Seeing the confusion in Bei Li Mo’s eyes, Yang Kai said, “Mo Sheng is dead!”
Bei Li Mo blinked, almost wondering whether she had heard wrongly as she turned to look at the enormous body nearby, [Great Demon God is right here. Why is Yang Kai saying that he is dead?]
However, her expression soon changed drastically as she stared at Wu Kuang intently and said, “You’re not Lord Demon God!?”
Although the enormous body belonged to Great Demon God, the aura emitted by this figure was completely different. It did not belong to the Great Demon God.
A low chuckle entered her ears, “This King is Wu Kuang!”
Her pupils immediately contracted to the size of pinpoints at those words. She was horrified, “You possessed him!?”
She was not a fool. On the contrary, she was a Demon Saint. How rich were her knowledge and her experiences? That was why she immediately thought of the key point when she realised that Wu Kuang’s Soul was inside the Great Demon God’s body.
“More or less,” Wu Kuang responded nonchalantly, too lazy to explain further.
She took a deep breath in shock. She glanced at Wu Kuang, then glanced at Yang Kai. Afterwards, she glanced at the Great Emperors surrounding them and could not help feeling lost.
[Great Demon God is dead. Not only is he dead, but his body was also being possessed by this Wu Kuang…] Even if she did not dare to believe it, the truth was right in front of her, so she had no choice but to believe. Although she did not participate in the battle, she could tell from the aftermath and the condition of the Great Emperors that it was extremely brutal.
She couldn’t believe this was the final outcome of the war! The Demon Realm had lost and the Star Boundary had won, but it was a tragic victory. This world was on the verge of falling apart after the battle that had severely damaged its foundation.
Even though she was a Demon Saint, she did not feel much sadness. She had already defected to the Star Boundary because of the Soul Imprint, which drew a clean line between her and the other Demon Saints. Besides, the feeling of being controlled by Great Demon God was terrible. She couldn’t help being a little happy that Great Demon God was killed. Yang Kai might be able to control her through the Soul Imprint, but his control over her was not as thorough as Great Demon God’s.
“So that’s how it is!” She gently nodded, “What about the others?”
Looking around, she was the only Demon Saint present; thus, she couldn’t help feeling rather alone.
“Chang Tian and Ru Meng are fine. The other Demon Saints are dead.”
She nodded lightly. This outcome was something she could accept. Smiling, she said sincerely, “Congratulations.”
Yang Kai snorted with laughter. This battle had been so brutal, what was there to celebrate? He waved her off and said, “There are quite a number of Demons left. Go and take care of them.”
Bei Li Mo nodded at his words. Then, she turned and flew away.
The final battle between the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints had been so intense, so how could the other battlefields be any different? In particular, there were many casualties among the Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors. After Great Demon God revealed himself, even the Half-Saints who originally defected to the Star Boundary had turned their backs on their companions. Now that Great Demon God was dead, however, they were no longer under his control.
The remaining Demons had long since lost their will to fight back after seeing that the war was lost. At this moment, they were gathered together, their eyes filled with confusion about what was going to happen to them now. Therefore, it was best to leave them to Bei Li Mo.
The Star Boundary also suffered great losses. Many of the Spirit Peaks in High Heaven Palace had been flattened and the once beautiful scenery was a total mess. Between accounting for the casualties and treating the injured, the Star Boundary was very busy even after the war ended.
One day later, Yang Kai was the first to recover and released Chang Tian and Yu Ru Meng from the Small Sealed World. Yu Ru Meng was perfectly fine, but Chang Tian was in a similar condition to Bei Li Mo.
Chang Tian’s Soul had been damaged slightly and it would take a long time for him to heal completely. After this battle, he had obviously aged considerably; even his hair had grown grey. He was not far from his predestined time of death in the first place. If not for that, he would not have tried to take Yang Kai as his Adopted Son to inherit Hundred Spirits Continent the moment they met.
Now that his Soul was damaged, it would be very difficult for Chang Tian to recover. It was most likely that only a few hundred years remained of his lifespan. For an ordinary person, several hundred years represented several lifetimes, but for a Master like Chang Tian, several hundred years was but a blink of an eye. Even so, a person like him had long since put aside matters such as life and death. He had lived a long and colourful life, so he was calm even in the face of death.
The three Demon Masters busied themselves corralling the remnants of the Demon Race. Meanwhile, Yang Kai used the power of a Great Emperor and communicated with the World’s Will to completely dispel the Demon Essence from the Star Boundary. He had done something similar during the war, but Great Demon God had obstructed his progress at the time, so he could not complete the task. Now that Great Demon God was dead and there was nobody to stop him anymore, it was only natural that he put everything in the Star Boundary back in order; otherwise, the remaining Demon Essence would only cause further trouble down the road.
The entire Star Boundary finally saw the light again after a whole day’s work, which completely exhausted Yang Kai as a result. Unfortunately, the world was still unstable. The sky was filled with countless large Void Cracks that looked extremely horrifying and the World Principles were in disorder. It was as though the World had lost most of its ability to repair itself.
The Great Emperors, who received the recognition of the World, felt this extremely clearly, and as a result, they could barely mobilise any World Force at the moment.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Star Boundary died. Moreover, it would not take long before that happened. It might range from another thousand years to ten thousand years, but the Star Boundary would eventually follow in the footsteps of the Demon Realm. When that happened, the Star Boundary would collapse and cease to exist.
Another three days later, the rest of the Great Emperors gradually recovered and regained some of their mobility, and although each of them carried wounds that would require many years of recuperation to heal, these matters could not be rushed.
High Heaven Palace was a complete mess; thus, they temporarily used Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s Flowing Time Temple as the place to hold their meetings. The temple floated mid-air as the Great Emperors, the two Elders of the Dragon Clan, and Heaven’s Order descendant Zhang Ruo Xi gathered inside. All the strongest powerhouses in the Star Boundary came together to discuss what to do next.
Li Wu Yi stood below them, reporting on the post-war efforts that had been completed. All the survivors from the Star Boundary were settled outside High Heaven Palace at the moment. Some were being treated for their wounds while others were cultivating. After having escaped from the jaws of death, they were looking toward the future. The only matter he was having trouble with was how to deal with the survivors of the Demon Race.
It was one thing for the Demon Race Half-Saints such as Bai Zhuo and Bai Ya. They had been involuntarily subjected to Great Demon God’s control, so defecting to the enemy was not their intention and they could not be blamed for their actions; however, the Demon Race army had killed many among the Star Boundary in the past.
Now that the tides had turned for the Demon Race, it was difficult to decide whether or not to slaughter these surviving Demons.
If it was decided to kill the Demon Race survivors, they would not have any power to resist. Most of the Demon Saints were dead, and the three remaining Demon Saints had defected to the Star Boundary years ago. If the Great Emperors were to take action, the three Demon Saints would not stop them either. The problem was that there were simply too many Demon survivors. There were at least millions of them, so who would bear the sin of killing them all in cold blood?
If the choice was not to kill the Demon Race survivors, however, how would they explain their decision to the dead of the Star Boundary?
Unable to make a decision, Li Wu Yi brought this matter to the Great Emperors instead.
Inside the temple, the Divine Sense of the Great Emperors surged as they communicated soundlessly among themselves. A short while later, Zhan Wu Hen said, “The two armies were at war under their respective banners and casualties were inevitable. Now that the war is over, we will let them live. However, the Star Boundary will not take them in. This matter will be handled by Void himself.”
“Yes!” Li Wu Yi bowed, feeling relieved.
Yang Kai had used the Sealed World Bead to devour the entire Demon Realm in the past. Besides, one of the regions in the Sealed World Bead was already being used to contain billions of Demons that had until now not been released. Therefore, it was reasonable for him to place a few million war prisoners in the Small Sealed World. It could be considered a way out.
Li Wu Yi took his leave and relayed the decision to Yu Ru Meng and the others so that they could start making arrangements for the withdrawal.
Inside the temple, Zhan Wu Hen continued, “Yang Kai, we will leave the Demon Race to you.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Rest assured, I will take care of this matter.”
Zhan Wu Hen said, “The matter regarding the Demon Race is a trivial one, what we urgently need to deal with is the mess left behind in the Star Boundary. I’m sure you don’t need me to say it as you probably all sensed it for yourselves during this period. The Star Boundary will not last much longer. It will fall apart and die, sooner or later. We need to find a way for the people of the Star Boundary to survive.”
Mo Huang suggested, “Since Yang Boy could refine a second Demon Realm, can’t he refine a second Star Boundary?”
The situation in the Demon Realm back then was now a precedent to what the Star Boundary was currently facing. Yang Kai had used the Sealed World Bead to devour the continents of the Demon Realm; consequently, the third region of the Sealed World Bead could be considered a second Demon Realm. If they imitated his previous methods and used the Sealed World Bead to devour and merge the entire Star Boundary, they could then create a second Star Boundary.
Yang Kai nodded at those words, “That is an option, but it’s better not to do so unless we have no other choice.”
“Why?” Mo Huang was puzzled.
“The second Demon Realm might have been formed, but it is confined to the Sealed World Bead. At the moment, I have not found a way to separate the second Demon Realm from the Small Sealed World. I’m afraid there might be unintended consequences if I devour the Star Boundary in such a situation. Furthermore, the second Demon Realm gives me the feeling that it is different from the original Demon Realm, like a newly born world with World Principles not yet matured. It might need a long time before it could repair itself and recover to how it used to be, a very long time indeed.”
Upon hearing this, Zhan Wu Hen said, “Let us leave that as our last resort then. If we cannot find a better solution, we can only choose to do that.”
“Sirs, with all due respect, there might be a way to save the Star Boundary.” Zhang Ruo Xi spoke up suddenly.
Everybody turned to look in her direction with shocked expressions and Zhan Wu Hen asked, “Young Lady, do you have a way to rescue the Star Boundary?”
Although she was not a Great Emperor, she had the strength of a Great Emperor. What’s more, she had inherited the memories and experiences of Heaven’s Order, so she had knowledge of and insight into the mysteries of the Outer Universe. For her to speak up at this moment could not be for nothing.
“I do not dare to make any guarantees, but there is a method depicted in my memories.”
“Please speak freely. The situation in the Star Boundary cannot get any worse. If you truly have a method to save the Star Boundary, then you will become the saviour of this world.”
Zhang Ruo Xi simply smiled, “Sir, your words are too much. I was also born and raised in this world, so it is my duty to contribute to the Star Boundary.” Pausing for a moment, she continued, “There are two reasons as to why the Star Boundary is in this condition. The first reason is the impact from the war, while the second reason is that it has lost a large portion of its Auspicious Spirit Essence. The main problem is actually the latter. When a Universe World loses its Auspicious Spirit Essence, it loses its vitality. As a result, the World Principles fall apart and lose their ability to self-repair. To put it in a different perspective, if we can bring back the vitality of this world by restoring its Auspicious Spirit Essence, it will be able to repair itself once more. No matter how broken the world is, it will be able to recover to its original state.”
“So, the key point lies in what we can do to restore the vitality to this world?” Flower Shadow Great Emperor’s eyes lit up.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded in reply, “That’s right.” After a short pause, she continued, “Have any of you ever wondered about the Demon Realm’s Auspicious Spirit Essence that Mo Sheng had successfully devoured back then? The Demon Realm of the time was powerless to fight back against him. In other words, he was successful in his attempt; therefore, the Demon Realm’s situation should be worse than what the Star Boundary is currently facing. So, why did the Demon Realm continue to exist?”
Yang Kai folded his arms in front of him and smiled, “Enough with the riddles, get to the point.”
Zhang Ruo Xi stuck her tongue out at him and answered, “It’s life!”
“Life?” He raised his eyebrows at her words.
“The Demon Realm’s Auspicious Spirit Essence was devoured, but the living creatures in the Demon Realm weren’t exterminated. Where life exists, there is hope. Thus, the vitality and Auspicious Spirit Essence of the Demon Realm that was lost slowly recovered… The only thing I don’t understand is… Why did Mo Sheng come to the Star Boundary when the Demon Realm still had its Auspicious Spirit Essence?”
Yang Kai explained, “You have never been to the Demon Realm, so you don’t know about its situation. The Demon Realm had long ago fallen apart due to the battle between Mo Sheng and Flowing Time Great Emperor. The entire Universe World was broken into countless fragments. Some of the continents even lost their vitality and were swallowed up by the Void.”
“So that’s how it is!” She immediately understood, “That explains why he went around the sun just to reach the moon.”
Zhan Wu Hen looked at Zhang Ruo Xi, “So, what you’re saying is that, as long as there are enough living creatures in the Star Boundary, there will be a chance for this world to recover?”
“That should be correct,” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded.
He then turned to look at Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, if I remember correctly, didn’t you accept a lot of people from the Star Boundary into the Sealed World Bead?”
Yang Kai said, “I’ll handle it right away.”
He had indeed taken in many people from the Star Boundary who had nowhere else to go during the war between the two worlds. As a result, the first territory of the Small Sealed World was currently overcrowded with people. Moreover, he was not the only one who had done so. Many of the Army Commanders had also sheltered refugees in their World Beads.
These people were not strong enough to play a role in the war between the two worlds, but they could not be left exposed to the dangers of the Demon Race either. Therefore, they had been placed in either the Sealed World Bead or the various World Beads Yang Kai had refined and thus safely survived to this day. Nobody could have imagined that their strength would be needed to rebuild the Star Boundary.
“I’ll go and talk to Wu Kuang. If we need people, then Wu Kuang has as many people as we need.” While speaking, Duan Hong Chen stood up and strode out.
Wu Kuang had used the Ancestral Domain as a core to refine and integrate all of the Lower Star Fields. Those Lower Star Fields were overflowing with countless living creatures. Now that nine houses out of ten in the Star Boundary were vacant, it was a good opportunity to ask him for some people to replenish the numbers. He would not refuse the request.
Zhang Ruo Xi followed up, “But, even though this is a feasible method, it is not something that will take effect in the short-term. It might take a very, very long time for results to show. Sirs, you will need to be mentally prepared for that.”
Zhan Wu Hen replied, “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. It’s fine as long as there is hope.”
Yang Kai got up from his seat, “I’m going to settle the placement of the people in the Sealed World Bead. There is also the matter regarding the Demon Race that I have to handle, so I will take my leave first.”
“Go on.” Zhan Wu Hen waved his hand dismissively.
Yang Kai vanished from the spot with a flash of his thoughts. By the time he reappeared again, he was standing inside a simple palace. The palace was located a thousand kilometres away from High Heaven Palace. Yu Ru Meng stood beside him while, not far away, the gazes of Chang Tian and Bei Li Mo also fixed on him in unison.
“Husband!” Yu Ru Meng called out, “What did the Great Emperors say?”
Yang Kai stroked her hair and smiled, “I will be in charge of the matters related to the Demon Race.”
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words. She was also part of the Demon Race, so although most of the surviving clansmen had been enemies of the Star Boundary, they were basically just following orders from their superiors and had no freedom to decide for themselves. Now that the Star Boundary was victorious and the Demon Realm had suffered a crushing defeat, it was understandable even if the Star Boundary advocated for the Demon Race to be exterminated mercilessly. It was just that, as a Demon Saint, Yu Ru Meng would inevitably feel disturbed if that were to happen.
Fortunately, the results would not be too pessimistic if this matter was handled by Yang Kai. Sure enough, Yang Kai responded under the watchful eyes of Bei Li Mo and Chang Tian, “All members of the Demon Race will be taken into the Small Sealed World and never be allowed to step into the Star Boundary again.”
Chang Tian nodded, “That’s for the best.”
Similarly, Bei Li Mo exhaled softly in relief.
Accompanied by the trio, Yang Kai accepted the surviving Demon Race army into the Small Sealed World and placed them in the third region. The army of millions entered the vast third region like a stone that sank into the sea without creating any ripples.
Half a day had passed by the time Yang Kai was done with this first matter. Without pausing for a moment, he then travelled all over the Star Boundary, selected some places that were not too affected by the war, and released the natives of the Star Boundary taking shelter inside the Small Sealed World in large batches. He even went so far as to spend his power to create a more suitable environment for the Human survivors to live in.
It took more than ten days to complete this effort. In that time, Yang Kai travelled across all four territories in the Star Boundary. Now that he had lit the spark, he wondered how long it would take before a blazing fire arose.
Nevertheless, running around for this task made Yang Kai more aware of just how damaged the Star Boundary had become. The reason why the Great Emperors and Demon Saints had agreed not to make a move when the war between the two worlds broke out was that they were afraid the impact of their fight would be too great. They were worried about causing indelible damage to the Star Boundary.
Unfortunately, following the progression of the war and the return of the Great Demon God, everything spiralled out of control. Most of the Auspicious Spirit Essence in the world had been devoured, the World Principles had been broken, and the lands had been torn apart. It looked like the apocalypse had occurred everywhere in the world and all the beautiful sceneries of the past were now gone.
The damage from the final battle with the Great Demon God would not recover for at least tens of thousands of years. Hopefully, the method Zhang Ruo Xi suggested would work. It might take a long time, but it was perfectly fine for a Universe World to wait that long.
More than ten days later, Yang Kai finally returned to High Heaven Palace where he saw Wu Kuang sitting cross-legged on the ground. Moreover, Wu Kuang was smiling and waving at him.
At this moment, Wu Kuang still had his several-thousand-metre-tall body. He had only just devoured Great Demon God’s Soul, so he probably had yet to fully digest everything that he received; hence, he was powerless to make his body shrink for the time being.
Yang Kai hesitated for a moment but flew over in the end, floating in front of Wu Kuang, he asked, “What is it?”
“This King is leaving!” Wu Kuang grinned.
“Leaving?” Yang Kai frowned, “Where to?” After the question slipped out of his mouth, the realisation struck him and he exclaimed, “The Outer Universe!?”
Wu Kuang nodded, “Do you know why this King continued to devour power without stopping even though he was already the most powerful in the Star Boundary back then?” Without waiting for Yang Kai to respond, he continued to answer his own question, “It is because ‘Great Emperor’ is just a title, because this King can feel that there exists an even higher Martial Dao, it was because this King wants to become stronger… Flowing Time was not the only person who realised the mysteries of the Outer Universe!”
Yang Kai gently nodded in response. Before he became a Great Emperor, he had thought that it was the highest Realm that existed. He believed that it was the pinnacle of the Martial Dao; however, now that he stood in this position, Yang Kai also knew that what Wu Kuang and Great Demon God said was true. The so-called Great Emperor was nothing more than a title. It was not a Realm in itself.
The ones at the highest peak of the Emperor Realm and had the qualification to scratch on the surface of the mysteries of the Open Heaven Realm were the Pseudo-Great Emperors, and only a select few from among the Pseudo-Great Emperors would be recognised by the World and gain the qualifications to mobilise World Force. Those people were known as the Great Emperors. At this moment, Yang Kai, Zhan Wu Hen, and the others belonged to this group.
On the other hand, Wu Kuang had single-handedly opened a gap in the door to the Open Heaven Realm tens of thousands of years ago to walk ahead of everyone else.
Yang Kai even suspected that Flowing Time Great Emperor had reached the Open Heaven Realm! How else could he have destroyed Great Demon God’s body back then?
“In the past, this King was ignorant and clueless about the sky beyond what we know! After learning about all the wondrous things that can be found in the Outer Universe, how can this King not see them for himself? The Star Boundary might be big, but it is only a corner of this vast universe. It is too small to hold Flood Dragons like you and me!”
Yang Kai was flattered by those words and waved his hand repeatedly in embarrassment, “I don’t dare to put myself on equal terms with you, Senior.”
Wu Kuang retorted, “It’s not that you don’t dare. It’s that you find it disdainful!”
He himself was well aware that his reputation was terrible. Still, laughing, he continued, “This King pursues the Martial Dao. Secret Arts are simply a means. As long as it is useful, who cares what I have to use? The others are blind, a bunch of stubborn old ghosts. This King could care less about them. But, you are a little interesting, boy. While your aptitude cannot be said to be the best, you managed to become a Great Emperor at such a young age. You will most likely be a force to be reckoned with in the future. This King might be slightly more powerful than you now because I devoured Mo Sheng, but I don’t have the confidence to win against you in the future.”
“There are times when even you lack confidence?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“There are many extraordinary things in the world…” Wu Kuang laughed and pointed a finger at Yang Kai, “You are one of them.”
“I will take that as a compliment,” Yang Kai shrugged nonchalantly, thinking to himself that somebody as arrogant and rebellious as Wu Kuang might not have praised others before.
“I will wait for you in the Outer Universe. I hope we meet each other again in the future!” Saying so, Wu Kuang stood up, his giant body blocking out the sunlight above Yang Kai’s head.
“Wait!” Yang Kai hurriedly raised a hand to stop Wu Kuang. He looked up at Wu Kuang and shouted, “What about the Lower Star Fields that you refined!? Are you bringing them along with you!? I don’t care about the others, but what about my Heng Luo Star Field!?”
Wu Kuang chuckled, “I only refined them to find a way forward. Now that I have found my path, those Star Fields are useless to me. This King has already handed them over to that old fart Duan Hong Chen. You can ask him about it.”
“Good,” Yang Kai was relieved. There was no need for him to go and confirm anything with Duan Hong Chen seeing as Wu Kuang had already said so and clearly disdained to lie to him.
“Little brat, work hard!” Wu Kuang lowered his head and smiled again. Immediately after that, he took a step forward. His body looked very heavy and clumsy, but he climbed upward as though there were invisible stairs in the sky. It didn’t take long for his enormous figure to disappear out of sight.
Yang Kai crossed his arms in front of him with a smile on his face, watching Wu Kuang leave.
“Is he gone?” Duan Hong Chen’s voice suddenly came from beside Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked to the side and saw all the Great Emperors, along with the two Elders of the Dragon Clan and Zhang Ruo Xi standing next to him. Even Xiao Xiao had shown up, it was just that Tai Yue Xiao Xiao was now only knee high and was currently sitting on Zhang Ruo Xi’s shoulders.
“He left!” Yang Kai responded as he stretched out a hand to play with Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao immediately crawled along his arm and came to his side. It was hard to imagine that this little one could transform into a giant like Tai Yue and wrestled with the Great Demon God.
In the previous battle, Tai Yue was defeated twice to the point where his body disintegrated. He was in no immediate danger, but like all the other Masters, he needed to have a good rest to recover.
“He sure left in a carefree manner,” Duan Hong Chen laughed.
“It’s good that he left,” Flower Shadow Great Emperor breathed a sigh of relief. While speaking, she secretly snuck a glance at Zhan Wu Hen.
Zhan Wu Hen was staring coldly in the direction that Wu Kuang left with a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.
Four Great Emperors had died at the hands of Wu Kuang during the battle in the Shattered Star Sea back then, and one of them had been Cyan Lotus Great Emperor, who was a close friend of Zhan Wu Hen’s. That was why Zhan Wu Hen greatly detested Wu Kuang and hated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Nobody among the existing Great Emperors hated Wu Kuang more than Zhan Wu Hen. If possible, he did not mind fighting Wu Kuang to death in order to avenge his dead friend.
It was just that Great Demon God had been running wild earlier, so all the forces of the Star Boundary had banded together like strands of a rope. Zhan Wu Hen had no choice but to put aside his personal grudge. What more at this time when the Star Boundary could no longer withstand any more hardship? Besides, Wu Kuang had devoured Mo Sheng, so there was no way for Zhan Wu Hen to defeat Wu Kuang with his current strength.
“It’s good that he left. It’s good that he left,” Duan Hong Chen couldn’t help nodding at those words. All those years of sharing one body with Wu Kuang had been extremely suffocating for him. Now that Wu Kuang had his own body, it could be said that Duan Hong Chen was finally free of Wu Kuang. The only thing that upset Duan Hong Chen was that Wu Kuang had used his body to cast the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to devour the Spiritual Essence of Great Demon God during the last battle. Although that move had brought him a lot of benefits, it also left some residual hidden dangers. It could be said to be both beneficial and harmful.
“I wonder when we’ll meet again,” Yang Kai mentioned it casually while playing with Xiao Xiao. [Perhaps… we might never have the chance to meet again. The universe is so vast. Even if I break free of the shackles of this universe one day and head to the Outer Universe, what are the chances of meeting each other again?]
The words had only just left his mouth though when he suddenly furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky. Likewise, the others seemed to sense something at that moment. When they looked up into the sky, they saw a black spot rapidly descending, wrapped in a ferocious aura. The black spot quickly enlarged in their field of vision to become a several thousand-metre-tall giant. Who else could it be but Wu Kuang, who had just left mere moments ago?
Yang Kai placed Xiao Xiao on his shoulders and asked with a laugh, “Why did you return? Did you forget something?”
Wu Kuang’s expression was a little strange, but it was more solemn than not as he said, “You’d better come with me. The Star Boundary may be in big trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Zhan Wu Hen’s expression turned grim.
“You’ll understand when you see it,” Wu Kuang did not say much. Turning around, he flew towards the Outer Universe again.
Everybody looked at each other before quickly communicating with each other via Divine Sense. Yang Kai shouted, “Let’s go!”
While speaking, he was the first one to follow after Wu Kuang.
“Be careful of deceit!” Zhan Wu Hen warned via transmission. He was still unable to trust Wu Kuang’s character, but he nevertheless followed along.
A group of more than a dozen figures marched towards the Outer Universe in a mighty procession. The higher up they went, the stronger an invisible layer of resistance became. It felt as though there was a mountain pressing down on their shoulders to force them back.
“It’s gotten a lot weaker,” Mo Huang couldn’t help sighing. “Is this also the result of the World Principles collapsing?”
“Probably,” Zhan Wu Hen nodded.
The Great Emperors had traversed the Star Boundary for so many years, so how could they not have tried to leave and see what the outside world was like? Not only did they try, but they even attempted it more than once; therefore, they were more than familiar with this invisible resistance. They would encounter this force every time they tried to leave the Star Boundary, but it was different this time. The resistance was obviously much weaker than before. This force was none other than the shackles of the universe. Those who were not powerful enough would not be able to break free of these shackles and leap out into the Outer Universe.
All the Great Emperors had this ability, it was just that they would lose the World’s blessing the moment they left the Star Boundary, so a Great Emperor would no longer be a Great Emperor. The world of the Outer Universe was extremely dangerous and they would not be able to withstand the resistance force for long before they had to return. Hence, even the Great Emperors knew nothing about the Outer Universe before the arrival of Great Demon God.
The entire process took no more than ten breaths before everybody felt their bodies relaxing and the invisible pressure vanishing. At the same time, their connection with the Star Boundary became extremely weak.
At this moment, a muffled but thunderous sound entered their ears. Everybody turned pale in unison and in the next moment, a gust of wind blew towards them. The wind was so strong that even the Great Emperors could not remain steady. They were blown off balance and staggered around unsteadily. It took quite some time before the wind subsided. Everybody looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what just happened.
Wu Kuang sullenly led the way without explaining anything. A short while later, he suddenly shouted, “Be careful!”
When his words rang out, an extremely strong suction force came from the front. All the Great Emperors felt their bodies involuntarily being dragged in that direction. Their expressions became extremely colourful all of a sudden. Although they no longer had the support of the Star Boundary and could not mobilise World Force, their heritage remained. Just what kind of suction force was it that they could leave them so helpless?
Fortunately, the suction force was similar to the gust of wind just now. It came as quickly and bizarrely as it left, stopping after a short while. Before they could feel relieved, that muffled yet thunderous sound came again. It was immediately followed by another gust of wind.
Yang Kai’s expression was a little strange as he couldn’t help feeling that this situation seemed to be rather familiar…
“Heh heh, we’re here.” Wu Kuang suddenly gave a chuckle and moved his enormous body aside to reveal the scene in front of him.
Everyone was completely stunned by the sight that greeted them while Yang Kai was absolutely speechless! There was an incomparably large figure lying down in the void in front of them. He looked like a rolling mountain range and none of them could tell how tall or how long he was. Wu Kuang’s several thousand-metre-tall body was even smaller than a child’s compared to this figure.
It was an extremely terrifying giant.
In front of everybody’s eyes, the giant inhaled and exhaled. When he exhaled, the Astral Wind that spewed from his nose and mouth turned into a wind storm that swept across tens of thousands of kilometres of space. When he inhaled, the suction force affected everything within a similar radius. That muffled but thunderous sound turned out to be the sound of the giant snoring.
Furthermore, an incredible aura was emanating from the giant’s body. It was so powerful that it made the Great Emperors feel despair. It was also countless times stronger than when Great Demon God was at his peak strength. Even the two Elders of the Dragon Clan felt like insects in front of this aura.
“What is that…” Flower Shadow Great Emperor could not stop herself from gulping nervously, her pretty face turning pale. She had not felt so powerless even when facing Great Demon God. She knew instinctively that this recumbent giant in front of her could effortlessly crush her with just one finger.
Similarly, Zhan Wu Hen’s expression was extremely solemn. The expressions of the other Great Emperors were not much better either.
Regardless of what kind of existence this sleeping but terrifying giant was, the Star Boundary could not withstand any further shocks. He was sleeping so close to the Star Boundary that they even suspected that the Star Boundary would be blown apart by his breath if he exhaled slightly more violently than now.
Yang Kai was the only one who looked like he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He never imagined that he would see this fellow again so soon. It had not been long since he last met him, not to mention, he recalled that this big guy had sped off into the distance after saying goodbye, but why was this guy still here?
“Heaven’s Order descendant, you should know what he is, right?” Wu Kuang turned to look at Zhang Ruo Xi with a low chuckle.
Upon hearing those words, everybody hurriedly turned to look at Zhang Ruo Xi. Zhan Wu Hen asked with a frown, “Young Lady Ruo Xi, what is this?”
Before witnessing this sight with his very own eyes, he would never have thought that such huge creatures existed in this world.
“A Giant Spirit God!” Zhang Ruo Xi replied in a pained voice and smiled bitterly, “The Star Boundary is truly in trouble this time.”
“Why do you say that?” Zhan Wu Hen frowned as he all but whispered, seemingly fearful of waking the Giant Spirit God by speaking too loud.
Zhang Ruo Xi explained, “Giant Spirit Gods are a very special Race in the Outer Universe. They are born inherently powerful and unparalleled. They practically stand at the apex of the entire Universe. Nobody is their opponent except for a select few equally powerful beings.”
“How does Great Demon God compare?”
Zhang Ruo Xi smiled bitterly, “Even when Great Demon God was at his peak, this Giant Spirit God could kill him with a casual flick of his finger.”
Zhan Wu Hen’s expression sank at those words. Zhang Ruo Xi’s information obviously came from Heavens Order’s memories. How could the Star Boundary fight back if this Giant Spirit God was so powerful? Just a resurrected Great Demon God had almost shattered the entire Star Boundary and Great Demon God was not even at his peak at the time. If this Giant Spirit God was capable of killing Great Demon God at his peak at will, then this Giant Spirit God’s strength far exceeded the limits of their imagination.
“Should we take the initiative to attack?” Mo Huang was eager to take his chances. The giant in front of them was still asleep. If everybody launched an attack with all their strength right now, they might just stand a chance to win.
“Absolutely not!” Zhang Ruo Xi hurriedly stopped Mo Huang, “The Giant Spirit God Clan is innately powerful, but they are inherently peaceful, and essentially always avoid conflict with others. Although they are extremely strong…. they’re quite innocent, almost childlike, to the point that it’s like they have slight problems up there.”
Saying so, she pointed at her head.
“Why did he come to the Star Boundary?” Zhan Wu Hen was puzzled.
She replied, “The Giant Spirit God Clan does not live in any fixed place. They wander throughout the Outer Universe all their lives to look for food. I’m afraid he is here in search of food.”
“What do they eat?”
“Dead Universe Worlds.”
“Dead Universe Worlds?” Zhan Wu Hen raised his eyebrows.
“That’s right. They have a very special Innate Divine Ability. They can smell the aura of dying worlds even from extremely far away. Whenever they smell a dying world, they will rush over and wait quietly. They will wait until the world dies to eat the Dead World.”
Upon hearing those words, everybody drew a deep breath of cold air. It was so incomprehensible that they had neither heard of nor dreamed of such a thing before. Just what kind of living creature could feed on a dead Universe World!?
[Seeing as this guy is here, does that mean that he smelled a dying aura coming from the Star Boundary!?] Everybody was shocked and horrified, but Yang Kai recalled something. The last time he met this giant in this vast Outer Universe, the other party had also been sleeping deeply. As a result, he nearly got sucked into the giant’s stomach right after he came out from devouring the Demon Realm with the Sealed World Bead. He remembered the depressed look on this giant’s face upon seeing that the Demon Realm was gone. He also remembered how this giant had happily eaten the World Beads he provided.
Yang Kai did not quite understand the reason previously, but the realization immediately struck him after listening to Zhang Ruo Xi’s explanation. The Demon Realm had also been on the verge of dying at the time, so this giant must have caught a whiff of some sort of unique scent and rushed over to the vicinity of the Demon Realm to wait while sleeping. In the end, Yang Kai had stolen his food, which was why he looked at where the Demon Realm was originally located after he woke up and spouted words like ‘It’s gone. Why is it gone?’
The reason he left and returned again to stop in the vicinity of the Star Boundary was that the previous war had caused the Star Boundary to become unstable. The Star Boundary was showing signs of collapsing, so this giant was waiting here to feed on the dead Star Boundary.
“Based on what you said, doesn’t that make this big guy practically invincible? How do we chase him away?” Zhan Wu Hen’s brow furrowed tightly. They had only just been trying to think of a way to rebuild the Star Boundary, as well as recover its vitality and Auspicious Spirit Essence, but now, there was a Giant Spirit God eyeing the Star Boundary hungrily. Anybody would feel uneasy. What if the Giant Spirit God acted unconventionally and started eating the Star Boundary the moment he woke up? If that happened, there was nobody in the Star Boundary who could fight back whatsoever.
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head slowly, “That’s impossible. The Giant Spirit God is simple-minded. They spend their entire lives chasing after dead Universe Worlds. Nobody can do anything about that.”
“Then, what should we do now? We can neither win nor chase him away. Are we supposed to just wait for our deaths to come!?” Mo Huang glared.
She replied, “For now, all we can do is restore the Star Boundary’s vitality as quickly as possible. As long as the Star Boundary rejuvenates, this Giant Spirit God will not make a move. Don’t be fooled by his appearance, this Race seems to abhor fighting. Of course, that is under the condition that you don’t provoke him first. If anybody were to accidentally upset him, the consequences would be extremely dire.”
Zhan Wu Hen pensively asked, “How long does this guy usually sleep?”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head slowly, “There are extremely few members of the Giant Spirit God Clan, making it very rare to encounter them even in the Outer Universe. My ancestor only caught a glimpse of one from afar during her entire life and did not come into close contact with that individual. But, judging by his enormous figure and mighty strength, it should be normal for him to sleep for several hundreds to thousands of years, possibly even longer. Naturally, there is no saying whether he will wake up suddenly during that time.”
“Several hundreds to thousands of years…” Zhan Wu Hen nodded lightly, “Then, we can only do this for now. We must not disturb his sleep. If we do our best to restore the Star Boundary’s vitality before he wakes up, he will discover that the Star Boundary is brimming with life again and hopefully stop eyeing it.”
It was just… How much could the Star Boundary recover in just several hundred years? Based on the terrible state that the Star Boundary was currently in, it would take at least tens of thousands of years to restore its foundation.
Everybody nodded at those words. Faced with such an enormous and terrifying existence, nobody would even think about actively provoking the giant. Rather, they hoped that this giant would sleep until the end of time.
There was only one exception. That person flew towards the Giant Spirit God while Zhan Wu Hen was speaking. Everybody turned to look in that direction, wondering what Yang Kai was trying to do, but as he got closer and closer to the giant, their expressions changed greatly and Zhan Wu Hen urgently sent a transmission, “Yang Kai, what are you doing!?”
Yang Kai waved Zhan Wu Hen away. When the Giant Spirit God breathed in, he took advantage of the powerful airflow to fly directly towards that huge nose. In the next moment, a Dragon Roar rang out. A Golden Dragon Head flashed and disappeared to reveal a 2,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon. Yang Kai grabbed hold of a nose hair and swung himself into the fleshy walls of the giant’s nose. Under various horrified looks, he raised his fist and punched out with great force.
That punch struck the Giant Spirit God on the nose, but Zhan Wu Hen and the others felt as though it was their hearts that had been violently struck. Their complexions paled in unison and their hearts nearly jumped out of their chests.
Likewise, Wu Kuang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the sight and he cackled, “How bold!”
With a shift of his body, he swiftly fled and flew a thousand kilometres away in an instant, intent on watching what was happening from far away. However, he still did not feel very safe and retreated even further away.
Following that punch, the Giant Spirit God’s nose twitched several times. Then, he sneezed. The violent burst of air sent Yang Kai flying two thousand kilometres away, tumbling through the air and vanishing out of sight.
On the other hand, the Giant Spirit God did not show any signs of awakening after this punch. He simply rolled over and continued snoring away.
A short while later, Yang Kai returned and looked at the Giant Spirit God while scratching his head puzzledly. [That was how I woke this guy up last time. Why isn’t it working now?]
“Yang Kai, come back!” Zhan Wu Hen looked fearful as he called out. [Thank the Heavens Yang Kai’s punch just now had no effect; otherwise, none of us would still be alive!]
He intuitively realised just how terrifyingly powerful the Giant Spirit God was through that punch just now. Yang Kai’s punch was so powerful that none of them could have taken that blow head-on unprotected. However, the soft and fleshy wall of the Giant Spirit God’s nose was completely unscathed. It was simply difficult to imagine.
“Senior Iron Blood, please don’t worry. Leave this matter to me,” Yang Kai raised his hand. Hardening his resolve, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear.
Zhan Wu Hen nearly coughed up blood at the sight and muttered in horror, “What does he plan to do!?”
There was no need for anybody to answer his question as in the next moment, Yang Kai gripped the tip of his spear, holding it upside down, and in a great arc, smashed its butt end down on the Giant Spirit God’s bald head with great force.
*Guang…*
The sound reverberated through the void, the blow causing a visible bump to form on the Giant Spirit God’s bald head. Immediately after that, the tightly closed eyes slowly cracked open by a small gap as though he was going to wake up.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in front of the Giant Spirit God’s face with his spear. He even kept poking the other party’s face with the Azure Dragon Spear while fearlessly shouting, “Wake up! Wake up!”
“Heh heh heh heh…” Wu Kuang watched from a distance, subconsciously laughing softly. A voice in his heart kept warning him to escape as soon as possible, the faster the better. Even so, his curiosity made him stay and watch the events unfolding before him.
On the other hand, the other Great Emperors, the two Elders of the Dragon Clan, and Zhang Ruo Xi had extremely interesting and colourful expressions on their faces that warped constantly. At this moment, nobody knew what to say anymore. Yang Kai was determined to wake the Giant Spirit God. It was clear that he had a trick up his sleeve, so the others could only watch and see how things would turn out.
The Giant Spirit God finally awoke, his two large eyes emitting a bright light like two small suns that pierced through a person’s Soul. The look in those eyes was extremely fierce; furthermore, the flames of his monstrous rage from being woken up from a deep sleep felt like they could burn the Universe down. His enormous body slowly got up into a sitting position and he fixed a sullen gaze on Yang Kai’s figure in front of him before grabbing at him.
Yang Kai neither dodged nor evaded the hand, and despite being caught in the giant’s palm, he was smiling brightly and shouted, “Ah Da! It’s me!”
Ah Da’s expression was still a little dazed, like he was not fully awake yet. His large ears twitched slightly at the loud voice. Lifting his hand that was holding Yang Kai to eye level, he carefully studied the creature in his palm. A short while later, a thoughtful look flitted across his eyes. Following that, the corners of his mouth cracked into a grin that revealed a row of pearly-white fangs, “Ah Da knows you!”
“It’s me! It’s me!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. While speaking, he even used the Azure Dragon Spear to tap the back of the giant’s hand to remind the giant that the spear was a gift from him.
“Hehehe! Ah Da knows you!” Ah Da laughed even more happily.
“En, en!” Yang Kai leapt out of Ah Da’s palm and stood on Ah Da’s wrist. Slinging the Azure Dragon Spear across his shoulders, he looked up and asked, “Why did you return again? Didn’t you leave?”
Ah Da seemed stunned for a moment. Then, his expression became gloomy and he rubbed his stomach with his other hand, “Hungry! Ah Da is hungry!”
“Did you come here for food?” Yang Kai asked.
Ah Da nodded, “Ah Da came here for food!”
“Do you want to eat that?” Yang Kai pointed behind him. That was the direction in which the Star Boundary was located. Even without the Giant Spirit God Clan’s Innate Divine Ability, Yang Kai could sense that the world was broken beyond repair and shrouded in a layer of heavy Death Qi.
Ah Da nodded once more, seeming to be extremely happy, “Ah Da wants to eat!”
While speaking, he almost drooled and a loud gulping sound came from his throat.
Yang Kai sternly said, “You can’t eat that!”
Ah Da’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, seeming to become annoyed. The Giant Spirit God Clan was indifferent to worldly affairs; thus, Ah Da spent his entire life wandering between the worlds of the Outer Universe in pursuit of dead Universe Worlds. Even if his brain was not very sharp, he was unhappy to hear those words coming from Yang Kai suddenly and sullenly replied, “Ah Da must eat that!”
“You can’t eat that!”
“Ah Da must eat that!” He glared.
“I said you can’t eat that!”
“Ah Da must eat!”
Seeing the childish quarrel between Yang Kai and the giant, everybody couldn’t help feeling both horrified and amused. Zhang Ruo Xi had mentioned earlier that the Giant Spirit God Clan was very simple-minded, but they had not quite understood what her words meant. Now that they observed this giant’s behaviour, however, they realized what Zhang Ruo Xi mentioned was true in a literal sense. The giant was not just simple-minded; he was no different from a child.
Hua Ling Long did not know whether to laugh or cry, “Yang Kai knows him? How did they meet?”
It was difficult to imagine that Yang Kai had the courage to quarrel with such a terrifying existence. What confused her even more was when Yang Kai had befriended this Giant Spirit God. They even seemed to know each other by name.
Nobody could answer those questions while Zhan Wu Hen suddenly turned to look at Zhang Ruo Xi, “Should we be nervous? Yang Kai seems to know this ‘Ah Da’, so things shouldn’t be dangerous, right?”
Zhang Ruo Xi slowly shook her head, “It’s true that the Giant Spirit God is simple-minded, like a child, but… I’m sure you understand what children are like… A child’s mood is difficult to predict. It… can change at any time.”
The expression of the Giant Spirit God Ah Da did not change. On the other hand, the expressions on the Great Emperors’ faces changed first. What Zhang Ruo Xi mentioned was true. The Giant Spirit God was as simple-minded as a child, but putting it in another way meant that he was subjected to ever-shifting moods. What if Yang Kai upset him by stubbornly quarrelling? The consequences would be dire!
Even though Zhang Ruo Xi was very nervous and uneasy, nobody dared to intervene at this moment. It was best to leave this matter to Yang Kai since he was acquainted with Ah Da. Regardless of the final outcome, the Star Boundary could only passively endure the consequences. It might cause more trouble if somebody rashly intervened in this matter.
“I can’t get through to you!” On the other side, Yang Kai was extremely angry after quarrelling with Ah Da for some time.
Ah Da scratched his face and looked away. When he pretended to glance over like nothing had happened, he noticed that Yang Kai was glaring at him. Thus, he hurriedly looked away again as though he was feeling guilty.
Yang Kai was frustrated, “Ah Da, this is my home. If you eat it, I won’t have a home anymore. Do you understand?”
Ah Da rubbed his belly, “Hungry!”
Yang Kai was tempted to use his spear to stab the other party to death. He seethed with anger and paced about on Ah Da’s arm. After a while, he stopped abruptly and tilted his head to the side, “You won’t be hungry anymore if you have something to eat, right?”
“Food?” Ah Da’s eyes brightened. He immediately lowered his head and looked at Yang Kai hopefully.
“Wait here!” After saying that, Yang Kai turned around and flew from whence he came. A short while later, he returned to the others and spoke with a speechless expression, “This is troublesome.”
Zhan Wu Hen asked, “Where will you find what he wants to eat?”
They had heard the exchange between Yang Kai and Ah Da, so they understood what Yang Kai was planning. It was just that… Where were they going to find something like a Dead World?
“It’s not hard to find what he wants to eat, but that will only appease him for a short while. I’m afraid there’s no way to send this guy away unless we find a way to solve the issue with the Star Boundary.”
“It’s fine even if we can only appease him for a short while. In the worst case, we can figure out a solution later.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s all we can do for now. This big guy is… stubborn.” While speaking, he turned to look at Duan Hong Chen, “We can only rely on Senior Bustling World to appease him.”
“Me!?” Duan Hong Chen was shocked.
“Dead Stars!” Yang Kai explained, “The last time I met him, I gave him some World Beads to eat and he liked them very much. I refined the World Beads from asteroids and Dead Stars from the Lower Star Field. Since he ate those World Beads, he won’t turn his nose up at Dead Stars. Or rather, the Dead Stars are exactly what he wants to eat.”
After listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, realization struck Duan Hong Chen and he nodded, “Give me a moment!”
At present, all the Lower Star Fields had been refined and merged into one by Wu Kuang. He originally planned to use this method to open a door into a higher Martial Dao, but now that he obtained the Great Demon God’s body, he no longer needed to spend effort on this anymore. He had borrowed Duan Hong Chen’s body to refine these Lower Star Fields; therefore, he left the Universe World he created by refining these Lower Star Fields to Duan Hong Chen.
There were countless Dead Stars in the Lower Star Fields, so it was not difficult for Duan Hong Chen to find some. In addition, the loss of these Dead Stars would not have much of an effect on their respective Star Fields.
It didn’t take long for a dozen or so chess piece-like objects to appear in his hand. These objects were refined from the Dead Stars. Wu Kuang could turn the Starry Sky into a chessboard and the Stars into chess pieces. Having experienced everything together with Wu Kuang, it was only natural that Duan Hong Chen could do the same.
“Give me more,” Yang Kai took the chess pieces.
Thus, Duan Hong Chen lowered his head and busied himself with his task once more. Another short period passed before Yang Kai turned and flew towards Ah Da.
Ah Da looked at Yang Kai expectantly, his expression was full of excitement.
“Open your mouth!” Yang Kai instructed after flying over to Ah Da.
Ah Da immediately opened his mouth which looked like an enormous black void. Zhan Wu Hen and the others felt scared just looking at that sight.
Yang Kai lifted his hand and tossed a chess piece into Ah Da’s mouth. Ah Da’s eyes suddenly brightened. There were loud crunching sounds as he chewed with an enraptured expression. Even his shining bald head seemed to shine even brighter. A short while later, Ah Da swallowed the Dead Star with a look that seemed to say he was craving for more. How could Yang Kai not know what Ah Da wanted? He immediately tossed out another chess piece.
Inside the void, the enormous Giant Spirit God voraciously ate up Dead Star after Dead Star, the sounds he made while eating terrifying the Great Emperors. As time passed, the chess pieces in Yang Kai’s hand were reduced, piece by piece. It wasn’t until he felt that the time was right that he spoke up, “Ah Da, we are friends, right?”
“Friends?” Ah Da was taken aback and blinked at Yang Kai blankly. It was clear that he did not quite understand the word.
“You ate my food. That means you are my friend now,” Yang Kai said enticingly. Then, he lifted the Azure Dragon Spear, “You gave me this spear, so I am your friend too.”
Ah Da seriously considered those words for a while before breaking into a huge smile, “Friends! En, friends!”
Yang Kai took advantage of the situation and threw another chess piece into Ah Da’s mouth. He nodded and said, “Since we are friends, then this will be easy. Look over there…”
He pointed in the direction of the Star Boundary, “That’s my home. You are my friend. That means it is also your home. A home is a place where you go back to rest when you’re tired from being outside. If I don’t have a home, I won’t have a place to stay anymore. So, you cannot eat that place. Do you understand?”
Ah Da shook his head so hard he resembled a rattle.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth, “It doesn’t matter even if you don’t understand. In any case, you have to remember this. That is not food! That is very important to both you and me! So, you need to protect it!” Seeing that Ah Da was about to shake his head again, Yang Kai flew into a rage, “Do you still want to eat!?”
The enormous figure immediately stiffened in place before Ah Da blurted out, “Yes!”
“That’s right! In the future, I will bring you food if you want to eat something, so you cannot eat that place!” Yang Kai lifted the chess piece in his hand and dangled it in front of Ah Da. All the while, he continued to persuade Ah Da, “Do you remember it now?”
Ah Da’s eyes followed the chess piece and he nodded heavily, “I remember!”
Only then did Yang Kai nod in satisfaction, “Good boy!”
He tossed out the last chess piece in his hand and dusted off his hands, “There’s no more left.”
Ah Da immediately looked disappointed and reached out and rubbed his belly. It was obvious that he had not had enough.
“Take a rest for now. I will bring more delicious foods for you another day!”
“Okay!” Ah Da smacked his lips. Surprisingly, he was very obedient and immediately lay down, snoring almost as soon as he closed his eyes.
Yang Kai flew back, drenched in a cold sweat. He soon met up with the rest and they hurriedly dropped towards the Star Boundary without further ado. After a while, everybody returned to the Flowing Time Temple. They stood in front of the temple and looked up into the sky. Everything still felt a little unreal. If they had not witnessed what happened with their own eyes, they would not have believed that there was an incomparably large behemoth lying in the void of the Outer Universe, just waiting for the Star Boundary’s vitality to be extinguished so that he could devour it whole.
Yang Kai sighed, “I managed to appease him for now, but what do we do in the future? We need to come up with an idea as soon as possible.”
Wondrous Pill Great Emperor frowned, “This Old Master noticed that Ah Da behaves like a child. Although you managed to calm him down for now and made him promise, it’s hard to say whether he will go back on his word in the future.”
Yang Kai replied, “That’s what worries me the most. There’s nothing we can do to him even if he regrets making the promise. But, since he behaves like a child, then we should teach him so that he knows that the Star Boundary cannot be eaten. We might be able to avert this disaster.”
“How do we teach him?” Serene Soul Great Emperor asked.
Yang Kai smiled, “He likes to eat. In that case, we’ll feed him and teach him while feeding him, just like what I did now. If we repeat it a few more times, he will probably remember it.”
Zhan Wu Hen quickly said, “But, we are placing our hopes upon somebody else with this method. Although it can be considered a strategy, it is not a long-term solution. It’s best if we can restore the Star Boundary’s vitality as soon as possible. Young Lady Ruo Xi also mentioned that the Giant Spirit God Clan is only interested in dead Universe Worlds. The reason this Ah Da came over was that he smelled the destruction of the Star Boundary. He will naturally take his leave if we can manage to bring the Star Boundary back to life.”
Mo Huang laughed, “The matter of the Star Boundary recovering its vitality is not something that will occur immediately. Although the living creatures in the Star Boundary have been replenished greatly, the perfection and self-repair of the World Principles will still need time. Besides, only time would tell whether our efforts are successful.”
Everybody was discussing this matter when a voice descended from the sky, “The Giant Spirit God Clan feeds on Dead Worlds, so there should be nobody more knowledgeable than them about the life and death of worlds. If you want the Star Boundary to recover quickly, why don’t you go and ask that big stupid guy directly? He might know something.”
Yang Kai looked up into the sky, “Wu Kuang, didn’t you leave?”
Wu Kuang smiled, “I was just about to leave. I hope we meet again in the future.”
While speaking, his powerful aura rapidly faded into the distance. It would seem that he really left this time.
The biggest scourge of the Star Boundary had just left, but a bigger uninvited guest had arrived. Nevertheless, what Wu Kuang said before he left had given them a wake-up call.
Yang Kai turned to look at Zhang Ruo Xi, “Ruo Xi, do you know any methods to quickly restore the vitality of the Star Boundary?”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head with a bitter smile, “I would have told you if I knew, Sir. But, what Wu Kuang said just now is worth a try.”
“I’ll go and ask right now!” He stood up while saying that.
Zhan Wu Hen raised a hand to stop Yang Kai, “There’s no hurry. That big fellow has just gone to sleep. It will be bad if he gets mad because you disturbed him again. Let’s wait for a bit first. Besides, we still have many things to do in the Star Boundary.” He turned to look at Duan Hong Chen, “Old Duan, please transfer some of the living creatures in the Lower Star Fields out for now. We will work together to fill up all the still inhabitable parts of the Star Boundary.” Then, he turned to Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, I will leave the Space Arrays and the like to you. The Star Boundary’s foundation has been severely damaged so we will need to rely on the surviving people if we want to quickly restore its vitality. Communication between them is extremely necessary. If they have enough Space Arrays to support them, I believe the Star Boundary will also recover a little faster.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s not a problem.”
He was the Void Great Emperor. Even if the Universe World of the Star Boundary was unstable, he only needed a flash of his thoughts to arrive anywhere. If he were to set up a Space Array on top of that, he could easily connect the entire Star Boundary in a short time with his strength alone. At that time, all the people living in the Star Boundary would be able to travel around quickly.
Nearly two months of busy work went by before some slight progress had been made. Practically all the forces in the Star Boundary came out to help. Even the Great Emperors were not idle during this period.
Duan Hong Chen had transferred countless living creatures from the Lower Star Fields to the four territories of the Star Boundary. At present, all the inhabitable areas in the Star Boundary had been filled with life. Yang Kai also set up Space Arrays at all the places where living creatures were gathered. In addition, the fifty-five Star Boundary armies had been dissolved, with their members free to choose a new place to settle down according to the origins of their Sects and Clans.
Yang Kai used a Secret Technique to rebuild the landscape of High Heaven Palace, and although he managed to restore up to 70 or 80% of High Heaven Palace’s original appearance, it was still far from how it was like in the past. Unfortunately, it was not something that would take effect in a short time. Like the Star Boundary’s recovery, the effects would be accumulated over a long period of time.
Lan Xun returned to the Southern Territory with the remaining survivors of Star Soul Palace and set about its revival. When they were about to part ways, she came to pay a special visit to express her gratitude. Xiao Chen came with her as well, looking ashamed of himself.
He had been bewitched by Great Demon God earlier and during a critical moment in the final battle, he had launched a sneak attack on Yang Kai together with Li Shi Qing. He almost caused an irreparable mistake and was injured by Yang Kai in the end. Although it was not his original intention to carry out the sneak attack, he would not have been eroded by the Demon Spirit if his heart had not been swayed.
After that experience, Xiao Chen seemed to have become a lot more mature. He had lost his former fastidious but arrogant manner. It was as though he had lost some of his edges. It was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse. He had yet to heal from his injuries, but those injuries did not leave any hidden dangers behind, so there would be a day when he recovered fully as long as he took a good rest in the future.
Army after army and batch after batch of people left High Heaven Palace to scatter across the Star Boundary. Two months later, only the original disciples remained in High Heaven Palace. After experiencing such a disaster, less than 60,000 remained of the more than 100,000 disciples of High Heaven Palace. That was also only because Yang Kai placed many of them into the Small Sealed World in advance to avoid the catastrophe since most of the disciples in High Heaven Palace had only cultivated for a short time and were lacking in strength.
If High Heaven Palace was in such a situation, it was easy to understand how the other Sects were faring. Saying that nine houses out of ten in the Star Boundary were empty was not an exaggeration. It was the actual situation. For the people who survived the infernal ordeal of war, the tranquillity after the war felt extremely surreal. Be that as it may, they cherished the current stability even more.
The enormous Giant Spirit God ate noisily in the void. Yang Kai turned into his large Dragon Form and sat cross-legged in front of the giant. Picking up a huge wineskin, he guzzled down the contents. The sweet smell of alcohol permeated the air.
After drinking for some time, he turned to look at Ah Da and blew out a breath of air that smelled strongly of wine. The smell of alcohol made Ah Da frown. The Giant Spirit God did not seem to eat anything else other than Dead Worlds and natural products. Yang Kai had tried to cajole him into drinking some wine before, but he staunchly refused the offer. He also seemed to be highly repulsed by the aroma of wine.
“Ah Da, do you have a better solution for the situation regarding my home?”
This was the third time Yang Kai came to chat with Ah Da. The first time, Ah Da had not responded at all. The second time, he seemed to understand what Yang Kai was asking but did not give an answer, only saying that he would think about it. Thus, this was the third time.
When Ah Da heard the question, he laughed and continued to chew non-stop.
“Don’t just eat! Come on! You have to help me think of a solution!” Yang Kai stared at Ah Da speechlessly.
“Hehe!”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly and he couldn’t help cursing for a moment. Then, he laughed again, “It’s rare to be as carefree as you are every single day. Tell me; do you have any siblings? Ruo Xi mentioned that the Giant Spirit God is a Race. If you are a Race, you can’t be the only member, right?”
Ah Da blinked. Raising his mountain-like fingers, he frowned deeply and used his fingers to count something with a serious look on his face. It was just that he could not come up with an answer despite counting for a long time.
Likewise, Yang Kai could not figure out the answer to his question either. He pressed his hand against his forehead in frustration, “Forget it! Forget it! You can take your time counting and thinking of an answer. Why don’t you tell me when I visit you again next time?”
While speaking, he stood up, looked in the direction of the Star Boundary, and grinned, “There’s a joyous event waiting for me there. It’s not good for me to be late, so I’ll be going now. Bye!”
After saying that, he headed towards the Star Boundary with large strides.
“World Tree!” A thunderous voice spoke like a whisper suddenly came from behind.
Yang Kai abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at Ah Da, “What did you say?”
However, Yang Kai was greeted by the sight of Ah Da frowning so deeply that his eyebrows formed three deep canyons. Ah Da was still vigorously counting with his fingers. How could he have spoken just then?
Yang Kai almost thought that he had been hallucinating. Be that as it may, that voice definitely belonged to Ah Da. He could not be mistaken about that. Scrutinising the other party for a bit, Yang Kai gave up on the idea of getting to the bottom of this matter. Instead, he silently made a mental note of the words ‘World Tree’ before he turned around, waved goodbye, and continued forward.
Azure Sun Temple in the Southern Territory.
Similar to High Heaven Palace, Azure Sun Temple was in ruins. This place had also once been a battlefield. The Demon Race army had invaded, the Spirit Peaks had collapsed, and Demon Essence had corrupted it.
Nevertheless, the situation here was much better than the situation at High Heaven Palace. The vicinity of High Heaven Palace had been the place where the final battle had taken place after all. The terrifying fallout that swept across that land had caused the surrounding ten thousand kilometres to become empty, unstable, and covered in cracks. In comparison, the overall landscape of this place had been preserved even though it might be slightly rundown.
After being fixed by Bustling World Great Emperor himself, Azure Sun Temple could be said to have been completely restored. The only difference was that the World Energy was not as rich as it was originally. There was no helping this. Most of the world’s Auspicious Spirit Essence was gone, so it was only natural that the World Energy would be greatly affected as a result. These effects would not return to normal until the Auspicious Spirit Essence was replenished.
At this moment, brightly-lit lanterns and decorations adorned the entire Azure Sun Temple. The sounds of beating gongs and drums mixed together, making the entire atmosphere extremely lively. All the Spirit Peaks were also decorated in bright-red festive colours.
There was no helping it. Today was the wedding day of Azure Sun Temple’s Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan. Prior to the Two Worlds Great War, Wen Zi Shan had been the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple in the Southern Territory. He was a respected and powerful individual who had friends all over the world. After the war between the two worlds broke out, he had taken up the post of Army Commander and made even more friends during that period.
In addition, this auspicious event was the first joyous celebration to take place in the Star Boundary after the war. Azure Sun Temple was filled with guests as practically anybody who was somebody in the Star Boundary had shown up; there were no exceptions. Even most of the Great Emperors were present.
The Star Boundary currently needed such an auspicious event to inspire the people. This joyous event was needed to wash away the painful past of this war-torn world; therefore, Wen Zi Shan’s wedding today was being celebrated in full swing across the entire Star Boundary. It could be said to be the Star Boundary’s largest event in history.
When Yang Kai rushed over to Azure Sun Temple, the disciples of the Temple were busy working outside the mountain gate of the Sect to greet and usher their guests inside without pause. They guided the guests into the Temple, one by one, and settled them into a suitable seat to wait for the banquet to begin.
Yang Kai instantly felt the auras of several Great Emperors up above. They were hiding behind a certain mountain peak and after glancing in that direction, he clearly felt their gazes on him. Zhan Wu Hen’s question immediately sounded in his ears, “How is it? Did you manage to learn anything?”
“World Tree. I don’t know anything else,” Yang Kai replied.
“World Tree?” Inside the hall on the mountain peak, Zhan Wu Hen frowned with a pensive expression. He turned to look to his left and right. Unfortunately, both Duan Hong Chen and Mo Huang shook their heads slowly to indicate that they had never heard of it.
“I’ll go back and ask Ruo Xi later. She might know something.” Yang Kai replied via voice transmission.
Zhan Wu Hen nodded, “That’s all we can do anyway.”
Be that as it may, Yang Kai’s attempt this time was still better than the last two attempts. He had asked the same question the past two times only to return empty-handed. At least, he learned about the World Tree this time. This item might just be the key item to restoring the Star Boundary to normal. It was just that… Judging by the name, it appeared to be a tree! Where would he find it!?
After a brief exchange with Zhan Wu Hen, Yang Kai did not enter through the Main Gate. With his current status, going through the gate would only cause some unnecessary commotion. Besides, Azure Sun Temple was practically his second home. There was no need to inform anybody about his return home.
Turning to look to the side, he saw a Spirit Peak surrounded by a purple aura. Purple bamboo grew all over the mountain and the huge bamboo forests were dressed with bright red satin. Brightly-lit red lanterns hung from the eaves of the front door in a continuous line. The ground was covered with red carpet. Many people hustled and bustled about, going in and out in droves. It was Purple Bamboo Peak, Gao Xue Ting’s Spirit Peak.
With a flicker of his body, Yang Kai entered the Spirit Peak directly and came to stand in front of a certain building. Smiling slightly, he cupped his fists and greeted, “Senior Sister Gao, Junior Brother is here to congratulate you.”
The noise inside the building subsided all of a sudden and the entire place fell silent. Even the family members on the bride’s side who were hurrying about with their tasks abruptly stopped in their tracks and looked over in unison.
In the next moment, a group of flirtatious and alluring women rushed out of the building. Some Yang Kai knew, some he had never met before; however, they all gave an elegant bow and greeted him at the same time, “Greetings, Senior Void!”
Yang Kai nodded, stretched out his hand, and lifted his hand slightly. A gentle force spread out, helping everyone lift their heads. Then, he strode forward to enter the building.
“What are you doing!?” A beautiful figure immediately came to block his way. Yu Ru Meng’s eyes were blazing with fury as she looked him up and down with a look of vigilance.
“I’m here to give a wedding gift!” He blinked, “Why are you stopping me, Ru Meng?”
She sneered, “Can you use your brains a little!? Even I, who was born in the Demon Realm, know that the bride cannot meet any male guests before the wedding ceremony. What are you trying to do here?”
Yang Kai smilingly replied, “But, I’m part of the bride’s family. Can’t I come to give my wedding gifts and send her off?”
“No! Of course not!” She pressed her hand against his chest to stop him.
Yang Kai was not deterred, however, and argued, “You are a female Demon Saint. Why are you being so particular? Move aside, move aside. I haven’t seen how the bride looks in her wedding dress yet. That’s why I came here to see her.”
Yu Ru Meng was steadfast though and refused to budge, “You can see it during their wedding ceremony. Not now.”
While speaking, she summoned Su Yan and the others. Su Yan, Luo’er, and all the others came the moment they were called. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was surrounded by several of his wives.
Su Yan spoke up immediately, “Husband, Senior Sister Gao will not see you at this time. If you have any gifts, Brother-in-Law can convey them on your behalf.”
“You’re rebelling against me!” He laughed.
Shan Qing Luo said, “It’s not that easy to see how the bride looks in her wedding dress. When we return though, we sisters can dress up and show you one by one. I just wonder if you have this interest, husband.”
Xia Ning Chang and Xue Yue’s eyes lit up with anticipation at those words.
“Uh…” Yang Kai touched his nose, “If I think about it carefully, I should be part of the groom’s family today. I should probably go to Temple Master Wen’s side instead.”
After saying that, he turned to leave.
Yu Ru Meng grabbed him by the shoulder, however, and demanded, “You can leave, but the wedding gifts stay.”
He abruptly turned to look at her, “Whose side are you on?”
She sneered, “Today, we sisters are on the bride’s side!”
Speechless, Yang Kai could only leave the wedding gifts that he prepared beforehand behind. Only then could he make his escape. Since he could not meet the bride, his only other option was to go and visit the groom. The groom was on another Spirit Peak not far away, so he arrived in just a few steps.
A few disciples of the Temple like Xia Sheng and Xiao Bai Yi were waiting outside the room. Wen Zi Shan was the only person inside the room. Everybody was about to greet Yang Kai with a bow, but he raised a hand to stop them before pushing the door open and entering to see Wen Zi Shan sitting primly inside.
Wen Zi Shan was wearing an auspicious bright red robe with a huge red sash across his chest. He looked pensive and sighed constantly, seeming to be very apprehensive and nervous. When he lifted his head and saw Yang Kai, he immediately got to his feet, “You’re here, Senior Void.”
Yang Kai walked over to Wen Zi Shan, pressed the latter back into his chair, and sat down together. He studied the other party with interest before asking, “Temple Master Wen, are you not happy?”
Wen Zi Shan frowned slightly and replied with a strange expression, “I’m quite happy.”
“In that case, do you not like her?” Yang Kai pressed further.
Wen Zi Shan shook his head, “We’ve been together for so many years. How can I not like her?”
“If you are happy and you like her, then why do you look so sad and uneasy, Temple Master?”
“Haih.” He sighed, his aged face flushing slightly, “I raised her after all. I have no idea if doing this is a good thing or a bad thing for her.”
Yang Kai laughed, “I went to Purple Bamboo Peak just now.”
Wen Zi Shan looked over nervously, “How is the situation over there?”
Yang Kai scratched his nose, “I didn’t get to meet Senior Sister Gao. I was stopped by my wives, who claimed that the bride cannot meet any male guests before the wedding ceremony.”
“Hahaha!” Wen Zi Shan laughed heartily in response. He could almost imagine the scene at the time.
Yang Kai continued, “Although I didn’t get to meet Senior Sister Gao, I could sense that she was very happy and was looking forward to this very much. That’s why you shouldn’t look so down, Temple Master. She would be hurt if she knew.”
Wen Zi Shan grumbled, “But, I’m worried! Getting along is not the same as living well as husband and wife! What if she discovers that this Wen is not that great after all!? Will she hate me!?”
A sudden look of realization flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes, “I see. You’re actually worried about dragging her down for the rest of her life. It’s not about losing your freedom.” He chuckled, “You’ve known each other for so long and she knows better than anyone else just what is good about you and what is bad about you. If she were to dislike you, she would have disliked you a long time ago. Why would she be so happy today?”
“That is theoretically true…” Wen Zi Shan nodded but still looked unsure.
“Besides, the Star Boundary would no longer exist if Mo Sheng’s plans had been successful. You and I both would have lost our lives in battle. Danger always comes unexpectedly. The Star Boundary is at peace again for the moment, but who knows what the future will bring? Who can say that the Star Boundary won’t be ravaged again tomorrow? If that were to happen, you will have so many regrets because of all your unfinished business.”
Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “Are you saying we should enjoy life to the fullest?”
Yang Kai shrugged nonchalantly, “Why not?”
Wen Zi Shan let out a long sigh, “It’s enough as long as she doesn’t hate me.”
At this moment, Xia Sheng’s voice came from outside the door, “Temple Master, the auspicious hour has arrived. We have to go and pick up the bride now.”
“Good,” Wen Zi Shan replied.
Yang Kai reached over, picked up the bottle of wine on the table, and poured two glasses. He took one glass and handed the other to Wen Zi Shan, “Temple Master, I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the banquet later. Allow me to present to you my well wishes now. I hope that you will have a loving and harmonious life together.”
His current status made things a bit difficult after all. Yang Kai wanted very much to join in the festivities, but the joyous celebration would become very reserved and formal if he really were to attend in person. Therefore, he might as well not attend. He had already delivered the wedding gifts to Gao Xue Ting and met with Wen Zi Shan. That was enough.
Wen Zi Shan drained the glass in one gulp and slammed the cup down on the table heavily before firmly declaring, “I’m going!”
Turning around, he marched off resolutely, as if even a thousand soldiers could not block his way!
The welcoming procession to pick the bride up was very lively and large and headed towards Purple Bamboo Peak with great fanfare.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai flew up into the sky. Duan Hong Chen, Zhan Wu Hen, Mo Huang, and Hua Ling Long hid and watched the procession below. Yang Kai glanced around and asked, “Where are the others?”
“They’re recuperating,” Duan Hong Chen replied.
Although the Star Boundary ultimately won in the war against Great Demon God, almost all of its most powerful Masters had suffered severe injuries. What’s more, they had been busy stabilising the situation in the Star Boundary after the war. Hence, it wasn’t until recently that they had the time to return to their respective residences to treat their wounds. They did not know how long would pass before they healed and could come out of retreat again.
Duan Hong Chen and the others were also injured and would probably enter retreat after the auspicious event today; thus, it was conceivable that the Star Boundary would be without any Great Emperors for the next few hundred to a thousand years.
Even though those Great Emperors did not come, their congratulatory gifts arrived without fail. Wen Zi Shan might not command such great respect, but Duan Hong Chen did. Gao Xue Ting was raised by Wen Zi Shan while Wen Zi Shan was raised by Duan Hong Chen. The relationship between them was akin to father and son.
Zhan Wu Hen said, “Yang Kai, I’m afraid the Star Boundary will be in your care after today.”
Among all the Great Emperors and those on the level of Great Emperors, only Yang Kai was in good shape. There was no helping it as he had refined the Immortal Tree. Even though he had also been severely injured in the battle against the Great Demon God, those injuries were nothing in the face of the healing abilities of the Immortal Tree’s essence; therefore, his injuries had healed completely over the past few months.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai could clearly perceive that he did not gain an immortal and indestructible body after refining the Immortal Tree. The legends surrounding the Immortal Tree were probably highly exaggerated. If his physical body had been smashed to pieces again, he had the feeling that he would have died for real. In other words, the essence of the Immortal Tree was limited. It was impossible to protect him infinitely.
“You may all rest easy.”
Duan Hong Chen sighed heavily as he gazed sadly at the welcoming processing heading towards the bride below.
Yang Kai was astonished, “What’s wrong, Senior Bustling World?”
Duan Hong Chen sorrowfully replied, “If I had known earlier, I would have taken in a little girl and raised her too.”
Yang Kai was instantly rendered speechless.
It was extremely festive on Purple Bamboo Peak. The welcoming procession surmounted all the obstacles in their way and finally welcomed the bride after much effort. After ushering the bride into the bridal sedan, they headed back towards the Main Hall of Azure Sun Temple with even greater fanfare.
Upon seeing that, Duan Hong Chen tidied his clothes and said, “This Old Master is off.”
Wen Zi Shan was getting married today, so it was only natural for him to pay his respects to his parent figure, Duan Hong Chen. For that reason, Duan Hong Chen had specially dressed up for the occasion. Compared to his usual sloppy attire, he looked like a different person altogether. After saying that, he transformed into a rainbow and quickly flew downward.
Zhan Wu Hen said, “Yang Kai, the rest of us will be heading back first. We will be leaving the Star Boundary in your hands. Don’t hesitate to come to us if you need our help.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists and replied solemnly, “Until we meet again.”
Following that, the other Great Emperors vanished out of sight with a flurry of bodies.
On the other hand, several figures were rushing over from below. Yang Kai looked at them and immediately broke into a smile. They were none other than his lovely wives. Yu Ru Meng was in the lead, followed by Zhu Qing, Su Yan, and the others. All of them were here today and exchanged a glance without speaking before looking down together.
At this moment, the welcoming procession had just ushered the bride into the Main Hall and Li Wu Yi’s voice rang out. The Master of Ceremonies for today’s wedding was none other than the strongest Master beneath the Great Emperors! He was also dressed in bright red and looked very festive.
First bow to the Heavens; second bow to the Parents; third bow to each other. After tying the knot, they entered the bridal chambers!
When the ceremony ended, the entire Azure Sun Temple seemed to boil with excitement. The banquet began and many guests began toasting to each other while exchanging pleasantries.
Yang Kai suddenly heard somebody crying next to him. He turned and looked sideways only to see Shan Qing Luo sobbing softly with reddened eyes. Moreover, she was looking at him while crying. There was a different kind of emotion in the beautiful and clear eyes of the Beguiling Demon Queen today.
Needless to say, Yang Kai was shocked, and just as he was about to question Shan Qing Luo, he realised that all the women around him were looking at him in the same manner as her. Even Xia Ning Chang pursed her lips lightly with an expectant look. He immediately understood what was going on. Stretching his arms out to them, he pulled them into his embrace, “Why don’t we get married too?”
The moment the words left his mouth, a yearning look appeared in the women’s eyes. They had been living together all this while without feeling the need for a marriage ceremony; however, they couldn’t help yearning for it when they saw somebody else performing the actual ceremony.
Despite longing for a marriage ceremony herself, Yu Ru Meng snorted at his words and declared, “Impossible.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, “Ru Meng, don’t you want to marry me!?”
She looked at him coldly, “Of course we sisters are willing to marry you, but have you thought about what would happen to the others?”
“Others? What others?” He was puzzled.
Su Yan quietly said, “Senior Sister Ji Yao…”
Yang Kai immediately flushed red.
Shan Qing Luo glanced sideways and added, “That little girl Mo Xiao Qi.”
He coughed lightly.
“Sister Ruo Xi…”
Yang Kai scratched his head in embarrassment.
Yu Ru Meng poked him in the chest with a slender jade finger, “Yang Kai, aren’t you quite impressive!?”
He stepped back repeatedly as she poked him over and over again. Then, he gave a dry laugh, “It’s one thing to mention Ji Yao, but there’s nothing going on between me and Xiao Qi or Ruo Xi.”
“Fine, then we’ll only talk about Ji Yao.” She sneered softly, “If you married only us, won’t Ji Yao be heartbroken? Do you have the confidence to convince her to join us?”
Yang Kai considered the question seriously and found that he was not sure if he could. His relationship with Ji Yao had always been rather secretive and discreet. What’s more, Ji Yao had never asked him for anything before.
Su Yan said, “We’ll wait until you manage to persuade Senior Sister Ji Yao, husband. We can hold a wedding after that.”
“You might have to wait for a very long time.”
To which she smiled, “It has been so many years already. It doesn’t make a difference anymore.”
Yang Kai sighed, “My life is complete with all of you.”
His words that came from the heart could melt even the hardest ice in the world, and all the women’s expressions became tender and loving.
However, Yu Ru Meng was resentful and snorted, “Have some respect for yourselves! At least stand your ground a little! Don’t be swayed by his words… Ugh… You bastard!”
FBI, we good now?
Inside one of the rooms on High Heaven Peak in High Heaven Palace sprawled several bodies on a large bed. Yang Kai extracted himself from the tangle of limbs with some difficulty. Putting on some clothes, he walked over to the window and opened it so that fresh air blew across his face. It had rained last night, so High Heaven Peak was shrouded in fog, making it hard to make out the buildings in the distance.
The sound of footsteps came from behind him; then, a warm and tender body pressed against him. Su Yan wrapped her arms around his waist and asked softly, “How long will you be in retreat this time?”
“It shouldn’t take long, but I’m afraid I’ll have to leave the day I exit.”
Her body trembled slightly at his words.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely come back.” He turned around and pulled her into his arms.
“Mmm… We will be waiting.” She nodded.
“I really don’t want to go…” He kissed her on the forehead. They had many partings throughout their lifetime, but few reunions in comparison. He originally thought that they could finally settle down together without needing to run around again, but who would have thought that the situation would repeat itself once more? Unfortunately, he had no choice but to do so for the Star Boundary’s sake.
After returning to High Heaven Palace from Azure Sun Temple, he had asked Zhang Ruo Xi about the World Tree; however, Zhang Ruo Xi had never heard of it before. Although she inherited a lot of her ancestor’s memories, they were merely an inheritance and the memories were not comprehensive. Heavens Order might have known about the World Tree, but the memories Zhang Ruo Xi received were fragmented. She did not know anything about the World Tree. Even so, she managed to point him in a direction despite not knowing anything.
There were enormous great forces in the Outer Universe that controlled places known as Star Cities. As long as one had enough resources, one could buy anything in such a place. It might be possible to buy information regarding the World Tree in a Star City.
At this moment, the Star Boundary was nearly broken beyond repair. Although they relocated countless living creatures out from the Lower Star Fields to restore the vitality and nurture the Auspicious Spirit Essence of the Star Boundary, nobody could say for sure whether this method would be effective. Even if it was effective, it might take tens of thousands of years to produce results.
The Giant Spirit God Ah Da was eyeing the Star Boundary hungrily and could turn it into his meal at any time. Yang Kai did not dare to guarantee that the giant would be absolutely obedient, that was why he had to think of another method to restore the Star Boundary’s vitality as soon as possible in addition to allowing it to simply self-repair.
The World Tree was the only clue he currently had. Aside from that, he himself also wanted to break free from the shackles of this Universe World and have a look at the outside world. An injured Great Demon God had all but annihilated the entire Star Boundary, so how would the Star Boundary resist if another powerful figure like Great Demon God appeared again? The only way was to become stronger; otherwise, was he supposed to hope that those powerful existences would never come to the Star Boundary? That was unrealistic.
There was an even higher Martial Dao and an even stronger power in the Outer Universe. Regardless of whether it was by his own will or being forced by the circumstances, it was a given to leave the Star Boundary and head towards a wider world.
Since he had made up his mind, then there was no need for hesitation. In any case, he still had to do the things that needed to be done; therefore, his top priority was to enter retreat to digest the benefits he gained during the last battle. Yang Kai’s current cultivation had reached the limits of the Emperor Realm. In addition, he received the support of a Universe World like the Star Boundary and became a Great Emperor. It was just that the truth was just as the Great Demon God had mentioned. ‘Great Emperor’ was not the highest cultivation Realm. The Realm above the Emperor Realm was the Open Heaven Realm.
Breaking free of the shackles of the Inner Universe, splitting Heaven and Earth apart and transforming one’s own body into an independent world… That was what was required to reach the Open Heaven Realm. Even without carrying a world, those in the Open Heaven Realm could exert far greater power than a Great Emperor. That power belonged to themselves and was not something they needed to borrow from an outside world.
Yang Kai had experienced the feeling of splitting Heaven and Earth apart before. When he consumed the World Source Liquid, there was a sense of chaos spreading out as the world was born. That sort of experience was extremely rare. Unless one had the chance to experience the initial birth of a world, it was impossible for a person to directly sense that feeling for themselves.
The Outer Universe was vast indeed. Even so, the birth of a new world was extremely demanding. World Source Liquid would only appear when a world was first created, not to mention that World Source Liquid that was initially created would gradually disappear as the world matured and aged. The only reason the Star Boundary’s World Source Liquid was preserved was all thanks to the Source Sealed World known as the Profound Heavens Temple. If not for this Sealed World preserving the most primitive environment of the world, the World Source Liquid would have ceased to exist.
Nevertheless, experiencing the feeling of Heaven and Earth splitting apart was pointless to Yang Kai at the moment. That experience would only benefit him greatly when he attempted to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. For now, he did not know how far he was from advancing into a higher Realm.
According to Zhang Ruo Xi, it was necessary to gather the power of Yin, Yang and Five Elements to become an Open Heaven Realm Master. That was because all the worlds were derived from Yin, Yang and the Five Elements. Only by gathering more of this power could one hope to split Heaven and Earth apart within one’s own body and completely break free from the shackles of the Inner Universe.
Having reached the limits of the Emperor Realm, reaching the Open Heaven Realm was a long process of accumulation. There were no exceptions to this process. Moreover, the more solid and vigorous the process of accumulation, the greater the strength one could wield upon becoming an Open Heaven Realm Master; therefore, there were times when the gap in strength between Open Heaven Realm Masters was extreme. One move might be enough to distinguish who was stronger in a fight between two Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Outer Universe. It was not an uncommon sight.
The gathering and accumulation of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements took one’s Dao Seal as a foundation. The Dao Seal’s existence was the greatest symbol that distinguished an ordinary Emperor Realm Master from an Emperor Realm Master with the hope of breaking through to become an Open Heaven Realm Master.
The only people that had Dao Seals in the Star Boundary were the Great Emperors. The others, including Li Wu Yi, did not have a Dao Seal that belonged to them. Only by obtaining a Dao Seal would one obtain the qualification to comprehend the Grand Dao and the right to glimpse into the secrets of the Open Heaven Realm.
The Dao Seal was formed from the essence of a person’s cultivation throughout their lifetime; therefore, Yang Kai looked no different from a normal person unless he used his power. In addition, while the Demon Qi in his body would churn violently whenever he activated his power in the past, there were no signs of that anymore. All the Demon Qi in his body and even his Divine Sense were condensed into his Dao Seal, transforming into the purest form of power.
The foundation for the gathering of the Power of Yin, Yang and the Five Elements was the Dao Seal. At first, Yang Kai could not understand this statement, but a single sentence from Zhang Ruo Xi immediately enlightened him.
Leaving aside the other powers in the Five Elements, he at least had already condensed the Wood Element from the Immortal Tree!
Across the 3,000 Worlds, the Immortal Tree was considered a peak Supreme Treasure. Even the Great Demon God had nearly gone insane with jealousy upon learning that Yang Kai had refined the Immortal Tree during the final battle. It could be seen just how valuable the Immortal Tree was. According to Zhang Ruo Xi, the Immortal Tree was one of the best choices to condense the Wood Element throughout the entire 3,000 Worlds. There were practically no better choices.
Seeing as Yang Kai had already thoroughly absorbed the Immortal Tree, he could omit the refining process altogether. When he learned about this, he couldn’t help feeling ecstatic. He had been forced to refine the Immortal Tree as at the time, his physical body had been completely destroyed by Great Demon God. He had no other options and could only try whatever means he could think of. In the end, he inadvertently succeeded in refining the Immortal Tree. Who could have known that it would also bring him these kinds of benefits?
There were two reasons behind his going into retreat this time. The first reason was to digest the various gains he received during the previous battle. The second reason was to condense the Wood Element into his Dao Seal.
He had experience in refining the Five Elements as he once cultivated a Secret Technique known as the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art during the time he lived on Shadowed Star in Heng Luo Star Field. That Secret Technique had also required refining the power of the Five Elements. At the time, he also had a small baby fist-sized piece of Sun’s True Essence. It was just that most of it had been consumed to cultivate the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
The power of the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art was certainly impressive. As long as there were enough materials to refine, it would improve one’s control over the Five Elements. Hence, the power of this Secret Technique was almost infinite. It was just that Yang Kai later came to the Star Boundary, learned about a higher Martial Dao, and gradually abandoned the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. Now, it would seem that it was the wrong decision to make.
If he had accumulated enough power of the Five Elements back then, it might have been easier for him to advance into the Open Heaven Realm now. But, thinking about it in another way, all of his strength had been smelted into the Dao Seal when he condensed his Dao Seal, so no matter how much he had accumulated previously, it would not have made a difference.
It was all thanks to Zhang Ruo Xi; otherwise, Yang Kai would still be clueless about his future. At least he now had a clear direction.
There was no specific choice regarding which of the powers of Yin, Yang, or Five Elements to start with, but once one was chosen, a specific order needed to be followed afterwards. For example, now that Yang Kai had chosen to start the Wood Element, he would need to refine the Fire Element next. That was because the Five Elements mutually supported and restrained each other. Only wood could ignite fire.
In any case, that was something to be considered in the future as Yang Kai did not have any other materials on hand to refine the Five Elements. Seeing as he knew the secrets to the Open Heaven Realm, he could choose the best possible route to advancement in order to become the strongest Open Heaven Realm Master.
The door closed with a loud rumble and the lock clicked into place. Numerous seals were activated all at once as Yang Kai walked into the secret room and isolated himself from the outside world. He was going into retreat from today onward. For the next few decades or even the next few centuries, this would be his place of retreat.
He had made arrangements for all the affairs in the outside world as all the Great Emperors along with the two Elders of the Dragon Clan were also in retreat. Even Xiao Xiao was in the process of recuperating from his wounds. Even so, it was not as though no other powerful figures were remaining behind in the Star Boundary.
Zhang Ruo Xi was in a state of half-retreat and could take action at any time.
In the meantime, Yu Ru Meng guarded the Star Boundary. With her around, there would be no problems so long as no other Masters on the level of Great Demon God came to the Star Boundary. The task of appeasing Ah Da had also been handed over to her.
Before Duan Hong Chen went into retreat, he deliberately left many Dead Stars that had been refined into chess pieces to Yang Kai. Yang Kai then transferred them over to Yu Ru Meng and instructed her to feed Ah Da every so often. He was worried that the giant might get too hungry and forget the promise between them.
After the Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering war, the entire Star Boundary fell silent. Many of the Masters were pursuing their own path to becoming stronger while countless other living creatures in the Star Boundary settled down with their lives.
Just like that, fifty years passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside his cultivation room, Yang Kai slowly awoke from his meditation. His eyes were shining brightly as several dozen years’ worth of dry and boring cultivation had passed as though it was only a single day. He did not change much during this time, both in terms of appearance or temperament. He was no different from fifty years ago; however, the power contained in his body had undergone earth-shaking changes.
The essence of the Immortal Tree had all been condensed into his Dao Seal and when he looked inside at himself, his Dao Seal was now covered in a layer of green light and was overflowing with vitality and energy. The Wood Element was so dense, strong, and pure that it was an extremely rare sight in the world. Even if he had never met anybody else who refined the Wood Element, Yang Kai knew that his current situation was not something other people could possibly compare with.
Zhang Ruo Xi was right, the Immortal Tree was certainly among the best choices for refining the power of Wood. It was impossible for a better choice than this to exist across the 3,000 Worlds.
This time around, the condensation process left him with the illusion that he managed to achieve his goal in the shortest time possible. Unfortunately, there were some disadvantages to this as well.
Yang Kai had already noticed previously that the power of the Immortal Tree was not infinite and could not actually make him immortal and indestructible. Refining the Immortal Tree would allow him to be reborn after having his body shattered into pieces completely a few times at most before its power was exhausted. Even so, these opportunities should not be underestimated. Even in the world of the Outer Universe, precious treasures that could bring people back from the brink of death were extremely rare. They practically only existed in legends, which only served to highlight just how powerful the Immortal Tree was.
Unfortunately, even the opportunity to be reborn after having his body shattered into pieces completely no longer existed anymore. That was because all the essence of the Immortal Tree had been refined into his Dao Seal. It was no longer contained within his flesh and bones. In other words, he would die if he was smashed to bits again by a Master on the same level as the Great Demon God before.
Therefore, the change brought both disadvantages and advantages.
At the very least, Yang Kai did not have to worry about being seen through at a glance. He immediately recovered after having his head bashed in by the Great Demon God previously, and just from that, the Great Demon God could tell with a single glance that he had refined the Immortal Tree. As a result, the Great Demon God had continuously torn off chunks of his flesh and consumed it during the battle in an effort to prevent his own injuries from worsening.
In the future, Yang Kai would not expose himself anymore if he were injured. It would also save him from the fate of having people covet his treasures. He might be practically invincible in the Star Boundary as Void Great Emperor, but there were Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Outer Universe. It was only natural that he understood the meaning behind the saying ‘an ordinary man might be innocent, but the treasures he carried made him guilty’. If he accidentally exposed the fact that he had refined the Immortal Tree, he might end up being treated as a Human shaped treasure to be refined.
Although he lost the opportunity to be reborn after having his body shattered into pieces completely upon condensing the essence of the Immortal Tree into his Dao Seal, his restorative abilities had been greatly enhanced instead. Combined with the restorative abilities of his Dragon Body, ordinary injuries would not bother him anymore.
His current cultivation Realm was a little awkward. It could be considered to be above the Emperor Realm but not yet in the Open Heaven Realm. He was only on the path to advancing into the Open Heaven Realm and did not know how to define a cultivator at this level. Zhang Ruo Xi had not mentioned anything either, so it might be that there was no fixed definition for this stage in the Outer Universe.
Be that as it may, Zhang Ruo Xi once mentioned that anybody who had gathered any five out of the seven Yin, Yang, and Five Elements could be considered a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master. They had to refine two more Elements to split Heaven and Earth apart, but nevertheless, the power that they could exert was by no means comparable to somebody like Yang Kai who had only refined a single Element.
In any case, calling it a Realm was simply just a title. The true foundation of a cultivator lay in how much power they could actually bring out.
Looking back at it now, Flowing Time Great Emperor had most likely glimpsed the path to advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. Perhaps, he might even have already refined one or two Elements in his body. How else could he have entered the Demon Realm alone? How else could he have fought the injured Great Demon God to the death?
Even Wu Kuang would be slightly inferior at his peak. He might have vaguely felt the fetters of the Open Heaven Realm, but he had failed to actually step onto that path. It wasn’t to say that he was inferior to Flowing Time Great Emperor; it might be due to opportunity or some other reason, but Wu Kuang had yet to achieve what Flowing Time had already managed to.
Still, Yang Kai only recalled a thing or two about the past of his Seniors. There was no need to delve so far into it as focusing on himself was more important.
He gave a wave of his hand and the heavy gates opened with a loud rumble. Bright light shone into this secret room that had been shrouded in darkness for several dozen years as he stepped outside.
Sweeping his Divine Senses out, everything in the Star Boundary imprinted itself in his heart, causing him to frown slightly. He initially thought that some changes would have occurred in the Star Boundary after fifty years. So many living creatures had been transferred out of the Lower Star Fields when the war ended after all. Not to mention, various Masters in the Star Boundary even went so far as to join hands to create a suitable living environment for these people.
To his disappointment, however, it would seem that the Star Boundary was not showing any signs of improvement. Rather, it even seemed to be in slightly worse condition than before he entered retreat.
The huge cracks in the sky looked like beasts with their mouths opened wide, just waiting to devour somebody of their choice. Terrifyingly powerful turbulence would also leak out from those cracks from time to time, causing massive damage to the surrounding environment in the Star Boundary. Although the World’s vitality remained, it was not strong. The Star Boundary was still dying, little by little.
Yang Kai let out a soft sigh. His resolve solidified and he became even more determined to leave. Only death would await them here if he did not go out in search of a solution to this predicament.
A figure flashed by at that moment and Yu Ru Meng suddenly appeared in front of him, calling out gently, “Husband!”
Yang Kai smiled, reached out, and pulled her into his arms to hold her gently. He took in the sweet scent lingering in her hair, feeling his depressed feelings dissipating away, leaving behind a warm sense of peace. Likewise, she did not say anything, she simply leaned against him quietly and enjoyed the moment of tenderness.
“Where are the others?” He asked.
“All of them are in retreat.”
“You’ve worked hard.” Everybody else could enter retreat, except Yu Ru Meng. She was the only one who could not seclude herself because she was the only top Master left in the Star Boundary who was uninjured; thus, it was necessary for her to remain alert to the invasion of foreign enemies and monitor the changes in the Star Boundary at all times.
“Are you leaving now?” Her voice shook slightly.
Yang Kai nodded silently in response. He had informed his wives of his decision prior to entering retreat, so she was not surprised.
“Please take care of yourself out there, husband. Perhaps, we sisters will also head out to the Outer Universe to find you in the near future. If you wish to keep a secret mistress on the side, you had better hide your tracks well, otherwise, this Queen will deep-fry all those lovely young ladies if I find out about them!”
Yang Kai reached out and pinched her cheeks, “With you all beside me, how could I be tempted by those ordinary women outside?”
“You never know.” She pouted and wrapped her arms around his waist. Tightening her embrace, she reluctantly said, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to them?”
Yang Kai just shook his head and declared, “I’ll be back.”
Every time they parted was an extremely sad and painful occasion, and Yang Kai was afraid that he would be reluctant to leave if he saw them.
“You are so cruel!” Yu Ru Meng lifted a finger and poked him in the chest. A short while later, she floated backwards and smilingly said, “Go. Don’t look back. I will cry if you look back.”
Yang Kai scratched his nose and quickly said, “Take care of yourself. Wait for me to come back.”
After saying that, he turned and strode into the sky. It only took a few steps before he became a small black spot in the distance.
In the next instant, a pair of eyes opened at each place where the Great Emperors were currently in retreat all over the Star Boundary. They looked up in the direction of the sky and cupped their fists in unison.
Yang Xiao was lying around in boredom on the steps in front of the Flowing Time Temple, basking in the sun in High Heaven Palace when he suddenly saw something. Sitting up straight, he rubbed his eyes vigorously and immediately became overjoyed. He was just about to fly out when a voice came out of nowhere at that moment, “Freeze!”
His body instantly froze in place. Turning his head with great difficulty, he saw Yang Xue standing not far behind him. Yang Xue had formed a seal with her hands and a mysterious force was emanating from her body.
“Little Aunt, why are you trapping me?” He blinked with an innocent expression on his face.
In response, Yang Xue smiled sweetly and asked, “Where were you planning to go?”
“I was bored, so I thought I’d go out for a walk,” he replied without even needing to think about his answer.
“Is that so?” She raised her head and looked into the sky. A look of understanding flashed in her eyes, “Why do I feel like you were going to chase after my Big Brother instead?”
“Adoptive Father?” He looked left and right before asking with a blank expression, “Where is Adoptive Father? Isn’t he in retreat? Could it be that he came out of seclusion?”
“Enough nonsense!” She coldly snorted, “You’ve kept coming here to laze about over the past ten or so years. I knew you were up to something! So this is what you were planning? I advise you to give up on this as soon as possible.”
Yang Xiao acted even more innocent than before, “Little Aunt, why can’t I understand what you are saying?”
She smiled, “Do you really not understand? It looks like I’ve been too indulgent towards you. Maybe you’ll understand if somebody else talks to you instead.”
Liu Yan suddenly appeared from behind her. The crystal-like little girl had a head of fiery-red hair and a cluster of flames burned at her fingertips, turning into a small Phoenix from time to time.
Yang Xiao turned pale at the sight of the little girl, and when he saw Liu Yan walking towards him, he swallowed nervously, “Great Aunt, let’s talk this out, okay? Violence is never the answer…”
“Were you trying to go after Master?” Liu Yan walked up to Yang Xiao and looked at him with big clear eyes.
“No…” The small phoenix immediately flew in front of him, giving out a scorching aura that could even burn a person’s Soul, so he hurriedly changed what he was saying, “Yes, yes, yes! I was going to go after Adoptive Father! I wanted to see what the Outer Universe is like! What’s wrong with that!? Why do you have to do this to me!?”
“I want to go too,” Liu Yan declared.
Yang Xiao immediately changed face, as though he had found an accomplice as even his eyes began to shine, “Great Aunt, in that case, we might as well go together! Adoptive Father just left, so he should not have gone very far. We can still catch up to him.”
“We can’t go!” She shook her head. Her movements slow and deliberate.
“Why!?” He glared at her.
“We will only hold him back!”
Yang Xiao sneered, “Great Aunt, you are overthinking this. You and I are not weak, so why would we drag Adoptive Father down? I will just tag along with him without asking for anything. I can at least serve him tea and run some errands for him, right? Hah… Adoptive Father must be having a hard time. He is going on a trip all by himself without a single person to talk to relieve his boredom. It’s one thing if I didn’t know about it, but now that I do, how can I turn a blind eye to his circumstances as his Adoptive Son!? I’m going to follow him. I’m going to support him!”
He spoke with great conviction and righteousness, indicating his sincerity and filial piety that overflowed beyond words.
Qiong Qi walked out from behind and sighed, “Young Master, stop talking nonsense. The Outer Universe is far too dangerous. It’s not too late to start making plans when your cultivation reaches this Old Master’s level.”
Yang Xiao’s face turned ashen, “Only the Heavens know when that will be…”
The more he cultivated, the more he understood the difficulty of increasing his strength. It was impossible to reach the level of Flowing Time Great Emperor without thousands of years of accumulated effort. With his playful, active, and impatient nature, how could Yang Xiao possibly wait that long?
“I can’t be bothered to waste time speaking nonsense with you!” Yang Xue coldly snorted. Reaching out a slender jade white hand, she pulled Yang Xiao by the ear. Yang Xiao was immediately in pain, begging for mercy as he was dragged into the Flowing Time Temple by the ear. Then, the main doors slammed shut and various barriers were activated. Nobody knew when those doors would open once more.
…..
“Sir!” Out in the void, Zhang Ruo Xi smiled beautifully. She looked exactly the same as when they last met. The passage of time had not left its mark on her.
“How is your family?” Yang Kai asked.
“Thanks to Sir, they are all doing well,” she replied.
When she first walked out of the Blood Gate, she immediately threw herself into the battle against the Great Demon God. After that, she followed Yang Kai around for some time to handle various matters in the Star Boundary. It wasn’t until fifty years ago when Yang Kai entered retreat that she had the time to reunite with her family again.
When the Zhang Family was living outside Maplewood City, it was not particularly powerful. The strongest Master in the family was only in the Third-Order Origin King Realm back then. There was nothing much they could do in the war between the two worlds with their strength; hence, Yang Kai placed them into the Sealed World Bead in the early stages of the war so that they were well taken care of.
At present, the Zhang Family had already set down roots in High Heaven Palace. As long as the descendants of the family were of suitable age, they would be accepted into High Heaven Palace as official disciples. Zhang Ruo Xi had been living with her family whilst recuperating from her wounds for the past fifty years.
Since the Blood Gate had opened, the Heavens Order Palace was now under the management of Luan Feng and the other Divine Venerables. Any living Monster with an Ancient Divine Spirit’s bloodline could enter the Blood Gate to pursue the glory of their ancestors in the Heavens Order Palace once they reached an appropriate Realm.
Zhang Ruo Xi had also finished dealing with all the matters at hand as she was going with Yang Kai on this trip to the Outer Universe. The others were either lacking in strength to follow or still recuperating and unable to leave.
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded before he instructed, “Go over to Ah Da first and wait for me there. I still have something to do. It will take several months at least and three to five years at most.”
“En,” She nodded before turning around and flying into the sky.
In the void, Yang Kai quickly determined his direction, transformed into a stream of light, and sped away. The void was lonely and his journey was long, but although he was all alone, he remained calm and composed. His journey was not boring at all.
It took him a month to arrive, and with his current strength, it was hard to tell just how far he was from the Star Boundary. Yang Kai glanced around and everywhere he looked he saw a vast and boundless expanse. Thus, he gently nodded in satisfaction.
[This place is good enough.]
Raising a hand, he summoned the Sealed World Bead. His thoughts flashed and the small bead changed instantly to become a huge creature that filled the void.
Yang Kai did not know if he would survive this trip to the Outer Universe. His future was unclear and it was most likely that he would face a lot of unimaginable dangers. On that note, there were trillions of Demons currently living in the third region of the Sealed World Bead. It was simply inappropriate to bring them along with him. If he ever found himself in a dangerous situation, then those trillions of Demons would be buried alongside him; therefore, he needed to separate the third region from the Small Sealed World before he left.
If it was in the past, he might not have had many clues about how to accomplish this; however, his strength had been greatly enhanced now. Combined with the experience of separating the second region previously, Yang Kai had some confidence to pull this off.
There used to be three regions within the Small Sealed World. The first region was the original space of the Small Sealed World. The second region was formed from devouring several Cultivation Stars from the Lower Star Fields in the past. The third region was created when he devoured the entire Demon Realm and could be considered the second Demon Realm.
Before the second battle between the two worlds broke out, Yang Kai had gone to the Lower Star Field and separated the second region from the Small Sealed World. It had taken him a lot of effort and energy to do so.
Now that he was merely repeating the process, Yang Kai believed that it would be easier. Contrary to his expectations, however, he realised that something was wrong once he got started. The area of the third region was simply too large. He had devoured the entire Demon Realm after all, so there was no saying how many times larger the third region was compared to the original region of the Small Sealed World. As a result, the distinction between the primary and secondary regions of the Small Sealed World became inverted. The third region was too large to remove.
Despite working hard for several days, Yang Kai’s efforts proved to be fruitless. He had already expected this situation to some extent though, it was just that he had not been too certain at the time. Seeing as his conjectures had been confirmed, he could only change his plans.
With a flash of Yang Kai’s mind, the Embodiment responded inside the Small Sealed World. The Demon Qi all over his body churned violently as he formed a set of hand seals, allowing his mind to permeate every corner of the third region.
The Sealed World Bead was Yang Kai’s artifact; meanwhile, the Embodiment was formed from a thread of Yang Kai’s Soul residing inside a Stone Spirit. Although the Embodiment now had a mind of his own, he could still be considered Yang Kai’s Soul Clone. If the main body could control the Small Sealed World, then it was only natural that the Soul Clone could as well.
The Embodiment wrapped his mind around the entire third region of the Small Sealed World, supporting Yang Kai who was using a certain Secret Technique outside. The whole world suddenly began to rumble.
Two figures took to the sky from within an enormous city located somewhere in the third region. It was Bei Li Mo and Chang Tian. Zhan Wu Hen previously decided to spare the lives of the remnants of the Demon Race army, but his condition was that the Demon Race never stepped foot into the Star Boundary again.
Yu Ru Meng had a special relationship with Yang Kai, so she was the exception to this rule and could remain in High Heaven Palace.
On the other hand, Bei Li Mo and Chang Tian had no choice but to stay inside the Small Sealed World. Over the past few decades, Bei Li Mo’s injuries had improved considerably even though she was not completely healed. In contrast, Chang Tian’s appearance became even older. He was showing faint signs of reaching the end of his life.
When they sensed the changes in the world, they couldn’t help flying out to investigate the phenomenon. Upon seeing the Embodiment, Bei Li Mo hurriedly asked, “Is it starting?”
Both she and Chang Tian were aware of Yang Kai’s plans, it was just that they did not expect that it would take him so long to begin.
The Embodiment glanced at her with his deep eyes and gently nodded.
“Is it going smoothly?” Chang Tian questioned, seemingly having noticed something was wrong from the Embodiment’s condition.
The Embodiment replied in a booming voice, “I will let you know if I need your help.”
“We are ready at any time!” Chang Tian cupped his fists and said nothing more. Afterwards, he and Bei Li Mo flew to the side to watch.
The rumbling sounds went on endlessly as the entire world seemed to be guided by some sort of invisible force. As a Demon Saint from the Demon Realm, Bei Li Mo was rather sensitive to the changes in the world, so a short while later, she suddenly turned her head in shock to look in a certain direction. She could sense that the world over there was separating.
If the world was a pancake, then that enormous force was separating this pancake into two pieces at this very moment. One piece was large and the other piece was small. The large piece was the territory of the Demon Realm while the small piece was the first region of the Small Sealed World.
Nobody knew how long the huge commotion lasted. The Embodiment’s strength was not that high as he was just a Half-Saint after all. Be that as it may, he could be considered the Master of the Small Sealed World seeing as he was Yang Kai’s Soul Clone; thus, he enjoyed a lot of advantages in the Small Sealed World. Furthermore, he also cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and since he did not own a body of flesh, he could rapidly replenish the energy he consumed at any time. In that way, he could persist no matter how long this process took.
It wasn’t until two months later that the loud rumblings gradually subsided.
The Embodiment staggered unsteadily, dropping out of the sky as though he was drunk. Although he was not gasping for breath, his eyes were filled with exhaustion. It was clear that this Secret Technique had put him under enormous pressure.
Out in the void, Yang Kai reached out a hand and summoned something. A simple and inconspicuous bead appeared in the palm of his hand. He toyed with it gently as he lifted his head to look at the huge Monster in the sky. A trace of exhaustion flitted through his eyes.
The first region and the third region had been completely separated from each other. He had not removed the third region from the Small Sealed World. Rather, he removed the original territory of the Small Sealed World.
There was a distinct difference between these two actions. If he had succeeded in the former, it would not have made much of a difference to the Small Sealed World. It would still have its special ability to devour and merge worlds. Unfortunately, his previous attempts had not gone as he wished. In the end, he had no choice but to choose the latter option instead. In this way, the Sealed World Bead had changed back to the original Sealed World Bead, losing its devouring abilities.
Gun-Gun was now the Demon Realm. Even the Embodiment had been restricted within. Gun-Gun was accidentally created when the Embodiment activated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law through the Sealed World Bead back then and did not have a consciousness, only the instinct to devour. If the Embodiment did not stay behind to control Gun-Gun, who knew where he would run off to? If he were to wander aimlessly in this vast universe, he might encounter a powerful Master. It was possible that he would cause others to covet him. At that time, not only would the Demon Realm’s future be at risk, even the lives of all the Demon Race living inside would be endangered.
With no other choice, Yang Kai could only leave the Embodiment here to guard the Demon Realm. Even though doing so would restrict the Embodiment’s movements, it also brought him great benefits. The current Embodiment was in control of the new Demon Realm, so even Bei Li Mo and Chang Tian could not go against his will.
This Demon Realm was newly born, equivalent to having just split Heaven and Earth apart once more. With the growth of this new world, the Embodiment might even walk the path that Wu Kuang wanted to take before by using another way to reach the Open Heaven Realm. Wu Kuang had used the Ancestral Domain as a core to devour countless Lower Star Fields just to get a glimpse of the secrets of the Open Heaven Realm.
The opportunity to grow alongside a world was extremely rare after all. What’s more, the Embodiment was proficient in the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Gun-Gun had the intuitive power to devour. That ability had not been impressive when he was transformed into the Sealed World Bead and kept in Yang Kai’s possession. Now that he was released to the outside, he incessantly devoured the power of the Starry Sky in this vast universe.
It was conceivable that the growth period of the newly-born Demon Realm would not be too long. It could even be said that if the newly-born Demon Realm continued to grow in this manner, it might even grow to become a more advanced world than the previous Demon Realm.
It was just that… Yang Kai had never seen such a round, big-bellied fish-like Universe World before.
[Did I accidentally create something monstrous?]
In the past, he had not known what the Star Boundary looked like. It wasn’t until he looked at it from afar that he discovered that it was not a sphere as he had imagined. Instead, it was a crescent-moon-shaped world. [Seeing as there is a crescent-moon-shaped world like the Star Boundary, then it shouldn’t be that incredible to have a big-bellied fish-like universe, right?]