Bright Moon’s eyes narrowed sharply. Maintaining a constant pace of retreat, he continued to lay defences in front of him…
A moment later, the red light disappeared and the world calmed down. He stood in the sky, looking awful. His complexion was as pale as a sheet and blood was trickling out of his ears, nose, and mouth…
The destructive power of a Red Demon Saint’s Self-Destruction Technique was smaller than he had expected. At the very least, it had not destroyed an entire continent. Nevertheless, it had increased the severity of his injuries. The powerful vitality from the leaf of the Immortal Tree flowed throughout his body, quickly repairing the wounds in his body, but unfortunately, this was not something that could be done in such a short time. The injuries he received from Xue Li in the beginning had taken him two leaves and nearly a year to completely heal.
“Hahahaha!” Xue Li’s laughter sounded from afar as he drew nearer by the moment. He was obviously rushing toward this place, “Huo Bo, this is the first time I’ve ever found you so pleasing to the eye!”
Protecting Huo Bo’s Soul Manifestation had brought about an unexpected result. The other Demon Saints were not weak. In fact, most of them were stronger than Huo Bo. Be that as it may, if it had been somebody else other than Huo Bo who came here instead, they might have failed to halt Bright Moon here; after all, Bight Moon had been one step away from the Territory Gate. Huo Bo’s Self-Destruction Technique was the only thing that could prevent Bright Moon from passing through at that moment!
Small spots of red light condensed together, reforming into a short and bloated figure in the blink of an eye. The Demon Saint’s self-destruction had not cost him his life. That was probably an Innate Divine Ability that separated him from the rest of the Red Demon Clan. Nevertheless, his current condition was not the best either. The colour of his originally crimson body had dimmed noticeably and his aura was weaker too. It was clear that the Self-Destruction Technique had taken quite a toll on him. A Divine Ability like that could not be used continuously in a short period of time; otherwise, it would be fatal for him.
Huo Bo turned his head and looked in Xue Li’s direction, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he muttered something under his breath. Although nobody could tell what he was saying, it seemed as though he was cursing at somebody.
On the other hand, Bright Moon’s expression was as calm as water. He sighed. He was not sighing due to his failure. This scenario was still within his expectations. Needless to say, it would have been best if he could break out and escape; however, the Demon Realm had Twelve Demon Saints. If they truly let him escape, then they shouldn’t call themselves Demon Saints anymore. The situation before was well within his expectations, so there was nothing to regret. [My path is filled with thorns and there is only one way forward. I can only kill my way out!]
…..
Yang Kai was feeling extremely anxious. After rushing all the way, he finally arrived at the Territory Gate leading to Eternal Sky Continent half a month later. From a distance, he could see many members of the Demon Race gathered in front of the Territory Gate. He did not know how many people were gathered there.
With so many Demons around, the place became fairly chaotic as a result. The Demon Race army scrambled towards the Territory Gate under the lead of the Half-Saints, as though something good was waiting for them on the other side.
[Judging by the current situation, it won’t be my turn even after waiting in line for more than ten days!] Yang Kai turned around upon seeing this situation and yelled to the back, “Keep up!”
Tightening his knees around Zhui Feng, Yang Kai rushed towards the Territory Gate aggressively. Since he wouldn’t get a turn if he waited in line, then he simply wouldn’t wait in line!
Yang Kai charged forward violently. Relying on Zhui Feng’s power, he forcefully forged a path through the dense crowd of the Demons as his army of two million followed closely behind.
It went without saying that his actions attracted the attention of many of the Demon Race. They turned their heads in this direction and glared furiously. Even so, the entire Demon Realm was a place where the strong ruled. Although Yang Kai clearly wasn’t a Half-Saint, the aura Zhui Feng exuded was not inferior to a Half-Saint in any way. Therefore, the average member of the Demon Race did not dare to raise any objections.
After approaching to within five thousand metres of the Territory Gate, a figure suddenly floated over and stopped in front of Yang Kai. That figure lifted his hand slightly and shouted, “Stop!”
“Move aside! All who block my way will die!” Yang Kai did not have the time to waste on this person. The battle on Eternal Sky Continent had already begun and Bright Moon’s fate remained unknown; hence, Yang Kai was very anxious to check on the situation himself. Even if a Demon Saint was standing in front of him right now, he would have continued acting rampant, much less a mere Half-Saint.
In fact, Yang Kai was glad that somebody had blocked his way. He could make an example out of this person! The Embodiment had become a Half-Saint and Zhui Feng was one as well. The cards in Yang Kai’s hands were only getting better and better.
Yang Kai did not know which Clan this Half-Saint was from, only that his complexion was very sallow. The Demon Race army passing through the Territory Gate at this moment happened to be under his command and it was precisely because of that reason that he stepped forward to stop Yang Kai. Otherwise, who would bother to take care of somebody else’s affairs?
When that Half-Saint saw Yang Kai riding a Demon Beast with such a powerful aura, he was certain that the latter possessed an influential background. For that reason, he first tried reasoning with Yang Kai. Who could have known that Yang Kai would reject his kind offer so arrogantly? It immediately made him mad.
[This guy’s aura isn’t that strong. Even if he comes from an influential background, it has its limits. Besides, I am a Half-Saint. Why should I be afraid of others?]
In his rage, he lifted his hand and struck Yang Kai. An overwhelming wave of Demon Qi came rushing out and the air resounded with a deafening voice, “You court death!”
The power of a Half-Saint was nothing to laugh about and Yang Kai immediately sensed something tightening around his entire body as the aura of death washed over him. Just as he was considering letting the Embodiment out though, Zhui Feng neighed. His four hooves ignited with golden flames, leaving gold marks behind each step. He immediately appeared in front of that Half-Saint, reared up on his hindlegs, and stomped on him with his front hoofs.
It was an unremarkable attack, but even so, it made the Half-Saint’s expression change drastically. He raised his hands above his head with his palms facing outward like he was trying to hold up the sky, the Demon Qi in his body surging violently.
The moment the palms and hooves came into contact with each other, a terrifying force blasted out. The Half-Saint only managed to hold his ground for a moment before he fell out of the sky like an arrow that had left its string, his figure vanishing out of sight in an instant.
Zhui Feng looked like he was going to chase after his opponent, but Yang Kai grabbed his mane to restrain him. Turning around, Yang Kai glared at his surroundings with a cold gaze, “Who else wants to stop me?”
All the members of the Demon Race in the surroundings quickly retreated. Meanwhile, the other Half-Saints nearby stared at Zhui Feng with frowns on their faces. Then, a look of surprise flashed in their eyes as they apparently recognized the beast’s origins.
Yang Kai had been running around non-stop to help the Demon Saints repair their Territory Gates. For that reason, he had gotten to know many Half-Saints. Be that as it may, none of them could rival Zhui Feng when it came to reputation.
The mount that the Master of Hundred Spirits Continent once used to ride was incredibly famous, it was just that this legendary mount had gradually disappeared from the world’s notice following Chang Tian’s withdrawal from public life. Nobody could have expected Zhui Feng to reappear again here; moreover, he was being ridden by somebody who was no more than a Mid-Rank Demon King. Just who was this man!?
Although the relationship between Hundred Spirits Continent and the Demon Realm was tenuous, Zhui Feng’s identity was extremely unusual. If anybody dared to harm a single hair on Zhui Feng’s head, ‘that’ person from Hundred Spirits Continent would definitely come rushing out in a rage and turn the world upside down!
Therefore, all the Half-Saints held their silence when those words came out of Yang Kai’s mouth. It wasn’t because they were afraid of Yang Kai, but rather that they were worried that they might accidentally injure Zhui Feng during a fight. That would be very bad. What’s more; going by the strength Zhui Feng displayed just now, he was undoubtedly an extremely strong existence even among Half-Saints. It was a pity he was limited by his low sentience which prevented him from taking on a Human Form.
The sallow-faced Half-Saint who was sent crashing down by Zhui Feng flew back up again, his expression cold and terrifying. It was extremely embarrassing to be caught off guard in that moment of carelessness. Even so, it was obvious that he had some misgivings since he didn’t attack again.
Yang Kai glanced at the Half-Saint and did not provoke the other party any further. He had enough on his plate as it was and it would be better if he entered Eternal Sky Continent as soon as possible. Thus, Yang Kai simply shouted to the army under his command, “Let’s go!”
After saying that, he took the lead and headed towards the Territory Gate.
Lao Ke and the others followed behind him, drenched in cold sweat as they felt incredibly guilty. Yang Kai had the protection of Zhui Feng, so even if a fight broke out, nothing would happen to him. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about them. How many would be left of the army of two million if a melee broke out here? Fortunately, the surrounding Half-Saints had restrained themselves…
Afterwards, the army of two million shuffled through the Territory Gate, finishing their transit within half a day as the Territory Gate was big enough to accommodate many people at once.
Despite appearing in different locations, they were all within a thousand kilometres of each other. Yang Kai spent some time regrouping and reorganizing the army before setting off with great vigour.
From time to time, they would feel waves of subtle vibrations coming from somewhere up ahead. The sounds of battle mixed with the fallout of clashes came from the distance. A light loomed on the horizon, indicating that the battle was getting more and more intense.
Yang Kai lifted his gaze to look in that direction but couldn’t see anything. The actual battlefield was simply too far away.
On his way there, he encountered many other Demon Race armies rushing in that direction and his heart sank deeper and deeper. The way things stood; it was evident that the Demon Realm had pulled out all the stops. All the Half-Saints who remained in the Demon Realm along with seemingly every member who could fight had been dragged to Eternal Sky Continent. All this just to kill Bright Moon!
A strange idea came to Yang Kai’s head suddenly. [If I could destroy the entire Eternal Sky Continent, then the Demon Race would suffer a devastating loss that would certainly leave them debilitated for some time. That would also resolve the crisis of the Demon Realm’s invasion into the Star Boundary in one fell swoop!] However, that thought only flitted through his mind for a moment before he gave up on the idea. He did not have the power to pull such a feat off.
Passing by a certain mountain range, Yang Kai saw a crowd of people below. An extremely enormous flag was planted on the top of the mountain, one covered in complex patterns that fluttered in the wind. Yang Kai frowned at the sight, and after observing for a moment, he made the army behind him wait and flew down on Zhui Feng alone.
Someone over there cast a gaze in his direction before he flew up. When their gazes met, that person smiled at Yang Kai slightly and bowed with his hand on his chest, “We meet again, Brother Yang.”
“So it is Brother Bai Ya. No wonder you seemed so familiar.” Yang Kai flew over and looked down on that person from above.
Stationed on this mountain was the Half-Saint under Bei Li Mo, Bai Ya. Yang Kai had met Bai Ya on multiple occasions when he was repairing the Territory Gates in Bei Li Mo’s territory so they could be considered acquaintances.
When Bai Ya glanced at Zhui Feng, a flash of surprise appeared in his eyes and he smilingly asked, “Brother Yang, that is an extraordinary mount. Where did you get him?”
Yang Kai gave a fake laugh and replied, “I picked him up by the side of the road.”
The other party had clearly recognized Zhui Feng; thus, asking that question was simply to obtain confirmation. It didn’t matter whether he answered the question or not.
The corners of Bai Ya’s mouth twitched at those words before he looked back in the direction of the battlefield and asked leisurely, “Brother Yang, did you receive an order from the Holy Venerables to come and try your luck too?”
[Try my luck? Try my luck at what? What luck is there here?] Yang Kai was utterly confused. When it came down to it, he had not received any orders whatsoever. He had barged into this place on his own. Not in the position to ask questions though, he simply went with the flow, “That’s right. Isn’t that the case for you too, Brother Bai Ya?”
Bai Ya smiled bitterly and shook his head, “Of course, but I’d rather not have come. Unfortunately, it is an order from the Holy Venerables. I can’t disobey.”
Yang Kai nodded, “This place is extremely dangerous after all. It’s definitely not a place anybody will want to come to. But why hang your head and sigh when you are already here? The tides might turn in your favour. Who knows? It might be your lucky break now, Brother Bai Ya.”
Bai Ya laughed, “Although I really want to believe in your auspicious words, I know my own capabilities. If a fight breaks out, I won’t stand much of a chance…”
While speaking, he suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai, his eyes brightening as he said, “On the other hand, Brother Yang, you… might have a better chance than everybody else.”
[Better chance at what!? What the Hell is this guy talking about!?] Yang Kai was tempted to just ask to get to the bottom of things, but he had already pretended to understand the situation just now so he couldn’t expose his lies by asking. Thus, he could only pretend to be puzzled, “Brother Bai Ya, I don’t quite understand what you mean by that. If even you don’t stand much of a chance, why would you say I’d be able to do it?”
“Because you are from the Star Boundary! You originated from the same place!” Bai Ya replied in a matter-of-fact manner.
[What does this have to do with my coming from Star Boundary? What does he mean by originating from the same place?] Yang Kai was dying to know so badly that it felt as though a cat was scratching his heart with his claws. He was tempted to pry Bai Ya’s mouth open and get all the answers he wanted. Even so, on the surface, he pretended as though the realization had dawned on him, “So that’s how it is. Haha. I will believe in your auspicious words then, Brother Bai Ya.”
Bai Ya said with a solemn expression, “That might be the case, but if it really comes down to a fight, I will not hold back. If I accidentally harm you in any way, I hope you won’t blame me for it, Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai faked a laugh again, “Our lives are determined by fate, but we determine our future. Seeing as I am already here, that would mean that I have long mentally prepared myself for that possibility.”
Bai Ya gently nodded, “You sure are carefree, Brother Yang. Please go ahead with your duties. I might still have to wait here for some time.”
“I will take my leave then.” Yang Kai turned Zhui Feng around. He took a few steps, then turned around and asked, “Can I ask you something? Where should I go?”
Bai Ya stretched out his hand and pointed out, “The Half-Saints under Holy Venerable Ru Meng are in charge of guarding that position. You can go there and meet up with the rest of them.”
[So that’s how it is.] Yang Kai took another look at the flag that was waving in the wind on top of the mountain. A glimmer of realization flashed through his eyes. It would seem that all the Half-Saints who rushed over from the Demon Realm had divided the battlefield according to their respective Demon Saints and formed an encirclement. Each group of Half-Saints under their respective Demon Saint was responsible for an area.
After saying goodbye to Bai Ya, Yang Kai turned around to gather up his army of two million and headed in the direction indicated.
Half a day later, Yang Kai saw another big flag on the top of another mountain. The pattern on this flag was exactly the same as the pattern on a token that Yu Ru Meng had given him before. Needless to say, this was probably the gathering place for all those under Yu Ru Meng.
Yang Kai rode Zhui Feng and flew low. Scanning the crowd, he did not see any familiar faces among them. Speaking of which, he did not know much about the Half-Saints under Yu Ru Meng. The ones he was most familiar with were Bai Zhuo and Yue Sang. He was close with the former and held a grudge against the latter. Although he had met several other Half-Saints, he did not interact with them much. They only exchanged a few words while repairing the Territory Gate, so he was not close with them.
Meanwhile, the Half-Saint sitting at the top of this mountain looked very unfamiliar. This man had wide shoulders, a firm torso, and was unusually burly. Most of those in the Demon Race with such body shapes were either Strength Demons or Stone Demons.
Yang Kai could not determine which Clan this man was from without fighting him. Even so, something surprised him slightly. The Half-Saint had shot a cold and quiet glance at him when he first flew over, which was immediately followed by a look of disgust and hatred. It was as though the other party had found him rather unpleasant.
Yang Kai was at a loss. He didn’t understand how he had offended this person either. Whatever the case, this Half-Saint was in charge of affairs here, so Yang Kai had no choice but to step forward and inquire. When he got closer, he bowed with his hand on his chest, “I am Yang Kai of Cloud Shadow Continent. May I know how I should address you?”
That burly Half-Saint had a cold stare as the corners of his mouth curved into a mocking smile. It would seem that he had no intention of speaking to Yang Kai at all. On the contrary, his gaze was fixed on Zhui Feng for the most part.
Yang Kai repeated himself, but the other party continued to ignore him. Seeing that, he could be certain now. This guy really didn’t like him.
The situation utterly baffled Yang Kai as he was certain this was the first time they were meeting each other so there should be no conflict between them. Besides, Yang Kai had a close relationship with Yu Ru Meng, so even if most of the Half-Saints under Yu Ru Meng were not deferential towards him, they had to maintain a level of civility on the surface at the very least.
[I wonder what this guy is trying to do by putting on such a disrespectful attitude.]
There was no reason to repeat himself further though, so having failed to receive any response even after asking twice, Yang Kai didn’t bother saying anything else. He glanced around for a bit, nodded lightly, and turned around. Beckoning to the army behind him, he crossed the mountain and continued forward.
When Yang Kai left, that burly Half-Saint summoned a Demon King over and whispered into the latter’s ear, “Spread the news that the Human has appeared. If anybody wants to make a move, they should do it before Holy Venerable arrives.”
The Demon King took the order and left, disappearing out of sight in an instant.
…
“Great King, that was Senior Di Li just now.” After walking a certain distance, He Yin spoke up. She had seen Yang Kai being embarrassed back there, so she wanted to explain the reason to him.
Yang Kai secretly made a mental note on the name before he frowned and asked, “Did we ever upset that guy before?”
He Yin shook her head, “No. It’s just…” She glanced at him, hesitating to speak.
He said, “If you have something to say, just say it straight.”
She replied, “Senior Di Li and Sir Yue Sang have a good relationship with each other.”
Tu Qia Luo, who was nearby, also nodded at that, “That’s right. Senior Di Li often came over to drink and chat when Sir Yue Sang was still on Blue Plains Continent.”
“Drinking buddies…” Realization suddenly dawned on Yang Kai. He looked back and sneered softly, “So it’s because of that damned Yue Sang!”
Yue Sang was sent to the Two World’s Battlefield because of Yang Kai. Up until today, his fate remained unknown. That was a well-known fact. Yu Ru Meng had wanted to use that gesture to show all the Half-Saints under her command just how highly she valued Yang Kai. She could never have expected that her actions would inadvertently bring hatred to him instead.
If Di Li and Yue Sang had a good relationship with each other, then it was no surprise that the former held such dislike for Yang Kai. It would be stranger if he was polite and accommodating instead. Therefore, Yang Kai wasn’t bothered by it. The main reason was that he wasn’t in the mood to entertain such trivialities. Now that he had arrived at Eternal Sky Continent, it was only natural that his focus became fixed on the situation around Bright Moon.
Yang Kai didn’t go very far. He simply found a mountain valley located some fifty kilometres from the flag and stationed his army there. After that, he rode on Zhui Feng and stood high up in the sky, looking into the distance while trying to conceal his worry.
Ever since arriving on Eternal Sky Continent, Yang Kai could clearly perceive the fierce battle in the distance that never stopped, not even for a moment. He could infer from the auras fluctuating in the distance that Bright Moon was facing more than one enemy. [Bright Moon is outnumbered. I don’t know how long he can last, but he should have at least a chance if he only focuses on escaping.]
At a time like this, Yang Kai was powerless to interfere as he might be torn to shreds by the fallout of the clash before he could even approach the battlefield; hence, he could only wait here and monitor to see if the situation took an unexpected turn. Be that as it may, what seemed a little strange to him was that the Twelve Demon Saints had yet to arrive on the scene. There should be no more than three people fighting Bright Moon over in the distance, which begs the question, where were the rest of the Demon Saints? A huge battle had broken out in this place, so those Demon Saints should have arrived a long time ago.
[Where is Yu Ru Meng? I didn’t see Bei Li Mo anywhere near Bai Ya either.] This discovery puzzled Yang Kai a little. After mulling over it, he summoned Lao Ke and ordered him to investigate the situation. The Half-Saints under Yu Ru Meng were in charge of this area, so it should not be hard to find one or two familiar faces to ask about the situation.
More than a dozen Demons set off a moment later, splitting in various directions. Despite waiting for half a day, Yang Kai didn’t hear anything back from those groups though; thus, he immediately selected a team to come with him and headed in a certain direction.
An hour later, Yang Kai met Bai Zhuo on top of a mountain peak and exchanged a few words of greeting. Yang Kai then asked curiously, “Weren’t you sent to the Two World’s Battlefield? When did you return?”
If he remembered correctly, Bai Zhuo had mentioned returning to the battlefield some time ago; hence, he did not expect to meet him here.
Bai Zhuo smiled bitterly, “With such a huge commotion going on here, it’s only natural that we return. Almost all the Half-Saints were summoned back while only a few remained behind to maintain a defensive line.”
“Almost all returned?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he couldn’t help looking around with a vigilant expression on his face.
Upon seeing this, Bai Zhuo laughed, “Don’t worry. Yue Sang did not receive a transfer order. He is still on the battlefield.”
Yang Kai touched his nose and laughed in embarrassment, “I wasn’t looking for him…”
The truth was that he indeed had been looking out for Yue Sang. He could not defend against an ambush from a Half-Saint, not even with Zhui Feng’s protection. Nevertheless, even Bai Zhuo had been transferred back while Yue Sang was left behind. Yu Ru Meng’s stance in this matter was very clear. Changing the subject, Yang Kai asked, “Where is Holy Venerable?”
Bai Zhuo looked at Yang Kai strangely and countered, “Did you not receive the message from Holy Venerable?”
“Yes, I did.” Yang Kai lied with a straight face, “But, Holy Venerable only informed me to rush over. She didn’t say anything else.”
Bai Zhuo was sceptical, but thinking about how important Yang Kai was to Yu Ru Meng, he decided he had no reason to doubt otherwise. As such, he stopped talking and secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Yang Kai, “Holy Venerable has been injured. She is stabilizing her condition right now.”
Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn, “How did she get injured? Are her injuries severe?”
Bai Zhuo shook his head, “It probably isn’t too serious as Holy Venerable said she will definitely rush over. As for how she was hurt…”
He raised his gaze and looked into the distance. Then, he whispered, “It’s probably related to what is happening over there.”
Yang Kai was excited when he heard this news. [I was worried that Bright Moon was currently outnumbered, but who could have thought that he had already injured Yu Ru Meng! Was he really that powerful?]
“Holy Venerable Ru Meng is not the only one who was injured, most of the other Holy Venerables suffered injuries too.” Without waiting for Yang Kai to digest the previous piece of news, Bai Zhuo threw out an even more shocking one.
Yang Kai stared at Bai Zhuo dumbly with an incredulous expression. He instinctively felt that it was impossible. If Bai Zhuo had claimed that Bright Moon had injured one Demon Saint under the current circumstances, then it might have made some sense, but, injuring two or three… That was simply unrealistic! It wasn’t that Yang Kai was underestimating Bright Moon, it was just that the Demon Saints were not weak either. How could they be so vulnerable?
Even so, Bai Zhuo had spoken with such great confidence that Yang Kai had to believe those words and hurriedly asked, “What happened?
Bai Zhuo slowly shook his head, “I don’t know the specifics. Holy Venerable didn’t say clearly. She only asked me to form a siege around the battlefield and assist the Holy Venerables Xue Li and Huo Bo, to prevent the Great Emperor from taking desperate actions!”
[Xue Li and Huo Bo…] Yang Kai secretly made a mental note on these two names. If he was not mistaken, then these two were the ones currently fighting Bright Moon. It was also consistent with the information he had perceived before, but, just what happened in the half month before he arrived? How did Bright Moon manage to severely injure so many Demon Saints in one fell swoop? Possessing such power despite being imprisoned for so long, it could only be said that he truly deserved the title of Great Emperor!
“Brother Bai Zhuo, do you know how the battle is going on over there?” Restraining the shock in his heart, Yang Kai asked.
Bai Zhuo smiled bitterly, “I don’t know either. In any case, that Great Emperor will certainly suffer greatly with Holy Venerable Xue Li and Huo Bo cooperating against him.”
That was what puzzled Yang Kai the most. [Bright Moon managed to injure so many Demon Saints, so why is he being held up by two people? Could it be that he used some sort of powerful Secret Technique that caused him to be seriously injured as a result? That would explain why he had no power to do anything else, but that didn’t make any sense either…]
All of a sudden, another question came to him, “Is Holy Venerable Ru Meng still not here yet?”
Bai Zhuo shook his head, expressing that this was indeed the case.
[Ru Meng had been wounded before arriving in this place. If that’s the case, then there can only be one reason…] A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai. [It looks like it might have something to do with a Soul Manifestation Technique! Maybe Bright Moon destroyed those Demon Saints’ Soul Wisps, which was how so many of them had been injured.]
Unable to get more information out of Bai Zhuo, Yang Kai flew back. His thoughts were a mess. It stood to reason that this was the best time for him to rescue Bright Moon. Most of the Demon Saints were still recuperating from their injuries, leaving only Xue Li and Huo Bo capable of contending with Bright Moon across the entire Eternal Sky Continent. Unfortunately, he was too weak. Even if he ran over to help, he would only cause more problems for Bright Moon. Be that as it may, they would lose what chance they had if he continued to wait and the Demon Saints arrived.
Returning to where the army was stationed in a muddled manner, Yang Kai saw a commotion ahead. It seemed as though something had happened. There was another group of people gathered in this place in addition to the two million army he had brought with him. The number of people that came were no less than his own army, and he did not know where they came from.
At this moment, both sides were confronting each other. Lao Ke, He Yin, and the other Demon Kings, who had remained in this place, looked extremely nervous. Lao Ke was even smiling and bowing to the other party.
However, the group of Demon Kings on the other side apparently didn’t appreciate it. One of the Demon Kings shouted loudly, “I’ll give you a stick of incense! Hurry up and scram out of this place; otherwise, don’t blame me for getting rough with you.”
[What’s going on? Are these people here to snatch our territory? What’s so great about this spot that they want to snatch it?] Yang Kai’s eyes widened. Although he didn’t know what was going on, he was already on edge and wanted nothing more than to go on a rampage. All the anxiety and depression instantly turned into rage. Tightening his knees around Zhui Feng, he rushed toward the crowd with a shout, “Move aside! Move aside!”
The army blocking his way ahead was a dense sea of people, but Zhui Feng was extremely fierce. He ran amok with no questions asked, opening up a passage through the crowd like a hot knife cutting through butter. Some of the Demon Race tried to fight back, but they were all knocked aside with ease. Those struck immediately suffered broken bones and their cries rang out unceasingly.
The change came so suddenly that the other party didn’t even have the time to react. When Yang Kai arrived at the front of the army, he found the group of Demon Kings standing on the opposite side glaring at him.
He swept his gaze over them coldly, staring at the many Demon Kings in front of him like they were ants. His eyes then landed on a female member of the Demon Race with an enchanting body and a charming face. It just so happened that this female Demon was also looking at him. When their eyes met, he raised his brow at her while the other party lifted the corners of her mouth and revealed a meaningful grin.
[A Half-Saint!] When Yang Kai saw that so many people had come to this place, he had guessed that there was a Half-Saint leading them. It would seem that his guess had been confirmed. Furthermore, the Half-Saint was probably from the same Clan as Yu Ru Meng, the Charm Demon Clan. Even though this woman had not said a word, nor were there any traces of her performing some sort of Secret Technique, she exuded an alluring charm at all times. It caused many of the male Demons under her command to show bewitched and lustful looks.
Yang Kai knew that it was no fault of these men. The charm of a Charm Demon Half-Saint was not easy to resist, but all Yang Kai felt right now was irritation; as such, he beckoned at somebody with a wave of his hand, and Lao Ke walked over immediately.
“What’s going on?” Yang Kai asked, keeping his gaze on the female Charm Demon without even blinking his eyes when he asked the question, a deep coldness flashing across their depths.
Lao Ke looked troubled, “Great King, this Madam claims that they are responsible for guarding this area. They want us to move.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but sneer after hearing that, “Is that so?”
A Demon King on the opposite side immediately shouted, “By Senior Di Li’s order, we are to seal off the surrounding thousand-kilometre area as one of the lines of defence! All unrelated people are to leave at once!”
[Are we unrelated people now?] Yang Kai felt a little speechless at those words. Narrowing his eyes at the female Charm Demon, he asked flatly, “How should I address you?”
“Impudence!” The Demon King who had spoken before immediately let out a yell. At the same time, he stepped forward and glared at Yang Kai, “Get down from your mangy beast when speaking in front of our Mistress!”
While saying that, he raised his hand to grab at Yang Kai, looking as though he was seriously trying to pull Yang Kai down.
Zhui Feng neighed and was on the verge of counterattacking; however, Yang Kai was faster, lifting his palm and pressing down. Time Principles fluctuated and the world seemed to come to a stop at that moment.
Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!
The Demon King who had made a move didn’t even have the time to realize what had happened, and by the time he came to his senses, he felt an enormous force imprinted on his chest. He groaned and was thrown backwards into the air while all his vitality rapidly drained away!
*Xiu…*
An arrow pierced through the air at that moment and nailed the hand that the man had used to try and grab at Yang Kai just now with unparalleled precision, causing it to explode into a blood mist. By the time the Demon King landed on the ground, his hair had turned white and he clutched at his injured arm and looked up in horror.
Not far away, Yang Kai slowly withdrew his palm as a female Feather Demon stood next to him, the bowstring of her weapon slightly quivering, her beautiful eyes flashing coldly.
A strange sound rang out suddenly, and Demon Qi roared to the sky like flames. Affected by the changes just now, the armies on both sides immediately became hostile toward each other and had drawn their swords aggressively.
Yang Kai raised his hand slightly, calming the agitation of the people below him. At the same time, he grinned at the female Charm Demon and sneered, “Control your dogs better. He won’t be so lucky next time.”
The female Charm Demon turned to look at the injured Demon King and a cold light flashed across her eyes as she snapped, “Waste!”
While speaking, she flicked her wrist and a gloomy light hit the Demon King in the head. That Demon King immediately widened his eyes in shock and collapsed to the ground stiffly. His vitality vanished rapidly. A High-Rank Demon King had been killed by her just like that, without even the slightest bit of hesitation.
After doing that, she turned to look at Yang Kai. A smile lifted the corners of her eyes again, making her look very enchanting again, “Are you that Human the Holy Venerable highly values?”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “You are quite well informed…”
She covered her mouth and laughed charmingly, “Everybody talks about you. It’s only natural that I heard some stuff about you. I had some interest in you at first, but you are nothing special now that I see you.”
He chuckled, “That’s only because you don’t know this King well. Once you get to know me better, I’m sure you’ll become more interested in this King.”
Li Shi Qing, who was standing next to him, turned her head and glanced at Yang Kai. Her face was blushing slightly. It was clear that she felt those words were a little inappropriate.
On the other hand, the female Charm Demon burst into uncontrolled laughter, “En, I’m getting a little interested in you now.”
Yang Kai’s expression turned cold, “It’s a pity that I don’t have any interest in you. Enough nonsense. What the Hell do you want? Spit it out.”
The smile on the Charm Demon’s face gradually diminished as her interest faded slightly, “As long as you’re not deaf, I’m sure you’ve already heard earlier. This Queen is responsible for guarding this place. I don’t know why you are here, but it is obviously not in compliance with the rules. So, please move.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Rules? Who made these rules?”
“Naturally, these are the rules decided by Di Li.” She looked at him, “He is responsible for organizing and managing the various armies under Holy Venerable. You should be in your own position and it’s not here.”
[Di Li again!] Yang Kai’s eyes turned chilly, [Is he trying to cause trouble for me?]
Understanding this, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Di Li is it? This King knows no such fool. All I know is that there was no one here when I first arrived in this place, so this place is now mine! You brought your people here to intimidate us, and now, you want to chase this King away!? Did you think this King would just nod and agree to it!?”
She frowned at those words and shot back, “But, this is certainly the place Di Li assigned me to guard. You should go and ask Di Li where you are to be assigned instead.”
“This King has already told you, I know no such dog. I am under the direct command of the Holy Venerable, I only obey her commands.” He then waved her off impatiently, “Take your mutts and scram; otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
The Charm Demon was so furious that her expression darkened and she screamed, “A trivial Human dares to speak to this Queen like this!?”
Yang Kai was about to counter with an insulting remark when to his surprise, the other party didn’t give him a chance to speak. She gave a soft flick of her wrist, and a soft whip came snapping at him out of nowhere with the force of the wind and thunder.
He ducked down in the nick of time to avoid the blow while the soft whip smashed into the army from Cloud Shadow Continent. Blood-curdling screams sounded as many casualties were suffered in that instant. Turning back to glance at the army for a moment, Yang Kai roared, “How dare you attack me!? You court death!”
By the time the words rolled off his tongue, he and Zhui Feng had already charged forward as one. Zhui Feng’s hooves were ablaze with golden flames, transforming into a bolt of lightning as he carried Yang Kai on his back and charged into the army on the opposite side. Like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, the enemy Demons were swept aside and felled.
Yang Kai could clearly feel Zhui Feng’s excitement. He seemed to be very familiar with actions like charging into battle. It was not surprising considering he used to be Chang Tian’s mount and would have accompanied Chang Tian into such battles countless times over the years.
His fighting instincts seemed to have been branded deep into his soul. Years of a peaceful life had left him incapable of restraining his wild and restless heart. Now that he had the opportunity to go wild, how could he not let it all out?
Zhu Feng rushed towards the places where the crowd was densest, ploughing empty paths through the opposing army. Screams sounded endlessly wherever he passed. Even the Demon Kings could not stop his lethal rampage, many dying on the spot if they so much as dodged aside too slowly.
In order to cooperate with Zhui Feng’s charging attacks, Yang Kai flipped his wrist and took out a long spear from his Space Ring. He did not know when he obtained this spoil of war and had never actually practised with the spear before, so he could only wield it in the most primitive of manners. Yang Kai was unable to draw out this weapon’s full power, but even so, the long spear managed to produce great damage when he wielded it with the additional support of his immense physical strength. His long spear swept and pierced left and right, splatting blood all over like blooming flowers as wails burst out from all around.
An ear-splitting sound rang out suddenly, transforming into an invisible force that broke through Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea defences and poured directly into his Soul. It was the female Charm Demon. Seeing Yang Kai acting so unscrupulously on his mount, she took the initiative to attack. She was a Half-Saint and a member of the Charm Demon Clan; therefore, that howl contained a potent Soul Attack in it.
Zhui Feng’s steps faltered; it was clear that he had been slightly affected by the attack. On the other hand, Yang Kai swayed and almost fell off Zhui Feng’s back. Fortunately, the Soul Warming Lotus exuded a cooling wave at that critical moment, allowing him to retain his consciousness. The sound of something slicing through the air floated into his ears as if a fierce attack was coming at him from the back. He instinctively raised the spear to block; however, a heavy force shook his hand so badly that it went numb. Immediately following that, the long spear flew out of his grip.
Turning to look in that direction, he saw that the female Charm Demon had a sardonic smile on her lips. She drew a circle in the air with the long spear that was wrapped in the soft whip in her hands and viciously brought it down on him. For an instant, the wind and thunder roared, and an aura of death enveloped him.
In response, he abruptly tightened his knees around Zhui Feng and the latter swiftly turned his body around, narrowly avoiding the blow.
A loud explosion rang out and a large crater appeared in the ground, sending the surrounding Demons, be they allies or enemies, flying as a result.
Without waiting for Yang Kai and Zhui Feng to recover from their daze, the soft whip came striking at them again. Fortunately, Zhui Feng’s instincts and reaction speed were extraordinary. He had already begun charging toward the female Charm Demon right after he spun his body around just now. He might seem clumsy, but he ingeniously avoided the second attack unleashed by the soft whip and came within ten metres of the opponent in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai, who was riding on Zhui Feng’s back, clearly saw the panic flashing in the female Charm Demon’s eyes. Although she was a Half-Saint, her Clan was not proficient in close-quarters combat, nor was her artifact useful in such close range. She could only exert her full strength if she kept a distance from her opponents; hence, it was only natural for her to panic when Zhui Feng closed the distance between them in a flash.
Regardless, she was still a Half-Saint, so she did not lose her composure so easily. Instead, a hostile look flashed across her eyes. She ignored Zhui Feng and raised her gaze to meet Yang Kai’s. At the same time, her long whip trembled and transformed into several rings that wrapped around the latter.
Yang Kai gave a flick of his wrist, summoning the Myriads Sword. Calling upon his Emperor Qi, a silk-like sword wave blasted upward. Unfortunately, the attacks of a Half-Saint were not so easily countered. The sword wave only hindered the soft whip’s movements slightly before it dissipated.
Seeing that he was about to be restrained by the opponent’s soft whip, Yang Kai had no choice but to use his Space Principles. He used Instantaneous Movement and vanished from the spot as a result. He would truly be put at a huge disadvantage if he allowed himself to be caught by this woman. At this moment, he could only pin his hopes on Zhui Feng to fight against the opponent. Who knows? He might even make her suffer a little. Besides, separating himself from Zhui Feng would allow him to exert his full strength. The exchange of blows might have been short, but Yang Kai could sense that Zhui Feng’s movements were being restrained as he endeavoured to keep him safe…
The only person among the enemy’s ranks that could actually be a threat to him was this Half-Saint. Aside from this female Charm Demon, the rest were nothing to Yang Kai. By the time his figure reappeared, he was standing in the sky and looking at something a thousand metres away. Zhui Feng was entangled with that female Charm Demon. His attacks could be said to be very simple and crude, involving nothing more than body slamming, biting, swiping with his tail, and kicking with his hooves. On the contrary, the female Charm Demon used all sorts of methods to attack, executing various Secret Techniques and striking out with a soft whip. Even so, the two sides were evenly matched.
It could be seen that Zhui Feng’s strength was nothing to sneeze at even among Half-Saints. At the very least, he was stronger than this woman; otherwise, he could not have caused this stalemate situation. His endurance and durability would definitely let him gain the upper hand over time.
Long ago, Zhui Feng had hunted down a Half-Saint after a long pursuit. He had shaved away at that person’s strength and forced his cultivation to regress before he was satisfied. How could he have done that without stamina and persistence?
Meanwhile, the Demon Race armies numbering in the millions were battling each other too. Countless among the Demon Race died at every moment with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Yang Kai suddenly realized something. [How did things turn out like this? I didn’t bring the army of two million here to fight with the other Half-Saints. I came here to see if I could use the army under my command to do something at a critical moment.]
Needless to say, he was certainly also at fault for things to turn out this way. Nevertheless, the most important thing was that the other party was too aggressive. [She killed so many of my people without bothering to say anything. How can I let her get away with it so easily? Plus, it’s just a piece of land. The defensive line along the periphery of the battlefield is so long, is it really necessary for her to fight for this territory?]
While mulling over these thoughts, Yang Kai suddenly felt an uneasy feeling blooming in his heart. It was an inexplicable feeling of unease that came out of nowhere, as if a great danger was approaching him. He looked up at that moment and saw that Zhui Feng was nowhere to be seen. More importantly, he had no idea where the female Charm Demon had gone either. The feeling of unease grew stronger as all the hairs on his body were standing on end and a chill swept over him.
Yang Kai didn’t even think about it as his body shifted immediately, using his Nihility Technique to exile himself to the Void. At that moment, a figure appeared beside him in an eerie manner. The appearance of that figure was accompanied by a heavy punch directed at the place where he had been standing before. A violent force burst forth and the aftermath of the attack spread out, penetrating the Void.
Even though Yang Kai had used Nihility, he still felt the vitality in his body churning at that moment as his vision turned black and he nearly passed out.
He performed another Instantaneous Movement, distancing himself from that dangerous place and appearing three thousand metres away before looking up. His pupils contracted as he gritted his teeth and roared, “Yue Sang!”
The person who had ambushed him and almost killed him on the spot was none other than Yue Sang, who should still have been on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield!
Yang Kai had not met Yue Sang since he left the Holy City on Enchantment Continent. Yu Ru Meng also mentioned that Yue Sang had been dispatched to the Two Worlds’ Battlefield and Bai Zhuo had confirmed this fact. In fact, Bai Zhuo claimed that Yue Sang had been left behind at the front lines just a short while ago. Therefore, Yang Kai had not expected to see that Yue Sang had returned to the Demon Realm and even tried to ambush him here!
Yang Kai looked down at the millions of Demons fighting among themselves, then turned to look at where Di Li was located. After that, he thought about the attitude and actions of the female Charm Demon just now. A moment later, his expression greatly darkened. [This is a trap! A trap set up by three Half-Saints!]
First, Di Li had refused to assign an area for him to guard. Then, the female Charm Demon deliberately came to pick a fight with him over territorial issues to lead Zhui Feng away. Finally, Yue Sang came in for the kill…
Yang Kai thought about the close call he experienced just now, and cold sweat oozed out of his forehead. At the same time, he was filled with rage. [Three Half-Saints went so far as to join forces to kill me. How truly flattering!]
On the other hand, Yue Sang looked surprised. It would seem that he had not expected his sneak attack to fail to kill Yang Kai. Although he seemed to have injured Yang Kai, it was rather humiliating that he allowed Yang Kai to escape despite being a Half-Saint. [The Space Technique certainly deserves its reputation! But that is all there is to it!]
Even if he had to violate Yu Ru Meng’s order, he didn’t hesitate to rush back from the battlefield. The first reason was to take Yang Kai’s life. The second reason was to fight to obtain his own opportunity in the coming fight. Out of the two reasons, the second one was the most important. Taking Yang Kai’s life was just a bonus.
Yue Sang secretly resented Yu Ru Meng in his heart for not notifying him about such a great opportunity. If not for the other contacts he had, he would never have known that there was such a great opportunity to be seized in Eternal Sky Continent. It wasn’t as if he did not know just how much Yu Ru Meng valued Yang Kai. After spending so long on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield, he had heard all about the relationship between Yang Kai and Yu Ru Meng. He was well aware of what kind of consequences he would face if he killed Yang Kai; but even so, that was not enough to make him retreat.
[As long as I can seize the opportunity born from what the numerous Demons Saints are currently planning, then even Yu Ru Meng will find it difficult to kill me because the other Demon Saints won’t agree to it! So, Yang Kai must die today! I have to kill him with my own hands to get rid of some of this hatred!]
Their gazes suddenly met, and the look in Yue Sang’s eyes grew contemptuous as his voice sounded coldly, “Did you think you would be safe and sound just because you have Holy Venerable’s protection? Killing you is as easy as snapping this King’s fingers!”
Yang Kai turned to the side and spat out the blood in his mouth. Afterward, he sneered, “You didn’t get a transfer order. Let’s see how you’re going to explain yourself to Holy Venerable about returning from the Two Worlds’ Battlefield without authorization.”
Yue Sang’s eyes drooped, “Explain myself? I can return whenever I want to. Why do I need to explain myself to Holy Venerable? If you have time to worry about me, you might as well use it to worry about yourself a little more.”
Yang Kai spoke with a stern expression, “Do you really dare to kill this King?”
Yue Sang looked at Yang Kai teasingly, “What do you think?”
Yang Kai looked around for a bit. Then, he countered Yue Sang’s question with another question, “It looks like you’re determined to kill me, but I am truly curious. How did you convince Di Li and that female Charm Demon to do you this favour? Don’t they know what kind of consequences they would face if they did this?”
[There is no way Yu Ru Meng will forgive them once she eventually learns of how they aided Yu Sang to kill me.]
Even if those two were Half-Saints, they would probably follow in Yue Sang’s footsteps. They would be sent to the Two Worlds’ Battlefield to fight against Pseudo-Great Emperors. If they were lucky, they would make amends for their crimes through their devoted service. If they were unlucky, they might end up dead there; after all, more than one or two Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors had already died as the war increased in intensity.
Yue Sang replied indifferently, “Nobody is helping me. I was just in the right place, at the right time.”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened with anger, almost like they were about to burst. Despite knowing that Yue Sang was lying through his teeth to dissociate the other two from his actions, there was nothing wrong with that reasoning.
Yang Kai had only met Di Li once, and no conflict had occurred between the two of them. Even the female Charm Demon had a just cause to pick a fight with him; therefore, the other two could simply get away by saying that it was just a misunderstanding even if he filed a complaint with Yu Ru Meng after everything was over. Naturally, that would depend on which side Yu Ru Meng was standing on. If she was on his side, then no number of excuses would save them from trouble.
“Let’s see if the Holy Venerable believes those words of yours.” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
Yue Sang raised his hand and lightly replied, “Between a dead person and I… Who do you think Holy Venerable will believe?”
When the last word left his mouth, he struck toward Yang Kai. There was the sound of an explosion in the air. Following that palm strike, it felt as though an invisible mountain was pressing down on Yang Kai. Yang Kai only hesitated for a moment. Even so, he heard all the bones in his body cracking and he fell out of the sky like a meteorite. He crashed into the ground below and formed a huge crater in the ground.
Yu Sang didn’t stop. He drifted over in an eerie manner, approaching Yang Kai swiftly.
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out suddenly as a sharp arrow radiating with an incandescent light came flying from somewhere in the distance, arriving in an instant, it shot straight towards Yue Sang’s chest.
Yue Sang didn’t even bother looking at this though and just casually flicked his wrist at it, causing the radiant light to return along its original path at an even faster speed.
A scream sounded as the arrow Bo Ya had shot as a sneak attack from the shadows was returned to her, sending her flying as the powerful force struck her, causing her to tumble mid-air several times before she collapsed to the ground. It was unknown whether she survived that blow as the ground around her was stained red with her blood.
At the same time, Yang Kai got up with great difficulty. Blood was flowing out of his mouth and nose, his hair was a dishevelled mess, and he looked absolutely wretched. He was just in the process of standing up when Yu Sang slowly floated down, landed in front of him, and lifted a finger to point in his direction.
The scent of flowers burst out, and colourful petals appeared out of nowhere. Those petals floated over, gathering around Yang Kai in an instant and surrounded him. They converged together to form a solid wall of defence, circling around his body without pause. The strong fragrance they released seemed to have the effect of confusing a person’s mind.
Not far away from where Bo Ya was, Li Shi Qing bit her red lips as she executed her Secret Technique. Her body was glowing with a colourful light as her Emperor Qi surged. Although terror and fear were reflected in her beautiful eyes, her expression was as resolute as could be.
Yue Sang abruptly turned to look at her with a pair of frosty eyes and a cold snort escaped from his mouth. A gush of Spiritual Energy burst out, and a ray of light flashed across her chest. Li Shi Qing’s tender body trembled slightly as her Emperor Qi faded away. She collapsed to the ground limply the next moment, falling unconscious, the defensive wall of flower petals surrounding Yang Kai scattering to the wind.
Finally, Yue Sang leisurely turned to look at Yang Kai after getting rid of the two sluts interfering with him. The corners of his mouth lifted into a sardonic smile as though he was deriving great pleasure from something. His finger pointed at Yang Kai’s forehead at a speed that was neither fast nor slow. The light at the tip of his fingertips fluctuated vigorously as he mocked, “Have you ever regretted offending me? Did you think this King wouldn’t be able to do anything to you just because you are proficient in the Dao of Space? You are so close at hand, and this King’s Divine Sense is locking your movements. Don’t even dream about escaping!”
“Regret?” When Yang Kai muttered through gritted teeth, the Space Principles around his body fluctuated and a figure suddenly appeared in front of him as a cold voice sounded from behind that figure, “Dream on, you waste!”
Yue Sang’s expression was stunned as he stared blankly at the stone man who had suddenly appeared in front of him. He could not figure out where this person had popped out from no matter how hard he thought about it. There was no trace of this person just moments ago, so how did he appear in front of him out of nowhere!? However, he didn’t have more time to think because the stone man threw a punch at him at a speed that was neither fast nor slow as soon as he appeared, and judging by the power of the punch, this stone man who appeared so abruptly was a Half-Saint!
Yue Sang surged his Demon Qi and the light shining at the tip of his finger that was pointing at Yang Kai became even more powerful. Knowing that his opponent was a Half-Saint, he did not dare to take the stone man lightly.
[Damn it! Why is there another Half-Saint protecting this Human!? I thought the plan was foolproof when I arranged for Zhui Feng to be lured away! I can’t believe something so unexpected occurred!] Yue Sang’s heart sank with a vague sense that something had gone terribly wrong. With a Half-Saint diverting him, it was all but impossible for him to kill Yang Kai.
While his thoughts were still muddled, the attacks from both sides collided.
Yue Sang’s pupils eyes contracted suddenly, revealing a look of horror. He instinctively moved and retreated backwards, opening a distance of several thousand metres between them in the blink of an eye. When he lowered his head to look, his horrified expression darkened. One of his fingers was distorted beyond belief. All the bones in his finger were practically crushed into powder, and a throbbing pain came from his finger to agitate every single nerve in his body.
It was only a single blow, but his finger had been smashed, and if he had not moved so quickly and withdrawn, he would probably have lost his arm to the stone man.
[What power!]
The other party had not used the slightest bit of Demon Qi in the previous attack, meaning a simple physical blow had broken through his defences and injured him. Only a Strength Demon Half-Saint could have such terrifying power. No, even a Half-Saint from the Strength Demon Clan would have paled in comparison to this thing. Which race did this stone man from? The Stone Demon Clan? The Strength Demon Clan? But he didn’t look like either…
“Huo…”
The Embodiment opened his mouth and let out a mighty roar. His voice was mixed with uncontrolled excitement. He was technically Yang Kai’s Soul Clone; thus, he originated from the same source as Yang Kai. It wasn’t that he loved fighting and killing, but rather that he couldn’t suppress his excitement after experiencing his new full strength.
While he roared, his Demon Qi soared to the sky. A pitch-black flame ignited across his body, and his entire person transformed into a black hole that began devouring everything. Sharp bone spines broke through his rock skin as he reached out into the air and grabbed at something. A moment later, a War Hammer appeared in the palm of his hand. His Demon Qi flowed freely and the War Hammer trembled slightly, fluctuating with a dangerous aura.
Yue Sang had yet to recover from the shock of being injured by the Embodiment’s blow when he felt this burst of aura and he couldn’t help but stare at the Demonic War Hammer and exclaim, “Saint Artifact!”
Only the Demon Artifacts that the Demon Saints in the Demon Realm spent enormous effort to refine could be called Saint Artifacts. The total number of Saint Artifacts throughout the Demon Realm did not exceed twenty, so each one was extremely rare and precious. Likewise, every Saint Artifact had extraordinary power. Most of these Saint Artifacts were controlled by the Twelve Demon Saints while a few pieces were lost to the world, their whereabouts completely unknown.
The Demonic War Hammer in the Embodiment’s hands was something Yang Kai had acquired outside of Maplewood City. It was the weapon belonging to the ancient One-Eyed Great Demon. Since Yang Kai and the Embodiment could not control Demon Qi previously, neither of them was able to activate its true power over the years. Even during the times when the Embodiment occasionally used the Demonic War Hammer, he had only used it like it was the most common blunt weapon for smashing things.
But things were different now. The Embodiment had devoured the Source of Cloud Shadow Continent, transformed the strength in his body into Demon Qi, and become a Half-Saint of the Demon Realm. He now had the power to wield this Demonic War Hammer.
With the War Hammer in hand, his already overwhelming power was suddenly boosted to another level and he clearly noticed this. The Demon Qi in his body rushed into the War Hammer almost uncontrollably, and the War Hammer that had remained lifeless for so long seemed to be reborn at this moment. A sort of exultation was coming from the War Hammer, seemingly longing for even more Demon Qi.
The Embodiment looked down and grinned savagely. Activating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he immediately cut off the devouring act of the War Hammer. No matter what kind of artifact it was, it would inevitably be affected by its wielder. The War Hammer’s wild devouring nature was probably a reflection of its rebellious attitude, but how could the Embodiment tolerate such behaviour? He had always been the one to devour others. If the War Hammer wanted to devour his Demon Qi, it would need his permission first!
Lifting the hammer in his hand, he jumped up and crossed several thousand metres to smash Yue Sang with the hammer. A huge shadow of the hammer immediately appeared in the sky, seemingly covering it. When the hammer’s shadow came crashing down, it felt as if the sky itself was collapsing.
Yue Sang’s expression changed drastically as his entire body shuddered. With himself as the centre, large swathes of blood mist flooded hundreds of metres around him. The Embodiment looked up in time to see a vast space had been covered in blood mist while Yue Sang was gone from sight.
The hammer’s shadow slammed against the blood mist, smashing a huge crater into it; however, the surrounding blood mist immediately refilled the hole. Rays of blood beams shot out from within the blood mist, blasting towards the Embodiment like arrows. The Embodiment nimbly avoided several of the attacks but was still hit by a few. The sounds of something piercing through the surface of his body rang out as the blood and burning pitch-black flames fought back vigorously.
After a moment of hesitation, the Embodiment plunged into the blood mist. Instantly, roars and crackling sounds came from within and it was clear that he was ferociously fighting against Yue Sang.
At the same time, Yang Kai appeared next to Bo Ya and Li Shi Qing. Only these two women had come forward when he was in mortal danger. They didn’t make any difference to the situation, but they, at least, had tried to help him. The two of them currently lay unconscious on the ground, and if the millions of Demons on the battlefield turned a blind eye to them, they might not even know how they died in the end.
A quick inspection later, Yang Kai discovered that Bo Ya’s injuries were more serious between the two of them. Yue Sang had sent the arrow she shot right back at her. Not only did she fail to injure the enemy, but she also ended up hurting herself. Almost half of her shoulder was shattered, and the blood wouldn’t stop flowing. On the contrary, Li Shi Qing’s condition was rather surprising.
He originally thought that Li Shi Qing’s condition would be more severe; after all, she had been injured by Yue Sang’s Soul Attack. Ordinarily, she would have been severely injured even if she survived, but to his surprise, a careful inspection revealed that she was safe and sound. She probably fainted from the shock of being struck by Yue Sang’s Divine Sense, but other than that, there were no obvious problems with her.
Under these circumstances, Yang Kai only needed to wait for Li Shi Qing to wake up on her own. He couldn’t help being amazed. Thinking back to what happened just now, he had the vague feeling that the only reason she managed to remain safe and sound was related to the light radiating from her chest.
As the Disciple of Flower Shadow Great Emperor, she would surely be carrying all sorts of protective treasures on her body. Although it was said that everything on her had been taken from her, the things she had refined into her body could not be so easily stripped away. Nevertheless, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he was supposed to tell Flower Shadow Great Emperor if something happened to her because of him.
Lifting his head to look around, he saw Xiao Wu looking at him anxiously and he immediately beckoned to her, “Take care of them!”
She finally returned to her senses, nodded vigorously, and ran over quickly. Picking Bo Ya and Li Shi Qing up, one person in each arm, she swiftly retreated towards the back of the camp. Yang Kai took advantage of this fleeting interval to stuff a Spirit Pill into Bo Ya’s mouth. Her injuries might look serious, but they did not threaten her foundation. She only needed to recuperate for some time to recover fully.
Straightening up again, he glanced gloomily at the blood mist. Space Principles fluctuated around him and he disappeared out of sight. When he reappeared again, he stood in the sky above the blood mist that covered several thousands of metres of area.
Lifting his hand, a cyan bottle gourd appeared in his grip. It was the Wind Gourd he obtained from the Void deep in Orthodoxy Temple’s Restricted Area. Yang Kai ardently poured his Emperor Qi into it and pointed its mouth at the blood mist. In the next moment, a gust of strong wind that swept through the world transformed into a torrent of wind blades that slashed towards the depths of the blood mist.
A black light flashed as the Embodiment, who was connected to Yang Kai, had already escaped from the blood mist ahead of time. The torrent of wind blades continuously rained down on the blood mist, cutting it into pieces and shattering it apart. Among the chaos, a muffled grunt sounded. It was clear that Yue Sang had been injured.
The entire process took no more than ten breaths at most. The blood mist began to churn strenuously before, all of a sudden, it converged in the centre to reveal Yue Sang’s figure again. Yue Sang didn’t stop there though and had swiftly transformed into a blood beam that rushed towards Yang Kai. Lifting his hand, his entire arm transformed into a blood-coloured python with horns on its forehead. It opened its mouth wide and bit down towards Yang Kai, seemingly intending to swallow him whole.
The Embodiment was a Half-Saint, so Yue Sang couldn’t do anything to him in a short period of time as they were evenly matched. On the other hand, the strength Yang Kai showed was only that of a Mid-Rank Demon King, so if Yue Sang was helpless even against somebody like Yang Kai, then he might as well just commit suicide out of shame.
The blood python struck instantly. Its huge mouth bit through the barriers of space and devoured where Yang Kai was standing without giving him any time to react. By the time its huge mouth snapped shut, Yang Kai was gone.
Yue Sang sneered, “Hmph. A fool who doesn’t know his place!”
There was nothing Yue Sang could have done to Yang Kai if he had hidden himself away somewhere. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it was not easy to kill him; hence, it was a surprise that he came out all on his own. It was simply an act equivalent to asking for death, but it was just what Yue Sang wanted.
The blood-coloured giant python became distorted as though it was going to turn back into its original shape. At that moment, the expression on Yue Sang’s face changed drastically. He looked at the python’s head intently. It felt like… there was an unbelievable aura awakening inside the python that aroused an involuntary sense of fear. Simultaneously, a muffled cry floated into his ears, “Dragon Transformation!”
The python’s head swelled abruptly and a behemoth subsequently appeared inside its maw, forcing the python’s mouth open again. It was accompanied by a Dragon Aura, one only those Pureblood Dragons could emit, that radiated out into the surroundings.
Yue Sang could not tell what method Yang Kai had just used; however, he was familiar with the aura that belonged exclusively to the most powerful of Divine Spirits. He had once fought against a female Dragon Clan member on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield, and while the other party’s bloodline could not be considered impure, it was enough for her to fight against him on equal terms.
[The Dragon Clan! This Human has the Dragon Clan’s bloodline!]
[What’s more, his Dragon Aura is much purer and stronger than that woman’s…]
The blood python’s mouth was stretched to its limit as two sharp Dragon Claws gleaming with cold light suddenly appeared in Yue Sang’s field of vision. One Dragon Claw gripped the top and the other gripped the bottom of the python’s jaws. A moment later, the two Dragon Claws forced the python’s mouth open from both sides. A tearing sound rang out, and the huge blood python’s head was ripped in half…
Blood splattered everywhere as the figure of an enormous Monster entered Yue Sang’s vision. The sight was also burned into the eyes of the army below. A moment of strange silence swept across the noisy battlefield as almost everybody was looking up at the huge figure with a confused expression.
Yang Kai’s body was more than three hundred metres tall and covered in gleaming Golden Dragon Scales. Dragon Horns grew out of his forehead, both hands had transformed into Dragon Claws, and a long Dragon Tail whipped about behind him, stirring up a strong wind.
A Dragon Roar sounded, reverberating throughout the sky. Yang Kai reached out his hand and grabbed the remains of the blood python’s body that he had torn into two before violently pulling on it.
An overwhelming force spread out as Yue Sang’s body was involuntarily yanked in that direction. The blood python was transformed from his arm, so it was inseparable from him. He had no way to resist such a powerful force. In terms of cultivation alone, he was far above Yang Kai. Unfortunately, he was not Yang Kai’s opponent in terms of brute force.
Hurriedly, Yue Sang had the blood python explode into a blood mist before he withdrew it and had it transform into an arm again. It was just that a long gash now extended up his forearm. The pain enraged Yue Sang as his carelessness caused him to fail such an easy task. It was a complete humiliation. Borrowing the pulling force coming from Yang Kai, he stopped resisting it and rushed forward instead, approaching Yang Kai in the blink of an eye.
The tiny figure formed a very sharp contrast with Yang Kai’s large body. Nevertheless, his gaze didn’t show the slightest bit of hesitation. Rather, he looked down at Yang Kai condescendingly as if he was the larger one instead.
Despite the heavy punch coming from Yang Kai’s side, Yue Sang had no intention of evading. Instead, he opened his mouth and spat out something. A blood ball sped towards Yang Kai and soon smashed against the incoming fist, but not only did the blood ball not break, it actually enveloped Yang Kai’s claw instead. The blood ball quickly grew larger and larger, enveloping the entirety of Yang Kai’s Half-Dragon Body.
Yue Sang glanced downward, reaching out his hand to point at Yang Kai, “Die!”
The loosely floating blood ball suddenly began contracting at that moment. The thin walls of the Blood Ball displayed an extremely astonishing force of restraint, and the sound of all the bones in Yang Kai’s body creaking immediately rang out…
At that critical moment, the Embodiment swooped down and swung his War Hammer towards Yue Sang’s head.
A trace of reluctance flashed across Yue Sang’s eyes, but he couldn’t afford to take the blow head-on. It was a Saint Artifact after all. Who knew what kind of consequences he would face? Thus, he could only retreat.
Inside the Blood Ball, Yang Kai struggled a few times but discovered that he couldn’t break through this shell due to its extreme resilience. It was not something that could be resolved with pure brute force. Nevertheless, the crushing pressure around him was getting tighter and tighter and he would soon become unable to breathe, so he could only open his jaw. Accompanied by the sound of a Dragon Roar, a raging flame spurted from his giant mouth.
Flames spread out and under their burning effects, the blood ball quickly evaporated, allowing him to quickly escape from its restraint.
On the other hand, the Embodiment was chasing after Yue Sang. Yang Kai didn’t stop after he escaped and followed closely. Working together, their battle against Yue Sang became chaotic. During the fierce battle, Yang Kai could clearly feel himself and the Embodiment growing stronger.
Back in the Eastern Territory, Yang Kai had teamed up with the Embodiment to fight against Cang Mo with all his strength. Cang Mo was a Pseudo-Great Emperor, who was probably as strong as Yue Sang.
At the time, the two of them had tried their best and even injured Cang Mo, but the latter still had plenty of leeway and was still holding back for the most part. If Cang Mo had truly gone all out at the beginning, Yang Kai and the Embodiment would only barely be able to protect themselves against him. In that battle, they were left in a miserable state. In the end, Qiong Qi showed up and forced Cang Mo back. With Li Wu Yi and Jiu Feng following after, Cang Mo had no choice but to retreat. But today, Yang Kai and the Embodiment had the upper hand in the battle against Yue Sang. Needless to say, the main reason was the Embodiment’s growth as Yang Kai had barely grown any stronger since then.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a bit miserable about this in his heart. His own strength was indeed his biggest shortcoming. He was now a Second-Order Emperor, and whether it was the Demon Realm or the Star Boundary, he already stood ahead of many others. Be that as it may, he began feeling more and more powerless as his power increased as those he came into contact with became increasingly distinguished.
His current situation was the perfect example. He and the Embodiment had the upper hand in the fight against Yue Sang, but it was an unrealistic dream if they wanted to kill him, unless Yue Sang made some kind of huge mistake.
Nonetheless, it was a mistake to pin his hopes on others making mistakes. Yang Kai might as well focus on improving his own strength if that was the case. There was no need to improve too much. He only needed to reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm. That way, he would be in a much better situation if he ever faced another Half-Saint again.
High above the sky, various mighty and terrifying Dragon Clan Secret Techniques shone brightly in his hands as Yang Kai tried to buy time for the Embodiment. The Heaven Devouring Domain had been activated and quietly spread out into the surroundings without Yue Sang’s knowledge, devouring his power, bit by bit.
With enough time, their advantage would become increasingly obvious. One man’s loss was another man’s gain. When the time came, Yue Sang would not be able to avoid death even if he wanted to.
[This bastard has been after my life since we met, how can I let him get away with that? Now that I have the chance, I’m going to make him pay the price; otherwise, I won’t be able to live in comfort with a Half-Saint eyeing me all the time, trying to murder me.]
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as Yang Kai wished. The fight was in full swing when Yue Sang suddenly withdrew and retreated. He transformed into a blood beam and hurried away without hesitation.
The Embodiment tried to stop Yue Sang, but there was nothing he could do if a Half-Saint went all out to escape. The War Hammer swung down and smashed into empty air.
There was even less Yang Kai could do. Yue Sang’s speed during his bloody escape was no slower than Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement. Thus, Yang Kai could only watch as Yue Sang fled and disappeared out of sight. He glared in the direction in which Yue Sang disappeared with a savage expression. There was nowhere for him to vent the rage inside him, not to mention how upset he was.
“Somebody is coming,” the Embodiment said quickly as he casually put the Demonic War Hammer away.
Yang Kai turned his head to look and saw a stream of light swiftly approaching this place from not far away. When the figure got closer, he realized that it was Bai Zhuo. Bai Zhuo looked at Yang Kai’s enormous body with an expression of wonder. He studied Yang Kai’s appearance carefully for a while before making out Yang Kai’s face; then, he frowned and looked down at the chaotic battlefield below, quickly asking grimly, “What happened here?”
Bai Zhuo had heard the reports from his men claiming that there seemed to be a disturbance in this area, so he hurried over to check out the situation. Yang Kai had headed in this direction after they went their separate ways, so he suspected that something had happened here.
From the looks of things, it was indeed so. Judging by the remaining aura in the area, it looked like a battle between Half-Saints had taken place and he couldn’t help taking a few more glances at Embodiment.
“Yue Sang is here!” Yang Kai looked at Bai Zhuo with a grim expression.
“How could that be!?” Bai Zhuo was shocked, “Could you be mistaken?”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth, “I’m not so blind that I can mistake the person who tried to kill me.”
“But, shouldn’t he be on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield…” Bai Zhuo murmured. He frowned deeply as though mulling over something. Realization suddenly dawned on him, and he nodded lightly, “If that’s the case, it’s not strange for him to return.”
Yang Kai snorted coldly while dismissing his Dragon Form and restoring himself to his original appearance.
Bai Zhuo couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed; after all, he had just told Yang Kai that Yue Sang had stayed on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield. Who could have known that Yang Kai would be attacked by Yue Sang as soon as they went their separate ways? Fortunately, nothing big had happened. If anything had happened, he would have been held partly responsible too. He couldn’t help chuckling softly, “Were you hurt?”
Yang Kai knew that Bai Zhuo wasn’t to blame for anything, but his expression remained sullen. It wasn’t because the misinformation provided by Bai Zhuo had caused him to fall into a trap, but rather because Bai Zhuo had arrived too quickly.
The reason why Yue Sang had retreated so decisively was that he had sensed Bai Zhuo’s aura. He probably knew that Bai Zhuo would not take his side as the two of them already held grudges against each other. He had secretly sneaked back to the Demon Realm and would never be spared if he were caught red-handed by Bai Zhuo. If Bai Zhuo, Yang Kai, and the Embodiment joined forces against him, he would not be able to escape anymore.
Yang Kai suppressed the resentment in his stomach and said dully, “It’s nothing too serious.”
Bai Zhuo gently nodded, “Holy Venerable will arrive in half a day. Let’s wrap things up here.”
Although Yue Sang had retreated, millions of the Demons were still fighting below. It was not something that could be resolved any time soon unless somebody intervened. It would be bad for everyone if Yu Ru Meng arrived to see this scene. This could already be considered a civil strife and it would only make Yu Ru Meng the butt of jokes among all the other Demon Saints for being inadequate in her leadership.
On the contrary, Yang Kai was dying to kill all of the female Charm Demon’s subordinates. Even so, he knew that it was no longer a realistic option the moment Bai Zhuo appeared. Besides, there were a lot of casualties on his side too. Nearly a tenth of the two million army had died in such a short time.
In any case, nobody could escape forever. Regardless of whether it was Yue Sang, Di Li, or the female Charm Demon, Yang Kai had already pinned them on his list of enemies. He would find them again one day as long as they still worked under Yu Ru Meng.
Without another word, he and the Embodiment rushed down. They killed many among the enemy army to completely break their opponent’s fighting spirit, defeating the opposing army by a huge landslide before they stopped in satisfaction.
Afterwards, Lao Ke and the others took a headcount of the battlefield. There was no need for Yang Kai to worry about anything. Meanwhile, Bai Zhuo followed Yang Kai every step of the way. He was probably afraid that Yue Sang would wheel back and kill Yang Kai. Not long after the battle ended, Zhui Feng ran back triumphantly. He even shamelessly approached Yang Kai with an attitude as though asking for praise.
Yang Kai whacked him right in the head while scolding, “Did I ask you to chase her!? Who asked you to chase her!? Why don’t you change your name to ‘Chasing People’ instead!? Don’t call yourself ‘Chasing the Wind’ anymore!”
[If this guy had not been lured away by the female Charm Demon, I might have been able to keep Yue Sang here earlier.]
Zhui Feng, who was smacked upside the head, looked extremely aggrieved and didn’t know what was going on.
Bai Zhuo was shocked by the sight. He had long heard of Zhui Feng’s great reputation. As the mount of Hundred Spirits Continent’s Master, he was not known for his peaceful temper and his true strength was extremely terrifying. Bai Zhuo watched Yang Kai scolding Zhui Feng and couldn’t help worrying that Zhui Feng might kick Yang Kai to death in a fit of rage…
What surprised him though was that Zhui Feng neither fought back nor resisted the scolding. He only neighed occasionally to indicate his grievances… After the severe scolding, he lowered his head, ran over to the side, and lay down with a wounded appearance.
Bai Zhuo was utterly amazed.
Both Bo Ya and Li Shi Qing had woken up by now. The latter was not seriously injured and even smiled at Yang Kai when she saw that he was safe and sound, which warmed his heart. Since they were both from the Star Boundary, it was only natural that he felt an inherent closeness to her. If not for the fact that they needed to pretend otherwise, he would not have treated her so poorly. Unfortunately, he had to be careful in everything he did while in the Demon Realm.
Although Bo Ya was pale, her condition had improved greatly after consuming some Spirit Pills. It seemed she would not experience any permanent damage from her injury.
He spoke some encouraging words to them and ordered Xiao Wu to take good care of them. Only then did he look into the distance with Bai Zhuo. Compared to the battle between a Great Emperor and a Demon Saint, the conflict from before could only be said to be a small fight. The thundering sounds from across the horizon never stopped. Rays of light occasionally burst out from that remote location, causing the world to dim and the space to shudder ceaselessly.
No matter who it was, they would be able to sense that the surrounding World Principles had begun to shatter as long as their strength had reached a certain height. That was the power of the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints. Their every move was capable of affecting the survival of the continent.
“If most of the Half-Saints returned to the Demon Realm, then what about the situation on the Two Worlds’ Battlefield?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
Bai Zhuo shrugged, “Probably holing themselves up somewhere. What else can they do?”
Yang Kai turned his head to look at Bai Zhuo and chuckled softly, “Are the Holy Venerables planning to use overwhelming numbers to exhaust a Great Emperor to death?”
Now that most of the Half-Saints had been summoned back here and gathered in Eternal Sky Continent, it could only mean that these Half-Saints would eventually face Bright Moon. One or two Half-Saints might not have made much of a difference, but even ants could kill elephants if there were enough of them.
Bai Zhuo frowned and pondered in silence for a moment, “Although you can say that, this matter is not quite as simple as you think. The Holy Venerables have a much deeper plan. Besides, what is happening here is not just a gamble of survival, but also a great opportunity for all the Half-Saints.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at those words, “I wish to hear the details!”
Bai Zhuo smiled wryly and shook his head, “You should ask Holy Venerable about this matter. If she is willing to tell you about it, she will surely tell you clearly herself. If she is not willing to do so, then it is not my place to tell you anything.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, but he did not inquire any further into the matter. Bai Zhuo had made his stance very clear, so there was no point in asking any more questions.
Yang Kai could understand a life-and-death gamble as a Half-Saint facing off against a Great Emperor is nothing if not a life-and-death gamble! They may even be killed the moment they meet the Great Emperor, but what was this great opportunity they sought? Could it be that there is some sort of benefit to be gained by killing Bright Moon?
He couldn’t ignore the information Bai Zhuo had revealed to him, even if he wanted to.
Before they could finish cleaning up the battlefield though, a terrifying aura quickly came from afar. Zhui Feng, who had been lying on the ground all this while, immediately got up and looked in that direction warily. It was clear that he had felt the incoming pressure; however, he soon lay back down on the ground again.
Similarly, Yang Kai and Bai Zhuo looked up in unison as the latter’s expression changed, “Holy Venerable is here.”
Needless to say, Yang Kai could feel Yu Ru Meng’s aura too.
A brilliant light flashed a short while later and Yu Ru Meng’s figure appeared in front of the two of them.
“Greetings, Holy Venerable!” Bai Zhuo quickly cupped his fists. On the other hand, the army behind them fell to their knees quickly.
Yu Ru Meng nodded lightly. Glancing around, she couldn’t help furrowing her delicate brow tightly as she asked, “What happened here?”
The Blood Qi was very dense throughout the mountain valley and there were corpses lying all over the place. It was obvious that a huge battle had taken place here. Even Yang Kai looked a little pale, as though he had suffered some injuries. She couldn’t help being shocked by what she saw here and even thought that collateral from the battle with Bright Moon in the distance had spread this far.
Bai Zhuo turned and glanced at Yang Kai, but seeing that he had no intention of speaking, he quietly sighed in his heart. As such, Bai Zhuo had no choice but to step forward and relay all the information he had gotten from Yang Kai earlier to Yu Ru Meng.
Upon hearing how Yue Sang had returned from the Two Worlds’ Battlefield and even attacked Yang here, she turned red with rage, gritted her teeth and roared, “Impudence!”
She turned to look at Bai Zhuo and ordered, “Bring Yue Sang to me!”
It was one thing for Yue Sang to return from the Two Worlds’ Battlefield without receiving authorization, but he even dared to try and assassinate Yang Kai! How could Yu Ru Meng forgive him for that? Putting aside the Heart Seal Secret Technique that existed between her and Yang Kai, Yang Kai was now the key to the stability of the entire Demon Realm. Without him, who would maintain the unstable Territory Gates? Without him, who would repair those lost Territory Gates? For both public and private reasons, she had to give Yang Kai a reasonable explanation.
Receiving the order, Bai Zhuo immediately walked to the side and took out an item. He was presumably trying to find a way to contact Yue Sang.
Yu Ru Meng turned to look at Yang Kai next as her expression became gentle, “Are you alright? Is what Bai Zhuo said true?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m fine. It’s just that Brother Bai Zhuo only understands a part of it.”
She asked, “What else is there that he doesn’t know about?”
Yang Kai sneered slightly, “I have Zhui Feng protecting me, so what could Yue Sang possibly do to me alone? He clearly knew that too. That’s why somebody helped him lure Zhui Feng away.”
“Who!?” Yu Ru Meng’s pretty face darkened. A person who could lure Zhui Feng away had to be a Half-Saint. She truly had not expected these Half-Saints under her command would be so ignorant of the general situation. [How can they create even more trouble for me at such a critical moment!?]
“I don’t know who she is. Just that she is a female Charm Demon,” Yang Kai replied.
Although he did not know who it was, there were only so few people among the Half-Saints under Yu Ru Meng’s command. Combined with the fact that the perpetrator was from the Charm Demon Clan, it was probably very easy to identify who it was.
“Aside from her, Di Li probably played a role too.”
“Di Li too!?” Yu Ru Meng couldn’t help scowling deeply. Nevertheless, realization came over her when she recalled how close Di Li and Yue Sang had always been with each other. When she had previously named Yang Kai as Great King and charged him with overseeing Cloud Shadow Continent, many of the Half-Saints under her had objected to the decision. After all, only a Half-Saint was qualified to manage a continent in the Demon Realm. How could a weak young Human male stand on equal footing with them?
Among these Half-Saints, Di Li had objected the most. Yu Ru Meng had forcibly suppressed their dissension at the time, so Yang Kai was unaware of this fact; even so, she never expected Di Li to be involved in this incident. That would mean that three Half-Saints under her command were involved in this debacle. She couldn’t help feeling extremely troubled. If it had only been Yue Sang alone, it would have been easy enough to handle. She could just kill him and be done with it; however, it was simply too much if three Half-Saints were involved. It might cause dissatisfaction among the rest of the Half-Saints if she punished all three of them severely.
Although a Demon Saint was a supreme existence in the Demon Realm, the number of Half-Saints under their command was the basis of their strength. It would be meaningless if all a Demon Saint had was their cultivation but not a single person under them to carry out their commands.
While they were speaking, Bai Zhuo walked back to them with a gloomy expression, “Holy Venerable, there is no response from Yue Sang!”
“Is there no response from him or is he refusing to answer?” Yu Ru Meng turned to look at Bai Zhuo.
He replied, “He is probably refusing to answer…”
“This is rebellion!” She raged. The incident today was wholly spearheaded by Yue Sang. Di Li and that female Charm Demon were probably just lending him a hand, but now, they couldn’t get in touch with Yue Sang, “Continue to contact him and tell him this, ‘never show up before me again if he doesn’t appear in front of me within an hour’.”
Bai Zhuo was startled to hear those words. He did not expect her to hand out such a harsh punishment. Nevertheless, he soon bowed and left to give Yue Sang the ultimatum.
Yu Ru Meng fumed in anger for a while before she reassured Yang Kai, “Don’t worry. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer to this matter.”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “No need for that. I’ll deal with it myself.”
She frowned a moment and glanced at the Embodiment, who was standing by the side. Nodding gently, she said, “Suit yourself, but you have to wait until we settle things here. This matter is too important.”
She felt relieved in her heart. Although she was willing to handle things on his behalf, if she had to come forward personally, forget Yue Sang, even Di Li and the female Charm Demon would not be spared. If word of this incident were to spread, it was quite possible that her subordinates would lean towards other Demon Saints instead.
On the contrary, if Yang Kai were to deal with it himself, the situation would not be as serious. She could tell that the Embodiment was a Half-Saint now. Even so, Di Li and the female Charm Demon were not easy targets either; hence, Yang Kai might not necessarily have the strength to do anything to them if he dealt with this matter on his own.
It wasn’t as though the Half-Saints under her did not have conflicts between themselves; for example, it was a well-known fact that Yue Sang and Bai Zhuo had always held grievances against each other. It was just that she did not intervene in such matters without reason as long as these disputes did not hinder her overall interests. Having kept out of these matters in the past, it was best if she continued not to intervene now; otherwise, it would be hard for her to deal with things justly in the future.
“I heard you were hurt,” Yang Kai turned to look at Yu Ru Meng.
Yu Ru Meng was not willing to speak much on this matter so she replied nonchalantly, “It’s just a small injury, nothing to worry about. What about you? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Hundred Spirits Continent?”
“I heard that something big had happened here, so I came to join in the fun.” He grinned, “Even so, I never expected to find the Bright Moon Great Emperor here.”
“He has always been here.”
“If you managed to trap him here, then why haven’t you killed him?”
She slowly shook her head, “Things aren’t as simple as you think. If we only wanted to kill him, he would have died long ago. Naturally, we had our reasons to keep him alive. But…”
“But, what?”
She sighed, “Nobody could have imagined that he would recover to his prime even under such conditions. So, the situation has changed.”
Yang Kai frowned at those words and asked, “Just now, Brother Bai Zhuo mentioned that this matter is both a life-or-death gamble and a great opportunity for all Half-Saints. What is going on?”
Yu Ru Meng turned and glanced at Bai Zhuo upon hearing that, seeming to blame him for being too talkative.
Yang Kai shrugged, “You don’t need to tell me if it’s inconvenient for you. I only came here to join in on the fun anyway. It’s not bad to be able to witness the fall of a Great Emperor. By the way, does Bright Moon still have any chance of survival?”
She chuckled softly, “Is your resentment toward Star Boundary still so deep?”
He coldly snorted, “Would I have fallen into such a state if not for how unjust they had been?”
She glanced sideways at him, “What’s so bad about the Demon Realm? You seem to me like you’ve been living quite well recently.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it, but in the end I’m still Human. I will always be a little out of place here.” He chuckled and changed the topic, “You haven’t answered me. Does Bright Moon have any chance of survival?”
She looked at him with a smile, “The Twelve Demon Saints have all taken action together. Do you think he still has a chance of survival?”
He couldn’t help letting out a short whistle at those words, “Looks like his death is certain.”
At this moment, Li Shi Qing suddenly rushed over from not far away, clutched at his arm with a pale face and begged him urgently, “Please save Senior Bright Moon!”
She had been resting not far away to recover and it was clear that she had heard the conversation between Yang Kai and Yu Ru Meng. That was why she was acting this way.
Yu Ru Meng glanced at Li Shi Qing, then glanced back at Yang Kai. A sly smile curling along the corners of her mouth, “How do you feel staring at this face all day long?”
Back when they had been in the Star Boundary, she had taken on Li Shi Qing’s appearance to remain beside Yang Kai. Many things had occurred between Yang Kai and her during that time. Only after returning to the Demon Realm had she finally removed her disguise and returned to her original appearance.
“What am I supposed to feel about it?” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “You are you, and she is she. How can I lump the two of you together?”
While speaking, he swung his hand vigorously and shook Li Shi Qing off, coldly snapping, “Go away.”
Li Shi Qing didn’t comply with his demands this time though and rushed up to grab at his arm again, her beautiful eyes were filled with a beseeching look, “Senior Bright Moon is a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary! Nothing must happen to him! Please find a way to save him! Please! Aren’t you a Master of the Dao of Space!? You can bring Senior Bright Moon away from this place!”
“I said scram!” His expression was frosty. He was already upset because of what Yu Ru Meng had said just now, and now Li Shi Qing was bothering him. He was in no mood to play nice with her. If his mastery over the Dao of Space was powerful enough, he wouldn’t be stuck here watching helplessly either.
Space Techniques could still produce some rather unexpected effects when used against Half-Saints, but how much use would they be against the Twelve Demon Saints of the Demon Realm? Everything else aside, if he so much as made a strange move, the Demon Saints only needed to seal off Eternal Sky Continent. Afterwards, he would be a fish on the chopping block. Yang Kai wanted nothing more than to rescue Bright Moon right now, but he was helpless to do so.
Seeing that Li Shi Qing was still harping on, Yang Kai stretched out his hand, whacked her over the head, and knocked her unconscious. Then, he shot a look at He Yin.
He Yin immediately stepped forward to help carry Li Shi Qing away.
“You actually hit her?” Yu Ru Meng gave Yang Kai a sideways stare, “Are you doing that on purpose for me to see?”
He laughed softly, “What do you mean by ‘on purpose’?”
As he said that, he stretched out his hand and reached out to her chin.
Her expression changed. Gritting her teeth, she snarled, “There are so many people here! Don’t embarrass me here!”
He grinned meaningfully and smoothly stroked her hair.
Feeling helpless, she swept her gaze over her surroundings where she saw Bai Zhuo looking up at the sky. Thus, she couldn’t help feeling both furious and amused as she changed the topic, “What’s the situation with Yue Sang?”
Bai Zhuo quickly bowed in response, “Still no response.”
“Hmph! Looks like he really has betrayed me!” She smirked in anger, “I can’t wait to see just how he plans to die!”
He replied, “Holy Venerable, do you need me to go and capture him?”
Bai Zhuo couldn’t let such a good opportunity to rub salt into Yue Sang’s wounds slip him by.
But instead, she waved her hand dismissively, “No need. Let’s deal with the matters at hand first. We can deal with him after we finish things up here.”
“Yes!”
“You can head back too. The situation might change at any moment. Relay my orders so that all can be ready at a moment’s notice.”
Bai Zhuo received the order and left, quickly disappearing out of sight.
After Bai Zhuo left, Yang Kai finally asked suspiciously, “What preparations? Do I need to make preparations too?”
Yu Ru Meng looked up at Yang Kai, hesitation flashing in her eyes. A long time passed before she sighed, “You shouldn’t have come. The reason I didn’t ask you to come here previously is that this place is simply too dangerous.”
He shrugged, “But I’m already here.”
She smiled bitterly, “It’s probably impossible to ask you to leave now, right?”
He grinned, “There’s nothing I can do if you knock me out and order somebody to take me away.”
He was quite worried that she might actually do this in fact. Although he didn’t know why she wanted him to leave, it was best if he spoke first and cut off the idea.
“Can’t you go back for me? I didn’t bring you back from the Star Boundary for you to die here.”
Yang Kai thought about it quietly for a moment before shaking his head, “I’ll be careful!”
“I knew it would turn out this way.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the battlefield in the distance. After a moment, she began to explain, “Bai Zhuo is right. This matter is both a life-or-death gamble and a great opportunity for all Half-Saints. That’s because… They will be the ones to deliver the final blow!”
Yang Kai felt extremely shocked, so much so that his complexion paled. She had only used the words ‘will be’. It wasn’t something that had already happened. Nevertheless, it was very likely to come true since a Demon Saint had said so.
Forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, Yang Kai tried his best to speak in a calm voice, “It’s not difficult to understand the part about a life-or-death gamble. Half-Saints aiming to kill a Great Emperor certainly requires them to put their life on the line, but what do you mean by a great opportunity? Could it be that they would gain some sort of benefit from killing Bright Moon?”
This was what puzzled him the most. What benefit would they gain from killing a Great Emperor? Perhaps it was because his current cultivation was not enough, which was why he couldn’t figure it out.
Yu Ru Meng gently continued, “We didn’t kill Bright Moon at the beginning and instead arranged a grand Spirit Array and used a profound Blood Sacrifice Technique to trap him here. At first, we planned to let him weaken gradually until he died in this place. He is a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, so his very existence represents a part of the Great World’s Will belonging to the Star Boundary. If he dies here, under the right circumstances, that part of the Star Boundary’s Will would be absorbed and assimilated into the Demon Realm, bringing it unimaginable benefits!”
That point was consistent with what Bright Moon had said before. He also mentioned that one of the reasons why the Demon Saints didn’t kill him was that they were afraid he might fight back like a cornered beast and cause serious problems for one or more of them before dying. However, the more important reason was that they wanted to let the Demon Realm ‘eat’ him. The capacity of the world would increase in turn, allowing for the rise of another Demon Saint. Meanwhile, the Star Boundary would permanently lose a Great Emperor. This trade-off would have an enormous impact on the two Great Worlds.
The number of top Masters in the Star Boundary was already considerably lower than the Demon Realm. Be it Great Emperors or Pseudo-Great Emperors, their numbers were incomparable with the numbers of Demon Saints and Half-Saints in the Demon Realm. The only advantage the Star Boundary currently held was the ‘home court’ advantage.
Yu Ru Meng continued, “We don’t know how Bright Moon managed to heal himself. He even broke through the Blood Sacrifice Technique and the Twelve Pinnacles Grand Demon Array, but it’s impossible to try and trap him here again, so we made some adjustments to the original plan. The twelve of us will work together to bring him to the brink of death, then the Half-Saints will land the final blow. The person who kills Bright Moon will have an opportunity to snatch the part of the Great World’s Will in him!”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes when he heard those words, “Something like that is possible?”
She replied indifferently, “You are currently not strong enough, so it’s normal that you don’t understand these things, but it’s precisely because of this point that the person who lands the last blow must be a Half-Saint. In that way, the person who accepts the part of the Great World’s Will into themselves will have a great chance of growing into a new Demon Saint.”
Although it was easier for the Demon Saints to kill Bright Moon themselves, accepting the Great World’s Will would be of little use to them, far less so than compared to the birth of a thirteenth Demon Saint.
[So, this is the situation behind the so-called great opportunity.] Yang Kai was slightly stunned. [Based on what she told me, the odds are stacked against Bright Moon. Damn it! What can I do to help him!?]
“If anything, it would be best if you killed Bright Moon with your own hands.” Yu Ru Meng suddenly looked at him with a complicated expression.
“What do you mean?” He forced himself to compose his emotions, lest she saw through him.
She smiled, “Every Great World is distinct and unique in its properties. It is extremely difficult for a member of the Demon Race to accept the Star Boundary’s Will. For all we know, even if a Half-Saint manages to kill Bright Moon and snatch the Great World’s Will that belongs to him, they might explode and die from the backlash. But you are different. You are originally from the Star Boundary. Compared to the Demon Race, it would undoubtedly be easier for you to accept that Great World’s Will. It is also easier for you to obtain the Great World’s Will’s recognition.”
His eyes lit up upon hearing that, “I can try!” [If I can openly approach Bright Moon with a valid reason, I might get an opportunity to leave with him.]
“No!” Yu Ru Meng’s expression changed as she shouted, “You must not get such thoughts in your head!”
“Why?” He frowned.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ll be careful.”
She looked at him firmly, “Don’t force me to knock you unconscious! I will never allow you to take such a risk!”
Yang Kai felt exasperated but could only nod in response, “Good. Since you’ve said so, then I will only watch the fun from the side.”
After a pause, he gave a bitter laugh, “Having said that, there’s nothing fun to see here anyway.”
The battlefield was too far away. Although he could feel the world-shattering commotion coming from that direction, he couldn’t get a glimpse of anything with his current eyesight. It left him feeling extremely frustrated.
Yu Ru Meng pondered for a while and gently said, “It’s not like you can’t watch… But you have to obediently watch from here. Don’t think about doing anything else.”
“I know, I know.” He looked at her somewhat excitedly. Although he didn’t know what methods she was going to use, since she said as such, it could only mean that she had a way to let him see what was going on clearly.
Yu Ru Meng shook her head helplessly, and with a flip of her hand, she took out a mirror-like Demon Artifact. Her Demon Qi surged and the mirror suddenly rose up with the wind, becoming as big as a table in an instant, lying horizontally in front of him. When the pitch-black Demon Qi churned, the surface of the mirror rippled like a stone had been thrown into a calm lake. As the ripples spread, a scenery gradually appeared on the surface of the mirror. It was not clear but not blurry either. It was tolerable in terms of clarity.
Yang Kai looked at it probingly, then turned his head to look at his surroundings and wondered, “Does this mirror reflect everything you see?”
The scenery shown in the mirror at this moment was clearly reflecting the mountain valley where they were located currently. It wasn’t a static image either. Rather, it moved as her vision moved; thus, the scenery in the mirror was constantly changing.
Yu Ru Meng gently nodded, “That’s right.”
“Amazing.” He couldn’t help praising. The function of the Demon Mirror might not seem very useful, but it was exactly what he needed at this moment. It was impossible for Yu Ru Meng to stay with him constantly. When the time came, she would have to join the battle personally. At that time, the situation on the battlefield would become clear at a glance.
“Remember what you promised me.”
She did not go into battle right away; instead, she found a place to meditate cross-legged. She did not seem to be injured on the surface, but Yang Kai had the feeling that she was still wounded; otherwise, she would not be so quick to try to recuperate. It was not easy for a Demon Saint to heal once they were injured.
Since Yu Ru Meng didn’t join the fight, Yang Kai couldn’t see what was happening on the battlefield. He could only wait patiently regardless of how anxious he was. During this period, he brooded hard over something. He was trying to see if there was a way he could get Bright Moon out of trouble, but he couldn’t think of anything no matter how hard he racked his brain, not unless he could persuade Yu Ru Meng to help. Unfortunately, the chances were not great even if she did agree to help.
As time passed, the battle up ahead became more and more intense. It seemed as though other Demon Saints had rushed over. Bright Moon had already been outnumbered in the first place. Now that the number of enemies had increased, his situation became even less hopeful. Concurrently, the entire Eternal Sky Continent’s World Principles were becoming increasingly fragmented. Wave after wave of aftershocks coming from the attacks swept over, making all the Demons present extremely nervous. They were worried that the continent might be destroyed, and they would all be swallowed up into the Void as a result.
All of a sudden, Yu Ru Meng abruptly opened her eyes. She looked into the distance with a deep gaze. Then, she stood up.
Yang Kai turned to look at her before she swayed slightly and disappeared from that spot, leaving only a light fragrance blowing in his face. Upon seeing that, he hurried over to the front of the Demon Mirror, grasping the edges of it with both hands as he anxiously lowered his head to look. The scenery in the Demon Mirror was changing rapidly, making it obvious that Yu Ru Meng was moving swiftly.
Approximately thirty breaths later, dazzling bursts of light shone out from the Demon Mirror and were immediately followed by loud explosions booming out from within. Yang Kai was stunned. He never imagined that not only could the Demon Mirror transmit pictures but also sounds. It was a good thing for him. This would make it easier for him to understand the situation on the other side.
The image froze as Yu Ru Meng stopped in her tracks. When the dazzling bursts of light faded, seven or eight figures stood proudly in the sky. One person stood in the centre and the rest were scattered around him.
The person in the middle was covered in blood. His originally white clothes were dyed blood-red. Nobody knew whether the blood belonged to him or the enemy. He looked rather tired but was still as calm as the wind.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
Bright Moon’s situation as of this moment was extremely dire. Even though he had recovered with the help of the leaves of the Immortal Tree that Yang Kai had given him, it was clear that he was badly injured again after going through such an intense battle. He was no longer bound by the Blood Sea and the Spirit Array, but the Twelve Demon Saints were still gathered in Eternal Sky Continent. It was now as difficult as ascending to the Heavens for him to escape from this place.
The Demon Saints surrounding him were greatly varied, including both men and women. They represented the Demon Realm’s strongest combat forces. Whether stern and gloomy, smiling, or cold and distant, they all had different expressions.
Yang Kai did not know many of them. He had some small dealings with Bei Li Mo before, so they were not strangers, and he had seen Xue Li once from a distance. Xue Li originated from the Blood Demon Clan and was the one who presided over the Blood Sacrifice Technique. The abundant Blood Qi in his body was not something that other people could match up to; however, his current condition was not much better than Bright Moon’s. He was also covered in wounds. It would seem that he had suffered quite terribly at Bright Moon’s hands.
In addition to Xue Li, there was also a bloated, short, crimson Demon Saint that concerned Yang Kai greatly. [If I’m not mistaken, this guy… is probably a Red Demon. What!? Even a Red Demon can become a Demon Saint? Aren’t they the lowest caste of Demons in the Demon Realm? What other means do they have aside from their own self-destruction?]
Moreover, this Red Demon Saint was in the same state as Xue Li. He was heavily injured. In particular, there was a gentle glow coming from his chest area that continued to radiate soft white light. It was causing him a certain degree of interference and injury with every passing moment. This was clearly Bright Moon’s doing.
Bo Ya’s weak voice suddenly came from beside him, “That person is probably Senior Huo Bo of the Red Demon Clan.”
He turned to look behind him and saw that He Yin, Lao Ke, and the others had gathered around too. It was clear that they were very concerned about the situation on the battlefield. Be that as it may, they did not dare to get too close without his permission. Bo Ya was the only one who did not act like an outsider, standing next to him and watching along with him.
[So, that’s Huo Bo!] When Yang Kai went over to Bai Zhuo’s station previously, he had heard from him that Bright Moon was fighting against Xue Li and Huo Bo. He had made a mental note of their names at the time. From what he could see, all three who had fought since the beginning were not doing so well. On the other hand, the other Demon Saints who came later seemed to be unharmed. At the very least, that was how they looked on the surface. The rest of the Demon Saints had their Soul Wisps destroyed, so they were surely suffering from a certain degree of damage.
“Didn’t I tell you to go and get some rest?” Yang Kai frowned and glanced at the injury on Bo Ya’s shoulder.
Bo Ya shook her head, “It’s nothing serious. Not to mention, this is such a rare battle that only occurs once every few thousand years. I really don’t want to miss it.”
Nobody wanted to miss spectating this battle. Judging from the looks on the faces of Lao Ke, Ke Sen, and the others, it was obvious that they thought the same way. Thus, Yang Kai left them alone.
“I can’t believe even a Red Demon can become a Demon Saint. He is a Red Demon, right?” Yang Kai frowned, voicing his suspicions as a question.
Bo Ya chuckled, “The entire Demon Realm considers it a miracle. You aren’t the only one to find it hard to believe. Nobody in the Demon Realm can believe it either. Even now, no other Master has been born to the Red Demon Clan. Senior Huo Bo is certainly one of the Twelve Demon Saints. Nobody knows what opportunities he came across in his early years.”
The world was vast and full of surprises. There was always something unthinkable that nobody could ever have imagined.
Yang Kai’s eyes shifted. He pointed at another Demon Saint and asked, “What about him?”
He was only observing the situation on the other side through the mirror-like Demon Artifact. Even so, this Demon Saint stood out as the most conspicuous existence. It wasn’t his appearance, but rather the feeling he gave off that made him impossible to ignore. Yang Kai could tell at a glance that this person was not to be trifled with.
Likewise, Bo Ya’s expression was extremely solemn as she identified that person carefully and replied, “If I’m not wrong, that would be the First Demon Saint, Senior Huang Wu Ji.”
“The First Demon Saint?” Yang Kai was surprised, “There are rankings among the Twelve Demon Saints?”
It had been a long time since he came to Demon Realm, but he had never heard about that before. [I wonder how Yu Ru Meng ranks. And, what about Bei Li Mo?]
Bo Ya, however, laughed and shook her head at his question, “The other Demon Saints do not have ranks. Senior Huang Wu Ji is the only person publicly recognized as the First Demon Saint!”
“Is he the strongest?” Yang Kai asked in a grim voice.
“Not only that. He is also the oldest Demon Saint,” She nodded lightly.
He studied the image seriously and memorized that person’s appearance before asking, “Which Demon Clan does he come from?”
“The Strength Demon Clan!”
Yang Kai nodded slightly. The Strength Demon Clan from the Demon Race was naturally known for their incredible strength. Additionally, this person was the strongest and oldest Demon Saint. His strength had probably reached a realm that was difficult to even imagine. Was there anybody who could even fight against him in the Star Boundary?
Afterwards, Yang Kai got to know each of the Demon Saints through Bo Ya’s explanations. In truth, she had never met any of these Demon Saints either, but their racial characteristics were very distinct. Moreover, many of them were exceedingly well-known throughout the Demon Realm, so she only needed to match their appearances to their names.
Flame Demon Chi Yan, Feather Demon Fu Yu, Stone Demon Mo Kan, Shadow Demon Wu Hua, Corpse Demon Zu Liao, Bone Demon Ge Meng, Sand Demon, You Qiu… Adding Charm Demon Yu Ru Meng, Snow Demon Bei Li Mo, Red Demon Huo Bo, Blood Demon Xue Li, and Strength Demon Huang Wu Ji, these were the Twelve Demon Saints who stood at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm. All of them were gathered in this place. Furthermore, each of the twelve Clans represented by the Demon Saints, aside from the Red Demon Clan, were among the most powerful Clans in the Demon Realm.
Staring at the scene in the mirror, Yang Kai held his breath, feeling as if he was experiencing the calm before the storm.
Bright Moon stood alone on a battlefield located an unknown distance away, explicitly, or implicitly confronting the Twelve Demon Saints. His expression was calm and unruffled. On the other hand, many of the Demon Saints did not seem to have the intention to make the first move either. They had an absolute advantage in numbers and were confident that they could keep him in this place forever. Even so, one or two among them might end up severely injured if Bright Moon fought back desperately. A moment of carelessness, and he could drag any one of them down with him. Therefore, none of them were making the first move even though they held the upper hand on the battlefield. What’s more, their plan was not to kill Bright Moon, but rather to exhaust his strength as much as possible to create a greater chance for the Half-Saints behind them to kill him.
Silence blanketed the entire world. Even the sounds of breathing were practically undetectable. This stand-off lasted for several days and nights. The figures of the Great Emperor and the Demon Saints were so motionless that they looked like they were part of an eternal painting of the world, leaving Yang Kai feeling extremely anxious.
He might not be on the battlefield, but he knew that the longer they dragged things out, the slimmer Bright Moon’s chance of escaping became. Although the confrontation had lasted for several days, Bright Moon had not been able to rest at all during these few days. The Twelve Demon Saints’ auras were firmly locked on him, and if he so much as showed the slightest weakness, they would immediately rain down a storm of attacks on him. Thus, he needed to always maintain peak vigilance to overcome this calamity. Under these circumstances, his mental strength was being consumed at a rapid rate. How could he possibly even get a moment of respite?
Even as a bystander, Yang Kai understood such an apparent truth, so how could Bright Moon, who was stuck in the centre of the vortex, be unaware of it? In order to break the stalemate, he would need to take great risks to have a chance of surviving. If this stand-off were to continue, his situation would only get worse and worse.
All of a sudden, without warning, Bright Moon moved. He slowly raised a hand, straightening his palm in front of his chest to use a Secret Technique. His surface was instantly covered in a layer of gentle light. Many of the Demon Saints changed their expressions in unison the moment he made a move. The Demon Qi coming from each individual roared into the sky.
The reflection in the mirror-like Demon Artifact showed Xue Li’s figure flickering. He turned into a blood ray and rushed at Bright Moon, seemingly going for the kill. The blood ray instantly arrived in front of Bright Moon and abruptly transformed into a blood web that could corrode anything and engulfed Bright Moon from above.
Bright Moon’s other hand grabbed at something in the void. A longsword that seemed to be formed from condensed moonlight appeared in his hand. Without even bothering to look, he slashed out with the sword.
The blood web split into two, skimming past his body. Then, it gathered together again to form Xue Li’s figure. He opened his mouth and spat out a cloud of blood mist at Bright Moon. Bright Moon had no time to bother about anything else as a round moon suddenly appeared behind him, hanging above his head. The moonlight illuminated the place, and the blood mist quickly evaporated. At the same time, his sword slashed out like a Dragon. The Moonlight Longsword transformed into a rain of swords and created a shield in front of him.
Meanwhile, clusters of crimson balls had already flown to his front during that time. It was Huo Bo who had launched a sneak attack while Xue Li was keeping Bright Moon busy. Yang Kai could clearly see that the clusters of crimson balls had been shot out by Huo Bo from a distance at an unimaginably high speed.
The sword net collided with the crimson balls and loud explosions immediately rang out. The small balls burst open as though many Red Demons had self-destructed on the spot, wrapping Bright Moon’s figure in a dazzling light.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Three rays of light appeared at that moment, shot from a far distance. It was the supreme archery performed by Feather Demon Fu Yu. There was also an incomparably tall skeleton of withered bones that approached from below, his jaws opening and closing as he approached, letting out a chattering sound that was extremely disturbing.
A sandstorm blew violently while the Shadow Demon Saint had already concealed his figure. The Stone Demon’s body glowed with a rocky lustre as he rushed to the forefront, acting as a physical shield to block Bright Moon’s continuous attacks with his strong defensive ability.
A chilly wind howled as snowflakes danced. Each snowflake was like a sharp blade and formed together into a deadly whirlwind. On the other side, there was a blazing fire that illuminated the world as Flame Demon Saint Chi Yan incinerated his surroundings as though he wanted the entire world to burn to ashes.
A dreamy murmuring sounded as the scene on the Demon Artifact mirror changed so rapidly that it was shocking. The smallest flinch had set off a chain reaction. With a single move from Bright Moon, the Twelve Demon Saints attacked all at once and the silent battlefield instantly broke out into a ferocious melee.
The scenery on the mirror-like Demon Artifact was shaking fiercely as all kinds of light flooded the scene and bursts of deafening explosions blasted out one after another. Yang Kai no longer had a clear view of the situation there anymore and clasped the edges of the Demon Mirror tightly with both hands, his expression so solemn that it was dreadful.
Bo Ya turned to look at him curiously and ruminated over something for a moment before she spoke up comfortingly, “All Twelve Demon Saints are there. Nothing will happen to Holy Venerable. You don’t need to worry so much.”
Yang Kai naturally remained silent. He was not worried about Yu Ru Meng, he was worried about Bright Moon!
The Demon Saints had successfully injured Bright Moon heavily and trapped him in Eternal Sky Continent back then, so it was possible for them to do it again today. Compared to back then though, the Demon Saints had an even stronger line-up today. Bright Moon’s current situation was truly worrying.
The battle showed no signs of stopping once it began. Be it Bright Moon or the many Demon Saints, they were going to fight to the death here. When the scenery in the Demon Mirror occasionally paused for a moment, Yang Kai could see a blur of the situation there.
Without any surprise, Bright Moon was being besieged by attacks. He was being hard-pressed, and his situation became increasingly severe with each passing moment. Facing so many enemies alone, it was already astonishing for a single person to be able to hold out so well, but what were his odds of survival even if he fought back desperately?
Yang Kai didn’t know what Bright Moon had planned, but it was clear his chances of escaping were very slim now that things had progressed to this point. Yang Kai assessed his own strength over and over again, wondering what he could do to help if he rushed over, but what discouraged him was that he concluded he would not be able to get close to the battlefield even if he brought out all his trump cards.
His fingernails cut into his flesh, causing Golden Blood to dye the edges of the Demon Mirror. His expression was so savage that it looked like he was about to kill somebody.
Bo Ya and the others could sense his foul mood and feeling that silence was golden, none of them dared to disturb him.
Time passed slowly, and with the help of Yu Ru Meng’s occasional pause between attacks, Yang Kai could see a little bit of the situation on the battlefield through the Demon Mirror. Bright Moon was covered in blood and terribly injured, his complexion was as pale as a sheet, and even if Yang Kai wasn’t on the scene himself and could not experience the power of the Secret Techniques and the Divine Abilities Bright Moon displayed, he could tell that they were not as powerful as before.
On the contrary, the Demon Saints became more relaxed. The Innate Divine Abilities of the Twelve Demon Saints were different, and they mutually reinforced each other’s strengths while covering for their weaknesses. Two or three of the Demon Saints were gathered around Bright Moon at every moment to tie him down while the Demon Saints who were proficient in long-range attacks took distance to severely wound him. Blood repeatedly splashed across the sky.
The Shadow Demon Saint, Wu Hua, was also lurking around elusively. He would appear whenever Bright Moon showed an opening, leaving another wound on his target’s body.
The full moon hanging behind Bright Moon’s head had become cloudy and sallow. It could no longer shine with the brilliant light it had before.
The world shattered as enormous cracks in space split open. Nobody could tell how much time had passed, but suddenly, Bright Moon let out a soft chuckle on the chaotic battlefield and his voice spread over his surroundings, “Bright Moon is honoured that all Holy Venerables think so highly of me that you have all turned out in full force. I will have no regrets even if I die in this place, but… my life is not something you can take just because you want to!”
After saying so, a light suddenly flooded the world. It was so bright that even the surface of the Demon Mirror turned blazing white. Immediately after that, a sensational aura spread out from the distance.
Yang Kai raised his head abruptly and looked in that direction, his complexion deathly pale as he felt like he was going to faint.
[Has Bright Moon been forced to self-destruct out of desperation!?]
It would be impossible for a Great Emperor to choose such a decisive way to end his life unless he had no other choice. At this moment, Yang Kai only felt as though somebody was squeezing his heart. It was so suffocating that he could barely breathe.
Yang Kai never imagined that he would witness the fall of a Great Emperor with his own eyes one day. He did not know what the Great Emperor War had been like tens of thousands of years ago, but it must have been simply astonishing with Heaven Devouring Great Emperor dominating the battlefield. Although many Great Emperors had worked together to fight him, quite a few of them had still been killed in the end. Wu Kuang, who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, had terrifying recovery abilities and endurance, but even he had lost his life in the Shattered Star Sea, so what more need be said about Bright Moon?
Yang Kai should have expected this situation a long time ago. Even so, he found it hard to believe when he actually witnessed it. His figure swayed and he instinctively began to push his Space Principles to rush over. It no longer mattered what he could do to help, he was the only one who could save Bright Moon now. If he didn’t do anything, then there was nobody else in this world who could give Bright Moon a hand. As for the consequences… Yang Kai had no time to think about them. The main reason why he came to the Demon Realm was to save Bright Moon. Now that Bright Moon was in danger, he could not simply stand by and watch him die without doing anything.
Cries of exclamation came from many Demon Saints in the Demon Mirror. The scenery in the mirror was also retreating rapidly and it was obvious that Yu Ru Meng was fleeing from the battlefield after sensing something was wrong, so as not to be affected by Bright Moon’s self-destruction. A moment later though, her shout came through the Demon Mirror loud and clear, “Damn! We were fooled!”
Yang Kai froze in his tracks and the Space Principles around him instantly fell silent as he turned his head to look at the mirror. The incandescent light that originally filled the entire mirror had disappeared at some point. In Yu Ru Meng’s field of vision, Bright Moon had turned into a white streak. Just as the many Demon Saints pulled away and retreated, he took advantage of the opening to rush out of the encirclement and dash in a certain direction.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The sound of something slicing through the air echoed as the Feather Demon Demon Saint Fu Yu stood above the clouds and rapidly drew her bow. Several rays of light flew out like falling stars chasing after the moon. Those arrows ignored the barriers of space and appeared right behind Bright Moon the moment they left the bowstring.
Yang Kai had only just begun to feel relief when anxiety filled him again. Even though he had never experienced it before, he could still imagine the horror of the Feather Demon Saint’s archery skills. Bo Ya was only a Mid-Rank Demon King, but more than one High-Rank Demon King had died at her hands. The Feather Demon Clan specialized at sniping from a distance. Bright Moon might not be able to avoid such an attack in his best condition, so what about now?
Just when Yang Kai was feeling extremely nervous, Bright Moon’s figure urgently swooped downward, as though he had grown eyes on the back of his head. He narrowly avoided the series of sharp arrows, but before Yang Kai could rejoice, those arrows that were like streaming lights simultaneously turned around and chased after Bright Moon without pause.
Fu Yu’s arrows seemed to be guided by her Divine Sense to lock onto Bright Moon. Even if he escaped to the ends of the world, he couldn’t get them off his tail. He twisted and turned several times but still couldn’t shake off the streaming arrows chasing him. Taking advantage of his preoccupation, the Demon Saints he had deceived previously regained their senses and their figures shifted as they gathered around from all directions. It wouldn’t take any longer than three breaths for Bright Moon to be surrounded again. Then, he would lose his slight opening he spent so much effort creating. As such, he was extremely decisive. Flipping mid-air, Bright Moon weaved a set of hand seals and flashes of moonlight swiftly shot out behind him.
An explosion rang out and the flashes of moonlight vanished out of sight. The streaming arrows were shot down, one after another. Blood flowed from the corners of Bright Moon’s mouth due to the shock. The price might have been high, but he would still have a good chance of escaping as long as he managed to disrupt Fu Yu’s attack. The encirclement of the Demon Saints had yet to close and the Blood Demon Saint, who was the one nearest to him, was at least fifty kilometres away. He might be able to take this chance to escape as long as he could rush to the nearest Territory Gate…
It was at that moment that a black shadow suddenly appeared behind Bright Moon like a ghost, and a gleam of light slashed past him lightly…
Yang Kai’s eyes abruptly widened to the size of saucers. All the blood in his body turned as cold as ice in that instant! Time seemed to freeze. Reflected in the surface of the Demon Mirror, Bright Moon was still facing the various Demon Saints when, behind his back, a black shadow clung to his side. Nobody knew when that black shadow had appeared there, almost to the point where it seemed it had always been there.
The glow from the flashes of moonlight had yet to fade when fresh blood spurted out from Bright Moon’s waist…
The picture began moving again. Blood splattered everywhere and Bright Moon’s entire body shuddered as if he was struck by lightning. He didn’t even think about it as he struck behind him with a backhanded blow. That ghostly figure quickly retreated, avoiding the blow and stood at a distance of several thousand metres away from Bright Moon, glancing forward with an indifferent gaze. The figure was holding a pitch-black dagger in their hand, one that was dripping with red blood, making it very eye-catching.
Many Demon Saints stopped in their tracks, no longer having any intention to give chase. All of them were gazing at Bright Moon with complicated looks. They didn’t show any excitement at their success nor hostility towards their enemy. Even Xue Li and Huo Bo, who had been fighting Bright Moon before, were silent…
Bright Moon was nearly severed in two from that blow, and the Demon Saints no longer needed to take action. That was because Bright Moon would never escape from this place even if they didn’t do anything. That blow had not only cut him deeply, it also severed all his hopes of escape.
The next stage of their plan was prepared for the Half-Saints who wanted to compete for the opportunity. The many Demon Saints had long agreed that none of them could interfere unless forced to do so. Whoever received this opportunity would be up to the means of the Half-Saints serving under them.
“Wu Hua…” Standing in front of the mirror, Yang Kai clenched his fists, ground his teeth, and muttered coldly. However, he soon discovered that the person who had attacked Bright Moon was not Wu Hua. That was because the Shadow Demon Saint, Wu Hua, was clearly standing on the other side of Yu Ru Meng’s field of vision.
If it wasn’t Wu Hua, then who was it?
The person who attacked clearly belonged to the Shadow Demon Clan; moreover, a person who would dare to attack a Great Emperor at this time would definitely be a Demon Saint. Otherwise, the attack would not have succeeded.
Recalling the scene when this strange figure appeared, Yang Kai’s mind flashed back to the time when he was attacked outside Orthodoxy Temple. That scene was extremely similar to what had happened just now. In that tense moment, a name popped out.
Night Shadow Great Emperor, Can Ye!
[I can’t believe he’s here!] It seemed that Can Ye had been hiding in Eternal Sky Continent for a long time now, just waiting to land a fatal blow on Bright Moon at this critical moment. Yang Kai wasn’t expecting this, and it was clear that Bright Moon had not been expecting it either. It could also be said that he would have been powerless even if he had taken precautions against the attack.
Bright Moon couldn’t stop coughing up blood. The aura of a Great Emperor was fading quickly. A feeble light appeared at the location of the huge wound. It was barely able to stop the deterioration of the injury, but it was just part of his dying struggle. Can Ye’s blow had not just sliced open a wound that was visible to the naked eye. It had also sliced through the invisible foundation of the Great Emperor.
Bright Moon staggered, turned to face Can Ye, and wiped at the blood at the corners of his mouth with his hand. Although he was in a desperate situation, his expression remained unchanged in the face of death and his dry lips parted to ask, “Is the Demon Realm really that great?”
If not for Can Ye, the two worlds’ passage would not have been opened. If not for Can Ye, there would be no war between the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm. It could even be said that most of the responsibility for the current situation in the Star Boundary lay with Can Ye.
Can Ye didn’t answer. His body which was wrapped in a black shadow gradually faded and slowly vanished out of sight. Just as he came without a trace, he also left without one.
Bright Moon slowly shook his head. He then turned around to face the Twelve Demon Saints. His gaze flicked across the faces of each of the Demon Saints. In the end, his gaze landed on Huang Wu Ji as he spoke softly, “Many thanks for joining hands and facing me. I will die with no regrets. Although I will be dying here today, the light of the bright moon will not be extinguished.”
Huang Wu Ji stood with one hand behind him, lifting his other hand slightly to gesture politely at Bright Moon.
Bright Moon smiled slightly, stretched out his hand to grab at something in the void, and the Moonlight Longsword appeared in his hand again. He glanced sideways as an unknown number of Half-Saints had gathered in all directions, staring at him either openly or covertly. The eyes of every one of those Half-Saints were filled with obvious greed and covetousness.
Bright Moon staggered to turn around. The sword in his hand danced gracefully as many of the Half-Saints retreated in unison. Although his aura had weakened considerably and the aura of a Great Emperor was rapidly fading, he was still not an ordinary person and could not be underestimated. Who knew how many Half-Saints he could kill before he died?
Therefore, none of the Half-Saints that came from many different continents dared to act rashly, even though they couldn’t wait to rush in to kill Bright Moon. Clearly being first here was not wise.
The expressions on the faces of the Demon Saints were quite gloomy, but none of them spoke up to criticize the Half-Saints. They knew what these Half-Saints were scared of after all.
More than ten thousand kilometres away, the Space Principles around Yang Kai’s body fluctuated as he performed consecutive Instantaneous Movements without stopping. He was rushing towards the battlefield. The regret in his heart could not be any deeper. [If I had known earlier that this would have happened, I would have taken Bright Moon away from this place one year ago. Although Xue Li and the Twelve Pinnacles Grand Demon Array were there at the time, it would still have been better than the current situation where all Twelve Demon Saints have gathered.]
Unfortunately, he also understood that Bright Moon had been severely injured back then. Bright Moon could not have faced off against Xue Li in that condition, and he didn’t have the strength to take Bright Moon away either. Now that things had reached this point, he no longer understood why Heavens Revelations Great Emperor had wanted him to enter the Demon Realm to rescue Bright Moon. Bright Moon’s situation was doomed from the beginning. What was the use of sending him here? Could it be just so that he could witness the fall of a Great Emperor?
On the battlefield, the Twelve Demon Saints watched quietly as Bright Moon swung the sword in his hands. He walked across the sky, blood spilling along the way. His aura was disappearing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye, but even so, the Half-Saints blocking his way backed away constantly with every step he took forward.
A gloomy atmosphere pressed down on the hearts of every single Half-Saint present. It felt as though they were standing in the eye of the storm with the howling winds rampaging around them. The concealed murderous intent coming from Bright Moon made chills run down their backs.
All of a sudden, a certain Half-Saint could no longer withstand this tormenting pressure. He gave a loud roar and lunged towards Bright Moon, striking out with his fist. Wherever the fist passed, space collapsed.
However, Bright Moon didn’t even bother looking up and just casually slashed out with his sword. An explosion sounded and that Half-Saint and Bright Moon locked in an impasse for a fleeting moment. Then, the Half-Saint was cleaved into two. Blood spurted out like rain and his body turned into a cloud of mist.
At the same time, Bright Moon coughed up a mouthful of blood and his body trembled slightly. Under normal circumstances, it would have been absolutely terrifying to hear that a Half-Saint had been killed in a single move. It was also enough to deter anybody from daring to act rashly, but surprisingly, it didn’t horrify the Half-Saints today and instead many of them revealed pleasantly surprised expressions.
It was just that… even though the Half-Saint had been killed, he had also worsened Bright Moon’s injuries. This was something that was basically impossible under normal circumstances. A Great Emperor was that powerful after all. He could kill a Half-Saint on the spot with a mere wave of his hand; and yet, Bright Moon was currently coughing up blood non-stop. In other words, the Half-Saints present here were more than qualified to threaten the life of this Great Emperor of the Star Boundary!
That was enough! One or two Half-Saints might not be a match for him, but what about ten? Or twenty? There were more Half-Saints than that here. He would die even if all they used were their numbers to kill him by piling themselves on top of him. Before coming here, all the Half-Saints had mentally prepared themselves to put their lives on the line, so how could they shrink back at this time just because one of them had fallen?
Nevertheless, the fall of that leading Half-Saint was not without effect. At the very least, the remaining Half-Saints were afraid to act rashly. Everybody could see that Bright Moon was no longer at his peak, but he was still more than capable of killing off a few Half-Saints with ease. Nobody wanted to sacrifice themselves for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just to help somebody else.
For that reason, everybody else simply surrounded Bright Moon tightly after the fall of that Half-Saint. They followed his movements and constantly kept their distance, but nobody dared to take action.
Meanwhile, messages were sent out. All the Demon Race armies stationed at various locations in Eternal Sky Continent suited up, marched in unison, and rushed towards the place where Bright Moon was located.
The Half-Saints did not want to die in vain; hence, they could only pin their hopes on the Demon Race armies under their command, hoping to exhaust Bright Moon’s strength further. There would definitely come a time when the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary would be completely spent. That would be when the Half-Saints would fight for the opportunity.
A short while later, one of the Half-Saints did not hesitate to give the Demon Kings in his army the order to attack the moment the first group arrived at the battlefield. The Demon Kings were full of reluctance, but they did not dare to disobey the order; thus, they could only grit their teeth and charge. Their roars resounded across the sky as armies of millions floated into the air and swept out like a dense swarm of locusts.
Bright Moon sighed. The Moonlight Sword in his hand shone dazzlingly. Several sword waves sped through the air and smashed millions to pieces…
The second army arrived, followed by the third… Countless Demon Race armies were arriving in a steady stream. The world was dyed crimson with blood. The Moonlight Sword flashed a few more times, and thousands of the Demons fell from the sky at every moment. It looked like the battlefield was raining from a distance. Even though the Demon Race suffered countless deaths and injuries, what caught everyone’s attention was the tragic yet majestic fate of the Great Emperor.
“A Great Emperor from the Star Boundary sure is amazing.” Bei Li Mo suddenly came to Yu Ru Meng’s side and sighed lightly.
Yu Ru Meng wrinkled her eyebrows, secretly feeling wary of Bei Li Mo. The two of them had always been at odds with each other. She didn’t know what kind of intentions Bei Li Mo held in her heart for her to run over here so suddenly, so how could she not be vigilant? Thus, she snorted softly and said, “I don’t think you will be any worse than him if you were driven to such a desperate situation.”
Bei Li Mo glanced at Yu Ru Meng and chuckled, “Little Sister, are you trying to jinx me? How could I fall into such a piteous situation?”
Yu Ru Meng said coldly, “That’s hard to say. Who knows what might happen to you one day?”
Bei Li Mo’s expression darkened as she angrily snapped, “It’s true that nothing good comes out of the mouth of a dog. I thought I’d give you a warning, but… it looks like I shouldn’t have bothered.”
Yu Ru Meng frowned, “Warn me about what?”
Bei Li Mo sneered and didn’t bother to reply to that.
Yu Ru Meng stared at Bei Li Mo suspiciously for a long while, but seeing she had no intention of responding, she impatiently snapped, “Speak if you have something to say! Stop trying to act mysterious!”
Bei Li Mo pondered in silence for a moment before sighing, “Haah… Forget it. Why do I always have to be so kind-hearted?”
Those words nearly made Yu Ru Meng burst out into laughter. If Bei Li Mo was considered kind-hearted, then there could be no treacherous people in this world anymore!
Nevertheless, she could sense that Bei Li Mo truly had something to say to her; it was not a good time to be at each other’s throats.
“Where is that little boy toy of yours? Is he safe?” Bei Li Mo winked at Yu Ru Meng.
Yu Ru Meng’s expression changed drastically as she quickly turned her head to look in Yang Kai’s direction. In the next moment, a powerful Divine Sense spread out. Ten breaths later, she gritted her teeth and shouted, “Yue Sang, you court death!”
While speaking, her tender body moved to rush in that direction, but to her surprise, a figure suddenly stood in front of her and blocked her way. That person had a slender body, a head of crimson hair flying in the wind, and blood-red eyes that exuded a wicked light. Although his complexion was pale, there was a smile hanging from the corners of his lips.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, “What is the meaning of this, Xue Li!?”
Xue Li smiled faintly and answered her question with another question, “Where are you going?”
“What do my whereabouts have to do with you? Get out of the way!” She screamed.
He slowly shook his head, “The matter with Bright Moon isn’t over yet. You can’t leave, not until he is dead.
Yu Ru Meng roared furiously, “Bright Moon is already an arrow at the end of its flight! Why do you need to be so cautious!? Besides, it’s not like I’m leaving Eternal Sky Continent. I’ll be back soon.”
He shook his head, “These are Big Brother Huang’s orders. If you want to leave, you can go and ask Big Brother Huang for his permission.”
Yu Ru Meng couldn’t help turning and glancing at Huang Wu Ji, who was standing some distance away. When she saw his indifferent expression, she suddenly felt uneasiness blooming in her heart.
Huang Wu Ji was the First Demon Saint. He must have seen and heard what was going on here; however, he was not saying anything about the situation. It was clear that he tacitly agreed with Xue Li’s actions. [What is the significance of all this? Does making things hard for me benefit them somehow?]
Yu Ru Meng’s pretty face instantaneously became gloomy before she sternly asked, “Has Yue Sang defected to you?”
Otherwise, how could Yue Sang return from the Two Worlds’ Battlefield without saying a single word to her? How could he dare to attack Yang Kai earlier? What’s more, he was currently lying in ambush on the path Yang Kai was taking here… Yue Sang must have found someone to back him, which was why he was acting so fearlessly.
Xue Li grinned, “Don’t make it sound so heinous. It’s not defecting per se. Yue Sang is just returning to his roots. Don’t forget; Yue Sang is a member of the Blood Demon Clan!”
“What are your real intentions here?” Her expression was so dismal that it was practically dripping with gloom.
Bei Li Mo laughed softly by the side as she said, “It’s not like we’re trying to do anything. It’s just that brat can repair and maintain the Territory Gates, which is very useful to the Demon Realm. It’s such a pity that he seemed to be getting a little too close to Hundred Spirits Continent recently. We need to teach him his place. He might be from the Star Boundary, but he still needs to know who is in charge in the Demon Realm.”
Upon hearing those words, Yu Ru Meng’s heart sank. It would seem that Zhui Feng’s appearance had made the Twelve Demon Saints extremely concerned. When they had Bright Moon as an enemy before, they had no time to care about anything else; however, Bright Moon was already an arrow at the end of its flight. Now that they were about to make their move, they were quick to turn on a friend and showed no mercy in doing so. Biting her red lips, she coldly said, “If anything happens to him, you will definitely pay the price!”
“Oh, my…” Bei Li Mo patted her full bosom exaggeratedly, smiling brightly as she cheerfully said, “Little Sister, your angry expression is so frightening.”
Xue Li smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, he won’t die. I have talked to Yue Sang. He can only maim but not kill; after all, there are still many Territory Gates in the Demon Realm that need his attention. It will be a huge loss for us if he dies.”
With Xue Li and Bei Li Mo blocking the way, Yu Ru Meng knew that it was impossible for her to leave this place. Yang Kai would not be in mortal danger even if he fell into Yue Sang’s hands. Nevertheless, he would ultimately suffer severe torture. Yue Sang hated him deeply after all. It could even be said that he would most likely be placed under house arrest in the future. She herself would also be forced into a disadvantageous position.
She secretly cursed him in her heart. [Smelly man! How dare he cause trouble for me!? I told him to stay there and not make any reckless moves! Why is he even rushing over here!? Is the opportunity from a Great Emperor that easy to obtain!? Isn’t it great now? He won’t even get to see the shadow of the opportunity before falling into somebody else’s trap!]
…..
In the boundless Blood Sea, Yang Kai’s complexion became extremely gloomy. He glanced around his surroundings as the entire world was filled with a blood-red colour. The blood waters below churned like the foaming sea. The blood clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring his vision from extending further.
He was anxious to rush over to the Moon Great Emperor’s side, but to his surprise, he had plunged into this Blood Sea halfway there and could no longer distinguish north, south, east, or west.
With such an obvious method, Yang Kai instantly understood who he was dealing with. He swept a cold gaze over his surroundings and shouted, “Get out here, Yue Sang!”
Since Yue Sang had been chased away by Bai Zhuo’s arrival previously, Yang Kai was surprised to see he had not given up. What’s more, he attacked him while the other Half-Saints were fighting over the grand opportunity. Compared to the resentment and hatred between them, Yang Kai felt that the opportunity to become a Demon Saint was far more attractive; thus, he simply could not understand what Yue Sang was thinking.
There were blood clouds in the sky and the Blood Sea below them while the air in between was filled with Blood Qi. The Blood Qi was thick with evil intent. When Yang Kai plunged into this place, he accidentally breathed in some of it and instantly felt dizzy as a result, nearly tumbling into the Blood Sea. Fortunately, he promptly sealed all the pores on his body and held his breath. Only then did he feel slightly better.
He had already tried using his Instantaneous Movement Technique, but unfortunately, this strange place seemed to be an isolated world of its own, making it impossible to leave easily unless he broke the barrier first.
There was no movement in the surroundings. It was so quiet that it felt as though he was the only person in the blood-coloured world. Be that as it may, he knew that Yue Sang was definitely observing him from somewhere in secret.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sneered, “Does a Half-Saint like you need to play hide-and-seek like this? Aren’t you afraid you’ll become a laughing stock if people learnt how cowardly you’re acting?”
As soon as those words came out, Yue Sang finally reacted. An erratic voice rang out from all directions, “I couldn’t do anything to you before because you had help from external forces, but let’s see what you can do to stop me now that you are all alone!”
Yang Kai snorted lightly, “In that case, why don’t you show yourself? Why are you wasting so much time?”
Bubbles emerged in the Blood Sea as Yue Sang’s figure gradually emerged from within. He had a smirk at the corners of his lips and was just about to speak when Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared out of sight.
When Yang Kai reappeared again, he was already right in front of Yue Sang.
Even though Yue Sang’s strength far surpassed Yang Kai’s, he still couldn’t help being shocked for a moment. He jerked his head up and when their gazes met, a golden light shone out of Yang Kai’s left eye, one that was both extremely domineering and mesmerizing.
While using the Demon Eye of Annihilation, Yang Kai executed the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique. A pure white lotus bud appeared in a flash and sank into Yue Sang’s mind.
Yue Sang’s vision was instantly filled with the pure white flower and his Spiritual Energy was forcibly sucked into the bud, out of his control. The petals subsequently began to unfurl, layer by layer. Immediately following behind the flowers, a sword light slashed out with horrifying killing intent!
Demon Eye of Annihilation, Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, Heaven Severing Slash, and Instantaneous Movement. Yang Kai brought out four of his best methods in that instant, all to take his opponent by surprise. He had no other choice. The other party was a Half-Saint so he basically had no other card to play except taking a pre-emptive strike. Unfortunately, he had the feeling that using all these moves together was still not enough to do anything to his opponent.
With a cry of surprise, Yue Sang lifted his hand and struck out, his palm landing squarely on Yang Kai’s chest. A fleeting look of pain appeared on Yang Kai’s face as the sound of bones breaking rang out. Then, his entire person flew backwards like an arrow released from its string. While flying in mid-air, he forced himself to take a deep breath and summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell to cover Yue Sang.
With a great splash, Yang Kai fell into the Blood Sea. The clothes on his body were quickly melted away, and even his intrepid physique could not resist the terrifying corrosive force. By the time he came back out of the Blood Sea, his entire body was covered in wounds. There was not a single spot on Yang Kai’s body that was not injured. Fortunately, the healing ability of someone with the blood of the Dragon Clan was so powerful that this level of injury could not be considered serious.
On the other hand, Yue Sang had been caught off guard and lost the initiative. He was currently trapped in the Mountains and Rivers Bell as an overwhelming suppressive aura permeated the air. Violent banging sounds came from inside the bell and it was clear that he was trying to break free of these restraints. At the same time, his voice roared out from within, “Yang Kai, I will rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces!”
His voice not only sounded absolutely livid, but also loud and energetic.
Yang Kai was secretly speechless. Even a High-Rank Demon King would be severely injured after receiving his four move combination, but they only had such minor effects on a Half-Saint. The gap in their strength truly was not something that could be compensated with mere tricks.
“That’s only if you can get out of there.” Yang Kai snorted coldly. Enduring the feeling as though his head was going to split apart, Yang Kai formed a set of hand seals, causing the engravings on the Mountains and Rivers Bell to flicker, increasing the world-suppressing aura to new heights.
Maintaining the activation of the Mountains and Rivers Bell was very exhausting, but Yue Sang would escape very quickly if Yang Kai did not do so. Yang Kai would be no match for Yue Sang the moment he freed himself from his predicament.
Neither Zhui Feng nor the Embodiment were nearby. Yang Kai was all alone in this place. However, he was certain that both Zhui Feng and the Embodiment were catching up. They had hurriedly rushed after him when he sped off just now, but their speed was not as fast as his. Perhaps they had already discovered this Blood Sea and were trying to find a way to destroy it. They were both Half-Saints, so their strength was comparable to Yue Sang’s. The Blood Sea would not be able to stop them though, so Yang Kai only needed to hold on for a short while before the opportunity to join up with them would come.
Even so, Yang Kai could not pin all his hopes on them. Who knew what strange tricks were hidden in this Blood Sea? It might have some sort of power to delay them that he didn’t know about. Therefore, he spread out his Divine Sense and explored the Blood Sea in his surroundings for a weak spot while maintaining the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell at the same time.
Regardless of how he searched though, Yang Kai could not find any useful clues. The Blood Sea seemed to be a gigantic Spirit Array and he had no way of destroying it unless he could locate its Array Core.
On the contrary, his Divine Sense seemed to have activated some sort of restriction. The Blood Sea in his surroundings churned tumultuously, constantly forming huge bubbles that burst and made the surrounding Blood Qi even denser.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to do anything to you just because you trapped me inside here!?” Yue Sang’s shouts came from within the Mountains and Rivers Bell, his voice a mixture of endless ridicule and mockery. Yang Kai did not know when he stopped banging against the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but he probably realized that this Ancient Exotic Artifact was very difficult to deal with so instead he simply called out, “Let me show you the power of my Blood Light Array!”
His words were accompanied by a loud splashing sound. A figure covered in blood suddenly sprang out of the Blood Sea. The figure lunged at Yang Kai at an extremely fast speed as soon as he appeared, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai looked in that direction and couldn’t help feeling shocked. That figure was completely devoid of vitality. Yang Kai did not know how long this person had been dead for, but their figure was tall, broad, and had crimson red eyes. When that person’s fist came slamming down, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out. The attack caught Yang Kai off guard and he could only meet it directly.
*Hong…*
When both their fists collided with each other, Yang Kai’s eyes widened. He could feel the tremendous power rushing towards him as his body was inadvertently pushed back by a dozen metres. On the other hand, the figure was also blown away by his punch. The other party might be powerful, but it seemed Yang Kai’s strength was still greater.
*Hualala…*
A series of splashing sounds came out as dozens of figures suddenly emerged from the surrounding Blood Sea. Similar to the figure from earlier, they were devoid of vitality and had crimson red eyes. It was just that they came in different shapes and sizes. When these figures appeared, they attacked Yang Kai without saying a word. Several of them circled to the sides while each of them had powerful blood light coming from their forms. One of them was entirely covered in blood-red flames, similar to a Flame Demon’s Innate Divine Ability.
Several other figures pulled away, each stretching out their hands to hold a strong bow. When they drew the bow and nocked the arrow, countless rays of blood light burst through the air to attack Yang Kai’s vitals like blood serpents.
Yang Kai was taken aback. He never expected that there would be an ambush lying in wait for him in this Blood Sea. Moreover, these people had clearly been dead for a long time now. He couldn’t believe how they still managed to display the abilities they had during their life.
Not daring to underestimate them, Yang Kai lifted his hand, summoned the Wind Gourd, and opened its mouth. His Emperor Qi surged violently, and the Wind Gourd slashed out waves of shocking gales. A fan-shaped area in front of him centred on the place where he stood instantly became a land of death.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A muffled sound rang out as sharp blades of wind slashed everywhere, slicing up the numerous bloody figures into pieces. Even the blood arrows shot toward Yang Kai were completely blocked by the gale.
Before Yang Kai could rejoice, a chill suddenly came from behind him. At that critical moment, he activated Nihility and exiled himself into the void. He sprinted forward simultaneously, speeding thousands of metres away. When he looked behind again, he saw that a ghostly figure had suddenly appeared where he had originally been standing. That person was holding a dagger in his hand and slashing at the spot he used to be.
Shadow Demon!
Thinking back on the figures that were similar to Flame Demons and Feather Demons, Yang Kai suddenly understood. These people had been refined by Yue Sang. That was why even if they had died, they could still use the abilities they had when they were still alive.
Yue Sang’s voice came from the Mountains and Rivers Bell, “I have eight thousand Blood Corpses in this Blood Light Array. How many can you kill? Surrender obediently, and I’ll let you live!”
Yang Kai sneered, “If your Blood Corpses are only this strong, they won’t be able to do anything to me no matter how many there are!”
These so-called Blood Corpses might be extremely powerful, but they were only comparable to Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Demon Kings. As long as Yang Kai had enough Emperor Qi, he was not afraid of them with the Wind Gourd in his possession. The only thing he had to guard against were the sneak attacks from the Shadow Demon Blood Corpses. He didn’t know if it was because of Night Shadow Great Emperor, but there was nothing he hated more than the Shadow Demon Clan in the entire Demon Realm at this moment.
“How impenetrably thick-headed! Are you expecting someone to save you!?” Yue Sang sneered, “That beast and that strange Divine Spirit have indeed arrived and are right outside. But, what can they do even if I let them in?”
While Yue Sang was speaking, the Embodiment and Zhui Feng were blasting at the Blood Sea with various methods. Unfortunately, all they managed to do was cause the blood water to swirl violently and evaporate uncontrollably.
When Yang Kai had set off in such a hurry, they had rushed to keep up with him. Nevertheless, how could they possibly keep up with his Instantaneous Movement? Thus, they could only watch as he plunged straight into the Blood Sea. They might not know what secrets were contained within this Blood Sea, but they did know they had been blocked by the swirling sea when they tried to enter.
At this moment, the Blood Sea parted to the sides on its own after the duo let out another barrage of attacks, revealing a spacious passage that led straight into an unknown world. Zhui Feng and the Embodiment looked at each other and nodded. Both of them were extremely courageous, so they plunged into the Blood Sea without hesitation.
The sea that split apart on both sides closed again, swallowing them up in the blink of an eye. Unexpectedly, they lost each other the moment they stepped into the Blood Sea. Zhui Feng searched around but did not see Yang Kai and Embodiment. Thus, he couldn’t help neighing non-stop and sprinting away into the distance. Unfortunately, the Blood Sea seemed limitless and he could not see where it ended no matter where he sprinted, much less find Yang Kai and the Embodiment.
The Embodiment’s current situation was similar to that of Zhui Feng. Unlike Zhui Feng though, he quickly realized that the Blood Sea Spirit Array had some effect of creating an endless loop. There was no other way to swiftly break free of this place; hence, he quickly stopped in his tracks and did not bother with such useless efforts. With a flip of his wrist, the Embodiment took out a bead. Drawing on his power, the bead flashed with light and he disappeared from the spot.
In the centre of the Blood Sea, Yue Sang, who was still being trapped by the Mountains and Rivers Bell, was still mocking loudly, “I have let your two helpers into the Spirit Array. Nevertheless, they are simply walking straight into a trap. Unless they have my permission, they will never be able to find…”
At this point, he stopped abruptly. Immediately after that, he called out in alarm, “How is that possible?!”
There was an obvious incredulity in his voice and Yang Kai could almost imagine the shocked expression on Yue Sang’s face. That was because the Embodiment had appeared next to Yang Kai without warning, stretched out his hand to grab at a lunging Blood Corpse, squeezed it hard, and caused the Blood Corpse to explode.
Yang Kai shouted at that moment, “Time to die, Yue Sang!”
The Blood Light Array was truly amazing. Leaving aside the so-called eight thousand Blood Corpses lying in ambush that were prepared to jump out to attack at any time, it actually had the ability to seal off space, which greatly restricted the use of his Space Techniques. Yang Kai had no way to get out of this place via Instantaneous Movement without first destroying the Spirit Array, but all his Space Techniques worked just fine inside the Spirit Array. The same went for the Space Beacon.
The Embodiment was one of Yang Kai’s most powerful helpers, so how could he not possess a Space Beacon refined by Yang Kai?
Letting the Embodiment into the Blood Light Array was definitely Yue Sang’s biggest mistake. He probably never expected that the Embodiment could come directly to Yang Kai while ignoring the mysterious workings of the Spirit Array.
[That was already within the scope of the Space Techniques. Wasn’t that Human the only one proficient in the Dao of Space? Why was this weird Divine Spirit also proficient in it? How can it be so extremely versatile!?] Yue Sang was completely baffled and the shock in his heart caused the Blood Sea to churn in response.
Countless Blood Corpses were still coming out of the Blood Sea in all directions, lunging at Yang Kai as soon as they appeared; however, the strongest among these Blood Corpses was only as strong as High-Rank Demon Kings. Moreover, there were very few of them. The rest were Mid-Rank Demon Kings and Low-Rank Demon Kings. The real strength of these Blood Corpses lay in their numbers. Anybody who was trapped in the Blood Light Array would become flustered if they were besieged by so many Blood Corpses.
Be that as it may, the Embodiment was now as strong as any Half-Saint, so these Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Demon King Blood Corpses were nothing to him. He kicked and punched for a little while, and Blood Corpse after Blood Corpse burst into blood mist.
The surrounding area was cleared up in the blink of an eye.
The Blood Corpses did not reappear as Yue Sang was probably aware that something wasn’t quite right with the situation and stopped making unnecessary sacrifices. He might have claimed that he had thousands of Blood Corpses in his Blood Light Array, but judging by the speed the Embodiment was killing them, there was seemingly nothing they could do even if all of them charged together.
On the contrary, there was a violent sound coming from the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Yang Kai had been careless and nearly allowed Yue Sang to escape. It frightened him so much that he hurriedly pushed the power of the Ancient Exotic Artifact to further suppress Yue Sang.
The Embodiment exchanged a glance with him and immediately understood his current predicament, giving him a slight nod. There was no need for them to communicate as both understood what the other was planning.
In the next moment, the Embodiment reached out his hand and grabbed at something in the void. The Demonic War Hammer appeared in the palm of his hand, and with a slight shift of his body, he rushed towards the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai changed the hand seals he was using and opened a gap in the world-suppressing pressure. Yue Sang, who was trapped in the Mountains and Rivers Bell, keenly felt this change and immediately turned into a ray of blood light in an attempt to break free.
What he did not expect was that he would be greeted by the Embodiment’s head-on blow. The Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering aura that pressed down on Yue Sang startled him, and like a frightened rabbit, he quickly shrank back again.
Taking this opportunity, the Embodiment plunged into Mountains and Rivers Bell from below and Yang Kai sealed the gap once again. There soon came fierce and appalling sounds of fighting from within the Mountains and Rivers Bell. It was evident that the Embodiment and Yue Sang were battling each other inside. In support, Yang Kai pushed his strength hard to maintain the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, a pained expression showing on his face.
The power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell was beyond question; after all, it was an Ancient Exotic Artifact that used to belong to a Great Emperor. It was an existence that could even suppress the Phoenix True Fire for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately, that was only provided Yang Kai could exert all of its power.
Yang Kai had obtained the Mountains and Rivers Bell many years ago, but because of his limited cultivation, he could not bring out its full power. It had been a surprise that he managed to suppress Yue Sang within it. If the Embodiment had not arrived in time, it would not have taken long before Yue Sang broke free of the restraints.
At present, the two Half-Saints were fighting each other with the Mountains and Rivers Bell as the battlefield. The aftermath of the fierce battle spread out and it was no less intense than the commotion made by Yue Sang before. Even if Yang Kai tried his best, he didn’t know how long he could maintain this situation.
The moment he failed to hold on, Yue Sang would instantly escape from the trap. That would allow Yue Sang to regain the initiative and take control of the situation with the help of this Blood Light Array. Yang Kai seriously doubted that he and the Embodiment could fight against Yue Sang inside this strange Spirit Array while also having to deal with thousands of Blood Corpses. A veteran Half-Saint could not be that easy to deal with after all.
The only hope he had was that the Embodiment could kill or severely injure Yue Sang in short order! That was the only way they would have any hope of victory. What made Yang Kai more anxious though was Bright Moon’s current situation. When he had been rushing over from the mountain valley, Bright Moon had already suffered a grievous wound and was surrounded by countless Half-Saints. Yang Kai didn’t know what situation Bright Moon was in now, which made him hate Yue Sang even more. If Yue Sang had not ambushed him along the way, he would not have been delayed.
Nevertheless, he could not ignore Yue Sang in this situation. He would not be able to escape from the Blood Light Array if he didn’t kill or severely injure Yue Sang first, much less go to Bright Moon’s rescue.
Incessant explosions could be heard coming from within the Mountains and Rivers Bell as the Emperor Qi in Yang Kai’s body flared strongly. His mind was closely connected to the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Following the emergence of those sounds, the patterns on the Mountains and Rivers Bell continued to flicker without stopping. The body of the bell would also become bigger and smaller from time to time, reflecting the fierce battle occurring inside.
In the beginning, a few Blood Corpses would occasionally jump out of the surrounding Blood Sea to obstruct Yang Kai; however, he had taken the time to kill them, and the Blood Corpses in the Blood Sea did not reappear again as time passed. It wasn’t that all the Blood Corpses weren’t there, it was just that Yue Sang could not afford to split his attention to control them!
Yue Sang might be a veteran Half-Saint with extraordinary power, but the Mountains and Rivers Bell that limited the scope of the battlefield was highly advantageous to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that the Embodiment was using. How could Yue Sang stop the Embodiment when the latter had a Saint Artifact in hand? Just resisting the Embodiment’s horrendous attacks exhausted all of Yue Sang’s mental capacity, so where would he find the spare energy to control Blood Corpses to attack Yang Kai?
While the fight was in full swing on this side, the main battlefield was also flowing with rivers of blood. Platoon after platoon of millions of Demons flooded in from all directions under the Half-Saints’ command. They threw themselves at Bright Moon, one after the other, and the Moonlight Sword continued to bloom with light in response. Troop after troop of the army was beaten half to death and the Demon Race suffered countless casualties as a result.
The scene looked like a group of ants trying to besiege an elephant. It was truly amusing. Unfortunately, the world was full of unspeakable tragedies. It was often said that even an army of ants could kill an elephant, but of course, that was under the premise that the elephant could not move to escape.
Even if Bright Moon was heavily injured, he was not somebody an ordinary member of the Demon Race could challenge. The Half-Saints did not expect the ordinary Demons to cause any new injuries to Bright Moon and simply planned on using these subordinates to tire Bright Moon out. Every time Bright Moon launched an attack, he would weaken a little more. The moment he reached a certain limit would be the moment the Half-Saints made their move.
Among the Twelve Demon Saints, eleven pairs of eyes were staring at Bright Moon. Only Yu Ru Meng looked into the distance with a frosty expression. Her Divine Sense was very powerful, so she could perceive some of the situation over there. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing what the situation was within the Blood Sea. All she knew was that Yang Kai had plunged into the Blood Sea and fallen into Yue Sang’s trap.
It wasn’t until the Embodiment and Zhui Feng entered the Blood Sea together that her worries slightly lessened. Others might not know much about Yang Kai, but she was different. How could she not understand him after all the years she had spent beside him in Star Boundary?
[Yue Sang is in trouble!] Yu Ru Meng coldly snorted in her heart. [They will suffer for thinking themselves clever.]
Her subordinate’s betrayal was undoubtedly a blow to her reputation; however, her shaky reputation would stabilize again as long as Yang Kai could finish the matter for her.
…
“It’s over,” Nobody knew how much time had passed when Bei Li Mo’s voice suddenly rang in Yu Ru Meng’s ears. Her voice could not be said to sound excited; in fact, it sounded rather desolate instead, “The fall of a Great Emperor is truly spectacular.”
Yu Ru Meng was startled and when she turned to look in that direction, she saw that Bright Moon was standing alone in the sky. His figure looked bleak and the sky all around him was clear while the ground below him was covered in mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. Countless Demons had died there.
The Moonlight Sword he held in his hand all this while was dim and lacklustre. It was as though it could be extinguished at any moment. His aura as a Great Emperor had long vanished and instead, he was as weak as an old man who was on his deathbed. Even his originally black hair had turned grey at this moment. The appearance of a handsome youth that he used to have no longer existed.
It was indeed over. The Demon Realm had paid a price of hundreds of millions of lives in this place to forcefully exhaust a Great Emperor to such an extent. It was time for the Half-Saints to take their places on the stage. It was time for them to compete between each other.
“I wonder who will come out on top!” Xue Li laughed.
The Half-Saints scattered in the surroundings, who had been watching Bright Moon’s condition nervously, gathered around again. Each of them was so incredibly excited that they surrounded the spot where Bright Moon stood tightly.
Many pairs of eyes turned to look at Huang Wu Ji, to which the tall First Demon Saint gave a slight nod with a solemn expression.
In the next instant, hundreds of Half-Saints moved like a pack of hungry wolves to rush at Bright Moon. In the centre of the storm, Bright Moon’s expression was indifferent. He remained calm in the face of death. There was only an indescribable exhaustion on his face, and his eyes closed slightly. The Moonlight Sword in his hands trembled slightly, before its light was extinguished.
…
Inside the Blood Light Array, Yang Kai was trembling. His complexion was as pale as a sheet, and Golden Blood steadily flowed from his seven orifices. He had overexerted himself when using the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell. These actions had affected the injuries that he suffered previously, although they could not be considered serious. Nevertheless, it had worsened his current state.
There was no way around this. Two Half-Saints, the Embodiment and Yue Sang, were having a deathmatch inside the Mountains and Rivers Bell. The fallout of the attacks shook the Mountains and Rivers Bell endlessly, to the point that even he, as the Master of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, was affected by the impact. Thus, Yang Kai could only grit his teeth and hold on with determination. All his previous efforts would be in vain if Yue Sang were to break free from the trap.
The feedback Yang Kai received from the Embodiment allowed him to understand the situation inside the Mountains and Rivers Bell in an instant. Fortunately, Yue Sang was also facing unspeakable misery that was comparable to Yang Kai’s overwhelming burden. The narrow space forced him to face the Embodiment’s fierce attacks while the manifestation of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law caused his aura to decrease steadily. On the other hand, the Embodiment only became stronger as the battle went on. He had the posture as though he was going to hammer Yue Sang to death on the spot.
Hence, Yue Sang was panicking. He could never have expected the situation to come to this in the end. Rather than the suppression of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, what scared him the most was the Embodiment. He did not know what kind of evil Secret Art this strange Divine Spirit had cultivated that had the effect of plundering and devouring his own aura, but it was clear the Embodiment was literally the Blood Demon Clan’s nemesis.
As a Half-Saint from the Blood Demon Clan, Yue Sang was the most proficient at using the various Secret Techniques of the Blood Demon Clan; however, he no longer dared to use them easily. That was because the Embodiment could refine and devour whatever Secret Techniques he utilized. Hence, his situation was becoming more and more unfavourable with the passing of time.
[Damn it! It was a foolproof ambush! How could things develop into this!?] There was no point in time when he was not trying to escape from this trap. Unfortunately, the bell-shaped artifact had an unimaginable force of suppression. Combined with the Embodiment making things difficult for him, Yue Sang was completely powerless to resist. It was humiliating that he had been held up by a trivial Mid-Rank Demon King for so long.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a flaw in the aura that had been suppressing the surrounding area. This discovery left him feeling overjoyed. He did not know why Yang Kai would make such a fatal mistake at such a time, but he guessed that the latter had reached his limits. After all, the other party’s cultivation was obviously much lower than his own. It was exceptional that Yang Kai could persist for such a long time already.
Without the slightest hesitation, Yue Sang spouted a cloud of blood mist. He had to stop the Embodiment for a moment, even if he had to sacrifice some of his Blood Essence to do so. Then, his figure transformed into a ray of blood light and rushed towards that gap in the defence.
The Embodiment could not stop Yue Sang in time and could only watch as Yue Sang dashed out of the suppression range of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
At the same time, Yang Kai turned his head and looked in a certain direction. He had suddenly experienced an inexplicable sense of turmoil for a moment just now. It felt as though something terrible had happened. It was precisely because of this sliver of unease that his control over the Mountains and Rivers Bell had stopped for a moment and the gap that allowed Yue Sang to escape appeared. He instinctively knew that something had happened to Bright Moon, because he could no longer sense Bright Moon’s aura!
Although he had been fighting Yue Sang within the Blood Light Array all this time, Yang Kai could still sense the aura of a Great Emperor outside, albeit faintly. At that moment, however, the aura that belonged to Bright Moon became non-existent. It had thoroughly been extinguished from this world.
Yue Sang’s escape drew his mind back to the present in a panic, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at this point and his temper instantly flared to the extreme as a result.
To Yang Kai’s surprise, the counterattack he was expecting did not come. Likewise, Yue Sang vanished completely into the Blood Sea after escaping the trap. Yang Kai could not tell whether Yue Sang had fled or was hiding in ambush somewhere nearby.
The Blood Sea then began to churn, shrinking towards a certain direction.
At the same time, Yue Sang was fleeing into the distance with the help of the cover provided by the Blood Sea. His expression was full of hatred. He was also gnashing his teeth and cursing at something under his breath. A Blood Demon Half-Saint like him had ambushed Yang Kai only to end up in this miserable situation. Thus, the rage in his heart grew exponentially. Nevertheless, he did not dare to confront Yang Kai any longer due to his fear of the Embodiment’s power. He only wanted to escape, the further the better, lest Yang Kai used the Mountains and Rivers Bell to trap him again. He would most likely lose his life if he was caught again. On the other hand, he believed that he could still escape alive with the protection of the Blood Light Array. As for his grudges against Yang Kai… he could only leave that for later.
A ray of bright light suddenly tore through the boundless Blood Sea and the Moonlight Sword silently came slashing down. Yue Sang was heavily wounded and the expression on his face froze completely at that moment.
…..
Yang Kai retrieved the Mountains and Rivers Bell above the Blood Sea, but before he could catch his breath, he suddenly heard the Embodiment shouting, “Watch out!”
At the same time, a feeling of horror spread throughout his body. His eyes widened abruptly as he turned to look in that direction. Yue Sang was rushing directly at him with a blazing murderous intent.
Without the slightest hesitation, he forced himself to take a deep breath and punched out. Space collapsed in the path his fist took, but contrary to his expectations, Yue Sang, who was lunging at him, didn’t put up any resistance whatsoever when he threw this punch. Instead, Yue Sang opened his arms wide to accept it, even showing a small smile of relief. The murderous intent, which had been so dense that it practically felt tangible at that point, also vanished without a trace.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched violently and he instinctively realized that something was wrong, but it was too late to stop.
*Puchi…*
The punch that Yang Kai threw made a hole in Yue Sang’s chest. He had punched right through the body and the explosive power from his fist formed a wide hole. The rampant strength of his fist had shattered Yue Sang’s organs and meridians in an instant.
Yang Kai’s expression was one of utter shock. He was not feeling the triumph of annihilating his enemy. On the contrary, he felt an indescribable pain ripping through him. It felt as though a large, invisible hand was gripping his heart and that his body would collapse to pieces in the next moment.
[No! No! This can’t be…]
When their gazes met, Yue Sang smiled gently and softly muttered, “Everything is up to you now.”
While saying that, Yue Sang’s appearance distorted and transformed to become a heavily injured Bright Moon, covered in still wet blood…
“Senior!” Yang Kai shouted through gritted teeth, his eyes looking like they were about to break, “Why… Why…”
He could not accept what he was seeing before him, he had ended the life of Bright Moon Great Emperor with my own hands!
Yang Kai’s mind was a mess, and he could hardly think.
That punch had destroyed any chance Bright Moon had of survival. He no longer had any chance of escape from this ordeal.
[The person I wanted to kill was Yue Sang. Why did I end up killing Bright Moon instead!?]
Of course, it was not hard for a Great Emperor to deceive Yang Kai’s perception and make him mistakenly think that he was looking at Yue Sang; moreover, that realistic murderous intent was the key that forced him to act so decisively.
“This is what I wanted. The whole of the Star Boundary will thank you for this!” Bright Moon clearly understood Yang Kai’s feelings at the moment, so raising his hand, he grabbed Yang Kai’s wrist and looked straight into his eyes while speaking earnestly, “So, please don’t feel guilty.”
At that moment though, Yang Kai couldn’t hear what Bright Moon was saying. His mind had been filled with a chaotic buzzing ever since he saw the Great Emperor’s pale face.
A mysterious power flowed out from Bright Moon’s body and into his own along his arm right then, flooding his mind and body. This sensation finally brought Yang Kai back to his senses and the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to take his hand out of Bright Moon’s chest, but Bright Moon gripped his arm tightly so that he couldn’t move.
“The Star Boundary’s Will cannot be taken by the Demon Race!” Bright Moon shouted, gritting his teeth. Blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth, dampening the shredded clothes on his chest. The warm blood flowed over Yang Kai’s arms, scorching like molten iron, “Only you can bring this Will back. This is also the reason Heaven’s Revelations sent you to the Demon Realm!”
Yang Kai looked startled and thought back on something Heavens Revelations Great Emperor had once said to him, “In the Demon Realm, you will face both an opportunity and a crisis…”
In the past, he had been unable to figure out the meaning behind ‘an opportunity and a crisis’. It wasn’t until now that he finally understood those words. Was there any greater opportunity than to obtain a Great World’s Will from a Great Emperor? Did Heavens Revelations predict this would happen back then? If that was the case, the reason he asked Yang Kai to come to the Demon Realm was never to rescue Bright Moon Great Emperor, but rather to inherit the Great World’s Will from him… But if this opportunity came at the cost of a Great Emperor’s life… Yang Kai didn’t want it!
Whilst in his dazed state, the mysterious power filled his entire body. The power did not make him stronger immediately; instead, it gave him an inexplicable and indescribable sense of clarity. It made his perception countless times sharper than before and he instantly understood that this was the Will of the Great World known as the Star Boundary.
“This King… is sorry!” Bright Moon forced a smile at Yang Kai, “But, this King had no other way. Please don’t resent me for this.”
Although such an opportunity was being fought over by hundreds of Demon Half-Saints, it was actually nothing but a massive burden for a Human. After all, Yang Kai had personally killed a Great Emperor, that was a truth that would never change.
This was also the first time in history that a Great Emperor died at the hands of an Emperor Realm cultivator. Rather than saying that Yang Kai had killed Bright Moon though, it was more accurate to say that Bright Moon had killed himself with Yang Kai’s hands.
“You must go now!” Bright Moon’s expression suddenly changed. He killed Yue Sang, and thus the Blood Light Array fell apart on its own. At this moment when the Blood Sea collapsed, the Half-Saints who had been chasing Bright Moon began appearing from all directions.
Many of the Half-Saints were dumbfounded by the sight of Yang Kai and Bright Moon’s current situation. Then, they immediately became angry out of shame. They had paid such a heavy price, with more than ten of them dying at Bright Moon’s hands. They went to great lengths just to force the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary into a desperate situation, and all that was left was to harvest the fruits of their labour. Who could have known that a mere Human brat would take advantage of their efforts? How could they tolerate this?
The Demons Saints had mentioned that no matter who killed Bright Moon, no one else could attempt to snatch away the Great World’s Will. As long as they could bear the weight of the Great World’s Will, that person would have a great chance of becoming the thirteenth Demon Saint of the Demon Realm in the future. That was the lifelong pursuit of all Half-Saints. The capacity of the world was limited, so with the opportunity to reach the summit so close at hand, they did not hesitate even if they had to put their life on the line in the attempt.
Following a burst of rage, the Half-Saints actually began sneering. Was it really an opportunity when a trivial Mid-Rank Demon King was the one to obtain this opportunity? Without the power to protect himself, that opportunity would become nothing more than a catastrophe. They would rather face a Mid-Rank Demon King than attack a Great Emperor on the verge of death.
Many Divine Senses locked on Yang Kai in an instant. Nearly a hundred Half-Saints fell silent at that moment. Nobody took the lead in attacking. Instead, their gazes swept around their surroundings warily. Yang Kai was nothing to them, it was the other Half-Saints that were the real obstacles in their climb to reach the summit.
Yang Kai stood in the centre of this mob with an expression that was extremely solemn. He glanced around in a circle, and by the time he looked down again, Bright Moon had closed his eyes and his vitality had dissipated.
Yang Kai’s expression shifted slightly, as he felt incredibly heartbroken. Before he could say his goodbyes to Bright Moon, before he could apologize, the Great Emperor had passed away.
He took a deep breath and forcibly restrained his chaotic state of mind. Then, he slowly pulled his hand out of Bright Moon’s chest in front of everybody and carefully placed Bright Moon’s body next to the medicine garden in the Small Sealed World.
Grief was stuck in his chest. He couldn’t bear not letting it out. Thus, he howled up into the sky. His howling gradually became louder, transforming into a thunderous Dragon Roar that resounded throughout the world.
As though being summoned at that moment, Zhui Feng’s mighty figure came galloping from a distance and arrived in front of Yang Kai in the blink of an eye. He reared up, practically standing on his two hind legs. By the time he landed on all fours, Yang Kai was already seated on his back. Yang Kai lightly patted the mane on his neck and ordered, “Run!”
Ah! My kokoro!
The night was cool, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.
Inside a palace on top of a mountain, Princess Lan Xun of Star Soul Palace put her hands together and prayed to the Moon in the sky reverently. She was praying for her Father’s safe return. She would stand there for two or three hours almost every night, hoping that her sincerity would touch the World’s Will and it would provide sufficient protection to her Father in return.
The world seemed to have heard her prayer that night as the Moon that hung in the sky suddenly became brighter. The soft moonlight shone down on the land, spreading over her body. It felt like the large hands of her Father when he used to pat her on the head as a child. It gave her a warm and comforting feeling.
She was taken aback for a moment, thinking that she was hallucinating; however, a careful observation revealed that the Moon in the sky was indeed much brighter than before. Furthermore, the brightness continued to increase as time passed, soon making the whole world as bright as day.
At the same time, all the living creatures across the entire Star Boundary looked up. They were looking at the Moon in the sky that had become as bright as the Sun…
The sparse stars seemed dim and dull because of the Moon’s brightness.
Lan Xun’s complexion suddenly became slightly pale. An inexplicable sense of fear surged up in her heart, causing her to feel terribly distraught.
All of a sudden, the brightness that was as radiant as the sun burst into dazzling points of light. The wisps of light lasted for approximately an incense stick of time. Just like how the Moon had burst into light without warning, it went out just as suddenly. It was as though it had burned out its last brilliance, becoming dim, as if covered by a layer of black gauze.
Several meteors shot across the sky. Soon, the scattered meteors turned into a meteor shower that rained down from above. What followed was a sense of sorrow that permeated the Star Boundary. The world seemed to be crying. The Moon was its eyes and the meteor shower was the flowing tears…
*Dang… dang… dang…*
Heavy and melodious bells tolled throughout Star Soul Palace, nine consecutive times, and when the last bell stopped, Lan Xun collapsed to the ground limply.
“Your Highness!” A maidservant exclaimed and hurried over.
…..
Heaven’s Revelations Great Emperor, Chu Tian Ji, and Martial Beast Great Emperor, Mo Huang, sat opposite each other in Heavens Spying Valley. They each held black and white chess pieces, playing against each other. Mo Huang casually placed a piece down. Without raising his eyes, he calmly asked, “What’s making you so restless?”
During the game, he could clearly feel that his old friend was being absent-minded. Although the other party had covered it up very well, they were both Great Emperors, so how could Mo Huang fail to see it?
Chu Tian Ji didn’t place his piece down for a long time and remained silent.
All of a sudden, Mo Huang felt shock going through his heart. He lifted his gaze to look at Chu Tian Ji and saw that he was also looking at him.
“Haaa…” Chu Tian Ji sighed. The white piece in his hand quietly landed on the chessboard and rolled a few times. He looked up at the sky with a trace of sorrow that could not be concealed on his face, “In the end, it came down to this anyway.”
Mo Huang’s expression turned extremely grim, “That feeling just now… it wasn’t a mistake?”
Chu Tian Ji gave a wry smile, “Neither you nor I felt it wrongly. Ming Yue (Bright Moon)… has fallen.”
Mo Huang asked, “Didn’t you say that he had a chance of survival!?”
Chu Tian Ji slowly shook his head, “No matter how many plans we make, the Heavens are the ones who decide our fate. Who can be certain about something happening in the Demon Realm? Perhaps, only Yang Boy will know what really transpired there.”
“Is Yang Boy in danger?”
“He is in the Demon Realm. How can he not be in danger?” Seeing that Mo Huang’s expression was rather ugly, he continued, “This misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. We can only watch how things turn out in the future. There’s no point in worrying now.”
“That’s just… Damn it!” Mo Huang held back for a long time, but eventually cursed out loud. His expression was grim, “Don’t you claim to have insight into the past and the future? How could you not predict the events of today!?”
Chu Tian Ji smiled bitterly, “If I had such powers, the Two Worlds’ Passage would not have opened in the first place. But… There is a silver lining in all of this. Bright Moon might be gone, but it would seem that he made contact with Yang Boy.”
Mo Huang was taken aback for a moment before understanding the meaning behind Chu Tian Ji’s words. The fall of a Great Emperor had caused a kind of Heavenly Manifestation, but the world’s capacity had not decreased. There was no sign that the World’s Will had been stolen. That could only mean that Bright Moon had passed on the most important thing to Yang Kai before dying; otherwise, the world would not have only shown a small anomaly. There would have been many natural and man-made disasters raging at this moment otherwise.
After remaining silent for a long time, Mo Huang sighed and said, “We can only watch how things turn out in the future, but one of us clearly won’t have such patience.”
Chu Tian Ji nodded lightly, “What does it matter if he collects some interest first?”
…..
The Two Worlds’ Battlefield had been raging for several years now, and the Demon Race had almost finished conquering the entire Western Territory thanks to their overwhelming numerical advantage. The Star Boundary’s coalition forces had retreated again and again and were now all but expelled from the Western Territory.
If they retreated another few more thousand kilometres, they would enter the Southern Territory. Once they crossed that line, it would mean that nearly a quarter of Star Boundary’s territory had been conquered. That was something the Humans of the world could not and would not accept.
Above the wilderness, tens of millions of lives from both the Human Race and the Demon Race were fighting desperately. Lives were lost every moment, and although the Humans were resisting with everything they had, the Demon Race had an absolute advantage in terms of momentum. The latter had an endless army that arrived continuously to refill their ranks, caring nothing for the losses they suffered; therefore, the Human Race was steadily forced to retreat again and again.
Even though Li Wu Yi, who dominated the battlefield, was extraordinarily powerful, there was nothing he alone could do about the situation. He was single-handedly fighting three Demon Race Half-Saints at that very moment, and though his mastery of the Dao of Space guaranteed that his life was not in danger, it was difficult for him to do anything else but buy time.
Watching the Demon Race army approaching aggressively, Li Wu Yi looked sorrowful. After today’s battle, the Western Territory would have fallen completely. Despite knowing that such results were ultimately not his fault, he inevitably held a sense of self-blame as the Supreme Commander of the Human forces.
Just as the Human Army was about to retreat to the area bordering between the Southern Territory and the Western Territory, an overwhelming aura suddenly surged forth from the rear. The speed with which that aura approached was extraordinarily fast. Li Wu Yi had only just noticed it before a fleeting figure flashed by him out of the corner of his eyes. That figure was wrapped in an icy chill.
Immediately after that, one of the three Demon Race Half-Saints that Li Wu Yi had been fighting froze in place. Li Wu Yi looked in that direction and saw that that particular Half-Saint had a great hand strangling his neck. Despite being a mighty Half-Saint, this Demon was currently being held up like a helpless chicken with no ability to fight back at all.
Looking at the brave and heroic back of the figure responsible for this sudden disturbance, Li Wu Yi called out in shock, “Senior Iron Blood!”
He was puzzled. Why was Iron Blood here?
The Demon Saints of the Demon Realm and the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had come to an agreement a long time ago. Neither side would interfere in this battle, lest the war escalate to mutual annihilation. All this time, both Demon Saints and Great Emperors had strictly abided by this accord. None of them had ever appeared on the battlefield; therefore, Li Wu Yi was stunned to see Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen, appearing here and attacking a Demon Race Half-Saint.
[Has the war reached the point where the strongest combat powers of both sides have to enter the battlefield themselves!?] If that was truly the case, then it wasn’t a good thing for the Star Boundary. On the contrary, it was a terrible thing. The Star Boundary was the battlefield after all, so a confrontation between the Great Emperors and the Demon Saints would most likely destroy the entire Western Territory.
“G-Great Emperor!” The Half-Saint, who was being lifted up by the neck by Zhan Wu Hen, was becoming flushed. He stared at the steely face in front of him with an incredulous gaze. The murderous intent that washed over him was so intense that it was practically tangible. The hand closing around his neck tightened like a noose, squeezing so hard that bones cracked. Death aura enveloped the Half-Saint as he cried out in a panic, “You can’t kill me… The Demon Saints had an agreement with…”
Iron Blood’s expression was dark as he lifted the Half Saint up until he was level with his gaze and stared into that person’s eyes at close range. He asked coldly, “So what if I kill you?”
When the words left his mouth, his Emperor Qi surged. The great hand squeezed hard and the Demon Race Half-Saint burst like a watermelon that had been hammered open. The Half-Saint exploded into a cloud of blood mist, leaving not a single bone behind.
Li Wu Yi couldn’t help widening his eyes at the sight. Likewise, the other two Demon Race Half-Saints looked shocked.
[He really… killed him!]
Nobody could have imagined that a Great Emperor would suddenly appear on the battlefield at such a time and kill a Demon Race Half-Saint without saying anything. [Is he here to renege on the agreement between both sides? Are the Great Emperors and Demon Saints really going to leave the sidelines and step onto the battlefield themselves!?]
Without any hesitation, Li Wu Yi reached out and grabbed toward the other two Half-Saints. Space Principles fluctuated, and the space around those two suddenly became extremely viscous.
The other two Half-Saints reacted fairly quickly. When they saw their companion being killed, they immediately tried to escape. Unfortunately, Li Wu Yi had moved faster than them.
During that moment of delay, Iron Blood had already rushed in front of another Half-Saint. He smashed the Half-Saint’s body into pieces under the horrified stare of the last survivor. Then, without pausing whatsoever, Zhan Wu Hen struck towards the third Demon Half-Saint. A single palm strike left the Half-Saint without a head nor upper body. Only his legs were left hanging in the air.
Three Demon Race Half-Saints died in the blink of an eye. Iron Blood didn’t stop there though as he shifted slightly and rushed into the battlefield.
Wherever Iron Blood passed, the Demon Race fell! It didn’t matter whether they were weak disposable pawns or strong Demon Kings and Half-Saints, it made no difference as their defences were no different than paper in front of the Great Emperor.
Li Wu Yi stared at Iron Blood’s back in a daze, feeling a very bad premonition in his heart. As a Great Emperor, it was impossible for Iron Blood to go crazy like this for no reason. It was very likely that something significant had agitated him, and that was why he was acting out like this. Thinking back on the Heavenly Manifestation from earlier, Li Wu Yi felt a sense of sorrow…
Nevertheless, as the Supreme Commander on site, he quickly composed himself and ordered the Human Army to follow Iron Blood into battle.
The sudden interference of a Great Emperor in the battle resulted in the near annihilation of the Demon Race army that numbered in the millions. Corpses of the Demon Race littered the ground across the nearly ten thousand kilometres long frontline. The Human Army pushed forward and barely encountered any form of resistance. All the Demons had lost any will to resist and were all desperately retreating towards the Two Worlds’ Passage.
It wasn’t until ten days later that Iron Blood returned from the direction of the Two Worlds’ Passage, covered in black blood.
Li Wu Yi did not know what Iron Blood had done during these ten days; however, the Demon Race remained silent for a long time since then. Beginning from the border between the Southern Territory and the Western Territory, not a single member of the Demon Race could be seen within two hundred thousand kilometres, and the Star Boundary successfully reclaimed this land that had previously been occupied.
In a mountain valley of Eternal Sky Continent, Li Shi Qing woke up from her unconscious state. She glanced around and did not see Yang Kai anywhere. On the other hand, many members of the Demon Race were gathered around the Demon Mirror that Yu Ru Meng had left behind. They were looking into it with anxious expressions.
Rubbing her neck, she thought back to what had happened just before she fell unconscious. [I vaguely recall being knocked out by Yang Kai… That’s right! The Great Emperor is in danger!]
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she woke up completely.
At that moment, the members of the Demon Race gathered around the Demon Mirror suddenly let out a cry of exclamation as if they had witnessed an extremely incredible scene. Feeling suspicious, she walked forward, approached the Demon Mirror, and looked into it. Just from that single glance, her beautiful eyes widened to the size of saucers and her tender body began trembling.
There were two figures standing upright in the mirror. Moreover, these two figures were being watched from very far away. Even though they were very far away, she could recognize who these two figures were. One was Yang Kai and the other was Bright Moon Great Emperor!
At this moment, one of Yang Kai’s fists was stuck in Bright Moon Great Emperor’s chest. He had blasted a huge hole in the Great Emperor’s chest. Blood was spilling out of the corners of the Great Emperor’s mouth, and the originally white clothes were completely dyed red with blood.
[What happened during the period I was unconscious!? Why did things end up like this!? I can’t believe Yang Kai killed Bright Moon Great Emperor!] This terrifying thought and the shocking image in front of her turned into an endless buzzing in her head. Unable to bear with it, her vision went dark and she fainted once more.
…
Yang Kai flipped himself onto Zhui Feng’s back, who then carried him towards the nearest Territory Gate with a loud neigh. His hooves were blazing with golden flames, leaving a burning trail behind him.
Countless Divine Senses were locked onto the pair, and murderous intent extended out toward them. Even though Yang Kai knew that Yu Ru Meng was here on Eternal Sky Continent, he didn’t feel the slightest sense of security from that knowledge.
Yu Ru Meng probably could not help him under these circumstances. If he wanted to survive, he had to escape quickly. The further he fled, the better. The best would be if he could pass through the Two Worlds’ Passage and escape back to the Star Boundary!
The Twelve Demon Saints of the Demon Realm and even Night Shadow Great Emperor, Can Ye, were currently gathered here on Eternal Sky Continent. Now was the time when the defence at the passage was weakest. It was also the best chance for him to escape.
He faintly regretted not putting Li Shi Qing into the Small Sealed World ahead of time. She would definitely suffer the consequences of his escape. Unfortunately, he couldn’t spare the time to worry about her right now. Comparatively speaking, the Great World’s Will was the top priority. The Will that Bright Moon Great Emperor had passed to him could not be lost.
Before the hundreds of Half-Saints surrounding him could recover from their shock, Zhui Feng had already rushed out of the encirclement with Yang Kai on his back. This instantly enraged those Half-Saints, and they began pursuing Zhui Feng and Yang Kai using various means. However, Zhui Feng’s specialty lay in his speed, so how could mere Half-Saints catch up with him? The distance between both parties had only been rapidly increasing from the beginning
Many of the Demon Saints were looking extremely gloomy. Only Yu Ru Meng showed a mixture of pleasant surprise and worry on her face. Although she had always known that Yang Kai was more receptive to the Star Boundary’s Will than the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm, she never thought of letting him participate in this struggle for it since he was not strong enough. What she had not expected was that Yang Kai would actually become the final winner. Furthermore, it seemed as though Bright Moon Great Emperor had voluntarily given that opportunity to him.
Yue Sang, who had been killed by Bright Moon, was nothing in comparison. In any case, Yue Sang had defected over to Xue Li so he was no longer her subordinate. So what if he died? It didn’t matter to Yu Ru Meng anymore. On the other hand, the fact that Yang Kai received this opportunity was tantamount to taking a giant step toward the Grand Dao in advance. How could she not be elated by that? Meanwhile, her worry stemmed from the fact that this opportunity might not be easy to keep.
Sure enough, just as that thought went through her mind, Xue Li’s furious outburst entered her ears, “Bastard!”
After saying that, he turned into a ray of blood light and sped off in the direction Yang Kai was escaping. It looked like he was going to stop Yang Kai personally. It wasn’t just him though as the other Demon Saints were also moving to give pursuit.
The Half-Saints might not be able to catch up with Yang Kai, but that did not mean the Demon Saints could not. Once these Demon Saints blocked his path, he would definitely be besieged by those hundreds of Half-Saints. The final result of that outcome was obvious.
“Don’t you dare!” Yu Ru Meng was furious, but before she could even move, a burly figure appeared in front of her and raised a hand to block her way. She glared at him with a calm expression and quickly said, “Senior Brother Huang, what do you mean by this!?”
The person blocking her way was none other than the First Demon Saint, Huang Wu Ji. He raised his hand slightly and held his arm out horizontally in front of her. His actions were casual, but it felt like there was an iron wall standing in her way. Even though they were both Demon Saints, it would not be easy for her to pass through this obstruction.
Huang Wu Ji looked in the direction where the figures were leaving and spoke in an indifferent tone, “Don’t interfere in this matter.”
Yu Ru Meng gritted her teeth and snarled, “Yang Kai is mine. How can I not intervene in this matter!? Besides, we agreed in advance not to interfere in this fight over the opportunity! They will compete between themselves, and no matter what the outcome is, no one is allowed to complain! So, why are the others pursuing him right now!? Do they think that I, Yu Ru Meng, am a pushover!?”
Huang Wu Ji just replied lightly, “It’s true that we had an agreement before, but the target of the agreement only applies to the Half-Saints under us. He is a Human.”
While speaking, he turned to look at her, “He is not one of us. How can such an opportunity be handed over to him?”
She snapped, “So what if he is a Human!? He has already betrayed the Star Boundary! He has already been demonified. He also made a lot of contributions to the Demon Realm. Why can’t he be allowed to receive such an opportunity!?”
Huang Wu Ji shook his head in response, “You know what we are worried about. Besides, he is not strong enough. What can he do even if he obtained this opportunity? How long will it take for him to fully grow up?”
“The Demon Realm has Twelve Demon Saints plus an additional Great Emperor of the Star Boundary. In comparison, the Star Boundary only has eight Great Emperors right now. Moreover, one of them, Bustling World Great Emperor, is missing. Yang Kai doesn’t make a difference in this equation, whether he exists or not. What you want is just an increase of the world’s capacity. So, why would you need to wait until he grows up?”
Huang Wu Ji shook his head slowly, “Unless he can truly undergo Demon Transformation and become a part of the Demon Race, he will not be allowed to keep that opportunity.”
Upon hearing those words, her face turned pale. She looked anxiously in the direction Yang Kai had escaped, clenching her hands so tightly that her fingernails cut into her palm painfully. Although Yang Kai had undergone demonification once in the Star Boundary and had been overflowing with Demon Qi at the time, he seemed to have returned to his original state at some point. It would be difficult for him to truly become a member of the Demon Race…
“Must he die?” Yu Ru Meng glanced at Huang Wu Ji with a heartbroken look, “If he dies, who will repair and maintain the Territory Gates?”
He lowered his gaze, “The opportunity is currently in his possession and can only be transferred to somebody else when he dies. Only then will others have the opportunity. As for those Territory Gates… we can only allow nature to take its course.”
Yu Ru Meng closed her eyes in pain. A long while later, she abruptly opened her eyes and the Demon Qi in her body surged. She struck out at him and shouted, “I really can’t stay here and do nothing after all! Pardon my offence, Senior Brother Huang!”
Huang Wu Ji held one hand behind his back, and his feet did not move. Even so, his body moved backwards several thousand metres and easily avoided her attack as he calmly stated, “Stop. I have no interest in hurting you.”
Yu Ru Meng was so furious that she smiled instead, “Don’t even think about touching a hair on his head while I still draw breath!”
While speaking, she had already drawn close to him. Her beautiful eyes flashed as a strange light suddenly burst out at that moment. It was as though her eyes had transformed into a black hole and were trying to suck him into them.
Huang Wu Ji lowered his gaze and did not meet her eyes. At the same time, he threw a punch, and a huge hole instantly appeared in the already turbulent space, as though a mirror had been shattered to pieces.
Yu Ru Meng let out a soft cry and was swallowed up whole by the Void.
Huang Wu Ji didn’t feel triumphant at his success though and instead he frowned and stared at his surroundings.
Vague and elusive laughter rang in his ears and the shattered world was suddenly transformed into a world as beautiful as the Heavens. It was enchanting and incomparably realistic. The sense of not wanting to leave rose up in his heart as he stood inside this world, making him extremely unwilling to destroy a single thing around him.
Huang Wu Ji sighed softly, knowing that he had accidentally fallen into her trap.
As a Demon Saint, Yu Ru Meng was not an easy opponent. Huang Wu Ji might be known as the First Demon Saint, but that was only in terms of overall combat strength. He would definitely be the last one standing in a fight to the death; however, each of the Twelve Demon Saints had their own speciality that should never be underestimated.
By the time Huang Wu Ji finally escaped from the constraints of that bizarre world, thirty breaths had passed and Yu Ru Meng was long gone. It was clear that she had chased after the rest of the Demon Saints. Be that as it may, he had delayed her long enough. It would be too late for her to help by the time she arrived; after all, the Demon Saints only needed to catch up with Yang Kai and block his way for a moment. Then, the Half-Saints following behind would rip him to shreds in an instant.
…..
Zhui Feng was practically a flash of lightning as he travelled as swiftly as the wind. As he dashed forward, the Half-Saints chasing behind them were getting further and further away. Unfortunately, an even stronger Divine Sense locked onto Yang Kai at that moment.
The Demon Saints had begun to move!
Yang Kai felt extremely sad and indignant. He knew that his guess was right, Yu Ru Meng was unable to protect him. It was fortunate that he had predicted this early on and immediately rode Zhui Feng to run for his life. Otherwise, he would be nothing more than a corpse by now.
He had yet to recover from the shock of Bright Moon’s death; after all, he had killed Bright Moon with his own hand. Even if that situation was created by Bright Moon himself, the self-blame Yang Kai’s heart still left him feeling suffocated and depressed.
Zhui Feng’s neighing brought him back to the present again. He turned to look in a certain direction and saw a ray of blood light approaching him at a terrifying speed. It was going to catch up in less than ten breaths. It was Xue Li!
Behind Xue Li was probably the Feather Demon, Fu Yu. With the help of those beating white wings, her speed was only slightly slower than Xue Li’s.
At this critical moment, Yang Kai’s life was at stake. He gritted his teeth and pushed his Space Principles. Holding onto Zhui Feng’s back with one hand, Yang Kai tore space before them and the pair leapt forward a few thousand kilometres in an instant.
The moment they reappeared though, Yang Kai coughed up blood.
Although Yang Kai had not faced Yue Sang directly when he used the Mountains and Rivers Bell to trap him, he had still been struck by the heavy backlash. After all, he was only a Second-Order Emperor while Yue Sang was a Half-Saint. Even with the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he still had to pay a price just to trap Yue Sang.
Due to the shock he experienced from Bright Moon’s death, Yang Kai had not noticed his body condition previously; however, he immediately realized that he was in a terrible condition the moment he used Space Principles to flee. His Emperor Qi was severely depleted and his entire body ached. It felt like even his bones had innumerable fractures. In this physical condition, forget fighting, he would definitely die if those Half-Saints caught up with him.
Fortunately, Zhui Feng had come to his rescue in the nick of time.
He only managed to put some distance between them and the Demon Saints with that one Instantaneous Movement earlier, but the other party had already closed that distance in the blink of an eye and began approaching at an even faster speed.
Yang Kai looked back, feeling so depressed that he was about to spit blood. It was his first time being chased by such powerful foes. The feeling that his life was hanging by a thread made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He hurriedly stuffed a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth, crunched them, and swallowed. Pressing his body close to Zhui Feng’s back, he grabbed his mane firmly with both hands.
It was clear that even Zhui Feng had noticed the severity of the situation. The muscles all over his body tensed up as his hooves galloped wildly. He spared no effort in fleeing while carrying Yang Kai on his back. His back gradually emitted a layer of crimson blood mist, scorching white steam blew out from his nostrils, and his speed suddenly increased.
Even so, Xue Li and Fu Yu, who were the first to catch up, closed to just a thousand kilometres away within ten breaths.
A vicious murderous intent had locked onto Yang Kai from behind and his expression changed greatly as a result. When he turned back to look, he saw that Fu Yu was drawing her bow to shoot arrows at him while still in pursuit. Yang Kai pushed his Space Principles without any hesitation whatsoever to perform another Instantaneous Movement with Zhui Feng.
*Xiu…*
A stream of light shot through the air and struck the afterimages of Yang Kai and Zhui Feng, causing them to shatter and dissipate.
A thousand kilometres away, Yang Kai turned Zhui Feng around and fled in a different direction. There was no hope of fleeing in a straight line. Zhui Feng’s speed was certainly fast, but he could not outrun a Demon Saint. If they continued running in the same manner, they would be overtaken before they could even charge through the Territory Gate. He had to think of some other way if he wanted to escape from Eternal Sky Continent. Fortunately, one door would always open when another closed, and the Embodiment had already set off ahead of schedule.
Both Xue Li and Fu Yu, who were chasing after him, were surprised when Yang Kai turned around and changed directions. Nevertheless, the two Demon Saints did not bother thinking about it. They simply assumed that Yang Kai was so panicked that he was fleeing in any direction. That was exactly what they hoped to see from him. This Human brat was as slippery as an eel. He sprinted around in circles with the Space Principles he was so proficient in, which made him very hard to catch. In addition, things would become more troublesome if he were to pass through a Territory Gate. Hence, watching him flee in the opposite direction of the Territory Gate pleased them very much.
Xue Li’s insidious laughter resounded suddenly, “Boy, be good and stop running and this Saint will give you a quick death! Refuse, and this Saint will let you have a taste of Hell!”
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to those words and whispered encouragingly in Zhui Feng’s ears, “Go faster! Go faster!”
The blood mist coming from Zhui Feng’s body continued to dissipate, however, and it was clear he was struggling desperately. Nevertheless, this kind of running did not tire Zhui Feng out. On the contrary, he was riding an emotional high. He let out an excited whinny now and then, appearing extremely thrilled. All those years of living peacefully had nearly made him forget the time when he used to carry Chang Tian into battle, but Yang Kai’s appearance had allowed him to experience this exhilarating feeling once more.
An hour passed by as this cat-and-mouse hunt confused Xue Li, who was gradually becoming more and more frustrated. The thought that he, a Demon Saint, had spent so much time and effort yet remained unsuccessful at chasing down a mere Mid-Rank Demon King was extremely humiliating.
But then again, half the credit of why Yang Kai was so good at running could be attributed to the beast, Zhui Feng. One could run as swiftly as lightning while the other could teleport across long distances. These two factors made it very hard to catch the pair. The Half-Saints had long since been thrown off the trail and left in the dust. Only the Demon Saints remained doggedly on Yang Kai’s tail.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai’s situation was worsening with the passage of time. Even though the Eternal Sky Continent was not small, there were more than ten Demon Saints chasing him. They only needed to coordinate their movements with each other to form an encirclement around him. He was clearly aware of this but there was nothing he could do about it.
An hour later, Zhui Feng finally came to a stop. Blood mist was steaming from his body and he blew hot air through its nose repeatedly. His skin had turned crimson red, looking like a scorching hot soldering iron. Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who was riding on his back, was very pale. He was panting breathlessly, and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth with every breath he took.
It wasn’t that Zhui Feng was too exhausted to continue running, it was just that the Demon Saints had completed their encirclement and were blocking his path in all directions. Numerous figures appeared in the surrounding area, each of them regarding him with interest or with indifference.
Xue Li gritted his teeth and glared at Yang Kai, “Run. Go on, run. Why aren’t you running anymore?”
Yang Kai turned to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood with a mutinous expression. His cold gaze swept over his surroundings as he studied each of the Demon Saints’ faces carefully as if to imprint their appearance into his Soul.
Xue Li stretched out a finger and pointed at Yang Kai, “Boy, I’m going to make you beg for death!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted. Turning his head, he stared at Xue Li, “That would depend on whether you have the ability.”
Xue Li was so furious that he laughed, “Bold words for someone on the verge of death. Let’s see how you bawl your eyes out later!”
Huo Bo gave a strange chuckle by the side, “Why are you quarrelling with a child, Xue Li? Are you an idiot? Even if you don’t find it embarrassing, I do, so would you just shut up?”
Xue Li abruptly swivelled his head around and glared at Huo Bo furiously while Huo Bo glared back without backing down. At that moment, Yang Kai spoke up without warning, “This Young Master will certainly repay you all a hundred times over for the gift you have given me today!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, many Demon Saints looked at him suspiciously, but in the next moment, their expressions changed drastically. They reached out to grab at Yang Kai in unison. Fu Yu even used her Divine Sense to lock onto him while with a flick of her bare hands, a stream of light shot out.
The weather changed abruptly, and the world hummed in response.
Yang Kai’s figure, however, faded into nothingness at that moment, making all the Demon Saints grab nothing but air. Fu Yu was the only one who managed to lock her Divine Sense onto Yang Kai with an arrow, which disappeared along with the shattering of the Void.
The Demon Saints were completely dumbfounded. They never expected that Yang Kai could escape their clutches from right under their noses even in this situation. Thus, their expressions were absolutely horrendous. The feeling of being made a fool of was extremely unbearable, especially since the one who accomplished this was nothing more than a Mid-Rank Demon King who was also seriously injured.
Their Divine Senses poured out like a tide, spreading out without limit, but to their surprise, they couldn’t find any traces of Yang Kai anywhere. It baffled them greatly; after all, he had used his Space Technique to teleport many times during the previous chase. Each time he performed the Instantaneous Movement, he had only teleported by several thousand kilometres at most, so why had he vanished now?
More than ten breaths later, Flame Demon Saint Chi Yan, exclaimed with a great change of expression, “He’s at the Territory Gate!”
At the same time, Yu Ru Meng finally rushed over. She looked around and did not see Yang Kai anywhere; thus, she couldn’t help turning pale. Gritting her teeth, she shouted, “What did you do to him!?”
Bei Li Mo chuckled, “Don’t worry. That little man of yours escaped.”
“Escaped?” Yu Ru Meng was stunned. Then, her expression quickly turned grim, “Bullshit! So many of you were chasing him, how could he have escaped!? Hurry up and hand him over to me!”
Bei Li Mo scoffed softly, “Can’t you sense for yourself whether he has escaped or not? He is right by the Territory Gate.”
Seeing that Bei Li Mo didn’t seem to be lying, Yu Ru Meng pushed her Divine Sense and probed into the distance. Among the Demon Saints, her Divine Sense was actually the strongest; therefore, it only took her six breaths to discover Yang Kai’s aura. At that moment, her small mouth fell open slightly. She was utterly astonished and could not understand how he managed to escape in that direction with so many Demon Saints in pursuit. That location was very far from this place; however, she soon discovered the Embodiment’s aura nearby and immediately understood what was going on.
Bei Li Mo observed Yu Ru Meng’s reaction and chuckled again, “Little Sister, your little man sure is incredible. He played all of us for fools. I’m afraid he won’t be dying an easy death.”
How could the Demon Saints forgive such a great humiliation? They would surely torture Yang Kai severely the moment they got their hands on him.
Yu Ru Meng looked at them coldly and said, “I will kill whoever dares to harm him!”
“Aren’t you going to give chase? Why are you just standing around here doing nothing?” Huang Wu Ji’s figure swept through the air, appearing from a distance, and arriving in the blink of an eye. He turned his head and looked toward a certain location, “He is probably heading toward the Two Worlds’ Passage. We cannot let him escape back to the Star Boundary.”
In the next instant, a vague aura seemed to flash through the void.
Yu Ru Meng’s expression became extremely sombre. She knew that the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, Can Ye, had made his move. As long as he blocked the Two Worlds’ Passage, Yang Kai would be a turtle hiding in its shell. No matter what kind of amazing abilities he had, he would be captured, sooner or later.
Bei Li Mo laughed softly, “Little Sister, Senior Brother Huang is clearly against him. Shouldn’t you kill Senior Brother Huang first?”
Yu Ru Meng gnashed her teeth so hard that it made an audible sound. She glared at Bei Li Mo furiously and snarled in her heart. [Bitch! Just you wait; I’ll get back at you for this one day!]
Mo Kan said, “Senior Brother Huang, the situation has changed. He is going to escape from Eternal Sky Continent. If we want to capture him, we will need to do it ourselves.”
Huang Wu Ji replied, “Find him as soon as possible.”
A sudden idea struck Xue Li and he chuckled slightly and said, “But, this is not in line with our previous agreement. Can I take it that the brat will belong to whoever catches him first?”
The Demon Saints were not interested in Yang Kai himself. What they were interested in was the Star Boundary’s Will that was inside his body. As long as they could capture him, they could transfer that Will to one of the Half-Saints under their command. By doing that, they would most likely gain another Demon Saint who would become their ally in the future. That was the most attractive point to many of the Demon Saints.
“Good!” Huang Wu Ji nodded.
Xue Li gave a weird laugh. Then, he transformed into a ray of bloody light and sped away, his voice echoing from afar, “He’s mine!”
Immediately after that, the rest of the Demon Saints followed his example and used various Secret Techniques to depart.
Before Bei Li Mo left, she gave Yu Ru Meng a provocative look, “Rest assured, Little Sister, if I find him, I’ll be sure to give him a quick death, so you should pray that I get my hands on him.”
After saying that, she covered her mouth with her hands and tittered as she left.
Yu Ru Meng wanted to leave too but was stopped by Huang Wu Ji again. His attitude this time around was much more forceful than before, and his expression had become incredibly stern.
Looking at his expression, she knew that he was going to be serious now. She only managed to shake him off earlier because she had made a pre-emptive strike and caught him off-guard. Besides, he had not been aiming to delay her for long; however, she would definitely be no match for him if he became serious.
“Three days! I will let you go after three days!” He looked at her calmly, “Don’t challenge my limits before that time is up.”
Yu Ru Meng said coldly, “Do you think he can hold out for three days!?”
With so many Demon Saints chasing Yang Kai, forget three days, it would be hard enough for him to survive a single day. His current condition was not looking too good after all.
Huang Wu Ji lowered his gaze, “That’s not something I need to consider, and it’s not something you can stop. I’ve already made myself very clear. If you insist on making a move, then don’t blame me for being impolite with you.”
Just as Yu Ru Meng resolutely decided to burn her bridges and attack, her expression suddenly changed. She turned and looked in the direction of the Territory Gate as an expression of astonishment instantly appeared on her face.
Seeing the strange expression on her face, Huang Wu Ji couldn’t help frowning. He spread out his Divine Sense and probed in the direction of the Territory Gate, but before he could investigate the situation, Yu Ru Meng simply giggled and said, “Good. Senior Brother Huang, I will listen to your wishes out of respect for you. Three days it is. If you try to stop me after three days, then don’t blame me for turning against you.”
While she was speaking, Huang Wu Ji had already found out about the situation at the Territory Gate and he couldn’t help raising his brow and clicking his tongue, “If he had not gotten a hold of an opportunity he didn’t deserve, I would be very reluctant to kill him. His existence is simply too useful to the Demon Realm.”
She coldly snorted, “Is there any meaning to saying this now? Weren’t you the one who sent them after him?”
He remained silent; his expression as tranquil as an ancient well.
…
Nobody paid any attention to the Embodiment when Yang Kai rode on Zhui Feng and fled. Thus, the Embodiment secretly snuck underground after Yang Kai lured all the Half-Saints away and quickly headed towards the nearest Territory Gate. Although Yang Kai later managed to shake those Half-Saints off his tail, the Demon Saints’ pursuit left him with no way to escape. He was eventually surrounded by them as a result.
It was a blessing that the Demon Saints were unaware of his Space Beacons, and with them, he brought Zhui Feng to the Embodiment’s side in an instant, just a hundred thousand kilometres away from the Territory Gate.
The arrow that Fu Yu shot at the last moment had not affected Yang Kai as it had simply fallen into the Void Crack and disappeared.
Upon meeting up with the Embodiment, Yang Kai placed him back into the Small Sealed World before he directed Zhui Feng towards the Territory Gate.
The Territory Gate was being guarded by part of the Demon Race army; however, there were no Half-Saints among them. All the Half-Saints had gone to snatch the opportunity, so who would still be in the mood to remain at the Territory Gate? Therefore, Yang Kai easily broke through the blockade and passed through the Territory Gate to arrive on the continent neighbouring Eternal Sky Continent.
Yang Kai did not flee immediately though and instead turned around and returned to the Territory Gate which led to Eternal Sky Continent. Space Principles pulsed and he swiftly sealed the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai had never imagined that the painstaking training he did in Hundred Spirits Continent would come in handy now.
This act delayed his escape by a bit, but seriously hindered the movements of the Demon Saints chasing after him in return. If not for this advantage, Yang Kai wasn’t sure if he could outrun them if they came rushing at him without any obstruction.
The only thing he had to worry about right now was how long the seal on the Territory Gate could delay those Demon Saints. It would be an awful joke if they broke the seal in an instant. Nevertheless, he didn’t have the time to mull over such worries and just fervently prayed in his heart. It would be enough if the seal could delay them for a few hours.
The reason why Yu Ru Meng had suddenly agreed to Huang Wu Ji’s request was that she had sensed the anomaly of the Territory Gate being sealed. She didn’t even need to think about it to know that Yang Kai was behind it. He was the only one with that ability in the entire Demon Realm after all.
At this moment, she couldn’t help feeling a little gloomy and frustrated. She didn’t even know when he obtained this ability. Not only could he repair and maintain the Territory Gates, but he could also seal them. Thinking back to what she had discussed with Chang Tian on Hundred Spirits Continent though, she had the faint guess that he probably developed this ability while cultivating there.
The other Demon Saints arrived at the place where the Territory Gate was located an incense stick’s worth of time after Yang Kai passed through it. Looking around, they all showed expressions of surprise.
You Qiu exclaimed in surprise, “Where is the Territory Gate? Did we go in the wrong direction?”
They had obviously come chasing after Yang Kai’s traces, so they couldn’t have gone in the wrong direction. Besides, there was a Demon Race army guarding the surrounding area. They were clearly stationed here to guard the Territory Gate.
Xue Li frowned as if thinking of something. Then, he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed one of the Mid-Rank Demon Kings below. Lifting that person up by the collar, he asked, “Where did the Territory Gate go?”
The Mid-Rank Demon King had never seen such a terrifying line-up before. It was very difficult to even see one of the Demon Saints under normal circumstances. The most powerful existences that he had ever met were the Half-Saints on his own continent. So many Demon Saints had appeared all of a sudden; moreover, one of them was holding him up in front of them. Thus, he nearly fainted from the fright. Pale-faced, the Demon King replied in a trembling voice, “I-I-It was still here j-just now. But, it s-s-suddenly disappeared for some r-reason.”
“Damn it!” Xue Li yelled and tossed the Demon King aside.
“To think he actually had such an ability…” Bone Demon Saint Ge Meng rubbed his skeletal chin as two ghostly fires danced in his eye sockets. He seemed to be lost in thought. It was impossible for the Territory Gate to disappear for no reason, so it was clear that the Human brat had done something to conceal it from their sight. Furthermore, the method used was flawless. Even at such a close distance, they, the Demon Saints, were unable to sense the slightest trace of the Territory Gate.
“What should we do now?” Stone Demon Saint Mo Kan turned his head and looked around. This was truly humiliating. A group of Demon Saints were being toyed with by a mere Human boy. Yang Kai had managed to slip through their clutches once, and now he had successfully obstructed their path. The reputation of the Demon Saints would be utterly ruined if he really managed to escape from them.
Flame Demon Saint Chi Yan coldly snorted, “Since it’s a seal, I’m sure it can be broken. Let me try!”
While speaking, he strode forward and came directly to the place where the Territory Gate was originally located. One of his fists was covered in flames as he threw a punch at the location. The flames exploded and space trembled. A huge crack immediately appeared connected to the empty void.
Seeing this, he sneered and his other fist came slamming down with a thunderous force. After several consecutive punches, the space in front of him completely disintegrated like a shattered mirror to reveal a black hole the size of the Territory Gate. However, what made him speechless was the extremely dangerous aura coming from within the black hole. It was filled with an aura of nothingness and chaos. In addition, probing into it caused their Divine Sense to be devoured cleanly.
Chi Yan couldn’t help being a little speechless. Even though he was a Demon Saint, he did not dare to enter this black hole to investigate the situation inside as he knew he might never find the exit again if he accidentally lost his way inside.
Pondering for a moment, he reached out and grabbed a few Demon Kings from below, “Investigate the situation inside. See if you can find an exit, then come back and report to me!”
After saying that, he disregarded the reaction of the Demon Kings and tossed them into the black hole. Those Demon Kings vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye.
After standing there and waiting for around a quarter hour, Chi Yan declared with an icy expression, “It looks like the Territory Gate here has been destroyed.”
If it had not been destroyed, one of those Demon Kings would have found the exit and returned to report by now. Since none of those Demon Kings could be seen, they had probably been struck by a disaster. He did not expect the situation to turn out like this after forcibly breaking the seal Yang Kai had placed on the Territory Gate.
This was something Yang Kai himself had not been able to foresee. He had formed a conjecture that two possible scenarios would occur if the seal he placed on the Territory Gate was forcibly broken. The first was that the Territory Gate would be revealed and returned to normal. The second was that the Territory Gate would be destroyed along with the seal. Now, it would seem that the second scenario was the correct one.
Xue Li gave a strange chuckling laugh, “There were only two Territory Gates left on Eternal Sky Continent. This one is destroyed, so if he also placed a seal on the other Territory Gate, wouldn’t that mean we will all be trapped here? That would be quite a terrible joke.”
As soon as those words rang out, Fu Yu turned around without saying a word and quickly rushed towards the only remaining Territory Gate. Although what Xue Li said was a terrifying prospect, they knew that Yang Kai had no time to seal the last remaining Territory Gate. Both Territory Gates were connected to different continents after all, and having managed to escape, Yang Kai would be focused on escaping. He would not have had the time to head to the other continent to seal the second Territory Gate. Even so, the rest of the Demon Saints hurriedly followed after Fu Yu.
Half a day later, many Demon Saints rushed out of Eternal Sky Continent through the last remaining Territory Gate, each of them wearing a deeply profound expression on their faces.
They all knew that it would be very difficult for them to track down Yang Kai’s trail again after such a long delay. Fortunately, Can Ye had already gone to guard the Two Worlds’ Passage, making it impossible for Yang Kai to leave the Demon Realm. Rashly trying to pass through the Two Worlds’ Passage would be nothing more than throwing himself into a trap. As long as he didn’t leave the Demon Realm, they would be able to find him one day. Besides, there were not many places that he could hide in this situation. As long as they laid an ambush in certain areas in advance, they might still succeed in catching him.
Many Demon Saints exchanged glances for a bit, then they scattered and spread out in different directions. They were all heading to where they thought Yang Kai was most likely to go.
Halfway through the journey, Bei Li Mo suddenly stopped in her tracks. She smiled softly, her beautiful eyes twinkling slightly. Then, she turned around and headed in a certain direction.
At the same time, Yang Kai was rushing through the skies above one of the Demon Realm’s continents. He was holding a map of the Demon Realm in his hands, trying to figure out his location. At first, he had intended to find a way back to the Star Boundary as soon as he got out of danger. He wanted to fulfil the Great Emperor’s last wish and bring the Star Boundary’s Will back; however, a chill ran through his heart for no apparent reason the moment that thought crossed his mind. Realizing that trying to escape this way would be no different from throwing himself into a deadly trap, he gritted his teeth and gave up on the idea after some slight hesitation.
[If I try to return to the Star Boundary… I’m sure the Demon Saints will be expecting me. Besides, there is only one Two Worlds’ Passage. They only need to fortify that place, and my path will be blocked off completely.] Yang Kai was certain that there was already a Demon Saint heading towards the passage by now. Zhui Feng might be fast, but he could not outrun a Demon Saint.
Since he couldn’t head toward the Two Worlds’ Passage, then there were only two other places that he could go. One was Hundred Spirits Continent! Rushing into Hundred Spirits Continent to seek shelter from Chang Tian might be one way, but he did not know if Chang Tian could withstand the pressure of so many Demon Saints. It was true that Chang Tian looked highly upon Yang Kai, but that was because his vitality was nearing its limits and he wanted to train Yang Kai as his successor. Unfortunately, he might not be willing to completely fall out with the Demon Saints and bring chaos to Hundred Spirits Continent as a result just for Yang Kai’s sake if more than ten Demon Saints joined forces to put pressure on him.
One of the reasons why Hundred Spirits Continent managed to remain peaceful for so many years was that Chang Tian himself was not to be trifled with. He had enough strength to make the Demon Saints respect him. The second reason was that none of the Demon Saints were willing to push Chang Tian into the arms of any one Demon Saint. That was why Hundred Spirits Continent had managed to survive between the cracks for so long.
Be that as it may, a thirteenth Demon Saint was related to the interests of the entire Demon Realm. The many Demon Saints would certainly be able to reach a consensus on this issue.
What’s more; it was not really a wise decision to place one’s own safety in somebody else’s care. Yang Kai had not been acquainted with Chang Tian for long and did not really know the latter that well; therefore, he only entertained that idea for a brief moment before immediately rejecting it.
The second option was to head toward Yu Ru Meng’s territory. Although what Bei Li Mo and Bright Moon said to him previously had caused him to be a little more suspicious and vigilant towards Yu Ru Meng, it was obvious she had done a lot to protect him back on Eternal Sky Continent. He was certain that it would not be a problem if he went to her. The only problem was whether she could actually protect him.
After mulling over it, he decided he would neither go to Hundred Spirits Continent nor Yu Ru Meng’s Territory. Instead, he would search for a continent that had disappeared and hide there. There were many continents that had disappeared in the Demon Realm, so he only needed to find one and hide there to escape detection. Now that the situation was so tense, it would be best if he could lay low for three to five years. He could show his face again once the storm died down. It would not be too late for him to find a way back to the Star Boundary at that time.
Upon making up his mind, he hurriedly checked the map in his hand. At the same time, he thought back on all the information on the various continents in the Demon Realm that he had seen before and confirmed his location a short while later. He also found the nearest continent that had disappeared. It was not too far away. He only needed to pass through two Territory Gates to reach it.
He had just put the map away when his expression abruptly turned frosty. He restrained Zhui Feng, who was speeding ahead swiftly. With a loud neigh, Zhui Feng stopped in mid-air and let out a loud snort.
Yang Kai’s expression turned extremely solemn as he turned his head and looked around his surroundings and called out, “Which Divine Saint has come? Show yourself since you are already here, why bother sneaking around?”
After saying that, he waited quietly for a short while, but there was no response.
Seeing this, Yang Kai sneered, “The opportunity to become a Great Emperor currently lies in me. Holy Venerable, go ahead and make your move if you wish to take it. You can’t be afraid of me, right?”
There was still no response.
He couldn’t help frowning in response. [Could I have been wrong? That doesn’t make sense!]
At that moment, he had clearly felt himself being watched by somebody hiding in the dark. That feeling had been so obvious that he could not have felt wrongly with his current cultivation and level of perception! The only people who could conceal themselves from him could not be ordinary Masters. It was most likely a Demon Saint, but if that was the case, why not show themselves? He wasn’t a Demon Saint’s opponent at his peak, much less in his current condition.
Listening to Yang Kai murmuring to himself under his breath, Zhui Feng couldn’t resist turning back to glance at him, his eyes filled with suspicion, as though he was asking, ‘Are you stupid? There’s nobody nearby. Who are you talking to?’
At the same time, Yang Kai sensed the feeling of being spied on disappearing without a trace. This puzzled him greatly. [What is going on? Could it be that I felt it wrongly?]
It didn’t matter which Demon Saint was spying on him in secret though. Since they were not showing themselves, then it could only mean that they had no intention of attacking him. It seriously did not make any sense.
Unable to do anything about it, he once again directed Zhui Feng towards the continent he had decided on previously while simultaneously stuffing a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth, crunching them like candy.
After passing through two Territory Gates in succession, his expression darkened as he neared his destination, but it wasn’t because of something bad; rather, it was a good thing. He could feel the Qi in his body fluctuating. The bottleneck he had been facing for so many years was slowly loosening.
[I can’t believe I’m showing signs of breaking through at this time!]
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had been worrying about his cultivation that had been stuck in the Second-Order Emperor Realm for such a long time, more so when the war between the two worlds broke out. After entering the Demon Realm, he had always felt that his strength was a little insufficient. He had always been strong in will but weak in strength every time he had to face those Half-Saints; thus, he had been wondering when he would finally achieve a breakthrough. Unfortunately, his cultivation had not shown any signs of movement up until now.
[Why does it have to be now!?] During such troubled times, when he should be hiding and concealing his presence… Who could have thought that he would start showing signs of achieving a breakthrough!?
Thinking about it for a moment though, it wasn’t that strange. He had received the opportunity from the Great Emperor and the Star Boundary’s Will. Although his strength had not shown significant improvement, the hidden benefits were slowly beginning to surface. The loosening of his cultivation’s bottleneck was most likely related to this.
If he had a choice, he would definitely not choose to undergo a breakthrough at this time. He tried to suppress it only to discover that the fluctuating Qi was like the rumblings of a volcano. The more he tried to press it down, the more powerful it rebounded. It seemed determined on breaking through the barrier and reaching for the skies, which made him feel extremely speechless.
The destination he decided on previously was no longer viable. The continents that had disappeared might be extremely safe places to hide, but the World Principles in those continents were shattered beyond repair. They were not suitable for breakthroughs.
On the other hand, the Small Sealed World was an excellent place to go. The World Principles in the current Small Sealed World were complete. Combined with its abundant World Energy, it was enough to meet his breakthrough requirements. More importantly, nobody would notice regardless of how much of a commotion he caused if he underwent a breakthrough inside.
Just as this idea struck him though, Yang Kai had a vague and uncomfortable feeling in his heart. It felt as though he would definitely miss out on something important if he had his breakthrough in Sealed World Bead. Moreover, it was something that he would regret for the rest of his life! Without any further hesitation, he immediately turned Zhui Feng around and headed towards Cloud Shadow Continent.
He did not choose to undergo his breakthrough in the Small Sealed World. One of the reasons was the unease he felt in his heart. The other reason was due to the lack of security. If he entered the Small Seal World, then the Sealed World Bead would be exposed to the world. It didn’t matter how well he concealed himself. He could not guarantee that the Sealed World Bead would not be found with so many Demon Saints of the Demon Realm searching for him. The Divine Sense of the Demon Saints was outrageously powerful. It was not impossible for them to notice a bead that was obviously rather unusual if they carried out a thorough search. If any of the Demon Saints discovered the Sealed World Bead, he would truly become a turtle hiding in his own shell.
On the other hand, the Embodiment was the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent. Choosing to break through there could greatly benefit him. At the very least, the Embodiment could cover up the commotion of his breakthrough to the greatest extent. Furthermore, Cloud Shadow Continent was part of Yu Ru Meng’s territory, so if any troubles were to arise, she would surely come to his aid as soon as possible.
Having come to a decision, Yang Kai stopped thinking about it. He rode on Zhui Feng’s back, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing. With his breakthrough so imminent, he had to maintain himself in his best condition; otherwise, his cultivation path would be cut off if his breakthrough failed. This was not something that could be taken lightly.
The injuries he suffered were not caused by others. They were caused by the backlash of the Mountains and Rivers Bell from the time when he teamed up with the Embodiment to deal with Yue Sang. They could not be considered serious, but could also not be considered light.
Those injuries were recovering quickly with the help of the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills he took, and he could vaguely sense that he would almost be fully healed by the time he arrived on Cloud Shadow Continent.
Yang Kai passed through Territory Gate after Territory Gate until half a day later, trouble came just as he was about to reach the next gate.
Looking from afar, he could see that many members of the Demon Race were forming a blockade around the Territory Gate and performing a strict check on each person that passed through. Yang Kai watched with his own eyes as a passing member of the Demon Race even had their Space Ring taken from them for investigation.
This situation darkened Yang Kai’s expression. He knew that he must be the cause of this. He probably did not encounter such a situation previously because news had not spread out yet. The entire Demon Realm was probably taking strict precautions right now.
He quietly scanned the surroundings and was relieved to see that there were no Half-Saints guarding this place. Although there were several Demon Kings, they were no match for him if he really wanted to force his way through. Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not want to reveal his current whereabouts. On the other hand, it didn’t make sense to change his course either.
After pondering for a while, he placed Zhui Feng into the Sealed World Bead and flew out alone. He wandered around for a while and quickly came across a lone member of the Demon Race. This man was a Low-Rank Demon King. When he saw Yang Kai blocking his road, he opened his mouth and let out a cold laugh, but the only reply he received was Yang Kai’s aggressive attacks.
It only took three punches and two kicks for Yang Kai to beat the Low-Rank Demon King into the ground. After that, he didn’t waste any time, reaching out to grab the latter’s head. Divine Sense overflowed like a tide, tearing through the Low-Rank Demon King’s Knowledge Sea defences and forcefully extracting the other party’s Soul Brand.
The Low-Rank Demon King had not recovered from his shock even after Yang Kai released him; however, his expression changed drastically the moment Yang Kai’s Divine Sense moved and he glanced up at Yang Kai aggrievedly, “Who are you and what do you want?”
Having his Soul Brand taken from his Knowledge Sea meant that his life was no longer his to control. That was not something anybody could accept. Even so, he was no fool. He knew that Yang Kai must have done it for a reason.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, took out the Sealed World Bead, and said lightly, “Swallow this bead and pass through the Territory Gate over there.”
The Demon King frowned at those words, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask; otherwise, your life will be at risk!” Yang Kai coldly snorted and tossed the Sealed World Bead over.
By the time the Demon King caught the Sealed World Bead and looked up again, he discovered that there was nobody standing in front of him. He couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious. If not for the Stolen Soul Brand and the bead in his hand, he would have thought that what happened just now was nothing more than a hallucination.
Looking around his surroundings, he tried to search for a trace of the man from before. Then, an unbearable pain appeared in his mind. It felt like his Soul itself was going to be torn apart. He was secretly surprised and realized that the man from before must be watching his movements from somewhere despite hiding in the shadows. That man was capable of killing him anytime and anywhere. The pain just now was definitely a warning.
[What did he ask me to do just now? Oh, right. Swallow the bead and pass through the Territory Gate…] He looked at the Sealed World Bead in his hand, feeling overwhelmed with sorrow and anxiety. [This thing doesn’t look that special. I don’t even know whether it’s poisonous…]
The sadness and anger in his heart could not be more pronounced. Misfortune had struck him out of nowhere even though he had not provoked nor upset anybody. How could he make sense of things?
Unfortunately, he had his Soul Brand taken. Even if this bead really turned out to be poisonous, he had to swallow it. Thus, he swallowed the Sealed World Bead into his belly and headed towards the Territory Gate with a sullen expression. He couldn’t not go. There was a sliver of Divine Sense locked onto his Soul in his Knowledge Sea. He could be killed at any moment!
A short while later, he arrived near the Territory Gate. He raised his head and saw that it was very heavily guarded. The Territory Gate was tightly surrounded by a platoon of the Demons and the aura of many Demon Kings seeped out from among them as they did a strict check on any traveller. Only then did he understand why that person had asked him to pass through the Territory Gate. [He must have committed a crime. But what crime did he commit that would warrant so many powerful figures hunting him down?]
If not for the dangerous element in his Knowledge Sea that could extinguish his Soul at any time, he would have happily reported the incident to the army. Unfortunately, he dared not act rashly with that sliver of Divine Sense locked onto his Soul.
He thought to himself. [Everything will be over as long as I pass through that Territory Gate. No matter how powerful he is, he won’t be able to find me again; after all, he couldn’t possibly pass through the Territory Gate in secret with such a heavy guard around it, right? If he had that kind of ability, he would not have forced me into doing this.]
He flew towards the Territory Gate in trepidation and was immediately stopped by a Demon General who asked coldly, “Stop! Where are you from and where are you going!?”
The Demon King squeezed out a smile, cupped his fist, and answered these questions carefully without lying.
The Demon General glanced at the Demon King, then he reached out a hand and unfurled a picture scroll in front of the latter, “Have you seen this man?”
Looking at the picture scroll, the Demon King’s eyelids twitched slightly. The portrait depicted on the picture scroll was none other than that person he encountered just now.
[As I thought. He must have committed a crime after all.] Still, he quickly shook his head in response, “No.”
The Demon General put away the picture scroll and said lightly, “If you see this person, report it to us immediately. Once the information has been confirmed to be accurate, you will receive a reward of a hundred Myriad Demon Pills! The reward is five hundred Myriad Demon Pills if you can capture him!”
“A hundred Myriad Demon Pills!” Upon hearing this, the Demon King couldn’t help letting out a cry of surprise as his eyes turned red from greed. He might be a Demon King, but he was only a Low-Rank Demon King. He was unsatisfied with his position on his continent, and although he had heard of Myriad Demon Pills before, he had never seen one himself. If he were to receive a hundred Myriad Demon Pills, it would be enough for him to cultivate until he became a High-Rank Demon King, and if he could capture that criminal, he would receive five hundred Myriad Demon Pills!
[Just what is this!? With so many Myriad Demon Pills, I would never have to worry about my future anymore!] Only the Demon Saints could bring out so many Myriad Demon Pills at once. Even Half-Saints did not have such capacity.
He couldn’t help swallowing nervously, nearly blurting out what he knew. Nevertheless, he thought about his life which was currently hanging by a thread and decided to keep quiet for now. Myriad Demon Pills were great, but he needed to be alive to refine them. There was no point in having a Myriad Demon Pill if he was dead.
He cautiously asked, “What crime did he commit?”
The Demon General replied, “He interfered in the Holy Venerables’ affairs. Right now, all Holy Venerables are working together to find him.”
[I can’t believe it is related to the Holy Venerables. Moreover, it involves all of them…] When the thought appeared, the Demon King couldn’t help feeling a sheen of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. He had a vague feeling that he had been dragged into something extremely terrible.
He continued forward and went through a series of strict checks. Even his Space Ring was searched before they allowed him to pass. Then, he secretly decided. [The moment I pass through the Territory Gate, I will immediately report this matter once I confirm my safety. I won’t be able to get the reward of five hundred Myriad Demon Pills, but a hundred Myriad Demon Pills won’t hurt, right?]
A short while later, he passed through the Territory Gate and arrived on a different continent. He glanced about him in a furtive manner and spoke through gritted teeth, “I’ve done what you asked of me. There’s nothing else you need from me, right?”
The surroundings were silent, and there was no response.
[Hahahaha! I knew he couldn’t have possibly crossed the Territory Gate with me!] He was elated.
Secretly confirming his location once more, he hurriedly headed in a certain direction, his eyes gleaming with a red light as though he could already see a hundred Myriad Demon Pills beckoning at him.
At that moment, there was a slight twinge of pain in his Knowledge Sea and he staggered and almost fell from the sky. After stabilizing his body, he looked around him as cold sweat dripped down his back.
[That’s impossible! I’m already on another continent! How can he still know what I am doing!? Don’t tell me he’s somewhere nearby!? But, that doesn’t make sense! If he can sneak past the Territory Gate without alerting the guards, then why did he need me to do that!?] While he was caught up in his swirling thoughts of doubt, the pain in his Knowledge Sea increased ever so slightly. It frightened him so much that he anxiously shouted, “I didn’t expose your whereabouts! If you have something to say, we should talk it out!”
After the words left his mouth, the pain disappeared; however, a wave of pain struck him again before he could catch his breath.
This cycle repeated many times. The Demon King was tortured to the point where he was weak from the pain. He cried out with a mournful expression, “What do you want!? Come out and tell me what you want. Stop torturing me like this!”
Nobody would feel good if they were walking on the edge of life or death all the time. The danger that his Soul could be extinguished at anytime and anywhere was a huge torture in and of itself. Be that as it may, no matter how much he cried out, that person from before did not respond at all.
After a long time, his expression suddenly changed. He opened his mouth and cast a Secret Technique for him to spit out the bead he had swallowed earlier. There was an expression of uncertainty on his face.
The moment he spat out the bead, a figure flashed and appeared in front of him. It was the figure of that person who had tortured him so badly just now.
At this moment, Yang Kai had a cold expression on his face and he snorted softly, “I was wondering if you would ever figure it out.” [If this guy didn’t spit out the Sealed World Bead soon, my only option would have been to break out through his body. That would have killed him.]
While saying that, he retrieved the Sealed World Bead.
The Demon King stared at Yang Kai, then stared at the Sealed World Bead, stammering, “Y-Y-You…”
Yang Kai sternly said, “Don’t stick your nose into my business. I need to go to Cloud Shadow Continent. Seeing as your performance was fairly lacklustre, you will lead me there.”
The Demon King secretly wailed in his heart upon hearing those words. It was just that he was under the other party’s control so he had no choice but to lower his head in acquiescence. The vexed feeling in his heart could not get any stronger.
Yang Kai ignored the Demon King’s mood and summoned his Tiger Head Chariot directly, beckoned to the poor soul, and brought him along. He had already decided on the route by the time the Demon King boarded. Afterward, the War Chariot turned into a stream of light and sped away with a surge of Emperor Qi.
Since they already had the experience of working together once, things were much easier after that.
Yang Kai would hide himself in the Sealed World Bead every time they got near a Territory Gate, then ask the Demon King to swallow the bead and pass through the layers of security to enter the next continent. Once they reached a safe place, Yang Kai would come out again and continue the journey on his Tiger Head Chariot.
This method might waste a little more time, but it was far safer. Nobody could have imagined that Yang Kai would conceal himself inside a bead to pass through the Demon Race’s strict security checks. Yu Ru Meng might have thought of this, but she would never tell the other Demon Saints about it.
After four or five days of torturous travelling, Yang Kai finally arrived in Yu Ru Meng’s territory. Unlike the territories of the other Demon Saints, the Territory Gates on the continents under her jurisdiction were not showing signs of being fortified. This was probably the only undefended zone in all the Demon Realm today. It made him feel a little relieved. In his eyes, she was different from the other Demon Saints after all.
It took a few more twists and turns before he arrived on Cloud Shadow Continent.
“This is Cloud Shadow Continent. Senior Yang, I have fulfilled your request. Can you… let me go now?” Upon arriving on Cloud Shadow, Huo Lun looked at Yang Kai expectantly. Despite knowing that it was a slim chance, he still had to try.
They might not be well acquainted with each other, but at the very least, they had gotten to know each other’s names after spending a few days together.
Yang Kai glanced at Huo Lun and calmly asked, “Do you think that’s possible?”
Huo Lun paled, took a few steps back, and angrily asked, “Do you have to kill me!?”
[This is truly a disaster! I followed along obediently without provoking him or causing any trouble. I can’t believe I am facing a life-threatening catastrophe! This is the worst!] He secretly vowed to himself. [If he is going to kill me, I will definitely take a bite out of his flesh first!]
“Not necessarily. You have been of great help to me. Killing you will make me seem a little ungrateful. Nevertheless, letting you go is impossible.” Yang Kai laughed softly as he raised the Sealed World Bead in his hand and said, “You must have guessed the use of this item by now.”
Huo Lun looked at the Sealed World Bead and nodded helplessly. Over the past few days, Yang Kai had entered and exited this bead right in front of him several times, so only a fool would not be able to figure out what the Sealed World Bead was used for. It was definitely a treasure that could contain living creatures inside!
“You have a choice. Die, or be kept inside.” Yang Kai stared at Huo Lun.
Huo Lun only hesitated for a moment before he smiled bitterly, “Is that even a choice?” As he spoke, his whole body relaxed in a posture of resignation.
“Wise decision!” Yang Kai stretched out his hand to grab at Huo Lun. Space Principles fluctuated as Huo Lun vanished into thin air.
There were two reasons why Yang Kai did not kill Huo Lun. One was the reason he mentioned earlier. The other reason was that he wanted to test if the expansion of the Sealed World Bead was suitable for the viability of the Demon Race.
The world inside the Sealed World Bead was now composed of three parts. The first part was the original space of the Sealed World Bead itself, the second part was comprised of the Cultivation Stars that the Sealed World Bead had devoured in Grand Desolation Star Field, and the third part was comprised of the continents that had disappeared in the Demon Realm.
The first two parts had been integrated into one while the last part was still an independent existence. Those continents that had disappeared had been fragmented and their World Principles had shattered; however, they were showing signs of recombining after being devoured by the Sealed World Bead. The broken World Principles seemed to be gradually becoming perfect again.
If the Demon Race could survive or even cultivate in such an environment, it would be of great help to the next part of Yang Kai’s plan. Thus, Huo Lun was sent to the third part, the newly expanded space.
After doing that, Yang Kai hurriedly released the Embodiment. He wanted to break through and advance to the next Realm on Cloud Shadow Continent. To do that, he needed the Embodiment’s help to cover up the commotion his breakthrough would cause, or he would surely be discovered. This was the main reason why he ventured back to Cloud Shadow Continent.
His injuries were fully healed after so many days on the run, but the fluctuating Qi in his body was getting harder and harder to control. It seemed to have reached the limit. If he had not spent so much effort to suppress it, he might have undergone the breakthrough halfway through their journey.
Time waited for no man and Yang Kai was going to undergo his breakthrough right this very moment; however, his expression suddenly turned icy as he turned his head and yelled furiously, “Who’s there!?”
The Embodiment, who was about to take Yang Kai to a safe place, jumped in fright. He hurriedly spread his Divine Sense out to investigate the surroundings, but after a while, he turned to look at Yang Kai suspiciously only to see him with a solemn expression on his face, as if he was about to face his greatest enemy. The Embodiment was extremely puzzled by the sight and asked in a quiet voice, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai looked very tense as he kept searching around his surroundings and asked, “Didn’t you feel anything?”
“Nope!” The Embodiment shook his head.
Yang Kai glanced at the Embodiment in surprise and exclaimed softly, “How is that possible?”
Just now, the feeling of being watched had appeared again. It felt as though there was a pair of invisible eyes staring at him from somewhere. It was an extremely unsettling feeling. When this feeling first appeared a few days ago, Yang Kai had thought one of the Demon Saints had caught up with him; however, there had been no signs of a Demon Saint ambushing him afterward, so he couldn’t help feeling a little confused by the situation.
It wasn’t until today when that feeling appeared again that he confirmed that this was by no means an illusion. He was really being targeted by somebody, but to his astonishment, the Embodiment, the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, had not noticed anything at all. That left Yang Kai feeling even more baffled than ever.
[Have I been too nervous lately? Is that why my perception is playing tricks on me? This is the Embodiment’s territory after all, so it’s impossible for him not to notice anything even if it was a Demon Saint hiding nearby.]
If the Embodiment did not have a direct link to his own Soul, Yang Kai would have suspected him of lying to him. More importantly, there was no need for any of the Demon Saints to be so cryptic, regardless of which Demon Saint it was. They had the power to crush everything with their strength, so they only had to step forward to capture him. There was no need to go through all this dawdling.
While he was speaking, that feeling disappeared without a trace again.
The Embodiment asked, “Did you really sense something?”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, then he slowly shook his head, “I’m not sure. I don’t know if it was just my imagination.”
The Embodiment fell silent as he did not know what to say in this situation.
Yang Kai couldn’t spare the time to think about it though with his breakthrough being so imminent. Even if there really was a Demon Saint hiding nearby, he could not stop them if they wanted to harm him, so he could only do his best against them when that happened. Moreover, higher cultivation would surely give him a higher chance of surviving the encounter.
“Let’s begin!” Yang Kai declared in a deep voice, sweeping aside the mess of thoughts swirling in his head.
The Embodiment nodded. Activating his Demon Qi, he wrapped Yang Kai in it before burrowing into the ground. The pair navigated through the ground where there was neither light nor sound.
Yang Kai didn’t know how long had passed before he felt the pressure around him loosened and the Demon Qi wrapping him retracted. The Embodiment’s voice sounded in his ears next, “This is a cave a hundred kilometres underground. The commotion from your breakthrough should be suppressed with me standing guard.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and swept his surroundings, taking in the pitch-black darkness that he could still vaguely make out as a large cave. It was dark and damp, and he could vaguely hear the sound of running water. There was probably an underground river flowing nearby. Although the conditions were a little lacking, Yang Kai was not complaining. He immediately took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.
With a wave of his hand, batches of High-Rank Source Crystals were thrown out of his Space Ring. The Source Crystals turned into dust the moment they left the Space Ring and the dense World Energy contained within soon flooded the cave, forming a thick mist. All of a sudden, the dark and damp cave was transformed into a cultivation paradise.
Yang Kai spared no effort in the preparations for a successful breakthrough to the Third-Order Emperor Realm. At this time, he couldn’t help feeling relieved that he had prepared enough cultivation resources before coming to the Demon Realm; otherwise, he would not have had sufficient resources in this accursed place. He wasn’t finished yet though. Reaching into the Space Ring again, he took out a handful of Spirit Pills and swallowed them to ensure that he had enough energy to meet his breakthrough requirements.
On the Martial Dao, every Minor Realm of the Emperor Realm was blocked by a formidable barrier that innumerable talented cultivators failed to break through. That was the case whether it was from the First-Order to the Second-Order, from the Second-Order to the Third-Order, or from the Third-Order to the Pseudo-Great Emperor Realm and eventually Great Emperor Realm. How many people had experienced cultivation dissonance at the time of their breakthrough? Likewise, how many people had died or lost their cultivation during the process?
In addition, Yang Kai had chosen to undergo his breakthrough in the Demon Realm. He could not afford to be careless.
He immediately quieted his mind once everything was prepared, focusing on himself and clearing all distractions away. Quietly performing a set of hand seals, he released the suppression he had been placing on himself all this time. Immediately afterwards, the fluctuating aura in his body erupted outward.
A shudder ran through his body while at the same time, his Emperor Qi rumbled and soared to the sky, only to smash against an invisible barrier.
Yang Kai grunted involuntarily as pain spread all over his body. It felt like his entire body was being ripped to pieces, causing him to tremble. His entire body oozed with a layer of sweat from the extreme pain and his clothes were soon completely drenched.
The Emperor Qi in his body that had ballooned to its limits slowly deflated. Be that as it may, Yang Kai was not discouraged by his failure in this attempt. His previous breakthroughs had always gone very smoothly, so he rarely encountered such situations. Even so, who could continue experiencing never-ending success in the Martial Dao without running into any trouble whatsoever? Who could keep advancing down a path of great progress without facing some obstacles? Even the Great Emperors and Demon Saints suffered countless setbacks when they were younger. The setback Yang Kai experienced today would only serve to lay a solid foundation for tomorrow.
The pores on his body relaxed, greedily sucking in the dense World Energy in his surroundings into his body. The medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills also began to take effect in his lower abdomen. His Emperor Qi flowed smoothly, his aura recovered, and he tried to break through the bottleneck once again.
Muffled grunts rang out in this dark and damp cave without pause in a rhythmic fashion. The spot Yang Kai was sitting was soon soaked in sweat. Every attempt was met with a corresponding failure. Every single time, the pain was excruciating. The flesh on his body was torn apart, his meridians were disconnected, and his pores overflowed with Golden Blood.
At this moment, the Embodiment, who had been monitoring Yang Kai’s progress, couldn’t help starting to feel worried. It could be said that he had grown up with Yang Kai, but he had never seen him going through such a difficult breakthrough before.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help. As the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, he could only provide a place that was safe for Yang Kai’s breakthrough and suppress the commotion that occurred. The rest was up to Yang Kai himself.
It was true that Yang Kai’s growth rate was extremely fast compared to others, and this kind of rapid growth was bound to come with some hidden dangers. These hidden dangers were usually undetectable until they burst out at a critical moment, just like what was happening now…
“After killing this King, do you really feel no guilt?” A familiar voice suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai’s expression instantly became grim. He opened his eyes only to realize with a start that he was no longer in the dark cave. He was standing in the void with a Blood Sea spreading out around him. Additionally, there was a blood-covered figure standing in front of him with a sneer stretched across the face of a youth. Yang Kai’s fist had punched right through the youth’s chest, shattering his heart and vitality… It was Bright Moon Great Emperor!
The pupils of Yang Kai’s eyes contracted. He immediately reacted as he had on the day of this tragedy, trying to pull his fist out of the youth’s chest, but to his shock, Bright Moon grabbed his arm and held on stubbornly.
Then, Bright Moon leaned his body forward slightly. The expression on his face at this moment was incredibly hideous, “I am a Great Emperor! I represent the Star Boundary’s Will! How dare you kill me!?”
Yang Kai’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, staring forward with a blank expression. After being stunned for a long time, his expression suddenly sank as he gritted his teeth and roared, “Heart Demon!”
Bright Moon Great Emperor was dead, his body placed in the medicine garden of the Small Sealed World. It didn’t make sense for him to come out again, much less reproduce the same scene from that ill-fated day. The only explanation was that Yang Kai was currently experiencing the outbreak of a Heart Demon!
Yang Kai had been running for his life for the past few days, so the guilt and regret of killing a Great Emperor with his own hands had been repressed in his heart. He had deliberately tried to forget about it, he had deliberately avoided thinking about it, but as a result, repressing his emotions had given birth to a Heart Demon at this time.
In order to enter the Demon Realm back then, Yang Kai had worked together with Iron Blood Great Emperor to jointly put on an act in front of Yu Ru Meng, making it seem like he was experiencing a cultivation dissonance. He never imagined that he would really be faced with this kind of crisis one day.
If he couldn’t overcome his Heart Demon, everything would fall apart. Forget about breaking through to the next Realm, it would be a joyous miracle if his cultivation did not regress. In the worst case, he might really suffer from cultivation dissonance, become demonified, and lose himself. A huge sense of crisis fell over him, but as it did, he instead became calmer.
Yang Kai lowered his gaze, the black hair on his forehead casting a dark shadow over his face. He took a deep breath, looked up, and met Bright Moon’s eyes, “Of course, I do! You are a Great Emperor, and yet, you died at my hand. Of course, I feel guilty about killing you!”
Standing opposite Yang Kai, Bright Moon broke out into an evil smile, “Since you feel guilty, then why do you force yourself like this? Why not accompany this King on his journey to the Yellow Springs?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Senior, do you really think that way?”
Bright Moon’s expression turned frosty, “You are a sinner of the Star Boundary. Don’t tell me you still want to continue living!?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head and pulled his arm out of Bright Moon’s chest, little by little. Due to Bright Moon’s intervention, his actions were extremely slow, “I don’t believe that I am a sinner of the Star Boundary. What you said is wrong, Senior.”
Bright Moon sneered, “Not a sinner? Don’t tell me you think you are a hero?”
“I can’t say that I’m a hero. I killed you after all. But I prevented the Star Boundary’s Will from falling into the hands of the Demon Race. Senior, you chose to die at my hands. If I really have to say it… it doesn’t matter how guilty I feel, I was helpless at the time.”
“Rubbish!” Bright Moon shouted with a hideous expression, “You are proficient in the Dao of Space! You could have taken me away long ago! But you didn’t want to take any reckless risks nor put yourself in danger. You are the reason I died in the Demon Realm! You are the Star Boundary’s greatest sinner!”
“Please don’t joke, Senior.” Yang Kai remained calm, “Although I am proficient in the Dao of Space, I am weak. How could I have taken you away with a Demon Saint guarding you?”
“Giving up so easily without even trying? You only think of yourself!” Bright Moon’s accusations became sharper and harsher, targeting the weakest parts of Yang Kai’s mind.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shaken by those words and his stable mood nearly became disordered as a result. He had asked himself the same question back when he witnessed Bright Moon’s death with his own eyes, [Why didn’t I rescue Bright Moon earlier? If I had made a move earlier, we might have had a chance of success. At least, I wouldn’t have to carry this guilt around for the rest of my life.]
Watching Yang Kai close his eyes in pain, Bright Moon laughed coldly, “What else can you say to that?”
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes again, “I have nothing to say.”
Bright Moon smiled slightly as his body fluttered over to Yang Kai’s side, “In that case, why bother struggling so needlessly? Why don’t you simply follow your heart and indulge in unfettered freedom?”
“If the ‘unfettered freedom’ you mentioned means becoming demonified, then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Senior.” Yang Kai looked at Bright Moon indifferently and sighed softly, “Senior, my pain stems from the pain of losing a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, not because I failed to save you. My strength is so lacking, there was no way I could have rescued you…”
While he was speaking, he finally retracted his hand from Bright Moon’s chest. Then, he slammed his fist forward again.
“Forgive me, Senior!”
When his fist landed, Bright Moon shattered into pieces. After making up for the apology he didn’t have the time to say before Bright Moon died back then, the tension in Yang Kai’s heart seemed to have relaxed. He finally made up for the regret he had felt. He had carefully considered the possibilities over the past few days; in particular, whether he could have succeeded in rescuing Bright Moon during their first meeting, but no matter how he thought about it, he could not fathom the slightest possibility of success.
The reason he was able to safely exit from the Blood Sea at that time was all thanks to Bright Moon. Xue Li, who had been guarding the Blood Sea at the time, would have noticed him immediately if not for Bright Moon’s distraction; therefore, he would certainly be greeted with the fury of a Demon Saint the moment he placed Bright Moon into the Sealed World Bead. If that happened, then not only would Bright Moon’s condition worsen, but he would also be dragged into the mess.
Space Beacons were certainly a possibility. He could have left a Space Beacon near the Territory Gate in advance, but what good would that have done? Whether it was the Twelve Pinnacles Grand Demon Array or the boundless Blood Sea formed from the blood sacrifice of the entire Eternal Sky Continent, both had the power of sealing space; thus, Yang Kai could not use his Space Beacon to perform long-distance Instantaneous Movement from inside.
It should be mentioned that even the Embodiment could only use a Space Beacon to perform an Instantaneous Movement to come to Yang Kai’s side after Yue Sang had allowed him into the Blood Sea. If it wasn’t for Yue Sang’s oversight in letting the Embodiment and Zhui Feng into the Blood Sea, Yang Kai would have been utterly powerless against him. For that reason, he was not at the point where he would be overcome by his Heart Demon even though he felt guilty over Bright Moon’s death.
Bright Moon’s body dissipated into particles of light, but they soon condensed into another figure. This figure had shapely curves and a trace of holiness in her bewitching face. It was Yu Ru Meng.
Yang Kai stared at her in a daze, feeling complicated and wondering to himself. [How did Ru Meng turn into my Heart Demon? Could it be because I have been on guard against her whether consciously or unconsciously?]
“Yang Kai, the Star Boundary’s Will is extremely important to the Demon Realm. Hand it…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Yang Kai had already thrown a punch at her. Even Bright Moon’s death had been unable to shake his mind, so what more needed to be said about Yu Ru Meng who was alive and well? He might have felt distressed and upset over this if the effects of the Heart Seal Secret Technique had not been transferred away, but the current him did not feel anything about it. Forget a trivial Heart Demon, even if it had been the actual person in the real world, he would have thrown a punch at her if she had dared to ask that of him.
The illusion of Yu Ru Meng shattered and fell apart like the one before it.
Yang Kai’s body suddenly relaxed as he believed that he had succeeded in his challenge, but to his surprise, the shattered illusion began to condense once more. He stared at it curiously, feeling rather stunned. [Who will the illusion turn into this time? Do I have that many Heart Demons?] He did not have many regrets or dissatisfactions in his life. It made sense why Bright Moon and Yu Ru Meng had appeared, but who could the third person be?
However, his expression soon changed as he stared at the sight in front of him in amazement. The illusion that formed was not somebody he could ever have imagined. It couldn’t even be said to be a person at all. It was a bunch of black shadows that were twisted together to form a humanoid figure. It almost looked like a Shadow Demon at a glance.
[Could it be Night Shadow Great Emperor!?] His expression turned sullen. [That doesn’t make sense! Although Night Shadow Great Emperor betrayed the Star Boundary and landed a fatal blow on Bright Moon, I’ve basically never interacted with him. Why would he turn into one of my Heart Demons at a time like this and interfere with my breakthrough?]
While Yang Kai was reeling from confusion, the black shadow in front of him suddenly let out a sharp, piercing scream.
Yang Kai felt a shock to his Soul when the scream entered his ears and after that, the black shadow in front of him turned into a ray of dark light and rushed directly at him.
Yang Kai was caught off guard and took the hit full-on. Immediately following that, an intense pain struck him. It felt like his Knowledge Sea was being ripped apart. He could clearly sense that there was a foreign invader now in his Knowledge Sea. Not daring to take this lightly, he immediately sank his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea and appeared as his Soul Avatar.
Yang Kai saw the black shadow standing above the churning sea of fire. That black shadow was staring fixedly at the seven-coloured island in the middle of the sea!
“Soul… Warming… Lotus!” A vague and hoarse voice came from the black shadow. It sounded like rusted pieces of metal scraping against each other, like the one speaking had not done so in thousands of years. Those three words had been forced out with great difficulty; nevertheless, it gave off the feeling of extreme excitement.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he narrowed his eyes and stared at the black figure. This was not his Heart Demon!
The so-called Heart Demons were purely mental fabrications that had no tangible substance, obstacles to a cultivator’s advancement. It was impossible for a Heart Demon to become sentient, much less have the ability to speak of its own free will.
This thing in front of him was clearly some sort of strange creature. Yang Kai didn’t even know how it managed to approach him, but he realized that the intense Heart Demons from earlier were probably caused by it somehow!
At this moment, Yang Kai recalled his experience of being spied on twice during his journey to Cloud Shadow Continent. [Don’t tell me… Is this guy the one that has been spying on me in secret!? Why didn’t the Embodiment detect him!? Isn’t he standing guard over me nearby!? How could he allow somebody else to invade my Knowledge Sea without doing anything!?]
“Who are you!?” Yang Kai asked with a sombre expression.
“Soul… Warming… Lotus!” That black shadow ignored Yang Kai. All of its attention was fixed on the Supreme Treasure as it repeated the same words it uttered just now.
Yang Kai was very surprised that this person could see the true body of the seven-coloured island at a glance. It was not the first time he had his Knowledge Sea invaded, and it was precisely because of prior experiences that he had transformed the appearance of the Soul Warming Lotus into a small island. It was a defensive measure to prevent people from learning his secrets. Who could have known that this black shadow would see through the mystery at a glance? That level of perception truly was something!
“I’ll ask you again. Who are you!?” Yang Kai shouted with a grim expression. He had made up his mind. [I can’t let this guy escape. If the secret of the Soul Warming Lotus is exposed to the world, the Demon Saints will spare no effort to hunt me down!]
The fluctuation of his emotions caused the sea below to become tumultuous and the raging waves to soar to the sky.
That black shadow still did not respond. Instead, it transformed into a ray of black light and rushed directly at the Soul Warming Lotus. The Soul Warming Lotus seemed to be very attractive to it and seemed to set off a certain impulsive urge to possess it at all costs.
“Cut!” Yang Kai pointed with a finger, and a sword light slashed out into the air. The Soul Splitting Saber was a Soul-type Emperor Grade Artifact that had been nurtured within his Knowledge Sea for decades. Inside this peculiar space, the Soul Splitting Saber was capable of drawing its power out to the fullest. That sword light was as swift as lightning, slicing towards the black figure and splitting it in two.
Before Yang Kai could rejoice though, the black shadow restored itself and rushed over to the sky above the seven-coloured island in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted at this sight; after all, his enemy took a direct hit from the Soul Splitting Saber inside his Knowledge Sea yet came out unscathed. Just what was this thing!?
Seeing that the black shadow was about to succeed, Yang Kai did not dare to delay. He drew upon his Divine Sense and activated the power of the Soul Warming Lotus.
In an instant, a seven-coloured flash of light bloomed on the treasure island. It formed an invisible barrier, keeping the black shadow out. The black shadow tried to pass through the barrier several times but failed to break through the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences. Even so, it continued to single-mindedly rush straight at the barrier.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand. Then, he rushed forward with the Soul Splitting Saber and sliced the shadow in two. Be that as it may, the black shadow continued to ignore him. It was as though the black shadow could only see the Soul Warming Lotus. Thus, he was so furious that he laughed instead. [Setting his eyes on my treasure in my territory… This guy is the boldest thief I have ever seen!]
After slicing at the black shadow for some time, Yang Kai began to feel a little speechless.
It was clear that this thing did not have a high level of sentience. It was fixated on what it had decided on, but the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences were not something that could be broken through so easily. Despite these circumstances, this thing was determined to get its hands on the Soul Warming Lotus no matter what.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had been slicing at it with the Soul Splitting Saber the whole time, but although that was the case, it would restore itself each time without any difficulty. It was almost like an undying object.
Yang Kai was powerless against this thing; hence, a strange stalemate had formed. Still, there was something for him to rejoice about. It was fortunate that this thing did not have a high level of sentience as with its strength, it would undoubtedly be very difficult for him to deal with otherwise.
Staring at the dark shadow for a while, Yang Kai felt rather troubled. He was currently in the middle of his breakthrough. Nevertheless, it was impossible for him to leave this thing in his Knowledge Sea and simply ignore it. The consequences would be dire if it disrupted him at a critical moment.
However, this thing was completely unaffected by the Soul Splitting Saber. He had no idea what it was or where it came from. Logically speaking, it should be a manifestation of someone’s Soul since it could enter his Knowledge Sea, but if that was the case, it didn’t make sense why the Soul Splitting Saber was ineffective against it.
Shifting his gaze away, he looked to the centre of the seven-coloured island. He did not know if the Soul Devouring Insects would be able to restrain it when the Soul Splitting Saber was useless against it. If even the Soul Devouring Insects were unable to deal with it, then Yang Kai did not know how he could either get rid of or kill this black shadow. It was just that, at this point, he could only try everything in his arsenal.
His thoughts flashed and a dense, black cloud of insects immediately swarmed out of the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and enveloped the black shadow under his command.
The black shadow was still slamming against the Soul Warming Lotus’ defences without pause. It ignored the Soul Devouring Insects and was soon covered in them. Clicking sounds rang out, sounding quite creepy.
Yang Kai coldly observed the black shadow’s condition, and a moment later, his expression changed. The Soul Devouring Insects had not disappointed him. They were having some effect on the black shadow, but the effect did not seem to be great. If it had been anybody else’s Soul, they would have fallen apart by now with those Soul Devouring Insects eating away at them like that. On the contrary, the black shadow remained lively and energetic.
Be that as it may, it was enough as long as they had an effect on the black shadow. Yang Kai had been afraid that even the Soul Devouring Insects would prove ineffective against it. The situation might be less than satisfactory, but he could wear down the black shadow with enough time.
With the situation in his Knowledge Sea stabilized for the time being, he checked on the condition of his physical body. He did not know if it was because the issue with the black shadow remained unresolved, but he could not break through that invisible barrier and advance to the next Minor Realm so his aura remained in a constant state of flux.
The concentration of the World Energy in the cave had been significantly reduced and the medicinal efficacies of those Spirit Pills in his abdomen had almost been exhausted too; thus, he had no choice but to replenish them again.
Golden Blood evaporated out of all the pores on his body. His whole body was in so much pain that it felt as though he was being torn apart. He felt slightly depressed in his heart as there had never been an advancement as difficult as this one before.
He was finally experiencing some of the difficulties and challenges that others faced on their cultivation journey and a sense of understanding grew in his heart. Each person’s strength was hard-won; it did not come easily. Every step they took on the path to the peak required ten times or a hundred times more effort and risk than simply stepping back and submitting. Thinking back on his smooth progress up until now, Yang Kai could see that he was certainly lacking something compared to others. The hardship he was facing this time was finally making up for this shortcoming.
While mulling over these thoughts, the physical pain he experienced seemed to reduce considerably. He gradually fell into a peculiar state when all of a sudden, his body gave a jerk. He had distinctly felt a change taking place in his Knowledge Sea; hence, he quickly sent his Soul Avatar back in to investigate the situation.
In the skies above Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, the black shadow that was covered in Soul Devouring Insects was screaming up to the sky. Invisible waves of Spiritual Energy spread out, causing the flames to violently surge.
Yang Kai’s expression froze for a moment at this sight; then, he swiftly tried to suppress the abnormality in his Knowledge Sea and calm his mind. Looking in that direction, he saw the black shadow swelling up rapidly. At the same time, an extremely dangerous aura suddenly began fluctuating wildly.
His expression changed drastically and he quickly commanded the Soul Devouring Insects to retreat whilst simultaneously drawing upon the power of the Soul Warming Lotus. A seven-coloured light bloomed brightly, enveloping his entire Knowledge Sea in its radiance.
A loud bang resounded throughout his Knowledge Sea as the black shadow exploded. Black light spread outward as many of the Soul Devouring Insects that could not retreat in time were turned into ash and disappeared in the wind.
Similarly, the shock of the explosion left Yang Kai’s mind reeling in a state of confusion. It felt as though his Soul Avatar was about to collapse, and for a moment, he was completely incapable of thinking at all.
It wasn’t easy, but he finally stabilized his Soul Avatar and composed his emotions. He looked up and was instantly dumbfounded by the sight. There were bits and pieces of pitch-black energy scattered across his Knowledge Sea, looking as if somebody had splashed black ink into the flames. Moreover, those ‘ink drops’ were exuding an extremely powerful Demon Essence. They were also spreading into the surroundings at an astonishing speed.
Looking at this scene scared Yang Kai out of his wits. He did not know what would happen if he allowed these pitch-black ‘ink drops’ to spread into the surroundings, but judging by the Demon Essence being scattered around, he could guess that it would not end well for him.
Panicking, he rushed to stop the progression with his Divine Sense, but to his despair, his Spiritual Energy was instantly converted the moment it came into contact with those ‘ink drops’. As this process progressed, it caused the violent and malevolent urges in his heart to emerge and a sense of hostility to grow.
Even the purifying light blooming from the seven-coloured island had a hard time stopping the pitch-black ‘ink drops’ from converting his Knowledge Sea.
After several frantic moments, Yang Kai watched helplessly as his Knowledge Sea was completely dyed black. The Demon Essence in his Knowledge Sea was overwhelming. The small spot in the middle of his Knowledge Sea that was protected by the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus became the last pure land left.
Yang Kai could distinctly sense that his mental state had undergone some subtle yet unexplainable changes, but it had yet to reach the level of a full-blown cultivation dissonance. It seemed that he was still capable of thinking normally without losing his sense of reason. It could even be said that instead of making him feel uncomfortable… this state gave him an unspeakable sense of joy and freedom.
[I couldn’t have truly undergone demonification, right?] Just as the thought surfaced in his mind, another voice whispered in his head. [So what if I underwent demonification?]
His Knowledge Sea began churning violently again, but this time, it wasn’t because something was wrong in his Knowledge Sea, it was because something was happening to his physical body.
With a flash of his thoughts, his Soul Avatar returned to his physical body just in time to feel his aura reaching a new height. The power brewing in his body was unprecedentedly strong and all the obstacles and bottlenecks he encountered before were smashed in the face of this surging power.
Yang Kai didn’t do anything consciously; he simply allowed his aura to rise with the momentum. The pain in his body disappeared all of a sudden, only to be replaced by a sense of comfort. An invisible wave of Qi spread out across his surroundings with him as the centre, the impact causing rocks to come crashing down inside the cave.
The door to a brand-new Realm slowly opened up in front of him. He had reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm!
Upon seeing this, the Embodiment, who had been standing guard by the side all this while, quickly used a Secret Technique to mask the disturbance caused by Yang Kai’s breakthrough. They were currently a hundred kilometres underground, so even a Demon Saint might not be able to find this place unless they were searching with a fine-toothed comb. Nevertheless, he proceeded with utmost caution just in case. By suppressing these fluctuations, he could ensure that the commotion in this place would not spread too far.
The Embodiment turned to look at Yang Kai with a joyful expression and prepared to congratulate the latter on his successful breakthrough, but to his surprise, he discovered that Yang Kai’s aura had not finished increasing. It was still climbing ever higher as though it was only just beginning. He was taken aback, feeling uncertain about what was going on; moreover, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
As Yang Kai’s aura continued to become stronger, an extremely powerful suction force came from within his body and greedily swallowed up all the World Energy in the surroundings. The mist in the cave was gone in the blink of an eye and immediately after that, the Demon Qi that permeated everything in this world began pouring into the cave and flooding into his body. Consequently, the surface of his body was covered in a layer of faint black Qi in a very short amount of time.
The Embodiment was utterly shocked by the sight and rushed forward in a panic. Yang Kai’s current state looked as though he was experiencing cultivation dissonance.
Having cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and possessing the body of a Stone Spirit, the Embodiment was capable of recklessly devouring Demon Qi without any worries; however, Yang Kai was different. Yang Kai did not have all those convenient advantages that the Embodiment had; therefore, swallowing up all the Demon Qi in the surrounding area would not bode well for him.
Just as the Embodiment was about to step forward to stop Yang Kai, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at the Embodiment with a calm look. Seeing this, the Embodiment immediately stopped in his tracks. He had caught a glimpse of a cold and inhuman indifference in those eyes, which left him at a loss for what to do. He did not know what had gone wrong with Yang Kai’s breakthrough to produce such changes.
Even so, Yang Kai’s intentions had been very clear. The Embodiment only hesitated for a moment before he simply stood back and watched how the situation played out. He was simply an offshoot of Yang Kai’s Soul, so how could he go against the wishes of the true body?
A howling wind roared in the cave, caused by the movement of the Demon Qi in the surrounding world as it was sucked into Yang Kai’s body. With the passage of time, the layer of faint black Qi on the surface of his body became denser and denser. He was also becoming increasingly full of Demon Essence.
Contrary to the Embodiment’s worries, however, Yang Kai was enjoying himself in this state. He could clearly feel that his power was rapidly growing. Furthermore, the Soul Warming Lotus was guarding the last pure land in his Knowledge Sea, so there was no risk of him becoming completely demonified.
[This… might be a blessing in disguise!] Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sound rang out from the depths of his heart. Yang Kai furrowed his brow in response, and after a careful inspection, he discovered that a crack had appeared on the seal on his dantian.
When he and Iron Blood had put on that show for all the Star Boundary to see, Yang Kai had released the seal on his dantian and let out the Ancient Demon Qi stored there. Of course, afterwards, he had used the power of the Firmament Tree to seal the Ancient Demon Qi back up again.
Unfortunately, the consequences of releasing the seal on multiple occasions had caused the Ancient Demon Qi to grow stronger. If it happened again, even the power of the Firmament Tree would not be enough to completely seal it again. Not to mention, the sealing power of the Firmament Tree had been weakened severely due to overuse. There had not been enough time for it to replenish its sealing power. Hence, for a crack to appear now seriously gave him quite a scare.
If he had been devouring Demon Qi solely because of the changes brought about by his breakthrough, he would not have thought much of it. On the other hand, the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian was an extremely troublesome matter. Yang Kai did not know if the changes were caused by all the Demon Qi he was devouring at the moment; however, the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian was madly slamming against the seal to the point where it managed to form a crack in it.
This was something that had never happened until now, and before he had figured out how to deal with the situation, the crack abruptly expanded. Immediately afterwards, the Ancient Demon Qi violently gushed out and began to directly devour the other Demon Qi in his body.
The place where Yang Kai was located had more or less turned into a black hole where Demon Qi which was so thick it was almost tangible was gathering into a cluster. The power fluctuations that emanated from the phenomenon were even making the Embodiment feel a little frightened.
A suction force that was even more violent than before came out suddenly, forming a huge vortex which pulled all the Demon Qi in Cloud Shadow Continent in this direction. A hundred kilometres above, a huge tornado that connected the Heavens and the Earth formed while, at the same time, the pitch-black Demon Qi poured into the ground and disappeared without a trace in a blink of an eye.
Noticing the abnormality, the Embodiment hurriedly took action to cover up the Heavenly Manifestation and the disturbance of the Demon Qi. It was done in order to prevent somebody with malicious intentions from catching wind of the phenomenon here.
A hundred kilometres underground, Yang Kai’s muffled roar sounded amidst the violently swirling Demon Qi. It sounded like a wounded beast’s howls. The Embodiment couldn’t help feeling rather frightened and uneasy when he heard the roar, but there was nothing he could do for Yang Kai anymore now that things had progressed to this point.
It was obvious from Yang Kai’s current condition that he had fallen into a state of cultivation dissonance. The only way for him to overcome this calamity was to rely on himself. If he failed to get through this, then everything would have been for naught.
For that reason, the Embodiment was feeling extremely anxious.
The roars rang out intermittently as Yang Kai lost track of how much time had passed. His voice was also gradually becoming more and more hoarse, almost as if his vocal cords had been torn apart from all his screaming. During this period, he did not know how much of the Demon Qi in the world had been sucked into his body. The overpowering Ancient Demon Qi that was sealed in his dantian had been released in its entirety and had integrated with the meridians in his body to the point where they could no longer be disentangled.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai abruptly opened his eyes. The entire world subsequently went dark. There was no light whatsoever in the cave a hundred kilometres underground, so it should have been pitch-black in the first place; however, the Embodiment still had the feeling of being completely shrouded in darkness at that moment. Not only did it feel as though his vision was being disrupted, but even his Divine Sense was also unable to detect anything.
In the darkness, a ray of golden radiance stood out conspicuously. He looked up and saw that the golden light was a column. As a Soul Clone of Yang Kai, it was only natural that he knew what that column of golden light was. It was the Demon Eye of Annihilation!
Ever since Yang Kai obtained this Divine Ability in Tong Xuan Realm, he had repeatedly relied on the Demon Eye of Annihilation to defeat powerful enemies and turn the tables around when the situation was dire.
That was not the point though, the point was that although the Embodiment could not see anything, he could instinctually sense that Yang Kai’s other eye was also open. It was just that that eye was completely pitch-black in contrast. It was the Ancient Demon Black Eye!
His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he felt as though he had been hit in the head by a sledgehammer, and his thoughts became unbelievably chaotic. The Ancient Demon Black Eye had always been a Divine Ability that could only be used when Yang Kai released the seal on his dantian. Once the Infinite Darkness was activated, all light would vanish from the world. But why did it appear now? Did Yang Kai’s true body completely undergo demonification?
At this moment, Yang Kai’s roar had completely transformed into a howl of pain. What the Embodiment sensed was not wrong as both of Yang Kai’s eyes were not in their normal state at the moment. Both the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Ancient Demon Black Eye had appeared at the same time. There was nothing wrong with the Demon Eye of Annihilation in his left eye, but on the contrary, the Ancient Demon Black Eye in his right eye was aching like it was on fire. Not only was the pain excruciating, but his right eye was also throbbing non-stop, as though it was about to pop out of its socket. That kind of pain and suffering was simply unbearable.
In the midst of that throbbing, Yang Kai felt as though his very Soul was going to be shaken apart. It was a feeling that was worse than death, but gritting his teeth, he desperately held on. The Soul Warming Lotus guarded the last piece of pure land in his Knowledge Sea, preventing him from drowning completely or thoroughly undergoing demonification. His originally unstable aura gradually began to calm down in this tenacious confrontation with his own destiny. As time passed, the throbbing in his right eye became less and less frequent. Similarly, the excruciating pain slowly became less intense.
Without warning, all the pain vanished without a trace and his throbbing right eye stabilized again. Following that, an indescribable feeling of comfort spread throughout Yang Kai’s body. He let out a long breath of relief. Accordingly, the pitch-black Demon Qi in the cave was collected in one fell swoop. It poured into his body all at once like the ebbing tides of the sea, bringing peace back to the world a hundred kilometres underground.
Yang Kai sat cross-legged, breathing long and deep breaths. His aura in the Third-Order Emperor Realm was very obvious. Meanwhile, the Embodiment stood not too far away and stared blankly in his direction. In this situation, even he could not figure out whether Yang Kai had successfully survived the catastrophe or completely undergone demonification. Regardless of the outcome, the true body was the true body. He could never become truly independent from Yang Kai. As long as there was nothing life-threatening, he could accept any changes that Yang Kai would display later.
After some time, Yang Kai opened his eyes again. In that instant, there seemed to be a radiance flooding the pitch-black cave.
The Embodiment hurriedly asked, “How are you?”
Yang Kai stood up, loosening the muscles in his limbs, then observed the condition of his body as he scratched his chin, “I’m not sure…”
“Huh?” The Embodiment stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied, “It’s hard to explain. My breakthrough can be considered a success, but I don’t know what my situation is right now.” His cultivation had reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm without any doubt; however, even he himself couldn’t tell whether he had undergone demonification or not.
It could be said that he had undergone a Demon Transformation… However, he had not lost his sense of self. His mind was as clear as could be. Nonetheless, it was a fact that the nature of his Emperor Qi had undergone earth-shaking changes, completely converting into Demon Qi.
He had absorbed so much Demon Qi from the world during his breakthrough earlier after all. Even the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian had been completely assimilated. The Emperor Qi in his body that he had spent so many years and so much effort to cultivate had been converted too.
Yang Kai told the Embodiment about everything that happened before and his current condition; after that, he simply grinned, “In any case, I feel freer than I have ever been before.”
The Embodiment felt a little speechless. If even the main body couldn’t figure it out, what could he possibly figure out? He considered it for a moment before saying, “All of this is probably related to the black shadow that invaded your Knowledge Sea. Perhaps, that is what gave you the ability to merge with the Demon Qi.”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “I think so too, but what in the world was that black shadow? I will need to investigate it thoroughly.”
If it had not been for the black shadow contaminating his Knowledge Sea after it exploded, he would not have been able to absorb the Demon Qi into his body so smoothly. It would also have been impossible to assimilate the powerful Ancient Demon Qi that was sealed in his dantian.
He experienced many changes during his breakthrough this time; nevertheless, the results could still be considered quite satisfactory. Yang Kai had to admit that the fact that his Emperor Qi had been converted into Demon Qi upset him, but even so, the fact that it had completely resolved the hidden danger sealed in his dantian was something to rejoice about.
When he last used the power of the Firmament Tree to reseal his dantian, he had still felt greatly worried. If the day came that he was forced to release the seal again, then there would be no turning back anymore. Fortunately, it was not an issue anymore. The Ancient Demon Qi had completely assimilated with him, so this worry was gone forever. He even had the feeling that he could activate the Infinite Darkness Divine Ability whenever or wherever he pleased, which was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
“Haha! Turns out you really were hiding here! You really wear our iron shoes searching for your own feet!” A soft laughter suddenly sounded in Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he could instantly tell whose voice it was.
Bei Li Mo!
“Damn it! The anomaly accompanying your breakthrough probably attracted her here!” The Embodiment shouted.
The sudden change Yang Kai experienced had caused a shocking phenomenon. Even though the Embodiment had immediately acted to conceal it, he had apparently not acted swiftly enough. In addition, he could not transfer Yang Kai to another location since he had also been at an important crossroads at the time. Thus, the Embodiment could only pray that the anomaly had not attracted anybody’s attention. Who could have known that it would attract Bei Li Mo of all people to this place?
Yang Kai’s breakthrough this time had taken quite a long time, lasting for half a month. In other words, Bei Li Mo must have already been lurking on Cloud Shadow Continent for quite some time; otherwise, she could not have perceived the anomaly that occurred for only an instant. The Embodiment might be the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent, but it was still impossible for him to detect a Demon Saint who was intent on concealing her presence.
*Kacha…*
A strange sound rang out in the cave as the temperature dropped abruptly. Immediately following that, the walls were covered in a layer of frost. Icicles that were as sharp as could be quickly formed, and the cave was filled with a cold that penetrated even the Soul.
“Run!” Yang Kai shouted. Even if he had advanced to the next Minor Realm and was much stronger than before, he knew it was still impossible to contend with a Demon Saint. He would have no way to escape if he was locked down by Bei Li Mo.
As soon as those words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the Embodiment had already pushed his Demon Qi, wrapped it around Yang Kai, and swiftly began burrowing into the earth.
“You want to escape? This Saint has already come all this way, do you think you can still flee?” Bei Li Mo’s sneering voice rang out. Immediately afterwards, a layer of ice covered the ground in front of the Embodiment. It made the ground extremely hard. Failing to notice that, he bumped into it head-on. Thus, he had no choice but to change directions and continue to flee.
After twisting and turning about underground for a short while, bright light suddenly filled Yang Kai’s eyes. The pressure around his body disappeared abruptly, and by the time he recovered from the shock, he discovered that the Embodiment had brought him back to the surface.
A breeze caressed his face, feeling extremely pleasant, but just a dozen metres away, Bei Li Mo stood staring at him with a small, mocking smile. She had an enchanting figure and bright red lips, and her snow-white hair fluttered lightly in the wind.
He turned to look at the Embodiment, whose expression was extremely sullen. He probably did not know how he had fallen into the enemy’s trap as he had made so many rapid twists and turns only to appear right in front of the other party anyway.
“Cheap slut, die!” Yang Kai yelled without warning and a huge Moon Blade slashed toward Bei Li Mo’s head. At the same time, he manipulated the Space Principles and wrapped the Embodiment in them to escape together.
On the other hand, Bei Li Mo simply waved her hand. The Moon Blade slashing at her shattered to pieces before she lifted her hand again and grabbed at the void where Yang Kai was. Instantly, the surrounding world seemed to freeze in place.
Yang Kai and the Embodiment had only just become a blur when they began to solidify again. Yang Kai could not perform Instantaneous Movement again.
Exchanging a glance with each other, Yang Kai and the Embodiment pushed their Demon Qi at the same time. Spinning around, they both blasted Bei Li Mo with their respective Divine Abilities, desperately going all out. They were not hoping to injure her, just buy enough time to escape.
Unfortunately, a Demon Saint was a Demon Saint. A look of contempt flashed through her eyes in the face of Yang Kai and the Embodiment’s joint attack and the mocking smile on her lips curled upwards further. She stood in place, not taking a single step, simply raising her arm and lightly pressing her palm into the void.
Yang Kai and the Embodiment’s figures that were leaping forward seemed to have hit an invisible wall at that moment and ground to a halt. Following that, an overwhelming and terrifying force washed over them from the front and both of them were sent flying backwards as a result.
The Embodiment frantically tried to stabilize his body in mid-air but failed miserably in his attempts. On the other hand, Yang Kai coughed out a mouthful of fresh blood as his face turned pale.