you say that he had a chance of survival!?”
Chu Tian Ji slowly shook his head, “No matter how many plans we make, the Heavens are the ones who decide our fate. Who can be certain about something happening in the Demon Realm? Perhaps, only Yang Boy will know what really transpired there.”
“Is Yang Boy in danger?”
“He is in the Demon Realm. How can he not be in danger?” Seeing that Mo Huang’s expression was rather ugly, he continued, “This misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. We can only watch how things turn out in the future. There’s no point in worrying now.”
“That’s just… Damn it!” Mo Huang held back for a long time, but eventually cursed out loud. His expression was grim, “Don’t you claim to have insight into the past and the future? How could you not predict the events of today!?”
Chu Tian Ji smiled bitterly, “If I had such powers, the Two Worlds’ Passage would not have opened in the first place. But… There is a silver lining in all of this. Bright Moon might be gone, but it would seem that he made contact with Yang Boy.”
Mo Huang was taken aback for a moment before understanding the meaning behind Chu Tian Ji’s words. The fall of a Great Emperor had caused a kind of Heavenly Manifestation, but the world’s capacity had not decreased. There was no sign that the World’s Will had been stolen. That could only mean that Bright Moon had passed on the most important thing to Yang Kai before dying; otherwise, the world would not have only shown a small anomaly. There would have been many natural and man-made disasters raging at this moment otherwise.
After remaining silent for a long time, Mo Huang sighed and said, “We can only watch how things turn out in the future, but one of us clearly won’t have such patience.”
Chu Tian Ji nodded lightly, “What does it matter if he collects some interest first?”
…..
The Two Worlds’ Battlefield had been raging for several years now, and the Demon Race had almost finished conquering the entire Western Territory thanks to their overwhelming numerical advantage. The Star Boundary’s coalition forces had retreated again and again and were now all but expelled from the Western Territory.
If they retreated another few more thousand kilometres, they would enter the Southern Territory. Once they crossed that line, it would mean that nearly a quarter of Star Boundary’s territory had been conquered. That was something the Humans of the world could not and would not accept.
Above the wilderness, tens of millions of lives from both the Human Race and the Demon Race were fighting desperately. Lives were lost every moment, and although the Humans were resisting with everything they had, the Demon Race had an absolute advantage in terms of momentum. The latter had an endless army that arrived continuously to refill their ranks, caring nothing for the losses they suffered; therefore, the Human Race was steadily forced to retreat again and again.
Even though Li Wu Yi, who dominated the battlefield, was extraordinarily powerful, there was nothing he alone could do about the situation. He was single-handedly fighting three Demon Race Half-Saints at that very moment, and though his mastery of the Dao of Space guaranteed that his life was not in danger, it was difficult for him to do anything else but buy time.
Watching the Demon Race army approaching aggressively, Li Wu Yi looked sorrowful. After today’s battle, the Western Territory would have fallen completely. Despite knowing that such results were ultimately not his fault, he inevitably held a sense of self-blame as the Supreme Commander of the Human forces.
Just as the Human Army was about to retreat to the area bordering between the Southern Territory and the Western Territory, an overwhelming aura suddenly surged forth from the rear. The speed with which that aura approached was extraordinarily fast. Li Wu Yi had only just noticed it before a fleeting figure flashed by him out of the corner of his eyes. That figure was wrapped in an icy chill.
Immediately after that, one of the three Demon Race Half-Saints that Li Wu Yi had been fighting froze in place. Li Wu Yi looked in that direction and saw that that particular Half-Saint had a great hand strangling his neck. Despite being a mighty Half-Saint, this Demon was currently being held up like a helpless chicken with no ability to fight back at all.
Looking at the brave and heroic back of the figure responsible for this sudden disturbance, Li Wu Yi called out in shock, “Senior Iron Blood!”
He was puzzled. Why was Iron Blood here?
The Demon Saints of the Demon Realm and the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had come to an agreement a long time ago. Neither side would interfere in this battle, lest the war escalate to mutual annihilation. All this time, both Demon Saints and Great Emperors had strictly abided by this accord. None of them had ever appeared on the battlefield; therefore, Li Wu Yi was stunned to see Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen, appearing here and attacking a Demon Race Half-Saint.
[Has the war reached the point where the strongest combat powers of both sides have to enter the battlefield themselves!?] If that was truly the case, then it wasn’t a good thing for the Star Boundary. On the contrary, it was a terrible thing. The Star Boundary was the battlefield after all, so a confrontation between the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints would most likely destroy the entire Western Territory.
“G-Great Emperor!” The Half-Saint, who was being lifted up by the neck by Zhan Wu Hen, was becoming flushed. He stared at the steely face in front of him with an incredulous gaze. The murderous intent that washed over him was so intense that it was practically tangible. The hand closing around his neck tightened like a noose, squeezing so hard that bones cracked. Death aura enveloped the Half-Saint as he cried out in a panic, “You can’t kill me… The Demon Saints had an agreement with…”
Iron Blood’s expression was dark as he lifted the Half Saint up until he was level with his gaze and stared into that person’s eyes at close range. He asked coldly, “So what if I kill you?”
When the words left his mouth, his Emperor Qi surged. The great hand squeezed hard and the Demon Race Half-Saint burst like a watermelon that had been hammered open. The Half-Saint exploded into a cloud of blood mist, leaving not a single bone behind.
Li Wu Yi couldn’t help widening his eyes at the sight. Likewise, the other two Demon Race Half-Saints looked shocked.
[He really… killed him!]
Nobody could have imagined that a Great Emperor would suddenly appear on the battlefield at such a time and kill a Demon Race Half-Saint without saying anything. [Is he here to renege on the agreement between both sides? Are the Great Emperors and Demon Saints really going to leave the sidelines and step onto the battlefield themselves!?]
Without any hesitation, Li Wu Yi reached out and grabbed toward the other two Half-Saints. Space Principles fluctuated, and the space around those two suddenly became extremely viscous.
The other two Half-Saints reacted fairly quickly. When they saw their companion being killed, they immediately tried to escape. Unfortunately, Li Wu Yi had moved faster than them.
During that moment of delay, Iron Blood had already rushed in front of another Half-Saint. He smashed the Half-Saint’s body into pieces under the horrified stare of the last survivor. Then, without pausing whatsoever, Zhan Wu Hen struck towards the third Demon Half-Saint. A single palm strike left the Half-Saint without a head nor upper body. Only his legs were left hanging in the air.
Three Demon Race Half-Saints died in the blink of an eye. Iron Blood didn’t stop there though as he shifted slightly and rushed into the battlefield.
Wherever Iron Blood passed, the Demon Race fell! It didn’t matter whether they were weak disposable pawns or strong Demon Kings and Half-Saints, it made no difference as their defences were no different than paper in front of the Great Emperor.
Li Wu Yi stared at Iron Blood’s back in a daze, feeling a very bad premonition in his heart. As a Great Emperor, it was impossible for Iron Blood to go crazy like this for no reason. It was very likely that something significant had agitated him, and that was why he was acting out like this. Thinking back on the Heavenly Manifestation from earlier, Li Wu Yi felt a sense of sorrow…
Nevertheless, as the Supreme Commander on site, he quickly composed himself and ordered the Human Army to follow Iron Blood into battle.
The sudden interference of a Great Emperor in the battle resulted in the near annihilation of the Demon Race army that numbered in the millions. Corpses of the Demon Race littered the ground across the nearly ten thousand kilometres long frontline. The Human Army pushed forward and barely encountered any form of resistance. All the Demons had lost any will to resist and were all desperately retreating towards the Two Worlds’ Passage.
It wasn’t until ten days later that Iron Blood returned from the direction of the Two Worlds’ Passage, covered in black blood.
Li Wu Yi did not know what Iron Blood had done during these ten days; however, the Demon Race remained silent for a long time since then. Beginning from the border between the Southern Territory and the Western Territory, not a single member of the Demon Race could be seen within two hundred thousand kilometres, and the Star Boundary successfully reclaimed this land that had previously been occupied.
In a mountain valley of Eternal Sky Continent, Li Shi Qing woke up from her unconscious state. She glanced around and did not see Yang Kai anywhere. On the other hand, many members of the Demon Race were gathered around the Demon Mirror that Yu Ru Meng had left behind. They were looking into it with anxious expressions.
Rubbing her neck, she thought back to what had happened just before she fell unconscious. [I vaguely recall being knocked out by Yang Kai… That’s right! The Great Emperor is in danger!]
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she woke up completely.
At that moment, the members of the Demon Race gathered around the Demon Mirror suddenly let out a cry of exclamation as if they had witnessed an extremely incredible scene. Feeling suspicious, she walked forward, approached the Demon Mirror, and looked into it. Just from that single glance, her beautiful eyes widened to the size of saucers and her tender body began trembling.
There were two figures standing upright in the mirror. Moreover, these two figures were being watched from very far away. Even though they were very far away, she could recognize who these two figures were. One was Yang Kai and the other was Bright Moon Great Emperor!
At this moment, one of Yang Kai’s fists was stuck in Bright Moon Great Emperor’s chest. He had blasted a huge hole in the Great Emperor’s chest. Blood was spilling out of the corners of the Great Emperor’s mouth, and the originally white clothes were completely dyed red with blood.
[What happened during the period I was unconscious!? Why did things end up like this!? I can’t believe Yang Kai killed Bright Moon Great Emperor!] This terrifying thought and the shocking image in front of her turned into an endless buzzing in her head. Unable to bear with it, her vision went dark and she fainted once more.
…
Yang Kai flipped himself onto Zhui Feng’s back, who then carried him towards the nearest Territory Gate with a loud neigh. His hooves were blazing with golden flames, leaving a burning trail behind him.
Countless Divine Senses were locked onto the pair, and murderous intent extended out toward them. Even though Yang Kai knew that Yu Ru Meng was here on Eternal Sky Continent, he didn’t feel the slightest sense of security from that knowledge.
Yu Ru Meng probably could not help him under these circumstances. If he wanted to survive, he had to escape quickly. The further he fled, the better. The best would be if he could pass through the Two Worlds’ Passage and escape back to the Star Boundary!
The Twelve Demon Saints of the Demon Realm and even Night Shadow Great Emperor, Can Ye, were currently gathered here on Eternal Sky Continent. Now was the time when the defence at the passage was weakest. It was also the best chance for him to escape.
He faintly regretted not putting Li Shi Qing into the Small Sealed World ahead of time. She would definitely suffer the consequences of his escape. Unfortunately, he couldn’t spare the time to worry about her right now. Comparatively speaking, the Great World’s Will was the top priority. The Will that Bright Moon Great Emperor had passed to him could not be lost.
Before the hundreds of Half-Saints surrounding him could recover from their shock, Zhui Feng had already rushed out of the encirclement with Yang Kai on his back. This instantly enraged those Half-Saints, and they began pursuing Zhui Feng and Yang Kai using various means. However, Zhui Feng’s specialty lay in his speed, so how could mere Half-Saints catch up with him? The distance between both parties had only been rapidly increasing from the beginning
Many of the Demon Saints were looking extremely gloomy. Only Yu Ru Meng showed a mixture of pleasant surprise and worry on her face. Although she had always known that Yang Kai was more receptive to the Star Boundary’s Will than the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm, she never thought of letting him participate in this struggle for it since he was not strong enough. What she had not expected was that Yang Kai would actually become the final winner. Furthermore, it seemed as though Bright Moon Great Emperor had voluntarily given that opportunity to him.
Yue Sang, who had been killed by Bright Moon, was nothing in comparison. In any case, Yue Sang had defected over to Xue Li so he was no longer her subordinate. So what if he died? It didn’t matter to Yu Ru Meng anymore. On the other hand, the fact that Yang Kai received this opportunity was tantamount to taking a giant step toward the Grand Dao in advance. How could she not be elated by that? Meanwhile, her worry stemmed from the fact that this opportunity might not be easy to keep.
Sure enough, just as that thought went through her mind, Xue Li’s furious outburst entered her ears, “Bastard!”
After saying that, he turned into a ray of blood light and sped off in the direction Yang Kai was escaping. It looked like he was going to stop Yang Kai personally. It wasn’t just him though as the other Demon Saints were also moving to give pursuit.
The Half-Saints might not be able to catch up with Yang Kai, but that did not mean the Demon Saints could not. Once these Demon Saints blocked his path, he would definitely be besieged by those hundreds of Half-Saints. The final result of that outcome was obvious.
“Don’t you dare!” Yu Ru Meng was furious, but before she could even move, a burly figure appeared in front of her and raised a hand to block her way. She glared at him with a calm expression and quickly said, “Senior Brother Huang, what do you mean by this!?”
The person blocking her way was none other than the First Demon Saint, Huang Wu Ji. He raised his hand slightly and held his arm out horizontally in front of her. His actions were casual, but it felt like there was an iron wall standing in her way. Even though they were both Demon Saints, it would not be easy for her to pass through this obstruction.
Huang Wu Ji looked in the direction where the figures were leaving and spoke in an indifferent tone, “Don’t interfere in this matter.”
Yu Ru Meng gritted her teeth and snarled, “Yang Kai is mine. How can I not intervene in this matter!? Besides, we agreed in advance not to interfere in this fight over the opportunity! They will compete between themselves, and no matter what the outcome is, no one is allowed to complain! So, why are the others pursuing him right now!? Do they think that I, Yu Ru Meng, am a pushover!?”
Huang Wu Ji just replied lightly, “It’s true that we had an agreement before, but the target of the agreement only applies to the Half-Saints under us. He is a Human.”
While speaking, he turned to look at her, “He is not one of us. How can such an opportunity be handed over to him?”
She snapped, “So what if he is a Human!? He has already betrayed the Star Boundary! He has already been demonified. He also made a lot of contributions to the Demon Realm. Why can’t he be allowed to receive such an opportunity!?”
Huang Wu Ji shook his head in response, “You know what we are worried about. Besides, he is not strong enough. What can he do even if he obtained this opportunity? How long will it take for him to fully grow up?”
“The Demon Realm has Twelve Demon Saints plus an additional Great Emperor of the Star Boundary. In comparison, the Star Boundary only has eight Great Emperors right now. Moreover, one of them, Bustling World Great Emperor, is missing. Yang Kai doesn’t make a difference in this equation, whether he exists or not. What you want is just an increase of the world’s capacity. So, why would you need to wait until he grows up?”
Huang Wu Ji shook his head slowly, “Unless he can truly undergo Demon Transformation and become a part of the Demon Race, he will not be allowed to keep that opportunity.”
Upon hearing those words, her face turned pale. She looked anxiously in the direction Yang Kai had escaped, clenching her hands so tightly that her fingernails cut into her palm painfully. Although Yang Kai had undergone demonification once in the Star Boundary and had been overflowing with Demon Qi at the time, he seemed to have returned to his original state at some point. It would be difficult for him to truly become a member of the Demon Race…
“Must he die?” Yu Ru Meng glanced at Huang Wu Ji with a heartbroken look, “If he dies, who will repair and maintain the Territory Gates?”
He lowered his gaze, “The opportunity is currently in his possession and can only be transferred to somebody else when he dies. Only then will others have the opportunity. As for those Territory Gates… we can only allow nature to take its course.”
Yu Ru Meng closed her eyes in pain. A long while later, she abruptly opened her eyes and the Demon Qi in her body surged. She struck out at him and shouted, “I really can’t stay here and do nothing after all! Pardon my offence, Senior Brother Huang!”
Huang Wu Ji held one hand behind his back, and his feet did not move. Even so, his body moved backwards several thousand metres and easily avoided her attack as he calmly stated, “Stop. I have no interest in hurting you.”
Yu Ru Meng was so furious that she smiled instead, “Don’t even think about touching a hair on his head while I still draw breath!”
While speaking, she had already drawn close to him. Her beautiful eyes flashed as a strange light suddenly burst out at that moment. It was as though her eyes had transformed into a black hole and were trying to suck him into them.
Huang Wu Ji lowered his gaze and did not meet her eyes. At the same time, he threw a punch, and a huge hole instantly appeared in the already turbulent space, as though a mirror had been shattered to pieces.
Yu Ru Meng let out a soft cry and was swallowed up whole by the Void.
Huang Wu Ji didn’t feel triumphant at his success though and instead he frowned and stared at his surroundings.
Vague and elusive laughter rang in his ears and the shattered world was suddenly transformed into a world as beautiful as the Heavens. It was enchanting and incomparably realistic. The sense of not wanting to leave rose up in his heart as he stood inside this world, making him extremely unwilling to destroy a single thing around him.
Huang Wu Ji sighed softly, knowing that he had accidentally fallen into her trap.
As a Demon Saint, Yu Ru Meng was not an easy opponent. Huang Wu Ji might be known as the First Demon Saint, but that was only in terms of overall combat strength. He would definitely be the last one standing in a fight to the death; however, each of the Twelve Demon Saints had their own speciality that should never be underestimated.
By the time Huang Wu Ji finally escaped from the constraints of that bizarre world, thirty breaths had passed and Yu Ru Meng was long gone. It was clear that she had chased after the rest of the Demon Saints. Be that as it may, he had delayed her long enough. It would be too late for her to help by the time she arrived; after all, the Demon Saints only needed to catch up with Yang Kai and block his way for a moment. Then, the Half-Saints following behind would rip him to shreds in an instant.
…..
Zhui Feng was practically a flash of lightning as he travelled as swiftly as the wind. As he dashed forward, the Half-Saints chasing behind them were getting further and further away. Unfortunately, an even stronger Divine Sense locked onto Yang Kai at that moment.
The Demon Saints had begun to move!
Yang Kai felt extremely sad and indignant. He knew that his guess was right, Yu Ru Meng was unable to protect him. It was fortunate that he had predicted this early on and immediately rode Zhui Feng to run for his life. Otherwise, he would be nothing more than a corpse by now.
He had yet to recover from the shock of Bright Moon’s death; after all, he had killed Bright Moon with his own hand. Even if that situation was created by Bright Moon himself, the self-blame Yang Kai’s heart still left him feeling suffocated and depressed.
Zhui Feng’s neighing brought him back to the present again. He turned to look in a certain direction and saw a ray of blood light approaching him at a terrifying speed. It was going to catch up in less than ten breaths. It was Xue Li!
Behind Xue Li was probably the Feather Demon, Fu Yu. With the help of those beating white wings, her speed was only slightly slower than Xue Li’s.
At this critical moment, Yang Kai’s life was at stake. He gritted his teeth and pushed his Space Principles. Holding onto Zhui Feng’s back with one hand, Yang Kai tore space before them and the pair leapt forward a few thousand kilometres in an instant.
The moment they reappeared though, Yang Kai coughed up blood.
Although Yang Kai had not faced Yue Sang directly when he used the Mountains and Rivers Bell to trap him, he had still been struck by the heavy backlash. After all, he was only a Second-Order Emperor while Yue Sang was a Half-Saint. Even with the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he still had to pay a price just to trap Yue Sang.
Due to the shock he experienced from Bright Moon’s death, Yang Kai had not noticed his body condition previously; however, he immediately realized that he was in a terrible condition the moment he used Space Principles to flee. His Emperor Qi was severely depleted and his entire body ached. It felt like even his bones had innumerable fractures. In this physical condition, forget fighting, he would definitely die if those Half-Saints caught up with him.
Fortunately, Zhui Feng had come to his rescue in the nick of time.
He only managed to put some distance between them and the Demon Saints with that one Instantaneous Movement earlier, but the other party had already closed that distance in the blink of an eye and began approaching at an even faster speed.
Yang Kai looked back, feeling so depressed that he was about to spit blood. It was his first time being chased by such powerful foes. The feeling that his life was hanging by a thread made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He hurriedly stuffed a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth, crunched them, and swallowed. Pressing his body close to Zhui Feng’s back, he grabbed his mane firmly with both hands.
It was clear that even Zhui Feng had noticed the severity of the situation. The muscles all over his body tensed up as his hooves galloped wildly. He spared no effort in fleeing while carrying Yang Kai on his back. His back gradually emitted a layer of crimson blood mist, scorching white steam blew out from his nostrils, and his speed suddenly increased.
Even so, Xue Li and Fu Yu, who were the first to catch up, closed to just a thousand kilometres away within ten breaths.
A vicious murderous intent had locked onto Yang Kai from behind and his expression changed greatly as a result. When he turned back to look, he saw that Fu Yu was drawing her bow to shoot arrows at him while still in pursuit. Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles without any hesitation whatsoever to perform another Instantaneous Movement with Zhui Feng.
*Xiu…*
A stream of light shot through the air and struck the afterimages of Yang Kai and Zhui Feng, causing them to shatter and dissipate.
A thousand kilometres away, Yang Kai turned Zhui Feng around and fled in a different direction. There was no hope of fleeing in a straight line. Zhui Feng’s speed was certainly fast, but he could not outrun a Demon Saint. If they continued running in the same manner, they would be overtaken before they could even charge through the Territory Gate. He had to think of some other way if he wanted to escape from Eternal Sky Continent. Fortunately, one door would always open when another closed, and the Embodiment had already set off ahead of schedule.
Both Xue Li and Fu Yu, who were chasing after him, were surprised when Yang Kai turned around and changed directions. Nevertheless, the two Demon Saints did not bother thinking about it. They simply assumed that Yang Kai was so panicked that he was fleeing in any direction. That was exactly what they hoped to see from him. This Human brat was as slippery as an eel. He sprinted around in circles with the Space Principles he was so proficient in, which made him very hard to catch. In addition, things would become more troublesome if he were to pass through a Territory Gate. Hence, watching him flee in the opposite direction of the Territory Gate pleased them very much.
Xue Li’s insidious laughter resounded suddenly, “Boy, be good and stop running and this Saint will give you a quick death! Refuse, and this Saint will let you have a taste of Hell!”
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to those words and whispered encouragingly in Zhui Feng’s ears, “Go faster! Go faster!”
The blood mist coming from Zhui Feng’s body continued to dissipate, however, and it was clear he was struggling desperately. Nevertheless, this kind of running did not tire Zhui Feng out. On the contrary, he was riding an emotional high. He let out an excited whinny now and then, appearing extremely thrilled. All those years of living peacefully had nearly made him forget the time when he used to carry Chang Tian into battle, but Yang Kai’s appearance had allowed him to experience this exhilarating feeling once more.
An hour passed by as this cat-and-mouse hunt confused Xue Li, who was gradually becoming more and more frustrated. The thought that he, a Demon Saint, had spent so much time and effort yet remained unsuccessful at chasing down a mere Mid-Rank Demon King was extremely humiliating.
But then again, half the credit of why Yang Kai was so good at running could be attributed to the beast, Zhui Feng. One could run as swiftly as lightning while the other could teleport across long distances. These two factors made it very hard to catch the pair. The Half-Saints had long since been thrown off the trail and left in the dust. Only the Demon Saints remained doggedly on Yang Kai’s tail.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai’s situation was worsening with the passage of time. Even though the Eternal Sky Continent was not small, there were more than ten Demon Saints chasing him. They only needed to coordinate their movements with each other to form an encirclement around him. He was clearly aware of this but there was nothing he could do about it.
An hour later, Zhui Feng finally came to a stop. Blood mist was steaming from his body and he blew hot air through its nose repeatedly. His skin had turned crimson red, looking like a scorching hot soldering iron. Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who was riding on his back, was very pale. He was panting breathlessly, and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth with every breath he took.
It wasn’t that Zhui Feng was too exhausted to continue running, it was just that the Demon Saints had completed their encirclement and were blocking his path in all directions. Numerous figures appeared in the surrounding area, each of them regarding him with interest or with indifference.
Xue Li gritted his teeth and glared at Yang Kai, “Run. Go on, run. Why aren’t you running anymore?”
Yang Kai turned to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood with a mutinous expression. His cold gaze swept over his surroundings as he studied each of the Demon Saints’ faces carefully as if to imprint their appearance into his Soul.
Xue Li stretched out a finger and pointed at Yang Kai, “Boy, I’m going to make you beg for death!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted. Turning his head, he stared at Xue Li, “That would depend on whether you have the ability.”
Xue Li was so furious that he laughed, “Bold words for someone on the verge of death. Let’s see how you bawl your eyes out later!”
Huo Bo gave a strange chuckle by the side, “Why are you quarrelling with a child, Xue Li? Are you an idiot? Even if you don’t find it embarrassing, I do, so would you just shut up?”
Xue Li abruptly swivelled his head around and glared at Huo Bo furiously while Huo Bo glared back without backing down. At that moment, Yang Kai spoke up without warning, “This Young Master will certainly repay you all a hundred times over for the gift you have given me today!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, many Demon Saints looked at him suspiciously, but in the next moment, their expressions changed drastically. They reached out to grab at Yang Kai in unison. Fu Yu even used her Divine Sense to lock onto him while with a flick of her bare hands, a stream of light shot out.
The weather changed abruptly, and the world hummed in response.
Yang Kai’s figure, however, faded into nothingness at that moment, making all the Demon Saints grab nothing but air. Fu Yu was the only one who managed to lock her Divine Sense onto Yang Kai with an arrow, which disappeared along with the shattering of the Void.
The Demon Saints were completely dumbfounded. They never expected that Yang Kai could escape their clutches from right under their noses even in this situation. Thus, their expressions were absolutely horrendous. The feeling of being made a fool of was extremely unbearable, especially since the one who accomplished this was nothing more than a Mid-Rank Demon King who was also seriously injured.
Their Divine Senses poured out like a tide, spreading out without limit, but to their surprise, they couldn’t find any traces of Yang Kai anywhere. It baffled them greatly; after all, he had used his Space Technique to teleport many times during the previous chase. Each time he performed the Instantaneous Movement, he had only teleported by several thousand kilometres at most, so why had he vanished now?
More than ten breaths later, Flame Demon Saint Chi Yan, exclaimed with a great change of expression, “He’s at the Territory Gate!”
At the same time, Yu Ru Meng finally rushed over. She looked around and did not see Yang Kai anywhere; thus, she couldn’t help turning pale. Gritting her teeth, she shouted, “What did you do to him!?”
Bei Li Mo chuckled, “Don’t worry. That little man of yours escaped.”
“Escaped?” Yu Ru Meng was stunned. Then, her expression quickly turned grim, “Bullshit! So many of you were chasing him, how could he have escaped!? Hurry up and hand him over to me!”
Bei Li Mo scoffed softly, “Can’t you sense for yourself whether he has escaped or not? He is right by the Territory Gate.”
Seeing that Bei Li Mo didn’t seem to be lying, Yu Ru Meng pushed her Divine Sense and probed into the distance. Among the Demon Saints, her Divine Sense was actually the strongest; therefore, it only took her six breaths to discover Yang Kai’s aura. At that moment, her small mouth fell open slightly. She was utterly astonished and could not understand how he managed to escape in that direction with so many Demon Saints in pursuit. That location was very far from this place; however, she soon discovered the Embodiment’s aura nearby and immediately understood what was going on.
Bei Li Mo observed Yu Ru Meng’s reaction and chuckled again, “Little Sister, your little man sure is incredible. He played all of us for fools. I’m afraid he won’t be dying an easy death.”
How could the Demon Saints forgive such a great humiliation? They would surely torture Yang Kai severely the moment they got their hands on him.
Yu Ru Meng looked at them coldly and said, “I will kill whoever dares to harm him!”
“Aren’t you going to give chase? Why are you just standing around here doing nothing?” Huang Wu Ji’s figure swept through the air, appearing from a distance, and arriving in the blink of an eye. He turned his head and looked toward a certain location, “He is probably heading toward the Two Worlds’ Passage. We cannot let him escape back to the Star Boundary.”
In the next instant, a vague aura seemed to flash through the void.
Yu Ru Meng’s expression became extremely sombre. She knew that the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, Can Ye, had made his move. As long as he blocked the Two Worlds’ Passage, Yang Kai would be a turtle hiding in its shell. No matter what kind of amazing abilities he had, he would be captured, sooner or later.
Bei Li Mo laughed softly, “Little Sister, Senior Brother Huang is clearly against him. Shouldn’t you kill Senior Brother Huang first?”
Yu Ru Meng gnashed her teeth so hard that it made an audible sound. She glared at Bei Li Mo furiously and snarled in her heart. [Bitch! Just you wait; I’ll get back at you for this one day!]
Mo Kan said, “Senior Brother Huang, the situation has changed. He is going to escape from Eternal Sky Continent. If we want to capture him, we will need to do it ourselves.”
Huang Wu Ji replied, “Find him as soon as possible.”
A sudden idea struck Xue Li and he chuckled slightly and said, “But, this is not in line with our previous agreement. Can I take it that the brat will belong to whoever catches him first?”
The Demon Saints were not interested in Yang Kai himself. What they were interested in was the Star Boundary’s Will that was inside his body. As long as they could capture him, they could transfer that Will to one of the Half-Saints under their command. By doing that, they would most likely gain another Demon Saint who would become their ally in the future. That was the most attractive point to many of the Demon Saints.
“Good!” Huang Wu Ji nodded.
Xue Li gave a weird laugh. Then, he transformed into a ray of bloody light and sped away, his voice echoing from afar, “He’s mine!”
Immediately after that, the rest of the Demon Saints followed his example and used various Secret Techniques to depart.
Before Bei Li Mo left, she gave Yu Ru Meng a provocative look, “Rest assured, Little Sister, if I find him, I’ll be sure to give him a quick death, so you should pray that I get my hands on him.”
After saying that, she covered her mouth with her hands and tittered as she left.
Yu Ru Meng wanted to leave too but was stopped by Huang Wu Ji again. His attitude this time around was much more forceful than before, and his expression had become incredibly stern.
Looking at his expression, she knew that he was going to be serious now. She only managed to shake him off earlier because she had made a pre-emptive strike and caught him off-guard. Besides, he had not been aiming to delay her for long; however, she would definitely be no match for him if he became serious.
“Three days! I will let you go after three days!” He looked at her calmly, “Don’t challenge my limits before that time is up.”
Yu Ru Meng said coldly, “Do you think he can hold out for three days!?”
With so many Demon Saints chasing Yang Kai, forget three days, it would be hard enough for him to survive a single day. His current condition was not looking too good after all.
Huang Wu Ji lowered his gaze, “That’s not something I need to consider, and it’s not something you can stop. I’ve already made myself very clear. If you insist on making a move, then don’t blame me for being impolite with you.”
Just as Yu Ru Meng resolutely decided to burn her bridges and attack, her expression suddenly changed. She turned and looked in the direction of the Territory Gate as an expression of astonishment instantly appeared on her face.
Seeing the strange expression on her face, Huang Wu Ji couldn’t help frowning. He spread out his Divine Sense and probed in the direction of the Territory Gate, but before he could investigate the situation, Yu Ru Meng simply giggled and said, “Good. Senior Brother Huang, I will listen to your wishes out of respect for you. Three days it is. If you try to stop me after three days, then don’t blame me for turning against you.”
While she was speaking, Huang Wu Ji had already found out about the situation at the Territory Gate and he couldn’t help raising his brow and clicking his tongue, “If he had not gotten a hold of an opportunity he didn’t deserve, I would be very reluctant to kill him. His existence is simply too useful to the Demon Realm.”
She coldly snorted, “Is there any meaning to saying this now? Weren’t you the one who sent them after him?”
He remained silent; his expression as tranquil as an ancient well.
…
Nobody paid any attention to the Embodiment when Yang Kai rode on Zhui Feng and fled. Thus, the Embodiment secretly snuck underground after Yang Kai lured all the Half-Saints away and quickly headed towards the nearest Territory Gate. Although Yang Kai later managed to shake those Half-Saints off his tail, the Demon Saints’ pursuit left him with no way to escape. He was eventually surrounded by them as a result.
It was a blessing that the Demon Saints were unaware of his Space Beacons, and with them, he brought Zhui Feng to the Embodiment’s side in an instant, just a hundred thousand kilometres away from the Territory Gate.
The arrow that Fu Yu shot at the last moment had not affected Yang Kai as it had simply fallen into the Void Crack and disappeared.
Upon meeting up with the Embodiment, Yang Kai placed him back into the Small Sealed World before he directed Zhui Feng towards the Territory Gate.
The Territory Gate was being guarded by part of the Demon Race army; however, there were no Half-Saints among them. All the Half-Saints had gone to snatch the opportunity, so who would still be in the mood to remain at the Territory Gate? Therefore, Yang Kai easily broke through the blockade and passed through the Territory Gate to arrive on the continent neighbouring Eternal Sky Continent.
Yang Kai did not flee immediately though and instead turned around and returned to the Territory Gate which led to Eternal Sky Continent. Space Principles pulsed and he swiftly sealed the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai had never imagined that the painstaking training he did in Hundred Spirits Continent would come in handy now.
This act delayed his escape by a bit, but seriously hindered the movements of the Demon Saints chasing after him in return. If not for this advantage, Yang Kai wasn’t sure if he could outrun them if they came rushing at him without any obstruction.
The only thing he had to worry about right now was how long the seal on the Territory Gate could delay those Demon Saints. It would be an awful joke if they broke the seal in an instant. Nevertheless, he didn’t have the time to mull over such worries and just fervently prayed in his heart. It would be enough if the seal could delay them for a few hours.
The reason why Yu Ru Meng had suddenly agreed to Huang Wu Ji’s request was that she had sensed the anomaly of the Territory Gate being sealed. She didn’t even need to think about it to know that Yang Kai was behind it. He was the only one with that ability in the entire Demon Realm after all.
At this moment, she couldn’t help feeling a little gloomy and frustrated. She didn’t even know when he obtained this ability. Not only could he repair and maintain the Territory Gates, but he could also seal them. Thinking back to what she had discussed with Chang Tian on Hundred Spirits Continent though, she had the faint guess that he probably developed this ability while cultivating there.
The other Demon Saints arrived at the place where the Territory Gate was located an incense stick’s worth of time after Yang Kai passed through it. Looking around, they all showed expressions of surprise.
You Qiu exclaimed in surprise, “Where is the Territory Gate? Did we go in the wrong direction?”
They had obviously come chasing after Yang Kai’s traces, so they couldn’t have gone in the wrong direction. Besides, there was a Demon Race army guarding the surrounding area. They were clearly stationed here to guard the Territory Gate.
Xue Li frowned as if thinking of something. Then, he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed one of the Mid-Rank Demon Kings below. Lifting that person up by the collar, he asked, “Where did the Territory Gate go?”
The Mid-Rank Demon King had never seen such a terrifying line-up before. It was very difficult to even see one of the Demon Saints under normal circumstances. The most powerful existences that he had ever met were the Half-Saints on his own continent. So many Demon Saints had appeared all of a sudden; moreover, one of them was holding him up in front of them. Thus, he nearly fainted from the fright. Pale-faced, the Demon King replied in a trembling voice, “I-I-It was still here j-just now. But, it s-s-suddenly disappeared for some r-reason.”
“Damn it!” Xue Li yelled and tossed the Demon King aside.
“To think he actually had such an ability…” Bone Demon Saint Ge Meng rubbed his skeletal chin as two ghostly fires danced in his eye sockets. He seemed to be lost in thought. It was impossible for the Territory Gate to disappear for no reason, so it was clear that the Human brat had done something to conceal it from their sight. Furthermore, the method used was flawless. Even at such a close distance, they, the Demon Saints, were unable to sense the slightest trace of the Territory Gate.
“What should we do now?” Stone Demon Saint Mo Kan turned his head and looked around. This was truly humiliating. A group of Demon Saints were being toyed with by a mere Human boy. Yang Kai had managed to slip through their clutches once, and now he had successfully obstructed their path. The reputation of the Demon Saints would be utterly ruined if he really managed to escape from them.
Flame Demon Saint Chi Yan coldly snorted, “Since it’s a seal, I’m sure it can be broken. Let me try!”
While speaking, he strode forward and came directly to the place where the Territory Gate was originally located. One of his fists was covered in flames as he threw a punch at the location. The flames exploded and space trembled. A huge crack immediately appeared connected to the empty void.
Seeing this, he sneered and his other fist came slamming down with a thunderous force. After several consecutive punches, the space in front of him completely disintegrated like a shattered mirror to reveal a black hole the size of the Territory Gate. However, what made him speechless was the extremely dangerous aura coming from within the black hole. It was filled with an aura of nothingness and chaos. In addition, probing into it caused their Divine Sense to be devoured cleanly.
Chi Yan couldn’t help being a little speechless. Even though he was a Demon Saint, he did not dare to enter this black hole to investigate the situation inside as he knew he might never find the exit again if he accidentally lost his way inside.
Pondering for a moment, he reached out and grabbed a few Demon Kings from below, “Investigate the situation inside. See if you can find an exit, then come back and report to me!”
After saying that, he disregarded the reaction of the Demon Kings and tossed them into the black hole. Those Demon Kings vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye.
After standing there and waiting for around a quarter hour, Chi Yan declared with an icy expression, “It looks like the Territory Gate here has been destroyed.”
If it had not been destroyed, one of those Demon Kings would have found the exit and returned to report by now. Since none of those Demon Kings could be seen, they had probably been struck by a disaster. He did not expect the situation to turn out like this after forcibly breaking the seal Yang Kai had placed on the Territory Gate.
This was something Yang Kai himself had not been able to foresee. He had formed a conjecture that two possible scenarios would occur if the seal he placed on the Territory Gate was forcibly broken. The first was that the Territory Gate would be revealed and returned to normal. The second was that the Territory Gate would be destroyed along with the seal. Now, it would seem that the second scenario was the correct one.
Xue Li gave a strange chuckling laugh, “There were only two Territory Gates left on Eternal Sky Continent. This one is destroyed, so if he also placed a seal on the other Territory Gate, wouldn’t that mean we will all be trapped here? That would be quite a terrible joke.”
As soon as those words rang out, Fu Yu turned around without saying a word and quickly rushed towards the only remaining Territory Gate. Although what Xue Li said was a terrifying prospect, they knew that Yang Kai had no time to seal the last remaining Territory Gate. Both Territory Gates were connected to different continents after all, and having managed to escape, Yang Kai would be focused on escaping. He would not have had the time to head to the other continent to seal the second Territory Gate. Even so, the rest of the Demon Saints hurriedly followed after Fu Yu.
Half a day later, many Demon Saints rushed out of Eternal Sky Continent through the last remaining Territory Gate, each of them wearing a deeply profound expression on their faces.
They all knew that it would be very difficult for them to track down Yang Kai’s trail again after such a long delay. Fortunately, Can Ye had already gone to guard the Two Worlds’ Passage, making it impossible for Yang Kai to leave the Demon Realm. Rashly trying to pass through the Two Worlds’ Passage would be nothing more than throwing himself into a trap. As long as he didn’t leave the Demon Realm, they would be able to find him one day. Besides, there were not many places that he could hide in this situation. As long as they laid an ambush in certain areas in advance, they might still succeed in catching him.
Many Demon Saints exchanged glances for a bit, then they scattered and spread out in different directions. They were all heading to where they thought Yang Kai was most likely to go.
Halfway through the journey, Bei Li Mo suddenly stopped in her tracks. She smiled softly, her beautiful eyes twinkling slightly. Then, she turned around and headed in a certain direction.
At the same time, Yang Kai was rushing through the skies above one of the Demon Realm’s continents. He was holding a map of the Demon Realm in his hands, trying to figure out his location. At first, he had intended to find a way back to the Star Boundary as soon as he got out of danger. He wanted to fulfil the Great Emperor’s last wish and bring the Star Boundary’s Will back; however, a chill ran through his heart for no apparent reason the moment that thought crossed his mind. Realizing that trying to escape this way would be no different from throwing himself into a deadly trap, he gritted his teeth and gave up on the idea after some slight hesitation.
[If I try to return to the Star Boundary… I’m sure the Demon Saints will be expecting me. Besides, there is only one Two Worlds’ Passage. They only need to fortify that place, and my path will be blocked off completely.] Yang Kai was certain that there was already a Demon Saint heading towards the passage by now. Zhui Feng might be fast, but he could not outrun a Demon Saint.
Since he couldn’t head toward the Two Worlds’ Passage, then there were only two other places that he could go. One was Hundred Spirits Continent! Rushing into Hundred Spirits Continent to seek shelter from Chang Tian might be one way, but he did not know if Chang Tian could withstand the pressure of so many Demon Saints. It was true that Chang Tian looked highly upon Yang Kai, but that was because his vitality was nearing its limits and he wanted to train Yang Kai as his successor. Unfortunately, he might not be willing to completely fall out with the Demon Saints and bring chaos to Hundred Spirits Continent as a result just for Yang Kai’s sake if more than ten Demon Saints joined forces to put pressure on him.
One of the reasons why Hundred Spirits Continent managed to remain peaceful for so many years was that Chang Tian himself was not to be trifled with. He had enough strength to make the Demon Saints respect him. The second reason was that none of the Demon Saints were willing to push Chang Tian into the arms of any one Demon Saint. That was why Hundred Spirits Continent had managed to survive between the cracks for so long.
Be that as it may, a thirteenth Demon Saint was related to the interests of the entire Demon Realm. The many Demon Saints would certainly be able to reach a consensus on this issue.
What’s more; it was not really a wise decision to place one’s own safety in somebody else’s care. Yang Kai had not been acquainted with Chang Tian for long and did not really know the latter that well; therefore, he only entertained that idea for a brief moment before immediately rejecting it.
The second option was to head toward Yu Ru Meng’s territory. Although what Bei Li Mo and Bright Moon said to him previously had caused him to be a little more suspicious and vigilant towards Yu Ru Meng, it was obvious she had done a lot to protect him back on Eternal Sky Continent. He was certain that it would not be a problem if he went to her. The only problem was whether she could actually protect him.
After mulling over it, he decided he would neither go to Hundred Spirits Continent nor Yu Ru Meng’s Territory. Instead, he would search for a continent that had disappeared and hide there. There were many continents that had disappeared in the Demon Realm, so he only needed to find one and hide there to escape detection. Now that the situation was so tense, it would be best if he could lay low for three to five years. He could show his face again once the storm died down. It would not be too late for him to find a way back to the Star Boundary at that time.
Upon making up his mind, he hurriedly checked the map in his hand. At the same time, he thought back on all the information on the various continents in the Demon Realm that he had seen before and confirmed his location a short while later. He also found the nearest continent that had disappeared. It was not too far away. He only needed to pass through two Territory Gates to reach it.
He had just put the map away when his expression abruptly turned frosty. He restrained Zhui Feng, who was speeding ahead swiftly. With a loud neigh, Zhui Feng stopped in mid-air and let out a loud snort.
Yang Kai’s expression turned extremely solemn as he turned his head and looked around his surroundings and called out, “Which Divine Saint has come? Show yourself since you are already here, why bother sneaking around?”
After saying that, he waited quietly for a short while, but there was no response.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sneered, “The opportunity to become a Great Emperor currently lies in me. Holy Venerable, go ahead and make your move if you wish to take it. You can’t be afraid of me, right?”
There was still no response.
He couldn’t help frowning in response. [Could I have been wrong? That doesn’t make sense!]
At that moment, he had clearly felt himself being watched by somebody hiding in the dark. That feeling had been so obvious that he could not have felt wrongly with his current cultivation and level of perception! The only people who could conceal themselves from him could not be ordinary Masters. It was most likely a Demon Saint, but if that was the case, why not show themselves? He wasn’t a Demon Saint’s opponent at his peak, much less in his current condition.
Listening to Yang Kai murmuring to himself under his breath, Zhui Feng couldn’t resist turning back to glance at him, his eyes filled with suspicion, as though he was asking, ‘Are you stupid? There’s nobody nearby. Who are you talking to?’
At the same time, Yang Kai sensed the feeling of being spied on disappearing without a trace. This puzzled him greatly. [What is going on? Could it be that I felt it wrongly?]
It didn’t matter which Demon Saint was spying on him in secret though. Since they were not showing themselves, then it could only mean that they had no intention of attacking him. It seriously did not make any sense.
Unable to do anything about it, he once again directed Zhui Feng towards the continent he had decided on previously while simultaneously stuffing a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth, crunching them like candy.
After passing through two Territory Gates in succession, his expression darkened as he neared his destination, but it wasn’t because of something bad; rather, it was a good thing. He could feel the Qi in his body fluctuating. The bottleneck he had been facing for so many years was slowly loosening.
[I can’t believe I’m showing signs of breaking through at this time!]
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had been worrying about his cultivation that had been stuck in the Second-Order Emperor Realm for such a long time, more so when the war between the two worlds broke out. After entering the Demon Realm, he had always felt that his strength was a little insufficient. He had always been strong in will but weak in strength every time he had to face those Half-Saints; thus, he had been wondering when he would finally achieve a breakthrough. Unfortunately, his cultivation had not shown any signs of movement up until now.
[Why does it have to be now!?] During such troubled times, when he should be hiding and concealing his presence… Who could have thought that he would start showing signs of achieving a breakthrough!?
Thinking about it for a moment though, it wasn’t that strange. He had received the opportunity from the Great Emperor and the Star Boundary’s Will. Although his strength had not shown significant improvement, the hidden benefits were slowly beginning to surface. The loosening of his cultivation’s bottleneck was most likely related to this.
If he had a choice, he would definitely not choose to undergo a breakthrough at this time. He tried to suppress it only to discover that the fluctuating Qi was like the rumblings of a volcano. The more he tried to press it down, the more powerful it rebounded. It seemed determined on breaking through the barrier and reaching for the skies, which made him feel extremely speechless.
The destination he decided on previously was no longer viable. The continents that had disappeared might be extremely safe places to hide, but the World Principles in those continents were shattered beyond repair. They were not suitable for breakthroughs.
On the other hand, the Small Sealed World was an excellent place to go. The World Principles in the current Small Sealed World were complete. Combined with its abundant World Energy, it was enough to meet his breakthrough requirements. More importantly, nobody would notice regardless of how much of a commotion he caused if he underwent a breakthrough inside.
Just as this idea struck him though, Yang Kai had a vague and uncomfortable feeling in his heart. It felt as though he would definitely miss out on something important if he had his breakthrough in Sealed World Bead. Moreover, it was something that he would regret for the rest of his life! Without any further hesitation, he immediately turned Zhui Feng around and headed towards Cloud Shadow Continent.
He did not choose to undergo his breakthrough in the Small Sealed World. One of the reasons was the unease he felt in his heart. The other reason was due to the lack of security. If he entered the Small Seal World, then the Sealed World Bead would be exposed to the world. It didn’t matter how well he concealed himself. He could not guarantee that the Sealed World Bead would not be found with so many Demon Saints of the Demon Realm searching for him. The Divine Sense of the Demon Saints was outrageously powerful. It was not impossible for them to notice a bead that was obviously rather unusual if they carried out a thorough search. If any of the Demon Saints discovered the Sealed World Bead, he would truly become a turtle hiding in his own shell.
On the other hand, the Embodiment was the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent. Choosing to break through there could greatly benefit him. At the very least, the Embodiment could cover up the commotion of his breakthrough to the greatest extent. Furthermore, Cloud Shadow Continent was part of Yu Ru Meng’s territory, so if any troubles were to arise, she would surely come to his aid as soon as possible.
Having come to a decision, Yang Kai stopped thinking about it. He rode on Zhui Feng’s back, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing. With his breakthrough so imminent, he had to maintain himself in his best condition; otherwise, his cultivation path would be cut off if his breakthrough failed. This was not something that could be taken lightly.
The injuries he suffered were not caused by others. They were caused by the backlash of the Mountains and Rivers Bell from the time when he teamed up with the Embodiment to deal with Yue Sang. They could not be considered serious, but could also not be considered light.
Those injuries were recovering quickly with the help of the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills he took, and he could vaguely sense that he would almost be fully healed by the time he arrived on Cloud Shadow Continent.
Yang Kai passed through Territory Gate after Territory Gate until half a day later, trouble came just as he was about to reach the next gate.
Looking from afar, he could see that many members of the Demon Race were forming a blockade around the Territory Gate and performing a strict check on each person that passed through. Yang Kai watched with his own eyes as a passing member of the Demon Race even had their Space Ring taken from them for investigation.
This situation darkened Yang Kai’s expression. He knew that he must be the cause of this. He probably did not encounter such a situation previously because news had not spread out yet. The entire Demon Realm was probably taking strict precautions right now.
He quietly scanned the surroundings and was relieved to see that there were no Half-Saints guarding this place. Although there were several Demon Kings, they were no match for him if he really wanted to force his way through. Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not want to reveal his current whereabouts. On the other hand, it didn’t make sense to change his course either.
After pondering for a while, he placed Zhui Feng into the Sealed World Bead and flew out alone. He wandered around for a while and quickly came across a lone member of the Demon Race. This man was a Low-Rank Demon King. When he saw Yang Kai blocking his road, he opened his mouth and let out a cold laugh, but the only reply he received was Yang Kai’s aggressive attacks.
It only took three punches and two kicks for Yang Kai to beat the Low-Rank Demon King into the ground. After that, he didn’t waste any time, reaching out to grab the latter’s head. Divine Sense overflowed like a tide, tearing through the Low-Rank Demon King’s Knowledge Sea defences and forcefully extracting the other party’s Soul Brand.
The Low-Rank Demon King had not recovered from his shock even after Yang Kai released him; however, his expression changed drastically the moment Yang Kai’s Divine Sense moved and he glanced up at Yang Kai aggrievedly, “Who are you and what do you want?”
Having his Soul Brand taken from his Knowledge Sea meant that his life was no longer his to control. That was not something anybody could accept. Even so, he was no fool. He knew that Yang Kai must have done it for a reason.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, took out the Sealed World Bead, and said lightly, “Swallow this bead and pass through the Territory Gate over there.”
The Demon King frowned at those words, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask; otherwise, your life will be at risk!” Yang Kai coldly snorted and tossed the Sealed World Bead over.
By the time the Demon King caught the Sealed World Bead and looked up again, he discovered that there was nobody standing in front of him. He couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious. If not for the Stolen Soul Brand and the bead in his hand, he would have thought that what happened just now was nothing more than a hallucination.
Looking around his surroundings, he tried to search for a trace of the man from before. Then, an unbearable pain appeared in his mind. It felt like his Soul itself was going to be torn apart. He was secretly surprised and realized that the man from before must be watching his movements from somewhere despite hiding in the shadows. That man was capable of killing him anytime and anywhere. The pain just now was definitely a warning.
[What did he ask me to do just now? Oh, right. Swallow the bead and pass through the Territory Gate…] He looked at the Sealed World Bead in his hand, feeling overwhelmed with sorrow and anxiety. [This thing doesn’t look that special. I don’t even know whether it’s poisonous…]
The sadness and anger in his heart could not be more pronounced. Misfortune had struck him out of nowhere even though he had not provoked nor upset anybody. How could he make sense of things?
Unfortunately, he had his Soul Brand taken. Even if this bead really turned out to be poisonous, he had to swallow it. Thus, he swallowed the Sealed World Bead into his belly and headed towards the Territory Gate with a sullen expression. He couldn’t not go. There was a sliver of Divine Sense locked onto his Soul in his Knowledge Sea. He could be killed at any moment!
A short while later, he arrived near the Territory Gate. He raised his head and saw that it was very heavily guarded. The Territory Gate was tightly surrounded by a platoon of the Demons and the aura of many Demon Kings seeped out from among them as they did a strict check on any traveller. Only then did he understand why that person had asked him to pass through the Territory Gate. [He must have committed a crime. But what crime did he commit that would warrant so many powerful figures hunting him down?]
If not for the dangerous element in his Knowledge Sea that could extinguish his Soul at any time, he would have happily reported the incident to the army. Unfortunately, he dared not act rashly with that sliver of Divine Sense locked onto his Soul.
He thought to himself. [Everything will be over as long as I pass through that Territory Gate. No matter how powerful he is, he won’t be able to find me again; after all, he couldn’t possibly pass through the Territory Gate in secret with such a heavy guard around it, right? If he had that kind of ability, he would not have forced me into doing this.]
He flew towards the Territory Gate in trepidation and was immediately stopped by a Demon General who asked coldly, “Stop! Where are you from and where are you going!?”
The Demon King squeezed out a smile, cupped his fist, and answered these questions carefully without lying.
The Demon General glanced at the Demon King, then he reached out a hand and unfurled a picture scroll in front of the latter, “Have you seen this man?”
Looking at the picture scroll, the Demon King’s eyelids twitched slightly. The portrait depicted on the picture scroll was none other than that person he encountered just now.
[As I thought. He must have committed a crime after all.] Still, he quickly shook his head in response, “No.”
The Demon General put away the picture scroll and said lightly, “If you see this person, report it to us immediately. Once the information has been confirmed to be accurate, you will receive a reward of a hundred Myriad Demon Pills! The reward is five hundred Myriad Demon Pills if you can capture him!”
“A hundred Myriad Demon Pills!” Upon hearing this, the Demon King couldn’t help letting out a cry of surprise as his eyes turned red from greed. He might be a Demon King, but he was only a Low-Rank Demon King. He was unsatisfied with his position on his continent, and although he had heard of Myriad Demon Pills before, he had never seen one himself. If he were to receive a hundred Myriad Demon Pills, it would be enough for him to cultivate until he became a High-Rank Demon King, and if he could capture that criminal, he would receive five hundred Myriad Demon Pills!
[Just what is this!? With so many Myriad Demon Pills, I would never have to worry about my future anymore!] Only the Demon Saints could bring out so many Myriad Demon Pills at once. Even Half-Saints did not have such capacity.
He couldn’t help swallowing nervously, nearly blurting out what he knew. Nevertheless, he thought about his life which was currently hanging by a thread and decided to keep quiet for now. Myriad Demon Pills were great, but he needed to be alive to refine them. There was no point in having a Myriad Demon Pill if he was dead.
He cautiously asked, “What crime did he commit?”
The Demon General replied, “He interfered in the Holy Venerables’ affairs. Right now, all Holy Venerables are working together to find him.”
[I can’t believe it is related to the Holy Venerables. Moreover, it involves all of them…] When the thought appeared, the Demon King couldn’t help feeling a sheen of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. He had a vague feeling that he had been dragged into something extremely terrible.
He continued forward and went through a series of strict checks. Even his Space Ring was searched before they allowed him to pass. Then, he secretly decided. [The moment I pass through the Territory Gate, I will immediately report this matter once I confirm my safety. I won’t be able to get the reward of five hundred Myriad Demon Pills, but a hundred Myriad Demon Pills won’t hurt, right?]
A short while later, he passed through the Territory Gate and arrived on a different continent. He glanced about him in a furtive manner and spoke through gritted teeth, “I’ve done what you asked of me. There’s nothing else you need from me, right?”
The surroundings were silent, and there was no response.
[Hahahaha! I knew he couldn’t have possibly crossed the Territory Gate with me!] He was elated.
Secretly confirming his location once more, he hurriedly headed in a certain direction, his eyes gleaming with a red light as though he could already see a hundred Myriad Demon Pills beckoning at him.
At that moment, there was a slight twinge of pain in his Knowledge Sea and he staggered and almost fell from the sky. After stabilizing his body, he looked around him as cold sweat dripped down his back.
[That’s impossible! I’m already on another continent! How can he still know what I am doing!? Don’t tell me he’s somewhere nearby!? But, that doesn’t make sense! If he can sneak past the Territory Gate without alerting the guards, then why did he need me to do that!?] While he was caught up in his swirling thoughts of doubt, the pain in his Knowledge Sea increased ever so slightly. It frightened him so much that he anxiously shouted, “I didn’t expose your whereabouts! If you have something to say, we should talk it out!”
After the words left his mouth, the pain disappeared; however, a wave of pain struck him again before he could catch his breath.
This cycle repeated many times. The Demon King was tortured to the point where he was weak from the pain. He cried out with a mournful expression, “What do you want!? Come out and tell me what you want. Stop torturing me like this!”
Nobody would feel good if they were walking on the edge of life or death all the time. The danger that his Soul could be extinguished at anytime and anywhere was a huge torture in and of itself. Be that as it may, no matter how much he cried out, that person from before did not respond at all.
After a long time, his expression suddenly changed. He opened his mouth and cast a Secret Technique for him to spit out the bead he had swallowed earlier. There was an expression of uncertainty on his face.
The moment he spat out the bead, a figure flashed and appeared in front of him. It was the figure of that person who had tortured him so badly just now.
At this moment, Yang Kai had a cold expression on his face and he snorted softly, “I was wondering if you would ever figure it out.” [If this guy didn’t spit out the Sealed World Bead soon, my only option would have been to break out through his body. That would have killed him.]
While saying that, he retrieved the Sealed World Bead.
The Demon King stared at Yang Kai, then stared at the Sealed World Bead, stammering, “Y-Y-You…”
Yang Kai sternly said, “Don’t stick your nose into my business. I need to go to Cloud Shadow Continent. Seeing as your performance was fairly lacklustre, you will lead me there.”
The Demon King secretly wailed in his heart upon hearing those words. It was just that he was under the other party’s control so he had no choice but to lower his head in acquiescence. The vexed feeling in his heart could not get any stronger.
Yang Kai ignored the Demon King’s mood and summoned his Tiger Head Chariot directly, beckoned to the poor soul, and brought him along. He had already decided on the route by the time the Demon King boarded. Afterward, the War Chariot turned into a stream of light and sped away with a surge of Emperor Qi.
Since they already had the experience of working together once, things were much easier after that.
Yang Kai would hide himself in the Sealed World Bead every time they got near a Territory Gate, then ask the Demon King to swallow the bead and pass through the layers of security to enter the next continent. Once they reached a safe place, Yang Kai would come out again and continue the journey on his Tiger Head Chariot.
This method might waste a little more time, but it was far safer. Nobody could have imagined that Yang Kai would conceal himself inside a bead to pass through the Demon Race’s strict security checks. Yu Ru Meng might have thought of this, but she would never tell the other Demon Saints about it.
After four or five days of torturous travelling, Yang Kai finally arrived in Yu Ru Meng’s territory. Unlike the territories of the other Demon Saints, the Territory Gates on the continents under her jurisdiction were not showing signs of being fortified. This was probably the only undefended zone in all the Demon Realm today. It made him feel a little relieved. In his eyes, she was different from the other Demon Saints after all.
It took a few more twists and turns before he arrived on Cloud Shadow Continent.
“This is Cloud Shadow Continent. Senior Yang, I have fulfilled your request. Can you… let me go now?” Upon arriving on Cloud Shadow, Huo Lun looked at Yang Kai expectantly. Despite knowing that it was a slim chance, he still had to try.
They might not be well acquainted with each other, but at the very least, they had gotten to know each other’s names after spending a few days together.
Yang Kai glanced at Huo Lun and calmly asked, “Do you think that’s possible?”
Huo Lun paled, took a few steps back, and angrily asked, “Do you have to kill me!?”
[This is truly a disaster! I followed along obediently without provoking him or causing any trouble. I can’t believe I am facing a life-threatening catastrophe! This is the worst!] He secretly vowed to himself. [If he is going to kill me, I will definitely take a bite out of his flesh first!]
“Not necessarily. You have been of great help to me. Killing you will make me seem a little ungrateful. Nevertheless, letting you go is impossible.” Yang Kai laughed softly as he raised the Sealed World Bead in his hand and said, “You must have guessed the use of this item by now.”
Huo Lun looked at the Sealed World Bead and nodded helplessly. Over the past few days, Yang Kai had entered and exited this bead right in front of him several times, so only a fool would not be able to figure out what the Sealed World Bead was used for. It was definitely a treasure that could contain living creatures inside!
“You have a choice. Die, or be kept inside.” Yang Kai stared at Huo Lun.
Huo Lun only hesitated for a moment before he smiled bitterly, “Is that even a choice?” As he spoke, his whole body relaxed in a posture of resignation.
“Wise decision!” Yang Kai stretched out his hand to grab at Huo Lun. Space Principles fluctuated as Huo Lun vanished into thin air.
There were two reasons why Yang Kai did not kill Huo Lun. One was the reason he mentioned earlier. The other reason was that he wanted to test if the expansion of the Sealed World Bead was suitable for the viability of the Demon Race.
The world inside the Sealed World Bead was now composed of three parts. The first part was the original space of the Sealed World Bead itself, the second part was comprised of the Cultivation Stars that the Sealed World Bead had devoured in Grand Desolation Star Field, and the third part was comprised of the continents that had disappeared in the Demon Realm.
The first two parts had been integrated into one while the last part was still an independent existence. Those continents that had disappeared had been fragmented and their World Principles had shattered; however, they were showing signs of recombining after being devoured by the Sealed World Bead. The broken World Principles seemed to be gradually becoming perfect again.
If the Demon Race could survive or even cultivate in such an environment, it would be of great help to the next part of Yang Kai’s plan. Thus, Huo Lun was sent to the third part, the newly expanded space.
After doing that, Yang Kai hurriedly released the Embodiment. He wanted to break through and advance to the next Realm on Cloud Shadow Continent. To do that, he needed the Embodiment’s help to cover up the commotion his breakthrough would cause, or he would surely be discovered. This was the main reason why he ventured back to Cloud Shadow Continent.
His injuries were fully healed after so many days on the run, but the fluctuating Qi in his body was getting harder and harder to control. It seemed to have reached the limit. If he had not spent so much effort to suppress it, he might have undergone the breakthrough halfway through their journey.
Time waited for no man and Yang Kai was going to undergo his breakthrough right this very moment; however, his expression suddenly turned icy as he turned his head and yelled furiously, “Who’s there!?”
The Embodiment, who was about to take Yang Kai to a safe place, jumped in fright. He hurriedly spread his Divine Sense out to investigate the surroundings, but after a while, he turned to look at Yang Kai suspiciously only to see him with a solemn expression on his face, as if he was about to face his greatest enemy. The Embodiment was extremely puzzled by the sight and asked in a quiet voice, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai looked very tense as he kept searching around his surroundings and asked, “Didn’t you feel anything?”
“Nope!” The Embodiment shook his head.
Yang Kai glanced at the Embodiment in surprise and exclaimed softly, “How is that possible?”
Just now, the feeling of being watched had appeared again. It felt as though there was a pair of invisible eyes staring at him from somewhere. It was an extremely unsettling feeling. When this feeling first appeared a few days ago, Yang Kai had thought one of the Demon Saints had caught up with him; however, there had been no signs of a Demon Saint ambushing him afterward, so he couldn’t help feeling a little confused by the situation.
It wasn’t until today when that feeling appeared again that he confirmed that this was by no means an illusion. He was really being targeted by somebody, but to his astonishment, the Embodiment, the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, had not noticed anything at all. That left Yang Kai feeling even more baffled than ever.
[Have I been too nervous lately? Is that why my perception is playing tricks on me? This is the Embodiment’s territory after all, so it’s impossible for him not to notice anything even if it was a Demon Saint hiding nearby.]
If the Embodiment did not have a direct link to his own Soul, Yang Kai would have suspected him of lying to him. More importantly, there was no need for any of the Demon Saints to be so cryptic, regardless of which Demon Saint it was. They had the power to crush everything with their strength, so they only had to step forward to capture him. There was no need to go through all this dawdling.
While he was speaking, that feeling disappeared without a trace again.
The Embodiment asked, “Did you really sense something?”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, then he slowly shook his head, “I’m not sure. I don’t know if it was just my imagination.”
The Embodiment fell silent as he did not know what to say in this situation.
Yang Kai couldn’t spare the time to think about it though with his breakthrough being so imminent. Even if there really was a Demon Saint hiding nearby, he could not stop them if they wanted to harm him, so he could only do his best against them when that happened. Moreover, higher cultivation would surely give him a higher chance of surviving the encounter.
“Let’s begin!” Yang Kai declared in a deep voice, sweeping aside the mess of thoughts swirling in his head.
The Embodiment nodded. Activating his Demon Qi, he wrapped Yang Kai in it before burrowing into the ground. The pair navigated through the ground where there was neither light nor sound.
Yang Kai didn’t know how long had passed before he felt the pressure around him loosened and the Demon Qi wrapping him retracted. The Embodiment’s voice sounded in his ears next, “This is a cave a hundred kilometres underground. The commotion from your breakthrough should be suppressed with me standing guard.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and swept his surroundings, taking in the pitch-black darkness that he could still vaguely make out as a large cave. It was dark and damp, and he could vaguely hear the sound of running water. There was probably an underground river flowing nearby. Although the conditions were a little lacking, Yang Kai was not complaining. He immediately took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.
With a wave of his hand, batches of High-Rank Source Crystals were thrown out of his Space Ring. The Source Crystals turned into dust the moment they left the Space Ring and the dense World Energy contained within soon flooded the cave, forming a thick mist. All of a sudden, the dark and damp cave was transformed into a cultivation paradise.
Yang Kai spared no effort in the preparations for a successful breakthrough to the Third-Order Emperor Realm. At this time, he couldn’t help feeling relieved that he had prepared enough cultivation resources before coming to the Demon Realm; otherwise, he would not have had sufficient resources in this accursed place. He wasn’t finished yet though. Reaching into the Space Ring again, he took out a handful of Spirit Pills and swallowed them to ensure that he had enough energy to meet his breakthrough requirements.
On the Martial Dao, every Minor Realm of the Emperor Realm was blocked by a formidable barrier that innumerable talented cultivators failed to break through. That was the case whether it was from the First-Order to the Second-Order, from the Second-Order to the Third-Order, or from the Third-Order to the Pseudo-Great Emperor Realm and eventually Great Emperor Realm. How many people had experienced cultivation dissonance at the time of their breakthrough? Likewise, how many people had died or lost their cultivation during the process?
In addition, Yang Kai had chosen to undergo his breakthrough in the Demon Realm. He could not afford to be careless.
He immediately quieted his mind once everything was prepared, focusing on himself and clearing all distractions away. Quietly performing a set of hand seals, he released the suppression he had been placing on himself all this time. Immediately afterwards, the fluctuating aura in his body erupted outward.
A shudder ran through his body while at the same time, his Emperor Qi rumbled and soared to the sky, only to smash against an invisible barrier.
Yang Kai grunted involuntarily as pain spread all over his body. It felt like his entire body was being ripped to pieces, causing him to tremble. His entire body oozed with a layer of sweat from the extreme pain and his clothes were soon completely drenched.
The Emperor Qi in his body that had ballooned to its limits slowly deflated. Be that as it may, Yang Kai was not discouraged by his failure in this attempt. His previous breakthroughs had always gone very smoothly, so he rarely encountered such situations. Even so, who could continue experiencing never-ending success in the Martial Dao without running into any trouble whatsoever? Who could keep advancing down a path of great progress without facing some obstacles? Even the Great Emperors and Demon Saints suffered countless setbacks when they were younger. The setback Yang Kai experienced today would only serve to lay a solid foundation for tomorrow.
The pores on his body relaxed, greedily sucking in the dense World Energy in his surroundings into his body. The medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills also began to take effect in his lower abdomen. His Emperor Qi flowed smoothly, his aura recovered, and he tried to break through the bottleneck once again.
Muffled grunts rang out in this dark and damp cave without pause in a rhythmic fashion. The spot Yang Kai was sitting was soon soaked in sweat. Every attempt was met with a corresponding failure. Every single time, the pain was excruciating. The flesh on his body was torn apart, his meridians were disconnected, and his pores overflowed with Golden Blood.
At this moment, the Embodiment, who had been monitoring Yang Kai’s progress, couldn’t help starting to feel worried. It could be said that he had grown up with Yang Kai, but he had never seen him going through such a difficult breakthrough before.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help. As the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, he could only provide a place that was safe for Yang Kai’s breakthrough and suppress the commotion that occurred. The rest was up to Yang Kai himself.
It was true that Yang Kai’s growth rate was extremely fast compared to others, and this kind of rapid growth was bound to come with some hidden dangers. These hidden dangers were usually undetectable until they burst out at a critical moment, just like what was happening now…
“After killing this King, do you really feel no guilt?” A familiar voice suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai’s expression instantly became grim. He opened his eyes only to realize with a start that he was no longer in the dark cave. He was standing in the void with a Blood Sea spreading out around him. Additionally, there was a blood-covered figure standing in front of him with a sneer stretched across the face of a youth. Yang Kai’s fist had punched right through the youth’s chest, shattering his heart and vitality… It was Bright Moon Great Emperor!
The pupils of Yang Kai’s eyes contracted. He immediately reacted as he had on the day of this tragedy, trying to pull his fist out of the youth’s chest, but to his shock, Bright Moon grabbed his arm and held on stubbornly.
Then, Bright Moon leaned his body forward slightly. The expression on his face at this moment was incredibly hideous, “I am a Great Emperor! I represent the Star Boundary’s Will! How dare you kill me!?”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, staring forward with a blank expression. After being stunned for a long time, his expression suddenly sank as he gritted his teeth and roared, “Heart Demon!”
Bright Moon Great Emperor was dead, his body placed in the medicine garden of the Small Sealed World. It didn’t make sense for him to come out again, much less reproduce the same scene from that ill-fated day. The only explanation was that Yang Kai was currently experiencing the outbreak of a Heart Demon!
Yang Kai had been running for his life for the past few days, so the guilt and regret of killing a Great Emperor with his own hands had been repressed in his heart. He had deliberately tried to forget about it, he had deliberately avoided thinking about it, but as a result, repressing his emotions had given birth to a Heart Demon at this time.
In order to enter the Demon Realm back then, Yang Kai had worked together with Iron Blood Great Emperor to jointly put on an act in front of Yu Ru Meng, making it seem like he was experiencing a cultivation dissonance. He never imagined that he would really be faced with this kind of crisis one day.
If he couldn’t overcome his Heart Demon, everything would fall apart. Forget about breaking through to the next Realm, it would be a joyous miracle if his cultivation did not regress. In the worst case, he might really suffer from cultivation dissonance, become demonified, and lose himself. A huge sense of crisis fell over him, but as it did, he instead became calmer.
Yang Kai lowered his gaze, the black hair on his forehead casting a dark shadow over his face. He took a deep breath, looked up, and met Bright Moon’s eyes, “Of course, I do! You are a Great Emperor, and yet, you died at my hand. Of course, I feel guilty about killing you!”
Standing opposite Yang Kai, Bright Moon broke out into an evil smile, “Since you feel guilty, then why do you force yourself like this? Why not accompany this King on his journey to the Yellow Springs?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Senior, do you really think that way?”
Bright Moon’s expression turned frosty, “You are a sinner of the Star Boundary. Don’t tell me you still want to continue living!?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head and pulled his arm out of Bright Moon’s chest, little by little. Due to Bright Moon’s intervention, his actions were extremely slow, “I don’t believe that I am a sinner of the Star Boundary. What you said is wrong, Senior.”
Bright Moon sneered, “Not a sinner? Don’t tell me you think you are a hero?”
“I can’t say that I’m a hero. I killed you after all. But I prevented the Star Boundary’s Will from falling into the hands of the Demon Race. Senior, you chose to die at my hands. If I really have to say it… it doesn’t matter how guilty I feel, I was helpless at the time.”
“Rubbish!” Bright Moon shouted with a hideous expression, “You are proficient in the Dao of Space! You could have taken me away long ago! But you didn’t want to take any reckless risks nor put yourself in danger. You are the reason I died in the Demon Realm! You are the Star Boundary’s greatest sinner!”
“Please don’t joke, Senior.” Yang Kai remained calm, “Although I am proficient in the Dao of Space, I am weak. How could I have taken you away with a Demon Saint guarding you?”
“Giving up so easily without even trying? You only think of yourself!” Bright Moon’s accusations became sharper and harsher, targeting the weakest parts of Yang Kai’s mind.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shaken by those words and his stable mood nearly became disordered as a result. He had asked himself the same question back when he witnessed Bright Moon’s death with his own eyes, [Why didn’t I rescue Bright Moon earlier? If I had made a move earlier, we might have had a chance of success. At least, I wouldn’t have to carry this guilt around for the rest of my life.]
Watching Yang Kai close his eyes in pain, Bright Moon laughed coldly, “What else can you say to that?”
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes again, “I have nothing to say.”
Bright Moon smiled slightly as his body fluttered over to Yang Kai’s side, “In that case, why bother struggling so needlessly? Why don’t you simply follow your heart and indulge in unfettered freedom?”
“If the ‘unfettered freedom’ you mentioned means becoming demonified, then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Senior.” Yang Kai looked at Bright Moon indifferently and sighed softly, “Senior, my pain stems from the pain of losing a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, not because I failed to save you. My strength is so lacking, there was no way I could have rescued you…”
While he was speaking, he finally retracted his hand from Bright Moon’s chest. Then, he slammed his fist forward again.
“Forgive me, Senior!”
When his fist landed, Bright Moon shattered into pieces. After making up for the apology he didn’t have the time to say before Bright Moon died back then, the tension in Yang Kai’s heart seemed to have relaxed. He finally made up for the regret he had felt. He had carefully considered the possibilities over the past few days; in particular, whether he could have succeeded in rescuing Bright Moon during their first meeting, but no matter how he thought about it, he could not fathom the slightest possibility of success.
The reason he was able to safely exit from the Blood Sea at that time was all thanks to Bright Moon. Xue Li, who had been guarding the Blood Sea at the time, would have noticed him immediately if not for Bright Moon’s distraction; therefore, he would certainly be greeted with the fury of a Demon Saint the moment he placed Bright Moon into the Sealed World Bead. If that happened, then not only would Bright Moon’s condition worsen, but he would also be dragged into the mess.
Space Beacons were certainly a possibility. He could have left a Space Beacon near the Territory Gate in advance, but what good would that have done? Whether it was the Twelve Pinnacles Grand Demon Array or the boundless Blood Sea formed from the blood sacrifice of the entire Eternal Sky Continent, both had the power of sealing space; thus, Yang Kai could not use his Space Beacon to perform long-distance Instantaneous Movement from inside.
It should be mentioned that even the Embodiment could only use a Space Beacon to perform an Instantaneous Movement to come to Yang Kai’s side after Yue Sang had allowed him into the Blood Sea. If it wasn’t for Yue Sang’s oversight in letting the Embodiment and Zhui Feng into the Blood Sea, Yang Kai would have been utterly powerless against him. For that reason, he was not at the point where he would be overcome by his Heart Demon even though he felt guilty over Bright Moon’s death.
Bright Moon’s body dissipated into particles of light, but they soon condensed into another figure. This figure had shapely curves and a trace of holiness in her bewitching face. It was Yu Ru Meng.
Yang Kai stared at her in a daze, feeling complicated and wondering to himself. [How did Ru Meng turn into my Heart Demon? Could it be because I have been on guard against her whether consciously or unconsciously?]
“Yang Kai, the Star Boundary’s Will is extremely important to the Demon Realm. Hand it…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Yang Kai had already thrown a punch at her. Even Bright Moon’s death had been unable to shake his mind, so what more needed to be said about Yu Ru Meng who was alive and well? He might have felt distressed and upset over this if the effects of the Heart Seal Secret Technique had not been transferred away, but the current him did not feel anything about it. Forget a trivial Heart Demon, even if it had been the actual person in the real world, he would have thrown a punch at her if she had dared to ask that of him.
The illusion of Yu Ru Meng shattered and fell apart like the one before it.
Yang Kai’s body suddenly relaxed as he believed that he had succeeded in his challenge, but to his surprise, the shattered illusion began to condense once more. He stared at it curiously, feeling rather stunned. [Who will the illusion turn into this time? Do I have that many Heart Demons?] He did not have many regrets or dissatisfactions in his life. It made sense why Bright Moon and Yu Ru Meng had appeared, but who could the third person be?
However, his expression soon changed as he stared at the sight in front of him in amazement. The illusion that formed was not somebody he could ever have imagined. It couldn’t even be said to be a person at all. It was a bunch of black shadows that were twisted together to form a humanoid figure. It almost looked like a Shadow Demon at a glance.
[Could it be Night Shadow Great Emperor!?] His expression turned sullen. [That doesn’t make sense! Although Night Shadow Great Emperor betrayed the Star Boundary and landed a fatal blow on Bright Moon, I’ve basically never interacted with him. Why would he turn into one of my Heart Demons at a time like this and interfere with my breakthrough?]
While Yang Kai was reeling from confusion, the black shadow in front of him suddenly let out a sharp, piercing scream.
Yang Kai felt a shock to his Soul when the scream entered his ears and after that, the black shadow in front of him turned into a ray of dark light and rushed directly at him.
Yang Kai was caught off guard and took the hit full-on. Immediately following that, an intense pain struck him. It felt like his Knowledge Sea was being ripped apart. He could clearly sense that there was a foreign invader now in his Knowledge Sea. Not daring to take this lightly, he immediately sank his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea and appeared as his Soul Avatar.
Yang Kai saw the black shadow standing above the churning sea of fire. That black shadow was staring fixedly at the seven-coloured island in the middle of the sea!
“Soul… Warming… Lotus!” A vague and hoarse voice came from the black shadow. It sounded like rusted pieces of metal scraping against each other, like the one speaking had not done so in thousands of years. Those three words had been forced out with great difficulty; nevertheless, it gave off the feeling of extreme excitement.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he narrowed his eyes and stared at the black figure. This was not his Heart Demon!
The so-called Heart Demons were purely mental fabrications that had no tangible substance, obstacles to a cultivator’s advancement. It was impossible for a Heart Demon to become sentient, much less have the ability to speak of its own free will.
This thing in front of him was clearly some sort of strange creature. Yang Kai didn’t even know how it managed to approach him, but he realized that the intense Heart Demons from earlier were probably caused by it somehow!
At this moment, Yang Kai recalled his experience of being spied on twice during his journey to Cloud Shadow Continent. [Don’t tell me… Is this guy the one that has been spying on me in secret!? Why didn’t the Embodiment detect him!? Isn’t he standing guard over me nearby!? How could he allow somebody else to invade my Knowledge Sea without doing anything!?]
“Who are you!?” Yang Kai asked with a sombre expression.
“Soul… Warming… Lotus!” That black shadow ignored Yang Kai. All of its attention was fixed on the Supreme Treasure as it repeated the same words it uttered just now.
Yang Kai was very surprised that this person could see the true body of the seven-coloured island at a glance. It was not the first time he had his Knowledge Sea invaded, and it was precisely because of prior experiences that he had transformed the appearance of the Soul Warming Lotus into a small island. It was a defensive measure to prevent people from learning his secrets. Who could have known that this black shadow would see through the mystery at a glance? That level of perception truly was something!
“I’ll ask you again. Who are you!?” Yang Kai shouted with a grim expression. He had made up his mind. [I can’t let this guy escape. If the secret of the Soul Warming Lotus is exposed to the world, the Demon Saints will spare no effort to hunt me down!]
The fluctuation of his emotions caused the sea below to become tumultuous and the raging waves to soar to the sky.
That black shadow still did not respond. Instead, it transformed into a ray of black light and rushed directly at the Soul Warming Lotus. The Soul Warming Lotus seemed to be very attractive to it and seemed to set off a certain impulsive urge to possess it at all costs.
“Cut!” Yang Kai pointed with a finger, and a sword light slashed out into the air. The Soul Splitting Saber was a Soul-type Emperor Grade Artifact that had been nurtured within his Knowledge Sea for decades. Inside this peculiar space, the Soul Splitting Saber was capable of drawing its power out to the fullest. That sword light was as swift as lightning, slicing towards the black figure and splitting it in two.
Before Yang Kai could rejoice though, the black shadow restored itself and rushed over to the sky above the seven-coloured island in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted at this sight; after all, his enemy took a direct hit from the Soul Splitting Saber inside his Knowledge Sea yet came out unscathed. Just what was this thing!?
Seeing that the black shadow was about to succeed, Yang Kai did not dare to delay. He drew upon his Divine Sense and activated the power of the Soul Warming Lotus.
In an instant, a seven-coloured flash of light bloomed on the treasure island. It formed an invisible barrier, keeping the black shadow out. The black shadow tried to pass through the barrier several times but failed to break through the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences. Even so, it continued to single-mindedly rush straight at the barrier.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand. Then, he rushed forward with the Soul Splitting Saber and sliced the shadow in two. Be that as it may, the black shadow continued to ignore him. It was as though the black shadow could only see the Soul Warming Lotus. Thus, he was so furious that he laughed instead. [Setting his eyes on my treasure in my territory… This guy is the boldest thief I have ever seen!]
After slicing at the black shadow for some time, Yang Kai began to feel a little speechless.
It was clear that this thing did not have a high level of sentience. It was fixated on what it had decided on, but the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences were not something that could be broken through so easily. Despite these circumstances, this thing was determined to get its hands on the Soul Warming Lotus no matter what.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had been slicing at it with the Soul Splitting Saber the whole time, but although that was the case, it would restore itself each time without any difficulty. It was almost like an undying object.
Yang Kai was powerless against this thing; hence, a strange stalemate had formed. Still, there was something for him to rejoice about. It was fortunate that this thing did not have a high level of sentience as with its strength, it would undoubtedly be very difficult for him to deal with otherwise.
Staring at the dark shadow for a while, Yang Kai felt rather troubled. He was currently in the middle of his breakthrough. Nevertheless, it was impossible for him to leave this thing in his Knowledge Sea and simply ignore it. The consequences would be dire if it disrupted him at a critical moment.
However, this thing was completely unaffected by the Soul Splitting Saber. He had no idea what it was or where it came from. Logically speaking, it should be a manifestation of someone’s Soul since it could enter his Knowledge Sea, but if that was the case, it didn’t make sense why the Soul Splitting Saber was ineffective against it.
Shifting his gaze away, he looked to the centre of the seven-coloured island. He did not know if the Soul Devouring Insects would be able to restrain it when the Soul Splitting Saber was useless against it. If even the Soul Devouring Insects were unable to deal with it, then Yang Kai did not know how he could either get rid of or kill this black shadow. It was just that, at this point, he could only try everything in his arsenal.
His thoughts flashed and a dense, black cloud of insects immediately swarmed out of the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and enveloped the black shadow under his command.
The black shadow was still slamming against the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences without pause. It ignored the Soul Devouring Insects and was soon covered in them. Clicking sounds rang out, sounding quite creepy.
Yang Kai coldly observed the black shadow’s condition, and a moment later, his expression changed. The Soul Devouring Insects had not disappointed him. They were having some effect on the black shadow, but the effect did not seem to be great. If it had been anybody else’s Soul, they would have fallen apart by now with those Soul Devouring Insects eating away at them like that. On the contrary, the black shadow remained lively and energetic.
Be that as it may, it was enough as long as they had an effect on the black shadow. Yang Kai had been afraid that even the Soul Devouring Insects would prove ineffective against it. The situation might be less than satisfactory, but he could wear down the black shadow with enough time.
With the situation in his Knowledge Sea stabilized for the time being, he checked on the condition of his physical body. He did not know if it was because the issue with the black shadow remained unresolved, but he could not break through that invisible barrier and advance to the next Minor Realm so his aura remained in a constant state of flux.
The concentration of the World Energy in the cave had been significantly reduced and the medicinal efficacies of those Spirit Pills in his abdomen had almost been exhausted too; thus, he had no choice but to replenish them again.
Golden Blood evaporated out of all the pores on his body. His whole body was in so much pain that it felt as though he was being torn apart. He felt slightly depressed in his heart as there had never been an advancement as difficult as this one before.
He was finally experiencing some of the difficulties and challenges that others faced on their cultivation journey and a sense of understanding grew in his heart. Each person’s strength was hard-won; it did not come easily. Every step they took on the path to the peak required ten times or a hundred times more effort and risk than simply stepping back and submitting. Thinking back on his smooth progress up until now, Yang Kai could see that he was certainly lacking something compared to others. The hardship he was facing this time was finally making up for this shortcoming.
While mulling over these thoughts, the physical pain he experienced seemed to reduce considerably. He gradually fell into a peculiar state when all of a sudden, his body gave a jerk. He had distinctly felt a change taking place in his Knowledge Sea; hence, he quickly sent his Soul Avatar back in to investigate the situation.
In the skies above Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, the black shadow that was covered in Soul Devouring Insects was screaming up to the sky. Invisible waves of Spiritual Energy spread out, causing the flames to violently surge.
Yang Kai’s expression froze for a moment at this sight; then, he swiftly tried to suppress the abnormality in his Knowledge Sea and calm his mind. Looking in that direction, he saw the black shadow swelling up rapidly. At the same time, an extremely dangerous aura suddenly began fluctuating wildly.
His expression changed drastically and he quickly commanded the Soul Devouring Insects to retreat whilst simultaneously drawing upon the power of the Soul Warming Lotus. A seven-coloured light bloomed brightly, enveloping his entire Knowledge Sea in its radiance.
A loud bang resounded throughout his Knowledge Sea as the black shadow exploded. Black light spread outward as many of the Soul Devouring Insects that could not retreat in time were turned into ash and disappeared in the wind.
Similarly, the shock of the explosion left Yang Kai’s mind reeling in a state of confusion. It felt as though his Soul Avatar was about to collapse, and for a moment, he was completely incapable of thinking at all.
It wasn’t easy, but he finally stabilized his Soul Avatar and composed his emotions. He looked up and was instantly dumbfounded by the sight. There were bits and pieces of pitch-black energy scattered across his Knowledge Sea, looking as if somebody had splashed black ink into the flames. Moreover, those ‘ink drops’ were exuding an extremely powerful Demon Essence. They were also spreading into the surroundings at an astonishing speed.
Looking at this scene scared Yang Kai out of his wits. He did not know what would happen if he allowed these pitch-black ‘ink drops’ to spread into the surroundings, but judging by the Demon Essence being scattered around, he could guess that it would not end well for him.
Panicking, he rushed to stop the progression with his Divine Sense, but to his despair, his Spiritual Energy was instantly converted the moment it came into contact with those ‘ink drops’. As this process progressed, it caused the violent and malevolent urges in his heart to emerge and a sense of hostility to grow.
Even the purifying light blooming from the seven-coloured island had a hard time stopping the pitch-black ‘ink drops’ from converting his Knowledge Sea.
After several frantic moments, Yang Kai watched helplessly as his Knowledge Sea was completely dyed black. The Demon Essence in his Knowledge Sea was overwhelming. The small spot in the middle of his Knowledge Sea that was protected by the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus became the last pure land left.
Yang Kai could distinctly sense that his mental state had undergone some subtle yet unexplainable changes, but it had yet to reach the level of a full-blown cultivation dissonance. It seemed that he was still capable of thinking normally without losing his sense of reason. It could even be said that instead of making him feel uncomfortable… this state gave him an unspeakable sense of joy and freedom.
[I couldn’t have truly undergone demonification, right?] Just as the thought surfaced in his mind, another voice whispered in his head. [So what if I underwent demonification?]
His Knowledge Sea began churning violently again, but this time, it wasn’t because something was wrong in his Knowledge Sea, it was because something was happening to his physical body.
With a flash of his thoughts, his Soul Avatar returned to his physical body just in time to feel his aura reaching a new height. The power brewing in his body was unprecedentedly strong and all the obstacles and bottlenecks he encountered before were smashed in the face of this surging power.
Yang Kai didn’t do anything consciously; he simply allowed his aura to rise with the momentum. The pain in his body disappeared all of a sudden, only to be replaced by a sense of comfort. An invisible wave of Qi spread out across his surroundings with him as the centre, the impact causing rocks to come crashing down inside the cave.
The door to a brand-new Realm slowly opened up in front of him. He had reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm!
Upon seeing this, the Embodiment, who had been standing guard by the side all this while, quickly used a Secret Technique to mask the disturbance caused by Yang Kai’s breakthrough. They were currently a hundred kilometres underground, so even a Demon Saint might not be able to find this place unless they were searching with a fine-toothed comb. Nevertheless, he proceeded with utmost caution just in case. By suppressing these fluctuations, he could ensure that the commotion in this place would not spread too far.
The Embodiment turned to look at Yang Kai with a joyful expression and prepared to congratulate the latter on his successful breakthrough, but to his surprise, he discovered that Yang Kai’s aura had not finished increasing. It was still climbing ever higher as though it was only just beginning. He was taken aback, feeling uncertain about what was going on; moreover, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
As Yang Kai’s aura continued to become stronger, an extremely powerful suction force came from within his body and greedily swallowed up all the World Energy in the surroundings. The mist in the cave was gone in the blink of an eye and immediately after that, the Demon Qi that permeated everything in this world began pouring into the cave and flooding into his body. Consequently, the surface of his body was covered in a layer of faint black Qi in a very short amount of time.
The Embodiment was utterly shocked by the sight and rushed forward in a panic. Yang Kai’s current state looked as though he was experiencing cultivation dissonance.
Having cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and possessing the body of a Stone Spirit, the Embodiment was capable of recklessly devouring Demon Qi without any worries; however, Yang Kai was different. Yang Kai did not have all those convenient advantages that the Embodiment had; therefore, swallowing up all the Demon Qi in the surrounding area would not bode well for him.
Just as the Embodiment was about to step forward to stop Yang Kai, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at the Embodiment with a calm look. Seeing this, the Embodiment immediately stopped in his tracks. He had caught a glimpse of a cold and inhuman indifference in those eyes, which left him at a loss for what to do. He did not know what had gone wrong with Yang Kai’s breakthrough to produce such changes.
Even so, Yang Kai’s intentions had been very clear. The Embodiment only hesitated for a moment before he simply stood back and watched how the situation played out. He was simply an offshoot of Yang Kai’s Soul, so how could he go against the wishes of the true body?
A howling wind roared in the cave, caused by the movement of the Demon Qi in the surrounding world as it was sucked into Yang Kai’s body. With the passage of time, the layer of faint black Qi on the surface of his body became denser and denser. He was also becoming increasingly full of Demon Essence.
Contrary to the Embodiment’s worries, however, Yang Kai was enjoying himself in this state. He could clearly feel that his power was rapidly growing. Furthermore, the Soul Warming Lotus was guarding the last pure land in his Knowledge Sea, so there was no risk of him becoming completely demonified.
[This… might be a blessing in disguise!] Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sound rang out from the depths of his heart. Yang Kai furrowed his brow in response, and after a careful inspection, he discovered that a crack had appeared on the seal on his dantian.
When he and Iron Blood had put on that show for all the Star Boundary to see, Yang Kai had released the seal on his dantian and let out the Ancient Demon Qi stored there. Of course, afterwards, he had used the power of the Firmament Tree to seal the Ancient Demon Qi back up again.
Unfortunately, the consequences of releasing the seal on multiple occasions had caused the Ancient Demon Qi to grow stronger. If it happened again, even the power of the Firmament Tree would not be enough to completely seal it again. Not to mention, the sealing power of the Firmament Tree had been weakened severely due to overuse. There had not been enough time for it to replenish its sealing power. Hence, for a crack to appear now seriously gave him quite a scare.
If he had been devouring Demon Qi solely because of the changes brought about by his breakthrough, he would not have thought much of it. On the other hand, the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian was an extremely troublesome matter. Yang Kai did not know if the changes were caused by all the Demon Qi he was devouring at the moment; however, the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian was madly slamming against the seal to the point where it managed to form a crack in it.
This was something that had never happened until now, and before he had figured out how to deal with the situation, the crack abruptly expanded. Immediately afterwards, the Ancient Demon Qi violently gushed out and began to directly devour the other Demon Qi in his body.
The place where Yang Kai was located had more or less turned into a black hole where Demon Qi which was so thick it was almost tangible was gathering into a cluster. The power fluctuations that emanated from the phenomenon were even making the Embodiment feel a little frightened.
A suction force that was even more violent than before came out suddenly, forming a huge vortex which pulled all the Demon Qi in Cloud Shadow Continent in this direction. A hundred kilometres above, a huge tornado that connected the Heavens and the Earth formed while, at the same time, the pitch-black Demon Qi poured into the ground and disappeared without a trace in a blink of an eye.
Noticing the abnormality, the Embodiment hurriedly took action to cover up the Heavenly Manifestation and the disturbance of the Demon Qi. It was done in order to prevent somebody with malicious intentions from catching wind of the phenomenon here.
A hundred kilometres underground, Yang Kai’s muffled roar sounded amidst the violently swirling Demon Qi. It sounded like a wounded beast’s howls. The Embodiment couldn’t help feeling rather frightened and uneasy when he heard the roar, but there was nothing he could do for Yang Kai anymore now that things had progressed to this point.
It was obvious from Yang Kai’s current condition that he had fallen into a state of cultivation dissonance. The only way for him to overcome this calamity was to rely on himself. If he failed to get through this, then everything would have been for naught.
For that reason, the Embodiment was feeling extremely anxious.
The roars rang out intermittently as Yang Kai lost track of how much time had passed. His voice was also gradually becoming more and more hoarse, almost as if his vocal cords had been torn apart from all his screaming. During this period, he did not know how much of the Demon Qi in the world had been sucked into his body. The overpowering Ancient Demon Qi that was sealed in his dantian had been released in its entirety and had integrated with the meridians in his body to the point where they could no longer be disentangled.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai abruptly opened his eyes. The entire world subsequently went dark. There was no light whatsoever in the cave a hundred kilometres underground, so it should have been pitch-black in the first place; however, the Embodiment still had the feeling of being completely shrouded in darkness at that moment. Not only did it feel as though his vision was being disrupted, but even his Divine Sense was also unable to detect anything.
In the darkness, a ray of golden radiance stood out conspicuously. He looked up and saw that the golden light was a column. As a Soul Clone of Yang Kai, it was only natural that he knew what that column of golden light was. It was the Demon Eye of Annihilation!
Ever since Yang Kai obtained this Divine Ability in Tong Xuan Realm, he had repeatedly relied on the Demon Eye of Annihilation to defeat powerful enemies and turn the tables around when the situation was dire.
That was not the point though, the point was that although the Embodiment could not see anything, he could instinctually sense that Yang Kai’s other eye was also open. It was just that that eye was completely pitch-black in contrast. It was the Ancient Demon Black Eye!
His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he felt as though he had been hit in the head by a sledgehammer, and his thoughts became unbelievably chaotic. The Ancient Demon Black Eye had always been a Divine Ability that could only be used when Yang Kai released the seal on his dantian. Once the Infinite Darkness was activated, all light would vanish from the world. But why did it appear now? Did Yang Kai’s true body completely undergo demonification?
At this moment, Yang Kai’s roar had completely transformed into a howl of pain. What the Embodiment sensed was not wrong as both of Yang Kai’s eyes were not in their normal state at the moment. Both the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Ancient Demon Black Eye had appeared at the same time. There was nothing wrong with the Demon Eye of Annihilation in his left eye, but on the contrary, the Ancient Demon Black Eye in his right eye was aching like it was on fire. Not only was the pain excruciating, but his right eye was also throbbing non-stop, as though it was about to pop out of its socket. That kind of pain and suffering was simply unbearable.
In the midst of that throbbing, Yang Kai felt as though his very Soul was going to be shaken apart. It was a feeling that was worse than death, but gritting his teeth, he desperately held on. The Soul Warming Lotus guarded the last piece of pure land in his Knowledge Sea, preventing him from drowning completely or thoroughly undergoing demonification. His originally unstable aura gradually began to calm down in this tenacious confrontation with his own destiny. As time passed, the throbbing in his right eye became less and less frequent. Similarly, the excruciating pain slowly became less intense.
Without warning, all the pain vanished without a trace and his throbbing right eye stabilized again. Following that, an indescribable feeling of comfort spread throughout Yang Kai’s body. He let out a long breath of relief. Accordingly, the pitch-black Demon Qi in the cave was collected in one fell swoop. It poured into his body all at once like the ebbing tides of the sea, bringing peace back to the world a hundred kilometres underground.
Yang Kai sat cross-legged, breathing long and deep breaths. His aura in the Third-Order Emperor Realm was very obvious. Meanwhile, the Embodiment stood not too far away and stared blankly in his direction. In this situation, even he could not figure out whether Yang Kai had successfully survived the catastrophe or completely undergone demonification. Regardless of the outcome, the true body was the true body. He could never become truly independent from Yang Kai. As long as there was nothing life-threatening, he could accept any changes that Yang Kai would display later.
After some time, Yang Kai opened his eyes again. In that instant, there seemed to be a radiance flooding the pitch-black cave.
The Embodiment hurriedly asked, “How are you?”
Yang Kai stood up, loosening the muscles in his limbs, then observed the condition of his body as he scratched his chin, “I’m not sure…”
“Huh?” The Embodiment stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied, “It’s hard to explain. My breakthrough can be considered a success, but I don’t know what my situation is right now.” His cultivation had reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm without any doubt; however, even he himself couldn’t tell whether he had undergone demonification or not.
It could be said that he had undergone a Demon Transformation… However, he had not lost his sense of self. His mind was as clear as could be. Nonetheless, it was a fact that the nature of his Emperor Qi had undergone earth-shaking changes, completely converting into Demon Qi.
He had absorbed so much Demon Qi from the world during his breakthrough earlier after all. Even the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian had been completely assimilated. The Emperor Qi in his body that he had spent so many years and so much effort to cultivate had been converted too.
Yang Kai told the Embodiment about everything that happened before and his current condition; after that, he simply grinned, “In any case, I feel freer than I have ever been before.”
The Embodiment felt a little speechless. If even the main body couldn’t figure it out, what could he possibly figure out? He considered it for a moment before saying, “All of this is probably related to the black shadow that invaded your Knowledge Sea. Perhaps, that is what gave you the ability to merge with the Demon Qi.”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “I think so too, but what in the world was that black shadow? I will need to investigate it thoroughly.”
If it had not been for the black shadow contaminating his Knowledge Sea after it exploded, he would not have been able to absorb the Demon Qi into his body so smoothly. It would also have been impossible to assimilate the powerful Ancient Demon Qi that was sealed in his dantian.
He experienced many changes during his breakthrough this time; nevertheless, the results could still be considered quite satisfactory. Yang Kai had to admit that the fact that his Emperor Qi had been converted into Demon Qi upset him, but even so, the fact that it had completely resolved the hidden danger sealed in his dantian was something to rejoice about.
When he last used the power of the Firmament Tree to reseal his dantian, he had still felt greatly worried. If the day came that he was forced to release the seal again, then there would be no turning back anymore. Fortunately, it was not an issue anymore. The Ancient Demon Qi had completely assimilated with him, so this worry was gone forever. He even had the feeling that he could activate the Infinite Darkness Divine Ability whenever or wherever he pleased, which was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
“Haha! Turns out you really were hiding here! You really wear our iron shoes searching for your own feet!” A soft laughter suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he could instantly tell whose voice it was.
Bei Li Mo!
“Damn it! The anomaly accompanying your breakthrough probably attracted her here!” The Embodiment shouted.
The sudden change Yang Kai experienced had caused a shocking phenomenon. Even though the Embodiment had immediately acted to conceal it, he had apparently not acted swiftly enough. In addition, he could not transfer Yang Kai to another location since he had also been at an important crossroads at the time. Thus, the Embodiment could only pray that the anomaly had not attracted anybody’s attention. Who could have known that it would attract Bei Li Mo of all people to this place?
Yang Kai’s breakthrough this time had taken quite a long time, lasting for half a month. In other words, Bei Li Mo must have already been lurking on Cloud Shadow Continent for quite some time; otherwise, she could not have perceived the anomaly that occurred for only an instant. The Embodiment might be the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, but it was still impossible for him to detect a Demon Saint who was intent on concealing her presence.
*Kacha…*
A strange sound rang out in the cave as the temperature dropped abruptly. Immediately following that, the walls were covered in a layer of frost. Icicles that were as sharp as could be quickly formed, and the cave was filled with a cold that penetrated even the Soul.
“Run!” Yang Kai shouted. Even if he had advanced to the next Minor Realm and was much stronger than before, he knew it was still impossible to contend with a Demon Saint. He would have no way to escape if he was locked down by Bei Li Mo.
As soon as those words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the Embodiment had already pushed his Demon Qi, wrapped it around Yang Kai, and swiftly began burrowing into the earth.
“You want to escape? This Saint has already come all this way, do you think you can still flee?” Bei Li Mo’s sneering voice rang out. Immediately afterwards, a layer of ice covered the ground in front of the Embodiment. It made the ground extremely hard. Failing to notice that, he bumped into it head-on. Thus, he had no choice but to change directions and continue to flee.
After twisting and turning about underground for a short while, bright light suddenly filled Yang Kai’s eyes. The pressure around his body disappeared abruptly, and by the time he recovered from the shock, he discovered that the Embodiment had brought him back to the surface.
A breeze caressed his face, feeling extremely pleasant, but just a dozen metres away, Bei Li Mo stood staring at him with a small, mocking smile. She had an enchanting figure and bright red lips, and her snow-white hair fluttered lightly in the wind.
He turned to look at the Embodiment, whose expression was extremely sullen. He probably did not know how he had fallen into the enemy’s trap as he had made so many rapid twists and turns only to appear right in front of the other party anyway.
“Cheap slut, die!” Yang Kai yelled without warning and a huge Moon Blade slashed toward Bei Li Mo’s head. At the same time, he manipulated the Space Principles and wrapped the Embodiment in them to escape together.
On the other hand, Bei Li Mo simply waved her hand. The Moon Blade slashing at her shattered to pieces before she lifted her hand again and grabbed at the void where Yang Kai was. Instantly, the surrounding world seemed to freeze in place.
Yang Kai and the Embodiment had only just become a blur when they began to solidify again. Yang Kai could not perform Instantaneous Movement again.
Exchanging a glance with each other, Yang Kai and the Embodiment pushed their Demon Qi at the same time. Spinning around, they both blasted Bei Li Mo with their respective Divine Abilities, desperately going all out. They were not hoping to injure her, just buy enough time to escape.
Unfortunately, a Demon Saint was a Demon Saint. A look of contempt flashed through her eyes in the face of Yang Kai and the Embodiment’s joint attack and the mocking smile on her lips curled upwards further. She stood in place, not taking a single step, simply raising her arm and lightly pressing her palm into the void.
Yang Kai and the Embodiment’s figures that were leaping forward seemed to have hit an invisible wall at that moment and ground to a halt. Following that, an overwhelming and terrifying force washed over them from the front and both of them were sent flying backwards as a result.
The Embodiment frantically tried to stabilize his body in mid-air but failed miserably in his attempts. On the other hand, Yang Kai coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood as his face turned pale.