Unfortunately, those Demon Race Half-Saints seemed to have prepared in advance for this scenario. They stuck together as a group and never separated from each other. When the Half-Saints on both sides engaged in battle again, it ended with only one of the Half-Saints on the Demon Race’s side being severely injured.
Two days later, an assassination attempt was carried out on Yang Kai in the General’s tent of the Sixty-First Army. The person who carried out the assassination attempt was a Shadow Demon Half-Saint, who quietly snuck into the Sixty-First Army alone and attacked.
It would surely have ended in tragedy if not for how extraordinary Yang Kai’s Soul cultivation was. Even so, the experience left him drenched in a cold sweat. He had always known that the Shadow Demon Clan was talented and proficient in stealth and assassination, and among them, a Shadow Demon Half-Saint was considered the best among the best. Despite knowing this, it wasn’t until he actually experienced it for himself that Yang Kai had a clear and profound understanding of what it meant.
It was almost impossible to prevent the Shadow Demon Half-Saint from infiltrating and carrying out a sneak attack. Even Yang Kai could not detect the Shadow Demon Half-Saint’s presence, so how could the others? Fortunately, there were traces that could be seen at the exact moment the other party attacked. Yang Kai immediately used Nihility on himself when he felt alarm bells ringing in his heart, which was what allowed him to avoid the crisis.
The Shadow Demon Half-Saint immediately fled far away when his attack missed its mark. Yang Kai had urged the Space Principles to solidify the area but failed to restrain the enemy; hence, the Shadow Demon was nowhere to be seen by the time Bai Ya, the Embodiment, and the others heard the commotion and rushed over.
There was a head-on battle and two sneak attacks, coming to a total of three confrontations in a span of five days; thus, Yang Kai and Bing Yun realized that the enemy in front of them was a tough nut to crack. It was going to be difficult to defeat this Demon Race army of three million with just the power they had on hand.
Yang Kai and Bing Yun stood side by side on top of a solitary mountain where the clouds gathered, looking out in the direction of Blue Wave City that was located thousands of kilometres away. Even though it was thousands of kilometres away; even though more than a month had passed since the incident, the aftermath of the battle between the Great Emperor and the Demon Saint was still clearly discernible. Somewhere above the Demon Land and below the black spot, the Great Emperor’s Emperor Qi swirled, and the Demon Saint’s Demon Qi raged. They formed two dazzling rays of light and darkness that kept clashing with each other in mid-air.
It had been many years since such powerful Masters had fought against each other in this world. The battlefield left behind from their battle would definitely become a cultivation paradise of the Grand Dao in later years. If anybody had the opportunity to perceive the confrontation between the two forces, they would surely gain great benefits from the experience that would improve their cultivation by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, that place was currently dominated by the Demon Race, so who would dare approach? On the contrary, many Masters in the Demon King Realm and above were taking the opportunity to gain insight there.
“Senior, have you received any news?” Yang Kai squinted in that direction for a while before asking.
Bing Yun sighed, “None of the others can come. They all have their own enemies to deal with.”
He nodded at her words. The results were within his expectations.
The two sides had clashed three times, but both sides were unable to do anything about the other. Wondering if she could ask for help from elsewhere, Bing Yun had turned to the other armies in the Northern Territory for assistance in order to remove the eyesore in front of them before moving on to obliterate the rest of the Demons in the remaining Demon Strongholds.
However, the armies of the Star Boundary were all busy fighting their own battles, so who could come forward to provide support? Li Wu Yi had received countless requests asking for support, but unfortunately, he couldn’t send out more helping hands. The only thing he could do was ask the respective Army Commanders to figure out a solution for themselves.
At present, there were one hundred and eight Demon Strongholds scattered across the four territories of the Star Boundary with Demon Race armies stationed at each one. Although many of the Demon Strongholds had been wiped out along with the defenders stationed there over the course of the past month, the Demon Lands remained. Even the World Principles of the Star Boundary could not repair themselves.
The Demon Race armies would sometimes evacuate a stronghold before the arrival of the Star Boundary’s armies and converged towards another larger Demon Stronghold, causing the Star Boundary’s armies’ aggressive and high-spirited march to be in vain.
Most Demon Strongholds were not too hard to deal with as the number of Half-Saints in the Demon Realm was limited, so not every Demon Stronghold had a Half-Saint guarding it. Take the Demon Stronghold at Water Cloud Sect for example. There were no Half-Saints stationed there, so Yang Kai succeeded in turning the place upside down practically all alone.
In contrast, those Demon Strongholds with Half-Saints guarding them were rather difficult to deal with. Among them, there were a total of ten Demon Strongholds with more than one Half-Saint! The Demon Race highly valued these ten spots, and each spot had at least four or five Half-Saints stationed there. Blue Wave City happened to be one of them! Furthermore, these ten Demon Strongholds were the places where the seven Great Emperors, Yu Ru Meng, and the others had disappeared together with the Demon Saints.
Just Blue Wave City alone had been keeping the Sixty-First and Thirty-Fifth Army completely tied down. The other nine Demon Strongholds were probably facing a similar situation. At the very least, thirty of the Star Boundary’s armies were required to siege these ten Demon Strongholds. The rest could only divide their troops to confront the remaining Demons.
Anyone could tell that these ten Demon Strongholds were of great importance to Demon Race. They could ignore all the other Demon Strongholds and Demon Lands but defeating those ten locations was a must. As long as they could capture these ten locations, it would be difficult for the Demon Race to implement whatever tricks and conspiracies they had planned, but it was extremely difficult to capture those locations. Judging from the current situation of the Star Boundary’s various armies, it was nothing short of a dream.
These ten Demon Strongholds were scattered throughout the four territories of the Star Boundary. There were three in the Northern Territory, three in the Southern Territory, and two each in the Eastern and Western Territory!
“It’s not necessarily a bad idea to gather all the Masters in one place and accomplish everything in one go.” Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment.
Bing Yun nodded, “I’ve already considered that option. We have the Space Beacons and the World Beads, so our mobility is much greater than that of our enemy. If we can gather ten Masters in the Pseudo-Great Emperor Realm, we might just be able to defeat the opponents in front of us, but what happens to the armies under their command during their absence? The Demon Race forces will not miss this opportunity to retaliate. Without the protection of a Pseudo-Great Emperor, those armies will definitely suffer heavy casualties. The losses will outweigh the gains. It might work if we place the armies into the World Beads as well, but that would mean abandoning vigilance towards some of the Demon Strongholds altogether.”
He nodded, “You are right, Senior. What are Supreme Commander Li’s opinions on this matter?”
She replied, “Supreme Commander Li said to wait for the news from Dragon Island. All our problems will be solved if the two Elders of Dragon Island are willing to come forward.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “I see. It shouldn’t take too long then.”
Upon returning to High Heaven Palace from the Western Territory, he had asked Qiong Qi to escort Yang Xiao and Yang Xue to Dragon Island. Now that one month had passed, the results should present themselves soon.
The Star Boundary was in critical condition, and while Dragon Island was technically a Sealed World of its own, it was still based in the Star Boundary. No matter how detached the Dragon Clan was towards the matters of the world, they could not stand idly by in this situation. The reasoning behind the saying ‘without lips, the teeth would go cold’ was still something they understood very well.
“I hope that’s the case,” Seeing his confident expression, Bing Yun smiled slightly in response.
He suddenly reached out his hand while they were conversing. At the same time, Space Principles fluctuated briefly, then, a jade slip appeared in the palm of Yang Kai’s hands when he opened his hand again. Li Wu Yi’s aura emanated from that jade slip.
She asked, “Is that a message from Supreme Commander Li?”
Yang Kai nodded, immersing his Divine Sense into the jade slip. After checking the contents of the jade slip, he smiled bitterly, “Senior, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fight alongside you anymore.”
“What did the Supreme Commander ask you to do?” She asked.
He tossed the jade slip to her and said, “Senior Li wants me to head into the Demon Realm to search for the whereabouts of the Great Emperors and… devour the rest of the Demon Realm while I’m at it.”
Bing Yun swiftly finished reading the contents of the jade slip, and knowing that what he was saying was the truth, she nodded in response, “That’s not a bad idea. Just looking at the number of Demons in the world today, it’s easy to tell that most of the strongest Masters have been deployed. Those that remained are probably the weak and infirmed. You probably won’t face much danger if you head to the Demon Realm now…”
She suddenly laughed, “The Demon Race invaded the Star Boundary in hopes of seizing new land… Supreme Commander Li’s little scheme is truly giving them a taste of their own medicine.”
If Yang Kai went deep behind the enemy lines and devoured the Demon Realm continents, the Demon Race would definitely not ignore his actions; thus, he alone would be able to distract the Demon Race’s attention. It would be even better if he managed to lure some of the Half-Saints away. What’s more, according to Li Wu Yi’s conjecture, the Great Emperors were probably in the Demon Realm at the moment; hence, the main purpose of this trip was to inquire about their whereabouts and current situation.
Yang Kai said solemnly, “Please take care of the Sixty-First Army after I leave, Senior.”
Bing Yun laughed, “The Sixty-First Army is the mightiest in the Star Boundary. They don’t need me to take care of them. Rather, my Thirty-Fifth Army will be relying on the Sixty-First Army.”
“Although Yao Si acts prudently, he is still young. I’m worried that he might lose his composure now that the Great Emperors are missing.”
Bing Yun nodded and replied in a serious tone, “Rest assured. I will watch over him carefully.”
He nodded in thanks.
“When are you going? Where will you depart from?”
Yang Kai thought for a moment before answering, “I’ll leave after making some arrangements.” He glanced at the black spot located thousands of kilometres away and grinned, “As for where, I’ll just depart from here.”
Following his gaze, Bing Yun felt stunned for some time and secretly sighed to herself. [His courage isn’t small…] “If you intend to leave from there, then you should probably make some proper arrangements.”
He glanced at her for a moment, mulling over her words before understanding her intentions and nodding, “I’ll do as you say, Senior.”
The two of them then set off immediately and returned to the camp.
A short while later, the Division Commanders of both armies gathered together in the Commander’s tent of the Sixty-First Army. When Yang Kai told them about his intentions to set off for the Demon Realm, the news caused an uproar among them; however, they fell silent after learning that Yang Kai was acting under Li Wu Yi’s orders.
Bai Ya and Bai Zhuo naturally requested to follow him. They were sent by Yu Ru Meng and Bei Li Mo to protect him after all, so it was only logical that they were wherever he was. Nevertheless, the war situation was very precarious at the moment, so how could Yang Kai cut off the supporting pillars of the two armies at such a critical juncture? Hence, he immediately rejected their request. Even the Embodiment was to stay behind.
Following a brief discussion, everybody dispersed.
That night, the two armies joined forces and launched a fierce attack on Blue Wave City. Having already taken precautions in advance, the Demons were able to respond to the attack quickly, but what puzzled them was that the Human’s attack this time around was extremely flashy but seemed to lack substance. Hundreds of thousands attacked with great vigour, only to quickly withdraw their forces after an hour or so. It left the Demon Race extremely puzzled.
Staring at the Human Race army retreating like the receding tide, the Demon Race Half-Saints stood in the sky with a frown on their faces. They instinctively felt that the Humans were carrying out some sort of plot, but they could not sense anything.
All of a sudden, the Shadow Demon Half-Saint who previously snuck into the Sixty-First Army to assassinate Yang Kai looked up at the black spot in the sky with a glint in his eyes.
“There’s an easy path to the Heavens but you refused to take it; instead, you force your way into the Gates of Hell!” The Shadow Demon gave a soft, cold laugh before his figure suddenly faded, and vanished from sight.
“Qian Zhong, where are you going!?” A Half-Saint shouted after him.
“To kill!” His voice came from the direction of the black spot.
The other Half-Saints raised their eyebrows at those words; then, the realization of the meaning behind that strange feeling they experienced just now suddenly struck them. They had not seen any traces of Yang Kai during this battle! Yang Kai held a high position among the Human Race; he seemed to be an Army Commander or something of the sort, so it was impossible for him not to show up during such an important battle. Thinking back to the Human Race army’s movements just now, how could they not realize that the attack was all a feint? It was simply to distract them. Besides, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it was not impossible for him to sneak into the Demon Realm through this place amidst all the chaos.
“He is proficient in the Dao of Space. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to kill him! Qian Zhong attempted it once before but failed,” One of the Half-Saints frowned.
“If he really snuck into the Demon Realm, then he would surely feel smug about himself and become complacent as a result. It might just work out this time.”
“Let’s hope it does. It’s just that the Human brat has a storage artifact. There are always traitors around him to protect him.”
“Bai Ya, Bai Zhuo, and that strange Stone Man made an appearance just now. I believe he only has that beast, Zhui Feng, with him at the moment. It’s difficult for even you and I to guard against Qian Zhong’s sneak attacks, so as long as that boy lets down his guard even just a little, Qian Zhong will have a great chance of succeeding.”
“That’s true. Let us hope Qian Zhong can bring back some good news.”
At this point, the Half-Saints stopped talking. They simply watched the Human Race army’s movements warily, preparing to defend against another attack at any time.
The Shadow Demon Clan was inherently proficient in concealment and assassination. Like a rabbit eating grass or a jackal eating meat, it was an ability that came innately to them. Moreover, a Shadow Demon Half-Saint stood at the peak of this field.
Qian Zhong concealed his figure and aura, passed through the enormous black spot in the sky, and quietly snuck back into the Demon Realm.
Yang Kai infiltrated the Demon Realm in order to cause mayhem. That was simply his suspicion born from the fact that he had not seen Yang Kai anywhere on the battlefield just now. He had not been too confident whether it was the truth or not, but be that as it may, he became certain that his guess was correct the moment he returned to the Demon Realm. That was because traces of Yang Kai’s aura clearly remained at the place where he appeared, which made him ecstatic.
All the Half-Saints, and even the Demon Saints themselves loathed Yang Kai. It was just that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so despite being weak, his skill at escaping was unmatched. Even the Demon Saints had failed to capture him when they tried to hunt him down after the battle on Eternal Sky Continent.
Later, Yang Kai wreaked havoc in the Demon Realm, destroyed a vast swatch of territory, and instigated two Demon Saints, a Master on par with the Demon Saints, and a large number of Demon Race Masters to defect. Those actions left the Demon Race nursing an irreconcilable grudge against him.
Before this recent invasion of the Star Boundary, the Demon Saints announced that they would personally guide and assist in the cultivation of the meritorious person who managed to take Yang Kai’s head so that that person could reach the peak as soon as possible. The Half-Saints might not have been tempted by the offer if it had been just any ordinary reward; however, who wouldn’t covet being taught by the Demon Saints themselves?
[The credit is mine!] Qian Zhong thought to himself; even so, he did not show his excitement outwardly. A good assassin was able to precisely control the fluctuations of their emotions so that not even the slightest turbulence would be revealed.
There was no need to track the trail carefully. He only needed to lift his head to see Yang Kai riding on Zhui Feng at a distance of no more than two kilometres away from him. They were travelling at leisure, acting so relaxed and carefree that it was almost as if their purpose in coming to the Demon Realm was for a casual stroll.
For Qian Zhong, a distance like that was practically no different from standing face-to-face with each other, he could launch a sure-kill strike at any time. Before he could take any action though, he suddenly saw Yang Kai, who was two kilometres away, turning to look back in his direction with a bright smile, one filled with cunning.
Qian Zhong felt his heart skip a beat, instinctively thinking that something bad was going to happen, but before he could react, a gentle force slammed into his body. That force was invisible and undetectable, so well-hidden that he failed to notice until it was too late. Besides, the power behind this strike was harmless and clearly only for reconnaissance purposes. It was just that his figure, which was concealed, was immediately revealed when that force struck.
“I’ve been waiting for you!” A voice sounded from the side. Following those words, a figure dressed in white stepped out of the Void with one hand behind his back, his aura calm and relaxed like that of an aloof Master!
[Li Wu Yi!] Qian Zhong froze in surprise and his eyes widened from the shock. His head was full of questions, the most prominent one being, [Why is he here!?]
There were few Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary, far less than the number of Demon Race Half-Saints. Even with the subordinates of Yu Ru Meng and the others, there was still a large gap between the number of Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary and the number of Demon Race Half-Saints. Nevertheless, the gap was not as wide as before.
Among all the Pseudo-Great Emperors though, Li Wu Yi was the most famous. He was also the person most feared by the Half-Saints, that was because three Half-Saints had died at his hands. He was an existence that stood above the rest of the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints. His reputation of being the strongest beneath the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary was well warranted.
Although Qian Zhong was powerful enough that he could look down on any other Pseudo-Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, he did not dare to underestimate Li Wu Yi; therefore, he instantly realized that this was a trap the moment he saw the latter appear! It was a trick to deceive the opponent into walking into the trap themselves! And, he had fallen right for it!
Without any hesitation, Qian Zhong abruptly retreated. The Two Worlds’ Passage was not far behind him, and as long as he could return, he could reach the stronghold in the Star Boundary. At that time, Li Wu Yi would not be able to touch a single hair on his head. On the contrary, he could try and unite with his companions on the other side to kill Li Wu Yi here.
However, a scorching heat came from behind him the moment he tried to make a move. That scorching heat seemed to be able to burn everything in the world, causing Qian Zhong’s expression to fill with horror even before the attack landed on him.
His figure that was withdrawing backwards stopped abruptly. There had been no pause between his sudden movement and equally sudden halt, showing how solid his foundation was. He dodged to the side and turned back to look in the middle of all the havoc.
A slender and bright-eyed young woman was standing in front of the Two Worlds’ Passage, showing a row of pearly teeth as she smiled at him. Forming a set of seals with her hands, she sent out another Secret Technique, manifesting a flame that danced like a Fire Dragon to chase after him. While casting the Secret Technique, she laughingly said, “Yang Kai, there really was an idiot who walked right into our trap!”
Yang Kai rode over and laughed loudly, “How could I show off my intelligence if he wasn’t so stupid?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he struck his palm at Qian Zhong from a distance. Space Principles fluctuated violently as he shouted, “Solidify!”
At the same time, Li Wu Yi raised a palm slowly and brought it down in Qian Zhong’s direction with a stern expression. He might be powerful, but his opponent was a Half-Saint; thus, he attacked with all his strength.
Combining their strength, the space around Qian Zhong suddenly froze!
Qian Zhong, who was escaping like a fleeting shadow, felt as though a mountain was suddenly pressing down on him. The vitality in his heart churned, and his breathing became laboured. His originally unpredictable figure became extremely sluggish too.
At that moment, scorching heat swiftly descended on him. He broke out in cold sweat and let out a roar, his Demon Qi surging violently. Like a mirror that was broken by a huge force, the sound of something shattering rang out as cracks suddenly appeared in the space surrounding him.
Qian Zhong took advantage of the situation to escape his shackles, but the burst of flames had already rushed up to him during that momentary delay. At this moment, he was in the middle of recovering from the last attack and could not gather more strength to defend. It was such a short gap that it was practically negligible, but even so, the young woman had managed to time her attack perfectly.
The flames suddenly enveloped him and turned into a ring of fire that quickly shrank. Then, it tightened abruptly and bound Qian Zhong in place. With the ring of fire wrapped around his body, the Demon Qi covering his body burned with a crackling sound. In his horror, he bit his tongue hard and his aura surged violently, causing the ring of fire binding him showed signs of cracking.
*Xiu Xiu…*
Two more bursts of flames shot out from the young woman’s hands. Similar to the first burst of flame, they struck out like a Fire Dragon and shrouded over Qian Zhong’s head. After that, the three bursts of fire turned into three rings of flame and bound themselves around his chest, waist and legs. He had been on the verge of breaking free previously, but now he was locked down tightly, a look of despair filling his face.
Yang Kai and Li Wu Yi attacked at the same time. Li Wu Yi’s clothes were flapping in the wind, the Emperor Qi in his body surging madly as he pointed at Qian Zhong from a distance. That movement seemed incredibly slow, yet at the same time, it was over in an instant. Qian Zhong reacted as if struck by lightning when that finger pointed at him and his head jerked back, a finger-sized hole appearing on his forehead. Strangely, no blood came out. Only his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Yang Kai also pointed a finger forward. It was different from the slow-moving action that Li Wu Yi had made as he thrust forward rapidly, causing space to shudder and the world to tremble. It was incredibly majestic and terrifying to watch.
Meanwhile, Qian Zhong’s chest sank sharply, then his whole body shrank rapidly and collapsed towards the dent in his chest.
Rupture!
Li Wu Yi’s eyes lit up. As an expert proficient in the Dao of Space, he instantly knew that this attack was very powerful the moment Yang Kai used it. It involved the essence of the Grand Dao of Space itself.
The scene of a living person collapsing in on himself at a rapid pace was an extremely strange sight to behold. If Yang Kai had been alone, he could never have won against this Shadow Demon Half-Saint, but by launching a surprise attack, which combined his strength with Li Wu Yi and Yang Yan, they managed to defeat this opponent so quickly that he had no chance to retaliate.
In a span of three short breaths, Qian Zhong’s whole body collapsed in on itself completely and a small black spot suddenly formed in his place.
The three rings of fire turned into bracelets that flew towards Yang Yan, where she wore them on her fair wrists. Just as she was about to turn around with a smile on her face to say something to Yang Kai, her expression changed drastically and she shouted, “Watch out!”
There was a loud explosion. Following that, the small black spot expanded without warning and countless figures erupted from within. Each figure was similar to Qian Zhong in appearance. There were thousands of those figures and each one of them had identical auras, making it impossible for anybody to discern which was real and which was not. Then, those thousands of figures fled in all directions.
Li Wu Yi and Yang Yan attacked in unison. Most of the figures were wiped out before they could take more than a few steps. Meanwhile, Yang Kai felt his skin tingling with a sense that he was being watched by a dangerous beast. Lifting his head, he saw a figure rush towards him at a high speed. The eyes of that figure were filled with a hatred that was carved deep into his bones and a resolute determination to drag Yang Kai down to hell with him.
“A cornered beast will undoubtedly fight back!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, and with a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell. He gave a gentle shake of his wrist and a melodious and ancient sound tolled. At the same time, a force of suppression swept out in all directions.
As soon as Qian Zhong appeared, he was besieged by Yang Kai, Li Wu Yi, and Yang Yan. He was beaten half-to-death before he could even use any of his Divine Abilities, so it was inevitable that he came out severely injured despite his desperate attempts to escape. Therefore, his combat power at this moment was less than half of what it usually was at his peak.
When the Mountains and Rivers Bell rang out, the sound of the bell went straight into his mind and caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. The melodious bell echoed throughout the Demon Realm, shattered space, and even spread to the Star Boundary. Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for the commotion in the Demon Realm to reach the Star Boundary even if the two Great Worlds were connected by a channel, but even so, the sound of the Mountains and Rivers Bell was clearly transmitted to the other side.
When the bell rang out, the expressions of many Half-Saints in the Demon Land brightened as a single thought appeared in their hearts, [Success!]
The Demon Race was fairly knowledgeable when it came to Yang Kai. They knew that he had a treasure like the Mountains and Rivers Bell in his possession. A treasure as precious as that would never be used unless he was in a crisis where his life was at stake; hence, the Half-Saints believed that he was near the end of his road when they heard the bell toll. They were certain it wouldn’t be long before Qian Zhong returned with good news.
While secretly rejoicing in their hearts, they also envied Qian Zhong for his good luck. Killing Yang Kai was a great merit and the person who succeeded would receive personal guidance from the Demon Saints.
Coincidentally, Bing Yun and the others also had the same thought in their hearts.
The Demon Race army did not know about Yang Kai’s plans, but Bing Yun and the other leaders were aware of it. Yang Kai had vanished for some time just before the two armies launched their attack on the Stronghold. Needless to say, he had gone looking for reinforcements.
Inside the Demon Realm, Qian Zhong vomited blood violently, his figure no longer swift and agile.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai galloped towards Qian Zhong on horseback as the Mountains and Rivers Bell in his hand spun smoothly and rapidly expanded to cover Qian Zhong’s head.
Qian Zhong wanted to dodge to the side, but the force of suppression coming from the Mountains and Rivers Bell made his entire body feel extremely heavy. He couldn’t avoid the blow no matter what he did, so with a loud bang, the bell dropped down and enveloped Qian Zhong.
Following that, Yang Kai jumped off Zhui Feng’s back and came to stand next to the Mountains and Rivers Bell. He struck the bell with a palm, resulting in another loud clang. Sound waves that were visible to the naked eye propagated out. Then, the illusory phantoms that were fleeing in all directions turned into nothingness.
Qian Zhong’s screams could be heard coming from within the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Nevertheless, Yang Kai continued without stopping. He struck the Mountains and Rivers Bell again and again, causing the bell to ring out incessantly. Qian Zhong’s furious screams soon turned to ones of agony, then into tortured howls…
After several dozen palm strikes, Qian Zhong’s voice gradually disappeared. Yang Kai retrieved the Mountains and Rivers Bell and Qian Zhong’s body no longer existed inside. There was only a pool of bloody remains left behind with no humanoid form distinguishable. A magnificent Shadow Demon Half-Saint died in such a vexing manner. He probably never imagined this outcome when he first came chasing after Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense swept over the bloody remains to confirm that not the slightest bit of aura remained. Only then did he make a grab with his large hand to store the remains inside the Sealed World Bead.
Yang Yan frowned, “Why are you keeping that filth?”
Yang Kai said, “What if he isn’t dead yet? At the very least, he won’t be able to do anything inside the Small Sealed World, regardless of what amazing abilities he might have.”
Yang Kai was the Master of the Small Sealed World so he immediately used his authority to turn Qian Zhong’s bloody corpse into dust.
Yang Yan nodded in agreement, “It’s better to be careful.”
Li Wu Yi said, “Take care of yourself kid. We’re leaving.”
“Have a safe journey,” Yang Kai grinned and cupped his fists. He knew that he had taken up a lot of their time and it would be terrible if something happened to the armies under their command during their absence.
Seeing his smiling face, Yang Yan reached out a finger and poked his forehead.
Li Wu Yi added, “Please send word as soon as possible if you obtain any information on the Great Emperors!”
Having said that, he wrapped Yang Yan in his Emperor Qi and retreated towards the Two Worlds’ Passage.
Several Half-Saints stood above Blue Wave City, looking gloomy and uncertain. When the first toll of the Mountains and Rivers Bell sounded, they all thought that Yang Kai was about to meet his end, but contrary to their expectations, the bell continued to ring incessantly. Despite ringing for several dozen times in quick succession, the sounds coming from the bell were showing no signs of weakening. As such, they began to realize that something was wrong.
Now that the bell had stopped ringing, they were discussing whether to send somebody to check on the situation when all of a sudden, they saw two figures appearing in the area below the black spot.
The Half-Saints were shocked and focusing their gaze on that direction, one of them shouted, “Li Wu Yi!”
Li Wu Yi glanced at them coolly; then, with a flash of his figure, he disappeared into thin air.
The Half-Saints watched as Li Wu Yi vanished, but none of them tried to stop him. Part of the reason was that he was so powerful that they were a bit frightened of him, but more importantly, they knew they would not be able to stop him even if they tried. Nobody could stop Li Wu Yi from coming and going as he pleased in this world, not unless the Demon Saints themselves stepped forward.
Similar to Yang Kai, Li Wu Yi was proficient in the Dao of Space, so he came and went like the wind. He was even more terrifying than Yang Kai because he was an actual Pseudo-Great Emperor.
The Half-Saints exchanged glances with each other and realized something. Qian Zhong had met a disastrous end!
After Li Wu Yi and Yang Yan left, Yang Kai sealed the Two Worlds’ Passage as quickly as possible. He had the feeling that the Demon Race army was unlikely to send anybody else to hunt him down, but it was better to proceed cautiously.
Once he finished sealing the Two Worlds’ Passage, he finally had the time to study his surrounding environment. The continent he was on was not small, and the World Principles were not bad either. Nevertheless, he couldn’t be sure where he was exactly. Although he had travelled through almost all the continents in the entire Demon Realm, they all looked pretty similar to each other except for the occasional special and obvious characteristics. It was impossible for him to distinguish between them unless he asked somebody. Still, it didn’t matter much to him. Regardless of which continent it was, they were all going to be devoured anyway.
Before taking action to devour the continent, Yang Kai tried using a Space Beacon to contact Yu Ru Meng and the seven Great Emperors. He already had a Space Beacon in his possession to contact Yu Ru Meng in the first place and later received another seven from Li Wu Yi to contact the seven Great Emperors. As long as any one of them were on this continent, he would be able to get in touch with them.
However, none of the Space Beacons he tried received any response. Yang Kai wasn’t disappointed though as there were many Demon Realm continents. If the Great Emperors were really in the Demon Realm, he would definitely find them one day.
Summoning the Sealed World Bead, he transformed it into Gun-Gun. Then, he stood on Gun-Gun’s huge head and stomped his feet, “Let’s get to work.”
He was devouring the Demon Realm continents again after so many years, but there were no obstacles this time around and Gun-Gun’s devouring speed was extremely fast. Its gigantic mouth was like a bottomless pit, leaving an empty Void in its wake wherever it went.
The swallowed continents would fall into the Small Sealed World where they would integrate with it, perfecting the World Principles and expanding the territory within.
As time passed though, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed. He could not detect the aura of any living beings on this continent. Rather, the entire continent was heavily shrouded in Death Qi.
One hundred and eight connected passages had appeared between the Demon Realm and the Star Boundary. At each location, a Demon Race army had passed through the corridor and invaded. Each army ranged from several hundred thousand to several million. Moreover, there were a total of One hundred and eight armies, which amounted to an unimaginably large number.
The territories of the Demon Realm were vast and had extremely large populations, but so many Demons had crossed over to invade so it wouldn’t be surprising if only the old, weak, and infirmed were left behind. Still, those who remained should still constitute an enormous number of Demons.
At least, that was what Yang Kai originally thought; however, what he saw was different from what he expected. There were no living Demons that could be found on this continent, not even a single living creature. It was extremely strange. This piece of Demon Land could best be described as an empty nest.
At first, he thought that it was just a phenomenon unique to a specific region. He had started devouring the continent from the Two Worlds’ Passage after all, so even if the Demon Race wasn’t guarding this place, bystanders would not have dared to approach it. However, he finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing alive on this continent after several days of Gun-Gun devouring the continent.
Sitting on top of Gun-Gun’s head, Yang Kai separated a part of his consciousness and entered the Small Sealed World. He transformed into his Soul Projection and examined the situation of the Demon Land Gun-Gun had recently devoured.
A short while later, he frowned and stretched out his hand. With a wave, a mountain of bones appeared in front of him with a loud clatter. Why were there millions of bones here? Moreover, this was only what he summoned at random. Who knew how many more were buried deeper underground? Not to mention, some of these skeletons were only the size of babies, so it was clear they were infant Demons.
Yang Kai’s scowl deepened as a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. From what he could see, other than those that had invaded the Star Boundary, all the other Demons on this continent had probably died. But just what was the reason for so many deaths? What puzzled him even more was that there was no Demon Essence in any of these bones.
Logically speaking, that was an impossible situation. It had only been ten years or so since he left the Demon Realm, and everything had been fine up to that point. There had still been countless Demons living on each continent at the time. In other words, these Demons had only been dead for less than ten years. Their physical body might have perished, but it was impossible for the Demon Essence hidden inside their bodies to dissipate so quickly, and yet, the situation was exactly that!
This was all extremely strange and Yang Kai had the vague feeling that things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.
While he was trying to make sense of the situation, his expression suddenly changed. His main body turned to look in a certain direction the moment his Soul Avatar returned.
A thousand kilometres away, a figure was hastily escaping. He must have noticed Gun-Gun and panicked.
Yang Kai’s hand waved and suddenly there was another figure standing in front of him. It was the Demon who had been fleeing for his life just now.
This Demon obviously did not understand what was going on. He had felt the ground shaking beneath him and ran out of his hiding place only to see a huge creature in the sky devouring the entire world. It scared him so badly that his Soul nearly left his body and he quickly ran away. Immediately after that, he felt something squeeze around his body and his vision spun dizzily. By the time he recovered, there was somebody standing in front of him. He was clearly taken aback for a moment, then he suddenly gritted his teeth and let out a roar while throwing a punch at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai secretly found the situation rather amusing. If this Demon was ranked according to Human cultivation standards, he would only be in the True Element Boundary Realm, equivalent to having just barely taken the first steps in the Martial Dao. He didn’t even have the qualifications to be a disposable pawn on the battlefield.
It was actually quite shocking that such a Demon had the courage to attack him. It had been a long time since Yang Kai last experienced something as novel as this. Too lazy to even bother fighting back, he simply smiled gently and said, “Let’s sit down and have a chat.”
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the Demon sat down on the ground with a plop. Even then, he maintained the posture of his fist flying forward at Yang Kai with a look of horror on his face.
Yang Kai was a High-Rank Demon King. Although his cultivation had not reached a Realm where every word he spoke became law, the weight of his words varied depending on who he was facing. The power of his Divine Sense was concealed within his words just now, so how could the Demon in front of him, who was barely in the True Element Boundary, resist?
Having fallen to a sitting position on the ground, the Demon’s complexion was ashen with fear. The person in front of him had not even moved a single finger. Just a single word from that person was enough to leave him incapable of fighting back; therefore, he understood that he was no match for his opponent. Despair washed over his heart, and he sighed, “In the end, I still couldn’t escape.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “What were you trying to escape from?”
The Demon, however, just lifted his neck slightly and prepared himself, “Do it.”
After saying that, he closed his eyes, as if resigned to his fate. He had no choice but to accept. Trying to confront the person in front of him was equivalent to an ant trying to fight a Dragon, there was zero chance of resistance whatsoever.
“Did you think I was going to kill you?” Yang Kai studied the Demon with interest. Judging by the faint burning aura coming from the Demon’s body, he was probably a Flame Demon.
“Are you not?” The Flame Demon opened his eyes and frowned deeply.
Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to explain himself, so he bluntly stated, “I have some questions for you. I’ll let you live if you answer my questions. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
The Flame Demon’s brow twitched slightly at those words. A sliver of hope had appeared in a situation where he originally thought his life was forfeited, so he didn’t try to negotiate with Yang Kai for any conditions and simply answered readily, “Please ask.”
“What happened on this continent? How did everyone on this continent die?”
“You don’t know?” He was stunned. [What happened on this continent was such a major incident that almost all of the Demon Race knows about it. How is this guy unaware of it?]
“Would I still need to ask you if I knew?” Yang Kai’s expression turned cold.
Seeing the change in Yang Kai’s expression, the Flame Demon felt his heart clench in fear. He did not dare to show disrespect and hurriedly told Yang Kai everything he knew.
The changes on this continent began ten years ago.
Ten years ago, the Half-Saint in charge of this continent recruited all of the Demons in the Demon Spirit Realm and above. The Demon Spirit Realm corresponded to the Human Race’s Origin Returning Realm. An army of three million was formed from the recruitment.
Afterwards, the army of three million was split into ten equal parts and went around slaughtering all the remaining Demons living on the continent under the command of that Half-Saint. All the Demons that were in the Demon Spirit Realm or above had been recruited and taken away, leaving only the weak ones behind, so what could they do against such powerful enemies even if their numbers were greater?
For eight whole years, there was a reign of terror on this continent. Hundreds of millions of the creatures that used to live here had been slaughtered, and all of those slaughtered were buried into the ground.
Another two years passed and a tremor ran through the world as the Two Worlds’ Passage opened and things gradually became the situation today.
The Flame Demon’s cultivation was low, but even so, he managed to escape unscathed as he had been cultivating underground in a stream of magma. By the time he came out of retreat, he slowly realized that the situation on this continent had changed greatly; hence, he immediately returned to the place he had been cultivating and hid away again.
When Yang Kai arrived and Gun-Gun appeared to devour the world, he couldn’t continue hiding anymore and had no choice but to flee. In the end, he was captured by Yang Kai instead.
Yang Kai looked surprised after hearing the story, “Are you saying that everyone on this continent was killed by their own kind? They committed fratricide?”
The Flame Demon frowned. [What do you mean by ‘their own kind’ and ‘they’? Aren’t you part of the Demon Race too?]
He had automatically assumed that Yang Kai was part of the Demon Race after seeing the Demon Qi overflowing from Yang Kai’s body. It was just that his cultivation was too low for him to discern Yang Kai’s origins.
“That’s right!” The Flame Demon nodded in response.
Yang Kai frowned. [I thought some sort of natural disaster befell the continent and caused all the Demons to go extinct as a result. Who could have known that the truth was something like this?]
He was not worried that the Flame Demon might try to deceive him. The gap between their cultivation was so large that he would be able to tell if the other party was lying at a glance, but… what exactly was the reason for the Demon Race to do something like this? Why would they do something so insane as to kill their own clansmen? Not to mention that the numbers were on such a large scale too…
Recruiting Demons above the Demon Spirit Realm was clearly a means to form an army to pass through the Two Worlds’ Passage and invade the Star Boundary, but even if the remaining Demons were unable to contribute to the war, they were still the foundation of the Demon Race as a whole. Just what was the reason that made the Demon Race do something so drastic as to cut off their roots? Weren’t they afraid that their entire Race might go extinct?
“During the collapse of the world several days ago, I stepped out to check on the situation and saw a large amount of Demon Qi appearing all over the continent. It gathered in that direction.” The Flame Demon pointed in a certain direction. It was the direction from whence Yang Kai came. It was also the location of the Two Worlds’ Passage.
“Where did the Demon Qi come from?” For some reason, Yang Kai suddenly thought about the Demons who were killed in the Star Boundary. After their death, the Demon Qi in their bodies leaked out, travelled towards the Two Worlds’ Passage, and enriched the Demon Essence within the Demon Land.
The Flame Demon sighed, “Probably came from the clansmen who were killed. The Demon Qi came up from the ground.”
Yang Kai had a moment of epiphany. The explanation was reasonable indeed. He had just been wondering why the skeletons he retrieved from the Small Sealed World had contained no Demon Essence at all. It turned out that the Demon Qi and Demon Essence inside those bodies had already been drawn out.
“Sir, why did the Holy Venerables do this?” The Flame Demon regarded Yang Kai as part of the Demon Race and secretly believed that Yang Kai was a Demon Half-Saint; therefore, he couldn’t stop himself from asking Yang Kai about the reason behind such a major incident.
“You’ll have to ask them yourself,” Although Yang Kai had given an oblique answer, he could already guess the reason for the Demon Race’s massacre. The Demon Saints had broken into the Star Boundary by using themselves as the bridge to connect the two Great Worlds; even so, a bridge was just a bridge, they still needed another kind of force to break through the World Barriers completely.
The Blood Sacrifice of tens of millions of Demons on the battlefield located in the Western Territory had been in preparation for this. Those Demon Race armies had been sent to die on that battlefield because the Demon Saints needed their Demon Qi. That was why the Demons went insane and killed themselves at the last moment, causing the annihilation of the entire army.
Meanwhile, the preparations had already been made in the Demon Realm continents a long time ago. The bones of billions of Demons who died were buried deep underground. Their Demon Qi had condensed together without dispersing. It was so that it could break out of the ground when the time was right, and the moment the Demon Saints made their move was the time for the Demon Qi to erupt.
With the power from both sides, the World Barriers had been broken and the Two Worlds’ Passages appeared. It was also due to the abundance of Demon Qi that one hundred and eight Demon Lands had emerged in the Star Boundary.
[The Demon Race has completely burned all their bridges. They fully intend to fight to the end by cutting off all their escape routes. How are they so confident that they can take over the Star Boundary? Even if they escape back into the Demon Realm after suffering utter defeat, it will be very difficult for them to recover from the losses without their vast population as a foundation.]
Yang Kai’s expression was extremely solemn. He had the vague feeling that the Demon Race was planning something very big, but the current situation was so complicated and confusing that the goals on the board were unclear.
The Flame Demon looked like he wanted to ask something else; however, Yang Kai reached out to grab him and tossed him into the third region of the Small Sealed World before he could speak. Thinking that Yang Kai was going to go back on the promise and attack him, a look of despair swept across the Flame Demon’s face, but to his surprise, he soon found himself completely unscathed and stunned by the sight in front of him.
There were many other Demons living in the third region of the Small Sealed World, most of them residents who used to live in the territories under Yu Ru Meng and Bei Li Mo. As there were no disputes within the Small Sealed World, these Demons had established many cities in the third region and settled down peacefully.
The Flame Demon had appeared in the centre of a city, and seeing so many of his clansmen living peacefully around him, he suddenly had the sense of being reborn and couldn’t help bursting into tears.
Meanwhile, Yang Kat sat on Gun-Gun’s enormous head while forming seals with one hand. His eyes were tightly shut, and his Divine Sense surged. Combined with all the information he obtained today, he was trying to figure out the Demon Race’s intentions. It was a pity that he failed to make sense of their plans even after puzzling over it until his head hurt.
He was certain that the Demons were planning something huge, and it was definitely something that would be detrimental to the Star Boundary. Unfortunately, the information he had was limited so it was extremely difficult for him to grasp the entire situation.
Gun-Gun’s devouring movements had stopped, and its huge body seemed slightly swollen. Yang Kai looked around only to chaos and nothingness in his surroundings. The continent they had arrived on had been cleanly devoured. Standing up, he stomped his foot and Gun-Gun’s body immediately began to shrink and transform back into the Sealed World Bead, which he then put away.
Several days had passed by the time Yang Kai arrived on the next continent where he released Gun-Gun and continued the process of devouring. Similar to the first continent, all the Demons on this continent had been wiped out. Although it was an outcome he had expected, he still couldn’t help frowning when his suspicions were confirmed.
The two Races were at war. They were each other’s enemies. Logically speaking, as part of the Human Race, Yang Kai shouldn’t feel anything regardless of how many Demons died. Rather, he should be wishing for even more of them to die.
However, dying in battle was one thing while this was another. Nobody would falter and hesitate to kill an enemy who stood on the battlefield, they would only wish that they could kill even more of their enemies. Be that as it may, the Demon Race did not hesitate to destroy their foundation and slaughter their own people in order to break through the barrier between the two Great Worlds. That was quite a difficult truth to swallow.
However, thinking about it again, Yang Kai realized that the Demon Race had always been brutal. Back then, they arranged the Blood Sea Grand Array and even offered up all Demon Race living on Eternal Sky Continent as sacrifices just to subdue Bright Moon Great Emperor.
[Once the Two Worlds Great War settles down in the future, I need to carefully explain this to Yu Ru Meng and the others. At the very least, they have to restrain their subordinates to prevent such a thing from happening again.]
While Gun-Gun was devouring the continent, Yang Kai was not idle. War had broken out all over the Star Boundary and the demand for mobility for the Star Boundary’s armies was very high. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the rare free time he had to refine some more World Beads. With enough World Beads, the Star Boundary’s armies would be able to come and go as they pleased. At some point, they might even be able to take the Demon Race army by surprise.
Yang Kai initially worked with the Dead Stars and large asteroids found in the Lower Star Field to refine them into World Beads. The size of the Dead Stars and the asteroids corresponded to the size of the interior space of the World Bead he refined.
Unable to leave his current position, however, he had no way of travelling to the Lower Star Field. As a result, he could only look for a solution from the Sealed World Bead itself. Fortunately, the stripping of the second region had given him sufficient experience. Once he calmed down and considered it, he believed that it should not be too difficult.
The first region was off-limits. Except for the area around the medicine garden, everywhere else in the first region was overcrowded with Star Boundary refugees. There was already not enough space for him to use, so how could he strip away land for other purposes?
In that case, he could only target the third region. The third region was formed by devoured Demon Realm continents so they naturally contained the World Principles of the Demon Realm, allowing Demons to survive comfortably on it. On the contrary, non-Demons would inevitably be corrupted by the omnipresent Demon Essence and experience demonification if they remained there for too long. Those with insufficient Soul cultivation were even more likely to become confused and degenerate into Demons unable to recognize their family and friends.
Fortunately, Yang Kai ruled over everything in the Sealed World Bead. All it took to strip an area out of the third region was a single thought. The hard part was purging the Demon Essence from said land. If the Demon Essence was not removed, the Human Race armies would not be able to stay inside the World Bead for a prolonged period of time.
After several attempts, several failures, and a lot of wasted time, Yang Kai finally found a suitable method.
One month later, the first World Bead separated from the Small Sealed World was born. This World Bead was different from the ones he had made in the past with the largest difference being its size. The space was not big, but fitting fifty thousand people into it wouldn’t be a problem.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai couldn’t refine a World Bead with a larger space but rather that he was taking the Star Boundary’s current situation into account. These smaller World Beads were not only more effective but also took less time to refine.
Continent after continent was devoured by Gun-Gun, and every time they came to a new continent, Yang Kai would activate the Space Beacons to try and contact Yu Ru Meng and the seven Great Emperors. Unfortunately, he had not been able to reach any of them so far.
This made him wonder whether the Great Emperors were truly in the Demon Realm. If the Great Emperors weren’t here, then where else could they be? There was no trace of them in the Star Boundary after all.
…..
Two rays of light shone dazzlingly inside a bizarre space. One was red while the other was black. Two burly and heavyset figures sat silently inside the light rays. Their auras were deep and profound, they were both casting Secret Techniques; and the power in their bodies surged violently. Following the fluctuations in their power, the black and red lights continued to clash against each other. It was obvious just from looking at those two lights that the red light had the upper hand while the black light seemed to be in a suppressed state.
Neither one of them knew how long this confrontation had lasted. It felt like only an instant had passed, but at the same time like thousands of years had gone by. Be that as it may, it did not matter to them how much time had passed. They were only focused on the enemy in front of them.
All of a sudden, a resounding voice came from the black light, “Iron Blood Great Emperor, your reputation is truly well-deserved!”
Inside the red light, Zhan Wu Hen calmly responded without a change in his expression, “The First Demon Saint isn’t much.”
Among the Twelve Demon Saints of the Demon Realm, Huang Wu Ji was recognized as the First Demon Saint. In comparison, the ten Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had no rankings, much less an existence known as the First Great Emperor. However, Zhan Wu Hen was undoubtedly the strongest in terms of combat power. That was also a tacit understanding among the Great Emperors. It was just that they no longer cared for titles or rankings anymore, so there was no need to make any kind of distinction between them.
It would seem that Zhan Wu Hen had the edge in the confrontation between the First Demon Saint and the First Great Emperor. If that were not the case, the black light would not be in a suppressed state.
Huang Wu Ji burst out laughing, “So what if you are mighty!? The Star Boundary will never escape the fate of being eroded away. Zhan Wu Hen, you should know what’s good for you and admit defeat; otherwise, things will only end in tragedy.”
Zhan Wu Hen said lightly, “You want to devour the Star Boundary? Be careful your teeth don’t break when you try!”
Huang Wu Ji coldly snorted, “Do you seriously think this King can’t defeat you?”
Zhan Wu Hen didn’t say much in response, “Do it if you can!”
Huang Wu Ji sneered, “Fine! I’ll do just that!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he abruptly stretched out his hand into the void and something suddenly appeared in his palm.
The moment this item appeared, Zhan Wu Hen’s expression, which had been as tranquil as an ancient well all this time, changed dramatically. He felt a wave of monstrous hostility hitting him in the face, and the aura coming from that item gave him a sense of déjà vu.
He couldn’t help flashing back to the large hand that came out of the Void Crack in the skies above Blue Wave City that day. The hostile feeling he was experiencing at this moment was identical to the one given off back then! He hadn’t been able to figure out just where that giant hand had come from, but now he understood.
Focusing his gaze, a bright red light flashed across his eyes to penetrate the layers of obstacles and catch a clear glimpse of what Huang Wu Ji was holding. It was a pale, mummified, severed palm. The severed palm had been cleanly severed at the wrist by some kind of sharp weapon. Zhan Wu Hen didn’t know how long it had been since this hand had been separated from its owner, but clearly, it was long ago; even so, a monstrous aura overflowed from it even now.
Zhan Wu Hen was shocked. He could only imagine how powerful the cultivation of the severed palm’s Master must have been just from looking at the power of this severed palm. Even Iron Blood Great Emperor, who thought he had already reached the peak of the Martial Dao, felt as though he saw a new door opening in front of him when he laid eyes on this severed palm. For a moment, his mind and emotions churned violently and he couldn’t hold himself back, his entire body trembling slightly.
Huang Wu Ji sneered, “Are you scared now? It’s not too late to beg for mercy!”
Zhan Wu Hen’s body trembled even more as his head was lowered and his hair shaded his eyes, laughing softly to himself as he muttered, “So that’s how it is! So that’s how it is! It was true after all!”
Huang Wu Ji could see Zhan Wu Hen muttering something under his breath but could not make out the words. Even so, Zhan Wu Hen’s manner of not taking him seriously irked him greatly.
Huang Wu Ji roared, “Bastard!”
While speaking, he lifted the severed palm and brought it down in Zhan Wu Hen’s direction. A blue light flashed out of the severed palm, which then transformed into a giant green palm that slammed violently into the red light. A brilliant light flared in an instant, causing a huge change in this inexplicable place. It felt as though the space could collapse at any time.
Following that palm strike, the red light that originally had a slight upper hand shuddered erratically and retreated all of a sudden. Meanwhile, the black light immediately took advantage of the situation and seized the initiative.
Inside the red light, Zhan Wu Hen’s body was slumped slightly and his complexion was extremely pale. Even so, a formidable fighting spirit erupted out of him as he forcibly straightened his back and let out a furious roar. At the same time, the erratically flashing red light swiftly stabilized.
“Courting death!” Huang Wu Ji was amazed by Zhan Wu Hen’s willpower. Holding the severed palm, he swung the severed palm down again.
The red light contracted once more. Three palm strikes later, blood was trickling from Zhan Wu Hen’s mouth. The red light that used to hold the upper hand had been suppressed to the point it was clearly at a disadvantage. Iron Blood Great Emperor, who had not been injured for the past ten thousand years, was now terribly wounded just from parrying these three attacks. Nevertheless, he was still smiling extremely happily, almost as if he had seen something novel and interesting after many millennia of monotony.
Huang Wu Ji shouted, “Zhan Wu Hen, this King appreciates talented people. I’ll ask you one more time, will you surrender!?”
“Again! Come again!” Zhan Wu Hen shouted.
Huang Wu Ji’s eyes widened to the size of copper bells. Furious, he was about to attack again when his expression suddenly changed and he hurriedly put the severed palm away, looking as though he was scared of something dangerous. Lowering his head to look, he saw a bruise the size of a fingernail on the palm of the hand that was holding the severed palm just now.
Zhan Wu Hen waited for a while, but seeing that Huang Wu Ji was not attacking, he became impatient and shouted, “Why aren’t you attacking? What are you waiting for?”
Hearing those words incensed Huang Wu Ji. He did not say a word as he changed the Secret Technique he had been casting. Black Qi surged like a tide, crushing down on Zhan Wu Hen, but contrary to his wishes, Zhan Wu Hen immediately countered the attack.
The strongest Great Emperor and a First Demon Saint fought each other to the death inside this bizarre space. Although there were no earth-shaking explosions or overbearing methods used, the slightest bit of carelessness could lead to death.
…..
Nobody was aware of the ongoing battle between the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints. The people in the Star Boundary believed that the Great Emperors had entered the Demon Realm and that was why they could not contact the latter. Who could have known that the Great Emperors were not in the Demon Realm at all?
Yang Kai had a nagging suspicion of the possibility, but he couldn’t be certain until he devoured every last continent.
Since Yang Kai’s departure, the conflict would arise every single day between the two Races across all four territories of the Star Boundary. In the beginning, the Demon Race suffered great losses. Many of the Demon Lands did not have Half-Saints guarding them while on the other hand, the Star Boundary’s armies killed many of the Demon Race while nursing a hatred in their hearts over the invasion and destruction of their homeland. Quite a number of Demon Strongholds were even completely cleaned out. Take the Northern Territory for example where the Sixty-First Army destroyed more than one such stronghold.
Be that as it may, the Demon Race did not simply sit back and wait for death. The locations without the protection of Half-Saints were often evacuated before the Star Boundary’s armies arrived. The Demons would consolidate towards the ten Primary Demon Strongholds and little by little, the armies stationed in those ten locations became a mighty force which gave the Star Boundary a huge headache.
One year after Yang Kai entered the Demon Realm, ninety-eight out of the one hundred and eight Demon Strongholds in the Star Boundary had been obliterated. Only the ten Demon Strongholds could not be destroyed.
Each of these ten Demon Strongholds had at least seven or eight Half-Saints assuming command now. With such a powerful force, it was impossible for just one or two armies to defeat them. The only way the Star Boundary could guarantee victory was by gathering at least twenty Pseudo-Great Emperors to attack a Demon Stronghold.
Moreover, even though the Demon Race armies at the various minor Demon Strongholds had either been wiped out or driven away, the Demon Lands never turned back to normal. What’s more, with the passage of time and the increasing deaths among the Demon Race army, the Demon Lands in various parts of the Star Boundary had been steadily expanding in size.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun, the Great Elder and Second Elder of Dragon Island respectively, had come forward two months after Yang Kai’s departure. Many members of the Dragon Clan left Dragon Island too at that time. For the first time in tens of thousands of years, Dragon Island was directly and completely intervening in the Star Boundary’s affairs.
True to what Yang Kai had said, the Dragon Clan might not care about what kind of chaos occurred in the Star Boundary, but they understood the principle behind the saying ‘without lips, the teeth go cold’. Even if it had been just any other random person and not Yang Xiao who personally requested help, the Dragon Clan would not have ignored the issue. The two Elders mobilized essentially the entire Dragon Clan upon learning that the Star Boundary was in such grave danger.
The people of the Star Boundary originally believed that they would soon quell the war with Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun taking action, but who could have known that a Demon Saint would show up without warning just when the two Dragon Clan Elders charged into one of the Demon Strongholds?
This greatly surprised everyone. The Great Emperors and Demon Saints had gone missing together after all. Now that the Demon Saints had shown themselves, where did the Great Emperors go? Immediately following that incident, it was discovered that not all the Demon Saints were in the Star Boundary. There were only three Demon Saints who appeared specifically to deal with the two Elders of the Dragon Clan. These three were Blood Demon Xue Li, Feather Demon Fu Yu, and Red Demon Huo Bo. Aside from these three, the other Demon Saints remained missing.
Li Wu Yi carefully thought back to the scene on the battlefield of the Western Territory and recalled that the ones who gave chase to these three Demon Saints were Yu Ru Meng, Bei Li Mo, and Chang Tian.
Meanwhile, the opponents pursued by the Great Emperors did not show up. It was impossible to write this off as mere coincidence; thus, it would seem that something had happened for the three Demon Saints, Xue Li, Fu Yu, and Huo Bo, to appear again while Yu Ru Meng, Bei Li Mo, and Chang Tian remained missing. These three Demon Saints had probably returned to the Star Boundary a long time ago, but even so, they had remained hidden so that they could wait for a chance to wipe out the leadership of the Star Boundary in one stroke.
The two Elders of the Dragon Clan struggled desperately in a battle of two against three. In the end, Fu Zhun suffered a serious injury. Fortunately, there were many Dragon Clan members and Pseudo-Great Emperors accompanying them so they managed to retreat safely.
After the battle, Li Wu Yi broke out in cold sweat. It was fortunate that they had managed to bring the two Elders of the Dragon Clan out in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Fu Zhun’s injuries were not too serious, but they couldn’t be considered small either. Fortunately, the Dragon Clan was blessed with strong bodies and equally powerful regenerative abilities. She would only need to recuperate for some time to recover fully.
Following this battle, they entered a strange period of calm.
Out of the Demon Racs armies in the one hundred and eight Demon Strongholds in the Star Boundary, ninety-eight of these locations had been wiped out completely. Only ten locations were left untouched. Unfortunately, nobody dared to act rashly due to the presence of the Demon Saints. Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun, who was still recuperating, kept a close eye on the movements of the three Demon Saints, for fear that they would suddenly strike out and turn the world upside down.
They were clearly in the Star Boundary; however, the sudden appearance of the three Demon Saints ultimately resulted in the Demon Race seizing the initiative in the war. With this advantage, the Demon Race seemed content with the current status quo for the moment and did not rashly start another fight.
This rare moment of tranquillity in the midst of such a chaotic world was tainted by the sense of apprehension that only served to hint at the storm that was brewing.
A group of five currently stood on the mountain located a thousand kilometres away from Blue Wave City in the Northern Territory, where Yang Kai and Bing Yun once stood side by side. All of them were staring solemnly at a certain spot a thousand kilometres away. These five people were Sixty-First Army’s Adjutant Yao Si, Thirty-Fifth Army’s Army Commander Bing Yun, Fifty-Third Army’s Army Commander Fu Ren Jie, Nineteenth Army’s Army Commander Pan Geng Nian, and Twenty-Seventh Army’s Army Commander Shen Tu Xing.
There was no need to explain much about Fu Ren Jie as he was originally somebody from the Northern Territory. It was just that he had been secluding himself from the world before the outbreak of the war, hoping that one day he could suddenly gain enlightenment in the Grand Dao amidst the bounties of nature. As everybody knew, he received an invitation from Li Wu Yi after the outbreak of the war between the two Great Worlds and came out of seclusion to take up the post of Army Commander of the Fifty-Third Army. He was a friendly and good-natured man that Yang Kai had struck up a friendship with in the Western Territory.
The origins of the Nineteenth Army’s Army Commander, Pan Geng Nian, were even more outstanding. He had served under Ice Feather Great Emperor since he was a child as both a Servant and a Disciple. Although he could be regarded as Ice Feather Great Emperor’s Disciple, they did not have a formal Master Disciple relationship between them. Ice Feather Great Emperor had a quiet temperament, so he had always lived in seclusion in the Northern Territory’s Heavens’ Borderline. If the Two Worlds Great War had not been such a huge affair that involved so many, he would not have returned to society so easily. Seeing as Ice Feather Great Emperor would be showing himself though, it was only natural for Pan Geng Nian to follow along.
As for the Twenty-Seventh Army’s Army Commander, Shen Tu Xing, he was a member of Star Court. The people of the Star Boundary’s Northern Territory today might not have heard of him, but if it was ten thousand years in the past, his name would have been a household name. It was rumoured that he started his journey on the Martial Dao at the age of ten, became an Emperor Realm Master at the age of a hundred, and became a Third-Order Emperor at the age of three hundred. He was unrivalled in the whole of the Northern Territory and had even established a Sect. However, he only stayed for two hundred years before leaving without a trace. His whereabouts had been unknown ever since. Moreover, the Sect he left behind was not deeply rooted and fell apart after a few hundred years. That was why nobody in the Northern Territory remembered the name ‘Shen Tu Xing’. Who could have imagined that he had entered Star Court instead and had long since become a Pseudo-Great Emperor?
Most of the battles in the Star Boundary had ceased. Only the last ten Primary Demon Strongholds were left, like nails stuck deep into the flesh of the Star Boundary’s four territories. As a result, the fifty-five armies of the Star Boundary had gradually converged in those places.
The five armies of the Northern Territory had come together in this place. The armies numbered in the millions and were aggressively preparing to confront the Demons in Blue Wave City.
“Adjutant Yao, how long has it been since Commander Yang entered the Demon Realm?” Fu Ren Jie stared out into the distance for a while before abruptly asking the question.
Yao Si replied, “It’s been more than a year now.”
“More than a year…” Fu Ren Jie frowned. [It has been more than a year now. There should have been some news, but Yang Kai has not sent any information from the Demon Realm up until today. It would seem that he has not found any traces of the Great Emperors.]
At present, the entire Star Boundary was relying on the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan for support. Unfortunately, there were only two of them while the enemy had three Demon Saints. Even if the Elders managed to tie down one Demon Saint each, who would be able to keep the last one from running rampant? The consequence of being unable to restrain the third Demon Saint was that nobody could stop them from unleashing a killing spree!
In reality, the Demon Saints had done just that when they first showed up more than ten months ago. Huo Bo and Fu Yu had remained inside the Demon Stronghold, restraining the movements of the two Elders of the Dragon Clan while Xue Li had quietly snuck out, found the place where the Star Boundary’s armies were stationed and began a wanton slaughter.
Fortunately, there were many Space Arrays in the Star Boundary and Space Beacons were even more prevalent. All available Pseudo-Great Emperors had blocked Xue Li’s attacks for a while so the two Dragon Clan Elders could rush over.
Xue Li had been frightened by the arrival of the two Dragon Clan Elders. He quickly exchanged a few blows with Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun before he turned into a bloody ray of light and fled. Afraid of falling into his trap, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun did not dare to chase him too far and could only watch helplessly as he escaped.
After that, Xue Li travelled around the four territories and tried to attack the Star Boundary’s armies many times; however, his attempts turned out to be fruitless. The two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan would soon appear seemingly out of thin air the moment he made his move. At this point, how could he not figure out the reason for their prompt arrival? Although he was gnashing his teeth in resentment, there was nothing he could do.
If that were not the case, why else would the Demon Race remain so quiet even though they had three Demon Saints on their side? It was simply due to the fact that the mobility of the Star Boundary’s forces was too strong. Even if all three of them worked together, they were not confident they could kill the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan. At most, the battle would end with both sides suffering great losses. Who would be willing to do something so foolish?
It was all thanks to the Space Beacons and Space Arrays that the Star Boundary could experience this momentary tranquillity during these troubled times.
“Just what is the Demon Race trying to achieve?” Bing Yun frowned, staring out at Blue Wave City which was located a thousand kilometres away. At this moment, a strange building was taking shape inside Blue Wave City. Nobody cared when they first saw the building being constructed a few months ago, but now it had unexpectedly surpassed the height of a thousand metres, and as time went on, it had only gotten higher and higher.
The building looked like a tower from a distance, but how could such a tall tower exist in this world? Moreover, this tower was brimming with Demon Qi. There were Demon Race members hustling and bustling around it at all times as though trying to make the tower tall enough to reach the Heavens above.
The Demon Tower was an oddity. Nobody knew what the Demon race was trying to achieve. The only thing they could be sure of was that this Demon Tower was detrimental to the Star Boundary. Besides, the reason why the three Demon Saints were willing to keep the peace for now was most likely related to this Demon Tower.
According to the information from Li Wu Yi, identical towers were being built at each of the ten Primary Demon Strongholds in the Star Boundary. Not only were the shapes exactly the same, but even the construction progress was more or less identical. The construction of the Demon Towers was a sign that a storm was about to come, which created an ominous feeling among the people.
At this moment, Pan Geng Nian’s expression suddenly changed. He reached out his hand to grab at something. At the same time, a jade slip appeared out of thin air and was accurately caught by him. The other four noticed the familiar aura coming from the jade slip and immediately understood that this was a message from Li Wu Yi; thus, they turned to him and waited.
Pan Geng Nian immersed his Divine Sense into the jade slip, and after a while, he raised his head and said, “Supreme Commander Li asked me to organize an attack to see if we can destroy the Demon Tower.”
While speaking, he tossed the jade slip to Bing Yun, who was standing next to him. All five of them fell into a deep contemplation after taking turns to read the contents of the jade slip.
Fu Ren Jie frowned, “The Demon Tower will not be easy to destroy.”
“We have to try anyway,” Yao Si replied.
Shen Tu Xing nodded, “We need to come up with a plan. We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
At present, the Star Boundary was more or less being led by the nose by the Demon Race regarding the war situation. Who could endure such humiliation in their own homeland?
They had wanted to pay a visit to the Demon Race Masters in the Demon Stronghold for a while now, it was just that they didn’t dare to act rashly. Now that Li Wu Yi had given the order though, it gave them a justifiable reason to take action.
They also understood the reason why Li Wu Yi had specifically chosen this group of people to attack the Demon Tower. It was because the Sixty-First Army was the strongest. There were five or six armies gathered at each of the nine other Demon Strongholds, and their numbers were not few. Even so, the Sixty-First Army was unrivalled in terms of the number of Masters among its ranks.
There were three Demon Race Half-Saints; a Divine Spirit, Qiong Qi, a Ninth-Order Red Dragon, Zhu Qing, and an abundance of Emperor Realm Masters. Just with this fact alone, it was unmatched by all the other armies. If the four other Army Commanders were included in the count, then there would be almost nine Pseudo-Great Emperor level Masters gathered here. Aside from lacking a Great Emperor to lead them, how was this force inferior to any of the Demon Race’s army?
The group of five immediately returned to the camp to discuss various details regarding the plan. Although Yao Si’s cultivation was low, he was the representative of the Sixty-First Army, which meant that his status was equal to that of the other four people in the room. There was no awkwardness when he participated in the discussion. Rather, he was very eloquent and his words regarding quite a few matters even made the eyes of Bing Yun and the others shine.
…..
Yang Kai remained seated on top of Gun-Gun’s head in the Demon Realm. He was constantly refining World Beads as not only were they beneficial to the Star Boundary’s armies, but it was also of great benefit to him in improving his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
It had been more than a year since he first entered the Demon Realm, but the entire time all he was met with was silence. All the living creatures on every continent he came across had been exterminated. There were only a few lucky Demon Race survivors that managed to escape the disaster; even so, he had not seen more than ten such survivors over the past year.
Hence, there was nobody to stop him. He simply needed to arrive on those continents and let Gun-Gun devour them one by one. It would seem that the Demon Race had completely abandoned their homeland.
The more Gun-Gun devoured, the larger its body became. Simultaneously, the speed of devouring became faster and faster. Yang Kai could clearly sense that the third region in the Small Sealed World was gradually becoming more and more complete. He had never felt this way before and the realization had simply struck him one day when the Demon Realm continents had been devoured to a certain extent.
The entire Demon Realm used to be a whole; however, it was later split apart for unknown reasons and turned into distinct continents that were separated by the void. The only way to travel back and forth between the various continents was by using the Territory Gates. Therefore, Gun-Gun’s devouring and integrating the land was simply a process of making the Demon Realm whole again.
When this feeling truly reached its apex would be when the last continent in the Demon Realm had been devoured, and that moment was just around the corner.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai had still not been able to contact any of the Great Emperors or Yu Ru Meng up until now; therefore, he was becoming certain that they were not in the Demon Realm.
If they are neither in the Star Boundary nor the Demon Realm though, then where could they have gone? Could it be that they were stuck inside a Void Crack? The Void was a boundless existence filled with chaotic nothingness. Even with the Space Beacons in his possession, Yang Kai was not sure if he could contact the Great Emperors. Regardless of the reason, he was prepared to enter the Void to search for them once he finished his matters in the Demon Realm. It would be best if he could find them. If not, he could only come up with another solution when it was necessary.
On this day, Yang Kai was refining a World Bead with his mind immersed in the mystery of the Dao of Space when his expression suddenly changed. Letting out a soft cry, a strange expression crept onto his face.
There seemed to be an abnormality in a certain place inside the Small Sealed World.
Without moving, Yang Kai separated a thread of his consciousness, slipped into the Small Sealed World, and manifested a Soul Avatar once he discerned the direction of the source of the anomaly.
It turned out to be a huge continent fragment that had been devoured by Gun-Gun; moreover, it was something that had just been devoured moments ago.
Generally speaking, the continent fragments that Gun-Gun devoured would quickly dissolve into the surroundings to enrich the third region; however, this continent fragment seemed to be rather unusual in the sense that Gun-Gun could not fully dissolve and integrate it. Hence, it remained separate.
This fragment stretched ten thousand kilometres, so it couldn’t be considered big. From the looks of it, it seemed to have been buried deep underground and was rarely seen. After being devoured, the outer layer had dissolved to reveal an inner part that remained.
Moreover, this continent fragment was filled with World Principles that were both familiar and shocking to Yang Kai. He didn’t even need to study it carefully to tell that they were Time Principles. It was precisely because it was flooded and protected by Time Principles that this continent fragment had been safely preserved from the assimilation of the Small Sealed World.
Yang Kai was stunned. This continent fragment was part of the Demon Realm, so why was it brimming with Time Principles? Not to mention, they stretched out over such a wide area!
What surprised him even more was that the aura of the Time Principles was exactly the same as the one he perceived in Flowing Time Temple. Raising his brow in thought, Yang Kai pondered, [Don’t tell me that these Time Principles are a legacy left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor? If so, that would mean that Flowing Time Great Emperor once came to the Demon Realm in the past.]
Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling what Qiong Qi once mentioned. When Flowing Time Great Emperor was cultivating in retreat inside his palace, he suddenly perceived some mystery of the Outer Universe and ventured out to explore it as a result. Unfortunately, he never returned. Only his Natal Artifact, the Infinite Hourglass, eventually returned to the temple. It was obvious that Flowing Time Great Emperor had encountered a powerful enemy and met with an untimely end.
[Could it be that Flowing Time Great Emperor left the temple and came to the Demon Realm? Perhaps, he encountered a powerful enemy in the Demon Realm and fought a great battle, and this place was the battlefield where that battle had taken place? How else could such dense Time Principles be remaining in such a place?]
Even so, it was just a guess and there was no way to confirm it. Who could be certain about something that had happened so many tens of thousands of years ago? Everything was bound to change over time since the future was unpredictable. Following the Demon Realm’s collapse, this battlefield had been buried deep underground where nobody could see; thus, it had been preserved to this day. If he had not driven Gun-Gun to devour the Demon Realm continents, this ancient battlefield would never have seen the light of day again.
[Does it really belong to the Flowing Time Great Emperor?] Yang Kai pondered for a while; then, he stepped forward onto the ancient battlefield. Having spent some time in the Flowing Time Temple, he was very familiar with the aura of Flowing Time Great Emperor’s remnant power; therefore, he only needed to get a feel of the inside to know whether or not the Time Principles in this place were a legacy from Flowing Time Great Emperor.
Yang Kai had not sensed anything when he stood outside the ancient battlefield, but he suddenly felt as though his mind went stagnant the moment he stepped onto it. Not only did his thinking seem to stop, but everything in his surroundings also seemed to slow down. Yang Kai instantly knew that he was under the influence of the Time Principles and his Divine Sense immediately surged in response to protect himself. Only then did he barely manage to escape from their influence.
As he continued forward, the Time Principles around him became increasingly dense. Yang Kai had only proceeded across a distance of a thousand metres before he was overcome with a sense of being unable to move. It was not a restraint or some sort of suppression, it was simply that the thoughts in his head were being infinitely slowed down. Oftentimes, it would take a long time for his body to even react once a thought was formed.
Therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t help being amazed by how terrifyingly powerful Flowing Time Great Emperor was. Despite so many years having passed, Flowing Time Great Emperor’s residual strength remained so strong. Just what was he like at the peak of his cultivation? Nevertheless, there was one thing Yang Kai could be sure of, the Time Principles in this place were a legacy left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor. In other words, Flowing Time Great Emperor had entered the Demon Realm when he left his palace. Afterwards, he encountered an unknown Master and fought a world-shattering battle here before leaving this place with serious injuries. Unfortunately, he died of his injuries before he could return to the Star Boundary. Following the death of the Great Emperor, the Infinite Hourglass returned to the temple on its own. Meanwhile, the Great Emperor’s corpse fell into the East Sea. Over the years, his remains were scattered throughout the East Sea and became trophies for the Monster Race.
All sorts of thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, but he couldn’t confirm them. Then, a strange idea appeared in his mind. [Could the Demon Realm breaking apart and forming fractured continents have something to do with the battle at the time? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?]
Suppressing the distracting emotions, Yang Kai forged onward. His pace was extremely slow and every move he made was jerky, almost like he was a wooden marionette controlled by strings. As the Time Principles washed over his Soul Avatar, he felt an inexplicable sense as though time was being stretched out to the point where one day felt like a year.
It took him a whole day to walk the first thousand metres, but walking another thousand metres took him another ten whole days. However, Yang Kai’s expression changed when he got to that point. That was because there was another force present on this ancient battlefield that was clashing with the Time Principles that were left behind here. Yang Kai had failed to detect it before because he had been standing on the edge of the battlefield, but now that he had walked a little further inward, he immediately became aware of it.
The battle that occurred tens of thousands of years ago had led to the death of a Great Emperor. Although the fate of the Great Emperor’s opponent remained unknown, from the aura left behind by those two who had been fighting here, it was clear that they were unable to determine a winner up till this day.
Nothing would have happened if Yang Kai had not appeared in this place. The two forces raging across this ancient battlefield had long since formed a strange balance between themselves, but his decision to enter and investigate the situation had inadvertently broken this balance and given these two terrifying forces a solution to this stalemate.
Although these two mysterious and unparalleled forces were extremely powerful, they lacked a host to focus and guide them, and thus, had no way to determine the victor between them. Strictly speaking, these two forces in the ancient battlefield were upholding their Masters’ will in life but could only clash and antagonize each other since they had no real ability to do any substantial damage to one another. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s arrival gave them a chance to settle things once and for all.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt two forces invading his Soul Avatar without any apparent reason or prior approval. Those forces were so strong that he couldn’t fight back at all as they collided and clashed with each other with his Soul Avatar as their battlefield. As a result, his Soul Avatar flickered erratically, as if it might break apart at any time.
Yang Kai’s Soul cultivation was now stronger than any Pseudo-Great Emperor’s or Half Saint’s; even so, he had only split off a small portion of his consciousness to check out the situation here, so how could he withstand such a powerful force? His Soul Avatar was much too weak to act as a medium for this battle. It was akin to having two gigantic Dragons trying to fight in a small pond. No matter what happened to the two Dragons, the pond would definitely shatter from the fallout.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically while at the same time he hurriedly poured all his Spiritual Energy into his Soul Avatar. It was no longer just a sliver of his conscience this time around; instead, he was giving it everything he had. He knew that he had accidentally encountered a critical moment where his life was at stake and if he was not careful, he could end up dying here.
The tragic ending of being killed by the remnant auras of an ancient battlefield that formed tens of thousands of years in the past was something he absolutely could not accept.
Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy flooded out from his Knowledge Sea in a rapid torrent, allowing his Soul Avatar that had been flickering erratically to finally stabilize. Nevertheless, his brow creased deeply in pain.
The two forces in his avatar couldn’t care less about his feelings. The impact of every collision between the two forces felt as though it was going to tear him apart. Fortunately, he was still only on the periphery of the battlefield. If he had gone any deeper, the forces would have been even more terrifying.
Even though Yang Kai found himself in a dangerous situation, it was not without a chance of survival. He would be fine as long as he left this ancient battlefield before his Soul Avatar was destroyed. It was a pity that it was extremely difficult to actually put his thoughts into action.
It had taken him ten days to travel a distance of two thousand metres under the influence of the Time Principles, and he had only been under a superficial interference at the time. Now that the Time Principles had invaded his body, the influence was much stronger than before.
Despite his intentions to retreat, it took Yang Kai a long time just to turn around and slowly trudge towards the outside. He only managed to walk no more than three metres before showing a pained expression. The strange thing was that even this pained expression appeared at an unusually slow speed, as though his own time had been extended indefinitely.
A soft cracking sound rang out from the depths of his Soul Avatar at that moment as all Yang Kai felt was a sharp pain coming from between his temples, as if something had been ripped apart. If anybody else had been around, they would have seen a real crack appearing between his eyebrows.
The crack was only the beginning. More and more cracks began to appear all over his avatar as time went by, making him look like a porcelain doll that was about to shatter and fall apart. He looked like he would break into pieces at the slightest touch.
It took a long time for Yang Kai to realize what kind of crisis he was in. Then, another long while passed before his anxious thoughts bloomed in his mind; however, his Soul Avatar was already covered in cracks by this time, causing his entire person to look extremely weird and terrifying.
When it really came down to the moment where his life was hanging by a thread, Yang Kai’s mental state calmed down all of a sudden. His steps might be slow, but he steadfastly continued to return along the path he came from. His consciousness was linked to his physical body outside the Small Sealed World, but what originally took no more effort than a single thought now required tremendous effort.
The moment he could establish a connection, he immediately urged the power of the Soul Warming Lotus. A seven-coloured light glowed brilliantly inside his Knowledge Sea as the seven-coloured island shrank and returned to its original Soul Warming Lotus form. Spinning steadily in the sky, the lotus continuously sent out a dazzling seven-coloured radiance.
It felt as though a barren land finally received the blessing of rain. Yang Kai felt his sluggish mind recovering to its normal condition in an instant while at the same time, a seven-coloured light bloomed out from the cracks on his projection, shot out from his nose and mouth, and then enveloped his entire Soul Avatar.
The majestic power of Soul Warming Lotus immediately cut off the influence the ancient battlefield had on him. The moment he broke free of the influence, Yang Kai immediately moved his Soul Avatar and rushed out of the ancient battlefield. Only then did he finally recover completely and escape the effects of the Time Principles.
Having escaped from the ancient battlefield, Yang Kai swiftly returned to his physical body.
Yang Kai, who was sitting cross-legged on top of Gun-Gun’s head, abruptly opened his eyes and gasped for breath like a drowning man that was rescued from the ocean. There was a trace of fear lingering on his face as his clothes were soaked in sweat.
Before he could examine himself carefully, he gave a muffled grunt and two streams of golden blood flowed out of his nose as a dull ache threatened to split his head open, causing him to howl in pain. The encounter just now might not have killed him, but it had injured his Soul. The pain from this kind of injury was many times more difficult to bear compared to ordinary physical wounds.
After a narrow escape from death, Yang Kai’s complexion was pale. Reaching up a hand to wipe at his nose, he found that the palm of his hand was covered in blood.
Although he had successfully escaped the crisis, he couldn’t help experiencing some lingering fears when he recalled his experience just now. More importantly, he only had one question in his heart, who was the one who had fought against Flowing Time Great Emperor back then? One must understand that, at the time, Flowing Time Great Emperor stood at the peak of the Star Boundary. Even the other Great Emperors that stood in the same Realm could only look up at him in awe. Just like how Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, Wu Kuang, had stood above his peers, the same held true for Flowing Time Great Emperor; therefore, a person who could fight on equal terms with Flowing Time Great Emperor could only be a genius on par with him.
[Could it be the legendary Great Demon God?] Yang Kai frowned. The first time he learned about the title of ‘Great Demon God’ was in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. Joining the Barbarian Race in war, he had fought against the Demons in a life-and-death campaign. In the end, the Evergreen Divine Tree sacrificed himself to seal the passage between the two worlds. However, a giant palm had shot out through that rift in the sky and nearly ruined everything at the last moment.
Everything in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was based on what had really taken place throughout the various eras. The battle between the Barbarian Race and the Demon Race during those ancient times had really happened, it was just that the process was somewhat different from what Yang Kai had experienced. Even so, Great Demon God’s palm from the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld really must have existed back then, which would mean that Great Demon God had really existed in that era.
Later, Yang Kai employed every trick he had to convince Yu Ru Meng to bring him to the Demon Realm. Once there, he had asked her about Great Demon God, but to his surprise, her expression had changed drastically at the mere mention of the name and she had warned him never to mention those three words ever again. These three words seemed to be taboo in the Demon Realm!
Afterwards, Yang Kai forgot to inquire about Great Demon God again because he never heard anyone talking about him despite spending so many years in the Demon Realm. The strongest in the Demon Realm was none other than the Twelve Demon Saints, in addition to the Continent Lord of Hundred Spirits Continent, Demon Dragon Chang Tian.
It wasn’t until today that Yang Kai began doubting that fact. It would make sense if the person who fought against Flowing Time Great Emperor back then was the Great Demon God.
Judging from the current situation, Flowing Time Great Emperor had died after that battle; likewise, it would seem that Great Demon God fared no better.
Why else would there be no news at all about that person for so many years?
While Yang Kai mulled over this matter, all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind. After a while, he jerked upright in surprise and made a soft exclamation of astonishment as he carefully examined his memories. Although he had lingered in the ancient battlefield for more than ten days, it was only his mind that was immersed in it; hence, he had not paid much attention to the condition of his physical body. Just because he did not pay any attention to his body did not mean that he would not notice changes in it eventually. Even ordinary people could sense when something changed about themselves, much less Yang Kai who was a top cultivator.
His mind had been so unstable just now that he did not notice anything; however, he now discovered something interesting. His Soul Avatar had spent more than ten days in the ancient battlefield, but less than an hour had passed for his physical body. In other words, the flow of time in the ancient battlefield was many times faster than normal.
He had experienced something similar before. Not only did he experience it, but Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had also benefited greatly because of it.
The two little ones had only been a few years old when they entered Flowing Time Temple with Qiong Qi; however, they had already reached incredible heights in cultivation when Yang Kai went looking for them just a few years later. He later learned that it was because the two little ones had been cultivating for hundreds of years inside the Flowing Time Temple.
Naturally, among the legacies of Flowing Time Great Emperor, there was a certain area within the Restricted Area of the temple that was overflowing with intense Time Principles. The rate at which time passed inside that area was very different from the outside world., which was how Yang Xiao and Yang Xue lived hundreds of years in just a few years. Not only did they mature during that time, but their cultivations also reached extraordinary heights.
Unfortunately, the legacy of the Great Emperor was not limitless and would cease to exist once it was completely consumed. Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had inherited the mantle of Flowing Time Great Emperor and also received the treasure known as the Flowing Time Temple. Even so, it was still difficult for them to achieve the glory that Flowing Time Great Emperor had enjoyed back in his heyday. It was impossible unless they reached the same level as Flowing Time Great Emperor in terms of cultivation and obtained extremely high attainments in the Dao of Time. The time distortion which allowed them to rapidly cultivate was probably the welcome gift Flowing Time Great Emperor had specially reserved for his Legacy Disciple.
When Yang Kai heard about this, he was very happy for the two of them. Nevertheless, he had been very envious too. He himself had only cultivated for more than a hundred years since he began his journey on the Martial Dao. If he was given another few hundred years to cultivate, he was confident he would become a Pseudo-Great Emperor. Nonetheless, the Dao of Time still eluded him.
Be that as it may, just being a Pseudo-Great Emperor would be of great help in the current situation. As a High-Rank Demon King, he was capable of matching a Pseudo-Great Emperor or Half Saint in battle. Following that logic, he would even have the strength to fight a Demon Saint if he were to become a Pseudo-Great Emperor!
He never imagined that such an amazing opportunity would fall into his lap one day.
It was a pity that he did not know which continent Gun-Gun had just devoured. If he had known earlier, he would have devoured that continent back then, during his first visit to the Demon Realm, no matter the circumstances. If he had done that, his strength would have already undergone earth-shaking changes by now after more than ten years had passed.
For a moment, Yang Kai was overjoyed, but it seemed the good things didn’t end there. His emotions were tumbling in excitement when he suddenly realized that his Soul had become stronger. Moreover, there was something extra in his Knowledge Sea.
Back on the ancient battlefield, his Soul Avatar had been used as a medium through which the two terrifying forces permeating the land had clashed. He had felt unimaginable pain at the time, and his Soul nearly collapsed as a result. It was only thanks to the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus that he was saved. As the saying went, ‘Those who survive a catastrophe are bound to enjoy good fortune later’. He was tasting the sweetness of his good fortune right now.
His Soul had been damaged and later repaired by the Soul Warming Lotus; thus, it was stronger than before after being broken and rebuilt. The power of his Divine Sense had also been significantly improved as a result. That aside, the power of the Soul Warming Lotus had swept through his Knowledge Sea and washed away the hidden murderous intent of the two forces that invaded his Soul Avatar, leaving behind pure energy. This energy carried the Martial Truth that belonged to Flowing Time Great Emperor and the person who might be the Great Demon God.
This Martial Truth was the condensed essence of a lifetime’s cultivation belonging to the two Masters. Under normal circumstances, Yang Kai would still have needed to spend a lot of energy and effort to comprehend this Truth even if he had the two Masters personally instruct him in its profundities; however, the situation right now was different. The two Masters were both long dead and only the pure Martial Truth remained in his Knowledge Sea. It was equivalent to directly enlightening him.
All kinds of mysteries were contained inside this Martial Truth, and he had an unobstructed view into it as it was literally branded into his Soul. It was as though these two people were holding a lychee in their hands and inviting him to feast upon it. Even if he took the lychee from them, he would still need to remove the skin and peel it to eat the flesh within. Be that as it may, the existence of the Soul Warming Lotus had done the job for him instead. Like a caring maidservant, the Soul Warming Lotus had stuffed the sweet flesh of the fruit directly into his mouth; now, he only needed to chew and digest it.
It was said that pie does not simply fall from the sky, but Yang Kai was lucky enough to come across just such a situation.
In his joy, he couldn’t be bothered that his head felt like it was being split in two anymore. He quickly immersed himself and carefully examined the Martial Truth left in his Knowledge Sea. It truly was an amazing thing left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor and the suspected Great Demon God. If he could make it his own, the benefits it would bring towards improving his strength would be astronomical.
Yang Kai had only meditated for a short moment when he abruptly opened his eyes again. His mind flashed and he communicated with the Small Sealed World. Another person appeared in front of him. It was a tall and curvaceous figure with a pair of delicate wings behind her back.
Who else could it be but Bo Ya?
“Sir!” Bo Ya cupped her fists.
He had kept Bo Ya inside the Small Sealed World ever since he first placed her there. She was a Mid-Rank Demon King, so although her strength was excellent for her Realm, her presence or absence made no major difference among the many Masters of the Sixty-First Army. For that reason, Yang Kai had not recruited her into his army. Besides, she seemed to have… special fetishes and he did not want her hanging around his wives all day long.
More importantly, he had kept her in the Small Sealed World so that he would have a handy subordinate for himself when he needed one. It was also to deal with some unexpected situations. For example, it would be more convenient to have a helping hand in his present situation.
After greeting him, she seemed surprised, “Are we back in the Demon Realm again?”
They were standing on top of Gun-Gun, whose huge body was so large that one couldn’t see the end at a glance. As Gun-Gun moved forward, the continents were being devoured. This scene was something she had gotten used to seeing after many times.
“En.” Yang Kai nodded before saying to her, “Keep watch. If anything happens, just call for me.”
After saying that, he entered the Small Sealed World without giving her a chance to object.
He was gone before she even had the chance to speak; thus, she was extremely annoyed at him, [I’m just a Mid-Rank Demon King! What can I guard against? This is the Demon Realm! What if I run into a Half-Saint or something!? Won’t I be dead!? It wouldn’t have mattered so much in the past, but I’m a traitor to the Demon Race right now! I will definitely suffer a terrible fate if I get captured by any of the Demon Saints!]
Nevertheless, she soon discovered that the continent was devoid of any vitality. Gun-Gun’s devouring speed was so fast that it could cover a thousand kilometres in an instant, but she did not see a single living thing in the process. It puzzled her greatly.
[What happened to this continent?]
The reason why Yang Kai had entrusted the Gun-Gun to Bo Ya for safekeeping was that Gun-Gun lacked a certain level of sentience. Therefore, Gun-Gun could only obey simple orders and act on its instincts. Once this continent had been cleanly devoured, they had to head towards another continent. At that time, somebody would need to remind Yang Kai, who was inside the Small Sealed World, about this, and Bo Ya was just the right person for the job.
While Bo Ya was in distress, Yang Kai had already returned to the ancient battlefield. The difference was that he had come to this place with only a thread of his consciousness during his last visit while this time he came in his true body.
The flow of time on the ancient battlefield was very different from the outside world, so needless to say, choosing to cultivate inside this place would rapidly improve his strength.
For him, what he needed the most now was time. Being a High-Rank Demon King wasn’t bad, but he was still greatly disadvantaged when facing off against Half-Saints. Even so, he had only become a High-Rank Demon King less than twenty years ago. He did not know how long it would take for him to become a Half-Saint; hence, the appearance of the ancient battlefield was like giving a drowsy man a pillow. It was exactly what he was looking for.
Yang Kai’s damaged Soul had not recovered completely. No matter how powerful the Soul Warming Lotus was, it would still take time for it to repair such injuries. Nevertheless, the purified Martial Truth that gradually accumulated in his Knowledge Sea was just waiting for him to absorb its insights.
Yang Kai stepped forward without any hesitation and entered the ancient battlefield again. Just like before, the Time Principles in the surroundings wrapped around him and gave him a sense that time was being distorted confusingly.
Having come here with just a thread of his consciousness during his last visit, it had been very inconvenient to be affected by the Time Principles. Unlike last time, he arrived with his true body this time. It was only natural that the resistance he had towards those effects was on a different level altogether compared to before. At the very least, he no longer felt a disconnect between his thoughts and his body.
Forging ahead one step at a time, he travelled a distance of a thousand metres in just a quarter hour, causing him to raise his brow slightly. When he first came here, it had taken him a whole day just to travel the first thousand metres. The advantages of coming to this place in his true body were showing.
Yang Kai did not proceed any further inward this time though. That was because he knew that the two forces clashing against each other in this ancient battlefield would definitely wreak havoc on him again if he took one more step forward. His damaged Soul had yet to recover completely, so he had to wait until he was fully recovered before making plans to proceed further. Besides, he only entered this ancient battlefield to gain more time to cultivate.
After calculating the distance, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and let the Soul Warming Lotus repair his Soul. In the meantime, he studied the pure insights that were gathered in his Knowledge Sea and absorbed the Martial Truth of the two Masters.
Time passed in a blink of an eye. His damaged Soul returned to a complete state after several days, and after experiencing this disaster, his already powerful Soul had gotten stronger by a slight margin. It might not be much, but it already saved him many days of hard cultivation.
The moment his Soul recovered was the moment Yang Kai also completely comprehended all the Martial Truths that were gathered in his Knowledge Sea. The two forces belonging to the two Masters were originally of different Principles and Attributes, so it should have been impossible for them to be fully integrated with each other. However, the purification of the Soul Warming Lotus had stripped away all extraneous components, leaving behind just the purest Martial Truth. That was the only reason why he could absorb both of them together.
As the saying went, ‘All Grand Daos led to the same truth’. This was no different.
Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, which had originally turned black due to his partial demonification, now glimmered with a slight golden light. It seemed insignificant in that pitch-black environment, but it was also extremely conspicuous, like an ember that would ignite into a raging fire one day.
Yang Kai stood up and discovered that his thoughts flowed smoothly now with no sense of blockage whatsoever. Although the Time Principles were still flowing around him, they no longer had any effect on his body. He knew that this was part of the benefits of comprehending and absorbing the Martial Truth.
Be that as it may, this was only the outermost periphery of the ancient battlefield where the residual Time Principles were the weakest. If he went deeper into the ancient battlefield, it would definitely be a different scene.
Yang Kai took a step forward, and as he had expected, the two overwhelming forces in the surroundings immediately attacked him. It was the Flowing Time Great Emperor’s Time Principles and another power belonging to another Master.
When Yang Kai came here with his thread of consciousness previously, he had been afraid of encountering unexpected events, which was why what he had perceived had not been very clear. It wasn’t until now that he discovered under careful examination that the other force contained deep-rooted Demon Essence, which was incredibly compatible with the Demon Qi in his body.
It was becoming more and more certain that the one who fought Flowing Time Great Emperor on this battlefield was one of the Masters of the Demon Realm, even if it was not Great Demon God himself. A clear understanding bloomed in Yang Kai’s heart as he realized why he was able to comprehend and absorb the Martial Truths of those two.
He originally thought a free pie had fallen from the Heavens, but he now knew that this piece of pie was not something that just anybody could eat.
Although he had failed to obtain Flowing Time Great Emperor’s true inheritance, Yang Kai had managed to cultivate the Time Flies Seal and scratched the surface of the Dao of Time. This gave him a relationship with Flowing Time Great Emperor, albeit a superficial one. With this foundation, it was only natural that he could comprehend and absorb the Martial Truth left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor.
Similarly, he had been influenced by the World Principles of the Demon Realm when he became a High-Rank Demon King, undergoing demonification and having his Emperor Qi converted into Demon Qi. It was only because the Soul Warming Lotus protected the last pure land in his Knowledge Sea that he did not truly become part of the Demon Race. Even so, he could now be regarded as partially a member of the Demon Race! That was why he could comprehend and absorb the Martial Truth belonging to this ancient Demon Race Master.
Everything seemed to be a lucky coincidence, but who could say whether it was an opportunity or the work of the Heavens? If anybody else other than Yang Kai had arrived at this place, they would not have obtained any benefits; instead, they would have been eroded away by the Martial Truth and their cultivation would have been destroyed.
Even if Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had come here, they would only be capable of absorbing the part of the Martial Truth that belonged to Flowing Time Great Emperor. They would not have been able to gain anything from the ancient Demon Race Master. The consequences of not being able to comprehend and absorb that portion of the Martial Truth would likely be disastrous for them instead.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai couldn’t help breaking out into a grin as he kept walking without pausing, taking one step at a time.
When he came here via his thread of consciousness before, it had been underqualified to act as a carrier; therefore, he only persisted for a short while before he was unable to bear the pain and quickly retreated instead. Now that he arrived here with his true body, it was proving to be a much stronger carrier than a mere wisp of consciousness had been. If the previous Soul Avatar was equivalent to a small pond, then his true body was a lake that could withstand much more. Even so, it still could not contain the attacks of the two giant Dragons, that was simply beyond his current limits.
Five thousand metres! The strength of his true body, coupled with the Martial Truth that he had absorbed before, allowed Yang Kai to advance five thousand meters before he had to stop. At this point, he could no longer move forward. He would probably sustain indelible injuries if he tried to force his way forward.
His Soul felt like it was tearing apart and the pain in his physical body was unbearable. His entire body shuddered uncontrollably as traces of Golden Blood oozed out of all his pores. Still, he grit his teeth and clenched his fists with a savage expression that was rather terrifying.
The Soul Warming Lotus was already emitting a seven-coloured glow, constantly repairing the damage done to his Soul. Accompanied by the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai did not have to fear dying here, so he quietly inspected his condition. His Soul had not reached its limits yet, but his physical body could not withstand anymore, which was only to be expected. His Soul already exceeded the level of a Half-Saint due to his relationship with Yu Ru Meng, but his body was only that of a High-Rank Demon King. The gap between these two was simply too large.
Pondering in silence for a while, Yang Kai let out a low roar, “Dragon Transformation!”
It was a pity that his physical body could no longer withstand the pressure even though his Soul had not reached its breaking point, so the simplest solution was to strengthen his body.
A Dragon Roar sounded and a dazzling Golden Dragon head appeared and vanished in a flash. Then, Yang Kai’s body rapidly swelled up. Following a series of crackling sounds, Dragon Scales covered his entire body, two short Dragon Horns appeared on his forehead, his hands turned into sharp Dragon Claws, and a Dragon Tail flicked behind him. His transformation stirred up a cloud of smoke and dust on this ancient battlefield.
His Half-Dragon Form still retained some resemblance to his Human form, but his Dragon Clan features were clearly more defined than before. After the Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai breathed heavily. The air that blew out of his nostrils formed gusts of wind, giving him an extremely majestic impression.
He was stunned for a moment and scratched his head, vaguely feeling as though he had… grown slightly taller. Examining himself carefully, he discovered that it was not just his imagination. He had certainly grown taller than before; thus, he couldn’t help feeling amazed by the changes.
The last time he performed the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique was during his deadly battle against Wind Lord in the Flowing Time Temple. He had been wandering about in recent years and was so busy that he had no time to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. Nevertheless, he had been consuming Dragon Blood Pills regularly so his body had been growing larger without his knowledge, even though he had not deliberately tried to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.
It was just that this process took a very long time. The Dragon Clan had always been long-lived; therefore, growth had never been a matter of urgency for them. Since his battle on Dragon Island, despite consuming so many Dragon Blood Pills and Dragon Blood Flowers over the years, he had only grown to about 320 metres.
During the fight with the Wind Lord in the temple, he had given it his all. After that, he went to the Lower Star Field to refine World Beads. He didn’t even have the time to consume more Dragon Blood Pills he had refined, so logically speaking, he shouldn’t have grown much at all.
But now, he estimated that he had grown to 400 metres in height, which could only be described as a huge eruption in growth.
For the Dragon Clan, a bigger body undoubtedly signified greater strength. The largest among the Dragon Clan Elders in the Dragon Temple throughout the generations had been just shy of 1,000 metres, a length that none of the current Dragon Clan could compare to.
Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source, and the more he integrated with the Source, the bigger his body would become. Now that his body had increased in size, it would mean that his Source Strength had been stimulated again somehow.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai guessed that his rapid growth was probably due to the benefits he received during his battle with Wind Lord. He had gone all out after executing the Dragon Transformation, so his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength must have been developed without his knowledge at the juncture of life and death. He had been so exhausted at the time that he had not noticed anything; therefore, it wasn’t until today that he discovered the benefits. This discovery could be regarded as a pleasant surprise as the stronger his physical body was, the more punishment it could withstand.
The surrounding pressure that was crushing his body suddenly became lighter after he assumed his Half-Dragon form. He had been struggling to take another step forward before, but now, he had no trouble continuing forward again. With this, he travelled another five thousand metres.
Yang Kai finally stopped in his tracks. This was his limit. His large body sat down cross-legged, looking like a small hill. Then, he opened up his mind in the middle of this ancient battlefield, allowing the two forces to enter his body while he quietly comprehended this phenomenon.
Three months passed just like that. During that period, Yang Kai did not move in the slightest. It wasn’t until three months later that he abruptly opened his eyes. His majestic Dragon Eyes were brimming with energy and it was clear that he had benefited greatly from this endeavour. He couldn’t stop himself from breaking into a grin; however, what came next was a rumbling sound that shook the world itself. If a timid person had witnessed this scene, they might have been scared to death by the sight of his horrifyingly large mouth spreading out in a grin.
The two forces that had been raging against each other in the outer periphery of the ancient battlefield for countless of years had vanished completely. They had been absorbed into his body and refined into his strength.
Without the influence of the Time Principles here, the flow of time in this area returned to normal. A thought flashed in Yang Kai’s mind and in the next moment, Bo Ya, who was sitting on top of Gun-Gun’s head with her chin resting on both hands and a bored expression on her face, suddenly heard Yang Kai’s voice, “How long has it been?”
Although she didn’t understand why he was asking her such a strange question, she still answered seriously, “It’s been five days.”
[Good. It has only been five days.] Inside the ancient battlefield, Yang Kai stood up and strode forward. His steps were unhurried, but every step made the Earth tremble slightly. At the same time, the scabs covering his body fell off with every step he took. He had not taken many steps when a doubtful expression appeared on his face. [Why does it feel like… I’ve grown a little taller again?]
Yang Kai touched the top of his head and made a slight gesture to measure his height. Then, he discovered that it was not his imagination. He had indeed grown taller. It wasn’t much, only about 10 metres or so, but this was already an incredible achievement.
The longer the Dragon, the harder it was for them to make further progress. With his current 410-metre-tall body, it would be difficult for him to grow by 10 metres even if he cultivated the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique assiduously for 3 to 5 years. Contrary to his expectations, he easily achieved such growth just by meditating in this ancient battlefield for 3 months, and it wasn’t even on purpose.
[Could it be that the Martial Truth also has the effect of improving the Dragon Clan’s Bloodline Power? It’s not necessarily impossible. The Masters of those two forces had both reached the absolute pinnacle after all. The Martial Truth contained in their power is difficult even for the current Demon Saints and Great Emperors to fathom, it’s not surprising if it has some unique effects attached to it. Perhaps, it might even be related to how the two forces keep clashing with each other.]
These two forces had been clashing with each other while using his body as a carrier, allowing him to comprehend the mysteries with a detached feeling. Since his body was in the battlefield and was constantly being stimulated and damaged before being repaired, it was only natural that it would help to develop and improve the bloodline in his physical body.
[This is a good thing.] Yang Kai smiled happily and continued moving forward. This time, he only reached his limit after traversing a distance of 5,000 metres. Although it was said that the two forces would grow stronger the deeper he went, the suffering he experienced previously had not been in vain. 3 months of intensive cultivation had allowed his body to grow stronger, and he could go further as a result.
During the time Yang Kai was devoted to his cultivation in the ancient battlefield, a war had broken out in the Demon Land around Blue Wave City.
By the order of Li Wu Yi, the Sixty-First, Thirty-Fifth, Fifty-Third, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Seventh Armies had launched a full-scale attack. They were practically going all out in their attempt to destroy the Demon Stronghold in Blue Wave City.
On the other hand, the Demon Race was waiting in trepidation in the Demon Land of Blue Wave City. Both parties had been fighting fiercely for the past several days and as a result, each side suffered terrible casualties. There were corpses everywhere on the battlefield, and rivers of blood ran in every direction.
In the end, the Demon Race army faltered first and showed signs of defeat. The Sixty-First Army immediately took advantage of this opening and charged to within thirty kilometres of the tall Demon Tower.
By this point, the Demon Race army had long since set up an iron-clad defence around the periphery of the Demon Tower. Countless Demons were desperately fending off the advance of the Star Boundary’s army while defending the Demon Tower to the death.
A majestic palace flew out from the rear at that moment with Yang Xiao and Yang Xue standing side by side at its main entrance. Strong winds blew at them, making their clothes flap wildly in the wind. Even so, they each continued executing their respective Secret Techniques. Amidst a loud humming sound, the palace slammed into the Demon Tower.
The Flowing Time Temple was a great gift from Flowing Time Great Emperor to his descendants. This temple was not something as simple as a mere palace, it was in fact an extremely powerful flight-type artifact with astonishing offensive and defensive capabilities. Borrowing the power of the temple, the pair prepared to destroy the Demon Tower in the most direct manner possible. The distance between the huge palace and the Demon Tower quickly narrowed, and all the Demon Race members blocking the way were smashed into blood mist.
At the same time, a barrage of attacks rained down on them from all directions but were blocked by the light barrier that surrounded the outside of the temple. The curtain of light was very sturdy, and those attacks only caused a light ripple to appear on the barrier’s surface, leaving both Yang Xiao and Yang Xue completely unharmed. The barrier surrounding the mobile palace of Flowing Time Great Emperor was not something an ordinary attack could destroy even if these two little ones could only draw upon a small part of its power.
Upon seeing this situation, three Demon Race Half-Saints immediately launched into the sky and headed towards the temple. They made their move before the temple could even get close, slamming directly into it with terrifying strength.
Following that, two figures rushed out from the temple, one big and old, one small and young. Wherever Yang Xiao and Yang Xue were, it was a given that Qiong Qi and Liu Yan would be there too.
A tiger’s roar and a phoenix’s cry rang out. When Qiong Qi and Liu Yan clashed with the three Half-Saints, space itself shattered. Qiong Qi was a veteran Divine Spirit, and among all the Divine Spirits in the Half-Saint and Pseudo-Great Emperor Realm in this world, only Li Wu Yi was capable of suppressing him. Nobody else was worth anything in his eyes. If it had been a one-on-one fight, no Half-Saint would have been capable of defeating him.
Unfortunately, Liu Yan was slightly inferior in that aspect. Although she had the Phoenix True Fire and had become a true Divine Spirit, it had not been long since she started cultivating this new strength. In the first place, a Divine Spirit was an existence that relied on the accumulation of time to become strong, so while she might be much stronger than a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, she did not have much of a winning chance against the likes of a Half-Saint. For that reason, she immediately fell into a disadvantageous position when she faced three Demon Race Half-Saints as her opponents in battle despite having Qiong Qi beside her.
Fortunately, they were not required to kill these Half-Saints, they just needed to buy some time.
The Flowing Time Temple rushed forward with a loud rumble while the three Demon Race Half-Saints were tied down. The other Half-Saints were similarly held up in their own respective battles, so there were no other available Masters to hinder the pace of the temple. At that moment, the pandemonium on the battlefield seemed to quiet down and the entire world froze in place. Under millions of gazes, the Flowing Time Temple slammed into the pitch-black Demon Tower.
Yang Xiao and Yang Xue, who were standing at the entrance to the temple, were the first ones to react to the impact. First, their complexion paled significantly; then, they both coughed up a mouthful of blood. In the next moment, a dull thunderous explosion boomed out. The curtain of light surrounding the temple crumpled inward but did not shatter. A circle of light subsequently flashed out, spreading in all directions. The Demon Tower vibrated slightly from the impact before returning to its original state.
The Demon Race Half-Saints, who had been staring so intently that their eyes nearly exploded, instantly felt relieved to see that the Demon Tower was safe. They rushed towards the Demon Tower without regard for their safety, intent on protecting it even if that meant allowing their opponents to injure them.
How could the Star Boundary not realize just how important the Demon Tower was to the Demon Race after witnessing such a scene? When the Demon Towers first appeared, nobody in the Star Boundary knew what they were for so they didn’t pay too much attention to it. By the time they started taking notice of the Demon Towers, they had already taken shape.
Li Wu Yi had vaguely guessed that these Demon Towers would be of great use to the Demon Race, which was why he had ordered the five armies gathered in this place to try attacking to see if there was a chance for them to destroy one of them. After this attempt, the Star Boundary learned that the Demon Towers were much more important to the Demon Race than they had ever expected.
Contrary to their expectations, the Half-Saints had even disregarded their own safety to protect the Demon Tower. How could the many Pseudo-Great Emperors that were present allow the Half-Saints to do as they pleased? They hurriedly chased after the Half-Saints to deal even more damage to their enemies.
Standing above the temple, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue exchanged a glance with each other. After so many years together, there was no need for discussion for them to understand each other. Forming new hand seals, the temple retreated at an extremely fast speed, moving back more than a dozen kilometres in the blink of an eye. Then, pushing their Qi madly, they sent the temple hurtling towards the Demon Tower once more.
Although the first blow had not managed to destroy the Demon Tower, that did not mean their attack was ineffective. They knew better than everybody else that the Demon Tower might be sturdy, but it was definitely incapable of withstanding three collisions with the temple. They were certain that they could completely demolish this Demon Tower with three strikes. Regardless of what the Demon Race was originally planning, there was nothing they could do to prevent the destruction.
Another explosive collision rang out! The Demon Tower shuddered as if it were about to fall, but eventually stabilized itself again. The Half-Saints on the battlefield became even more desperate at the sight and went so far as to use Forbidden Techniques, draining their own life force and vitality just to increase their strength in order to break free from their opponents as soon as possible to stop Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s actions. It wasn’t just the Half-Saints, even the Demon Kings were acting in desperation.
For a time, the already stormy battlefield became even more chaotic than before.
The might of the Sixty-First Army was fully displayed at a time like this. There were always benefits to having an abundance of Masters in their ranks, and in the face of the various counterattacks coming from so many Masters of the Demon Race, they immediately responded by taking up positions to block any threat from disturbing Yang Xiao and Yang Xue.
When the Flowing Time Temple slammed towards the Demon Tower for the third time, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s faces were as pale as sheets. Even so, their gazes were fixed resolutely on the Demon Tower.
At the last moment, a halo of light spun as energy gathered in one place, opening a huge vortex in front of the Demon Tower.
Two pairs of eyes involuntarily narrowed at the sight from where they stood on top of the temple. Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had no idea what this vortex was, but they understood that victory and defeat all hinged on this next attack; thus, they poured all of their strength out without reserve.
A delicate foot suddenly stepped out from the vortex, followed closely by a slender figure that appeared in mid-air. Her skin was as smooth as a baby’s and her looks were as gorgeous as the finest jade. There were a pair of delicate wings behind her back.
*Weng…*
As soon as both her feet stood in the air, the entire world seemed to shudder in response.
Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment before his expression changed greatly and he exclaimed in astonishment, “Fu Yu!”
There were currently three Demon Saints in the Star Boundary and each of them was extremely famous. Even if he had never seen any of them up close before, Yang Xiao had caught a glimpse of them from afar back at the Western Territory. What’s more, the characteristics of the Feather Demons were so obvious, how could he fail to recognize the truth?
[Why is she here!? How did she get here!? Wasn’t she guarding a Demon Land in the Eastern Territory!?] The Eastern Territory was located millions upon millions of kilometres away. Even if Fu Yu was a Demon Saint, it would take her several days just to fly here from there. There was no way she should be able to appear out of nowhere just like that.
Thinking back to what he just saw though, Yang Xiao felt a shudder in his heart. [That Demon Tower… It can’t be… Does it function like a Cross-Territory Space Array!? That’s the only way to explain the current situation!]
The moment Fu Yu appeared, most of the Masters in the Star Boundary paled in unison. Yao Si, who was in charge of the main army, immediately took out a Space Beacon and contacted the two Elders of the Dragon Clan.
The reason he didn’t go into battle was not out of cowardice or the fear of death, it was just that somebody needed to take charge of the overall situation since all five armies had been deployed. The other Army Commanders were Pseudo-Great Emperors who were needed in battle to restrain the movements of the enemy Half-Saints. On the other hand, Yao Xi was far weaker. Be that as it may, it was not a problem for him to coordinate and command the army, which was why Bing Yun and the others had handed over the command of the entire coalition to him.
In reality, he had done an excellent job and thanks to his superb tactical command an opportunity for Yang Xiao and Yang Xue to launch their attacks twice had been created. Unfortunately, the third attack was doomed to fail.
Just as Yao Si was sending a message to the Elders of the Dragon Clan, Fu Yu’s crystal-like eyes swept over Yang Xiao and Yang Xue lightly. Her gaze was completely indifferent, almost as if she was looking at two insignificant ants in front of her; however, a small change finally came over her expression when she saw the Flowing Time Temple. She made a soft sound of surprise as she could clearly tell just how extraordinary this flying temple was.
The distance between the Flowing Time Temple and the Demon Tower was rapidly shortening as after Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s initial moment of surprise, they neither retreated nor changed their trajectory. Instead, they concentrated even harder to direct the temple toward the Demon Tower. That was because they knew that there was no chance of escaping in the presence of a Demon Saint. Instead, it might be more beneficial to try and snatch their lives back from the gates of death by staking everything they had on a single attack.