An hour later, Ah Da looked at Yang Kai eagerly again, still not satisfied.
Yang Kai spread his hands and said, “I really don’t have any more.”
A lot of the World Beads had been eaten and most of the spirit fruits in the medicine garden were gone. Yang Kai would go bankrupt if he continued feeding this giant. Besides, he was sceptical about something. He had the feeling that even if he brought out everything within the medicine garden, it still would not be enough to fill the giant’s stomach. Judging by Ah Da’s mountain-like body… it would probably be very difficult to ever truly satisfy him.
Yang Kai racked his brains for other ideas before he said, “Would you like to come with me? I’ll bring you to a place with delicious food.”
While it was true that Ah Da was simple-minded, his cultivation was shockingly powerful. If he could bring this big guy back to the Star Boundary, he could easily deal with the Demon Saints and their like. Yang Kai seriously doubted that even Great Demon God could compare to Ah Da. With Ah Da with him, the crisis in the Star Boundary could be resolved immediately and no more sacrifices would be necessary!
It had only been a flash of inspiration at the beginning, but the more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good idea; therefore, he immediately tried to entice Ah Da earnestly, making a grand speech with many colourful images and descriptions that could all be summed up in one sentence, “Follow me and you will eat your fill!”
If he could bring Ah Da back to the Star Boundary with him, he would have the strength of an entire world behind him. In that case, was there really a need to fear not being able to satisfy this giant’s appetite?
Yang Kai talked until his mouth went dry, but on the other hand, Ah Da simply kept giggling stupidly without responding to his suggestions at all. It made Yang Kai wonder if he was only feigning his childlike mentality.
“I’ve already said so much? What do you think? Will you come with me?” Yang Kai wiped at his mouth and tried one last time.
“Hehehe.”
“Stop laughing! Tell me whether you are coming with me or not!” Yang Kai was feeling speechless now. He plopped himself down on Ah Da’s palm and glared at the other party in exasperation.
They stared at each other without saying anything for a time before all of a sudden, a look of joy flashed across Ah Da’s face and he turned his head to look in a certain direction.
Yang Kai followed the giant’s gaze but couldn’t see anything. All he could see was the vast Starry Sky.
A short while later, Ah Da suddenly got up and said excitedly, “Ah Da is going to find something to eat!”
“Where?” Yang Kai raised his hand to his forehead and stared out into the distance.
In the meantime, Ah Da had already strode away in that direction. Despite his mountain-like body, his movements were swifter than lightning. Yang Kai felt as though the surrounding scenery was passing by in a flash from where he sat on the giant’s palm and he couldn’t help shouting, “Hey! Hey! Where are you going!?”
Ah Da froze in surprise, only now seeming to remember that there was a person sitting on his palm. Pausing, he looked down at Yang Kai and chuckled, “You gave Ah Da food. You are a good person. Ah Da likes you.”
His smile was as pure as a child’s.
“If you like me, you should come with me! Just tell me what you want!” Yang Kai put more effort into his recruitment.
Contrary to Yang Kai’s expectations, however, Ah Da just reached out his hand and plucked something out from what looked like a giant pocket. Grasping what looked like an embroidery needle, he gently placed it in front of Yang Kai and declared, “Ah Da will give you this!”
Yang Kai grabbed hold of the ‘embroidery needle’ and felt a jolt running through his body. An ancient and desolate aura washed over him without warning, enveloping his entire body and giving him the illusion of being transported back to a prehistoric era.
By the time he broke free of this illusion and came back to his senses, he saw that Ah Da was already very far away. All that was left was a tiny speck in the distance. Then, even that back vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye.
[How fast!] It had not been particularly obvious when he was standing on Ah Da’s giant palm, but now seeing it from a distance, Yang Kai realized just how terrifyingly fast Ah Da was.
Even though Yang Kai quickly pushed his Space Principles and chased after him, how could he possibly manage to catch up to Ah Da? Ah Da had long since disappeared somewhere and it was practically impossible now to search for his whereabouts in this vast and boundless Starry Sky. Therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling rather annoyed. It was rather regretful that he had failed to recruit such a powerful helper.
It wasn’t until this moment that he took the time to study the ‘gift’ in his hand. When Ah Da pulled this toy out, it looked like nothing more than a small needle. Even so, everything was relative. This item had looked no bigger than an embroidery needle in front of Ah Da’s enormous body, but became the size of a chopstick in Yang Kai’s hands. It should also be said that Yang Kai had been maintaining his Half-Dragon Form ever since he met Ah Da, which meant this chopstick-like item was at least 10 or 20 metres long.
Upon a closer inspection, Yang Kai discovered that this chopstick was actually a spear. The tip of the spear glinted with a cold light and a pattern of dragons coiled around the body of the spear. In addition, there were many engravings and embellishments that looked like Dragon Scales. There were also golden clouds at the butt of the spear. It looked quite magnificent.
Yang Kai’s expression brightened and after closing his eyes, he quietly examined the spear before becoming startled a short while later. His attention had been focused on Ah Da previously, so he had no time to figure out the wonders of this item. It wasn’t until now that he inspected the item and discovered what a rare and extraordinary treasure it was.
In particular, the ancient aura surging from the spear was even denser than that of the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Just from this fact alone, it could be seen that the spear was far older than the Mountains and Rivers Bell. What surprised him even more was that he could vaguely sense a familiar aura coming from the spear. It was none the aura of a Dragon.
Yang Kai immersed his mind into the spear and after a while, his expression froze in surprise. Under his intent stare, the spear transformed into an incomparably large Azure Dragon that stood proudly in the void.
A high-pitched Dragon Roar resounded from the spear, causing the entire body of the spear to tremble uncontrollably. Yang Kai blissfully poured his Dragon Aura into the spear, causing it to swell up rapidly from 15 metres to nearly 1,000 metres. It was now just as long as his Half-Dragon Form was tall. His Half-Dragon Form was already quite imposing on its own, but it looked even more overwhelming now that it was supplemented by the spear.
Yang Kai’s eyes flew open abruptly as he randomly tried out several spear techniques. The spear felt like it was a part of his arm, with no sense of obscurity whatsoever. Rather, his entire body felt as comfortable as could be; thus, his confidence soared. Even if the true body of the Great Demon God was standing in front of him, he was confident he could put a few holes in him in his current state!
Yang Kai focused his gaze and saw two large golden characters shining at a certain point on the shaft of.
“Azure Dragon!”
He read those words out loud as he gently caressed the spear. Only then did the spear that had been trembling all this while seem to calm down, as though appeased.
If it had been anybody else in Yang Kai’s shoes, they would not have dared to use the Azure Dragon Spear so casually despite obtaining it. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s examination had revealed to him that the Azure Dragon Spear was originally refined and crafted from the body of a Dragon. The body of the spear came from the Dragon Bones, the scale-like patterns on the body of the spear were originally the Dragon Scales, the spearhead was formed from a Dragon Fang, and the butt of the spear came from a Dragon Tail.
With the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength in his body, Yang Kai just so happened to fulfil the conditions of the Azure Dragon Spear’s Will. Only when infused with a pure Dragon Source Strength could this spear unleash its full power without first refining it. Moreover, Yang Kai had the vague feeling that even the Great Elder and Second Elder of Dragon Island were not as powerful as the Dragon that this spear had been refined from.
Just who was Ah Da? How was he able to randomly and carelessly bring out something so precious? The World Beads and the spirit fruits from the medicine garden that Yang Kai had offered as payment previously were not worth mentioning in comparison. While those things were by no means ordinary, how could they compare with the Azure Dragon Spear?
[I can’t believe I’m still so blessed with luck even though I’m not in the Star Boundary!] Yang Kai could barely repress the urge to throw his head back in wild laughter. Thinking about it a little more though, he realized that Ah Da probably brought out the Azure Dragon Spear after seeing his Half-Dragon Form. In any case, he had gained far more than he invested.
Up until today, Yang Kai had always carried numerous treasures and artifacts with him. There was no need to mention the Soul Warming Lotus, the Immortal Tree, and the Firmament Tree which could be regarded as unique existences and Supreme Treasures of the universe. The Mountains and Rivers Bell was so powerful that it was capable of suppressing even World Strength. The Astral Wind blowing out of the newly-acquired Wind Gourd was not something to be underestimated either. When it came to the Soul, he also had the elusive Soul Splitting Sabre.
Comparatively, Yang Kai only lacked a personal weapon that could be used to fight in close combat. The Myriads Sword was decent, but it was just an ordinary Emperor Artifact. It used to provide a relatively powerful boost to him when his cultivation was not that high. Unfortunately, it was no longer capable of keeping up with his strength as he became increasingly more powerful.
Besides, the Myriads Sword was the Qin Family’s heirloom. Yang Kai once made an agreement with the Patriarch of the Qin Family, Qin Zhao Yang, to return the Myriads Sword when Qin Yu became an Emperor Realm Master. Qin Yu had been cultivating hard in High Heaven Palace over the years and her strength had greatly increased as a result. Although she had yet to become an Emperor Realm Master, it was only a matter of time.
The Qin Family might not say anything even if Yang Kai did not return the Myriads Sword, but how could he go back on his word? Once he returned the Myriads Sword, then he would really lack a personal weapon.
Although he had been looking for a weapon for himself all this time, he had never found one that was suitable. Furthermore, he had to take his Half-Dragon Form into consideration. Any ordinary artifact could be used in his Human form, but they could not be used when he turned into his Half-Dragon Form. Forget his current size, even when he was only 300 metres long, using the Myriads Sword would have been no different from holding a toothpick between his fingers. Was he supposed to prick his enemies to death in a life-or-death situation? Not to mention, the power of that toothpick could not compare to the strength of his Dragon Claws.
Not only should the weapon be suitable for close combat, but it also had to be suitable for his current cultivation. It would be even better if he could continue using the weapon when he reached the Great Emperor Realm. More importantly, it had to be suitable for his use in his Half-Dragon Form… Although there were many precious and mysterious artifacts in the world, it was extremely difficult for any one of them to fulfil all of these conditions.
If Yang Kai was no different from the average Emperor Realm Masters that needed to spend a long time cultivating, he might have been able to gather some materials and ask Hou Yu to tailor-make an artifact for his use; however, the speed at which his cultivation improved was much too fast for him to consider that option. Even if he could refine an artifact like that, he would not have the time to nurture and refine the weapon to its full potential before it became obsolete. Among all the powerful treasures in the world, which one of them did not require thousands of years of hard work and refinement from the Emperor Realm Masters that owned them?
Yang Kai never imagined that he would accidentally receive the Azure Dragon Spear in this strange place. This spear was refined from the body of a Dragon, so not just anybody could unleash its full strength. It was the Dragonic Nature to be arrogant. Even after death, there still existed a trace of its original nature that could not be extinguished. It was already a miracle if the backlash did not harm the people who used the Azure Dragon Spear; how could it willingly allow itself to be controlled by another? It just so happened that Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source though, which resolved this problem perfectly.
[Even though that big guy only knew how to giggle foolishly, it would seem that he isn’t stupid.] Resisting the urge to continue chasing after Ah Da, Yang Kai looked in the direction where the former had disappeared and bowed with his hand on his chest. [I received such an amazing benefit from him. If I ever meet him again, I will definitely treat him to a full meal.]
“Yang Kai! Yang Kai, are you still alive!?” Bo Ya’s frantic voice came from within the Small Sealed World. She had been in the middle of a conversation with him when the projected image in the sky shattered to pieces without any warning. It was obvious that he had encountered some sort of attack.
She had been trying to contact him all this while, but there had been no response from him; thus, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. [Could he have died? If he died, then won’t I be stuck in the Small Sealed World for the rest of my life?] Although the current Small Sealed World isn’t too bad, it was simply not as splendid as the world outside.
“I’m not dead yet. Stop screaming,” Yang Kai replied shortly.
Naturally, Bo Ya began cursing him furiously, “Why did you ignore me if you’re still alive!?” Falling silent for a moment, she anxiously asked, “What happened just now?”
“It’s nothing.” He gave a perfunctory reply, “I met a rather interesting guy.” [He even called me a good person and gave me a precious gift.]
His words stunned her into silence. She had a glimpse of the vast Starry Sky just now, so who could he meet in a place like that? Unfortunately, Yang Kai stopped answering her when she questioned him further. It drove her so mad that she nearly gnashed her teeth to bits.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai turned around and placed the Azure Dragon Spear horizontally across his shoulders. His hands were placed on the head and tail of the spear. Then, his 1,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon Form shrunk rapidly and turned back into his Human form. Following the sudden change in body size, the gigantic Azure Dragon Spear also changed according to his wishes. By the time his figure stabilised again, the Azure Dragon Spear had become no more than 3 metres long.
He took a large stride forward. With a flash of his figure, that one step brought him a thousand kilometres away. He was staring fixedly ahead. That direction was probably where the Star Boundary was located.
Ever since he escaped from the Void Crack, Yang Kai could feel a faint force pulling at him. At the time, he had not had the time to investigate before he was blown away by Ah Da’s snoring. Now that he thought about it, the force that was pulling at him and guiding him towards a certain direction could only be the Star Boundary’s Will. He had the recognition of the World’s Will after all. For him, the Star Boundary was his homeland, so no matter how far he went, his connection with the Star Boundary would never be completely cut off.
…..
An army of millions was gathered in the Southern Territory outside of Star Soul Palace. Both Humans and Demons were at war. The once beautiful mountains and rivers were a terrible mess. The mountains and fields in the surroundings were withered and Demon Qi ran rampant.
Several years ago, the second Two Worlds Great War had erupted with the sudden arrival of the 10 Demon Saints. Afterwards, 108 Two Worlds’ Passages appeared all over the Star Boundary. The land around the Two Worlds’ Passages turned into Demon Land. Consequently, countless families had been separated and destroyed
In the beginning, the Star Boundary relied on its Space Arrays and the World Beads that Yang Kai refined to gain a significant advantage in mobility. They slew numerous Demons and obliterated 98 of the Demon Strongholds. As such, only the 10 largest Demon Strongholds remained. These 10 Demon Strongholds were also the places where the Demon Saints and Great Emperors had once fought.
The Demon Race placed great importance on these 10 Demon Strongholds. Not only were they heavily fortified, but the Demon Race also spent large amounts of manpower and resources to build unknown Demon Towers at each one.
When construction of these Demon Towers started, nobody had taken notice of these structures. It wasn’t until the Demon Towers began to take shape that the Star Boundary realized what their purpose was.
There were 10 Primary Demon Strongholds and 10 Demon Towers, all of which were interconnected with each other and functioned in the same manner as Space Arrays. Hence, the Demon Race armies were able to travel quickly between these 10 Primary Demon Strongholds.
On that note, the Star Boundary’s armies lost their advantage in terms of mobility from then onward.
The construction of the Demon Towers never ceased. There were large numbers of Demons bustling up and down each Demon Tower at every moment of the day. Accordingly, the Demon Towers grew higher and higher by the day. At present, they had reached a height of over 10,000 metres.
Nobody knew how these Demon Towers were built, but these towers were incredibly sturdy. Back in Blue Wave City of the Northern Territory, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue once used the Flowing Time Temple to ram into a Demon Tower twice; however, their efforts failed to bear fruit. The Feather Demon Demon Saint, Fu Yu, had teleported to the scene before they could launch a third attempt and knocked the Flowing Time Temple back with a single arrow. Her counterattack caused Yang Xiao and Yang Xue to suffer a terrible loss.
As the Demon Towers continued to grow taller, the area around the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds expanded by more than 10 times their original size. Looking down from above, these 10 Primary Demon Strongholds were like 10 cancerous tumours in the Star Boundary that oozed with puss and rotted the flesh. They corroded away at the surrounding intact lands without pause. For that reason, people couldn’t help wondering, would the Star Boundary undergo complete decay and turn into Demon Lands if the Demon Towers continued to grow taller? That was probably what the Demon Race was planning.
With the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds and 10 Demon Towers acting as fortresses, and the protection of the 3 Demon Saints, the rest of the Demon Race had nothing to worry about whatsoever and were simply hiding away inside the Demon Strongholds over the past few years. Although the Star Boundary’s armies had attacked on various occasions, they always returned in defeat, suffering heavy casualties despite killing many of the Demon Race members in the process.
In the beginning, everybody had pinned their hopes on Yang Kai. They were hoping that he would locate the missing Great Emperors in the Demon Realm; however, it had been 3 years since he left and there had been no news from him since then. Everybody eventually realised something, the Demon Race must have done something on their end. The likelihood was high that the Great Emperors were not in the Demon Realm; otherwise, why had Yang Kai not sent word after so long?
In the current situation, the Star Boundary could only rely on the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan to provide support. Unfortunately, there were only two of them against the 3 Demon Saints. Now that both parties had a means of teleportation, there was no chance of carrying out a surprise attack. All they could compete with was their patience, determination, and strength.
The Demon Race had been lying low for a long while. It wasn’t until today that the Demon Race finally launched its first offensive; moreover, it was aimed directly at Star Soul Palace. It was not as though the Demon Race’s actions were intentional, it was just that one of the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds was located adjacent to Star Soul Palace. There had been some distance between them before the expansion, but the expansion during the recent years had begun to encroach upon the edges of Star Soul Palace.
If it were an ordinary place, it would have been abandoned; however, Star Soul Palace was a symbol of the Southern Territory. Bright Moon Great Emperor had protected the Southern Territory for many millennia when he was still alive, so how could the Star Boundary turn a blind eye to Star Soul Palace’s plight now that Bright Moon Great Emperor was gone? Officially, everything the Demon Race did had to be stopped. On a more personal level, Bright Moon Great Emperor had sacrificed himself in the Demon Realm for the sake of the entire Star Boundary, so it could be said that the Star Boundary was indebted to him. Therefore, this battle was an inevitable one.
The 14 armies stationed in the Southern Territory gathered in Star Soul Palace to discuss countermeasures in advance, but even so, what was there to discuss? The Demon Race’s attack was imminent, so all they could do in response was defend this place to death.
A huge battle was about to break out. The moment the Demon Land expanded to the edge of the Sect Defending Array of Star Soul Palace, the Demon Race army would charge out and attack. The ones leading the charge were a group of red, short, and rounded Red Demons. These Red Demons had low sentience and were the lowest existences among the Demon Clans. They had always been used as sacrificial pawns, and this time was no exception. Tens of thousands of Red Demons launched suicide attacks on Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array while screaming wildly.
As the hegemon Sect of the Southern Territory, Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array was refined and reinforced over many, many years. Moreover, it occupied the best Spirit Land in the Southern Territory, so it was only natural that it was absolutely extraordinary. Even the Grand Array of High Heaven Palace was inferior.
Nevertheless, the Grand Array only lasted for less than a day before it began cracking under the relentless self-destruction of hundreds of thousands of Red Demons.
Following right behind the Red Demons, a large wave of the Demon Race army charged forward and attacked the Grand Array.
Needless to say, the armies of the Star Boundary did not stand idly by. They summoned out their artifacts and activated their Secret Techniques to kill and disrupt the Demon’s charge.
As the number of dead Demons increased, the Demon Qi in the surroundings became more and more intense. The pitch-black aura seemed to gain a life of its own, slowly crawling towards Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array and climbing up the Grand Array. Consequently, the Grand Array that originally resembled seven-coloured stained glass was gradually dyed a pitch-black colour that gave off an ominous vibe.
Three days later, the Grand Array finally collapsed when the curtain of light turned completely black. The Demon Race army then charged forward like a pack of starving wolves, stepping into the pure land that symbolised the pinnacle of the Martial Dao in the Southern Territory.
That was not the only Sect Defending Array of Star Soul Palace. Under the control of the many Elders of Star Soul Palace and the current Palace Master of Star Soul Palace, Lan Xun, the Grand Arrays of each Spirit Peak and various other areas were activated all at once to split the Demon Race army apart. Then, the Star Boundary’s armies that had been lying in wait instantly clashed with their enemies in a bloody battle.
Rivers of blood flowed in Star Soul Palace and mountains of corpses began piling up everywhere. Demon Qi escaped from the corpses of the dead Demons constantly, contaminating everything in the surroundings and staining the land with Demon Essence.
If this had only been a simple battle between the two armies, the Demon Race would be no match against the Star Boundary. The Demon Race army might be mighty, but there were 14 of the Star Boundary’s armies gathered in this place too. Even with as many as 15 Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors, they might not be enough to exhaust the strength of the entire Southern Territory.
Unfortunately, the defence line of the Star Boundary’s armies tightened little by little with the continuous expansion of the Demon Land and signs of failure gradually began to appear. While these signs were not obvious at first, the difference in momentum between the two armies only became more and more noticeable. Especially after the backlash of the Bloodlust Spell broke out, resulting in a sharp drop in the Star Boundary army’s combat power. On the other hand, the Demon Race seemed tireless and blessed by the Heavens as they stood in the Demon Land.
The situation on the battlefield was extremely unfavourable for the Star Boundary.
Three young women stood side by side on the battlefield, pale-facedly facing off against a Half-Saint Master. One of them was Lan Xun. Ten years ago, she had barely broken through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so even with her Special Constitution as Bright Moon’s daughter, she had no chance of surviving a direct confrontation with a Half-Saint. Even so, she had taken a risk to refine the World Pagoda previously and directly broke through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm in one fell swoop with the help of the Ancient Exotic Artifact.
She might be much weaker compared to a Half-Saint, but she at least had a slight chance in battle. Besides, the power of the World Pagoda was not to be underestimated. Even the Half-Saint was frightened of it, so combined with the help of her allies, Lan Xun somehow managed to hold on until now.
It was unfortunate that she was now an arrow at the end of its flight. Even with an ancient treasure in her possession, the gap in their cultivation could not be overcome so easily. There was a bitter taste in Lan Xun’s mouth. She had been determined to revive the power of Star Soul Palace, inherit the legacy of her father, and protect the Southern Territory for the rest of her life; however, Star Soul Palace was about to be eroded and turned into Demon Land. How could she realise this ambition of hers in the future?
Next to Lan Xun stood a young girl with an innocent and cute appearance. She had a big black wok on her head that made her look quite ridiculous. Be that as it may, the Half-Saint’s eyes couldn’t help twitching at the sight of the black wok. The Half-Saint had underestimated his opponents earlier. Consequently, he was nearly captured by the black wok and almost failed to escape. If it was not for the fact that his cultivation was much higher than his opponent, he would have died after being trapped inside that black wok a long time ago. The chaotic feeling of refining everything in that black wok was still fresh in his memory.
The third young woman had a pretty face and her whole body was filled with a youthful aura; even so, her beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent. The butterfly wings on her back flapped gently behind her. She might only be in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, but her slender body was emanating a Divine Spirit’s aura.
Lan Xun, Lin Yun’er, and Mo Xiao Qi, two daughters of the Great Emperors, were fighting side by side with the disciple of another. Furthermore, they were stopping a Half-Saint’s killing spree with their slender bodies.
Logically speaking, it was impossible for the average Emperor Realm Master to fight a Half-Saint. Even a Third-Order Emperor could only flee for their lives in front of a Half-Saint. Be that as it may, not a single one among these three young women was ordinary. With the treasures in their possession and the heritage they bore, how could they be compared with ordinary Emperor Realm Masters?
Lan Xun’s World Pagoda was a core treasure of Star Soul Palace; moreover, inside Star Soul Palace, she could mobilize far more of the World Principles to assist her than normal. On the other hand, Lin Yun’er’s black wok known as Unlimited Return was even more mysterious and unpredictable. Although Mo Xiao Qi had no comparable treasure on hand, she was born on Spirit Beast Island and Martial Beast Great Emperor had long ago planted the spirit of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly Divine Spirit in her. As her strength and cultivation became more powerful, it became easier and easier for her to wield the power of this Divine Spirit like it was a part of her body.
By fighting three against one, they barely managed to maintain a stalemate situation; however, it was delusional to think that they could kill the Half-Saint they were facing. It was impossible unless he made a fatal mistake.
“You three little bitches… Just wait until this King captures you! I will make you wish you were dead! You will beg for death by the time this King finishes with you!” The Half-Saint was tall and broad-shouldered. The muscles all over his body were bulked up and contained great explosive power while his skin was the colour of stone. It was obvious that he was a Stone Demon. The Stone Demon Clan had inherently powerful defensive abilities and could ignore most light injuries. In addition, their natural strength was incredible. Although they were not as strong as Strength Demons, they were by no means any less than the other Demon Clans.
Among the hundred Clans in the Demon Realm, Blood Demons were the fastest and most cunning, but Stone Demons were the most difficult to kill. The three young women in front of him were indeed extraordinary, but even so, he believed that as long as he did not give them an opening, they would not be able to do anything to him. All he needed to do was drag out this battle and he could get eliminate them one by one once they were exhausted.
“Talk after you prove you have the ability!” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes flashed coldly. Her father had lost his life in the Demon Realm, and now, the legacy he left behind was being invaded by the Demon Race. It could be said that her hatred for the Demon Race was carved into her bones. At this moment, she was cursing the Heavens for not giving her enough time to fully grow into her potential.
While she spoke, Lan Xun extended her hand forward. A green vine suddenly shot out of her sleeve and wrapped around the Half-Saint. The Artifact Spirit of World Pagoda had taken the form of a mimosa plant; therefore, the power of the World Pagoda took on the appearance of a plant when Lan Xun activated its power. If the Half-Saint could be fully wrapped up in the green vines, she could figure out a way to drag him into the World Pagoda and fight him to the death. Her strength would be greatly improved inside the World Pagoda. On this point, it might not be comparable to the advantage Yang Kai received inside the Small Sealed World, but the principle was the same.
When Lan Xun made her move, Lin Yun’er and Mo Xiao Qi did not stand around idly.
Lin Yun’er took the black wok that she had always worn on her head like a hat and threw it forward in the direction of the Half-Saint, letting out an oddly cute cry, “Eat this!”
Her petite body rushed forward along with the black wok. What she cultivated was Iron Blood Great Emperor’s Iron Blood Record, so attacking her enemy with her bare fists was what she excelled at. Her fists were invincible, capable of crushing anything they struck. It was just that she must first put herself in a dangerous position in order to attack her enemies.
The butterfly wings behind Mo Xiao Qi fluttered gently; then, gleaming rays of light converged like fireflies and floated towards the Stone Demon Half-Saint. The combat effectiveness of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly could not be described with mere words, more so since this Divine Spirit’s greatest ability was built upon a person’s achievements in Soul cultivation. The shining powder had the power to create hallucinations and the effects were so strong that even the Half-Saint could not ignore them.
It was clear that this was not the first time these three young women had joined forces. Through the battles over the past few days, they had connected together as though they were one entity. By now, they could work seamlessly to launch an attack without the need for any prior communication.
The Stone Demon Half-Saint’s expression turned incredibly cold at the sight and the Demon Qi in his body surged as he fiercely threw a punch in front of him.
The green vine shooting towards him was smashed to pieces before it could get close. Although it repaired itself immediately, it was still unable to approach due to the sharp impact of the punch.
In the meantime, the sky darkened. Unlimited Return descended from above and covered the Stone Demon Half-Saint. On the other hand, Lin Yun’er lunged at the Stone Demon under the cover of the green vines.
The power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly also came into play at this moment. The shining powder lingered around the Stone Demon. It was pervasive and the slightest touch would make the other party’s consciousness blank out for a moment; hence, the punch the Half-Saint was aiming at Lin Yun’er involuntarily paused for a moment.
That one moment was the key determining factor in deciding the victor of this clash.
With a loud explosion, Lin Yun’er’s fists landed on the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s chest. Her punch that was capable of smashing mountains only made the Stone Demon stagger backwards slightly, however. On the contrary, her face crumpled into an expression of pain; even so, she did not retreat. Lin Yun’er raised her fists again and prepared to continue her assault. Her Honoured Master had once said that there was no defence in this world that could not be broken, it only depended on whether the power of her punches was strong enough. Her little face was flushed red from her efforts. Wind and clouds gathered around her tender fists, indicating the vague appearance of the Grand Dao.
At that moment, an exclamation of surprise sounded. In the midst of what they were doing, Lan Xun turned to look in the direction of the sound and her beautiful eyes contracted abruptly at the sight. A swirling sand pit had appeared under Mo Xiao Qi’s feet without them noticing. Two large hands reached out from the sand pit, grabbed her by the ankles, and dragged her downward. Her feet were already sinking into the sand pit by the time Lan Xun glanced over.
Sand Demon!
This Demon Clan was similar to the Blood Demon Clan in that they were very difficult to deal with. Not to mention, the elusive Shadow Demons who were also very hard to guard against.
Lan Xun could not afford to spare any thought to attack the Stone Demon Half-Saint at that moment. She gave a flick of her wrist, and the green vine shooting outward immediately turned back and plunged directly into the depths of the ground. The earth subsequently began to heave as though a terrifying battle was taking place underground.
Meanwhile, Mo Xiao Qi was distracted by the sneak attack and lost control over the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. The Stone Demon Half-Saint immediately woke up from his confusion as a result, just in time to receive Lin Yun’er’s punch. Without any hesitation, he countered her fist with a punch of his own.
Lin Yun’er’s petite body was sent flying backwards as she coughed up a mouthful of blood in mid-air, dyeing the front of her shirt red. Unlimited Return was also sent flying backwards by the Stone Demon, just like its Master. Despite getting injured, Lin Yun’er deftly spun through the air three times like a swallow before landing at Mo Xiao Qi’s feet and striking the ground with her fist.
The ground that had been heaving violently stopped moving all of a sudden. At the same time, the force that was restraining Mo Xiao Qi loosened and she took the opportunity to break free from the trap. In addition, Lan Xun retracted the green vine.
Then, the three young women stood side by side once more. A stench of blood wafted out from the crack in the ground. It was obvious that the Sand Demon who had hidden in the ground and attacked Mo Xiao Qi was dead. The Sand Demon was only a Mid-Rank Demon King who seemed to believe that there was an opportunity here that he could take advantage of. Who could have known that he would end up in such a state in the blink of an eye? Even so, he had accidentally helped the Stone Demon Half-Saint. The Stone Demon Half-Saint would have been attacked by Lan Xun and the others otherwise. While he would not have been affected by those attacks, it would have been quite a disgrace and humiliation for him.
“Bitch!” He cursed furiously before frowning and turning to look around at his surroundings. At some point, the commotion in the battlefield had died down; in fact, it was dead silent. Everybody had stopped fighting at that moment, but he had been so focused on countering the attacks of Lan Xun and the others that he had not paid much attention to his surroundings before. It wasn’t until now that he noticed this odd change.
Similarly, Lan Xun and the others had noticed this too and they began looking around their surroundings and glancing at each other. Then, Lin Yun’er asked sheepishly, “What’s going on?”
Mo Xiao Qi looked up at the sky, “Look over there!”
Lin Yun’er looked in that direction and her mouth instantly fell open in surprise. A storm seemed to have gathered in the sky with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling. Furthermore, the dark clouds loomed so low that the sky looked like it was about to collapse. Amidst the flashing layer of clouds came an impressive sense of oppression, as if something terrible was about to be born.
It was obvious that this strange phenomenon had caught the attention of the tens of millions of Humans and Demons alike in Star Soul Palace, causing the two Races that were at war to fall into a temporary truce.
“Is it the Demon Race?” Mo Xiao Qi asked worriedly. They were currently at war. For there to be such movements coming from the sky at this kind of time… She simply could not remain calm under these circumstances. The Star Boundary was already at a disadvantage, so if this strange phenomenon was caused by the Demon Race, then the future was truly looking bleak.
“It doesn’t seem like it!” Lan Xun slowly shook her head. If it were something that was cooked up by the Demon Race, then they would not appear so clueless about the current situation; however, the Stone Demon Half-Saint whom they had been fighting had an apprehensive expression on his face now.
“What is it then?” Mo Xiao Qi frowned.
How could Lan Xun know what was going on? Even so, she felt a little relieved by the current situation and secretly winked at Mo Xiao Qi and Lin Yun’er, signalling for the three of them to take this opportunity to rest and restore themselves.
The tens of millions of Humans and Demons on the battlefield were not the only ones staring up at the commotion in the sky, there were another five pairs of eyes staring as well. The large-scale battle here would practically decide ownership of the Southern Territory, so how could the three Demon Saints and the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan be absent? It was just that none of these five people had intervened in the battle.
For the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan, they were outnumbered by their enemies. Their involvement in the battle would only draw the three Demon Saints into making a move, which would in turn worsen the situation in the Star Boundary; therefore, they had simply been hiding in the sky and watching the situation. They would not make a move unless the situation forced their hand. Their presence here was mainly a deterrent.
For the three Demon Saints of the Demon Race, they knew that they might not be able to harm the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan even if a battle broke out between them. They might hold the advantage in numbers in a three-against-two fight, but it was impossible for them to kill their opponents. Both parties had exchanged blows with each other on several occasions over the past few years, so they had a fair understanding of each other’s strength.
If the two from the Dragon Clan were willing to watch quietly, then the Demon Saints were more than happy to oblige.
While Lan Xun and her companions were conversing among themselves, the three Demon Saints were also looking at each other with astonishment in their eyes. They might not know what was behind the aura hidden in the clouds, but there was one thing they could be sure of, the Demon Realm was not behind this.
If it was not the Demon Realm, then could it be the Star Boundary? They frowned and glanced in the direction of the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan before quickly discovering that Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun were also frowning and looking at them suspiciously.
When the gazes from both sides met each other, Xue Li grinned wickedly while Fu Zhun gave a cold snort.
The dark, heavy clouds were looming lower than before, looking like they were really going to fall out of the sky.
All of a sudden, a huge vortex appeared in the middle of the thick, dark clouds. As the vortex swirled, the surrounding clouds swirled along with it and made the sky seem rather volatile.
Then, a small light appeared in the centre of the vortex. Zhu Yan’s expression changed at the sight as he raised his brow and muttered, “That’s…”
Fu Zhun also had a shocked expression on her face. Like Zhu Yan, she had caught a hint of a Dragon’s aura from that light at the very moment it appeared. The presence of a Dragon Aura indicated that there was a Dragon present. It was just that Fu Zhun and Zhu Yan had brought all of the pure-blood members of the Dragon Clan on Dragon Island here with them. There were only so many of them, so how could any of their clansmen appear from within the vortex in the clouds?
What’s more, that trace of Dragon Aura that they detected felt extremely ancient and desolate. It felt as though it came from a very distant era, leaping across time and space. Even they couldn’t help feeling inferior in comparison.
Before the two of them had time to understand the situation, the carefree light that had appeared leisurely began to fall like a meteor with a long tail dragging behind it. The dark clouds covering the sky were seemingly influenced by the falling light and started squirming for a bit before suddenly shrinking into a ball and falling towards the ground along with it.
The feeling as though the sky was falling bloomed in everybody’s hearts. Be they the Human Race or the Demon Race, all the living creatures in Star Soul Palace felt suffocated and anxious.
Soon though, everybody’s expressions changed once more. The light that was falling to the ground was heading directly towards Star Soul Palace! It approached as swiftly as lightning and before the armies of tens of millions could react, the light that was falling from the sky had already smashed into the ground.
There was a loud explosion and the world shook from the impact. The hundreds of Spirit Peaks in Star Soul Palace trembled slightly, causing loose gravel to fall all over. A force of vibration then spread out in a circle from the place where the light had fallen, violently extending outward in all directions. Both Humans and Demons were thrown off their feet everywhere that force of vibration passed; there was no discrimination. Only those in the Emperor Realm and above managed to maintain their balance.
Immediately following that, the dark clouds that came falling down with the light smashed into the ground and the entire Star Soul Palace was instantly shrouded in a layer of fog.
The beautiful faces of Lan Xun, Lin Yun’er, and Mo Xiao Qi turned pale. That was because the light that had fallen out of the sky had landed no more than several tens of metres in front of them, just so happening to separate them from the Stone Demon Half-Saint. Fortunately, the three young women were considered quite powerful now and were able to defend themselves. That was why they were not hurt by the force of vibration that erupted outward.
When they looked up, they saw a figure half-kneeling on the ground several tens of metres away. That figure was covered in ragged clothes and had dishevelled hair. Parts of his sturdy and muscular body were exposed through the gaps of his tattered rags. His embarrassed state was reminiscent of somebody who had just finished fighting a grand battle.
The hair hanging off his forehead covered his face so his appearance could not be seen clearly. He had one hand on his knee while the other hand was holding a 3-metre-long spear. There was a pattern of a Dragon coiling around the spear and it also seemed to be covered in Dragon Scales. Moreover, the head of the spear was glinting with a cold light and an ancient aura surged wildly from its body.
The three young women were dumbfounded by the sight. Similarly, all of the Humans and Demons who witnessed this sight had blank expressions too. Nobody could have imagined that the light that caused a Heavenly Manifestation when it fell from the sky would turn out to be a person. Literally millions of eyes had been watching intently only to witness this person’s arrival.
“Uncle Yang?” Lin Yun’er tilted her head to the side and called out with a slight frown.
“What?” Lan Xun turned to look at Lin Yun’er when she heard her speak. Unfortunately, she had not heard what Lin Yun’er said clearly.
At that moment, the half-kneeling figure on the ground finally moved. He slowly straightened up his body. When he was crouching on the ground, all light seemed to be focused on the 3-metre-long spear; however, he seemed to rob the entire world of its splendour the moment he stood up straight.
There was a series of cracking sounds coming from all over his body. Casually lifting the spear in his hand, he rested it on his shoulder before throwing his head back and laughed heartily as his voice rang out like a Dragon Roar, “I’m finally home! It feels so good!”
His long and dishevelled hair covered his face, making it difficult to see his true appearance; even so, his eyes gleamed as brightly as the sun from between the gaps of his fringe.
Lan Xun was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise as she stuttered, “S-Senior Brother Yang?”
That voice might be deafening, but she was certain that it was definitely Yang Kai’s. Mo Xiao Qi also seemed to recognise his voice and her cold expression quickly dissolved into one of pleasant surprise, “Big Brother Yang?”
She had not met Yang Kai again ever since he brought her to meet the Third-Elder of Dragon Island, Fu Xuan. Although it had only been less than 20 years, those years were far too long for a young girl who was just beginning to fall in love. She had wanted to leave Spirit Beast Island many times to search for Yang Kai, but she had no opportunity to leave with Mo Huang around, and whenever Mo Huang wasn’t around, Jiu Feng would accompany her instead; therefore, her wish to see Yang Kai might have played a part in the reason she came to the Southern Territory this time.
It was a shame that she only learned that he had gone to the Demon Realm after she arrived at this place; moreover, there had been no news from him for the past 3 years. It never occurred to her that they would meet again under such circumstances.
[Didn’t they say he went to the Demon Realm? Why did he fall out of the sky?] Mo Xiao Qi could not make heads or tails of the situation. Similarly, Lan Xun and Lin Yun’er didn’t understand what was going on either. There was no Two Worlds’ Passage connecting to the Demon Realm in the sky here after all.
A few dozen metres away, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and brushed his hair back to reveal his face, smiling brightly as he called out, “Xiao Qi? Yun’er? Junior Sister Lan too? Why are you… Oh?”
The journey back from the Outer Universe had been fraught with perils. Just by looking at his dishevelled appearance, one could tell that his trip had not been smooth-sailing by any means. The many hardships he encountered during the journey were difficult for others to understand. Now that he had finally returned to the Star Boundary after overcoming those challenges, he had not had the time to take in the situation around him yet. It could even be said that his landing here had not been planned. It was simply a coincidence.
Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense across his surroundings and immediately understood the current situation, as well as where this place was.
[How did the war spread to Star Soul Palace?] He frowned slightly. [Has the situation in the Star Boundary gotten so bad in the few years that I was away?]
“Yang Kai!” Xue Li’s expression turned cold as he stood mid-air, staring down at Yang Kai’s figure with his scarlet eyes. Murderous intent was bursting out of his body. All the Demon Saints held a deep grudge against Yang Kai. If it wasn’t for Yang Kai, Yu Ru Meng, Bei Li Mo, Chang Tian, and many others would not have betrayed the Demon Realm. If these three had been around, conquering the Star Boundary would have been as easy as crushing an ant under their boot. It was precisely because Yang Kai had convinced these three to defect that the battle to conquer the Star Boundary was still stuck in a deadlock. Although the final victory would eventually belong to the Demon Race, the time and energy lost in this war were irreparable.
The moment his murderous intent burst out of him, the auras of the two Dragon Clan Great Elders immediately locked onto him. Turning around, Xue Li gave both Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun a cold sneer. The defeat of Star Soul Palace was already written in stone. There was no way to turn the situation around even if Yang Kai appeared all of a sudden, not unless Yang Kai had the strength of a Great Emperor. Hence, he would neither act rashly nor annoy the two Dragon Clan Great Elders even though he was itching to kill Yang Kai on the spot.
Below them, Yang Kai raised his head to look at the sky. There was nothing in his field of vision, but his gaze seemed to be capable of leaping across space. Then, he smiled slightly in the direction of the three Demon Saints.
“Interesting. I can’t believe he can see us,” Huo Bo chuckled, his round body shaking uncontrollably from laughter.
Fu Yu’s fingers twitched slightly. She was wondering if she should just shoot Yang Kai to death on the spot. After giving it some thought though, she decided that she probably would not have any chance of shooting him with the two Dragon Clan Great Elders around.
“Uncle Yang, watch out!” Lin Yun’er suddenly shouted.
At the exact moment Yang Kai raised his head to look up into the sky, the Stone Demon Half-Saint standing nearby leapt out to attack. Raising his hand and bringing it down on Yang Kai from a distance, the Stone Demon sent a gigantic pitch-black palm hurtling from the sky.
Yang Kai seemed unaware of the danger and didn’t even move a single muscle. The palm then came slamming down in the next moment. Immediately after that, a loud explosion rang out and the place where Yang Kai had been standing was completely crushed to pieces.
Lin Yun’er looked dazed, Mo Xiao Qi screamed in horror, Lan Xun went pale… Despite knowing that Yang Kai was proficient in the Space Principles and could not be killed so easily, they could not help worrying until they could be sure of his safety.
Yang Kai’s figure reappeared again in the next instant, his tattered clothes looking absolutely ridiculous. Meanwhile, he had already rushed towards the Stone Demon at some point, his expression stern. Thrusting his spear in the direction of the Stone Demon Half-Saint, he shouted, “You shall be the first sacrifice to my spear!”
Ever since receiving the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai had been on the road all this time. Although he came across many thrilling and dangerous situations, his spear had yet to taste blood. A Half-Saint was good enough to become an offering!
The Stone Demon seemed stunned by Yang Kai’s bravery and ignorance, causing him to sneer and snap, “Don’t be so presumptuous!”
He then directly grabbed the head of the spear with his large hand. As a Stone Demon, his inherent defensive abilities were outstanding. Even other Half-Saints in the same Realm would not have an easy time breaking through his defences. While Yang Kai’s spear might appear powerful, a Demon King’s strength was simply not enough to be his opponent. It was only natural that he thought nothing of Yang Kai. He believed that as long as he grabbed the spear and dragged Yang Kai over to him, he could smash Yang Kai’s head in with a single punch.
The Demon Saints claimed that they would offer personal guidance to the person who managed to kill Yang Kai. With the Stone Demon’s current cultivation in addition to the teaching of the Demon Saints, it may not be impossible for him to become the new Demon Saint if the opportunity arose.
Unfortunately, all his beautiful hopes and dreams were shattered by the spear in front of him. The Stone Demon felt a stabbing pain in his palm the moment he grabbed the head of the spear. The defence he was so proud of tore apart like a piece of paper, completely useless in the face of this thrust. The spear pierced a hole through the palm of his hand and stabbed towards his head without losing any momentum.
Horrified by the sudden turn of events, the Stone Demon shouted incredulously, “How is this possible!?”
The defences that were strong enough to withstand the onslaught of even other Half-Saints like himself had been broken. He simply could not accept it. Although his mind was shaken, he was still a Half-Saint, so it was not so easy to kill him. Seeing the spear quickly looming larger in front of his eyes, he hurriedly dodged his head to the side and narrowly avoided this terrifying blow. At the same time, he swiftly retreated some distance away while the Azure Dragon Spear was pulled out of his palm, causing large amounts of blood to flow.
Yang Kai moved like a shadow, chasing after the Stone Demon relentlessly. His expression was as cold as ice as spear shadows enveloped his enemy.
Lan Xun and the others were dumbfounded by the sight. They knew that Yang Kai’s strength had always exceeded his own Realm; moreover, he constantly fought without regard for cultivation Realms and survived countless battles against many Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints in the past. Even so, how could he single-handedly push back a Stone Demon Half-Saint with nothing but his own strength?
The three young women were originally planning to step in to rescue Yang Kai; however, who could they dare to rashly intervene in this battle after seeing it play out? Stepping in at this moment would only disrupt Yang Kai’s momentum and, in the worst case, they might even ruin his chances of victory. Exchanging a look with each other, they immediately flew out to form a three-sided encirclement with the Stone Demon Half-Saint in the middle, ensuring he did not have a chance to escape.
A cold light flickered as the spear shadow flashed out. Every thrust of the spear frightened the Stone Demon Half-Saint. All other people could see were a series of dazzling spear techniques. In contrast, there was an Azure Dragon rushing at him with fangs bared and claws out in the Stone Demon’s vision. The Dragon Roars that penetrated into his Soul seemed to have a strange power of causing him to become anxious and uneasy. He was unable to defend himself against the enemy with all his strength as a result.
The swooshing sounds of the spear never stopped. Wound after wound was inflicted upon his tough body and he was soon covered in blood. The pain aroused his ferocious nature, causing his eyes to flash scarlet. Lifting his hand suddenly, he straightened his palm and pressed it down towards Yang Kai heavily. The speed of his movements was not fast. Rather, his movements seemed very slow, feeling as if there was an invisible force preventing him from moving.
As the Stone Demon’s palm came closer, Yang Kai’s expression changed. He pulled the spear back in defence, using the Azure Dragon Spear to create a wall of illusory phantoms that formed a solid defence that stood in front of him. There was a series of clanking sounds and a shower of sparks erupted. Even though there were no weapons that came attacking in his direction, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out anyway.
All of a sudden, the spear shadows that covered the sky disappeared and Yang Kai held his spear horizontally in front of his chest. Following that, a force of incomparable power rushed at him with the approach of the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s palm. He subsequently looked down only to see his chest sinking downward slightly.
“Die!” The Stone Demon Half-Saint shouted angrily as he forcefully pressed his outstretched palm down towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of Golden Blood while at the same time, his body was sent flying backwards.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Lan Xun was shocked and quickly flicked her wrist to send a green vine out from her sleeve to pull Yang Kai back towards her after he was sent flying. No matter how tough his body, his internal organs were churning after being struck by a Half-Saint. If any other Emperor Realm Master had been standing in his shoes, they would have died after taking such an attack. Yang Kai on the contrary only coughed up some blood. His life was not in danger; he was simply a little winded.
Leaning against Lan Xun’s body, Yang Kai felt something soft touching him. Her face flushed slightly in response. She had known him for many years by now and the relationship between them was also not too bad; even so, they had never been in such intimate contact before. More so since everybody’s eyes were on them on this battlefield. Lan Xun couldn’t help but feel a tormenting sense of embarrassment. Be that as it may, the concern in her heart trumped over everything else so she pushed down her shame and anxiously asked, “Are you alright, Senior Brother?”
“I won’t die,” He turned his head to the side and spat out another mouthful of blood. After stabilising himself, he glanced at the Stone Demon Half-Saint with a savage grin.
After the Stone Demon Half-Saint completed his attack, he involuntarily revealed a sense of lingering fear when he recalled Yang Kai’s powerful barrage of attacks just now. [Even from an enemy’s standpoint, I have to admit that this guy is quite strong. He is only a High-Rank Demon King, but he already has so much power. What if he becomes a Half-Saint? How will the other Half-Saints survive!?]
Thinking so, he became more and more determined to kill Yang Kai. Taking a step forward, he coldly snorted and said, “Did you really think you can do anything you want just because you have a little bit of skill? You had that slut Yu Ru Meng protecting you back in the Demon Realm, but now that she is gone, I wonder who will save you now!? Kneel down and beg for mercy, and this King might just let you live!”
Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear with one arm and pointed it at the Stone Demon Half-Saint, laughing ferociously as he shouted, “I see. You will be the first to die today!”
“Shameless boasting!” The Stone Demon Half-Saint’s expression was cold and severe, but a moment later, his expression suddenly changed. Looking down at his palm in horror, his eyes trembled violently.
He was a Stone Demon; thus, he was born with extremely strong defensive abilities. Having strong defensive abilities also meant that he would have strong restorative abilities. Light injuries were nothing to him which was why he had not been bothered even though he was injured by Yang Kai several times just now. They were all just flesh wounds that would heal in the time it took for him to say a few words; however, he was only just discovering to his horror that his injuries showed no signs of healing. Not only was the wound not healing, but they were also showing signs of getting worse!
There was a strange force permeating the bloody holes that formed when Yang Kai’s spear cut him. That energy was constantly corroding the flesh surrounding the wounds. Even the restorative abilities that he was so proud of could not do anything against this corrosion and as the energy continued to eat away at his flesh, his wounds were slowly expanding.
Turning pale with fright, he hurriedly tried to use his Demon Qi to suppress this strange energy, but it failed to have any positive effect. On the contrary, his Demon Qi seemed to serve as nutrients for that inexplicable energy. The more he tried to fight it, the stronger the energy became and the faster the speed of corrosion, causing him to cry out, “What is this!? What the Hell is this!?”
“The dead don’t need to know!”
As a High-Rank Demon King, it should have been impossible for Yang Kai to perform such a feat. He did not have such abilities in the past either. It was just that he had spent several dozen years in intensive cultivation on the ancient battlefield within the Small Sealed World. During that time, he absorbed the Martial Truth of Great Demon God and Flowing Time Great Emperor. He also caught a glimpse into the secrets behind World Force. While these several dozen years of intensive cultivation had not led to a breakthrough in his cultivation, the benefits he obtained from his efforts were impressive.
Borrowing the strength of his predecessors, Yang Kai now had his own Martial Truth. This Martial Truth was born from the distilled essence of the Great Demon God and Flowing Time Great Emperor’s lifetime of cultivation, making it profound and unparalleled. Even a Demon Race Half-Saint could not hope to disperse this Martial Truth, so how could this Stone Demon Half-Saint recover from his wounds?
“I told you I would sacrifice you to my spear. I’m a man who always means what he says!” When the last word left Yang Kai’s mouth, he lunged forward. With a flick of his spear, he stabbed at the Stone Demon’s chest.
No matter how many Demon Hearts this Stone Demon had tempered, there would definitely be one in his chest; therefore, Yang Kai aimed for that one first.
At the same time that Yang Kai lunged forward, Mo Xiao Qi harnessed the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. The Stone Demon’s expression froze slightly amidst the flickering lights and it was clear that his consciousness was being disturbed. However, it only lasted for a moment before he broke free of the illusions. While the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly was great, the gap between Mo Xiao Qi and the Half-Saint’s cultivation was simply too large, so the effect that it could produce was extremely limited.
Nevertheless, that one moment was enough. Lin Yun’er came falling out of the sky. Nobody knew when she made her move, but she had grasped the timing just right. The Half-Saint was caught off guard when she fell straight down headfirst and grabbed him by the shoulders with her two small hands.
Even though her body looked small and delicate, it felt heavier than a mountain at this moment. When she grabbed his shoulders with both hands, the Stone Demon’s body slumped slightly, his knees bent, and he nearly fell to the ground from the impact. The ground where he stood erupted with a muffled explosion as it cracked open.
It was at that moment Yang Kai arrived with his spear, a frozen expression on his face.
The Stone Demon wanted to avoid the attack, but how could he avoid it in time? There was a sharp stabbing sound as the spear pierced through his chest as Yang Kai’s Demon Qi surged and he shouted, “Die!”
*Hong…*
The Stone Demon Half-Saint staggered back as a terrifying wave of Demon Qi erupted from his body. Lin Yun’er let out a scream of surprise and was sent flying into the air. Fortunately, a green vine shot out suddenly and wrapped around her to bring her back. Lan Xun had taken action just in time.
Lin Yun’er simply nodded in acknowledgement as there was no need to say thanks. Over the past few days, the three young women had been fighting together in various deadly situations and had long since forged a special friendship among themselves.
When they looked back up, they saw a gaping hole appearing in the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s chest. They could see through his body from the front to the back as his organs squirmed within the bloody cavity.
How could any ordinary person survive such a severe injury? However, as long as the Demon Heart remained, the Demon Race would not die. This Stone Demon Half-Saint clearly had more than one Demon Heart, but be that as it may, he currently did not have the majesty of a Half-Saint. For the first time, an expression of fear surfaced on his angular face that looked like it was carved out of stone. He was staring at Yang Kai as though he had seen a ghost while involuntarily backing away from him.
When Yang Kai turned his cold gaze in the Stone Demon’s direction, the Stone Demon turned around and fled to the rear.
It was one thing if Yang Kai only wielded the combat prowess that he was currently showing. The Stone Demon might still stand a fighting chance if that were the case. Even if he suffered terrible losses as a result, Yang Kai would not fare any better either. It was just that the strange power surrounding his wounds terrified him greatly. He had no way of removing or suppressing that power. Death seemed like the only ending left for him once he was touched by that power.
That strange power completely shattered his confidence to battle Yang Kai. He had only taken a few steps in his attempt to flee when a large Dragon came swooping down on him from the front. It opened its mouth wide and bit down on him.
He had seen this scene many times before, so he knew that it was not a Dragon in front of him, it was simply an effect from Yang Kai’s attack which affected his mind and to experience these illusions.
[Yang Kai is proficient in the Dao of Space. Can I really manage to escape from…] Before he could finish his thought, he felt a buzzing sound in his head. It felt like he was being hit by a large sledgehammer. After that, his thoughts sank into the abyss as his surroundings went dark…
“He… really killed him.” Lan Xun’s small mouth fell open slightly. Her beautiful eyes were gleaming with a strange light as she stared blankly at Yang Kai, who had stabbed the Stone Demon through the head with the spear he was holding in one hand. The glory of that moment was simply awe-inspiring.
“We won! We won!” Lin Yun’er jumped up and down, cheering ecstatically. She, Lan Xun, and Mo Xiao Qi had been battling the Stone Demon Half-Saint for quite some time now and they had barely survived countless dangerous situations during that time. In the end, they had relied on the power of various exotic treasures to hold back the Half-Saint. In contrast, Yang Kai swiftly ended this Half-Saint with his spear after no more than a stick of incense worth of time after he appeared.
Lin Yun’er did not think much about the difference in strength between herself and Yang Kai, she was only focused on the fact that everybody had killed the Half-Saint together, so she was absolutely elated by the win.
The Stone Demon Half-Saint had been stabbed in the head, so even if he had other Demon Hearts in his body, it would take some time before he could move again. Hence, Yang Kai naturally took advantage of this opportunity to kill him for good. He stabbed the Stone Demon a few more times with the Azure Dragon Spear, causing half of the Stone Demon’s body to explode into dust. There was no way the Stone Demon could survive now. He was as dead as dead could be.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed after experiencing the growth in his strength. If he had this strength back at the Flowing Time Temple, the battle with Wind Lord would not have been so arduous. With the help of the Azure Dragon Spear and the Martial Truth that formed from his enlightenment, he could clearly sense that the current version of himself stood a fighting chance against Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors. It was no longer like before where he had to consider his escape options above all else whenever he randomly encountered a Half-Saint or a Pseudo-Great Emperor.
The noise on the battlefield seemed to fall silent at that moment. The battle at Star Soul Palace had lasted for several days, but it was the first time a Master in the Half-Saint Realm had fallen! It was a chaotic mess inside Star Soul Palace, but the sudden disappearance of a Half-Saint’s aura was still perceived by many people. Besides, the anomaly that occurred when Yang Kai fell out of the sky previously had already drawn a lot of attention. Many of the Masters among the Human Race and the Demon Race were still keeping note of this area even while battling the enemies in front of them.
Needless to say, the scene where Yang Kai had murdered the Stone Demon was witnessed by many people. The morale among the Human Race was boosted in an instant while the faces of many Demon Race Masters turned ashen. The role a Half-Saint played on a battlefield, even one with tens of millions of soldiers fighting, was extremely terrifying; therefore, the loss of one such Half-Saint was very likely to change the entire course of the battlefield.
Most of the Half-Saints were cursing the Stone Demon in their hearts for being useless. How could he die just like that at Yang Kai’s hands? How did he even manage to cultivate this far?
Having said that, if one were to disregard the advantage of numbers, it was undeniable that the overall strength of the Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary was slightly stronger than that of the Demon Realm’s Half-Saints. This difference stemmed from the Myriad Demon Pills that were unique to the Demon Race.
The Demon Race Half-Saints had the habit of consuming Myriad Demon Pills when cultivating while on the other hand, the Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary did not have such a unique resource. They could not rely on the help of auxiliary supplements, so they could only increase their own strength one step at a time. It was only natural that their foundations and the mastery of their strength was superior to Half-Saints.
The expressions of all three Demon Saints, who were standing in mid-air, were very cold and stern. Even Huo Bo, who usually had a smiling expression, was frowning at this moment. There was no need to mention Fu Yu and Xue Li. The frequency of the former rubbing her fingers together had increased significantly. On the other hand, the latter was clenching his fists tightly.
If that Stone Demon Half-Saint had died at the hands of a Pseudo-Great Emperor, then there would have been nothing to say. Who could blame him if he died because his strength lost to an equal opponent? But, the one to kill him just had to be Yang Kai. The current situation felt like a slap to the face for the three Demon Saints who had been monitoring the battlefield, especially since the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan were still present.
Compared to the three Demon Saints, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun also looked extremely shocked. They had some understanding of Yang Kai’s ability, but they were certain he had never been this strong before. Did he come across some sort of special opportunity during the three years he spent in the Demon Realm? How else could he show such a great increase in strength?
What bothered the two Dragon Clan Elders the most was the Azure Dragon Spear. They had been attracted by the Dragon Aura when Yang Kai first appeared, and after watching for some time, they became increasingly aware of how extraordinary the Azure Dragon Spear was. Other people might not be able to tell clearly, but how could they fail to notice when they were also a part of the Dragon Clan? The Azure Dragon Spear was actually refined from a Dragon’s remains; moreover, that Dragon was definitely more powerful than the both of them when it was still alive.
Which generation did the remains of that Senior belong to? Furthermore, who refined a weapon like this?
If it were anybody else wielding the Azure Dragon Spear, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun would not have tolerated it. They would not allow the remains of a member of the Dragon Clan to be desecrated even after death; however, there was nothing they could do if Yang Kai was the current owner of this spear. Their hands were tied. Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source, a power that even they could only look up to. If Yang Kai could develop his power to the maximum, the likes of a Demon Saint would be nothing to him. It was a pity that he had too little time to grow. The growth of a member of the Dragon Clan required a long, long time after all.
Soon, the two Dragon Clan Elders calmed down and began paying closer attention to the movements of the three Demon Saints. A variable like Yang Kai had suddenly appeared on the battlefield; in addition, he had taken the lead in killing a Demon Race Half-Saint. Who could say when Xue Li and the others might suddenly intervene in the battle? Therefore, they had to be prepared at all times.
Fortunately, Xue Li and the others had their own reservations too. They were unwilling to escalate the war any further. Even though their expressions were unkind and their murderous intent leaked out, they had no plan to get rid of Yang Kai themselves.
“Take care of yourselves!” Yang Kai shouted to Lan Xun and the others on the battlefield before raising his hand. Following that, a shrill neigh rang out as Zhui Feng appeared.
Yang Kai immediately swung himself onto the horse and pointed his spear towards the place where the Demon Race was gathered. Zhui Feng snorted, spraying a breath of hot air. Then, he charged forward with flames erupting from his hooves. A golden beam of light flashed by and nobody could see Yang Kai’s figure, but the Demons collapsed like straw everywhere the golden light passed.
Yang Kai travelled from one Spirit Peak to the next in a matter of breaths, leaving a road of corpses in his wake. By the time Zhui Feng reappeared, the Demons that had been sent flying just now exploded into mist in mid-air, leaving no bones behind.
On the other hand, Li Wu Yi was fighting two Half-Saints by himself on this particular mountain peak. Of these two Half-Saints, one was an elusive Shadow Demon and the other was a Blood Demon. The Blood Demon had transformed into a boundless Blood Sea, which enveloped Li Wu Yi in order to give the Shadow Demon a chance to kill him.
Yang Kai had the power to kill a Half-Saint, so the moment he arrived at this place, the boundless Blood Sea involuntarily formed a gap to let him pass. It might be that the Blood Demon did not want to confront Yang Kai directly, or it could be that he wanted to trap Yang Kai inside the Blood Sea. The second option was the more plausible reason.
Li Wu Yi might be known as the strongest beneath the Great Emperors, but his strength was still lacking in a two-on-one battle. He could protect himself, but it was difficult for him to kill his enemy.
When the two met, Li Wu Yi nodded lightly at Yang Kai, “You’re back.”
“En!” Yang Kai grinned, resting the Azure Dragon Spear on his shoulder as he looked around, “Do you have a plan?”
“We can’t hold on any longer. We have no choice but to retreat to conserve as much strength as possible.” Li Wu Yi sighed.
It wasn’t that the 14 armies of the Star Boundary were no match for the Demon Race. They were both about the same in terms of numbers and strength, so the battle would end with both sides suffering heavy casualties at most. Rather, the issue was that the Demon Land was rapidly encroaching upon Star Soul Palace. Star Soul Palace would be reduced to become part of the Demon Land in just a few more days, and once that happened, the Demon Race army would surely experience a significant increase in strength. In contrast, the Human Race armies would experience a great limitation on their strength. This battle would not end well.
Yang Kai said, “I understand. In that case, it’s better to issue the command early. Where there is life, there is hope.”
“En, lend me a hand!” Li Wu Yi took a step forward. Despite being trapped within the Blood Sea, he had felt the battle between Yang Kai and the Stone Demon Half-Saint just now, so he knew that Yang Kai was no longer the same person from three years ago and there was no need to worry about the latter’s safety.
Yang Kai grinned, “Good!”
Turning to Zhui Feng, Yang Kai pointed his Azure Dragon Spear and shouted, “Kill!”
Zhui Feng charged into the Blood Sea like a flash of lightning. This time around, the Blood Sea did not open up a path for them. The Blood Demon hiding inside the Blood Sea wished for nothing more than Yang Kai voluntarily walking into the trap, so how could he allow Yang Kai to leave so easily? Entering the Blood Sea was equivalent to walking right into his territory, so Yang Kai’s life was currently in his hands.
Yang Kai whirled round and round like a Dragon inside the Blood Sea, stirring up the Blood Sea to the point where it looked like it was boiling. Even so, he was unable to grasp a trace of the Blood Demon’s true whereabouts. Oftentimes, the Blood Demon would vanish without a trace the moment Yang Kai caught a glance of him. Coldly snorting, Yang Kai lifted the Azure Dragon Spear in one hand before he spread open his free palm and pressed down on the void with a sneer, “Devour it!”
Space Principles fluctuated wildly as a vortex appeared at the spot where his palm struck. Following that, the blood waters involuntarily poured into the vortex and disappeared in large waves.
The expression of the Blood Demon, who was hiding within the Blood Sea, turned cold. The blood waters surrounding Yang Kai became extremely viscous with a flash of his thoughts while at the same time, a giant, ferocious beast suddenly condensed in front of Yang Kai and swooped down to bite him. That wasn’t all however as a peculiar figure also appeared behind him, followed by a glint of cold light stabbing directly at his heart. The Shadow Demon hiding in the Blood Sea had made his move!
Yang Kai felt a chill running up his spine as all the hair on his body stood on end. He could sense the attack of the Shadow Demon, but he ignored it and simply stabbed his spear into the beast in front of him.
Just as the Shadow Demon was about to succeed in his assassination, Li Wu Yi suddenly appeared. His cold eyes stared indifferently at the Shadow Demon who had just revealed himself; then, he raised his palm and struck the Shadow Demon.
The black mist covering the Shadow Demon’s face subconsciously wavered slightly, indicating the emotional fluctuations that he was experiencing inside. If he pressed forward, he would succeed in heavily wounding Yang Kai; however, he would end up in even worse condition.
In the end, his life was more important, so the Shadow Demon Half-Saint pulled back at the last moment to counter Li Wu Yi’s attack. Afterward, his figure quickly dissolved as though he was planning to go back into hiding once again.
“Since you’re already here, why not stay for a while?” Li Wu Yi smiled slightly as Space Principles around him surged violently to shroud the Shadow Demon.
The Shadow Demon’s body that had gradually faded away solidified once more without his consent and the two immediately began exchanging a series of fierce blows.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai stabbed his spear into the giant beast before turning his head and looking to the side, “Found you!”
The Blood Demon had been hiding inside the Blood Sea with his aura completely concealed, so Yang Kai was unable to confirm the opponent’s position so long as they did not make a move. On the contrary, there would be traces that could be used to track the Blood Demon’s whereabouts if he attacked.
With Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, which surpassed that of a Half-Saint’s, it was not difficult for him to lock on to that fleeting aura. Leaping off from where he sat on top of Zhui Feng, Yang Kai stabbed at a certain spot in the Blood Sea. A figure suddenly appeared in the originally empty spot that looked like it was filled with blood waters. It was the Blood Demon who had been hiding in the Blood Sea all along, his scarlet eyes filled with astonishment.
The Blood Demon never imagined that Yang Kai could locate his whereabouts with such a low cultivation. Having learned from the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s mistakes, however, he clearly noticed that the Azure Dragon Spear that Yang Kai wielded was very powerful. How could he easily allow himself to be injured by that weapon? Even though he had not taken a single step, the Blood Demon’s figure still retreated in a strange manner.
Yang Kai grinned widely and shouted, “Extend!”
Before the Blood Demon realised what was going on, the Azure Dragon Spear suddenly grew in length and stabbed towards his chest at a high speed. He was absolutely shocked, but it was too late for him to defend against the attack in his state of unpreparedness. With no other choice, he lifted a hand to summon a hook-like Demon Artifact. Hooking one end with the Demon Artifact, he pulled the spear to one side. Although his response was not bad, he was still scratched by the Azure Dragon Spear and a wound opened up on his arm.
An injury like this was practically negligible under normal circumstances, but Yang Kai grinned wickedly at the Blood Demon and taunted, “You’re already dead.”
The Blood Demon felt uneasy, but could not pinpoint the reason behind that uneasiness. With no other choice, he activated the Demon Artifact in his hands to fight Yang Kai. He refused to be as careless as the Stone Demon. The Stone Demon had placed himself at an immediate disadvantage by having his palm pierced through by Yang Kai’s spear. For that reason, the Blood Demon was defending almost exclusively. It seemed like he was not aiming to achieve a clean victory; rather, he was trying to avoid making mistakes. His behaviour made Yang Kai extremely annoyed.
If somebody clueless of the current situation saw this battle, they would have mistakenly thought that Yang Kai was the Half-Saint while the opponent was a High-Rank Demon King instead. [His cultivation is clearly higher than mine, but he is fighting so cautiously. A person like this is indeed difficult to kill.]
There was a series of clashing sounds, but aside from the initial wound Yang Kai managed to inflict, he failed to cause any further damage to the Blood Demon. With his current strength, he was not inferior to any Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, nevertheless, it was still very difficult for him to kill a Half-Saint who was taking a fully defensive stance in battle. It was impossible unless the opponent made a critical mistake.
Just as Yang Kai was debating taking a blow in order to land one on his opponent, the Blood Demon’s expression changed. He pushed Yang Kai back with a vicious attack before looking down at his arm. It was only a glance, but that was enough for the Half-Saint’s expression to change greatly.
Previously, the Blood Demon Half-Saint had been injured by Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear; however, it had been nothing more than a small scratch. Forget a Half-Saint, it was an insignificant injury even for an ordinary mortal. Hence, the Blood Demon had not paid much attention to this scratch. It wasn’t until after he fought Yang Kai for a while that he realised that something was wrong with the wound.
“It’s too late for you to realise now,” Yang Kai grinned fiercely. Taking advantage of his opponent’s unpreparedness as he thrust at the other party’s chest with his spear.
The Blood Demon was very restless. With the precedent, he did not dare to block the spear directly. Not only did he not dare to block, but his resolve to continue fighting had also weakened. He only wanted to find a place to treat his wound as soon as possible. He had the feeling that if he did not treat his wound, it would become very troublesome later.
For that reason, he shifted his body and spun around, dodging repeatedly when faced with this spear containing the power of a Dragon. The boundless Blood Sea began to swirl in response and converge together quickly. A large part of the Blood Sea disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the Blood Demon escaped along with it.
Yang Kai’s spear stabbed into empty space, and although he was a little annoyed, he was not too disappointed. It was an unexpected joy for him to kill a Half-Saint with the help of Lan Xun and the others just now; how could he hope to kill another one?
On the other hand, the Shadow Demon’s situation became a little awkward the moment the Blood Demon escaped. He had originally concealed himself in the Blood Sea and borrowed its power to cause trouble for Li Wu Yi. Now that the Blood Sea was gone, he immediately fell into a disadvantageous situation in his one-on-one battle.
He saw Yang Kai, who was now unoccupied, rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye, and knew that he would not be able to leave if he did not leave now. The moment that thought crossed his mind, the idea to retreat bloomed in him and all his fighting spirit vanished as a result.
Just as the Shadow Demon was about to follow the Blood Demon’s footsteps and make his escape, Yang Kai soared into the sky to intercept him. The Azure Dragon Spear disappeared in a flash of light as Yang Kai stowed it and began forming hand seals. Then, he struck out his palm in the direction of the Shadow Demon with a stern expression and murmured a chant, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream.”
Time seemed to stop flowing; likewise, all thoughts came to a stop at this moment. The entire world receded in all directions like a tidal wave and the only thing left in the eyes of the world was Yang Kai’s palm strike.
If it were Yang Kai from the past, the Time Flies Seal he cast might not have been so powerful, but now he had personally witnessed the majestic appearance of Flowing Time Great Emperor casting this Divine Ability countless times on the ancient battlefield. Although Yang Kai did not dare to say that he had completely comprehended the essence of this Divine Ability, it was still incomparable to what he could execute in the past.
By the time the Shadow Demon returned to his senses, he discovered that his chest had sunken inward. Li Wu Yi was pressing a hand against his chest with an unfeeling expression and the might of the Space Principles was running rampant inside his body. He had failed to notice Li Wu Yi’s attack during that moment of distraction; hence, he looked horrified as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yang Kai had already summoned the Azure Dragon Spear once more. A Dragon Roar reverberated across the Heavens as he slashed out with the spear. The Dragon Fang that was the head of the spear penetrated the Shadow Demon’s body and there was a loud noise as it exploded into a cloud of black fog before dissipating into the surroundings.
Li Wu Yi frowned. He lifted a finger and pointed at several spots in his surroundings a few times before a muffled groan came from the void, followed only by complete silence immediately after that.
Lowering his arm, Li Wu Yi gave a small sigh, “He escaped in the end.”
There were a few wonderful opportunities after he and Yang Kai joined forces; unfortunately, all their efforts ended in vain. It wasn’t because his or Yang Kai’s strength was lacking, it was simply too difficult to kill a person once their cultivation reached the Half-Saint Realm. It was precisely because of this reason that no Half-Saint had died previously even though the Human Race and the Demon Race had been fighting here for several days now. That was also why Yang Kai’s act of killing the Stone Demon Half-Saint just now had caused such a commotion.
The Shadow Demons were naturally talented in escaping and concealing themselves, so it was not surprising that he managed to escape alive during such a critical moment. If it had been a Stone Demon, Strength Demon, Bone Demon, or a Demon from some other Clan lacking in stealth, they might have ended up dying in this place.
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s a pity indeed.” He changed the topic of conversation, “But, that guy is heavily injured. It’s impossible for him to heal unless he recuperates for a year or more.”
Li Wu Yi nodded and looked around him, “Prepare to evacuate.”
“Here, take these. The others might have use for them.” Yang Kai brought out many World Beads and handed them to Li Wu Yi.
Li Wu Yi looked overjoyed at the sight and nodded happily, “You really came back just in time.”
He had been a little worried at first; after all, 14 armies of the Star Boundary were gathered here. There were simply too many people, so they would surely incur great casualties even though they were withdrawing from battle. Be that as it may, they could keep those losses to the minimum with the help of these World Beads.
The flag of the First Army fluttered as the orders were passed down to the people. The 14 armies of the Star Boundary swiftly retreated in unison and gathered in a mountain valley within Star Soul Palace, and despite their staggering numbers, their movements were orderly.
Upon seeing this, the Demon Race army pursued relentlessly. The confrontation became even more intense among the vanguard compared to the previous days. Without the suppression of the Star Boundary army, the speed of the Demon Land’s expansion seemed to accelerate significantly and the boundaries of Star Soul Palace were rapidly eroded.
…..
Three graceful figures stood on one of the Spirit Peaks in a triangular formation. They were completely surrounded by the Demon Race army and numerous hostile gazes were fixed upon them, a strange light glinting in those eyes from time to time.
After several consecutive days of fighting, these three young women were at their limit. Even though they came from extraordinary backgrounds with strong heritages, they were having a hard time holding on. Their Emperor Qi had been exhausted countless times, and they were completely relying on pills now to replenish their energy.
In order to create an opportunity for their companions to evacuate, these three had been holding back enemies that outnumbered them by more than a hundred times. At this moment, they were alone and helpless, like a tiny reef in the middle of a black tide that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Green vines burst out of the ground, swaying back and forth like Flood Dragons, slaughtering anyone who carelessly approached. With this threat in place, the surrounding Demons did not dare to act rashly as they were prepared to wait for a Half-Saint to come and deal with the situation.
“Princess, I’m here to help you!” A shout rang out as a man appeared out of nowhere. The longsword in his hand glinted with a cold light, cutting down countless Demons. His originally handsome appearance had been reduced to a mess and he was covered in uncountable wounds, fresh blood blurring his eyes and his body. His complexion was as pale as a sheet and he was relying solely on willpower to remain standing.
One of the three girls in front of him was somebody he had grown up with all his life. He had been determined to marry her, watch over her, take care of her, and protect her from harm ever since he was a child. Unfortunately, this battle had forcefully woken him from his dream. Without him realising, the gap between them had grown so large that when she stood on the battlefield, he was unable to stand beside her at all. Hence, the only thing he could do for her was to do his best to slaughter the Demons around her. Now that he finally had the chance to shine, he naturally spared no effort to rush over.
“Don’t come over, Xiao Chen!” Lan Xun shouted sharply when she turned around and saw Xiao Chen’s figure stumbling toward her.
A smile appeared on Xiao Chen’s pale face, [Look at her anxious expression. It turns out she still cares for me.]
In his distraction, his already precarious situation became more and more critical. He saw a fire-breathing skeleton trying to bite him, but he didn’t even have the strength to dodge anymore. His expression changed drastically as he realized, [My destined end has come…]
“Hah!” Lan Xun shouted and pointed her hand in Xiao Chen’s direction. The ground churned like there was an Earth Dragon tumbling about and a green vine shot straight up from under his feet. The moment the green vine broke through the ground, it wrapped around the skeleton and shattered its bones.
However, this momentary delay made the three young women’s situation become more dangerous. Without the protection of the World Pagoda, the defence line they had barely been maintaining collapsed. More than a dozen Demon Kings in their surroundings led hundreds of other Demons towards them with savage grins.
“Xiao Qi! Yun’er!” Lan Xun turned around and glanced at her companions beside her, a trace of guilt in her eyes, [It’s my fault…]
Mo Xiao Qi smiled and shook her head, “Don’t mind it. We just need to kill our way out, right?”
Lin Yun’er piped up naïvely, “En, Uncle Yang will come and save us.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, everything in their surroundings seemed to become still as the Demons charging at them stopped in mid-air. Lan Xun and the others stared in astonishment before a cold light flashed before them and a tall figure appeared.
There was a series of swooshing sounds, following which the frozen world resumed moving again. More than a dozen Demon Kings and hundreds of other Demons exploded all of a sudden. Hundreds of bloody flowers bloomed in the sky in front of them. It was a poignant and beautiful sight.
“Look! I told you Uncle Yang would come!” Lin Yun’er excitedly glanced at Yang Kai, who had appeared out of nowhere, with a look that seemed to say she had expected this.
Meanwhile, Lan Xun and Mo Xiao Qi were slightly in shock.
Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear in one hand and carried Xiao Chen by the collar in the other. Glancing at the three young women, he nodded gently and called out, “It’s time to go.”
Afterwards, Yang Kai turned to the side and gave a whistle. With a flash of golden light, Zhui Feng immediately galloped in this direction from a distance and appeared before Yang Kai almost instantly. Raising his front hooves, he gave a loud whinny.
“Get on!” Yang Kai called out.
Lan Xun and Mo Xiao Qi were still in a daze, but Lin Yun’er had already swung herself up on Zhui Feng’s back. Then, she bent down and pulled her companions up. Although there were three of them, Zhui Feng was an ancient beast with a tall stature, so it was not crowded riding him.
“Brother Xiao, do you still have the strength to move?” Yang Kai asked as he placed Xiao Chen down.
Xiao Chen stared at Yang Kai blankly before nodding in response.
“Good, then rendezvous with everyone else.” Yang Kai stretched out a hand and pointed them in a certain direction.
“What about you, Senior Brother?” Lan Xun lowered her head and asked from where she sat on Zhui Feng’s back.
“I haven’t had enough yet. I’m going to let loose for a bit,” Yang Kai grinned at her before slapping Zhui Feng’s bottom, sending him immediately into a gallop as swift as lightning.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai looked at Xiao Chen, who was still standing still without moving, and gave a small sigh. He could tell that Xiao Chen was completely exhausted and was just about to place him into the Small Sealed World for safe keeping when he saw Zhui Feng turning back. Zhui Feng snorted at Xiao Chen in dissatisfaction as if scolding the latter for not keeping up. He subsequently opened his mouth, gripped Xiao Chen’s collar with his teeth, and hoisted him up before galloping back towards the gathering point again.
The surrounding scenery passed by in a flash, and the sound of killing faded into the distance. Xiao Chen was indifferent despite being held in Zhui Feng’s mouth. His eyes seemed a little dull and his hands were spread out before him as he stared forward blankly.
He had always thought of himself as the favoured son of the Heavens, and in fact, he wasn’t wrong. He was born into a hegemon Sect like Star Soul Palace and his father, Xiao Yu Yang, was a powerful and respected Elder. He had cultivated in an extremely conducive environment with nearly unlimited resources since childhood; allowing him to become one of the representatives of the Southern Territory’s younger generation.
Unfortunately, his glory only lasted until he became an Emperor Realm Master…
When the Shattered Star Sea opened, the best among the younger generation of the Star Boundary broke through into the Emperor Realm in quick succession. Xiao Chen was no exception. Up until then, he firmly believed that his glory was bound to be part of the Star Boundary’s future; however, it would now seem that his short burst of brilliance in his youth was the last of his glory, akin to the afterglow of a sunset.
To date, the people among the younger generation with relations to the Great Emperors had all advanced into the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Take Yao Si, Lin Yun’er, Mo Xiao Qi, Li Shi Qing, and Gao Zhan for example. In particular, Lan Xun was even more incredible. After she refined the World Pagoda, she rose to become a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in one fell swoop.
On the other hand, he was still stuck in the First-Order Emperor Realm, unable to advance.
It would have been fine if that were all. These people had unusual relationships with the Great Emperors after all. They were either the children or Disciples of Great Emperors, so it wasn’t a big deal if their cultivation progressed faster than his. His talent was still no less than anybody else’s, the only thing he lacked was the unique privileges that they had. It only served to inspire him to strive harder to catch up instead.
But, what about Yang Kai? He had no connection with any of the Great Emperors whatsoever. His cultivation had initially been much lower than Xiao Chen’s when they first met each other, but he was now at a level where Xiao Chen had to look up to him.
Xiao Chen couldn’t get close to Lan Xun despite trying his best; rather, he even caused her to become distracted and forced her to protect him instead. On the contrary, Yang Kai had easily slaughtered all the enemies around them.
Xiao Chen looked down at his hands, feeling extremely powerless for the first time. He longed for power. He wanted to become much stronger…
…..
The Star Boundary army evacuated to the mountain valley in an orderly manner and World Beads had long been distributed. Many Division Commanders placed their subordinates who had withdrawn to the mountain valley into World Beads in a rapid fashion.
Be that as it may, how could the Demon Race just sit back and watch as the Star Boundary army withdrew from battle? Countless Demons swarmed towards the mountain valley to keep the millions of the Star Boundary cultivators locked down.
Many Emperor Realm Masters were desperately defending the mouth of the mountain valley to buy more preparation time for the army behind them. Placing people into World Beads was not a simple feat and required the consumption of copious amounts of Spiritual Energy. At this moment, all the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints under the Star Boundary’s banner were fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm so that these Demon Race Masters could not interfere with what was happening within the mountain valley. Therefore, the heavy burden of evacuating the Star Boundary army rested on the shoulders of the many Emperor Realm Masters.
It didn’t matter if it was Wen Zi Shan, Gao Xue Ting, Qiu Ran, Chen Qian, Ma Qing, Chen Wen Hao, or Wu Chang. Regardless of whether the names of the Emperor Realm Masters were famous or obscure, all of them were using their bodies to form an iron-clad defensive wall at the mouth of the mountain valley to prevent the invasion of the Demon Race army.
Fortunately, they had the advantage of topography on their side. Not many of the Demon Race army could swarm around them at one time; otherwise, they would not have been able to hold out against the millions of bloodthirsty Demons that swarmed towards them all at once.
Nevertheless, the situation was extremely precarious. None of the Emperor Realm Masters had much strength left after so many days of intense battle. If they were not careful, even a Demon Great General or Demon General would be able to kill them now.
They would incur injuries from time to time, but there was no time for them to treat the wounds. Despite the blood flowing freely from their wounds, they could only push through with gritted teeth. The lights coming from many Secret Techniques and artifacts flashed constantly, illuminating the area in front of the mountain valley with many blinding flashes of colour.
Amidst all the sounds of fighting, Zhui Feng went on a rampage. He did not know how many times he successfully cut off the Demon Race army’s violent attacks, but it was all thanks to him that Wen Zi Shan and the others managed to persist up until this point.
In a place without the interference of a Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, Zhui Feng was an invincible existence. He simply charged back and forth from the mouth of the mountain valley to the back of the Demon Race army, repeating the same process over and over again. Every trip he made, he left countless Demon corpses in his wake. Killing them excited him greatly, so the sounds of his neighing never paused for a breath. The blood of the Demon Race flowed as thick as mud across the ground, and whenever Zhui Feng’s flaming hooves trod, red fumes evaporated, created a disgusting and nauseating stench.
Unfortunately, there was only one Zhui Feng, and as more and more of the soldiers were placed into the World Beads and sent away via the Space Array in the mountain valley, the people among the Star Boundary army who could stand up against the enemy dwindled.
“Little Xue Ting, take our people and leave!” Wen Zi Shan turned to shout at Gao Xue Ting while swinging his sword and clearing a huge area in front of him.
“I’m not leaving!” Gao Xue Ting stood firmly beside him, the Radiant Sun Mirror hanging high above her head. A scorching ray of light shot out from the mirror, burning with a crackling sound as it landed on the bodies of the Demon Race.
Wen Zi Zhan was furious and roared, “You’ve always been disobedient since you were a child, and you’ve only gotten worse as an adult! Will you just listen obediently for once!?”
She didn’t even look at him. She simply pale-facedly pushed the power of the Radiant Sun Mirror to the limit and replied lightly, “If you’re upset over my disobedience, then you shouldn’t have picked me up back then!”
“You’ll be the death of me!” The words had just left his mouth when he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Shocked, Gao Xue Ting quickly stepped forward to support his body, her red lips trembling slightly as she asked, “A-Are you okay?”
“I don’t think I can hold on any longer…” He currently looked very weak. The corners of his mouth twitched as though he was trying to smile, but he couldn’t manage even that. The light in his eyes was dimming rapidly, and he weakly said, “Be a good girl. Hurry up and go.”
She shook her head strongly, her hair flying in the wind as her eyes turned bloodshot, “Don’t drive me away. I’ll listen to whatever you say in the future.”
“Really? Don’t you lie to me now.”
She hugged him tightly, tears flowing down her face as she sniffed and said firmly, “Don’t you dare die. I’m not lying to you!”
He blinked, his dull and dim eyes quickly regaining their lustre as a smile formed on his lips, “Don’t forget what you just said! You better not regret those words later!”
Afterwards, he suddenly got up and swung his sword to the side. The sword light slashed through the void, cutting a Shadow Demon Demon King in two. Blood and organs spilled across the ground as the Shadow Demon looked down at his lower body with an expression of astonishment on his face.
Meanwhile, Wen Zi Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, “I knew you were hiding in the shadows. If I had not pretended to be dying, you probably wouldn’t have revealed yourself.”
While speaking, he gave a flick of his sword and the two halves of the Shadow Demon turned to mist. His weak and defeated appearance from before was gone, replaced by a triumphant look. All of a sudden, he felt a scorching gaze burning into the back of his head as though about to incinerate him to ashes. Flinching slightly, Wen Zi Shan dared not look back as he shouted to the people around him, “Stand strong! Don’t let these bastards through even if its cost your lives!”
The Emperor Realm Masters of Azure Sun Temple immediately responded, “Yes!”
Only Murong Xiao Xiao dared to throw a cautious glance at Gao Xue Ting.
There were tears in Gao Xue Ting’s beautiful eyes, but the corners of her mouth were curled into a cold smile. The Radiant Sun Mirror that had gone bleak above her head suddenly shone brightly once more. A blazing flame shot out from the mirror, brushing past Wen Zi Shan’s head to blast more than ten Demons into ashes.
There was an audible gulping noise as Wen Zi Shan swallowed nervously. He lifted a hand to touch his hair and felt a patch of ashes as the smell of burnt hair wafted into his nose.
“Brother Wen, something is happening in front!” Ma Qing suddenly shouted, looking in a certain direction with a solemn expression.
Wen Zi Shan had no time to think about other matters as he cocked his ear and listened carefully. There was a rumbling sound coming from the depths of the Demon Race army. Looking into the distance, he saw a plume of smoke and dust heading straight towards them. Everywhere that plume of dust passed, the Demons were forced to open up a path.
“It’s one of our own!” He frowned at the sight.
Ma Qing was stunned, “Is there anyone who has not withdrawn!?”
“Yang Kai isn’t back yet!” With just a few words, Wen Zi Shan could already confirm the identity of the incoming person. He couldn’t help feeling a burst of joy. Yang Kai’s current cultivation was extraordinary and his combat prowess was outstanding. If he could assist them, then the pressure to defend this mountain valley would reduce significantly.
His guess was right. The person rushing towards them from the back of the Demon Race army was Yang Kai indeed. However, he was not alone. He was charging ahead and forging a bloody path through the Demon Race army with the Azure Dragon Spear. Behind him were several dozen people. These were Star Boundary soldiers who had not been able to evacuate in time and were scattered across the battlefield with no support.
Yang Kai had spread out his Divine Sense to cover the entire Star Soul Palace, and after locating these people, he had gone to rescue them one by one. That was why it had taken him so long to return.
Most of the people had been placed into the Sealed World Bead while those who stayed behind were all in the Emperor Realm. Although there were only a few of them, they were akin to a thousand-man army wielding a torrent of deadly steel under Yang Kai’s lead. They made their way through the Demon Race army but suffered no casualties despite facing enemies that outnumbered them by tens of thousands of times.
Those Emperor Realm Masters were filled with admiration and finally understood why Yang Kai could become an Army Commander. His strength was simply not something an ordinary Emperor Realm Master could possess.
Yang Kai led those Emperors to penetrate the dense formation of Demons, swiftly clearing a path and breaking through the siege to arrive at the mountain valley.
When everybody was reunited, there was a sense of elation all around. Many of the Masters who remained to guard the mouth of the mountain valley nodded at Yang Kai with a look of gratitude in their eyes. Those Emperor Realm Masters that he brought back with him were their companions. They originally thought that those people had perished on the battlefield so it was only thanks to Yang Kai that they could return safely. How could they not be grateful towards him?
Carrying the momentum of having killed thousands of Demons, Yang Kai turned around and swept his eyes across the sight in front of him. The Demon Race army that had gathered in this place like a rising tide involuntarily took several steps back as if frightened by his murderous intent.
“Are there any others?” Wen Zi Shan wiped the fresh blood from his face, looking at Yang Kai when he asked the question.
Yang Kai shook his head, “This is the last of them.”
Wen Zi Shan calmed down, “That’s good.” Turning to the rest of the people, he shouted, “Those who are exhausted and injured will evacuate first. The rest will follow later.”
Contrary to expectations however, Yang Kai turned to Wen Zi Shan and said, “All of you should leave. I alone am enough.”
Ma Qing was taken aback by those words, “You alone!?”
Yang Kai grinned in response, “Indeed!”
Wen Zi Shan looked solemn, “Brat…”
Yang Kai raised his hand to stop Wen Zi Shan mid-sentence, “Senior Li and the others are still fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm. If you don’t leave, they won’t be able to leave either. They can only escape safely once all of you have left.”
Wen Zi Shan hesitated, “But, with just you…”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Since I’ve decided to stay behind, it’s only natural that I’m confident in my ability. Besides… Once all of you have left, I can leave whenever I want.”
Upon hearing what Yang Kai said, Wen Zi Shan had to admit that those words were the truth. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he couldn’t win a battle, he could escape at any time. Nobody else had this advantage; therefore, Wen Zi Shan did not waste any more time and nodded, “Be careful.”
These were all men of action, so it was only natural that they did not procrastinate once they made their decision. With Wen Zi Shan in the lead, the Emperor Realm Masters of the Star Boundary’s 14 armies swiftly withdrew towards the mountain valley in quick succession. When they walked past Yang Kai, their murmurs of ‘Be careful’ and ‘Take care’ that entered his ears indicated their respect for him.
In just a short while, all the people that had been standing in front of the mountain valley were gone. Only Yang Kai was left standing there alone. Even so, there was a huge grin on his face. He held his spear by his side, facing millions of Demons alone without the slightest change in his expression.
There was a commotion in the front lines of the Demon Race army. Countless Demon Race members glared at him furiously. The Human in front of them had certainly shown extraordinary strength, even managing to kill a Half-Saint on the spot previously; even so, his arrogant behaviour at this moment was excessive. He was completely looking down on them.
More than 10 High-Rank Demon Kings stood in front of the Demon Race army with gloomy expressions. Their Divine Sense was surging between them as they exchanged a brief discussion among themselves.
Then, they suddenly attacked in unison. Their Demon Qi soared and the power of their Demon Artifacts burst forth. Before the Demon King in the lead could even approach Yang Kai, the overwhelming brilliance of the Demon Artifact behind him shrouded Yang Kai entirely.
No matter how strong Yang Kai was, he was only one person. So what if he could rival a Half-Saint in strength? Even a Half-Saint would be forced to back down when confronted by an army that numbered in the millions.
A series of explosions rang out as countless attacks rained down on Yang Kai, practically burying him in an instant. In front of everybody’s eyes, however, he neither dodged nor evaded those attacks. Instead, he allowed the power of the Demon Artifacts to land on him directly.
Most of the Demons were overjoyed by the sight. Similarly, the Demon Kings charging at him were also delighted. Even though he was acting extremely arrogant and looking down on all of them, it was still something to be celebrated in this situation; after all, he would surely be severely wounded after getting hit by so many attacks. Of course, that was if he was lucky enough to survive the barrage of attacks in the first place.
Those thoughts had barely finished forming in their heads when they saw Yang Kai’s figure fading slightly, making him seem like he was both real and illusionary. At the same time, the numerous attacks went straight through his body and exploded behind him. None of the attacks caused him any damage at all; thus, the Demon Kings couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure solidified again. He reached out, grabbed the Azure Dragon Spear, and thrust it forward without any hesitation. His attack was nothing special, and the speed wasn’t even that fast. Everybody could see the attack clearly; however, the High-Rank Demon Kings looked extremely horrified when the spear came at them. An illusion that the spear was stabbing into them had bloomed in their minds.
The power of the spear seemed to ignore the barriers of time and space, and a moment later, a blood-curdling scream rang out.
By the time the Demon Kings came back to their senses, they immediately noticed that one of them had been impaled on the spear. That person had been pierced through and the tip of the spear was protruding out of his back. His entire being was hanging from the spear as he struggled furiously. But, how could he break free?
A sense of fear crept over the Demon Race army. The person hanging from the spear was one of their companions after all. More importantly, more than 10 Demon Kings were present, but none of them had seen how the attack had been carried out.
In any case, there was no time for them to ponder over the question. The many Demon Kings lunging at Yang Kai had arrived in front of him, completely surrounding him in an instant. All the Demon Kings also pushed their Demon Qi in unison. The Sand Demon escaped into the ground; the Shadow Demon concealed his presence; the Stone Demon and the Strength Demon attacked with their fists or summoned Demon Artifacts; the Bone Demon raised his hand so that his fingers flew out and transformed them into 5 ghastly skulls; the Corpse Demon opened his mouth and spewed out a strong Corpse Poison; and the Flame Demon controlled the flames that could burn down the Heavens to pelt down attacks on him.
Sounds of metal clashing rang out, but aside from the Demons who were besieging Yang Kai, nobody could get a clear glimpse of the situation. All the others could see were figures being thrown all over the place and sparks flying everywhere.
Occasionally, a Demon King would scream after being sent flying backwards with a large hole somewhere on their body. The chaotic melee lasted no more than ten breaths before a spear shadow swept out in a wide circle, forcing all the Demon Kings to quickly retreat or be sent flying backwards.
For a moment, the world became silent.
Yang Kai was covered in blood as he stood in front of the mountain valley. His ragged clothes were even more tattered than before and his hair was further dishevelled. He was kneeling with one knee as his spear was thrust into the ground before him.
*Gululu…*
Blood emerged from the ground as though there was a pool of it deep underground.
Yang Kai lifted his spear and the Sand Demon hiding underground was dragged out. The spear had stabbed right through him and pain coloured his expression as he was being yanked out. Yang Kai gave a flick of the spear and the Sand Demon exploded into pieces. The remains of the corpse scattered across the ground and turned into dust.
The spectating Demons felt a chill running down their backs at the sight. Everything they had just witnessed left them silent in shock. Meanwhile, the High-Rank Demon Kings watching the scene had deep and profound expressions on their faces.
A dozen or so High-Rank Demon Kings had attacked all at once, so how were they unable to kill Yang Kai on the spot with such a powerful line-up? What did it matter if he was slightly injured during the confrontation? In that short ten-breath confrontation just now, he slaughtered at least 3 High-Rank Demon Kings and wounded 7 more of them!
This person in front of them actually managed to block the onslaught of at least a dozen High-Rank Demon Kings all by himself. It would not have been surprising for a Half-Saint to do so, but Yang Kai was nothing more than a High-Rank Demon King! Something like this was simply ridiculous!
They had not noticed anything before their confrontation with him; however, once they started battling Yang Kai in earnest, they discovered the horrors of the spear he wielded. Not only was the spear unimaginably sharp, but it also radiated with great majesty when wielded as a weapon. It affected their minds and made it impossible for them to exert their full strength.
*Xiu…*
A soft sound suddenly rang out and all the Demons felt their hearts clench up. A flowing stream of light shot straight towards Yang Kai’s heart at the speed of light. The initial soft sound seemed to be a signal and immediately following that, a series of swishing sounds rang out incessantly. Cold lights flashed, one after the other, as arrows wrapped in the aura of death shot towards him from all directions.
The Feather Demon Clan was proficient in archery while somewhat lacking in close combat. That was why there was no sign of a Feather Demon during the attack just now. A person’s vigilance was sure to relax after surviving a large battle, so it was the best time to launch a sneak attack.
Yang Kai had just turned the Sand Demon impaled upon his spear to mist when the first arrow came at him. The speed of the arrow was so fast that he couldn’t dodge it in time and a chill enveloped his body. At that moment, he pushed his Demon Qi and the flesh on his chest tightened rapidly.
There was a muffled thud as a metre-long feather arrow pierced a palm’s length into Yang Kai flesh. An overpowering force pushed him back, causing him to stagger several steps before he could stabilise himself again. Afterwards, his spear began dancing. All the remaining arrows raining down on him were sent flying.
The Demon Kings were shocked. Staring blankly at Yang Kai, they exclaimed in their hearts, [How is he not dead!?]
The feather arrow sticking out of his chest looked just like a normal arrow, but the red water caltrop hanging from the end of the arrow indicated the identity of its Master. The one who shot this arrow was the strongest among the Feather Demons, excluding the Demon Saints and Half-Saints. Even a Stone Demon, who had inherently powerful defensive abilities, would be pierced through by this arrow.
[Just how tough is this Human’s body!?]
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy. Reaching out a hand, he clutched at the arrow sticking out of his chest that was still vibrating slightly and forcefully pulled it out. He looked down at his chest while thinking to himself, [It truly is as the saying goes, ‘It is easy to dodge a spear in the light but difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark. If it had been me from before, I might not have been able to block this arrow even in my Half-Dragon Form.]
Several dozen years had passed in the ancient battlefield, as though it was only a day. After being tempered by the two forces on the ancient battlefield, Yang Kai’s physical body had become incomparable to how it used to be. Not to mention, his Half-Dragon Form had grown from 300 metres to 1,000 metres long during that period. The increase in the size of his Half-Dragon Form was also indicative of his Dragon Source’s development, so it was only natural that his physical body had gotten tougher as a result.
Even so, this feathered arrow had broken through his defences and penetrated his chest. He would have been in danger if it had pierced another palm’s length. [If a Feather Demon in the High-Rank Demon King Realm can do this much, then what about a Half-Saint? What about Fu Yu?]
Yang Kai’s fists clenched tightly and the feather arrow that was comparable to a Demon Artifact snapped into two. He then lifted his head abruptly. The look in his scarlet eyes was similar to that of a violent beast’s as his gaze passed through the barriers of space and landed on a figure located more than a dozen kilometres away. Then, Yang Kai smiled wolfishly.
The Feather Demon who launched the sneak attack from the shadows turned ashen-faced when she met the gaze of this horrifying man. Without any hesitation, she shifted her body and landed among the Demon Race army in hopes of blending into the crowd and erasing her presence.
A gust of wind came blowing from behind, inciting a wave of pain as the wind sliced her back. It felt like she had lost a layer of flesh, and when she turned back to look, she saw that Yang Kai, who had originally been more than a dozen kilometres away, had appeared without anybody noticing and was sweeping his spear around at the spot she was standing just now.
She had long known that a distance of a dozen kilometres was no different from standing face to face when it came to enemies proficient in the Dao of Space, which was why she fled the moment she noticed danger. From the situation right now, she was right to have reacted so quickly; otherwise, she would have faced a disastrous ending by now.
“Oh?” Seeing that the Feather Demon was smart enough to avoid him in advance, Yang Kai couldn’t help revealing an amused smile. His feet didn’t move but his body swayed as he chased after the Feather Demon who had slipped into the ranks of the Demon Race army.
For a moment, it was as though somebody had thrown a fistful of salt into a pot of boiling oil. There was chaos among the millions of the Demons as many of them were thrown into the sky, their bodies all exploding into blood mist one after the other.
The Feather Demon could sense a murderous intent locked onto her from behind, so how could she dare to look back? All she knew was that she could not stop moving, or the only ending waiting for her was death. She couldn’t care less about the deaths of those ordinary Demon Race members as she weaved her way to where the crowd was the densest in hopes of throwing Yang Kai off her tail.
“Bastard!”
A High-Rank Demon King, who had been wounded by Yang Kai in front of the mountain valley, flew into a rage. He was not mad at the Feather Demon. The other party was only a High-Rank Demon King after all. Instead, he was furious that Yang Kai was completely looking down on the Demon Race. How dare he charge right into their ranks!?
While cursing furiously, the Demon King turned back to challenge Yang Kai again; however, he was held back by a Strength Demon. The Strength Demon slowly shook his head and said, “That person is proficient in Space Principles. You saw his prowess for yourself. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do against him unless a Half-Saint makes a move!”
Of course, there was a sentence in his heart that he had not said out loud. [Even if a Half-Saint makes a move, it might not make a difference either.]
“Compared to wasting our energy on him, we should chase after the remnants of our enemies instead!”
When the rest of the Demon Kings heard those words, they fervently nodded in agreement. The first reason was that this Strength Demon’s words made sense. Yang Kai was a man who had successfully escaped from the Demon Saints. Although the Demon Race army had great numbers, none of them could do anything to stop him if he was determined to escape. The second reason was that they had grown fearful of Yang Kai during their brief confrontation just now. They would rather face Wen Zi Shan and the others from the 14 Star Boundary armies than to exchange blows with Yang Kai again.
Fighting that Human would most likely lead to their deaths! The fear in their hearts combined with a justified reason gave the High-Rank Demon Kings in front of the mountain valley no reason to hesitate. Even though they knew that the Demon Saints were secretly watching them from the shadows, they immediately issued the command to the troops. The Demon Race army that had stopped in their tracks finally pressed forward in the direction of the mountain valley again.
Just then, a fearsome Dragon Roar reverberated across the sky. It was accompanied by a horrifying pressure that descended from above as though a huge mountain was pressing down on them. The Demon Race army rushing towards the mouth of the mountain valley felt their bodies sinking from the weight, making it very difficult for them to even lift their feet to step forward.
“This is…” Zhu Yan, who had been watching Yang Kai’s movements from the sky, suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. His eyes shone with a shocking light as he excitedly looked up at the figure falling from the sky and descending upon the mouth of the mountain valley.
Similarly, Fu Zhun’s beautiful eyes were gleaming with a strange light. She felt the Dragon Source in her body resonating with the Dragon Roar, giving her the strongest impulse to rush forward without regard for everything else to fight side by side with that person.
Under the gaze of the two Dragon Clan Great Elders, the figure falling from the sky began to swell rapidly all of a sudden. 100 metres… 300 metres… 500 metres… 700 metres… It continued expanding until it finally reached more than 1,000 metres!
Amidst the crackling sounds, the figure was completely covered in golden Dragon Scales. He had Dragon Horns protruding sharply from his forehead; his hands had transformed into sharp Dragon Claws, and a Dragon Tail swept out in all directions behind him.
“Who allowed…”
It really felt as though a small mountain had come crashing down. When the more than 1,000-metre-long Dragon Body came falling out of the sky, its enormous shadow obscured the sight of all the Demons, causing their vision to darken to the point where they could not see the slightest speck of light.
“YOU…”
There was a loud explosion when his feet touched the ground. The Earth trembled and loose rock came falling down from the mountain peaks on both sides. Numerous cracks split open the solid ground with the point where he landed as the source, countless Demons fell into those deep cracks.
“TO PASS!?”
A 1,000-metre-long spear swept out and it didn’t matter whether they were common Demon soldiers or powerful Demon Kings, anyone who was touched by the spear was either killed on the spot or heavily injured. It only took an instant for the entire Demon Race army swarming towards the mountain valley to be wiped out completely.
The Demons were so shocked that they paled in fright. Those who had rushed to the front were dead, and only a few quick-witted Demon Kings were lucky enough to escape alive. At this moment, those Demon Kings were fleeing in all directions, and when they looked up at the behemoth blocking their way, a sense of helplessness grew in their hearts. If the Demon Kings were already in this state, then it was even worse for the weaker Demon Race members, their whole bodies trembling, completely bewildered with terror.
Yang Kai was standing alone in front of the mountain valley, but was comparable to a mighty army of a million! He was so terrifying that the Demon Race army did not dare to take another step forward!
Moreover, he was holding a tiny body in one of his giant claws. That figure was struggling desperately to break free of his iron grip. Judging by her appearance and her unique characteristics, it was the Feather Demon Demon King who had launched the initial sneak attack on him previously. He had actually managed to capture her from amongst millions of enemy troops in a matter of breaths.
The Feather Demon turned around with a pleading and begging expression on her face, but contrary to her hopes, Yang Kai suddenly exerted more strength into his grip.
*Kacha…*
Like the sound of a nut being cracked open, various popping noises came from all over her body. Just listening to those sounds sent a chill up one’s spine. Fresh blood subsequently poured out from between the gaps of Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw, and when he spread his hand open again, what was once a Feather Demon no longer held a humanoid shape. She had been turned into a bloody pulp and the light in her eyes quickly vanished as her vitality disappeared while her remains slid from the palm of his hand and fell to the ground.
*Hu…*
Yang Kai exhaled hot steam from his nostrils as he grinned at the many Demons before him, gripped the shaft of the now giant Azure Dragon Spear, and swung it up high.
All the Demons felt their hearts clenching tight at this sight and the expressions of the Demon Kings also changed drastically as they shouted desperately, “Retreat!”
As soon as those words rang out, the Demon Kings desperately tried to withdraw from the battlefield. They might be able to escape, but how could the swarming Demon Race army manage? They were practically falling over each other in their haste to charge forward previously, but they found themselves facing countless obstacles in their way now that they wanted to retreat. The path behind them was packed with their own people; thus, chaos broke out among the army and they descended into chaos.
The Azure Dragon Spear arced through the air with a straight, cold light and slammed heavily towards the ground.
*Hong…*
When the spear landed, the ground below collapsed. Countless Demons were smashed to bits by the spear, leaving nothing behind. In addition, the violent shockwave swept out in all directions and caused the Demons in a long path to be cut down like wheat in a field. It was followed by a terrifying force of vibration that spread out, sending many fallen Demons into the sky where they exploded into blood mist.
The power of the spear literally created a death zone of more than a dozen kilometres in length and a few kilometres wide with a single smash, right in the middle of the Demon Race army. Any Demons standing within that range died; there were no survivors.
It was not over though. Instead of lifting his spear up again, Yang Kai instead gripped its tail tightly and swept it along the ground…
After a back-and-forth sweep with himself as the centre, the fan-shaped area in front of him fell into a dead silence.
*Gudong…*
There were endless gulping sounds as many Demons swallowed nervously. [Who can fight against such a terrifying existence if the Half-Saints refuse to move? We might have an army of millions, but can we really stop the slaughter of such a monster?]
Before Yang Kai could admire his handiwork in satisfaction though, Zhu Yan’s warning rang out in his ears, “Yang Kai, watch out!”
At the same time, a chill spread all over his body. Yang Kai could even sense the aura of death wash over him at that moment. At the critical juncture of life or death, he felt neither sorrow nor joy; rather, his mind mysteriously entered a state of perfect calm.
He straightened and stood upright, retracted the spear, and slashed out with all his might. He was aiming at a certain place in the sky, completely driven by instinct. He was in a state where he was neither thinking nor feeling; even so, he felt a sense of immense exhilaration when he performed that sweep. It felt as though all the power in his body flowed out along with the attack. He could tell that this was the strongest attack he had ever unleashed in his entire life and it felt as though it resonated with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Even if a Half-Saint stood before him, this attack would claim that Half-Saint’s life!
A small black light suddenly appeared at the tip of the Azure Dragon Spear and the power of the Space Principles surged within it. When it first appeared, it was only the size of a bean. Be that as it may, it rapidly expanded as his spear slashed out and transformed into a black mass with a radius of several tens of metres.
“Huh?” A surprised cry came from the front, and immediately after that, a fist appeared out of thin air and smashed at the Azure Dragon Spear.
Compared to the black mass with a radius of several dozen metres, this fist was so small that it was minuscule. Nevertheless, this was a fist belonging to a Demon Saint, so nobody in the world would dare to underestimate its power.
When this fist collided with the black mass, it strangely did not make any sound. The black mass suddenly shrank in on itself and became a black spot before disappearing with a flash. On the other hand, the fist shuddered from the impact to reveal a brave and heroic figure.
*Hong…*
Only then did a dull but thunderous noise resound from the bottom of everybody’s hearts. It was so deafening that it made one’s vitality churn.
Yang Kai’s Dragon Body fell backwards, crashing into the ground with a loud explosion. He practically filled the entire mouth of the mountain valley, and after crashing into the ground, his Dragon Body shrank rapidly and turned back into his Human form again. His complexion was pale as Golden Blood spewed out of his mouth and nose like flowing water. His aura was so weak that it was practically non-existent.
After being shaken by Yang Kai’s spear, Xue Li appeared and flashed to Yang Kai’s side in the blink of an eye. He subsequently struck out at Yang Kai with his palm without any hesitation whatsoever. As a Demon Saint, he felt genuine contempt for attacking a High-Rank Demon King, let alone performing a sneak attack on one.
However, he had noticed the horror of Yang Kai’s potential during the battle just now. Yang Kai was already so powerful even though he was only a High-Rank Demon King. It would be very bad if he was allowed to continue growing stronger. For that reason, Xue Li blatantly decided to take action without regard for his status. What he could never have expected was that Yang Kai actually survived a punch from him. Despite thinking to himself that Yang Kai was extremely blessed by fate, he did not hesitate to kill the opponent.
Two Dragon Roars sounded at that moment and two murderous intents locked onto Xue Li. A powerful gust of wind came from behind just as he was about to strike Yang Kai with his palm, causing him to furrow his brow so slightly that it was almost imperceptible.
If his attack landed, Yang Kai would suffer a disastrous end. Unfortunately, he would fare no better; the strength of the two Dragon Clan Elders was nothing short of extraordinary after all.
How could Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun continue standing on the sidelines after seeing Xue Li make the first move? The two Great Elders had pushed their Dragon Sources the moment the Demon Saint made his move, transformed into their true bodies, and charged fiercely at Yang Kai.
Likewise, Huo Bo and Fu Yu were not slow to react either. The former radiated a dangerous aura from his body as he rushed towards the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan. On the other hand, the latter pulled out an arrow, aimed at Zhu Yan’s Dragon Body, and shot without delay.
Zhu Yan seemed oblivious to that attack as he continued to slash at Xue Li with his Dragon Claws.
In the end, that palm strike did not land on its intended target. In the Demon Saints’ opinion, Yang Kai indeed had terrifying potential; however, it would still take a very long time for him to grow until he could stand on the same footing as them. Therefore, putting himself in danger just to kill a possible future threat was simply not worthwhile.
Xue Li shifted his body and vanished from the spot, transforming into a bloody ray as he escaped to the side. Zhu Yan’s Dragon Claws ended up grabbing at empty space, causing five deep gashes to appear in the air as a result. Meanwhile, Fu Zhun took the opportunity to open her Dragon Mouth and swallowed Yang Kai whole.
At the same time, Fu Yu’s arrow struck! Zhu Yan had no way to avoid the blow. He had only wanted to rescue Yang Kai before, so he ignored the attacks coming from behind him. Now that Yang Kai was saved, it was too late for him to defend himself. In his desperation, he flicked his Dragon Tail to slap the feather arrow that was aiming at him away.
The force caused the feather arrow to change its direction slightly, brushing past Zhu Yan’s chest and taking out a large piece of his flesh with it. A large amount of emerald green blood splattered in all directions as even the Dragon Clan’s defences could not stop the sharp edge of this arrow!
On another hand, Huo Bo rushed over with a wicked grin. His originally round body swelled like he was inflated with air. Despite his bloated body, his figure was indescribably agile and he headed directly to the place where Zhu Yan was injured.
*Hong…* Huo Bo exploded and Zhu Yan was struck by the impact and sent flying as a result, drawing a roar of pain from his mouth.
In the meantime, Huo Bo’s figure began reforming at the site of the explosion. He was born in the Red Demon Clan and his ability to self-destruct was innate. Unlike ordinary Red Demons, however, this ability of his was not suicidal since he could be reborn from the ashes. It was precisely because of his Innate Divine Ability that he was able to survive exploding again and again, which was also how he eventually cultivated until he became a Demon Saint.
For countless years, the Red Demon Clan had been the lowest Clan in the entire Demon Realm. Huo Bo was the only outlier.
A gigantic Dragon Claw came slapping down on Huo Bo’s head at that moment. His figure had only just reformed though, so how could he dodge in time? Huo Bo turned back just in time to see Fu Zhun, who had transformed into an Ice Dragon, her Dragon Eyes cold as her Dragon Roar resounded through the Heavens.