There was a series of cracking noises which sounded like bones breaking as the Strength Demon was thrown backwards into the sky. Likewise, Yang Kai couldn’t help being pushed back several dozen metres, his feet carving deep pits into the ground. Furthermore, the earth split apart in a spiderweb of crevices centred around where he once stood.
“Senior, I’ll leave the rest to you! Keep him alive!” After Yang Kai stabilised his stance, he did not attack again immediately and instead, he hurriedly left those words behind before curling his body up slightly and launching himself in the direction of the Blood Demon like a meteor.
Starting from the time when the silver wolf appeared and launched an attack to the time the Blood Demon caused the silver wolf to explode with a single finger, to the time Yang Kai showed up out of nowhere and skewered the Strength Demon Half-Saint with his spear; everything had happened in less than a couple of breaths. The changes had occurred so quickly that the Blood Demon had no time to rescue his companion, and by now, the Strength Demon was already badly wounded.
It wasn’t that the Strength Demon was lacking in any way. It was just that he had been focusing solely on Bing Yun. How could he have expected Yang Kai to attack out of the blue? Furthermore, the sharpness of the Azure Dragon Spear had already been verified by the life of the Stone Demon Half-Saint who died at Yang Kai’s hands in Star Soul Palace. How could the body of a Strength Demon defend against that?
A moment of carelessness had caused the Strength Demon to lose most of his combat effectiveness; therefore, Bing Yun was fully capable of handling the rest. She was a Pseudo-Great Emperor after all, so there was no reason why she could not win against a seriously injured Strength Demon Half-Saint.
During that moment when the Blood Demon froze in surprise, Yang Kai had already arrived in front of him and the sound of a Dragon Roar came from the Azure Dragon Spear. With a solemn expression, Yang Kai thrust out his spear at his enemy.
Struck by the spear, the Blood Demon reacted as though he had been struck by lightning. His entire body stiffened in place and a big hole where the Azure Dragon Spear had pierced through his chest appeared, the expression on his face was filled with shock.
“Trying to escape!? In your dreams!” Yang Kai took no joy in his successful attack as he withdrew his spear, ignored the Blood Demon before him, and rushed towards another direction with a flash of his body.
Following Yang Kai’s departure, the ‘Blood Demon’, whose body had been pierced cleanly, suddenly melted into a puddle of blood water and vanished out of sight. This was clearly not the Blood Demon’s true body. It was simply a Secret Technique he cast to create a distraction.
There was no saving the Strength Demon, and with Yang Kai and Bing Yun working together, the Blood Demon did not dare to confront them. It was better to escape as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Yang Kai immediately saw through his plans.
A streak of blood light sped through the sky at a high speed, emitting the aura of a Half-Saint. Moreover, that aura was fluctuating erratically as though it had suffered a great fright and was desperately fleeing like a stray dog. The blood light suddenly stopped moving, revealing the figure of the Blood Demon Half-Saint, his scarlet eyes glaring fearfully ahead of himself.
Space rippled and Yang Kai slowly walked out of the Void with a cold glare on his face, “Are you trying to escape from me? Is your head alright?”
The Blood Escape Technique was an unrivalled Secret Technique when it came to fleeing whether it be in the Demon Realm or the Star Boundary. Few escape methods could compare to it and it could definitely rank among the top three techniques in terms of speed alone. Blood Demons relied on the Blood Escape Technique to get away from strong enemies and survive dangerous situations on multiple occasions. It was a pity the opponent this time was Yang Kai! In front of Instantaneous Movement, all other escape methods were completely useless.
The Blood Demon’s path forward was blocked, and he could also vaguely sense a freezing aura approaching from behind. That Human woman had probably finished dealing with his companion and was rushing over to provide support. A hideous expression flashed across the Blood Demon’s face as he snarled, “Yang Kai, let me go if you know what’s good for you. You won’t get out of this unscathed either if I fight to the death!”
Yang Kai grinned at the Blood Demon, “The barking of a beat dog is truly grating on the ears!”
By the time the last word left his mouth, all that was left where he stood was an afterimage. His true body rushed towards the Blood Demon with the Azure Dragon Spear in hand and thrust out.
The Blood Demon let out a furious howl, after which he exploded and transformed into a Blood Sea that enveloped Yang Kai.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai frowned and said through gritted teeth, “A man unafraid to sacrifice his arm is truly difficult to deal with!”
The spear began to dance, filling the Blood Sea with endless spear shadows. Numerous black balls appeared at the tip of the spear. Following that, large patches of the blood vanished without a trace…
By the time Bing Yun rushed over, she saw Yang Kai getting rid of the last of the blood and a look of astonishment swept across her eyes, “Did you… kill him?”
The Blood Sea was a Blood Demon’s foundation, so how could the Blood Demon survive if Yang Kai got rid of the Blood Sea? He would die without a doubt. Nevertheless, that was simply unbelievable. When Yang Kai had severely injured the Strength Demon previously, he had relied on the element of surprise and his enemy’s negligence to pull that off. However, it was shocking that he could kill a Blood Demon Half-Saint in such a short time. Even Li Wu Yi would not be capable of doing that if he came here himself.
For a moment, Bing Yun felt as though she was dreaming.
Knowing what she was thinking, Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “We were tricked. It wasn’t his true body. I think it was something similar to an Avatar.”
As a Half-Saint, how could the Blood Demon not have a few life-saving techniques? His Avatar was something even Yang Kai had failed to see through, and for that reason, Yang Kai had chased the Blood Demon all this way, thinking that he had managed to intercept the enemy. He had no plans of fighting the Blood Demon alone as what happened a few days ago was still fresh in his memory. Besides, he had no wish to enter retreat again in order to treat his wounds.
Fortunately, it would not take Bing Yun much effort to finish off that injured Strength Demon, so as long as Yang Kai could delay things until she came to provide support, he was confident they could defeat the Blood Demon in a two-against-one battle. If that were the case, the price they would have to pay would be negligible. However, Yang Kai immediately noticed something was off the moment he attacked. The Blood Demon’s power was considerably weaker than what was displayed earlier. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at this point even if he noticed that something was wrong.
He sighed softly, “What a pity.”
Bing Yun said, “There’s nothing worth regretting. That Blood Demon was forced to pay a heavy price to escape and probably won’t be able to participate in the Grand Dao battle anymore. All he can do now is find a hiding place to lick his wounds.”
“Senior is right,” Yang Kai nodded at those words, the depressed feeling in his heart dissipating instantly. Turning to look at what she was holding in her hand, he smiled, “Senior, you work fast.”
What she was holding in her hand was none other than the Strength Demon he had severely injured with his spear earlier. It was just that the Half-Saint was completely wrapped in ice now. Despite looking like he had been frozen alive, his vitality was still present, so it was obvious he wasn’t dead yet.
It was not an easy feat to capture a Half-Saint alive even if the other party was severely injured. Even so, Bing Yun managed to achieve that within such a short time. It was clear that her foundation was not as weak as it seemed on the surface.
“How could I have captured him if you had not injured him first?” A complicated look flashed across her eyes. She thought back to the first time she met Yang Kai. He had only been in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm Junior back then. On the other hand, she was already a Third-Order Emperor. Although her cultivation remained one Realm higher than his after all these years, there was no way her real combat power could compare with his. The growth rate of this young boy who came from the same homeland as her was simply astounding. Such a chaotic time in the world was precisely when the extraordinary would grow and flourish. Be that as it may, the person in front of her was clearly the best of all those existences.
[My two Disciples sure have a good eye for people.] Bing Yun mused to herself.
“Are you planning to search his Knowledge Sea?” She asked. Seeing as Yang Kai had specifically asked to keep the opponent alive, that could only mean that he planned to interrogate the opponent for information. However, Half-Saints were stubborn, so how could they possibly give up the information so easily? The only way to gain information was to search their Soul, “If so, I advise you to give up on that idea. I’ve received information that the Demon Saints have done something to these Half-Saints’ Knowledge Seas. There is a seal placed on their Soul so you will immediately suffer from the backlash if you try to search their Knowledge Seas.”
“Oh? Does everybody already know about it?” Yang Kai was surprised. He had planned to tell the others about this information when he learned about it. Unfortunately, he could not contact anybody and he also urgently needed to treat his wounds, so he had given up on the notion. [I wonder how this information got out. Is it related to that person who was spying on me from the shadows?]
“You know about it too?” Bing Yun was stunned.
A frightened look filled Yang Kai’s face as he replied honestly, “I nearly died finding out.”
If not for the fact that his Soul cultivation was more powerful than any Pseudo-Great Emperor or Half-Saint, and if not for the fact that he had the Soul Warming Lotus, he would not be standing here right now.
“But, I was not planning to search his Soul. There’s another way to learn what we need.” Yang Kai smiled and reached out to take the Strength Demon who was frozen in ice. He then turned to her and added, “Senior, please help me stand guard.”
She nodded in response, “En.”
With a shift of his body, Yang Kai instantly vanished along with the Strength Demon. All that was left behind was a longan-sized bead in his place.
Bing Yun reached out and caught the bead. After studying it carefully, she murmured pensively, “Is this the original Sealed World Bead?”
The Sealed World Bead in Yang Kai’s possession was no longer a secret. She had also seen it before from afar. Nevertheless, it was her first time holding it in her hand like this.
It was said that the World Beads that each army held were modelled after this Sealed World Bead. She herself had one of the World Beads in her possession, so she was no stranger to this feeling. However, the World Beads could not compare to the Sealed World Bead at all. Be it in terms of the interior area or World Principles, they were as different as clouds and mud.
It was hard to imagine that there was a Great World contained inside this tiny bead. Furthermore, Yang Kai controlled everything in that world as the Master of the Sealed World Bead!
[Perhaps… He might actually get some information.] At that thought, Bing Yun couldn’t help feeling a little expectant of the results; after all, the greatest shortcoming of the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary was their lack of information regarding the Profound Heavens Temple.
She didn’t need to wait for long as only an hour had passed before Yang Kai reappeared. Handing the Sealed World Bead over to him, Bing Yun asked, “Were you hiding in this bead when you attacked earlier?”
Yang Kai laughed, “En.”
While recuperating from his wounds previously, he had hidden the Sealed World Bead inside the stomach of the giant silver wolf; after all, the Sealed World Bead would be completely exposed if he entered it. Without a person standing guard, nowhere was safe enough regardless of where he placed the Sealed World Bead. He happened across the silver wolf just as he was agonising over this issue.
Thus, he decided to make the silver giant wolf swallow the Sealed World Bead. With his current Soul cultivation, it was a simple matter for him to control a Monster King. Yang Kai had been in no hurry to exit the Sealed World Bead upon recovering from his injuries; hence, he borrowed the giant wolf to investigate his surroundings and coincidentally discovered Bing Yun’s whereabouts.
“Did you learn anything?”
“A little, but things are very different from what we thought,” He scowled.
How could the Strength Demon resist him inside the Small Sealed World? By using his privileges as Master of the world, Yang Kai had indeed managed to force some information out of the Strength Demon.
“How is it different?” Bing Yun asked.
“They don’t know anything about the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. Senior, don’t you think that’s strange?” Yang Kai scowled fiercely.
“Could it be that the information we received is wrong? Or, is somebody deliberately trying to obscure our sight?”
“I don’t think so,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head. How could he not understand the meaning behind her words? It was just that the information on the Illusionary Heavens Furnace was something Sheng Yu Zhu had specially given to him. He had no bad blood with Sheng Yu Zhu; rather, she owed him a life debt. There was no reason for her to deceive him on this point. What’s more, what was her purpose if she had truly fabricated the information about the Illusionary Heavens Furnace? How would that benefit her?
“Then, what do the Half-Saints from the Demon Realm know?”
His expression became strange, “That’s the part that puzzles me the most. They don’t know anything.”
“They don’t know anything? Could it be that Can Ye never told them anything?” Bing Yun was taken aback by the news. Can Ye had participated in the previous Grand Dao battle, gained great benefits from that experience, and became a Great Emperor as a result. Nobody else in the Star Boundary had more knowledge about the situation inside the Profound Heavens Temple than him. The people from the Star Boundary had assumed that Can Ye would surely reveal a lot of information to the enemy, but it would seem that they were overthinking this matter.
“None of them have even seen Can Ye recently, but that’s understandable considering that he has been in the process of recuperation. On the contrary, Xue Li issued a command to all the Half-Saints.”
“What command?”
Yang Kai glanced at Bing Yun and spoke in a cold and quiet voice, “Kill!”
She laughed, “What kind of command is that?”
Even without that command, the Half-Saints from the Demon Realm and the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary would surely engage in a fierce struggle between two evenly matched opponents the moment they encountered each other. There was no need to specifically issue an order like that.
“To be precise, Xue Li said ‘you will naturally know what to do once you’ve killed enough’,” Yang Kai followed up.
“The Demon Saints said that?” She frowned.
He gently nodded.
Bing Yun was silent for a moment before she hazarded a guess, “Could it be that the Heavenly Manifestation will only be revealed if enough blood and life are sacrificed to it?”
Yang Kai lightly exhaled, “That’s what I think too; otherwise, the Demon Saints would not have specifically issued a command like that. There’s also another thing that bothers me greatly, however…”
While saying that, he suddenly gave a wave of his hand and a mummified corpse appeared in front of him. That mummified corpse was completely devoid of moisture, as though all the essence within had dissipated over countless years.
Although it was a corpse, it retained some of the traces from when that person had still been alive and Bing Yun immediately recognised at a glance that the mummified corpse belonged to the Strength Demon from before.
“How did he become like this?” She frowned deeply. A moment later, her expression changed greatly and she looked at him and exclaimed, “Yang Kai, you couldn’t have…”
Yang Kai laughed, “Don’t worry, Senior. I might know the essence of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, but I did not cultivate that evil Secret Technique.”
This mummified corpse looked like somebody had used a Secret Art to suck out all the essence from it, similar to the effects of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, so he knew what she was worried about.
“To be honest, I didn’t kill him either.”
Although Yang Kai had the ability to do so in the Small Sealed World, the reason for the Strength Demon’s death was the activation of the Soul Seal. Not only could the Soul Seal in his mind cause a backlash to those who tried to search his Soul, but it also activated without warning when he so much as gave up the slightest bit of information regarding the Profound Heavens Temple. That was what caused him to die on the spot. That was also related to why Yang Kai had only managed to retrieve so little information.
“However, at that moment after his death, I clearly felt an invisible force passing through the boundary of the Small Sealed World, enveloping him, and draining him of all his vitality.”
Yang Kai was the Master of the Small Sealed World, so his perception was incredibly sharp inside of it. Therefore, the subtle force had not escaped his notice despite how hidden it had been. Thinking back to what happened previously, Yang Kai felt as though the veil over his eyes had been lifted…
“How could this be?” Bing Yun seemed extremely puzzled. What kind of power could penetrate the boundary of the Small Sealed World? It was a Sealed World after all.
“Actually… I also killed a Half-Saint soon after we entered this place. This situation is similar to what happened after he died. I didn’t notice anything at the time, but… the situation in the Profound Heavens Temple might not be as simple as we believed.”
“Are you saying that…”
“All those who participated in the Grand Dao battle will end up in this state if they lose their lives in the Profound Heavens Temple.” Yang Kai pointed at the mummified corpse on the ground, a light flashing brightly in his eyes, “Combining that with the command that Xue Li issued to the Half-Saints, I think what you said before makes a lot of sense.”
“If that’s the case, then we will have to take the initiative to be ruthless. The people from the Demon Realm came prepared. We will suffer a huge loss if we don’t take precautions.” Bing Yun’s expression turned solemn while she was secretly surprised by Yang Kai’s strength. He was strong enough to kill a Half-Saint before this incident! As a Pseudo-Great Emperor herself, she knew just how difficult it was to kill an opponent on the same level in a one-on-one battle.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “At the very least, we need to let everybody know what kind of situation they are in.”
If the final secret of the Profound Heavens Temple and the key to becoming a Great Emperor was the blood sacrifice of many people, then the Demon Race’s information already put them ahead of the rest. They had orders from the Demon Saints after all. Combined with the advantage of numbers on their side, they would not be holding back at all.
On the contrary, the Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were probably thinking of avoiding any battles they could under the premise that they had yet to figure out the situation for the time being. If they took on the Demon Race Half-Saints with that kind of attitude, they were bound to suffer a great loss.
After saying that, Yang Kai smiled wryly, “Nevertheless, let’s decide once we meet somebody else. You’re the first ally I’ve met since entering this place, Senior.”
The person watching him from the shadows before did not count.
Bing Yun smiled in response, “It seems my luck is better than yours. You’re the second I’ve met so far.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Who else did you meet, Senior?”
“Yang Yan.”
He was overjoyed at the news, “Where is she!?”
As per the original plan, Yang Yan and Bing Yun were supposed to accompany him as his companions. It was just that they had been separated when they entered the Profound Heavens Temple. Yang Kai had no way to track their whereabouts and even meeting Bing Yun here had been a lucky coincidence. He even had the faint suspicion that the World’s Will in his possession was acting in secret. Why else would he encounter Bing Yun being besieged as soon as he came out of retreat?
In any case, it was only natural for him to proceed according to plan since they had already met up with each other. He had planned to look for Yang Yan after this, but who could have expected that Bing Yun had already met her?
Bing Yun pointed a finger in a certain direction, “It’s a day’s journey in that direction. We found something interesting there, so Yang Yan stayed behind to examine it while I came out to track your whereabouts.”
If it was something even a Pseudo-Great Emperor would find interesting, then it must surely be something very precious. That was not surprising, however, as the Profound Heavens Temple was the creation of the world itself. Yang Kai also encountered many good things along the way.
“Let’s go and meet up with her. It’s always more convenient to take action with more people.”
“I was thinking so too.” Bing Yun smiled.
The two of them set off immediately, heading in the direction Bing Yun originally came from. Along the way, Yang Kai inquired about their destination. He was curious to know just what it was that had attracted Yang Yan so much that she would stay behind.
Bing Yun did not hide anything from him and answered honestly.
According to her, she began to track his whereabouts after she met Yang Yan in the Profound Heavens Temple. In the end, they failed to locate him but accidentally discovered a strange pool instead. This pool was filled with milky white liquid that was almost a metre deep. Moreover, it exuded an intoxicating aroma that was very refreshing to the senses.
According to Yang Yan’s observation, that pool of water was most likely the legendary World Source Liquid.
It would have been nothing if it were just an ordinary treasure. The Grand Dao battle was such a rare opportunity that nobody would waste their precious time to harvest an ordinary treasure unless it was very easy to obtain; however, that was World Source Liquid! It was a precious treasure that was formed only during the birth of a world. Not to mention, it had great and mysterious effects on both the Pseudo-Great Emperors and the Great Emperors. If a person were to consume even a drop of it, they would definitely gain insight into the Heavenly Way and their strength would be greatly increased.
Unfortunately, a Natural Grand Array had formed around the pool. The Grand Array was profound and mysterious, so nobody could approach the pool, much less obtain the World Source Liquid, unless they passed through it.
Yang Yan was the best Artifact Array Grandmaster in the Star Boundary. There was nobody better than her whether it was in Artifact Refining or Spirit Arrays, so if there was anybody in the world who could crack this Natural Spirit Array, she would be the only one.
Therefore, Yang Yan stayed behind to crack the Spirit Array. Since there was nothing Bing Yun could help with, she decided to come out to continue searching for Yang Kai’s whereabouts instead.
“World Source Liquid…” Even Yang Kai’s eyes flashed with greed at those words. It was something he had heard of before but never imagined he would ever find; after all, it was a precious treasure that would only form at the birth of the world. Great changes happened over time and nothing ever remained the same. Even if it was formed during the birth of the world, it would have been used up or destroyed a long time ago. On the contrary, the Source Sealed World known as the Profound Heavens Temple was born alongside the world, so it was not impossible for it to preserve some of the things from ancient times.
It was no wonder that Sheng Yu Zhu mentioned that as long as the Pseudo-Great Emperors who participated in the Grand Dao battle survived the experience, they would receive a huge boost in strength even if they failed to become a Great Emperor.
The World Source Liquid was undoubtedly a good thing that could make a person’s strength soar without any side effects. It was just that Yang Yan alone might not be able to monopolize a treasure like that. If it were discovered by the Half-Saints, a fierce struggle was inevitable. Even if the other Pseudo-Great Emperors found out about it, there would still be some internal conflict arising from this.
Hence, Yang Kai immediately picked up the pace upon learning that it could be the World Source Liquid and rushed over with Bing Yun.
The place where Yang Yan and Bing Yun had found the pool of World Source Liquid was located in a thick jungle. There were huge towering trees everywhere in the surroundings, but there was only one empty space in its centre. Right in the middle of the jungle was a wooden stump with a diameter of approximately ten metres wide. The wooden stump was hollow in the middle, which formed a pool. That pool was filled with a milky white liquid that was suspected to be World Source Liquid.
Naturally, that was just Yang Yan’s guess. She could not be certain what was inside the pool until she passed through the Grand Array after all. Nevertheless, it would surely be useful for a Pseudo-Great Emperor even if it was not World Source Liquid.
Just a moment ago, the surrounding scenery had been pleasant. However, in the next moment, Yang Kai plunged into a fog so thick he could not see his hand in front of him. The change was so sudden that he was caught completely by surprise. Shocked, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned to look in the direction of Bing Yun, “Senior?”
Although he could not see anybody there, Bing Yun’s voice rang out clearly, “I’m here!”
He secretly let out a breath of relief in response. By inferring from the direction of her voice, she seemed to be standing no more than two steps away from him. It was just that he couldn’t even see her outline through this dense fog. Moreover, the dense fog had the effect of preventing anybody from probing their surroundings with Divine Sense.
Even his Divine Sense, which was stronger than that of any Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, was suppressed by the dense fog and could not advance forward whatsoever when he released it into his surroundings. If that was the case for him, what more need be said about Bing Yun? Their sight was obscured and their Divine Sense was useless in this strange place, so they were essentially blind.
“Was this place like this before?” Yang Kai asked in a quiet voice.
Bing Yun replied, “No. There was nothing unusual here before. Maybe Yang Yan triggered something when she was trying to crack the Spirit Array.”
Yang Kai nodded when he heard those words. That explanation was reasonable. They originally came to meet up with Yang Yan and check on her progress in cracking the Natural Spirit Array while they were at it. Unfortunately, it would seem that the situation here was not too optimistic. They did not see Yang Yan anywhere upon their arrival, nor did they see that wooden stump pool either. There was only this strange fog in all directions.
In this environment, Yang Kai couldn’t help being extremely alert and warned, “Be careful, Senior. Call me immediately if you find anything.”
“I know! You do the same!” Bing Yun’s voice rang out.
They continued walking deeper inward while conversing with each other. Although they could not see anything and their Divine Senses were useless at the moment, they could use their voices to estimate each other’s positions so that they did not need to worry about getting separated.
It was just that the deeper they went, the bigger the frown on Yang Kai’s face became.
According to what Bing Yun told him earlier, the wooden stump pool that contained what was suspected to be World Source Liquid was located in an empty clearing that was about a thousand metres from the edge of the jungle. They had been walking straight ahead for the past quarter hour, but had yet to come across anything. Furthermore, forget a thousand metres, they might even have travelled tens of thousands of metres by now.
“Listen…” Bing Yun suddenly spoke.
“What is it?” Yang Kai turned to look at her, but all that he could see in front of him was a layer of fog.
“Didn’t you hear anything?”
“What did you hear, Senior?” Her unexpected discovery in this strange place not only surprised him but also raised his wariness somewhat. He couldn’t help getting goosebumps all over his body, but to his horror, Bing Yun stopped responding. He suddenly had a bad feeling and called out once more, “Senior?”
Despite shouting several times, he received no response at all. Yang Kai then reached out to grab at the spot where Bing Yun had been standing just now, but there was nothing there. He could not find any traces of her anywhere when he rushed forward a little either. By this point, Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help turning a little ashen.
Bing Yun had been by his side a moment ago only to disappear without a trace a moment later. Was this the secret work of somebody at play? Or, was this the power of the Natural Spirit Array?
The possibility of the latter was much more likely of course. Bing Yun had mentioned there was a Natural Spirit Array nearby that guarded this place after all. It was the one Yang Yan had stayed behind to crack. Besides, there was nobody with the ability to take Bing Yun away without Yang Kai noticing among the many Half-Saints from the Demon Realm.
In that case, was this a Bewildering Array? Natural Spirit Arrays were generally very extraordinary of course, so it might not only have the effect of a Bewildering Array. What concerned Yang Kai even more were Bing Yun’s words before she disappeared. She had obviously heard something; however, he had not noticed anything. Even when he listened attentively at this moment, Yang Kai still couldn’t hear any sounds at all.
It was said that all Spirit Arrays in the world could be broken by brute force; unfortunately, Bing Yun had fallen prey to the Spirit Array. Yang Yan’s situation was probably not much better given the current circumstances; therefore, Yang Kai did not dare to act rashly. It would not be worthwhile if he accidentally harmed them by lashing out now.
Standing motionlessly in place, Yang Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he jerked his eyes open again and his left eye seemed to flicker with a golden light.
The Demon Eye of Annihilation he obtained from the Great Demon God had the ability to see through all illusions, so it was extremely effective against something like Bewildering and Illusion Arrays. Under the effect of the Demon Eye of Annihilation, the fog shrouding his surroundings seemed to fade away considerably in an instant.
Yang Kai calmed down slightly upon seeing this. It would seem that the Great Demon God was indeed extraordinary. All this time, Yang Kai seemed to have underestimated the power of the Demon Eye of Annihilation. He had also been unable to fully bring out its potential. Even though the Natural Spirit Array in the Source Sealed World was so mysterious, he instantly got a glimpse of its mysteries with the help of the Demon Eye of Annihilation.
“Hm?” Yang Kai’s expression changed as he looked around at his surroundings. He had not been able to see anything just now, but he discovered that he was actually surrounded by numerous tiny silk threads under the influence of the Demon Eye of Annihilation. The silk threads were densely packed, but invisible to the naked eye, fluttering in the air like tentacles. Occasionally, these silk threads would approach him as if to touch him; however, they would quickly shrink away from him as though scared of something.
He frowned and reached out to grab at the silk thread in front of him, but to his surprise, it avoided his hand as if it were a living creature.
“Where are you trying to run!?” Yang Kai coldly snorted. He instinctively felt that Bing Yun’s disappearance was related to these silk threads; thus, he violently reached out and caught a handful of silk threads in his grip.
In the next moment, a strange voice suddenly sounded in his head. That voice sounded like a soft murmuring that seemed to be calling out to him, giving rise to an impulse that urged him to head in a certain direction. The light in his eyes vanished and was replaced by a dull look. At the same time, his mind instantly sank into an abyss!
Numerous silk threads appeared inside his Knowledge Sea, travelling through the pitch-black flames. A layer of ripples formed everywhere they passed, spreading out into the surroundings. Meanwhile, the Soul Warming Lotus in the middle of his Knowledge Sea burst out with a seven-coloured radiance. That gentle force filled every corner of his Knowledge Sea, smoothing out the ripples that formed. In response, the countless silk threads that barged into his Knowledge Sea dissipated instantly like snowflakes under the scorching sun.
Yang Kai’s body jerked abruptly and his dazed eyes regained their lustre. An expression of lingering fear crept across his face when he finally realised what happened to him. He looked back again and saw that the countless silk threads surrounding him were still there. As before, these silk threads constantly wandered around him but did not dare to approach. If he had not taken the initiative to reach out just now, they would not have come into contact with him at all.
[What in the world are these things!?] He was completely bewildered by the tiny silk threads. The only thing he could be sure of was that these strange things definitely had something to do with Bing Yun’s disappearance.
Bing Yun had clearly heard something just now; likewise, a soft murmuring had sounded in his head when he touched those silk threads and he immediately lost consciousness after that. It was obvious that the same thing had happened to her. It was just that she did not have one of the world’s Supreme Treasures like the Soul Warming Lotus protecting her Knowledge Sea.
[But, why don’t these silk threads dare to touch me? Do I have something that Bing Yun does not have?] Yang Kai had some vague guesses but could not be certain. In any case, the most important thing right now was to locate Bing Yun and Yang Yan as soon as possible. Thinking back to the strange voice in his head just now, he lifted his eyes to look in a certain direction and strode forward.
Following his advance, the silk threads in front of him involuntarily shrank back from him. The direction he was heading was none other than the source of those silk threads. The further he went, the clearer his sight became as the dense fog enveloping his surroundings became thinner and thinner.
All of a sudden, there was a loud cracking sound. He seemed to have stepped on something. When Yang Kai lowered his head to look, his pupils involuntarily contracted. There was a skeleton beneath his feet. He did not know how long ago this person had died, but their bones were scattered across the ground quite messily. From the shape of the bones, it was clear that it had been a Human, and since the only ones that could die in this place were the Pseudo-Great Emperors that participated in the Grand Dao battle, it had to have been one of those ancient Masters.
This place was extremely dangerous after all. Other people had discovered this place that Yang Yan and Bing Yun had found, but these people had been ambushed and died in this place as a result. Moreover, it was evident that more than one person had experienced such a fate.
Yang Kai lifted his gaze and looked ahead. Countless skeletons were piled high across the ground in the open space around him. Some of those skeletons were completely weathered away while others still retained their original shape. The clothes on their bodies had long since rotted away into dust; however, from the degree of decay, it was clear that these people were from many different eras.
Aside from these skeletons, there was also a round-shaped wooden stump about ten metres in diameter and hollow in the centre like a wooden pool, filled with a milky white liquid.
A strange fragrance tickled Yang Kai’s nose and when he breathed it in, his entire body throbbed with excitement. Even his mood brightened and he became elated.
World Source Liquid!
Even though he had never seen it before, one glance at this liquid was enough for Yang Kai to instantly confirm that this was the legendary World Source Liquid. Yang Yan and Bing Yun were not mistaken.
Nevertheless, his attention was quickly drawn to something else instead. There were five cocoon-like things around the wooden pool. The cocoons were as tall as a person and in addition, numerous strange silk threads were endlessly wrapping around the cocoons, thickening and strengthening them with time.
One of the cocoons had yet to form completely. More importantly, the thing that was being wrapped by the silk threads inside that particular cocoon was none other than Bing Yun, who had just gone missing not too long ago. Yang Kai did not know when she had arrived here, but at this moment, her eyes were tightly closed as she stood there quietly, allowing the pure and clean silk threads to wrap around her. She seemed oblivious to the danger that she was in and there was even a slight smile adorning her lips.
Yang Kai’s scalp tingled at the sight and he couldn’t help gulping nervously. Judging from Bing Yun’s condition, there were bound to be other people inside the other four cocoons. They were either Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary or Half-Saints from the Demon Realm. Yang Yan was probably among them too.
These Masters had fallen into this trap unsuspectingly and without their knowledge, and looking at the countless skeletons surrounding him, Bing Yun and the others would eventually suffer the same fate if nobody rescued them.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and silently pushed his Demon Qi. Then, he stimulated the Demon Eye of Annihilation to its maximum and prepared to make a move at any time. After a careful investigation of the strange silk threads, Yang Kai was frustrated to learn that there was no way to trace them back to their source. These silk threads seemed to appear out of thin air to wrap around the living creatures that entered this place, which would eventually cause generations of Pseudo-Great Emperors who came here to lose their lives without even realising it.
[What a terrifying natural death trap!] Yang Kai was drenched in cold sweat.
Lured by World Source Liquid, the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints were tempted into investigating this place. Then, they would unknowingly lose consciousness by being drawn into illusions that even they could not wake up from and eventually die in this place.
The Source Sealed World known as the Profound Heavens Temple was not just filled with endless opportunities, it was clearly also brimming with unpredictable dangers. Over the generations, no more than one-third of the Pseudo-Great Emperors who participated in the Grand Dao battle would survive. Those who died in this place not only included those who fought against others and were killed due to their own lack of strength, but also the many who died due to various traps similar to this one.
There were five cocoon-like things in this place, and aside from Bing Yun, whom he could see at the moment, the other four cocoons were wrapped up tightly. Yang Yan should also be inside one of them.
The peculiarity in this place was something even a veteran Pseudo-Great Emperor like Yang Yan could not resist; hence, it was easy to imagine what would happen to the others who arrived in this place.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had the feeling that the reason he was safe and sound was most likely related to the fact that he had part of the Star Boundary’s Will in his body.
The Profound Heavens Temple was a Source Sealed World that was born along with the Star Boundary itself, as well as the place where the Grand Dao battle took place. Thus, the world itself was probably watching the current progress at all times.
It was only recently that Yang Kai had complained about how useless the invisible and intangible World’s Will in his body was. He never imagined that it would begin showing its effects so quickly.
This Natural Spirit Array was not entirely ineffective against him. It had been proven that he would also be affected by this death trap from what happened when he took the initiative to touch those silk threads before. It was just that he received protection from the Soul Warming Lotus and did not lose himself as a result.
As for the reason why those silk threads did not actively touch him; it was most likely that they could sense the aura of the World’s Will in his body. It was only natural that the World’s Will in his body allowed him to escape the hostility in this place, which in turn caused the silk threads to avoid touching him.
From this, it could be seen that the World’s Will in his possession was not completely useless in the Profound Heavens Temple, it was just that he had not discovered its uses. After understanding this point, Yang Kai became a little expectant. [I wonder what other kind of support I will receive from the World’s Will in the upcoming battle.]
However, his top priority now was to rescue Yang Yan and Bing Yun. Yang Kai quickly strode forward and came to Bing Yun, his hands transforming into Dragon Claws. Tearing apart the silk threads wrapping around her body, Yang Kai quickly pulled her out from inside the cocoon. Even so, Bing Yun did not wake up immediately. Her eyes remained tightly closed with a smile on her lips, as though she was having a beautiful dream. With no other choice, he placed her inside the Small Sealed World and decided to wait until she woke up before planning his next move.
Yang Kai quickly tore apart the second cocoon. Glancing at the contents, he immediately became happy. A Demon Race Half-Saint was wrapped up inside this cocoon. Judging by the rotten stench that burst out the moment the cocoon was opened, it was a Corpse Demon.
His previous guess was correct. There really were Demon Race Half-Saints among these five cocoons. Yang Yan had been the only person here when Bing Yun left this place. In that case, the other three had appeared later but fell prey to the same trap as Yang Yan.
The opportunity to kick his enemy when they were down was very rare. Seeing as they were mortal enemies, how could Yang Kai afford to be benevolent and soft-hearted? He looted the Space Ring from the other party, and then threw a punch in the direction of the Corpse Demon while using Rupture. A black ball appeared and disappeared in a flash, and the Corpse Demon vanished without a trace along with the cocoon wrapped around him.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling jubilant that he had managed to kill a Half-Saint so easily.
The third cocoon contained a Pseudo-Great Emperor of the Human Race. It was one of the Star Boundary’s fifty-five Army Commanders, Gan Li. Although Yang Kai was acquainted with this person, he did not have much interaction with him. They probably did not exchange more than three sentences between them in total. Given their fateful meeting, however, Yang Kai casually rescued and transferred the other party into the Small Sealed World while he was at it.
The fourth cocoon contained another Demon Race Half-Saint, who followed in the footsteps of his companion a moment later.
It wasn’t until he tore open the fifth cocoon that Yang Yan’s figure was revealed. Yang Kai couldn’t help heaving a sigh of relief at the sight. He had been worrying about what to do if the fifth cocoon did not contain Yang Yan. Fortunately, such a situation did not come to pass.
Yang Kai had managed to eliminate two Demon Race Half-Saints and rescue three Pseudo-Great Emperors without much effort; therefore, he was in a great mood. According to his calculations, as many as four Half-Saints had died at his hands alone since the start of the Grand Dao battle. A war record like this was probably something even Li Wu Yi could not pull off if he had been here in person.
Although a large part of his success had been due to luck, was luck not sometimes considered to be one of the strengths of a cultivator when climbing towards the peak of the Martial Dao?
Next, Yang Kai turned to stare at the milky white liquid inside the wooden pool and couldn’t help becoming a little breathless. He had obtained countless precious and rare treasures ever since he began his journey in the Martial Dao, but even so, there were very few things that could compare with that pool of liquid in front of him.
Both the Soul Warming Lotus and the Immortal Tree were regarded as unique Supreme Treasures, but World Source Liquid had its own profound uses. It was the essence that was formed during the birth of the world; hence, every drop of World Source Liquid contained the chaotic primordial aura from when the world was first created. It would surely help a person gain insight into the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao after they consumed even just a drop of it.
Even a Great Emperor would become greedy in front of such a precious treasure, what more a High-Rank Demon King like Yang Kai?
Gulping hard, Yang Kai reached out a finger, dipped it into the wooden pool, and placed a bit of World Source Liquid into his mouth. Something so precious counted for nothing until he had it firmly in his possession.
Before he could carefully enjoy the taste, Yang Kai heard a bang in his mind. Immediately after that, his entire body shuddered as his Knowledge Sea became turbulent. His vision went black, and at the same time, he was deprived of all his other senses. He could neither see, hear, nor feel anything. It was as though he had fallen into a place of chaotic nothingness.
A ray of light suddenly bloomed and chaos split apart for the first time. Pure Qi rose to become the sky while Turbid Qi sank to become the ground. The world was born and millions of living creatures were created…
Yang Kai did not know how long went by before he abruptly came back to his senses, a light shining brightly in his eyes. Meanwhile, his expression was exhilarated but thoughtful at the same time. In that brief moment, he felt as though he had turned into the world itself and experienced the birth of the universe from chaos until it became what it was today…
Furthermore, he vaguely felt an insight blooming in his heart. Perhaps, this was the peak that all the cultivators pursued… Unfortunately, all of this was too far away for him right now. He was just a High-Rank Demon King and still had to become a Half-Saint and then a Demon Saint in the future…
The insights gained this time far exceeded his own cultivation Realm, so there were many things that remained obscure to him. Even so, Yang Kai was not annoyed. The cultivation Realm was something that would eventually be achieved through a gradual accumulation. On the other hand, obtaining an insight like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had to memorise this feeling for now and wait for the right time to revive this memory. It would definitely help him in the future.
At this point, Yang Kai was certain that the milky white liquid in this pool was World Source Liquid. Nothing else but World Source Liquid could give him such a mysterious yet enjoyable epiphany.
Without any hesitation, Yang Kai immediately began collecting the World Source Liquid. Pushing his Divine Sense, he wrapped the wooden pond with it and exerted a slight force. However, there was no movement.
Yang Kai’s expression twitched slightly. He originally wanted to place the wooden pond directly into the Small Sealed World, but who could have known that it would not budge in the slightest? When he pushed his Divine Sense just now, Yang Kai clearly perceived that the small wooden pond and the entire Profound Heavens Temple were closely connected to one another. If he wanted to collect the wooden pool, then he first had to collect the Profound Heavens Temple, which was naturally completely impossible.
Therefore, he had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and began to collect the World Source Liquid in the wooden pool. This was not a difficult task. Following his actions, World Source Liquid in the wooden pond began to drain at a constant rate and be deposited into the Small Sealed World. For this reason, he also specially made a pond in the medicine garden of the Small Sealed World.
The wooden pool was not big, only ten or so metres in diameter. In addition, the liquid in the pool was only about one metre deep.
When the World Source Liquid in the wooden pool had decreased by half, however, Yang Kai’s movements suddenly froze. He looked around his surroundings with a solemn expression. For a moment just now, he had a feeling as though he was being spied on, like a pair of eyes watching him.
A sweep of his Divine Sense found nothing, however, which puzzled him. With his current Divine Sense and Soul cultivation, there was nobody in the Profound Heavens Temple who could spy on him in secret. Hence, it was impossible for him to fail to notice if a person was really watching him from the shadows.
He frowned pensively for a bit before smiling coldly. It didn’t matter whether the person spying on him was a Human or Demon. It didn’t even matter what that person’s intentions were. He would think about it once he collected every drop of World Source Liquid here. Once he had everything in hand, the decision to fight or to flee would take but a brief consideration.
Even though he consciously made such a decision, his instincts were screaming at him that it was a bad idea. It felt as though something terrible would definitely happen if he continued down this path.
A layer of cold sweat slowly oozed out of his forehead as Yang Kai made repeated attempts to continue with his plans, but something inside him was screaming to leave while he was still ahead. After hesitating and struggling for a while, Yang Kai grit his teeth and gave up on collecting the rest of the World Source Liquid. Miraculously, the sense of crisis that he was feeling, as well as the sensation of being spied on vanished the moment he gave up and everything returned to normal.
“The World’s Will!” Yang Kai’s expression froze. At this point, how could he fail to realise that the situation just now was not someone else watching him from the shadows? Rather, it was the World’s Will in his body that was acting up!
The invisible and intangible World’s Will bestowed upon him was a blessing from the world itself. It had the slight ability to attract luck and guide him to avoid misfortune. Although he did not know what consequences would have befallen him just now had his greed won out, he was certain that it would not have ended well.
Now that he had given up on the idea, he felt a lot more relaxed.
Even so, who would willingly give up on taking everything when there was such a precious treasure right in front of him? Thus, Yang Kai struggled, hesitated, and tried several more times, but whenever the idea to continue collecting the World Source Liquid came into his mind, that inexplicable feeling of doom would appear again. On the other hand, everything would return to normal whenever he gave up on that idea.
After numerous attempts, Yang Kai no longer dared to entertain any more thoughts about the World Source Liquid. He hardened his head and turned around to leave without looking back.
A short while later, he walked out of the place where the wooden pool had been located. Looking back, he saw the scenery in that area become twisted and distorted before it vanished out of sight, replaced by a dense forest that looked no different from the rest of the areas.
Yang Kai immediately understood. The natural death trap that had existed since ancient times was probably damaged after what he did just now, so how could the remaining World Source Liquid be preserved without its protection? Removing itself from this place was probably a form of self-protection. Who knows how many years it would take before it reappeared once more?
Yang Kai searched for a hiding place and hid inside. Thinking back to the remaining half of the World Source Liquid that he failed to obtain, he couldn’t help feeling greatly distressed. He had collected quite a lot, but how could anybody believe that there could be too much of a good thing?
The World Source Liquid contained the chaotic aura from when the world was created. That aura was enough to allow a Third-Order Emperor, who had been troubled by a bottleneck for many years, to break through their shackles and be promoted to become a Pseudo-Great Emperor. If only he could have collected a little more of the World Source Liquid, he could have created many more Pseudo-Great Emperors for the Star Boundary in the future.
He could only say that what belonged to him would belong to him no matter what. On the contrary, it was useless to dream too much about something that was not destined to be his.
Yang Kai sighed and wallowed for a bit before he finally let go of the regret in his heart. Shifting his thoughts, he checked the Small Sealed World and discovered that Bing Yun, Yang Yan, and Gan Li had woken up. The three of them had gathered together and seemed to be discussing something. It was obvious that they had realised they were currently inside Yang Kai’s Small Sealed World, so they did not look panicked. Nevertheless, they couldn’t help feeling some lingering fears whenever they recalled what they went through previously.
Yang Kai’s Soul Projection manifested in front of them, and once everybody greeted him, Gan Li spoke, “Many thanks for your help this time, Brother Yang. This Gan would have been in great trouble if not for you.”
Yang Kai responded with a smile, “You’re too kind, Brother Gan. You and I have both fought under the command of Supreme Commander Li and equally contributed to the peace of the Star Boundary. During a period where the outsiders are coveting all we have, I’m certain you would not stand by idly either if this Yang encountered trouble and you had the ability to help.”
“Of course.” Gan Li nodded sternly, “In any case, I will forever remember this second chance at life that you’ve given me, Brother Yang. Feel free to let me know if you need any assistance inside this Profound Heavens Temple.”
The two exchanged a few more words of courtesy, but neither of them mentioned the World Source Liquid. Yang Kai did not know if Gan Li had seen the World Source Liquid or if the latter deliberately refused to broach the subject.
Thinking about it again, since Yang Yan had seen it, there was no reason for Gan Li to have missed it. Gan Li must have been attracted by the World Source Liquid and fell prey to the Natural Spirit Array as a result. As for whether he recognized exactly what the World Source Liquid was or not was another matter altogether.
“What do you plan to do next, Brother Gan?” After the pleasantries were dealt with, Yang Kai went straight to the point.
“Naturally, I will try my best to seize the opportunity to reach the peak of the Grand Dao and locate the Illusionary Heavens Furnace.” Gan Li frowned and smiled bitterly, “But, then again, this Gan has been searching for the Illusionary Heavens Furnace since entering the Profound Heavens Temple. It’s a pity that I have found nothing so far. Did you find anything on your end?”
Yang Yan replied flatly, “No.”
She then turned to look at Yang Kai and continued, “Little brat, are you sure that Sheng Yu Zhu was not lying to you? Did she deliberately throw out bait to lure others away while she goes off doing something on her own in secret?”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, “It’s not impossible, but this is the only clue we have.”
He had not gotten any useful information from the Demon Race Half-Saints either. All he learned was that the Demon Saints had ordered the Half-Saints to kill the Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary. But, why did something like that need to be specifically worded into a command? The struggle between the two worlds had never ceased. Was there any possibility of peace between the Masters from both the Human Race and the Demon Race if they encountered each other inside this place?
“In any case, our top priority is to find the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. We can search for more information along the way.” Yang Kai then turned to look at Gan Li, “If you don’t mind, would you like to travel with us, Brother Gan?”
Bing Yun and Yang Yan were definitely going to accompany him as this was something they had decided on beforehand. Since Yang Kai had the World’s Will, the Demon Race was sure to target him. Even with his mastery of the Dao of Space, it would be bad if he were to face this situation all on his own. Besides, it wasn’t just the Demon Race. Even the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary might try to kill him at the final stage of this battle.
It was obvious that Gan Li also knew about this situation. Yang Kai was currently in possession of something that would incite the greed of others, so he did not dare to take the initiative to mention this subject. He was afraid that Yang Kai and the others might misunderstand him even though he genuinely wanted to join forces with them. He never imagined that Yang Kai would be so carefree to broach the subject himself. It made him feel a little ashamed.
Without giving Gan Li a chance to speak, Yang Kai continued, “There are only 30 Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary who entered the Profound Heavens Temple. On the other hand, there are 40 Half-Saints from the Demon Realm. Just from our numbers alone, the Demon Race holds an absolute advantage over us. If we don’t unite, it will only give the Demon Race a chance to destroy us. That is why I implore you to come with us, if possible, Brother Gan. We can discuss our plans again at the final stage of the Grand Dao battle.”
Having said so much, it would be ill-mannered for Gan Li to refuse. Besides, Yang Kai had just saved his life, so how could he dare to refuse this proposal? Not to mention, that was also his intention in the first place, so he immediately cupped his fists, “That was my wish. It was just that I did not dare ask it of you.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Good! In that case, I’m going to go fishing.”
“Fishing?” Gan Li looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.
Yang Yan understood instantly and smiled in response, “Just don’t catch any sharks.”
“What’s wrong with sharks?” Yang Kai chuckled and his figure faded away. Just before he left, he saw Yang Yan wink at him.
At this moment, Gan Li seemed to catch on to what Yang Kai previously meant by ‘fishing’ and exclaimed in realisation, “Interesting. How interesting.” While speaking, he revealed a look of great anticipation.
Yang Kai was moving around outside; however, he left a thread of consciousness inside the Small Sealed World. The look that Yang Yan secretly gave him just now clearly meant that she wanted a private conversation with him, so he quietly contacted her.
“Little brat, what about the World Source Liquid? Did you get it?”
As expected, she immediately asked that question of him the moment he got in touch with her. Nevertheless, she remained engaged in conversation with Gan Li about something else on the surface.
Yang Kai grinned and replied, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you I didn’t manage to get any.”
“Very good! Give me half!” She said decisively.
Yang Kai tripped over his own feet and nearly faceplanted on the ground at those words, “Big Sister, why not declare you’re robbing me!” [How can she ask for half right at the start!? It’s inhuman!]
Yang Yan simple giggled and declared, “If not for me, you wouldn’t even have found that in the first place. So, it’s perfectly acceptable for me to demand half.”
“Fine, fine, half it is.” He couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. Besides, he had taken so much of the World Source Liquid that he could not possibly finish it all on his own anyway, “But, I only managed to collect half of the World Source Liquid there. I couldn’t collect the remaining half.”
“Why?” She was puzzled.
“I can’t give you an exact explanation. I just had the feeling that something terrible would happen if I had forcefully taken the remaining half.”
“Something that ominous happened?” Yang Yan was shocked, but after mulling over it for a bit, she added, “En, that makes sense. That is a treasure formed during the creation of the world after all. Alchemists always emphasise leaving behind roots when harvesting treasures, lest they cause the herbs to go extinct. If a treasure like the World Source Liquid was completely taken away, it would surely be self-defeating. Still, half isn’t a bad haul either.”
“Seeing how enthusiastic you are about the World Source Liquid, do you know what kind of mysterious properties it has?”
She laughed softly, “Do you want to know?”
“Tell me about it.” Although he had tried some and deeply experienced the effects brought about by that small drop of World Source Liquid, Yang Kai was unable to fully grasp its effects even now.
Yang Yan didn’t try to keep him guessing and immediately asked, “Do you know why Senior Iron Blood is more powerful than the other Great Emperors?”
“Isn’t it due to the Secret Art he cultivated?” Yang Kai was puzzled. Nobody ranked the Ten Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, but Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen, was publicly recognized as the strongest among them. This point was something none of the other Great Emperors denied either.
“Of course not. How could the Secret Art cultivated by one Great Emperor be any worse than another’s?” Yang Yan sneered, “Besides, the only thing that could be compared at their cultivation is their own understanding and insights. It has little to do with their Secret Arts. Well… Wu Kuang is a special case. All his success came from the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and I have to admit that that guy is truly a genius.”
“Are you saying that Senior Iron Blood once consumed World Source Liquid?” Yang Kai asked.
“En! He once casually brought up the subject of the world’s treasures with me and among them was World Source Liquid. He claimed that he had the opportunity to consume a cup of the World Source Liquid in the Profound Heavens Temple; moreover, he was still benefiting from that cup to this day!”
“Sii…” Yang Kai inhaled sharply. At the same time, his figure that was rushing forward paused for a moment. He had tried to overestimate the effects of the World Source Liquid as much as possible, but it turned out he was still greatly undervaluing it.
Iron Blood Great Emperor had participated in the Grand Dao battle that took place when the Profound Heavens Temple opened two cycles ago, which meant between 20,000 and 30,000 years had passed since then. Be that as it may, a single cup of World Source Liquid he consumed at the time had given him so much insight that he was still benefiting from it today. It was conceivable just how precious the World Source Liquid was.
In addition, Zhan Wu Hen had gotten a cup of World Source Liquid in the Profound Heavens Temple. Did he have the ability to escape from that natural death trap at the time? This was somebody else’s affair, moreover, so many years had passed, so Yang Kai did not know the details, but he was becoming increasingly aware of the terrifying effects of the World Source Liquid.
“Don’t feel bad, boy. Besides, I wasn’t planning on using my half of the World Source Liquid all for myself. With the World Source Liquid in hand, we might be able to considerably improve the strength of many Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary. What’s more, if the Great Emperors were to escape their current predicament, they might also be able to use some of the World Source Liquid to enhance their strength. When the time comes, I will inform them that I brought this precious treasure out.”
Yang Kai replied, “For the Star Boundary’s sake, that’s how it should be.”
In that way, the remaining half of the World Source Liquid in his possession would belong solely to him. More importantly, as far as the public was aware, Yang Yan would be the only one in possession of this item. Even if somebody were to covet it, they would not make the connection back to him. Unfortunately, this would most likely cause some trouble for her. Then again, considering that she was Zhan Wu Hen’s direct subordinate, nobody would have the courage to provoke her.
“By the way, what happened to the two Demons? Did you see them?”
Yang Yan had been in the middle of cracking the Natural Spirit Array when two Demon Race Half-Saints happened to pass by. She had no choice but to take some risks with what she was attempting and as a result, seemed to have triggered some sort of restriction and fallen unconscious. She didn’t even know when Gan Li got trapped in that place.
“Those two are already dead,” Yang Kai chuckled. That was probably the easiest two Half-Saints he had ever killed in his life as there had been no resistance whatsoever.
“Good,” Yang Yan coldly snorted.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai relayed to her the information he had obtained from the Strength Demon Half-Saint before. He also added the speculations he and Bing Yun came up with, as well as the abnormality that occurred to the corpses of the Demon Race Half-Saints who died in this place.
After listening to this, Yang Yan fell silent for a long while before saying, “Your guess is not unreasonable. Slaughter and blood… That might just be the truth. Perhaps, the final opportunity might only be revealed once enough blood has been spilt.”
Pausing, she then laughed lightly, “Little brat, do a good job fishing. The more Demons die, the better. Our advantage will also get greater and greater with time. It doesn’t matter who gets the opportunity in the end, as long as it doesn’t fall into the hands of the Demon Race.”
Yang Kai flew forward at great speed, the surrounding scenery flashing past him in a blur, looking back from time to time, as if something dangerous was approaching from behind.
And indeed there was danger behind him. A ray of blood light was chasing closely behind him. There were two hidden figures within that blood ray, and no matter how he bobbed and weaved, the blood ray hung on his tail like maggots on rotting bones. He could not get away from them.
A distance of several hundreds of metres might seem quite far, but a Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor could cross such a gap in a breath. With the passage of time, the distance between them got closer and closer.
Space Principles flared and Yang Kai’s figure flickered before he vanished from the spot in an instant. By the time he reappeared, he had put some distance between them again; even so, he did not manage to exit the range of the blood ray’s pursuit.
A furious cry came out from the blood ray at that moment, “Yang Kai, accept your death! Even the Heavens won’t be able to save you today! This King will definitely catch you, drink your blood, and slice off your flesh piece by piece!”
Only the Half-Saints of the Blood Demon Clan could perform the incredibly fast Blood Escape Technique. Most people would not be able to escape a Blood Demon’s pursuit.
In truth, Yang Kai’s speed was inferior to the Blood Escape Technique of a Blood Demon, but with his mastery over the Dao of Space, whenever the distance between them became dangerously close, he would use Instantaneous Movement to put some distance between them. This situation had occurred many times already, so much so that the Blood Demon chasing him was about to cough up blood in annoyance.
Under normal circumstances, the Blood Demon would not have chased Yang Kai so stubbornly; after all, who did not know that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space and was capable of coming and going like the wind? Who did not know that he had comprehended some kind of Martial Truth, which was mysterious and difficult to defend against? It would take at least three or four Half-Saints working together to deal with Yang Kai and they would still have to kill him in one decisive blow, lest he finds a chance to escape.
However, this was the Profound Heavens Temple and there were all kinds of restrictions in place. The Blood Demon had seen with his own eyes that Yang Kai could not cross great distances at once even though the latter’s Instantaneous Movement still functioned. That would give him an opportunity to catch up to Yang Kai.
What’s more, Yang Kai was clearly heavily injured. There were countless wounds all over his body and even his aura seemed a little unstable.
The Blood Demon had no idea what had happened to Yang Kai previously, but the latter clearly had not had a peaceful time over the past few days. How could he let such a good opportunity pass him by? If he could kill Yang Kai, he would be able to snatch the World’s Will from Yang Kai’s possession. That would definitely be of great help to him in the upcoming Grand Dao battle.
Since ancient times, men would die for wealth just as birds would die for food. How could the Blood Demon not be tempted with such a huge piece of fat in front of him? Furthermore, he was not alone. He had a companion. There were two figures wrapped inside the blood ray after all.
“Things will be bad if we continue like this. We can’t afford to delay any longer.” The voice of the other Demon Race Half-Saint rang out from within the blood ray.
The Blood Demon next to this person looked gloomy after hearing those words. He knew that his ally was not wrong. Their pursuit had already gone on for half a day; moreover, they had made a huge commotion during that time. It would be bad if a third party swooped in to take advantage of the situation; thus, he said quietly, “The price I have to pay to perform that Secret Technique is not small.”
The second Half-Saint replied, “You can kill him, but I’ll take the credit.”
The Blood Demon’s eyes brightened at those words, “Really!?”
“I swear in the name of Great Demon God!”
The Blood Demon heard this and cackled, “Good, good, good. I feel at ease with your words.”
The person who killed Yang Kai would be able to snatch and obtain the World’s Will. On the other hand, the person who took credit for the deed would be highly valued by the Demon Saints and receive personal guidance from them. This way, both parties would not lose out on anything.
After a brief negotiation, the Blood Demon’s expression turned solemn. He formed a set of hand seals before his scarlet eyes staring fixedly at the fleeing figure ahead. A cold light flashed across his gaze as he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence. Accordingly, the blood ray that was not slow in the first place suddenly flared with a crimson light that covered the entire sky. The Blood Demon’s speed immediately accelerated and he shot forward like a bolt of lightning to quickly shorten the distance between them.
[It’s probably about time.] Yang Kai, who was fleeing in front, quietly thought to himself. Half a day’s pursuit had shaved off quite a lot of the other party’s energy; moreover, the opponent seemed to be using some sort of sacrificial Secret Technique, so now was the time to end this farce.
The figure rushing forward suddenly stopped in mid-air, the change from extreme movement to complete stop both abrupt yet natural.
“Huh? He stopped!” The second Half-Saint inside the blood ray was shocked to the core. He never imagined that Yang Kai would turn around so suddenly. Did he realise that he won’t be able to escape so he decided to make a last stand instead?
“You court death!” The Blood Demon’s eyes lit up and amidst his maniacal laughter, he opened his arms wide. The blood ray exploded and transformed into a boundless Blood Sea that headed straight for Yang Kai.
A Dragon Roar sounded and the Azure Dragon Spear appeared. The spear slashed out, splitting the Blood Sea in two while Yang Kai lifted the corners of his mouth slightly in a sly smile.
“Not good! It’s a trap!” The Blood Demon turned pale in shock. He instinctively felt that something was wrong and quickly retreated. On the other hand, the companion next to him had already fled to the side when Yang Kai attacked.
All of a sudden, three figures appeared beside Yang Kai, and as if they had discussed it beforehand, one of the figures gave a flick of her wrist. Three bursts of light flew out from her fair wrist, aiming straight for the Blood Demon. Meanwhile, Yang Kai and the other two figures rushed towards the other Half-Saint.
“Despicable!” At that moment, a look of grief and indignation appeared on Blood Demon’s face, as well as a deep sense of humiliation.
It was no secret that Yang Kai was in possession of the Sealed World Bead that could contain living creatures inside. Not to mention, the Blood Demon’s other companion had warned him to be wary of this point while they were pursuing Yang Kai. It was just that Yang Kai had been running away for so long already. Seeing as Yang Kai had not called out any helpers, the two Demon Race Half-Saints naturally assumed that he was all alone. Who could have known that Yang Kai would actually call out helpers at this moment? Moreover, three at once!
Yang Kai had acted weak by fleeing for half a day, which just went to show how vicious he was. He clearly intended to kill the two Half-Saints in this place which was why he had been holding back until the time was right to strike.
In a two against four, there was no way the Half-Saints could defeat their opponents even if they were in peak condition. What’s more, the Blood Demon had just used a Secret Technique that damaged his own Blood Essence.
Regret washed over the Blood Demon’s heart. All he wanted to do right now was run as far as possible. As for his companion, he had no time to care so much about him. A woman had shot out three bursts of fire light that transformed into three large rings of flame that wrapped around him tightly, however. These rings of flame sealed off the world around him and cut off all his hopes of fleeing.
“Yang Yan!” The Blood Demon growled. After so many battles over so many years, both sides basically knew who the Masters on the other side were. In particular, Yang Yan was one of the most powerful among the Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary. The Three Blazing Flame Rings were extremely powerful in addition to having a potent restraining effect. There was even a precedent where she killed a Demon Race Half-Saint with them.
Yang Yan smiled like a fox that had stolen a chicken. There was no describing how happy she was, “We’ve really caught quite a lot of fish these days.”
The Blood Demon’s expression turned even uglier at those words. Taking a deep breath, his Demon Qi churned violently. In this situation, he would be in great trouble if he failed to escape before his companion died; therefore, his only option right now was to put up a desperate struggle. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he transformed into a blood ray and rushed towards the flaming barrier.
Yang Yan put away her smile and faced her opponent seriously. According to the plan, she only needed to tie down the Blood Demon and prevent him from fleeing for a while. Even so, the power a Demon Race Half-Saint could bring out in a life-or-death moment was not something she could afford to take lightly. If she wanted to delay her opponent here, she would need to give her all.
On the other side, Yang Kai had teamed up with Bing Yun and Gan Li to confront the second Demon Race Half-Saint. This Half-Saint was a Feather Demon. Regardless of their gender, those from the Feather Demon Clan were born with beautiful looks, and this one was no exception. He was so handsome that it was a little outrageous.
Unfortunately, that handsome face was now filled with savagery under the siege of Yang Kai and his two allies. The Feather Demon Clan was most proficient in archery, so at a distance, they had an incredible advantage. Take Bo Ya, for example, she was a Mid-Rank Demon King but had managed to kill a High-Rank Demon King simply by relying on her inherent talent in archery. Needless to say, a Half-Saint Feather Demon would surely be even more incredible.
During their chase, Yang Kai had been wounded several times by this Feather Demon. It could even be said that most of the injuries he sustained were caused by the latter. He had been acting weak just now, so he could only bear with it despite getting injured. Now, it was finally time for him to get his revenge.
No Demon Race Half-Saint would be able to endure a three-on-one battle, much less a Feather Demon who was not proficient in close combat. After a series of attacks, the Feather Demon was chilled by Bing Yun’s ice, which dulled his movements. Then, he took a blow from Gan Li, which caused him to incessantly cough up blood. During this time, Yang Kai took the opportunity to stab out with his spear. Unable to avoid the attack, the Feather Demon was pierced through the chest. He only just managed to prevent his vital points from being damaged, but the Martial Truth had already entered his body.
With all options sealed, the Feather Demon was both livid and indignant. It was a pity there was nowhere to vent the flames of fury in his heart.
Time passed and his injuries deteriorated as the Martial Truth eroded away at his body. The power he could wield was also becoming weaker and weaker as a result.
A quarter-hour later, the Feather Demon could no longer defend against Bing Yun’s attack. Her sword slashed him clean in half, but there was no blood whatsoever. The cold that penetrated his heart had completely frozen his body in an instant.
“Die!” Yang Kai followed up with his Azure Dragon Spear. His ferocious sweep caused the two halves of the body to shatter into dust. Even so, he did not stop moving. Becoming one with his spear, he rushed towards the other side of the battlefield without pause, his movements smooth, fluid, and dazzling to watch.
Bing Yun and Gan Li hurriedly followed.
Another quarter hour later, Yang Yan reached out her hand in a beckoning motion. The three large rings of fire transformed into three fiery bracelets that returned to her wrist. She looked down at the mummified corpse and exhaled softly, “That was difficult.”
Bing Yun and Gan Li had expressions of agreement on their faces.
Even with their absolute advantage in numbers, killing a Demon Race Half-Saint was still no easy task. The death struggles of the two Half-Saints had left them hesitant to act, lest they sustained injuries.
There was no need to mention the injuries Yang Kai sustained during battle. He had been the lure and stood at the forefront during both fights. Regardless of whether it was the Blood Demon or the Feather Demon, most of their attacks had been aimed at him. If not for the Dragon Clan’s tough physique, he would be in great trouble right now.
Bing Yun, Yang Yan, Gan Li were all injured as well, but even so, their situation was nothing compared to Yang Kai’s. Their injuries were minor and would heal after a short period of recuperation. After checking their bodies to make sure that there was nothing serious, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Kai searched the battlefield below them for a bit, then he flew back with a gloomy expression.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Yan frowned.
He tossed a Space Ring to her and replied, “Another one has fallen.”
She took the Space Ring and scanned it with her Divine Sense and a trace of sadness crept across her face. This Space Ring was not an item refined in the Demon Realm. It had come from the Star Boundary. Moreover, all the items within it originated from the Star Boundary. It was obviously not something that used to belong to a Demon Race Half-Saint.
If Yang Kai discovered this object on a Half-Saint, that could only mean that the owner of this item was gone. The culprits were undoubtedly the two Demon Race Half-Saints whom the four of them had just killed in a joint effort.
The truth was that this was neither the first Half-Saint they killed nor the first Space Ring they found that belonged to a Pseudo-Great Emperor from the Star Boundary. Since the day Yang Kai had hidden Yang Yan, Bing Yun, and Gan Li in the Small Sealed World, he had been constantly out fishing in the Profound Heavens Temple. They had engaged in a total of three battles over the past ten or so days, and counting the two Demon Race Half-Saints just now, they had managed to kill a total of four Half-Saints. Unfortunately, they had also found the Space Rings of three Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary on the corpses of those four Demon Race Half-Saints.
How could the Pseudo-Great Emperors and the Half-Saints die so easily under normal circumstances? They were invincible existences whenever the Demon Saints and the Great Emperors were not present in the world. They were the tyrants who dominated the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm respectively. It was just that the opening of the Profound Heavens Temple had brought all the tyrants together in one place, so it was inevitable for casualties to occur.
“This aura…” Yang Yan looked pensive as she carefully studied the remaining aura in the Space Ring. A long while later, she slowly let out a sigh, “If I’m not mistaken, this aura probably belongs to Wei Wu Fa of the Fourteenth Army.”
Gan Li’s expression changed upon hearing those words, “He died too?”
She nodded grimly and put away the Space Ring with a sombre air, “Wei Wu Fa still has surviving Disciples. I will return the Space Ring to them when we get back. I hope they will rise again one day.”
“Brother Wei, he… He had an Army Commander Token in his possession. How could he die so easily?” Gan Li looked horrified.
Every Army Commander had an Army Commander Token with a Great Emperor’s attack sealed inside. Yang Kai also had one in his possession, it was just that he had used it up during his battle with the Wind Lord in the Flowing Time Temple. Afterwards, the Great Emperors had gone missing so nobody could refine a new one for him.
Among the many tokens belonging to the Army Commanders, some had been used while others remained unused. Wei Wu Fa’s Army Commander Token was the latter case.
Logically speaking, Wei Wu Fa only needed to activate his Army Commander Token to turn the situation around in the event that he encountered any kind of danger; however, the fact that his Space Ring was in the hands of a Half-Saint said everything that needed to be said.
Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai said, “There are various invisible restrictions within the Profound Heavens Temple. The power of a Great Emperor probably does not work here.”
That was the only reasonable explanation.
Gan Li’s expression couldn’t help turning pale. He himself had an Army Commander Token in his possession. He originally thought that he had a trump card in his possession, so he could rest easy; however, Wei Wu Fa’s death had evidently given him a stark wake-up call. If he were really to rely on the Great Emperor’s Divine Ability sealed inside the Army Commander Token, he would have ended up dying without even knowing the reason why.
Moreover, Wei Wu Fa was an old acquaintance of his who was not weak. Gan Li was not confident that he could beat Wei Wu Fa if it came down to a one-on-one fight. Naturally, it was different in a life-or-death situation. Everybody had one or two hidden trump cards after all. There was no telling who would win or who would lose until the battle was over.
Nevertheless, Wei Wu Fa’s death had evidently been a huge shock to Gan Li. He had not run into anybody else since entering the Profound Heavens Temple, much less engaged in battle. That was the case until he accidentally fell prey to the Natural Spirit Array. He was rescued by Yang Kai and later stayed inside the Small Sealed World. Working together with Yang Kai, Bing Yun, and Yang Yan to kill their enemies, he participated in three battles and obtained victory in all three. Furthermore, he only paid a negligible price to kill four Half-Saints. It could be said that his journey had been very smooth so far.
Therefore, he never imagined that Wei Wu Fa would die in such an inexplicable manner. He had even sat down with Wei Wu Fa for a drink and a chat on the night before they entered the Profound Heavens Temple, dreaming about the various opportunities that could be found inside. Gan Li suddenly couldn’t help feeling a slight chill. If he had not been travelling with Yang Kai and the others, he might have been the next Wei Wu Fa.
Now that he knew his friend was gone, the elation Gan Li felt from killing the two Half-Saints previously faded considerably and he couldn’t help feeling sorrowful. The Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints in the Grand Dao battle were no more than the rungs of a ladder, meant for the others to climb to the peak. [Will I be the one climbing those steps? Or, will I be the stepping stone for others?]
“Not many people can withstand the joint attack of a Blood Demon and a Feather Demon alone.” Yang Kai took out something to clean the blood off his body but did not change. The tattered clothes he was wearing made him look extremely terrible.
“Aren’t you going to treat your wounds?” Yang Yan asked.
“I’m afraid there’s no time.” Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I have a feeling that the mysteries of the Profound Heavens Temple will reveal themselves soon. The key to becoming a Great Emperor will gradually become clearer and clearer. At that time, it will surely be a fight to the death. It’s more important to get rid of as many Demon Race Half-Saints as possible before that happens.”
Almost a month had passed since the Profound Heavens Temple opened. Although this short period was nothing to all the Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors, it was agonizingly long for the Star Boundary as a whole. The Profound Heavens Temple was opened because the World’s Will of the Star Boundary had sensed an imminent crisis. It was an instinctual self-defence mechanism. The world was counting on the Profound Heavens Temple to produce a Great Emperor that could save the situation.
Even now, the Demon Essence was constantly devouring the lands of the Star Boundary. If the battle within the Profound Heavens Temple continued for too long, the situation would become irreversible even if a Great Emperor were to be born. For that reason, the Grand Dao battle had to be settled within as short a time as possible, no matter what. As for whether the one having the last laugh would be the Demon Race or the Human Race, it was entirely dependent on their individual abilities.
Yang Yan might have dismissed those words if they came from anybody else; however, Yang Kai had the World’s Will, so it might be possible for him to actually sense something, “Let’s continue then. Hopefully, more fish will take the bait.”
Despite their efforts for the past ten or so days, they only managed to meet three batches of Demon Race Half-Saints. On the other hand, they had not met even a single one of the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary. The Profound Heavens Temple was simply far too vast.
Yang Kai did not know how many Half-Saints they could kill before the key to becoming a Great Emperor revealed itself. Be that as it may, he could only continue with their current efforts. The death of even one Half-Saint was enough to tip the power balance between the Humans and Demons. It might be the deciding factor during a critical moment.
Placing Yang Yan and the others back inside the Small Sealed World again, he continued on his journey all alone. Although his efforts in the subsequent days were in vain, his injuries from the previous battle gradually improved. Nevertheless, he secretly became anxious. His Divine Sense swept across his surroundings at all times, hoping for a pleasant surprise to appear.
Another five days passed just like that when, all of a sudden, Yang Kai abruptly stopped in the middle of his rush and perceived his surroundings with a frown. He felt as though he could faintly sense something, but he found nothing upon careful observation. It wasn’t his Divine Sense that was picking up on something. It was another kind of perception.
Therefore, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, got rid of all the distracting thoughts in his head, and followed his instincts.
An hour went by just like that.
Inside the Small Sealed World, Yang Yan watched the projection in the sky with a frown on her face. Similarly, Bing Yun and Gan Li, who were standing next to her, looked puzzled. The three of them had been staying inside the Small Sealed World as shock troops. However, they were not completely unaware of what was going on in the outside world. Yang Kai kept up a constant projection of his surroundings in the Small Sealed World so that they could monitor the situation. That was why they were aware of what was going on in the outside world.
“What is he doing?” Bing Yun was confused.
“Maybe he sensed something,” Yang Yan recalled what Yang Kai mentioned a few days ago.
“Is the key of the Grand Dao battle about to reveal itself?” Gan Li’s expression froze. If that truly was the case, then he would have to consider parting ways with Yang Kai and the others. Although it was much safer to work together, it was a risk he had to take for the sake of becoming a Great Emperor.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai abruptly opened his eyes and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile as he looked in a certain direction, “This way!”
While speaking, he shifted his body and rushed in that direction.
Inside the Small Sealed World, the expressions of three people turned solemn as they paid full attention to the movements of the outside world.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai charged forward. The further he went, the clearer that vague feeling became; thus, he immediately understood that the feeling he got just now was correct. The key to becoming a Great Emperor was in this direction. It was just that it had yet to fully reveal itself. He was relying on the World’s Will within him to perceive that vague feeling in the shadows.
Just from this point alone, he already held an advantage. If he could locate that key before anybody else reacted to it, he might just be able to end this Grand Dao battle in advance.
After rushing forward for half a day, however, Yang Kai frowned and turned his head to look in a certain direction. He had not encountered a single Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor over the past few days, but now two powerful auras barged into his range of perception. Judging by the unique characteristics of their auras, they were two Pseudo-Great Emperors.
Upon a closer inspection, Yang Kai raised his brow and muttered, “It’s that guy!”
The aura he recognised belonged to none other than Cang Mo. He did not know who Cang Mo was with at the moment, but the fluctuations of their auras indicated that they were in a dire situation.
A short while later, it became clear that Cang Mo had also noticed Yang Kai’s aura as he had turned around and led his companion straight towards him.
At the same time, several hostile auras followed closely behind.
Yang Kai’s expression turned grim as he gritted his teeth, “Is he trying to pass the burden to me? Shameless!”
If Yang Kai could recognise Cang Mo’s aura, then Cang Mo was definitely no stranger to Yang Kai’s aura. Despite knowing that Yang Kai was only a High-Rank Demon King, Cang Mo chose to flee in Yang Kai’s direction while being chased by several Demon Race Half-Saints. It was clear that his intentions were malicious.
Yang Kai was bound to be the focus of all the Demon Race Half-Saints due to the World’s Will in his possession. Seeing as Cang Mo was leading the enemy this way, there was no doubt that he was hoping to use Yang Kai to get rid of his enemy.
If those Demon Race Half-Saints saw Yang Kai, they would surely lose all interest in Cang Mo. They would definitely swarm over all at once to eliminate Yang Kai before all else, making it easy for Cang Mo to calmly escape during this time.
The moment the realisation struck Yang Kai, his expression turned cold. Various issues had occurred between him and Cang Mo. Just before they entered the Profound Heavens Temple, Cang Mo even tried to pick a fight over his cultivation in order to prevent him from joining the Grand Dao battle. In the end, Li Wu Yi even had to step in to overcome all the objections and settle the matter.
The grievances between Yang Kai and Cang Mo were neither large nor small. It was just that they could not stand each other. If they met each other alone in the Profound Heavens Temple, Yang Kai was certain that he could never coexist peacefully with Cang Mo. They were bound to fight each other.
When he sensed that Cang Mo was leading the enemy toward him, he even considered taking the opportunity to feed the other party to the wolves. He might as well use this chance to get rid of Cang Mo once and for all. However, he decided against it when he considered that the number of Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary was inferior to the number of Demon Race Half-Saints in the first place. The bigger picture was more important right now.
The two figures coming this way quickly entered Yang Kai’s field of vision and the distance between them shrank rapidly. Cang Mo seemed rather pale and he looked like he had been injured. On the other hand, the other Pseudo-Great Emperor accompanying Cang Mo was a middle-aged man that Yang Kai recalled was the Second Army’s Army Commander with the surname Feng.
This man surnamed Feng was in worse condition compared to Cang Mo. One of his arms was hanging limply by the side of his body, swinging back and forth as he flew. There was also a huge bloodstain across his chest.
It was obvious that Cang Mo and this man surnamed Feng had fought the Demon Race Half-Saints only to lose badly against their enemies.
Chasing behind these two were four Demon Race Half-Saints with the one in the lead radiating an extremely fierce and imposing aura. His Demon Qi surged violently and everywhere he passed, the vegetation withered away rapidly. That Corpse Demon was none other than the one whom Li Wu Yi had told Yang Kai to be wary of, Jia Long!
During the previous Two Worlds Great War, Li Wu Yi had fought Jia Long thrice but failed to do anything to the other party. It could be seen that Jia Long was very strong. According to Li Wu Yi, Jia Long was most probably the strongest out of all the Half-Saints. He was also the greatest enemy of the Star Boundary in the Grand Dao battle.
Other than Jia Long, the remaining three Demon Race Half-Saints each came from different Races. There was a Bone Demon, a Charm Demon, and a Feather Demon. Each one of them was extraordinarily powerful. Their Demon Qi churned vigorously as they followed Jia Long in pursuit of Cang Mo and this man surnamed Feng.
A few moments later, the man surnamed Feng, who was fleeing desperately together with Cang Mo, suddenly raised his head and a look of shock involuntarily appeared on his face when he saw somebody flying towards them at a high speed. After seeing who it was, he hurriedly shouted, “Brother Yang, hurry up and run!”
Unlike Cang Mo, whose intention was to deliberately push his disaster onto Yang Kai, this man surnamed Feng’s first reaction when he saw Yang Kai was to urge him to escape. He and Cang Mo were already injured, not to mention that there were as many as four pursuers behind them. Even if Yang Kai’s strength was comparable to that of a Half-Saint, there was no hope of turning the situation around. If Yang Kai rashly rushed over to provide support at this time, he would not only fail to rescue them but also end up getting dragged into this mess together.
Upon hearing what the man surnamed Feng shouted, Yang Kai’s originally frosty expression softened considerably and he smiled back at him.
It was hard to say whether Yang Kai would offer to provide support if Cang Mo was the only one being chased. The overall situation might be important in the Profound Heavens Temple, but he couldn’t care less about whether a person who constantly bore malice towards him was to survive or not.
It would be Cang Mo’s good fortune if he survived, but it would also serve him right if he died.
Sadly, Cang Mo was accompanied by another Army Commander and Yang Kai could not ignore the other person, regardless of his reasons.
Honestly, Yang Kai was reluctant to confront Jia Long head-on before the final stage of the Grand Dao battle. He had three helpers hidden inside his Small Sealed World which would instantly give him the advantage in numbers if Cang Mo and the man surnamed Feng were added to the mix; unfortunately, it would not benefit anybody if it really came down to a fight. Therefore, his plan was to meet up with these two, place them in the Small Sealed World, and then escape via Instantaneous Movement.
There were many restrictions within the Profound Heavens Temple. The Great Emperor’s Divine Ability Sealed inside the Army Commander Token could not be activated, Space Beacons could not be used, and even his Instantaneous Movement had been suppressed greatly. Be that as it may, even Jia Long would be helpless against him if he was determined to escape, regardless of how strong Jia Long was.
Under the astonished and confused gaze of the man surnamed Feng, Yang Kai continued to rush forward at a high speed.
“As you Humans say, ‘wear out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find something by pure chance’!” A thunderous voice rang out. Jia Long, who was chasing after Cang Mo and the man surnamed Feng, suddenly caught sight of Yang Kai and his eyes sparkled brightly with a pleasant surprise. The corners of his mouth split into a sinister smile as he shouted, “Little bastard, this King spent much effort to find you!”
Jia Long was not the only person searching for Yang Kai; in fact, all the Demon Race Half-Saints were desperately trying to locate his whereabouts. It was just that the Profound Heavens Temple was too vast and there was little chance to meet others. Besides, Yang Kai had been going around ‘fishing’ with his three hidden helpers, so even if a Half-Saint encountered him, it could not be considered good luck. Rather, it could only be said that their luck was terrible.
Nevertheless, it truly was a pleasant surprise for Jia Long to encounter Yang Kai in this place. Leaving aside the fact that his own strength was quite tyrannical, he also had three other Demon Race Half-Saints accompanying him. As long as he could hinder Yang Kai’s movements slightly, they would have a high chance of keeping Yang Kai here.
While speaking, Jia Long’s body shuddered all of a sudden. A monstrous wave of Corpse Qi overflowed from his burly body, rising into the sky like dark clouds. His speed increased greatly to the point he actually managed to catch up to the two fleeing Pseudo-Great Emperors in the blink of an eye.
The expressions of both Cang Mo and the man surnamed Feng changed in unison. Only now did they realise that they had underestimated Jia Long’s strength. Throughout their pursuit, it was not that the other party was unable to catch up to them, it was simply that they were unwilling to put in too much effort into the chase. Now that Jia Long had caught sight of Yang Kai, however, it was clear that he decided to end things as soon as possible without regard for consumption.
The Corpse Qi that flowed out had the effect of suppressing the entire world, and when Cang Mo and the man surnamed Feng were hit by it, they involuntarily swayed slightly and lost their balance. Thus, their expressions changed drastically and they both desperately urged their Emperor Qi to resist the invasion of the Corpse Qi.
Without warning, a trace of murderous intent emerged and locked onto the fleeing Cang Mo. There was a whooshing sound as a feather arrow shot through the sky towards him.
Cang Mo’s expression changed greatly! Even though he was running with all his might and did not turn around to look, he knew what was happening. It was obvious that the Feather Demon was attacking him.
This arrow was too rushed and would not kill him, but there was a high chance he would not walk out of this place alive if he was hit by that arrow. At the critical moment when his life was at stake, Cang Mo gritted his teeth and grabbed at something next to him, his hand gripping the shoulder of the man surnamed Feng.
Startled, the man surnamed Feng widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Brother Cang?”
Cang Mo expressionlessly shouted, “I’m sorry!”
Exerting strength in his arm, Cang Mo tossed the man surnamed Feng behind him. Then, he hurriedly continued pushing forward under the stunned gaze of his former companion.
There was a soft swoosh and the man surnamed Feng’s body jerked slightly as he felt all the strength in his body speedily flowing out of him. Lowering his head to look, he saw a feathered arrow sticking out of his chest. The arrow was wrapped in Demon Qi, which was corroding his body and causing the wound to expand rapidly. When he looked up again, he saw that Cang Mo was already several hundreds of metres away.
It would seem that he had failed to realise what was happening until this moment. The expression on his face instantly became extremely colourful. Various expressions flashed across his face until eventually settling on infinite grief and rage. He roared furiously, “Cang Mo, you old dog! I hope you die a terrible death!”
He never imagined that he would be harmed by his own companion in the Grand Dao battle. Moreover, the person who plotted against him was only doing it for the sake of a slim chance at survival.
Even in his weakened state, he could have avoided that arrow if he had attempted.
The Feather Demon’s archery skills might be terrifying, but that arrow had been far too rushed after all. It was not meant to kill, only to hinder the enemy’s movements. Who could have known there would be such an unexpected yet unpleasant surprise?
For a moment, the expressions of the Demon Race members became a little strange.
*Xiu…* Jia Long led the other three Demon Race Half-Saint past the man surnamed Feng. Along the way, he stretched out his hand and twisted. The head of the man surnamed Feng was gone by the time they flew by. The headless body swayed unsteadily, fresh blood spurting high into the sky from his neck.
“Cang Mo!” Yang Kai gnashed his teeth and howled in rage. He had seen everything that happened in that instant, and while he was extremely shocked, a murderous intent also gushed out of him like the tide.
He was already on his way to provide support. In just three more breaths, he would have arrived at that spot and placed both Cang Mo and the man surnamed Feng into the Small Sealed World. After that, it would have been simple for him to escape. No matter how strong Jia Long was, there was nothing Jia Long could do to him as long as the space around him was not sealed.
Three breaths. It was only three breaths, but it was enough for Yang Kai to witness the ugliness of Human nature.
Cang Mo had completely disregarded the life of his companion just to slightly improve his chance at survival. It could even be said that the man surnamed Feng had died at Cang Mo’s hands. After all, the Feather Demon Half-Saint’s arrow did not have the power to take any one of their lives. It was unfortunate that Cang Mo had been so frightened of his pursuers that he used his companion as a shield instead.
“Die!” Yang Kai’s eyes were bloodshot with rage and while shouting, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear and viciously thrust it at Cang Mo.
Cang Mo knew what was supposed to happen next the moment he grabbed and threw his companion behind him; hence, he did not escape in Yang Kai’s direction and instead turned to flee in another direction.
In any case, the Demon Race Half-Saints had already discovered Yang Kai and comparatively speaking, he was certain that the Demon Race would be more interested in Yang Kai. They would not chase after him so he would be able to rest easy as long as Yang Kai could distract those Demon Race Half-Saints. But, he never expected Yang Kai to react in this manner.
Yang Kai was several hundreds of metres away when he made that thrust. The spear ignored the barriers of space to appear in front of Cang Mo in an instant.
A Dragon Roar rang out and Cang Mo’s expression changed drastically. A huge Azure Dragon appeared in his field of vision, rushing towards him with its mouth wide open as though to swallow him whole. The Dragon Fangs gleamed with a cold light as though they could crush him to bits at will.
It was rumoured that Yang Kai had come across great opportunities during the years he spent in the Demon Realm. It was also said that he was strong enough to rival a Half-Saint even though he was only a High-Rank Demon King after his return. Cang Mo had long since heard those rumours but never truly believed them. In his opinion, it was true that Yang Kai had great talent; however, there was a huge difference in cultivation Realms. How could a person possibly cross that yawning gap between the Emperor and Pseudo-Great Emperor Realms? Therefore, even if Yang Kai had a record of killing Half-Saints, Cang Mo assumed it was all the result of receiving help from others.
It wasn’t until this moment when they exchanged blows that Cang Mo realised that the rumours were true.
[This little bastard really does have strength comparable to a Half-Saint!] When the spear came stabbing at him, Cang Mo felt a mountain-like pressure bearing down on him that made it difficult for him to breathe. In his desperation to respond, he raised a palm and struck out with all the force he could muster.
There was a loud bang and Cang Mo grunted from the impact as his body was violently thrown backwards. On the other hand, Yang Kai merely swayed slightly before he regained his balance. The reason for this disparity was not that he was much stronger than Cang Mo. Rather, it was because the Azure Dragon Spear had given him an advantage. The other reason was that he had acted out of rage while Cang Mo had reacted hastily to parry the attack.
*Shua shua shua…* Following the sounds of something slicing through the air, the four Demon Race Half-Saints arrived in the vicinity under Jia Long’s leadership. Then, they split up as though it had been discussed beforehand to block off the escape routes on all four sides. Enclosing Yang Kai and Cang Mo in the middle, they stared at the centre of the field with a contemptuous look in their eyes. The situation today was not something that could be witnessed casually. Compared with the laborious effort of killing the Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, the Half-Saints undoubtedly preferred watching Humans killing each other.
“Damn you!” Cang Mo roared through gritted teeth, his gaze sweeping left and right. His shock and horror were dyed with a heavy dose of fear. When he looked back at Yang Kai again, his eyes were filled with rage, “What is the meaning of this, Yang Kai!?”
Yang Kai lowered his gaze, allowing his long hair to fall across his forehead, casting a deep shadow across his face as he quietly snarled, “The one who should die today is you! Old dog Cang Mo!”
Cang Mo gnashed his teeth, “This just harms both you and me! What good does this do you!?”
“This Yang cannot stand injustice!” Yang Kai slowly lifted the Azure Dragon Spear, pointed it at Cang Mo, and spoke in a dangerous voice, “This place will become your grave today!”
“Big words! Let’s see if you can back them up!” Cang Mo’s facial muscles twitched as his heart was filled with resentment. It had been an instinctive reaction in order to gain a chance at survival when he abandoned and used his companion as a shield, but given the choice, he would do the same if he had to go through it all over again. It was just that he never imagined Yang Kai’s temperament to be so righteous and unyielding. Despite knowing that there were four Demon Race Half-Saints chasing them, Yang Kai not only did not think of escaping but even went so far as to hinder Cang Mo’s escape as well. [His actions are harming both of us! There are no benefits whatsoever! Doesn’t he know what’s going to happen after being besieged by those Half-Saints!?]
“Rest assured. I will definitely live much longer than you.” Yang Kai’s expression was cold and stern. Without moving his spear, he turned his head to the side and said, “Jia Long, let’s make a deal.”
Jia Long’s eyes were brimming with contempt and amusement as he calmly replied, “Do you think… you have the right to negotiate with this King under the current circumstances?” Pausing for a moment, he threw his head back in laughter, “But fine. As thanks for giving me such a good show, you may spit out your last words quickly. I might just fulfill them if they amuse me.”
His posture seemed to indicate that he had already won the fight against Yang Kai. Nevertheless, he was not being arrogant as he truly had an overwhelmingly obvious advantage right now.
All four Half-Saints had their senses firmly locked onto Yang Kai. If Yang Kai so much as made a strange movement, he would instantly be met with a storm of attacks. It would be hard to say whether he could even manage to perform those strange Space Secret Techniques of his in time.
Yang Kai’s expression did not change, remaining as serene as a long dormant volcano as he declared, “I’m going to kill this piece of trash, so wait until I finish him. You can use whatever means you like against me after I’m done with this bastard. I will face all of you together.”
As soon as that statement came out, Cang Mo’s expression became ashen. On the other hand, the expressions of the four Demon Half-Saints were scornful. Jia Long even rubbed his lower jaw and looked pensive, “Why should we?”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I will be fighting him to the death. No matter who wins or who loses in the end, the remaining person will be an arrow at the end of its flight. Who can stop you if all four of you attack together? There is no harm to you, only benefits. Isn’t that right?”
Cang Mo’s heart sank at those words and he cried out, “Yang Kai, you’re insane!”
Things would bode ill for him today if Jia Long and the others acted according to Yang Kai’s wishes. Regardless of whether he killed Yang Kai or Yang Kai killed him, there was no way for him to leave this place alive. His original plan was now completely useless. For a moment, his mind sank into chaos and his entire body went cold as he secretly scolded Yang Kai for being so vicious. [How can he make such a suggestion just to get rid of me? Jia Long and the others couldn’t refuse even if they wanted to!]
Sure enough, Jia Long pondered for a while and nodded in agreement, “There is some truth in what you said.” Then, he revealed a hideous smile, his expression filled with pure savagery, “But, this King takes whatever he wants with his own hands!”
The instant the words left his mouth, a dense wave of Corpse Qi rolled out. Numerous figures emerged from within the Corpse Qi. It was clearly the Corpse Puppets that he had refined. Most of these Corpse Puppets were High-Rank Demon Kings, but there were also three Demon Race Half-Saints among the ranks. It was clear to see that this was his entire life’s collection.
The moment Jia Long made his move, the Bone Demon Half-Saint also opened his jaw and a mass of emerald-green Ghost Fire spewed out of his mouth, transformed into an emerald-green cloud, and loomed above Yang Kai. Meanwhile, the Feather Demon nocked an arrow and pulled back the bowstring. On the other hand, the Charm Demon smiled seductively, her Spiritual Energy condensing into an invisible and intangible spear.
The battle began without warning. The four Demon Race Half-Saints, each with their respective Divine Abilities, attacked both Yang Kai and Cang Mo. At that moment, the world paled while the World Energy in the Profound Heavens Temple became tempestuous.
A Dragon Roar sounded, accompanied by a Golden Dragon Head that flashed and disappeared in an instant. Yang Kai’s body swelled rapidly and turned into a more than 1,000-metre-long Half-Dragon. In the meantime, he swept out with the Azure Dragon Spear and caused the flood of Corpse Puppets rushing at him to explode into pieces. Even the boundless Corpse Qi was swept away. Nevertheless, his spear did not stop moving. He spun it around to cut down the Feather Demon’s arrow. After that, his large hand reached out to unleash his Rupture Secret Technique, causing the world to collapse and swallow up the emerald-green Ghost Fire whole.
Yang Kai had dealt with the combined attacks of three Half-Saints with his strength alone, but although he managed to parry the first wave of strikes, the vitality in his body churned violently and a sweet taste of blood filled his throat. Even so, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Kicking out lightly, he lunged toward Cang Mo with a roar, “Die!”
The three Demon Race Half-Saints were focused on taking care of Yang Kai. Comparatively speaking, the situation on Cang Mo’s side was much better. Four Half-Saints had attacked, but only the Charm Demon’s Soul attack was aimed at him.
Cang Mo’s eyes went blank for a moment; however, that one brief moment was enough for Yang Kai to arrive in front of him, spear in hand. A sharp murderous intent sent a tingle down his back as Cang Mo angrily yelled, “If you’re going to make things difficult for this King, then don’t even dream that you’ll be any better off than me!”
With a loud bang, a violent wave of Emperor Qi swept out as Cang Mo’s body seemed to swell slightly and strange patterns appeared on his exposed skin. He reached out to grab at something in the void and a longsword appeared in the grip of his hand. Following the downward slash, a powerful sword wave rushed forward.
There was a loud explosion and a burst of energy rampaged through the air, turning the entire world upside down as everything collapsed in all four directions.
Yang Kai’s huge body was pushed backwards by several dozen steps. Similarly, Cang Mo’s entire body was sent flying and tumbling through the air.
In the next moment, Jia Long and the other two Half-Saints attacked again without giving Yang Kai any respite.
It was at that moment that three figures appeared beside Yang Kai.
A wave of Ice Principles spread out and collided with the boundless Corpse Qi. Bing Yun was rapidly forming hand seals while wearing an extremely solemn expression. At the same time, the Three Blazing Flame Rings flew out from Yang Yan’s wrist and turned into three huge fire rings that enveloped the Bone Demon. On the other hand, Gan Li charged towards the Feather Demon and instantly became entangled in a close-quarter melee.
“You…” Cang Mo, who had been sent flying, widened his eyes at the sight of the three figures who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The expression on his face was extremely ugly. He instantly understood how Yang Yan and the two others had appeared. They had clearly been hiding inside Yang Kai’s Small Sealed World.
“With these people…” Cang Mo nearly gnashed his teeth to bits.
He would not have used the man surnamed Feng as a shield earlier if he had known earlier that Yang Kai was secretly hiding three helpers. As long as they could meet up with Yang Kai, they would instantly have the strength of six Pseudo-Great Emperors on their side. No matter how strong Jia Long was, the disadvantage in numbers would have been enough for their enemies to pull back.
It was just that he had only seen Yang Kai alone before. Besides, he was in the midst of fleeing for his life. How could he spare the thought to consider so many things when his life was at stake? He only wanted to use Yang Kai to attract the attention of the Demon Race Half-Saints while he took the opportunity to escape.
He did not know if Yang Yan and the others had seen what he did before, but if they did, he would never have a place in the Star Boundary again in the future. On the contrary, there was nothing to fear if Yang Kai was the only one to have witnessed his actions. In the absence of evidence, he would never admit that he had ever done anything of that sort. Even if the Demons themselves were to reveal anything, their words would only be taken as sowing dissent. Nobody would believe them.
“Deceitful little bastard!” Cang Mo was extremely aggrieved and enraged. He secretly blamed Yang Kai for not revealing everything from the beginning and causing him to make that choice when he couldn’t see any other hope left for himself.
At the moment, Yang Yan and the others were holding the three Demon Race Half-Saints back while the Charm Demon was still busy dealing with Cang Mo. Therefore, Yang Kai was no longer restrained by anybody.
A huge sense of crisis fell over Cang Mo at that moment. The only other time in his life that he had ever felt this feeling was when he was being oppressed by Qiong Qi. It seemed as though it was really going to end badly for him this time…
At that moment, an anomaly suddenly occurred. There was a loud ringing sound and the entire Profound Heavens Temple trembled violently. Everybody who was present in this place, be they Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, abruptly lost their balance and staggered unsteadily. At the same time, the rich and dense World Energy in the world quickly converged in a certain direction. A powerful and tempestuous vortex formed in a very short time, causing all the trees on the ground to bend and sway.
Everybody’s expressions changed drastically and they all stopped what they were doing and looked around vigilantly. It was obvious that something major had happened.
The ringing sound continued for a very long time.
“That is…” Cang Mo’s eyes widened so much that his eyeballs were practically popping out of their sockets. Staring up in a certain direction, his expression suddenly became ecstatic as he shouted, “The Illusionary Heavens Furnace!”
A boxy Giant Furnace had appeared out of nowhere in the direction he was staring. The Giant Furnace was engraved with countless mysterious runes and patterns that were flickering with flowing light non-stop. All the patterns seemed to coincide with the Grand Dao, causing everybody who was looking at it to become entranced for a moment.
The Giant Furnace was not tangible. Rather, it was an illusory phantom. Even so, it looked so real and solid. As the World Energy in the Profound Heavens Temple furiously poured into the Giant Furnace, it became bigger and bigger until it seemed as though it was going to fit the entire Profound Heavens Temple inside of it.
The world rumbled, World Energy rioted, the Giant Furnace revealed itself, and the Grand Dao’s aura flowed throughout every corner of the Profound Heavens Temple.
At this moment, every Pseudo-Great Emperor and Half-Saint in the Profound Heavens Temple couldn’t help feeling as though a set of large doors was about to open in front of them. Moreover, the pinnacle of the Martial Dao that they had been pursuing for their entire lives was right behind those doors. That was something worth paying any price for, including their own lives!
Inside the Profound Heavens Temple, silhouette after silhouette emerged. These silhouettes turned into streams of lights in various colours and rushed towards the direction of the Giant Furnace.
“The Illusionary Heavens Furnace!” Gan Li couldn’t help gulping hard. It wasn’t until this moment that he finally confirmed the information that the Star Boundary had to be true. The Profound Heavens Temple really did contain the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. More importantly, the key to becoming a Great Emperor was in the Illusionary Heavens Furnace.
He was very eager and excited. There was a rash impulse in him that urged him to disregard everything else and rush over to investigate the Giant Furnace. However, the Demon Race Half-Saints around him were watching him hungrily and he did not dare to act rashly.
On the other side, Jia Long stared at the Giant Furnace for a moment before looking back at a certain spot not far away. A headless corpse stood there. It belonged to the man surnamed Feng who was betrayed by Cang Mo previously. Although he had only been dead for a few moments, both the severed head and the headless corpse had shrivelled and become mummified.
A hint of contemplation flashed in Jia Long’s dirty-yellow eyes. [Was that the last piece?]
He knew more about the situation in the Profound Heavens Temple compared to all the other Demon Race Half-Saints. The day before the Profound Heavens Temple opened, Xue Li had summoned him to a secret meeting at Star Soul Palace. Nobody knew what Xue Li had told him that night; only the two of them knew the contents of their conversation.
All the other Demon Race Half-Saints knew was that they had to kill as many Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary as possible after entering the Profound Heavens Temple. Nevertheless, there was no need for something like this to be specifically said out loud. Neither the Human Race nor the Demon Race would have turned a blind eye to each other if they had encountered each other outside, much less within the Profound Heavens Temple where the Grand Dao battle took place.
Only Jia Long had been aware that the key to becoming a Great Emperor inside this Source Sealed World was inseparable from death and slaughter. The key would only be revealed when enough blood had been spilled. The death of the man surnamed Feng was undoubtedly the last one necessary.
Now that the Giant Furnace had been revealed, it was time for the final stage of the Grand Dao battle. All forms of forbearance and trickery would become useless from this moment on. The only way to obtain that one and only opportunity was by relying on one’s own ability.
All of a sudden, there was a loud noise. Energy burst out violently and everybody jumped in shock. Turning to look at the source of the commotion, they were greeted by the sight of Yang Kai’s huge body bearing down on Cang Mo. He had a grim expression on his face as he slashed out with the Azure Dragon Spear.
That attack sent Cang Mo flying and a spray of blood spurted out of his mouth in mid-air.
When the Giant Furnace revealed itself just now, everybody became distracted by the sight. Both Cang Mo and Yang Kai were no exception, but Yang Kai returned to his senses a little faster. The attack came so suddenly that Cang Mo failed to defend against it completely. All his internal organs churned violently when that oppressive force slammed into him and he cursed in his heart. [This little bastard sure has a lot of brute strength!]
It was no wonder. With a more than 1,000-metre-long Half-Dragon Body, how weak could Yang Kai be?
What made Cang Mo despair even more was that the impact from Yang Kai’s attack had sent him flying directly in Jia Long’s direction. He desperately pushed his Emperor Qi to stabilize his body as best as he could, but it was a difficult task to achieve.
Sorrow washed over him at that moment. He knew that he was doomed. Yang Kai wanted him dead and Jia Long had no reason to allow him to live either. Cang Mo was currently surrounded by enemies on all sides, so there was little to no chance of him walking out of this place alive.
At this very moment, Yang Kai was stabbing the spear at him. The attack flooded Cang Mo’s entire field of vision with the figure of an enormous Azure Dragon. In response, his eyes filled with despair.
However, a figure suddenly swept past him at that very moment and it was immediately followed by the appearance of a behemoth that suddenly stood in front of him.
The enormous body that appeared in front of him was exuding an extremely offensive Corpse Qi. Moreover, large chunks of rotten flesh were falling from the body to the ground and creating numerous craters below. Who else could this behemoth be but Jia Long?
Jia Long had used some sort of unknown Secret Technique to make his body expand by several tens of metres in an instant. Although he could not compare to Yang Kai’s Half-Dragon Form, it was still an extremely extraordinary sight to behold.
A monstrous aura emanated from Jia Long’s body as he rushed forward to meet Yang Kai’s attack and the situation instantly became a fierce struggle between two evenly matched opponents.
Cang Mo couldn’t help feeling both surprised and delighted to see this situation. He was surprised that Jia Long had not taken the opportunity to get rid of him and instead bypassed him to confront Yang Kai head-on. On the other hand, he was delighted by the fact that nobody had the time to pay attention to him at this moment.
Without stopping, Cang Mo borrowed the momentum of Yang Kai’s earlier attack to quickly make his escape, flying far away into the distance. He could still hear the rumbling sounds coming from behind, as well as Yang Kai’s furious and unwilling roar.
After surviving that calamity, Cang Mo realised that his clothes were soaked in sweat. He really thought that he was going to die just now, but who could have known that a light would shine for him during his darkest hour? Upon further consideration, he realised that Jia Long had let him go too easily. The other party probably did not have any good intentions in doing so; thus, the joy on his face faded and was replaced by a gloomy look.
Nevertheless, it was pointless to worry about something like that right now. His top priority was to go to the place where the Giant Furnace had appeared. A Heavenly Manifestation like that was undoubtedly a kind of guide. Not to mention, all the surviving Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints inside the Profound Heavens Temple were currently gathering in that direction. If he were late to the party, somebody else might beat him to the prize instead. The moment that thought crossed his mind, Cang Mo brushed aside all the distracting thoughts in his head, stuffed a few Spirit Pills into his mouth, and recovered his energy whilst he flew off.
He had not been that badly injured in the fight just now. While Yang Kai’s attack was terrifying, he himself was no easy target either. He might have vomited a few mouthfuls of blood, but it was nothing serious. Those injuries would not affect him in the coming Grand Dao battle.
…..
Both Yang Kai and Jia Long currently had three helpers each, so everyone was currently locked in one-on-one battles.
Yang Kai had been unable to do anything but watch Cang Mo escape just now; hence, the rage in his heart was surging ferociously like an erupting volcano that threatened to burn the entire world down with it. There was no mercy in the attacks that he dished out. Space Techniques, Soul Attacks, Dragon Clan Secret Techniques… He brought out an endless variety of methods to overwhelm Jia Long.
Jia Long was a foe Li Wu Yi had warned Yang Kai to be wary of. He was certainly more powerful than the other Demon Race Half-Saints and had extraordinary defensive abilities.
It didn’t matter what means Yang Kai used, he couldn’t even leave a single injury on the other party.
It was obvious that Jia Long knew just how treacherous and troublesome the Martial Truth was, so there was no way he was going to let Yang Kai land a hit on him. As a result, the fight between the two seemed a bit awkward.
Jia Long’s cultivation was obviously higher than that of Yang Kai’s, but strangely enough, Yang Kai seemed to be dominating the battle. On the other hand, Jia Long was like a sturdy wooden boat that was riding through the choppy waves of a stormy sea. He looked like he was in danger of losing at any moment, but the fact was that everything was under control.
After fighting for a while, Jia Long suddenly burst out laughing, “Let’s stop here. There’s nothing you can do to me, no matter what you do.”
While speaking, he made a feint and left the range of battle.
Yang Kai held his spear in one hand with a cold gaze. Although he wanted to kill this enemy, he knew that the other party’s words were the truth. His cultivation was currently his biggest shortcoming. It was difficult for him to do anything with his current abilities when facing a Demon Race Half-Saint like Jia Long. Continuing this fight was just a waste of time.
However, Jia Long’s attitude seemed to be indicating that he had deliberately rescued Cang Mo just now. Jia Long could have taken the opportunity to seriously injure or even kill Cang Mo, but he chose to let the latter go just like that. He even confronted Yang Kai head-on instead so that Yang Kai could not get away from the battle. Jia Long’s intentions were so obvious that anybody could tell as long as they were not blind.
Cang Mo had probably escaped somewhere far away by now, so there was no need to continue this battle. What’s more, the Illusionary Heavens Furnace had been revealed. Who would have the heart to continue fighting in this place with the rarest of opportunities lying before them? Those were the reasons why Yang Kai did not stop Jia Long from retreating.
The other three battles slowly died down the moment Yang Kai and Jia Long stopped fighting. Thus, the storm subsided in the blink of an eye.
Eight pairs of eyes collided, causing a faint shower of sparks to appear.
Jia Long grinned and spoke in a rumbling voice, “The key to the Grand Dao battle has been revealed, but… this is just the beginning. Yang Kai, this King hopes you have the ability to live to the end. I want to kill you with my own hands.”
“Rest assured, you will only die by my hands,” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
Jia Long said, “Then, we’ll be taking our leave. Let us meet again soon!”
The Corpse Qi swirled and wrapped around the other three Half-Saints before it transformed into a yellow-brown streak that rushed in the direction of the Giant Furnace.
“Let’s go too!” Yang Kai’s huge figure quickly became smaller, gradually returning to his original form. Space Principles fluctuated, wrapping around Yang Yan and the others. One Instantaneous Movement later, they all vanished out of sight.
Gan Li was secretly relieved at the sight. At the same time, he laughed at himself self-deprecatingly for being a little overly suspicious and pessimistic.
He had been wondering what he would do if Yang Kai asked them to enter the Small Sealed World again. The reason he had willingly stayed inside the Small Sealed World before was out of consideration for their plans. It was safer to work together after all.
However, it would be equivalent to handing all control over to Yang Kai if he willingly entered the Small Sealed World again now that Illusionary Heavens Furnace has been revealed; after all, he would miss out on the Grand Dao battle if Yang Kai refused to let him out of the Small Sealed World. That was something he was not willing to do, no matter what.
Judging by the current situation, Yang Kai was somebody who conducted himself honourably. It was clear that he had also taken the other’s opinions into consideration, so he did not ask them to enter the Small Sealed World again. Rather, he did not hesitate to consume more energy to bring them along with him.
Looking up, Gan Li felt his chest burning with anticipation. The key to the Grand Dao battle had finally been revealed, but nobody knew what they were supposed to do next. They were even less clear as to what was inside that Giant Furnace.
The Giant Furnace had been madly absorbing the World Energy in the Source Sealed World ever since it first appeared, causing the energy to swirl about in a frenzy that never stopped even for a moment. The furnace itself was also getting bigger and bigger as it absorbed more and more of the World Energy. At this moment, it was already covering the entire sky.
All of a sudden, the Giant Furnace settled down. The complex patterns carved around it shone with a dazzling light, making the Grand Dao aura in the entire Source Sealed World become more and more intense. Both the Demon Race Half-Saints and the Human Race Pseudo-Great Emperors looked pensive at this moment as they unknowingly gained a deeper understanding of the Grand Dao.