It was true that the Peerless World had changed because of the Great Demon God and that his power had seeped into every part of this land. Be that as it may, this place still existed inside the Small Sealed World and Yang Kai was still the Master of this place. If Mo Sheng could mobilise the World Force in this world, why couldn’t Yang Kai?
The intangible World Force pressed down on Mo Sheng, but even so, he turned a blind eye to it. It wasn’t until that force was almost upon him that he let out a soft chuckle. Reaching out his hand, he drew a circle around his body. The circle was not that big, only a radius of 10 metres at most; however, this area covering a radius of 10 metres was impenetrable. The World Force could not advance past that boundary.
Yang Kai grit his teeth at the sight. It was very troubling indeed. The third region of the Small Sealed World was originally formed from the continents of the Demon Realm, which also used to be the territory of the Peerless World. In that sense, Great Demon God was the previous Master of this land and Yang Kai was the current Master of this land. Be it the previous Master or the current Master, both of them had the ability to mobilise the World Force here.
Therefore, their battle gave off the impression of the left hand fighting the right hand. Even though Yang Kai’s cultivation was much stronger than Mo Sheng’s, there was nothing he could do to Mo Sheng unless his control over the World Force was greater than that of Mo Sheng’s.
However, Mo Sheng had been living in the Demon Realm for countless millennia and his power had literally spread everywhere. How could Yang Kai be stronger than him in this aspect? It was only thanks to the fact that the Demon Realm was a part of the Small Sealed World that he even had the qualification to fight here. Otherwise, this battle would have been a very one-sided battle instead of the current stalemate situation.
Yang Kai struggled to mobilise the World Force against Mo Sheng, but the area surrounding the latter remained impervious to invasion. Forget causing damage to Mo Sheng, Yang Kai couldn’t even get within 10 metres of him. A battle like this was all about their control over the world and cultivation no longer mattered. For that reason, Yang Kai had no intention of transforming into his Half-Dragon Form or using any other means in this battle, even if he could do so. Becoming distracted would only give Mo Sheng a chance to seize the initiative; thus, it was not helpful in his current situation.
The world hummed while the Heavens and the Earth trembled. Countless Demons in the third region looked up with panicked expressions at that moment, not knowing what was happening to this world.
“Not bad.” Mo Sheng looked at Yang Kai calmly, “Clearly you’ve come into contact with World Force in advance. Given some time to grow, you might have been able to jump out of this backwater wasteland. It’s a pity that you’re a bit too pedantic!”
While speaking, Mo Sheng suddenly raised both hands horizontally in front of him and slowly pushed out towards the sides. His movements were not fast and almost looked like he was pushing open a closed door.
Following Mo Sheng’s movements, Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly. He felt the World Force of the third region gathering towards Mo Sheng’s hand. At the same time, the area that originally covered only 10 metres expanded rapidly and stretched out towards him oppressively. No matter how hard Yang Kai struggled, he could not alleviate himself from this vulnerable position. A feeling of horror sprung up in his heart. [Is this the power of the Great Demon God!? He’s just a Soul Clone! How can he have such a great degree of control over World Force!?]
Even though his heart was shaken, Yang Kai was in no position to admire others in this situation. If he failed to control the world now, this battle would no doubt end tragically for him. Hence, he immediately concentrated his mind and communicated with the Small Sealed World.
The humming of the world became even more intense than before. Driven by both the previous and current Masters of the land, the World Force that was originally invisible and intangible manifested in a physical manner. The two collided and contested each other violently.
It wasn’t until a certain limit was reached that a deafening Dragon Roar rang out. A three-thousand-metre-long pitch-black Dragon appeared out of thin air. The Dragon Eyes, Dragon Beard, Dragon Claw, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Pressure almost seemed alive at a glance. At the same time, a towering giant appeared in the world with a furious roar, his eyes filled with hostility and his gaze was violent. However, his face was a blurry patch.
Be it the enormous Dragon or the giant, they were both the manifestations of World Force. It was just that Yang Kai and Mo Sheng had drawn on the World Force to the extreme, creating these phenomena as a result.
Yang Kai was hidden in the Dragon’s Head while on the other hand, Mo Sheng stood in the giant’s chest. These two enormous creatures approached each other at high speed, causing the world to break when they clashed.
There was a loud rumbling, similar to the sound of distant thunder travelling across the land. All the Demons living in this world could feel a force pressing down on their chests. Their vitality churned violently as a sense of doom bloomed in their hearts.
Yang Kai and Mo Sheng clashed and collided with each other repeatedly. Even so, neither could harm the other. They were both the Masters of this world, so the amount of World Force they could mobilise was the same. It was a battle with no way for them to determine a victor, not unless one of them made a mistake. Be that as it may, how could either Yang Kai or Mo Sheng commit such a careless slip-up?
Yang Kai roared furiously, “Mo Sheng, this independent world will fall apart if this battle continues any longer! As the Great Demon God, don’t you care!?”
Mo Sheng smiled slightly from where he stood in the giant’s chest, “What does this world have to do with me?”
The Demon Realm’s existence was only necessary for him to recover from his injuries. He had long since devoured the Auspicious Spirit Essence of the Demon Realm, so although the reason why the Peerless World became the Demon Realm and the Human Race was transformed into the Demon Race was somewhat related to him, he ultimately cared nothing about either! What he cared for right now was only the Star Boundary! That world contained the Auspicious Spirit Essence that he needed!
With a long sigh, the giant avoided the Dragon’s punch and retreated from battle. It appeared a thousand kilometres away in a flash. Then, a thunderous voice sounded, “Let’s stop this meaningless battle. I don’t want to kill you yet.”
There were many things Yang Kai still wished to ask Mo Sheng. For example, who was the woman who injured Mo Sheng? What concerned him even more was, what was the Outer Universe like? Even the Great Emperors did not know much about this subject. Mo Sheng was the only one who knew about these matters; therefore, it would be a pity to kill such a person.
When Mo Sheng heard those words, he reacted as though he had heard the funniest joke in his life. The calm and confident expression he had was replaced by a knowing smile, “Kill me? If you have that much confidence…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he turned his head to look in a certain direction with a frown furrowing his brow. He had been hiding in the Small Sealed World for many years, so not only was he able to mobilise the Demon Realm’s World Force, he could also control everything within the Demon Realm. For a long time now though, there was a place covered in a cloud of fog at the edge of the Demon Realm that he could not perceive. He once tried to investigate that place secretly but could not enter at all. All he could sense was that there was the aura of another world coming from beyond that mist. This had not been a big deal before; however, after listening to what Yang Kai said, he immediately understood that the place he could not perceive all this while would probably become the deciding factor of this battle.
“Come!” Mo Sheng did not say more than that and instead urged the giant he had merged with to throw a punch at the Dragon, covering a distance of a thousand kilometres in an instant.
With a long sigh, Yang Kai closed his eyes before abruptly opening them again in the next moment. When he closed his eyes, the large Dragon followed suit. Likewise, the Dragon Eyes snapped open again when he opened his eyes.
Meanwhile, Mo Sheng distinctly felt another World Force coming from a great distance away and injecting itself into the Dragon’s body. The source of that World Force was indeed coming from the direction of the place he had never been able to explore. What Mo Sheng didn’t know was that that place was the first region of the Small Sealed World, the original territory of the Small Sealed World.
In terms of size, the first region was completely incomparable to the third region; after all, the third region was made up of the entire Demon Realm. Nevertheless, the World Principles of the first region were perfectly complete and those perfect World Principles represented the essence of the Small Sealed World’s Strength.
When the Dragon Eyes opened once more, two golden lights shone brightly as though there were two large suns. The Dragon immediately seemed to come alive. It was said that the best artists in the world would always leave the eyes to the last moment when painting a Dragon. If their skills were high enough, the whole painting would gain spirituality after they put the finishing touches when drawing the eyes.
At this moment, it was as though Yang Kai was that painter. He was wielding the world as his brush and the World Force of the Small Sealed World’s first region as his ink to strengthen and complete the Dragon’s form.
The Dragon let out a roar as both Dragon Claws shot out and dug deep into the giant’s body while it lifted its head and bit down on the giant’s neck. On the other hand, the giant threw a punch only to have his fists entangled by the Dragon’s Tail. The 3,000-metre-long Dragon Body wrapped around the torso of the giant tightly, as though it was coiling around a pillar as it dug its fangs in even deeper.
“Astonishing!” Mo Sheng, who was hiding in the giant’s chest, exclaimed sincerely.
In the beginning, the battle between him and Yang Kai had been evenly matched. Both of them could mobilise the World Force in the new Demon Realm after all, so they could be considered equals. No matter how they fought against each other, there would not have been a winner between them and the battle would only end with both sides suffering losses.
On the contrary, the balance was broken the moment the World Force of the Small Sealed World’s first region infused itself into the Dragon Body; thus, victory was slowly leaning in Yang Kai’s favour. There might not be any observable changes in the short term, but with the balance broken it would only be a matter of time now.
As the Dragon tore into the giant, large chunks were ripped from the latter’s body. Of course, there was no physical body since it was not a physical being in the first place. What went missing was the strength that made up the body. Therefore, the body inevitably shrunk with every bite. In contrast, the Dragon was becoming increasingly nourished and reinforced, its body gradually growing bigger and bigger.
Despite knowing how this situation would end, Mo Sheng had no plans of staying silent without resisting. Instead, he urged the giant to retaliate against the Dragon fiercely. As time passed, however, the difference between the Dragon’s body and the giant’s body increased and Mo Sheng’s resistance grew feebler.
“Just give up,” Yang Kai looked at Mo Sheng coldly.
Mo Sheng said, “You won’t be able to save the Star Boundary, so why bother making such useless efforts?”
“Everything depends on our own efforts,” Yang Kai replied lightly, “Are you really going to die here?”
Mo Sheng laughed, “I’m just a Soul Clone.”
Yang Kai frowned at those words, “How many Soul Clones are there?”
Mo Sheng simply smiled without answering. In response, Yang Kai nodded and stopped talking. The Dragon let out a roar and sped up its efforts to gnaw away at the giant. Then, he threw a punch at Mo Sheng when the figure of the giant fell apart completely.
Without the supporting World Force, Mo Sheng was no more than an ordinary Mid-Rank Demon King. How could he defend against Yang Kai’s attack? As soon as the force of that punch slammed into Mo Sheng, his body exploded.
Even so, Yang Kai did not dare to be careless. He spread his palm open, reached out, and captured the blood mist before him. Under the blessing of the World Force, he completely vaporized this blood and scattered the remains across the entire world. Afterwards, the Dragon slowly dissipated, the golden light in its eyes floating away and returning to the first region of the Small Sealed World.
Although he had managed to kill Mo Sheng in this battle, Yang Kai did not feel any joy from his success. He had not wanted to kill Mo Sheng, if possible; after all, Mo Sheng was the Great Demon God’s Soul Clone and possessed a wealth of information that Yang Kai now had no access to.
Unfortunately, Mo Sheng was capable of mobilising the World Force of the Small Sealed World’s third region. Yang Kai would not have had any peace of mind if he continued to keep Mo Sheng in this world. Therefore, he could only choose to cut out the weeds and pull out the roots.
[As for what the Outer Universe is like…] He lifted his head and looked up into the sky. [I will be able to witness it for myself one day.]
All of a sudden, Yang Kai recalled that there were countless Demons currently living in the third region of the Small Sealed World and couldn’t help wondering if there were any other Soul Clones of Great Demon God among them.
When Mo Sheng was asked about how many Soul Clones there were just now, he simply smiled without answering the question. Not answering was also a kind of answer. In other words, he was not the only Soul Clone of the Great Demon God. He would not have been so careless with his life otherwise.
Having learnt a lesson from past experiences, Yang Kai immediately immersed his mind and carefully inspected all the places where the Demon Race members were gathered across the third region in search of any clues.
His intangible Divine Sense immediately swept out across every inch of the third region and for a moment, all the Demons felt as though a pair of invisible eyes were watching them. It was naturally the eyes of the world, and no secret could be hidden under their scrutiny.
Yang Kai retracted his Divine Sense an hour later with a slight frown. Despite inspecting all the Demon Race members with a fine-tooth comb, he did not find anything suspicious about any of them. Even so, he was mindful of Mo Sheng’s existence and did not dare to be completely certain that there were no other Soul Clones of the Great Demon God in the Small Sealed World.
Mo Sheng had concealed his existence perfectly for so many years after all. Yang Kai had scrutinised Mo Sheng more than once in the past, but he could only sense that something was off about him. He had never been able to pinpoint just what was wrong with Mo Sheng, much less realise that Mo Sheng was the Great Demon God’s Soul Clone.
If there were any other Soul Clones in the Small Sealed World, they were probably capable of hiding themselves as perfectly as Mo Sheng had. Upon further consideration though, Yang Kai came to the conclusion that the Small Sealed World was still his to command regardless. Even if there were others, the Soul Clones of Great Demon God would not be able to create much trouble so long as he had perfect control over the first region. It would be fine if they did not expose themselves, but if they did, Yang Kai was still capable of getting rid of them.
He felt slightly more relieved at that thought, but before he could catch his breath, he suddenly noticed something unusual happening in the outside world. Exiting the Small Sealed World in a flash, Yang Kai stood atop Gun-Gun. Next to him, Bo Ya’s beautiful face had gone deathly pale. She was staring blankly ahead while calling out his name over and over again. He did not know how long she had been shouting his name as he had just been engaged in battle with Mo Sheng and could not afford to be distracted, so he had not heard her calling out to him. It wasn’t until he finished dealing with Mo Sheng and earnestly inspected the entire third region that he noticed Bo Ya’s cries.
The moment Yang Kai appeared, Bo Ya immediately yelled, “Why did you only come out now!? We would have all been goners if you came out any later!”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why are you panicking?”
“See for yourself!” She pointed to the front.
Yang Kai then stared forward intently, unable to stop the furrow that creased his brow from appearing. The surrounding Void seemed to have transformed into the stomach of a huge monster. It was wriggling and squirming, gradually becoming more and more chaotic. There was a lot of turbulence everywhere, which gave off a dangerous sense of impending doom. It was clearly the Void Crack!
From Bo Ya’s point of view, the scene in front of them looked like the end of the world, literally; however, it was all too familiar to Yang Kai.
“When did these changes occur?” He asked solemnly.
“Half a day ago,” she quickly replied, “This happened soon after the Big Fish devoured the last piece of land. It wasn’t this serious at the beginning, but now… it’s as you can see.”
The ‘Big Fish’ she was referring to was none other than Gun-Gun. Based on its appearance, it certainly looked like a big, round fish. It was just that this fish was capable of devouring worlds.
From what she mentioned, it would seem that the Void began to destabilize after Gun-Gun devoured the last continent. Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling astonished by the news. Nothing of this sort had happened when Gun-Gun had swallowed so many other continents in the past after all. In this case, it probably happened because the whole Demon Realm had been devoured and an entire Great World had completely disappeared as a result.
The Great World had been cleanly devoured, causing an additional blank space to appear in the fabric of the universe. These changes resulted in the Void Crack expanding in this direction.
Hence, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling extremely troubled. He originally planned to return the same way he arrived after devouring the entire Demon Realm. For this reason, he had preserved all of the Territory Gates by specially ordering Gun-Gun not to devour them. As long as he passed through the various Territory Gates, he would be able to return to the Star Boundary safely. Unfortunately, this method would no longer work. The turbulence in the Void was pressing down on them and it appeared they had already fallen into the Void Crack, so there were no Territory Gates left to be found.
Fortunately, it was not his first time diving into the Void Crack. Although the situation at hand was a little tricky to handle and left Yang Kai feeling somewhat anxious, he had escaped from the Void numerous times before, so he simply instructed Bo Ya, “Go back first.”
Reaching out a hand, he grabbed her and stuffed her back into Gun-Gun’s body without giving her a chance to object. Instantly after that, his thoughts flashed and Gun-Gun’s huge body rapidly shrank and turned back into the Sealed World Bead, which he quickly put away. Right after finishing his preparations, the turbulence in the surrounding Void came rushing towards him like a storm to drown him in their depths.
Yang Kai was secretly frightened by the sight. He had encountered similar situations on several occasions before and each time had been extremely dangerous. Even so, he had never seen a situation like this within a Void Crack before. If he described the previous Void Cracks as slightly turbulent lakes, then the Void Crack this time was a raging sea. The difference between them could not be compared. His situation was equivalent to sailing a lone little boat amidst the raging storm, being at risk of capsizing and drowning at any time.
[Is this what happens when a Great World is destroyed?] He couldn’t be sure, but he was certain it had something to do with the devouring of the entire Demon Realm.
Fortunately, his accomplishments in the Dao of Space were not what they used to be. Even if danger was lurking everywhere, Yang Kai was capable of keeping himself safe from harm. He had to figure out the direction and pattern of the Void Turbulence at all times, but while it might seem dangerous, he was still leisurely and confidently navigating the Void Crack.
He secretly rejoiced that he had not entered a place like this when he had only just started comprehending the Dao of Space; otherwise, he did not know how many times he would have died by now.
During the following period, there were several instances of danger. The Void Turbulence here was so strong that Yang Kai barely managed to escape despite pushing his Space Principles to the extreme. It would surely lead to a tragic ending if he was swept away by the Void Turbulence.
Although Yang Kai was in the middle of escaping, this was still a disguised opportunity for him to cultivate. He was using the opportunity to verify the gains and losses he had obtained in the Dao of Space.
There was no sense of direction inside the Void Crack and even time seemed to stand still. Yang Kai had no idea how long had passed when he suddenly felt the Void Turbulence around him stabilising a little. Even though it could not be considered back to normal, at the very least, it wasn’t as violent and unpredictable as it had been at the beginning.
Bo Ya’s voice came from within the Small Sealed World at that moment, “Hey, Yang Kai! What’s the situation like right now? We won’t die here, right? Aren’t you proficient in the Dao of Space? Escaping is your forte, right?”
When he first met Bo Ya, she was quite a defiant and rebellious woman; however, her attitude changed slightly after the battle on Eternal Sky Continent. She learned to address him as ‘Sir’ and began acting more respectful. Now that their lives were at risk though, her old habits surfaced again.
Despite hiding within the Small Sealed World, she could instinctively sense the danger looming over them outside; thus, she constantly inquired about the situation. Naturally, Yang Kai outright ignored her. Her pestering was simply endless, as if she had not spoken in hundreds of years.
After enduring for a long while, he finally lost his temper and sent her a simple Divine Sense transmission, “Shut up!”
“I’m about to die! How can you ask me to shut up!?” She was livid, “Can’t I speak a few words!?”
They quarrelled for a bit before Yang Kai went back to ignoring her. In response, Bo Ya slumped down on the ground and wailed noisily, “Poor me! Great Aunt here was living her life freely all this time, but in the end, I will be destroyed at your hands! Yang Kai, let me tell you, if I die, I won’t ever forgive you even if I turn into a ghost!”
“Haa…” Yang Kai sighed and finally responded, “Don’t worry. We won’t die.”
Inside this dead silent Void Crack, he was not averse to a casual chat with somebody else. It would be far too boring otherwise.
She was overjoyed upon hearing his words, “Really!?”
“Yeah,” he replied, “We’re out of danger.”
“We are!?” She stood up, an expression of elation spreading across her face. Then, she immediately began flattering him, “I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Yang Kai! Tsk. Tsk, the Dao of Space is truly magnificent! I can’t believe you managed to resolve even that situation! Great Aunt here is very impressed!”
“But…”
“But, what?” Her heart skipped a beat at that word, and the smile on her face stiffened.
“We seem to have lost our way!”
Inside the Small Sealed World, Bo Ya’s expression went blank with shock as a gust of wind blew past her, stirring up her hair.
“Seem to have… what?” After a long time, she finally asked softly.
“We’re lost.”
A few moments of silence passed by, then she jumped up and yelled, “Lost!? Aren’t you supposed to be proficient in the Dao of Space!? How could we have gotten lost!? Can’t you find the way out!?”
He replied, “It’s very difficult. Without a guide, it’s like having no direction at all.”
The situation this time around was different from before. Even if he had been lost inside the Void Crack in the past, he was still within the same world; however, this was a Void Crack that appeared because an entire Great World had disappeared. The Demon Realm and Star Boundary were two different Great Worlds in the first place. As he was currently inside a Void Crack where the Demon Realm once was, it was extremely difficult for him to figure out the direction to return to the Star Boundary.
He had tried to communicate with his Star Field Source just now to see if he could use it to guide him so as to break through this Void and return home. As long as he could return to the Star Field, it would be a breeze for him to return to the Star Boundary from there. To his disappointment, however, the Star Field Source did not respond. Likewise, he was unable to connect with Heng Luo Star Field.
Thinking about it, it made sense. The Star Field was one of the roots of the Star Boundary, so how could he perceive it when he was currently stuck in a Void Crack formed from the collapse of the Demon Realm?
Bo Ya fell back down to the ground and continued crying, “It’s over! It’s over! We’re going to die! I’m really going to die in this damned place!”
“It’s not that bad yet. Besides, you won’t face any life-threatening situations if you stay inside the Small Sealed World.”
“I’m still going to die in this place! What’s the difference!?” She paused for a moment before she added hesitantly, “Yang Kai, can I ask you something.” Her tone was extremely aggrieved.
Having never heard her talk in this manner before, he couldn’t help laughing a little as he asked, “What is it?”
“If we survive this crisis, let me visit Shi Qing. I miss her.”
Yang Kai snickered when he heard those words. Bo Ya’s interest was rather peculiar. She had always stuck to Li Shi Qing back when she had been in the Demon Realm. He couldn’t believe that she was still thinking about Li Shi Qing even though so many years had passed.
“Okay!”
Bo Ya was stunned for a moment. She never imagined that Yang Kai would agree to her request so readily. She recalled how wary he used to be of her in the past. He never allowed any chances for her to be alone with Li Shi Qing before when they were still in the Demon Realm.
“What did you say? Can you repeat it?” Afraid that she might have misheard him, Bo Ya desperately asked for confirmation.
“I said okay,” Yang Kai replied again via Divine Sense transmission.
Having heard it clearly this time around, Bo Ya couldn’t help bursting into a peal of laughter. Her previous depression and grievance were swept away immediately. She looked like a fox that had successfully stolen a chicken. If Yang Kai had been standing in front of her, she would definitely have slapped him on the shoulder and said, “I was right about you!”
Now that her wish had been granted, she was in a much happier mood than before. It stood to reason that she stopped making various complaints to him. On the contrary, she fell silent. The meaning behind her silence was clear, she did not want to disturb him so that he could concentrate on finding the way out of this place. Otherwise, they would really die trapped in this Void Crack.
Now that Bo Ya was silent, Yang Kai did not try to come up with something to say either. He simply navigated through the Void, looking for possible ways out. Unfortunately, he did not come across any leads. No matter how great his attainments in the Dao of Space were, now that he had gotten trapped in this place, it was practically impossible for him to leave unless he was blessed by extremely good luck.
All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks. Space Principles lingered around his body, causing the surrounding Void Turbulence to be inadvertently guided by some kind of force to pass him by. It made him look as though he was passing through a field of flowers without a single petal sticking to his body.
The reason he had stopped so abruptly was not that he had given up. Rather, it was because he suddenly remembered something. He could not connect to the Star Field Source, so it could not provide him a direction as a guide for his return, but what about the Will of the Star Boundary? He had received Bright Moon Great Emperor’s legacy, which meant that he had the Star Boundary’s Recognition in his possession. Although the World’s Recognition did not have much effect on enhancing his strength, the advantages he received were fairly obvious. The greatest advantage was that his cultivation efficiency had increased significantly. This was something he noticed when he first returned to the Star Boundary from the Demon Realm after becoming a High-Rank Demon King.
The other advantage was that he could perceive any special changes that occurred in the Star Boundary; for example, he clearly perceived the barriers between the worlds breaking when the second battle between the two Great Worlds broke out and the ten Demon Saints entered the Star Boundary. That was an ability only the Great Emperors had. Not even Li Wu Yi had that ability.
In addition, there was another benefit that could not be seen. That was an increase in good fortune. Something like luck was vague and intangible, not something that could be described in concrete terms, but it definitely existed. Some people had great luck, while others were bogged down by misfortune. People with great luck would not die even if they fell off a cliff. They might even come across secrets to the Martial Dao left behind by a Senior expert at the bottom of the canyon. On the other hand, an unlucky person might suffer from cultivation dissonance even if they were in possession of a great treasure and lose their life as a result. There was a saying that luck was a part of one’s strength. At certain key moments, this intangible luck might be what turned a dangerous situation into a safe one, or even turn a terrible crisis into a fortuitous encounter.
Yang Kai’s luck had always been rather good. If it wasn’t for that, he would never have grown to his current level in just over a hundred years; however, that only stemmed from his own luck. After obtaining Bright Moon Great Emperor’s legacy, however, his luck was greatly amplified so long as he was in the Star Boundary.
Thinking about it, he had encountered Murong Xiao Xiao and Xiao Bai Yi on his way to the Four Seasons Realm from Star Soul Palace only to uncover Wind Lord’s conspiracy in the process. Were all of these incidents simply a series of coincidences? It might only have happened because he was blessed with good fortune.
Aside from that, there should have been other uses for the blessing from the World’s Will in his possession. It was just that he had yet to discover them. Now though, Yang Kai realized he could use it as a beacon to guide his way in the dark.
Both the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm were Great Worlds, so while he could not communicate with the Star Field Source because the Star Field and the Demon Realm were not on the same level, what if he borrowed the power of the World’s Will? He might even find the way out of the Demon Realm’s Void Crack!
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai took action. Stopping in his tracks, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in his mind.
Speaking of which, he had always known that he was in possession of a piece of the Star Boundary’s Will; however, he had never felt it directly before. The World’s Will was similar to the so-called ‘luck’. It was intangible, much unlike the Star Field Source.
Under the present circumstances though, Yang Kai figured he might as well try everything at his disposal. There was nothing to lose anyway. He had done everything he could, so he could only leave the rest to the Heavens. If it really failed to work, then he would simply have to think of something else.
As time passed, Yang Kai cast aside all distracting thoughts and made his state of mind as tranquil as an ancient well. He did not know how long he spent in that state of emptiness, but at some point, a light seemed to pass through his Knowledge Sea. Ripples immediately appeared, swaying his calm state of mind and waking him from his meditation.
Yang Kai opened his eyes abruptly, turned around, and looked in a certain direction. It was completely pitch-black in that direction, filled with emptiness and chaos. Moreover, the Void Turbulence was abundant and he could neither see nor feel anything. There was no way for anybody to be certain that that was the way home, but even so, he took a step forward and strode in that direction simply because that direction he was walking conformed with his instincts.
There was no way to determine the direction nor was there any sense of time inside the Void; therefore, Yang Kai did not know how long he had been walking in that direction. During this period, Bo Ya talked to him a few times, and although she did not ask him anything directly, he could sense what she was thinking. She probably wanted to know if he had managed to find the way back yet but was too afraid of receiving a disappointing answer to ask.
On the other hand, he stopped several times during his journey and forced himself into that empty state of mind in hopes that he could obtain more hints. It was a pity that his efforts were all in vain. Aside from the first time, Yang Kai’s subsequent attempts were fruitless. This made him doubt himself, wondering if he had been mistaken. Was it really the Star Boundary’s Will that showed him the direction during his first attempt? Could it have been nothing more than wishful thinking?
At this point, he could only walk this path until the end.
One day, Yang Kai was having a casual chat with Bo Ya when he suddenly fell silent and looked in a certain direction with an expression of pleasant surprise.
Bo Ya noticed this difference and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I found the way out,” Yang Kai replied.
She was overjoyed at those words, “Can we go back?”
He laughed, “Maybe, but it might also bring us somewhere else instead.”
He could sense that the barriers of the Void over there were slightly weaker compared to the other areas. With his current accomplishments in the Dao of Space, he should be able to break through. However, he could not know for sure where he would find himself after breaking the barrier.
“Let’s go and have a look,” Bo Ya urged.
Yang Kai had no objections to her suggestion; thus, he increased his pace and headed in that direction. It didn’t take long for him to arrive at the spot in the Void and stared ahead. Yang Kai’s perception had been right, the barriers of space were indeed weaker here than in other areas by a considerable margin. It was almost no different from a thin layer of film that would shatter at the slightest touch, allowing people to enter another world. Slowly stretching a hand out, Yang Kai pressed the space in front of him. Space Principles swirled around him, turning from a thin mist into a dense fog.
A short while later, Space Principles shuddered as his hand pressed against the weak spot in the Void. Then, his hand slowly passed through the barrier, and in the next moment, his arm and then body followed. Yang Kai did not panic since this situation was well within his expectations.
He took another step forward, and the moment his body completely passed through the barrier was the moment he completely left the Void Crack. His vision blurred. Likewise, his thoughts seemed to blank out for a moment, and by the time he recovered, he couldn’t help gaping with his mouth wide open as he looked around in a daze.
Bo Ya’s nervous but suppressed voice came from within the Small Sealed World, “Hey! What’s the situation!?”
After she shouted the question three times consecutively, Yang Kai finally replied to her, “I’m not sure.”
His words made her so anxious that she could die, “What do you mean by ‘You’re not sure’!? Are we back or not!?”
“No, we aren’t back, rather…” Yang Kai frowned deeply, uncertain as to how to explain the situation to her; hence, he simply said, “See for yourself.”
He reached out his hand while speaking, communicated with the Small Sealed World through his mind, and showed Bo Ya the scene he was looking at. Meanwhile, Bo Ya sat on the ground inside the Small Sealed World without any regard for her image and raised her head to look up at the sky. A magnificent scene was immediately reflected in the sky following Yang Kai’s actions. It was an image of a sky filled with Stars that seemed both very close and very far away at the same time. This Starry Sky was vast, incredibly vast, seemingly stretching out without end. Anybody would feel as insignificant as an ant when standing in the middle of such a vast Starry Sky.
“What is this damned place!?” Bo Ya was startled. She had originally counted on Yang Kai to bring her back to the Star Boundary so that they could visit Li Shi Qing, but who could have known that they would arrive at such a place after coming out of the Void Crack?
“A Star Field… No, that’s not it…” Yang Kai’s frown grew deeper than ever. He had seen something similar on many occasions in the past, but while this place looked similar to a Lower Star Field, after examining it carefully, he could tell that it was not a Star Field. That was because the power of the Stars here, along with the ambient World Energy was extremely rich, more so than any cultivation paradise in the Star Boundary.
There was no such place in any Star Field. The Starry Sky of the Star Field was mainly filled with a blanket of desolate silence. Moreover, Yang Kai had the vague feeling that there was a force pulling at him, as though trying to lead him somewhere. This force did not carry any malicious intent. Rather, he believed that he would be greeted with a pleasant surprise if he followed this force to the source.
Bo Ya was born in the Demon Realm, so it was only natural that she did not know what this place was. The only thing she could be certain of was that this was not the Star Boundary. Just as she was about to question him further, she suddenly heard a loud noise; then, the image that was reflected in the sky shattered into pieces. Shocked, she yelled, “What’s wrong!? Yang Kai, are you alright!?”
However, he didn’t hear her voice at all. At that moment, a rushing sound filled his ears, making him so dizzy that he nearly lost consciousness. After that deafening sound came a gust of strong wind that blew from behind. That wind was as sharp as blades, eliciting an unbearable pain as it sliced across his body.
It was only for an instant, but Yang Kai felt as though he lost a layer of skin off his back. It went to show just how violent that gust of wind had been. The raging flow of air swept him off balance and blew him away into the distance. Unable to control his body, he was swept along by the wind with a horrified expression on his face.
He was a High-Rank Demon King; moreover, he had gained an opportunity in that ancient battlefield and spent dozens of years cultivating there. At this point, even a Pseudo-Great Emperor or a Half-Saint would not make him flinch. Nevertheless, he was helplessly being blown about by a gust of wind in this strange Starry Sky.
In the midst of the strong wind, the odd sound continued thundering in his ears. It was so deafening that Stars were dancing in his eyes from the noise. Forcing himself to stabilize his mind, he shouted, “Dragon Transformation!”
In response, a Dragon Roar rang out and his body swelled rapidly, assuming his Half-Dragon Form.
Yang Kai had spent several dozen years cultivating intensively in that ancient battlefield. During that period, he had absorbed the Martial Truth of Flowing Time Great Emperor and the Great Demon God. That wasn’t all; the two extraordinary forces had also been polishing and purifying his body at all times. Combined with the fact that he had always maintained his Half-Dragon Form in the ancient battlefield, his Half-Dragon Form had been greatly tempered and enhanced without him realising. Similarly, the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength in his body had also been developed significantly. As a result, his Half-Dragon Form was now 1,000 metres tall! At this length, it was enough to make all the Dragon Clan members in Dragon Island look up to him in admiration.
A clanging noise sounded in his ears as the wind blades hitting against his Dragon Scales created a sound similar to that of metal clashing against metal, sending a shower of sparks everywhere.
Despite assuming his Half-Dragon form, Yang Kai was still unable to stabilize his body completely. Although it was slightly better than before, the effects were still very limited.
[What the Hell is this wind!?] Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai somehow turned back to look. He wanted to see where the gust of wind was coming from; however, what he saw made his eyes widen in surprise and his brow twitch madly. He could barely believe what he was seeing, but even after rubbing his eyes and blinking furiously, he found that he had not seen wrongly.
There was a giant lying on his side behind Yang Kai. Yang Kai could not tell how tall the giant was, but it was as if he was looking at a rolling mountain range. In comparison, Yang Kai’s 1,000 metres Half-Dragon Form looked like an ant.
While the giant looked no different from an ordinary Human, his appearance was magnified countless times. In addition, the deafening sound he was hearing was not the sound of thunder, it was the giant snoring. Furthermore, the gust of wind that seemed to slice through Yang Kai’s flesh and bones was simply the breath exhaled through the giant’s mouth and nose.
Yang Kai only had one thought come to mind when he saw this sight, [So enormous!]
[What the Hell is this thing!?] Yang Kai’s thoughts immediately descended into chaos as he nearly believed that he was dreaming.
Meanwhile, the powerful Astral Wind blew him a distance of several thousands of kilometres before gradually dying down. The deafening snoring stopped ringing in his ears at the same time.
Yang Kai’s complexion at this moment was terrible. He felt as though he had just finished fighting a desperate battle. His entire body was exhausted and sore, especially the area on his back that had been cut by the wind blades. He even felt that his Dragon Scales seemed to have become much weaker after the encounter.
[This big guy is just sleeping but his snoring contains so much power! What would it be like if he were to attack!? Even the entire Star Boundary won’t be able to take more than two or three punches from him!] The giant in front of Yang Kai’s eyes had vastly exceeded the limits of his understanding and even imagination, so he had a hard time calming down.
Without warning though, a great sense of crisis enveloped him. Yang Kai only pondered for a moment before his expression changed greatly as he shouted, “Bad!”
Space Principles surged as he tried to leave this place immediately.
It was only natural for a sleeping person to inhale after exhaling, so if this giant’s exhalation had such destructive power, then what would his inhalation be like? Regardless of what it would be like, Yang Kai had no interest in sticking around to find out. Unfortunately, he was too close to the giant and it was too late for him to leave by the time he noticed this danger.
As expected, the sleeping giant breathed in. It felt as if a whale was sucking in water the moment he inhaled. Everything within a radius of ten thousand kilometres was pulled towards him by that sucking force. Even space itself seemed to be warping in response.
In the meantime, Yang Kai’s flickering figure solidified again, his Instantaneous Movement disrupted, terrifying him to the core. His body was involuntarily being pulled towards the giant. Even having been blown several thousand kilometres away when the giant exhaled just now, the giant’s inhalation instantly dragged Yang Kai back. He could only watch helplessly as he got closer and closer to the giant’s mouth. It was only a matter of moments before he was swallowed up by the giant. Yang Kai really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this situation.
[I finally managed to escape from the Void Crack and I haven’t even found out where the Star Boundary is located. I can’t believe I’m about to get swallowed by a random giant that I happened to bump into! Dying in this manner is too miserable!] Although Yang Kai had no idea what would happen to him if he entered the giant’s stomach, he was certain that it would not end well for him.
At the critical moment when his life was hanging by a thin thread, Yang Kai opened his mouth and let out a furious roar. A Dragon Roar boomed out, shaking the entire world. At the same time, his Half-Dragon Form twisted and instead of rushing into the giant’s mouth, shot up towards the giant’s enormous nostrils. Yang Kai reached out his claws and grabbed a nose hair that was thicker than a mountain peak. Going along with the momentum, he swung himself towards the wall of the giant’s nose and punched out hard.
*Puchi…*
“A… A… Achoo!”
A burst of air even more violent than previously exploded out. Yang Kai was swept away in confusion, his mind spinning dizzily. By the time he regained his footing, he was already out of the danger zone. Hence, he couldn’t help letting out a breath of relief as he thought to himself, [Thank goodness I have luck on my side. I can’t believe I managed to escape unscathed under those circumstances!]
Before he could rejoice though, he suddenly felt a stabbing feeling in his heart. He felt as if a thorn was piercing his back and instinctively turned around to look. The hair all over his body instantly stood on end as even his Dragon Scales covering him quivered in fright.
Yang Kai’s actions just now had probably disturbed the sleeping giant, and at some point in time, the giant had woken up and sat up cross-legged in the void. Although he had seemed very large even when lying down, he looked even more imposing now that he was sitting up; what’s more, he seemed quite unhappy. His mountain-like brows were furrowed deeply and he had a ferocious expression on his face, like a child who was rudely woken up from his sleep. In short, he looked extremely disgruntled.
[It’s a given that he is upset. If I was punched in the nose like that while I was asleep, I would react in the same manner too.]
Originally, Yang Kai had not paid much attention to the sleeping giant’s appearance, other than his enormous size, but now that the latter was sitting up, he noticed that the giant’s head was completely bald and shiny like the sun. However, Yang Kai was in no mood to pay attention to such trivial matters. As soon as he saw that the giant was awake, he refused to remain in this place and immediately sped off into the distance in a flash.
An existence like this was beyond his ability to face. Yang Kai had been extremely lucky to escape with his life just now and knew that if he did not escape, he would only be a sitting duck waiting for death to come. Besides, he still had no idea what that giant was. The only thing he could be sure of was that he could not afford to anger such a terrifying existence.
[Could that giant be some kind of sentient creature that lives in the Outer Universe? In that case, did I arrive in the Outer Universe after leaving the Void Crack?] Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit speechless. [I was thinking about going to the Outer Universe one day when I killed Mo Sheng previously. I can’t believe my wish came true so quickly, but I haven’t even had the chance to look at the scenery yet before running into this extremely terrifying giant.]
After consecutively performing several Instantaneous Movements, Yang Kai lost track of how far he travelled. It wasn’t until he felt safe that he stopped and turned back to look, but at that instant, he was so frightened that he felt as though his Soul was about to escape from his body.
An incomparably enormous face was bearing down at him, a pair of eyes filled with anger and dissatisfaction glaring directly at him, air coming from those nostrils that seemed hot enough to melt the universe.
At this moment, the giant was holding one hand up with his palm facing upwards. Meanwhile, Yang Kai was standing in the middle of that gigantic palm. The giant’s five fingers stretched out in the surroundings were like five towering mountains that covered the entire world.
Shocked, Yang Kai tried to push his Space Principles once more. Even though his figure flashed, he couldn’t leave and remained stuck in place, causing his expression to change greatly as he shouted, “A universe in the palm of his hand!”
The giant’s palm was like a world in and of itself, even having its own Principles! He couldn’t even escape from the palm of this giant’s hand. It was beyond naïve and foolish of him to believe he was safe just now!
A Divine Ability of this level was beyond the scope of Yang Kai’s comprehension. He did not know how many thousands of times stronger this giant’s cultivation was compared to his. In any case, he had the feeling that it was going to be impossible for him to escape from the giant’s grasp, so in his desperation, his fear turned into fury and he glared at the giant. He did not show any signs of weakness as he shouted, “You bastard! What are you capturing me for!?”
He activated his Dragon Pressure with a furious roar and his shout came out as a Dragon Roar. After letting out that roar, Yang Kai instantly felt a little regretful because the giant looked very angry. If he had spoken nicely, he might have had some chance of surviving this crisis. [Why did I suddenly yell at him!? What if I made him mad!? I won’t even be able to fill the gaps between his teeth if he decides to eat me!]
Just when Yang Kai was drowning in anxiety, he saw the giant’s large eyeballs growing even larger. Two gigantic eyebrows raised slightly to reveal an expression of fright, almost as though the giant had seen something terrifying.
Yang Kai was stunned. The main reason was that the giant’s facial expression changed so quickly that it was difficult for him to accept; moreover, such a ferocious-looking giant actually looked frightened now. It was simply too incredulous to believe.
Taking advantage of this situation, Yang Kai decided to just go with the flow and shouted once more, “I asked you a question! Are you deaf!?” [I wonder if this guy understands what I’m saying.]
The fear on the giant’s face grew even more pronounced as he opened his mouth and timidly replied, “Ah Da was sleeping!”
Seeing how large he was and how loud his snoring had been, it was hard to imagine that his voice was so soft when he spoke. At the very least, it did not make Yang Kai feel any sense of discomfort.
“Ah Da?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at those words, “Is that your name?”
“Ah Da was sleeping…” The giant repeated.
Yang Kai frowned, “Who are you?”
“Ah Da was sleeping!”
Upon hearing those words, he became annoyed, “Are you stupid!?”
The giant’s reply was completely irrelevant to the question; hence, he couldn’t help seriously doubt whether there was something wrong with the giant’s head.
“Ah Da is not stupid! Ah Da was sleeping!” The giant glared at Yang Kai as if feeling a little angry. His expression became tight again.
“Are you really stupid?” Yang Kai was astonished. With just a few words, he could already tell that this giant was somewhat mentally challenged. Why else would the giant be unable to answer such a simple question? Moreover, he kept repeating the same sentence over and over again. That clearly indicated that he was a little lacking in intelligence.
“You say Ah Da is stupid? Ah Da is not stupid!” The giant seemed to have gotten angry for real and he opened his mouth and let out a roar. The violent flow of air that erupted from his mouth immediately sent Yang Kai flying several thousand kilometres away, his arms flailing wildly in the wind.
The giant named Ah Da was taken aback to see Yang Kai being blown away by his breath and hurriedly sucked in a breath in Yang Kai’s direction.
In response, Yang Kai came flying back with his arms flailing wildly again.
Ah Da blinked at the sight, the anger on his face melting away into a happy smile. He watched as Yang Kai was dragged backwards by that suction force, then he pursed his lips and blew out again.
In the next moment, Yang Kai was sent flying out again.
This cycle repeated again and again as Ah Da breathed out, breathed in, breathed out, breathed in… His hearty laughter rang out across the vast and empty Starry Sky. He was like a child who had gotten a new toy and was having a fantastic time playing with it, his eyes narrowing in happiness.
After repeating this process for who knows how many things, Yang Kai finally found the ability to roar, “That’s enough! Stop!”
“Cough, cough, cough…” Ah Da, who was having a good time playing, suddenly shuddered at the sound of that roar. Failing to exhale the air he had inhaled in time, he ended up choking himself and coughed loudly.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai took the opportunity to rush over to Ah Da and began attacking in a frenzy. He kicked and punched wildly like a madman. A series of thudding sounds rang out without pausing for an instant.
He was practically burning with fury. Ever since the day he began cultivating, Yang Kai had never been more humiliated than he had been today. He was the kind of man who could summon the will to fight his opponent even when he knew they were far more powerful than himself. Even if he could not win, he could still manage to escape. However, even the idea of escape was an extravagant hope in front of this giant. He was, quite literally, nothing more than a toy to Ah Da.
As the saying went, ‘some things must never be tolerated’. Despite knowing that he was no match for the giant, Yang Kai could not bring himself to endure this humiliation any longer; thus, he charged forward to fight to the death. He stopped a short while later and landed on the giant’s palm again. Lifting his head in fury, his eyes were filled with accusations of tears and blood, gritting his teeth as he choked out the words, “It’s not fair!”
Yang Kai attacked for quite some time, but even so, Ah Da neither retaliated nor gave any indication that he was going to stop Yang Kai. He simply endured it silently, or rather, he seemed to not realize Yang Kai was attacking him at all. Furthermore, his face remained intact and perfectly uninjured. On the contrary, it was Yang Kai’s Dragon Claws that were sore from the impact.
Ah Da scratched his head, his gaze constantly switching between Yang Kai and the void. He was blinking furiously as though he knew that he had done something wrong. He might not know what he had done wrong, but he could sense that Yang Kai was furious and inevitably felt a little guilty.
That funny expression entered Yang Kai’s eyes and he was stunned for a moment before he burst out laughing.
This giant named Ah Da was obviously mentally underdeveloped, but his strength was simply beyond fathoming. Why was he even picking a fight with him? It was just asking for trouble.
When Yang Kai laughed, Ah Da followed suit. The latter’s smile might be a little timid, but his large body shook from his laughter.
Yang Kai suddenly felt that the giant was a lot less annoying and became much less fearful as he asked, “Just what are you?”
If it had been anybody else in Ah Da’s shoes, that question would have sounded extremely provocative. A fight might even break out on the spot if they were ill-tempered; however, Ah Da didn’t care at all. He simply lifted a finger and pressed it against his lips while shrinking back slightly, “Shh. Keep your voice down. You are so noisy.”
Yang Kai immediately rubbed his hands together, hunched his waist in a suspicious-looking posture, and whispered, “Like this?”
Ah Da grinned in response. Unfortunately, the smile was so terrifying that Yang Kai’s scalp went numb at the sight. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he asked again, “Which Clan are you from? How did you grow so big? What is this place?”
What Yang Kai received in answer, however, was a loud rumbling sound. It sounded like thunder, booming out so deafeningly that his eardrums hurt.
Ah Da then proceeded to rub his stomach and whimper pitifully, “I’m hungry.”
The sound just now had been his stomach growling.
Yang Kai couldn’t help gulping nervously, the reason being that Ah Da was staring at him intently while he spoke those words. It made Yang Kai feel very insecure, [He can’t be thinking of eating me, right? Judging by his previous actions, he doesn’t seem like he would do something like that.]
Desperately resisting the urge to flee, Yang Kai lifted a fist to his mouth and coughed lightly, “Um, you see… Although I’m not small, my body doesn’t have much meat. I’m also not tasty, so…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Ah Da turning to look down in a certain direction; then, Ah Da seemed shocked and exclaimed, “It’s gone!”
“What’s gone?” Yang Kai frowned, and following Ah Da’s gaze, his pupils suddenly contracted in fear. There was something pitch-black located in the Starry Sky a few hundred thousand kilometres away that was slowly squirming and shrinking. Even though it was several hundred thousand kilometres away, Yang Kai could still feel the familiar aura of chaos and nothingness.
Void Crack!
That mass of black nihility was massive Void Crack.
Was that where he escaped from? It was not impossible for that to be the case; however, the Void Crack was currently shrinking at a rapid pace and it would not take more than half a month before it vanished completely.
Just like how the World Principles would mend the spatial tears in the Star Boundary, the same went for this inexplicable Starry Sky too it seemed. At this moment, the Void Crack was gradually disappearing under some kind of influence from the ambient World Principles.
When the realisation struck him, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling terrified, [I’m so glad I escaped in time. If I failed to escape before the Void was completely repaired, I would have been trapped inside forever!]
According to his calculations, the location of the Void Crack should be where the Demon Realm had originally existed. Feeling unsure, he turned to look at Ah Da and asked, “What’s gone?”
“Food… It’s gone…” Ah Da’s huge face was scrunched up bitterly as though he was about to cry.
Yang Kai was confused. [If that is where the Demon Realm used to be located, then what is there for this giant to eat?] Frowning, he asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“Pieces…” Ah Da stretched out a finger that was bigger than the mountain peak and pointed at the Void, “There were lots and lots of pieces… But, now they’re all gone…”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a while. Wasn’t the Demon Realm in pieces? What this giant calls food… He can’t be referring to the Demon Realm, right?
“Ah Da was sleeping. Ah Da was waiting until it died before he ate…” Ah Da turned to look at Yang Kai. The corners of his mouth drooped sadly and his eyes were misty, really looking like he was going to burst into tears, “But it’s gone now…”
Although the meaning behind those words were unclear, Yang Kai was horrified just listening to them. He had extracted a different kind of information from within those words.
[Wait until it died before eating…]
The Demon Realm had been spiralling towards its death, and even Yang Kai had always claimed that the Demon Realm was dying, but that fact was finally confirmed through Ah Da’s words.
Meanwhile, he had used the Sealed World Bead to devour the entire Demon Realm, so it was only natural that it was gone. Yang Kai then began to wonder just how long Ah Da had been sleeping here for him to not notice the changes at all.
*Gulululu…*
The deafening rumbling sounded again.
Ah Ga rubbed his stomach sadly, “Ah Da is hungry.”
“Haaa… There’s no helping it.” Yang Kai quickly took out a World Bead from the Small Sealed World and tossed it to Ah Da, “Is this what you eat?”
The first reason Yang Kai did this was to verify his conjecture. He wanted to see if Ah Da was really waiting in this place to eat the Demon Realm. The other reason… was simply that the giant’s expression was too scary. He was afraid that Ah Da might be so hungry that the latter became desperate and ate him instead.
If Ah Da was really waiting to eat the Demon Realm, then a single World Bead should not be a problem for him. Besides, Yang Kai had many World Beads in his possession. When he first entered the Demon Realm, he had created those World Beads by slicing off parts of the third region in the Small Sealed World and refining them. Strictly speaking, they were originally a part of the Demon Realm.
When the World Bead was tossed in Ah Da’s direction, his eyes brightened up… A light flashed across his gaze as his aggrieved expression turned into one of pure curiosity. He held the World Bead up in front of his eyes between two enormous fingers, examined it carefully, and sniffed at it with his nose. After a while, he grinned, “Round…”
Opening his mouth, he tossed it into his mouth. *Crunch!*
The muscles of Yang Kai’s face twitched hard at the sound of Ah Da’s chewing.
A short while later, Ah Da finished swallowing the World Bead and stared at Yang Kai with a look of anticipation.
Yang Kai laughed and flew over to Ah Da, “Open your mouth!”
“Ah…” Ah Da opened his mouth wide.
Yang Kai popped another World Bead into the giant mouth.
*Crunch. Crunch. Gulp*
“Ah…”
Yang Kai found all of this extremely interesting, thinking that the universe was truly full of wonders. Leaving aside the fact that he had encountered a giant larger than a mountain range, he couldn’t believe that this guy actually fed on worlds! It’s so incredible that he could barely believe it!
However, it quickly became too much for Yang Kai as Ah Da continued to eat. Although he had created many World Beads back then, the number was still limited. It didn’t take long for Ah Da to finish half of them. A little more time passed and the number was halved again. Even so, Ah Da still looked dissatisfied, even though his stomach was not growling any more.
[I can’t let him continue eating like this.] Yang Kai had the feeling that he was going to go bankrupt if he allowed Ah Da to continue. He still had uses for the remaining World Beads in his possession, mainly distributing them to the armies when he returned to the Star Boundary.
When Ah Da opened his mouth again, he saw that Yang Kai did not move for a long time; thus, he looked at Yang Kai expectantly again.
Yang Kai spread his hands and said, “There’s no more.”
The anticipation on Ah Da’s face suddenly turned to disappointment.
“What about eating this?” Yang Kai waved his hand. A pile of Spirit Fruits appeared in front of him. They were all taken from the medicine garden in the Small Sealed World. Ever since he placed the two small Wood Spirits in the medicine garden, it had been thriving and the number of Spirit Fruits had increased considerably; moreover, the medicine garden produced all sorts of other rare products year round.
Each of these Spirit Fruits was extraordinary and an ordinary person would surely burn with jealousy at the mere sight of them. Ah Da was a little surprised to see these Spirit Fruits. It was clear that he had never seen so many colourful items before. Be that as it may, he seemed to know that they were edible. Reaching out a hand, he grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth. A moment later, his expression turned ecstatic.
Yang Kai was secretly relieved. It would seem that the giant was not a picky eater and could eat anything, similar to the Embodiment. After the Embodiment began cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he could refine basically anything that had the slightest bit of energy. The principle behind them seemed to be the same. [But still… look at the size of this giant! Trying to feed him to satiety… will be more than a little difficult…]
The things inside the Small Sealed World’s medicine garden were not infinite, and at present, the two little Wood Spirits had already noticed that a lot of Spirit Fruits had gone missing and were questioning Yang Kai about who the dastardly thief was.
An hour later, Ah Da looked at Yang Kai eagerly again, still not satisfied.
Yang Kai spread his hands and said, “I really don’t have any more.”
A lot of the World Beads had been eaten and most of the spirit fruits in the medicine garden were gone. Yang Kai would go bankrupt if he continued feeding this giant. Besides, he was sceptical about something. He had the feeling that even if he brought out everything within the medicine garden, it still would not be enough to fill the giant’s stomach. Judging by Ah Da’s mountain-like body… it would probably be very difficult to ever truly satisfy him.
Yang Kai racked his brains for other ideas before he said, “Would you like to come with me? I’ll bring you to a place with delicious food.”
While it was true that Ah Da was simple-minded, his cultivation was shockingly powerful. If he could bring this big guy back to the Star Boundary, he could easily deal with the Demon Saints and their like. Yang Kai seriously doubted that even Great Demon God could compare to Ah Da. With Ah Da with him, the crisis in the Star Boundary could be resolved immediately and no more sacrifices would be necessary!
It had only been a flash of inspiration at the beginning, but the more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good idea; therefore, he immediately tried to entice Ah Da earnestly, making a grand speech with many colourful images and descriptions that could all be summed up in one sentence, “Follow me and you will eat your fill!”
If he could bring Ah Da back to the Star Boundary with him, he would have the strength of an entire world behind him. In that case, was there really a need to fear not being able to satisfy this giant’s appetite?
Yang Kai talked until his mouth went dry, but on the other hand, Ah Da simply kept giggling stupidly without responding to his suggestions at all. It made Yang Kai wonder if he was only feigning his childlike mentality.
“I’ve already said so much? What do you think? Will you come with me?” Yang Kai wiped at his mouth and tried one last time.
“Hehehe.”
“Stop laughing! Tell me whether you are coming with me or not!” Yang Kai was feeling speechless now. He plopped himself down on Ah Da’s palm and glared at the other party in exasperation.
They stared at each other without saying anything for a time before all of a sudden, a look of joy flashed across Ah Da’s face and he turned his head to look in a certain direction.
Yang Kai followed the giant’s gaze but couldn’t see anything. All he could see was the vast Starry Sky.
A short while later, Ah Da suddenly got up and said excitedly, “Ah Da is going to find something to eat!”
“Where?” Yang Kai raised his hand to his forehead and stared out into the distance.
In the meantime, Ah Da had already strode away in that direction. Despite his mountain-like body, his movements were swifter than lightning. Yang Kai felt as though the surrounding scenery was passing by in a flash from where he sat on the giant’s palm and he couldn’t help shouting, “Hey! Hey! Where are you going!?”
Ah Da froze in surprise, only now seeming to remember that there was a person sitting on his palm. Pausing, he looked down at Yang Kai and chuckled, “You gave Ah Da food. You are a good person. Ah Da likes you.”
His smile was as pure as a child’s.
“If you like me, you should come with me! Just tell me what you want!” Yang Kai put more effort into his recruitment.
Contrary to Yang Kai’s expectations, however, Ah Da just reached out his hand and plucked something out from what looked like a giant pocket. Grasping what looked like an embroidery needle, he gently placed it in front of Yang Kai and declared, “Ah Da will give you this!”
Yang Kai grabbed hold of the ‘embroidery needle’ and felt a jolt running through his body. An ancient and desolate aura washed over him without warning, enveloping his entire body and giving him the illusion of being transported back to a prehistoric era.
By the time he broke free of this illusion and came back to his senses, he saw that Ah Da was already very far away. All that was left was a tiny speck in the distance. Then, even that back vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye.
[How fast!] It had not been particularly obvious when he was standing on Ah Da’s giant palm, but now seeing it from a distance, Yang Kai realized just how terrifyingly fast Ah Da was.
Even though Yang Kai quickly pushed his Space Principles and chased after him, how could he possibly manage to catch up to Ah Da? Ah Da had long since disappeared somewhere and it was practically impossible now to search for his whereabouts in this vast and boundless Starry Sky. Therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling rather annoyed. It was rather regretful that he had failed to recruit such a powerful helper.
It wasn’t until this moment that he took the time to study the ‘gift’ in his hand. When Ah Da pulled this toy out, it looked like nothing more than a small needle. Even so, everything was relative. This item had looked no bigger than an embroidery needle in front of Ah Da’s enormous body, but became the size of a chopstick in Yang Kai’s hands. It should also be said that Yang Kai had been maintaining his Half-Dragon Form ever since he met Ah Da, which meant this chopstick-like item was at least 10 or 20 metres long.
Upon a closer inspection, Yang Kai discovered that this chopstick was actually a spear. The tip of the spear glinted with a cold light and a pattern of dragons coiled around the body of the spear. In addition, there were many engravings and embellishments that looked like Dragon Scales. There were also golden clouds at the butt of the spear. It looked quite magnificent.
Yang Kai’s expression brightened and after closing his eyes, he quietly examined the spear before becoming startled a short while later. His attention had been focused on Ah Da previously, so he had no time to figure out the wonders of this item. It wasn’t until now that he inspected the item and discovered what a rare and extraordinary treasure it was.
In particular, the ancient aura surging from the spear was even denser than that of the Mountains and Rivers Bell. Just from this fact alone, it could be seen that the spear was far older than the Mountains and Rivers Bell. What surprised him even more was that he could vaguely sense a familiar aura coming from the spear. It was none the aura of a Dragon.
Yang Kai immersed his mind into the spear and after a while, his expression froze in surprise. Under his intent stare, the spear transformed into an incomparably large Azure Dragon that stood proudly in the void.
A high-pitched Dragon Roar resounded from the spear, causing the entire body of the spear to tremble uncontrollably. Yang Kai blissfully poured his Dragon Aura into the spear, causing it to swell up rapidly from 15 metres to nearly 1,000 metres. It was now just as long as his Half-Dragon Form was tall. His Half-Dragon Form was already quite imposing on its own, but it looked even more overwhelming now that it was supplemented by the spear.
Yang Kai’s eyes flew open abruptly as he randomly tried out several spear techniques. The spear felt like it was a part of his arm, with no sense of obscurity whatsoever. Rather, his entire body felt as comfortable as could be; thus, his confidence soared. Even if the true body of the Great Demon God was standing in front of him, he was confident he could put a few holes in him in his current state!
Yang Kai focused his gaze and saw two large golden characters shining at a certain point on the shaft of.
“Azure Dragon!”
He read those words out loud as he gently caressed the spear. Only then did the spear that had been trembling all this while seem to calm down, as though appeased.
If it had been anybody else in Yang Kai’s shoes, they would not have dared to use the Azure Dragon Spear so casually despite obtaining it. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s examination had revealed to him that the Azure Dragon Spear was originally refined and crafted from the body of a Dragon. The body of the spear came from the Dragon Bones, the scale-like patterns on the body of the spear were originally the Dragon Scales, the spearhead was formed from a Dragon Fang, and the butt of the spear came from a Dragon Tail.
With the Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength in his body, Yang Kai just so happened to fulfil the conditions of the Azure Dragon Spear’s Will. Only when infused with a pure Dragon Source Strength could this spear unleash its full power without first refining it. Moreover, Yang Kai had the vague feeling that even the Great Elder and Second Elder of Dragon Island were not as powerful as the Dragon that this spear had been refined from.
Just who was Ah Da? How was he able to randomly and carelessly bring out something so precious? The World Beads and the spirit fruits from the medicine garden that Yang Kai had offered as payment previously were not worth mentioning in comparison. While those things were by no means ordinary, how could they compare with the Azure Dragon Spear?
[I can’t believe I’m still so blessed with luck even though I’m not in the Star Boundary!] Yang Kai could barely repress the urge to throw his head back in wild laughter. Thinking about it a little more though, he realized that Ah Da probably brought out the Azure Dragon Spear after seeing his Half-Dragon Form. In any case, he had gained far more than he invested.
Up until today, Yang Kai had always carried numerous treasures and artifacts with him. There was no need to mention the Soul Warming Lotus, the Immortal Tree, and the Firmament Tree which could be regarded as unique existences and Supreme Treasures of the universe. The Mountains and Rivers Bell was so powerful that it was capable of suppressing even World Strength. The Astral Wind blowing out of the newly-acquired Wind Gourd was not something to be underestimated either. When it came to the Soul, he also had the elusive Soul Splitting Sabre.
Comparatively, Yang Kai only lacked a personal weapon that could be used to fight in close combat. The Myriads Sword was decent, but it was just an ordinary Emperor Artifact. It used to provide a relatively powerful boost to him when his cultivation was not that high. Unfortunately, it was no longer capable of keeping up with his strength as he became increasingly more powerful.
Besides, the Myriads Sword was the Qin Family’s heirloom. Yang Kai once made an agreement with the Patriarch of the Qin Family, Qin Zhao Yang, to return the Myriads Sword when Qin Yu became an Emperor Realm Master. Qin Yu had been cultivating hard in High Heaven Palace over the years and her strength had greatly increased as a result. Although she had yet to become an Emperor Realm Master, it was only a matter of time.
The Qin Family might not say anything even if Yang Kai did not return the Myriads Sword, but how could he go back on his word? Once he returned the Myriads Sword, then he would really lack a personal weapon.
Although he had been looking for a weapon for himself all this time, he had never found one that was suitable. Furthermore, he had to take his Half-Dragon Form into consideration. Any ordinary artifact could be used in his Human form, but they could not be used when he turned into his Half-Dragon Form. Forget his current size, even when he was only 300 metres long, using the Myriads Sword would have been no different from holding a toothpick between his fingers. Was he supposed to prick his enemies to death in a life-or-death situation? Not to mention, the power of that toothpick could not compare to the strength of his Dragon Claws.
Not only should the weapon be suitable for close combat, but it also had to be suitable for his current cultivation. It would be even better if he could continue using the weapon when he reached the Great Emperor Realm. More importantly, it had to be suitable for his use in his Half-Dragon Form… Although there were many precious and mysterious artifacts in the world, it was extremely difficult for any one of them to fulfil all of these conditions.
If Yang Kai was no different from the average Emperor Realm Masters that needed to spend a long time cultivating, he might have been able to gather some materials and ask Hou Yu to tailor-make an artifact for his use; however, the speed at which his cultivation improved was much too fast for him to consider that option. Even if he could refine an artifact like that, he would not have the time to nurture and refine the weapon to its full potential before it became obsolete. Among all the powerful treasures in the world, which one of them did not require thousands of years of hard work and refinement from the Emperor Realm Masters that owned them?
Yang Kai never imagined that he would accidentally receive the Azure Dragon Spear in this strange place. This spear was refined from the body of a Dragon, so not just anybody could unleash its full strength. It was the Dragonic Nature to be arrogant. Even after death, there still existed a trace of its original nature that could not be extinguished. It was already a miracle if the backlash did not harm the people who used the Azure Dragon Spear; how could it willingly allow itself to be controlled by another? It just so happened that Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source though, which resolved this problem perfectly.
[Even though that big guy only knew how to giggle foolishly, it would seem that he isn’t stupid.] Resisting the urge to continue chasing after Ah Da, Yang Kai looked in the direction where the former had disappeared and bowed with his hand on his chest. [I received such an amazing benefit from him. If I ever meet him again, I will definitely treat him to a full meal.]
“Yang Kai! Yang Kai, are you still alive!?” Bo Ya’s frantic voice came from within the Small Sealed World. She had been in the middle of a conversation with him when the projected image in the sky shattered to pieces without any warning. It was obvious that he had encountered some sort of attack.
She had been trying to contact him all this while, but there had been no response from him; thus, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. [Could he have died? If he died, then won’t I be stuck in the Small Sealed World for the rest of my life?] Although the current Small Sealed World isn’t too bad, it was simply not as splendid as the world outside.
“I’m not dead yet. Stop screaming,” Yang Kai replied shortly.
Naturally, Bo Ya began cursing him furiously, “Why did you ignore me if you’re still alive!?” Falling silent for a moment, she anxiously asked, “What happened just now?”
“It’s nothing.” He gave a perfunctory reply, “I met a rather interesting guy.” [He even called me a good person and gave me a precious gift.]
His words stunned her into silence. She had a glimpse of the vast Starry Sky just now, so who could he meet in a place like that? Unfortunately, Yang Kai stopped answering her when she questioned him further. It drove her so mad that she nearly gnashed her teeth to bits.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai turned around and placed the Azure Dragon Spear horizontally across his shoulders. His hands were placed on the head and tail of the spear. Then, his 1,000-metre-tall Half-Dragon Form shrunk rapidly and turned back into his Human form. Following the sudden change in body size, the gigantic Azure Dragon Spear also changed according to his wishes. By the time his figure stabilised again, the Azure Dragon Spear had become no more than 3 metres long.
He took a large stride forward. With a flash of his figure, that one step brought him a thousand kilometres away. He was staring fixedly ahead. That direction was probably where the Star Boundary was located.
Ever since he escaped from the Void Crack, Yang Kai could feel a faint force pulling at him. At the time, he had not had the time to investigate before he was blown away by Ah Da’s snoring. Now that he thought about it, the force that was pulling at him and guiding him towards a certain direction could only be the Star Boundary’s Will. He had the recognition of the World’s Will after all. For him, the Star Boundary was his homeland, so no matter how far he went, his connection with the Star Boundary would never be completely cut off.
…..
An army of millions was gathered in the Southern Territory outside of Star Soul Palace. Both Humans and Demons were at war. The once beautiful mountains and rivers were a terrible mess. The mountains and fields in the surroundings were withered and Demon Qi ran rampant.
Several years ago, the second Two Worlds Great War had erupted with the sudden arrival of the 10 Demon Saints. Afterwards, 108 Two Worlds’ Passages appeared all over the Star Boundary. The land around the Two Worlds’ Passages turned into Demon Land. Consequently, countless families had been separated and destroyed
In the beginning, the Star Boundary relied on its Space Arrays and the World Beads that Yang Kai refined to gain a significant advantage in mobility. They slew numerous Demons and obliterated 98 of the Demon Strongholds. As such, only the 10 largest Demon Strongholds remained. These 10 Demon Strongholds were also the places where the Demon Saints and Great Emperors had once fought.
The Demon Race placed great importance on these 10 Demon Strongholds. Not only were they heavily fortified, but the Demon Race also spent large amounts of manpower and resources to build unknown Demon Towers at each one.
When construction of these Demon Towers started, nobody had taken notice of these structures. It wasn’t until the Demon Towers began to take shape that the Star Boundary realized what their purpose was.
There were 10 Primary Demon Strongholds and 10 Demon Towers, all of which were interconnected with each other and functioned in the same manner as Space Arrays. Hence, the Demon Race armies were able to travel quickly between these 10 Primary Demon Strongholds.
On that note, the Star Boundary’s armies lost their advantage in terms of mobility from then onward.
The construction of the Demon Towers never ceased. There were large numbers of Demons bustling up and down each Demon Tower at every moment of the day. Accordingly, the Demon Towers grew higher and higher by the day. At present, they had reached a height of over 10,000 metres.
Nobody knew how these Demon Towers were built, but these towers were incredibly sturdy. Back in Blue Wave City of the Northern Territory, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue once used the Flowing Time Temple to ram into a Demon Tower twice; however, their efforts failed to bear fruit. The Feather Demon Demon Saint, Fu Yu, had teleported to the scene before they could launch a third attempt and knocked the Flowing Time Temple back with a single arrow. Her counterattack caused Yang Xiao and Yang Xue to suffer a terrible loss.
As the Demon Towers continued to grow taller, the area around the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds expanded by more than 10 times their original size. Looking down from above, these 10 Primary Demon Strongholds were like 10 cancerous tumours in the Star Boundary that oozed with puss and rotted the flesh. They corroded away at the surrounding intact lands without pause. For that reason, people couldn’t help wondering, would the Star Boundary undergo complete decay and turn into Demon Lands if the Demon Towers continued to grow taller? That was probably what the Demon Race was planning.
With the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds and 10 Demon Towers acting as fortresses, and the protection of the 3 Demon Saints, the rest of the Demon Race had nothing to worry about whatsoever and were simply hiding away inside the Demon Strongholds over the past few years. Although the Star Boundary’s armies had attacked on various occasions, they always returned in defeat, suffering heavy casualties despite killing many of the Demon Race members in the process.
In the beginning, everybody had pinned their hopes on Yang Kai. They were hoping that he would locate the missing Great Emperors in the Demon Realm; however, it had been 3 years since he left and there had been no news from him since then. Everybody eventually realised something, the Demon Race must have done something on their end. The likelihood was high that the Great Emperors were not in the Demon Realm; otherwise, why had Yang Kai not sent word after so long?
In the current situation, the Star Boundary could only rely on the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan to provide support. Unfortunately, there were only two of them against the 3 Demon Saints. Now that both parties had a means of teleportation, there was no chance of carrying out a surprise attack. All they could compete with was their patience, determination, and strength.
The Demon Race had been lying low for a long while. It wasn’t until today that the Demon Race finally launched its first offensive; moreover, it was aimed directly at Star Soul Palace. It was not as though the Demon Race’s actions were intentional, it was just that one of the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds was located adjacent to Star Soul Palace. There had been some distance between them before the expansion, but the expansion during the recent years had begun to encroach upon the edges of Star Soul Palace.
If it were an ordinary place, it would have been abandoned; however, Star Soul Palace was a symbol of the Southern Territory. Bright Moon Great Emperor had protected the Southern Territory for many millennia when he was still alive, so how could the Star Boundary turn a blind eye to Star Soul Palace’s plight now that Bright Moon Great Emperor was gone? Officially, everything the Demon Race did had to be stopped. On a more personal level, Bright Moon Great Emperor had sacrificed himself in the Demon Realm for the sake of the entire Star Boundary, so it could be said that the Star Boundary was indebted to him. Therefore, this battle was an inevitable one.
The 14 armies stationed in the Southern Territory gathered in Star Soul Palace to discuss countermeasures in advance, but even so, what was there to discuss? The Demon Race’s attack was imminent, so all they could do in response was defend this place to death.
A huge battle was about to break out. The moment the Demon Land expanded to the edge of the Sect Defending Array of Star Soul Palace, the Demon Race army would charge out and attack. The ones leading the charge were a group of red, short, and rounded Red Demons. These Red Demons had low sentience and were the lowest existences among the Demon Clans. They had always been used as sacrificial pawns, and this time was no exception. Tens of thousands of Red Demons launched suicide attacks on Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array while screaming wildly.
As the hegemon Sect of the Southern Territory, Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array was refined and reinforced over many, many years. Moreover, it occupied the best Spirit Land in the Southern Territory, so it was only natural that it was absolutely extraordinary. Even the Grand Array of High Heaven Palace was inferior.
Nevertheless, the Grand Array only lasted for less than a day before it began cracking under the relentless self-destruction of hundreds of thousands of Red Demons.
Following right behind the Red Demons, a large wave of the Demon Race army charged forward and attacked the Grand Array.
Needless to say, the armies of the Star Boundary did not stand idly by. They summoned out their artifacts and activated their Secret Techniques to kill and disrupt the Demon’s charge.
As the number of dead Demons increased, the Demon Qi in the surroundings became more and more intense. The pitch-black aura seemed to gain a life of its own, slowly crawling towards Star Soul Palace’s Sect Defending Array and climbing up the Grand Array. Consequently, the Grand Array that originally resembled seven-coloured stained glass was gradually dyed a pitch-black colour that gave off an ominous vibe.
Three days later, the Grand Array finally collapsed when the curtain of light turned completely black. The Demon Race army then charged forward like a pack of starving wolves, stepping into the pure land that symbolised the pinnacle of the Martial Dao in the Southern Territory.
That was not the only Sect Defending Array of Star Soul Palace. Under the control of the many Elders of Star Soul Palace and the current Palace Master of Star Soul Palace, Lan Xun, the Grand Arrays of each Spirit Peak and various other areas were activated all at once to split the Demon Race army apart. Then, the Star Boundary’s armies that had been lying in wait instantly clashed with their enemies in a bloody battle.
Rivers of blood flowed in Star Soul Palace and mountains of corpses began piling up everywhere. Demon Qi escaped from the corpses of the dead Demons constantly, contaminating everything in the surroundings and staining the land with Demon Essence.
If this had only been a simple battle between the two armies, the Demon Race would be no match against the Star Boundary. The Demon Race army might be mighty, but there were 14 of the Star Boundary’s armies gathered in this place too. Even with as many as 15 Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors, they might not be enough to exhaust the strength of the entire Southern Territory.
Unfortunately, the defence line of the Star Boundary’s armies tightened little by little with the continuous expansion of the Demon Land and signs of failure gradually began to appear. While these signs were not obvious at first, the difference in momentum between the two armies only became more and more noticeable. Especially after the backlash of the Bloodlust Spell broke out, resulting in a sharp drop in the Star Boundary army’s combat power. On the other hand, the Demon Race seemed tireless and blessed by the Heavens as they stood in the Demon Land.
The situation on the battlefield was extremely unfavourable for the Star Boundary.
Three young women stood side by side on the battlefield, pale-facedly facing off against a Half-Saint Master. One of them was Lan Xun. Ten years ago, she had barely broken through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so even with her Special Constitution as Bright Moon’s daughter, she had no chance of surviving a direct confrontation with a Half-Saint. Even so, she had taken a risk to refine the World Pagoda previously and directly broke through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm in one fell swoop with the help of the Ancient Exotic Artifact.
She might be much weaker compared to a Half-Saint, but she at least had a slight chance in battle. Besides, the power of the World Pagoda was not to be underestimated. Even the Half-Saint was frightened of it, so combined with the help of her allies, Lan Xun somehow managed to hold on until now.
It was unfortunate that she was now an arrow at the end of its flight. Even with an ancient treasure in her possession, the gap in their cultivation could not be overcome so easily. There was a bitter taste in Lan Xun’s mouth. She had been determined to revive the power of Star Soul Palace, inherit the legacy of her father, and protect the Southern Territory for the rest of her life; however, Star Soul Palace was about to be eroded and turned into Demon Land. How could she realise this ambition of hers in the future?
Next to Lan Xun stood a young girl with an innocent and cute appearance. She had a big black wok on her head that made her look quite ridiculous. Be that as it may, the Half-Saint’s eyes couldn’t help twitching at the sight of the black wok. The Half-Saint had underestimated his opponents earlier. Consequently, he was nearly captured by the black wok and almost failed to escape. If it was not for the fact that his cultivation was much higher than his opponent, he would have died after being trapped inside that black wok a long time ago. The chaotic feeling of refining everything in that black wok was still fresh in his memory.
The third young woman had a pretty face and her whole body was filled with a youthful aura; even so, her beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent. The butterfly wings on her back flapped gently behind her. She might only be in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, but her slender body was emanating a Divine Spirit’s aura.
Lan Xun, Lin Yun’er, and Mo Xiao Qi, two daughters of the Great Emperors, were fighting side by side with the disciple of another. Furthermore, they were stopping a Half-Saint’s killing spree with their slender bodies.
Logically speaking, it was impossible for the average Emperor Realm Master to fight a Half-Saint. Even a Third-Order Emperor could only flee for their lives in front of a Half-Saint. Be that as it may, not a single one among these three young women was ordinary. With the treasures in their possession and the heritage they bore, how could they be compared with ordinary Emperor Realm Masters?
Lan Xun’s World Pagoda was a core treasure of Star Soul Palace; moreover, inside Star Soul Palace, she could mobilize far more of the World Principles to assist her than normal. On the other hand, Lin Yun’er’s black wok known as Unlimited Return was even more mysterious and unpredictable. Although Mo Xiao Qi had no comparable treasure on hand, she was born on Spirit Beast Island and Martial Beast Great Emperor had long ago planted the spirit of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly Divine Spirit in her. As her strength and cultivation became more powerful, it became easier and easier for her to wield the power of this Divine Spirit like it was a part of her body.
By fighting three against one, they barely managed to maintain a stalemate situation; however, it was delusional to think that they could kill the Half-Saint they were facing. It was impossible unless he made a fatal mistake.
“You three little bitches… Just wait until this King captures you! I will make you wish you were dead! You will beg for death by the time this King finishes with you!” The Half-Saint was tall and broad-shouldered. The muscles all over his body were bulked up and contained great explosive power while his skin was the colour of stone. It was obvious that he was a Stone Demon. The Stone Demon Clan had inherently powerful defensive abilities and could ignore most light injuries. In addition, their natural strength was incredible. Although they were not as strong as Strength Demons, they were by no means any less than the other Demon Clans.
Among the hundred Clans in the Demon Realm, Blood Demons were the fastest and most cunning, but Stone Demons were the most difficult to kill. The three young women in front of him were indeed extraordinary, but even so, he believed that as long as he did not give them an opening, they would not be able to do anything to him. All he needed to do was drag out this battle and he could get eliminate them one by one once they were exhausted.
“Talk after you prove you have the ability!” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes flashed coldly. Her father had lost his life in the Demon Realm, and now, the legacy he left behind was being invaded by the Demon Race. It could be said that her hatred for the Demon Race was carved into her bones. At this moment, she was cursing the Heavens for not giving her enough time to fully grow into her potential.
While she spoke, Lan Xun extended her hand forward. A green vine suddenly shot out of her sleeve and wrapped around the Half-Saint. The Artifact Spirit of World Pagoda had taken the form of a mimosa plant; therefore, the power of the World Pagoda took on the appearance of a plant when Lan Xun activated its power. If the Half-Saint could be fully wrapped up in the green vines, she could figure out a way to drag him into the World Pagoda and fight him to the death. Her strength would be greatly improved inside the World Pagoda. On this point, it might not be comparable to the advantage Yang Kai received inside the Small Sealed World, but the principle was the same.
When Lan Xun made her move, Lin Yun’er and Mo Xiao Qi did not stand around idly.
Lin Yun’er took the black wok that she had always worn on her head like a hat and threw it forward in the direction of the Half-Saint, letting out an oddly cute cry, “Eat this!”
Her petite body rushed forward along with the black wok. What she cultivated was Iron Blood Great Emperor’s Iron Blood Record, so attacking her enemy with her bare fists was what she excelled at. Her fists were invincible, capable of crushing anything they struck. It was just that she must first put herself in a dangerous position in order to attack her enemies.
The butterfly wings behind Mo Xiao Qi fluttered gently; then, gleaming rays of light converged like fireflies and floated towards the Stone Demon Half-Saint. The combat effectiveness of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly could not be described with mere words, more so since this Divine Spirit’s greatest ability was built upon a person’s achievements in Soul cultivation. The shining powder had the power to create hallucinations and the effects were so strong that even the Half-Saint could not ignore them.
It was clear that this was not the first time these three young women had joined forces. Through the battles over the past few days, they had connected together as though they were one entity. By now, they could work seamlessly to launch an attack without the need for any prior communication.
The Stone Demon Half-Saint’s expression turned incredibly cold at the sight and the Demon Qi in his body surged as he fiercely threw a punch in front of him.
The green vine shooting towards him was smashed to pieces before it could get close. Although it repaired itself immediately, it was still unable to approach due to the sharp impact of the punch.
In the meantime, the sky darkened. Unlimited Return descended from above and covered the Stone Demon Half-Saint. On the other hand, Lin Yun’er lunged at the Stone Demon under the cover of the green vines.
The power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly also came into play at this moment. The shining powder lingered around the Stone Demon. It was pervasive and the slightest touch would make the other party’s consciousness blank out for a moment; hence, the punch the Half-Saint was aiming at Lin Yun’er involuntarily paused for a moment.
That one moment was the key determining factor in deciding the victor of this clash.
With a loud explosion, Lin Yun’er’s fists landed on the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s chest. Her punch that was capable of smashing mountains only made the Stone Demon stagger backwards slightly, however. On the contrary, her face crumpled into an expression of pain; even so, she did not retreat. Lin Yun’er raised her fists again and prepared to continue her assault. Her Honoured Master had once said that there was no defence in this world that could not be broken, it only depended on whether the power of her punches was strong enough. Her little face was flushed red from her efforts. Wind and clouds gathered around her tender fists, indicating the vague appearance of the Grand Dao.
At that moment, an exclamation of surprise sounded. In the midst of what they were doing, Lan Xun turned to look in the direction of the sound and her beautiful eyes contracted abruptly at the sight. A swirling sand pit had appeared under Mo Xiao Qi’s feet without them noticing. Two large hands reached out from the sand pit, grabbed her by the ankles, and dragged her downward. Her feet were already sinking into the sand pit by the time Lan Xun glanced over.
Sand Demon!
This Demon Clan was similar to the Blood Demon Clan in that they were very difficult to deal with. Not to mention, the elusive Shadow Demons who were also very hard to guard against.
Lan Xun could not afford to spare any thought to attack the Stone Demon Half-Saint at that moment. She gave a flick of her wrist, and the green vine shooting outward immediately turned back and plunged directly into the depths of the ground. The earth subsequently began to heave as though a terrifying battle was taking place underground.
Meanwhile, Mo Xiao Qi was distracted by the sneak attack and lost control over the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. The Stone Demon Half-Saint immediately woke up from his confusion as a result, just in time to receive Lin Yun’er’s punch. Without any hesitation, he countered her fist with a punch of his own.
Lin Yun’er’s petite body was sent flying backwards as she coughed up a mouthful of blood in mid-air, dyeing the front of her shirt red. Unlimited Return was also sent flying backwards by the Stone Demon, just like its Master. Despite getting injured, Lin Yun’er deftly spun through the air three times like a swallow before landing at Mo Xiao Qi’s feet and striking the ground with her fist.
The ground that had been heaving violently stopped moving all of a sudden. At the same time, the force that was restraining Mo Xiao Qi loosened and she took the opportunity to break free from the trap. In addition, Lan Xun retracted the green vine.
Then, the three young women stood side by side once more. A stench of blood wafted out from the crack in the ground. It was obvious that the Sand Demon who had hidden in the ground and attacked Mo Xiao Qi was dead. The Sand Demon was only a Mid-Rank Demon King who seemed to believe that there was an opportunity here that he could take advantage of. Who could have known that he would end up in such a state in the blink of an eye? Even so, he had accidentally helped the Stone Demon Half-Saint. The Stone Demon Half-Saint would have been attacked by Lan Xun and the others otherwise. While he would not have been affected by those attacks, it would have been quite a disgrace and humiliation for him.
“Bitch!” He cursed furiously before frowning and turning to look around at his surroundings. At some point, the commotion in the battlefield had died down; in fact, it was dead silent. Everybody had stopped fighting at that moment, but he had been so focused on countering the attacks of Lan Xun and the others that he had not paid much attention to his surroundings before. It wasn’t until now that he noticed this odd change.
Similarly, Lan Xun and the others had noticed this too and they began looking around their surroundings and glancing at each other. Then, Lin Yun’er asked sheepishly, “What’s going on?”
Mo Xiao Qi looked up at the sky, “Look over there!”
Lin Yun’er looked in that direction and her mouth instantly fell open in surprise. A storm seemed to have gathered in the sky with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling. Furthermore, the dark clouds loomed so low that the sky looked like it was about to collapse. Amidst the flashing layer of clouds came an impressive sense of oppression, as if something terrible was about to be born.
It was obvious that this strange phenomenon had caught the attention of the tens of millions of Humans and Demons alike in Star Soul Palace, causing the two Races that were at war to fall into a temporary truce.
“Is it the Demon Race?” Mo Xiao Qi asked worriedly. They were currently at war. For there to be such movements coming from the sky at this kind of time… She simply could not remain calm under these circumstances. The Star Boundary was already at a disadvantage, so if this strange phenomenon was caused by the Demon Race, then the future was truly looking bleak.
“It doesn’t seem like it!” Lan Xun slowly shook her head. If it were something that was cooked up by the Demon Race, then they would not appear so clueless about the current situation; however, the Stone Demon Half-Saint whom they had been fighting had an apprehensive expression on his face now.
“What is it then?” Mo Xiao Qi frowned.
How could Lan Xun know what was going on? Even so, she felt a little relieved by the current situation and secretly winked at Mo Xiao Qi and Lin Yun’er, signalling for the three of them to take this opportunity to rest and restore themselves.
The tens of millions of Humans and Demons on the battlefield were not the only ones staring up at the commotion in the sky, there were another five pairs of eyes staring as well. The large-scale battle here would practically decide ownership of the Southern Territory, so how could the three Demon Saints and the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan be absent? It was just that none of these five people had intervened in the battle.
For the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan, they were outnumbered by their enemies. Their involvement in the battle would only draw the three Demon Saints into making a move, which would in turn worsen the situation in the Star Boundary; therefore, they had simply been hiding in the sky and watching the situation. They would not make a move unless the situation forced their hand. Their presence here was mainly a deterrent.
For the three Demon Saints of the Demon Race, they knew that they might not be able to harm the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan even if a battle broke out between them. They might hold the advantage in numbers in a three-against-two fight, but it was impossible for them to kill their opponents. Both parties had exchanged blows with each other on several occasions over the past few years, so they had a fair understanding of each other’s strength.
If the two from the Dragon Clan were willing to watch quietly, then the Demon Saints were more than happy to oblige.
While Lan Xun and her companions were conversing among themselves, the three Demon Saints were also looking at each other with astonishment in their eyes. They might not know what was behind the aura hidden in the clouds, but there was one thing they could be sure of, the Demon Realm was not behind this.
If it was not the Demon Realm, then could it be the Star Boundary? They frowned and glanced in the direction of the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan before quickly discovering that Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun were also frowning and looking at them suspiciously.
When the gazes from both sides met each other, Xue Li grinned wickedly while Fu Zhun gave a cold snort.
The dark, heavy clouds were looming lower than before, looking like they were really going to fall out of the sky.
All of a sudden, a huge vortex appeared in the middle of the thick, dark clouds. As the vortex swirled, the surrounding clouds swirled along with it and made the sky seem rather volatile.
Then, a small light appeared in the centre of the vortex. Zhu Yan’s expression changed at the sight as he raised his brow and muttered, “That’s…”
Fu Zhun also had a shocked expression on her face. Like Zhu Yan, she had caught a hint of a Dragon’s aura from that light at the very moment it appeared. The presence of a Dragon Aura indicated that there was a Dragon present. It was just that Fu Zhun and Zhu Yan had brought all of the pure-blood members of the Dragon Clan on Dragon Island here with them. There were only so many of them, so how could any of their clansmen appear from within the vortex in the clouds?
What’s more, that trace of Dragon Aura that they detected felt extremely ancient and desolate. It felt as though it came from a very distant era, leaping across time and space. Even they couldn’t help feeling inferior in comparison.
Before the two of them had time to understand the situation, the carefree light that had appeared leisurely began to fall like a meteor with a long tail dragging behind it. The dark clouds covering the sky were seemingly influenced by the falling light and started squirming for a bit before suddenly shrinking into a ball and falling towards the ground along with it.
The feeling as though the sky was falling bloomed in everybody’s hearts. Be they the Human Race or the Demon Race, all the living creatures in Star Soul Palace felt suffocated and anxious.
Soon though, everybody’s expressions changed once more. The light that was falling to the ground was heading directly towards Star Soul Palace! It approached as swiftly as lightning and before the armies of tens of millions could react, the light that was falling from the sky had already smashed into the ground.
There was a loud explosion and the world shook from the impact. The hundreds of Spirit Peaks in Star Soul Palace trembled slightly, causing loose gravel to fall all over. A force of vibration then spread out in a circle from the place where the light had fallen, violently extending outward in all directions. Both Humans and Demons were thrown off their feet everywhere that force of vibration passed; there was no discrimination. Only those in the Emperor Realm and above managed to maintain their balance.
Immediately following that, the dark clouds that came falling down with the light smashed into the ground and the entire Star Soul Palace was instantly shrouded in a layer of fog.
The beautiful faces of Lan Xun, Lin Yun’er, and Mo Xiao Qi turned pale. That was because the light that had fallen out of the sky had landed no more than several tens of metres in front of them, just so happening to separate them from the Stone Demon Half-Saint. Fortunately, the three young women were considered quite powerful now and were able to defend themselves. That was why they were not hurt by the force of vibration that erupted outward.
When they looked up, they saw a figure half-kneeling on the ground several tens of metres away. That figure was covered in ragged clothes and had dishevelled hair. Parts of his sturdy and muscular body were exposed through the gaps of his tattered rags. His embarrassed state was reminiscent of somebody who had just finished fighting a grand battle.
The hair hanging off his forehead covered his face so his appearance could not be seen clearly. He had one hand on his knee while the other hand was holding a 3-metre-long spear. There was a pattern of a Dragon coiling around the spear and it also seemed to be covered in Dragon Scales. Moreover, the head of the spear was glinting with a cold light and an ancient aura surged wildly from its body.
The three young women were dumbfounded by the sight. Similarly, all of the Humans and Demons who witnessed this sight had blank expressions too. Nobody could have imagined that the light that caused a Heavenly Manifestation when it fell from the sky would turn out to be a person. Literally millions of eyes had been watching intently only to witness this person’s arrival.
“Uncle Yang?” Lin Yun’er tilted her head to the side and called out with a slight frown.
“What?” Lan Xun turned to look at Lin Yun’er when she heard her speak. Unfortunately, she had not heard what Lin Yun’er said clearly.
At that moment, the half-kneeling figure on the ground finally moved. He slowly straightened up his body. When he was crouching on the ground, all light seemed to be focused on the 3-metre-long spear; however, he seemed to rob the entire world of its splendour the moment he stood up straight.
There was a series of cracking sounds coming from all over his body. Casually lifting the spear in his hand, he rested it on his shoulder before throwing his head back and laughed heartily as his voice rang out like a Dragon Roar, “I’m finally home! It feels so good!”
His long and dishevelled hair covered his face, making it difficult to see his true appearance; even so, his eyes gleamed as brightly as the sun from between the gaps of his fringe.
Lan Xun was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise as she stuttered, “S-Senior Brother Yang?”
That voice might be deafening, but she was certain that it was definitely Yang Kai’s. Mo Xiao Qi also seemed to recognise his voice and her cold expression quickly dissolved into one of pleasant surprise, “Big Brother Yang?”
She had not met Yang Kai again ever since he brought her to meet the Third-Elder of Dragon Island, Fu Xuan. Although it had only been less than 20 years, those years were far too long for a young girl who was just beginning to fall in love. She had wanted to leave Spirit Beast Island many times to search for Yang Kai, but she had no opportunity to leave with Mo Huang around, and whenever Mo Huang wasn’t around, Jiu Feng would accompany her instead; therefore, her wish to see Yang Kai might have played a part in the reason she came to the Southern Territory this time.
It was a shame that she only learned that he had gone to the Demon Realm after she arrived at this place; moreover, there had been no news from him for the past 3 years. It never occurred to her that they would meet again under such circumstances.
[Didn’t they say he went to the Demon Realm? Why did he fall out of the sky?] Mo Xiao Qi could not make heads or tails of the situation. Similarly, Lan Xun and Lin Yun’er didn’t understand what was going on either. There was no Two Worlds’ Passage connecting to the Demon Realm in the sky here after all.
A few dozen metres away, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and brushed his hair back to reveal his face, smiling brightly as he called out, “Xiao Qi? Yun’er? Junior Sister Lan too? Why are you… Oh?”
The journey back from the Outer Universe had been fraught with perils. Just by looking at his dishevelled appearance, one could tell that his trip had not been smooth-sailing by any means. The many hardships he encountered during the journey were difficult for others to understand. Now that he had finally returned to the Star Boundary after overcoming those challenges, he had not had the time to take in the situation around him yet. It could even be said that his landing here had not been planned. It was simply a coincidence.
Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense across his surroundings and immediately understood the current situation, as well as where this place was.
[How did the war spread to Star Soul Palace?] He frowned slightly. [Has the situation in the Star Boundary gotten so bad in the few years that I was away?]
“Yang Kai!” Xue Li’s expression turned cold as he stood mid-air, staring down at Yang Kai’s figure with his scarlet eyes. Murderous intent was bursting out of his body. All the Demon Saints held a deep grudge against Yang Kai. If it wasn’t for Yang Kai, Yu Ru Meng, Bei Li Mo, Chang Tian, and many others would not have betrayed the Demon Realm. If these three had been around, conquering the Star Boundary would have been as easy as crushing an ant under their boot. It was precisely because Yang Kai had convinced these three to defect that the battle to conquer the Star Boundary was still stuck in a deadlock. Although the final victory would eventually belong to the Demon Race, the time and energy lost in this war were irreparable.
The moment his murderous intent burst out of him, the auras of the two Dragon Clan Great Elders immediately locked onto him. Turning around, Xue Li gave both Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun a cold sneer. The defeat of Star Soul Palace was already written in stone. There was no way to turn the situation around even if Yang Kai appeared all of a sudden, not unless Yang Kai had the strength of a Great Emperor. Hence, he would neither act rashly nor annoy the two Dragon Clan Great Elders even though he was itching to kill Yang Kai on the spot.
Below them, Yang Kai raised his head to look at the sky. There was nothing in his field of vision, but his gaze seemed to be capable of leaping across space. Then, he smiled slightly in the direction of the three Demon Saints.
“Interesting. I can’t believe he can see us,” Huo Bo chuckled, his round body shaking uncontrollably from laughter.
Fu Yu’s fingers twitched slightly. She was wondering if she should just shoot Yang Kai to death on the spot. After giving it some thought though, she decided that she probably would not have any chance of shooting him with the two Dragon Clan Great Elders around.
“Uncle Yang, watch out!” Lin Yun’er suddenly shouted.
At the exact moment Yang Kai raised his head to look up into the sky, the Stone Demon Half-Saint standing nearby leapt out to attack. Raising his hand and bringing it down on Yang Kai from a distance, the Stone Demon sent a gigantic pitch-black palm hurtling from the sky.
Yang Kai seemed unaware of the danger and didn’t even move a single muscle. The palm then came slamming down in the next moment. Immediately after that, a loud explosion rang out and the place where Yang Kai had been standing was completely crushed to pieces.
Lin Yun’er looked dazed, Mo Xiao Qi screamed in horror, Lan Xun went pale… Despite knowing that Yang Kai was proficient in the Space Principles and could not be killed so easily, they could not help worrying until they could be sure of his safety.
Yang Kai’s figure reappeared again in the next instant, his tattered clothes looking absolutely ridiculous. Meanwhile, he had already rushed towards the Stone Demon at some point, his expression stern. Thrusting his spear in the direction of the Stone Demon Half-Saint, he shouted, “You shall be the first sacrifice to my spear!”
Ever since receiving the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai had been on the road all this time. Although he came across many thrilling and dangerous situations, his spear had yet to taste blood. A Half-Saint was good enough to become an offering!
The Stone Demon seemed stunned by Yang Kai’s bravery and ignorance, causing him to sneer and snap, “Don’t be so presumptuous!”
He then directly grabbed the head of the spear with his large hand. As a Stone Demon, his inherent defensive abilities were outstanding. Even other Half-Saints in the same Realm would not have an easy time breaking through his defences. While Yang Kai’s spear might appear powerful, a Demon King’s strength was simply not enough to be his opponent. It was only natural that he thought nothing of Yang Kai. He believed that as long as he grabbed the spear and dragged Yang Kai over to him, he could smash Yang Kai’s head in with a single punch.
The Demon Saints claimed that they would offer personal guidance to the person who managed to kill Yang Kai. With the Stone Demon’s current cultivation in addition to the teaching of the Demon Saints, it may not be impossible for him to become the new Demon Saint if the opportunity arose.
Unfortunately, all his beautiful hopes and dreams were shattered by the spear in front of him. The Stone Demon felt a stabbing pain in his palm the moment he grabbed the head of the spear. The defence he was so proud of tore apart like a piece of paper, completely useless in the face of this thrust. The spear pierced a hole through the palm of his hand and stabbed towards his head without losing any momentum.
Horrified by the sudden turn of events, the Stone Demon shouted incredulously, “How is this possible!?”
The defences that were strong enough to withstand the onslaught of even other Half-Saints like himself had been broken. He simply could not accept it. Although his mind was shaken, he was still a Half-Saint, so it was not so easy to kill him. Seeing the spear quickly looming larger in front of his eyes, he hurriedly dodged his head to the side and narrowly avoided this terrifying blow. At the same time, he swiftly retreated some distance away while the Azure Dragon Spear was pulled out of his palm, causing large amounts of blood to flow.
Yang Kai moved like a shadow, chasing after the Stone Demon relentlessly. His expression was as cold as ice as spear shadows enveloped his enemy.
Lan Xun and the others were dumbfounded by the sight. They knew that Yang Kai’s strength had always exceeded his own Realm; moreover, he constantly fought without regard for cultivation Realms and survived countless battles against many Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints in the past. Even so, how could he single-handedly push back a Stone Demon Half-Saint with nothing but his own strength?
The three young women were originally planning to step in to rescue Yang Kai; however, who could they dare to rashly intervene in this battle after seeing it play out? Stepping in at this moment would only disrupt Yang Kai’s momentum and, in the worst case, they might even ruin his chances of victory. Exchanging a look with each other, they immediately flew out to form a three-sided encirclement with the Stone Demon Half-Saint in the middle, ensuring he did not have a chance to escape.
A cold light flickered as the spear shadow flashed out. Every thrust of the spear frightened the Stone Demon Half-Saint. All other people could see were a series of dazzling spear techniques. In contrast, there was an Azure Dragon rushing at him with fangs bared and claws out in the Stone Demon’s vision. The Dragon Roars that penetrated into his Soul seemed to have a strange power of causing him to become anxious and uneasy. He was unable to defend himself against the enemy with all his strength as a result.
The swooshing sounds of the spear never stopped. Wound after wound was inflicted upon his tough body and he was soon covered in blood. The pain aroused his ferocious nature, causing his eyes to flash scarlet. Lifting his hand suddenly, he straightened his palm and pressed it down towards Yang Kai heavily. The speed of his movements was not fast. Rather, his movements seemed very slow, feeling as if there was an invisible force preventing him from moving.
As the Stone Demon’s palm came closer, Yang Kai’s expression changed. He pulled the spear back in defence, using the Azure Dragon Spear to create a wall of illusory phantoms that formed a solid defence that stood in front of him. There was a series of clanking sounds and a shower of sparks erupted. Even though there were no weapons that came attacking in his direction, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out anyway.
All of a sudden, the spear shadows that covered the sky disappeared and Yang Kai held his spear horizontally in front of his chest. Following that, a force of incomparable power rushed at him with the approach of the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s palm. He subsequently looked down only to see his chest sinking downward slightly.
“Die!” The Stone Demon Half-Saint shouted angrily as he forcefully pressed his outstretched palm down towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of Golden Blood while at the same time, his body was sent flying backwards.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Lan Xun was shocked and quickly flicked her wrist to send a green vine out from her sleeve to pull Yang Kai back towards her after he was sent flying. No matter how tough his body, his internal organs were churning after being struck by a Half-Saint. If any other Emperor Realm Master had been standing in his shoes, they would have died after taking such an attack. Yang Kai on the contrary only coughed up some blood. His life was not in danger; he was simply a little winded.
Leaning against Lan Xun’s body, Yang Kai felt something soft touching him. Her face flushed slightly in response. She had known him for many years by now and the relationship between them was also not too bad; even so, they had never been in such intimate contact before. More so since everybody’s eyes were on them on this battlefield. Lan Xun couldn’t help but feel a tormenting sense of embarrassment. Be that as it may, the concern in her heart trumped over everything else so she pushed down her shame and anxiously asked, “Are you alright, Senior Brother?”
“I won’t die,” He turned his head to the side and spat out another mouthful of blood. After stabilising himself, he glanced at the Stone Demon Half-Saint with a savage grin.
After the Stone Demon Half-Saint completed his attack, he involuntarily revealed a sense of lingering fear when he recalled Yang Kai’s powerful barrage of attacks just now. [Even from an enemy’s standpoint, I have to admit that this guy is quite strong. He is only a High-Rank Demon King, but he already has so much power. What if he becomes a Half-Saint? How will the other Half-Saints survive!?]
Thinking so, he became more and more determined to kill Yang Kai. Taking a step forward, he coldly snorted and said, “Did you really think you can do anything you want just because you have a little bit of skill? You had that slut Yu Ru Meng protecting you back in the Demon Realm, but now that she is gone, I wonder who will save you now!? Kneel down and beg for mercy, and this King might just let you live!”
Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear with one arm and pointed it at the Stone Demon Half-Saint, laughing ferociously as he shouted, “I see. You will be the first to die today!”
“Shameless boasting!” The Stone Demon Half-Saint’s expression was cold and severe, but a moment later, his expression suddenly changed. Looking down at his palm in horror, his eyes trembled violently.
He was a Stone Demon; thus, he was born with extremely strong defensive abilities. Having strong defensive abilities also meant that he would have strong restorative abilities. Light injuries were nothing to him which was why he had not been bothered even though he was injured by Yang Kai several times just now. They were all just flesh wounds that would heal in the time it took for him to say a few words; however, he was only just discovering to his horror that his injuries showed no signs of healing. Not only was the wound not healing, but they were also showing signs of getting worse!
There was a strange force permeating the bloody holes that formed when Yang Kai’s spear cut him. That energy was constantly corroding the flesh surrounding the wounds. Even the restorative abilities that he was so proud of could not do anything against this corrosion and as the energy continued to eat away at his flesh, his wounds were slowly expanding.
Turning pale with fright, he hurriedly tried to use his Demon Qi to suppress this strange energy, but it failed to have any positive effect. On the contrary, his Demon Qi seemed to serve as nutrients for that inexplicable energy. The more he tried to fight it, the stronger the energy became and the faster the speed of corrosion, causing him to cry out, “What is this!? What the Hell is this!?”
“The dead don’t need to know!”
As a High-Rank Demon King, it should have been impossible for Yang Kai to perform such a feat. He did not have such abilities in the past either. It was just that he had spent several dozen years in intensive cultivation on the ancient battlefield within the Small Sealed World. During that time, he absorbed the Martial Truth of Great Demon God and Flowing Time Great Emperor. He also caught a glimpse into the secrets behind World Force. While these several dozen years of intensive cultivation had not led to a breakthrough in his cultivation, the benefits he obtained from his efforts were impressive.
Borrowing the strength of his predecessors, Yang Kai now had his own Martial Truth. This Martial Truth was born from the distilled essence of the Great Demon God and Flowing Time Great Emperor’s lifetime of cultivation, making it profound and unparalleled. Even a Demon Race Half-Saint could not hope to disperse this Martial Truth, so how could this Stone Demon Half-Saint recover from his wounds?
“I told you I would sacrifice you to my spear. I’m a man who always means what he says!” When the last word left Yang Kai’s mouth, he lunged forward. With a flick of his spear, he stabbed at the Stone Demon’s chest.
No matter how many Demon Hearts this Stone Demon had tempered, there would definitely be one in his chest; therefore, Yang Kai aimed for that one first.
At the same time that Yang Kai lunged forward, Mo Xiao Qi harnessed the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly. The Stone Demon’s expression froze slightly amidst the flickering lights and it was clear that his consciousness was being disturbed. However, it only lasted for a moment before he broke free of the illusions. While the power of the Heavenly Illusion Butterfly was great, the gap between Mo Xiao Qi and the Half-Saint’s cultivation was simply too large, so the effect that it could produce was extremely limited.
Nevertheless, that one moment was enough. Lin Yun’er came falling out of the sky. Nobody knew when she made her move, but she had grasped the timing just right. The Half-Saint was caught off guard when she fell straight down headfirst and grabbed him by the shoulders with her two small hands.
Even though her body looked small and delicate, it felt heavier than a mountain at this moment. When she grabbed his shoulders with both hands, the Stone Demon’s body slumped slightly, his knees bent, and he nearly fell to the ground from the impact. The ground where he stood erupted with a muffled explosion as it cracked open.
It was at that moment Yang Kai arrived with his spear, a frozen expression on his face.
The Stone Demon wanted to avoid the attack, but how could he avoid it in time? There was a sharp stabbing sound as the spear pierced through his chest as Yang Kai’s Demon Qi surged and he shouted, “Die!”
*Hong…*
The Stone Demon Half-Saint staggered back as a terrifying wave of Demon Qi erupted from his body. Lin Yun’er let out a scream of surprise and was sent flying into the air. Fortunately, a green vine shot out suddenly and wrapped around her to bring her back. Lan Xun had taken action just in time.
Lin Yun’er simply nodded in acknowledgement as there was no need to say thanks. Over the past few days, the three young women had been fighting together in various deadly situations and had long since forged a special friendship among themselves.
When they looked back up, they saw a gaping hole appearing in the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s chest. They could see through his body from the front to the back as his organs squirmed within the bloody cavity.
How could any ordinary person survive such a severe injury? However, as long as the Demon Heart remained, the Demon Race would not die. This Stone Demon Half-Saint clearly had more than one Demon Heart, but be that as it may, he currently did not have the majesty of a Half-Saint. For the first time, an expression of fear surfaced on his angular face that looked like it was carved out of stone. He was staring at Yang Kai as though he had seen a ghost while involuntarily backing away from him.
When Yang Kai turned his cold gaze in the Stone Demon’s direction, the Stone Demon turned around and fled to the rear.
It was one thing if Yang Kai only wielded the combat prowess that he was currently showing. The Stone Demon might still stand a fighting chance if that were the case. Even if he suffered terrible losses as a result, Yang Kai would not fare any better either. It was just that the strange power surrounding his wounds terrified him greatly. He had no way of removing or suppressing that power. Death seemed like the only ending left for him once he was touched by that power.
That strange power completely shattered his confidence to battle Yang Kai. He had only taken a few steps in his attempt to flee when a large Dragon came swooping down on him from the front. It opened its mouth wide and bit down on him.
He had seen this scene many times before, so he knew that it was not a Dragon in front of him, it was simply an effect from Yang Kai’s attack which affected his mind and to experience these illusions.
[Yang Kai is proficient in the Dao of Space. Can I really manage to escape from…] Before he could finish his thought, he felt a buzzing sound in his head. It felt like he was being hit by a large sledgehammer. After that, his thoughts sank into the abyss as his surroundings went dark…
“He… really killed him.” Lan Xun’s small mouth fell open slightly. Her beautiful eyes were gleaming with a strange light as she stared blankly at Yang Kai, who had stabbed the Stone Demon through the head with the spear he was holding in one hand. The glory of that moment was simply awe-inspiring.
“We won! We won!” Lin Yun’er jumped up and down, cheering ecstatically. She, Lan Xun, and Mo Xiao Qi had been battling the Stone Demon Half-Saint for quite some time now and they had barely survived countless dangerous situations during that time. In the end, they had relied on the power of various exotic treasures to hold back the Half-Saint. In contrast, Yang Kai swiftly ended this Half-Saint with his spear after no more than a stick of incense worth of time after he appeared.
Lin Yun’er did not think much about the difference in strength between herself and Yang Kai, she was only focused on the fact that everybody had killed the Half-Saint together, so she was absolutely elated by the win.
The Stone Demon Half-Saint had been stabbed in the head, so even if he had other Demon Hearts in his body, it would take some time before he could move again. Hence, Yang Kai naturally took advantage of this opportunity to kill him for good. He stabbed the Stone Demon a few more times with the Azure Dragon Spear, causing half of the Stone Demon’s body to explode into dust. There was no way the Stone Demon could survive now. He was as dead as dead could be.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed after experiencing the growth in his strength. If he had this strength back at the Flowing Time Temple, the battle with Wind Lord would not have been so arduous. With the help of the Azure Dragon Spear and the Martial Truth that formed from his enlightenment, he could clearly sense that the current version of himself stood a fighting chance against Half-Saints and Pseudo-Great Emperors. It was no longer like before where he had to consider his escape options above all else whenever he randomly encountered a Half-Saint or a Pseudo-Great Emperor.
The noise on the battlefield seemed to fall silent at that moment. The battle at Star Soul Palace had lasted for several days, but it was the first time a Master in the Half-Saint Realm had fallen! It was a chaotic mess inside Star Soul Palace, but the sudden disappearance of a Half-Saint’s aura was still perceived by many people. Besides, the anomaly that occurred when Yang Kai fell out of the sky previously had already drawn a lot of attention. Many of the Masters among the Human Race and the Demon Race were still keeping note of this area even while battling the enemies in front of them.
Needless to say, the scene where Yang Kai had murdered the Stone Demon was witnessed by many people. The morale among the Human Race was boosted in an instant while the faces of many Demon Race Masters turned ashen. The role a Half-Saint played on a battlefield, even one with tens of millions of soldiers fighting, was extremely terrifying; therefore, the loss of one such Half-Saint was very likely to change the entire course of the battlefield.
Most of the Half-Saints were cursing the Stone Demon in their hearts for being useless. How could he die just like that at Yang Kai’s hands? How did he even manage to cultivate this far?
Having said that, if one were to disregard the advantage of numbers, it was undeniable that the overall strength of the Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary was slightly stronger than that of the Demon Realm’s Half-Saints. This difference stemmed from the Myriad Demon Pills that were unique to the Demon Race.
The Demon Race Half-Saints had the habit of consuming Myriad Demon Pills when cultivating while on the other hand, the Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary did not have such a unique resource. They could not rely on the help of auxiliary supplements, so they could only increase their own strength one step at a time. It was only natural that their foundations and the mastery of their strength was superior to Half-Saints.
The expressions of all three Demon Saints, who were standing in mid-air, were very cold and stern. Even Huo Bo, who usually had a smiling expression, was frowning at this moment. There was no need to mention Fu Yu and Xue Li. The frequency of the former rubbing her fingers together had increased significantly. On the other hand, the latter was clenching his fists tightly.
If that Stone Demon Half-Saint had died at the hands of a Pseudo-Great Emperor, then there would have been nothing to say. Who could blame him if he died because his strength lost to an equal opponent? But, the one to kill him just had to be Yang Kai. The current situation felt like a slap to the face for the three Demon Saints who had been monitoring the battlefield, especially since the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan were still present.
Compared to the three Demon Saints, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun also looked extremely shocked. They had some understanding of Yang Kai’s ability, but they were certain he had never been this strong before. Did he come across some sort of special opportunity during the three years he spent in the Demon Realm? How else could he show such a great increase in strength?
What bothered the two Dragon Clan Elders the most was the Azure Dragon Spear. They had been attracted by the Dragon Aura when Yang Kai first appeared, and after watching for some time, they became increasingly aware of how extraordinary the Azure Dragon Spear was. Other people might not be able to tell clearly, but how could they fail to notice when they were also a part of the Dragon Clan? The Azure Dragon Spear was actually refined from a Dragon’s remains; moreover, that Dragon was definitely more powerful than the both of them when it was still alive.
Which generation did the remains of that Senior belong to? Furthermore, who refined a weapon like this?
If it were anybody else wielding the Azure Dragon Spear, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun would not have tolerated it. They would not allow the remains of a member of the Dragon Clan to be desecrated even after death; however, there was nothing they could do if Yang Kai was the current owner of this spear. Their hands were tied. Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source, a power that even they could only look up to. If Yang Kai could develop his power to the maximum, the likes of a Demon Saint would be nothing to him. It was a pity that he had too little time to grow. The growth of a member of the Dragon Clan required a long, long time after all.
Soon, the two Dragon Clan Elders calmed down and began paying closer attention to the movements of the three Demon Saints. A variable like Yang Kai had suddenly appeared on the battlefield; in addition, he had taken the lead in killing a Demon Race Half-Saint. Who could say when Xue Li and the others might suddenly intervene in the battle? Therefore, they had to be prepared at all times.
Fortunately, Xue Li and the others had their own reservations too. They were unwilling to escalate the war any further. Even though their expressions were unkind and their murderous intent leaked out, they had no plan to get rid of Yang Kai themselves.
“Take care of yourselves!” Yang Kai shouted to Lan Xun and the others on the battlefield before raising his hand. Following that, a shrill neigh rang out as Zhui Feng appeared.
Yang Kai immediately swung himself onto the horse and pointed his spear towards the place where the Demon Race was gathered. Zhui Feng snorted, spraying a breath of hot air. Then, he charged forward with flames erupting from his hooves. A golden beam of light flashed by and nobody could see Yang Kai’s figure, but the Demons collapsed like straw everywhere the golden light passed.
Yang Kai travelled from one Spirit Peak to the next in a matter of breaths, leaving a road of corpses in his wake. By the time Zhui Feng reappeared, the Demons that had been sent flying just now exploded into mist in mid-air, leaving no bones behind.
On the other hand, Li Wu Yi was fighting two Half-Saints by himself on this particular mountain peak. Of these two Half-Saints, one was an elusive Shadow Demon and the other was a Blood Demon. The Blood Demon had transformed into a boundless Blood Sea, which enveloped Li Wu Yi in order to give the Shadow Demon a chance to kill him.
Yang Kai had the power to kill a Half-Saint, so the moment he arrived at this place, the boundless Blood Sea involuntarily formed a gap to let him pass. It might be that the Blood Demon did not want to confront Yang Kai directly, or it could be that he wanted to trap Yang Kai inside the Blood Sea. The second option was the more plausible reason.
Li Wu Yi might be known as the strongest beneath the Great Emperors, but his strength was still lacking in a two-on-one battle. He could protect himself, but it was difficult for him to kill his enemy.
When the two met, Li Wu Yi nodded lightly at Yang Kai, “You’re back.”
“En!” Yang Kai grinned, resting the Azure Dragon Spear on his shoulder as he looked around, “Do you have a plan?”
“We can’t hold on any longer. We have no choice but to retreat to conserve as much strength as possible.” Li Wu Yi sighed.
It wasn’t that the 14 armies of the Star Boundary were no match for the Demon Race. They were both about the same in terms of numbers and strength, so the battle would end with both sides suffering heavy casualties at most. Rather, the issue was that the Demon Land was rapidly encroaching upon Star Soul Palace. Star Soul Palace would be reduced to become part of the Demon Land in just a few more days, and once that happened, the Demon Race army would surely experience a significant increase in strength. In contrast, the Human Race armies would experience a great limitation on their strength. This battle would not end well.
Yang Kai said, “I understand. In that case, it’s better to issue the command early. Where there is life, there is hope.”
“En, lend me a hand!” Li Wu Yi took a step forward. Despite being trapped within the Blood Sea, he had felt the battle between Yang Kai and the Stone Demon Half-Saint just now, so he knew that Yang Kai was no longer the same person from three years ago and there was no need to worry about the latter’s safety.
Yang Kai grinned, “Good!”
Turning to Zhui Feng, Yang Kai pointed his Azure Dragon Spear and shouted, “Kill!”
Zhui Feng charged into the Blood Sea like a flash of lightning. This time around, the Blood Sea did not open up a path for them. The Blood Demon hiding inside the Blood Sea wished for nothing more than Yang Kai voluntarily walking into the trap, so how could he allow Yang Kai to leave so easily? Entering the Blood Sea was equivalent to walking right into his territory, so Yang Kai’s life was currently in his hands.
Yang Kai whirled round and round like a Dragon inside the Blood Sea, stirring up the Blood Sea to the point where it looked like it was boiling. Even so, he was unable to grasp a trace of the Blood Demon’s true whereabouts. Oftentimes, the Blood Demon would vanish without a trace the moment Yang Kai caught a glance of him. Coldly snorting, Yang Kai lifted the Azure Dragon Spear in one hand before he spread open his free palm and pressed down on the void with a sneer, “Devour it!”
Space Principles fluctuated wildly as a vortex appeared at the spot where his palm struck. Following that, the blood waters involuntarily poured into the vortex and disappeared in large waves.
The expression of the Blood Demon, who was hiding within the Blood Sea, turned cold. The blood waters surrounding Yang Kai became extremely viscous with a flash of his thoughts while at the same time, a giant, ferocious beast suddenly condensed in front of Yang Kai and swooped down to bite him. That wasn’t all however as a peculiar figure also appeared behind him, followed by a glint of cold light stabbing directly at his heart. The Shadow Demon hiding in the Blood Sea had made his move!
Yang Kai felt a chill running up his spine as all the hair on his body stood on end. He could sense the attack of the Shadow Demon, but he ignored it and simply stabbed his spear into the beast in front of him.
Just as the Shadow Demon was about to succeed in his assassination, Li Wu Yi suddenly appeared. His cold eyes stared indifferently at the Shadow Demon who had just revealed himself; then, he raised his palm and struck the Shadow Demon.
The black mist covering the Shadow Demon’s face subconsciously wavered slightly, indicating the emotional fluctuations that he was experiencing inside. If he pressed forward, he would succeed in heavily wounding Yang Kai; however, he would end up in even worse condition.
In the end, his life was more important, so the Shadow Demon Half-Saint pulled back at the last moment to counter Li Wu Yi’s attack. Afterward, his figure quickly dissolved as though he was planning to go back into hiding once again.
“Since you’re already here, why not stay for a while?” Li Wu Yi smiled slightly as Space Principles around him surged violently to shroud the Shadow Demon.
The Shadow Demon’s body that had gradually faded away solidified once more without his consent and the two immediately began exchanging a series of fierce blows.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai stabbed his spear into the giant beast before turning his head and looking to the side, “Found you!”
The Blood Demon had been hiding inside the Blood Sea with his aura completely concealed, so Yang Kai was unable to confirm the opponent’s position so long as they did not make a move. On the contrary, there would be traces that could be used to track the Blood Demon’s whereabouts if he attacked.
With Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, which surpassed that of a Half-Saint’s, it was not difficult for him to lock on to that fleeting aura. Leaping off from where he sat on top of Zhui Feng, Yang Kai stabbed at a certain spot in the Blood Sea. A figure suddenly appeared in the originally empty spot that looked like it was filled with blood waters. It was the Blood Demon who had been hiding in the Blood Sea all along, his scarlet eyes filled with astonishment.
The Blood Demon never imagined that Yang Kai could locate his whereabouts with such a low cultivation. Having learned from the Stone Demon Half-Saint’s mistakes, however, he clearly noticed that the Azure Dragon Spear that Yang Kai wielded was very powerful. How could he easily allow himself to be injured by that weapon? Even though he had not taken a single step, the Blood Demon’s figure still retreated in a strange manner.
Yang Kai grinned widely and shouted, “Extend!”
Before the Blood Demon realised what was going on, the Azure Dragon Spear suddenly grew in length and stabbed towards his chest at a high speed. He was absolutely shocked, but it was too late for him to defend against the attack in his state of unpreparedness. With no other choice, he lifted a hand to summon a hook-like Demon Artifact. Hooking one end with the Demon Artifact, he pulled the spear to one side. Although his response was not bad, he was still scratched by the Azure Dragon Spear and a wound opened up on his arm.
An injury like this was practically negligible under normal circumstances, but Yang Kai grinned wickedly at the Blood Demon and taunted, “You’re already dead.”
The Blood Demon felt uneasy, but could not pinpoint the reason behind that uneasiness. With no other choice, he activated the Demon Artifact in his hands to fight Yang Kai. He refused to be as careless as the Stone Demon. The Stone Demon had placed himself at an immediate disadvantage by having his palm pierced through by Yang Kai’s spear. For that reason, the Blood Demon was defending almost exclusively. It seemed like he was not aiming to achieve a clean victory; rather, he was trying to avoid making mistakes. His behaviour made Yang Kai extremely annoyed.
If somebody clueless of the current situation saw this battle, they would have mistakenly thought that Yang Kai was the Half-Saint while the opponent was a High-Rank Demon King instead. [His cultivation is clearly higher than mine, but he is fighting so cautiously. A person like this is indeed difficult to kill.]
There was a series of clashing sounds, but aside from the initial wound Yang Kai managed to inflict, he failed to cause any further damage to the Blood Demon. With his current strength, he was not inferior to any Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, nevertheless, it was still very difficult for him to kill a Half-Saint who was taking a fully defensive stance in battle. It was impossible unless the opponent made a critical mistake.
Just as Yang Kai was debating taking a blow in order to land one on his opponent, the Blood Demon’s expression changed. He pushed Yang Kai back with a vicious attack before looking down at his arm. It was only a glance, but that was enough for the Half-Saint’s expression to change greatly.
Previously, the Blood Demon Half-Saint had been injured by Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear; however, it had been nothing more than a small scratch. Forget a Half-Saint, it was an insignificant injury even for an ordinary mortal. Hence, the Blood Demon had not paid much attention to this scratch. It wasn’t until after he fought Yang Kai for a while that he realised that something was wrong with the wound.
“It’s too late for you to realise now,” Yang Kai grinned fiercely. Taking advantage of his opponent’s unpreparedness as he thrust at the other party’s chest with his spear.
The Blood Demon was very restless. With the precedent, he did not dare to block the spear directly. Not only did he not dare to block, but his resolve to continue fighting had also weakened. He only wanted to find a place to treat his wound as soon as possible. He had the feeling that if he did not treat his wound, it would become very troublesome later.
For that reason, he shifted his body and spun around, dodging repeatedly when faced with this spear containing the power of a Dragon. The boundless Blood Sea began to swirl in response and converge together quickly. A large part of the Blood Sea disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the Blood Demon escaped along with it.
Yang Kai’s spear stabbed into empty space, and although he was a little annoyed, he was not too disappointed. It was an unexpected joy for him to kill a Half-Saint with the help of Lan Xun and the others just now; how could he hope to kill another one?
On the other hand, the Shadow Demon’s situation became a little awkward the moment the Blood Demon escaped. He had originally concealed himself in the Blood Sea and borrowed its power to cause trouble for Li Wu Yi. Now that the Blood Sea was gone, he immediately fell into a disadvantageous situation in his one-on-one battle.
He saw Yang Kai, who was now unoccupied, rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye, and knew that he would not be able to leave if he did not leave now. The moment that thought crossed his mind, the idea to retreat bloomed in him and all his fighting spirit vanished as a result.
Just as the Shadow Demon was about to follow the Blood Demon’s footsteps and make his escape, Yang Kai soared into the sky to intercept him. The Azure Dragon Spear disappeared in a flash of light as Yang Kai stowed it and began forming hand seals. Then, he struck out his palm in the direction of the Shadow Demon with a stern expression and murmured a chant, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream.”
Time seemed to stop flowing; likewise, all thoughts came to a stop at this moment. The entire world receded in all directions like a tidal wave and the only thing left in the eyes of the world was Yang Kai’s palm strike.
If it were Yang Kai from the past, the Time Flies Seal he cast might not have been so powerful, but now he had personally witnessed the majestic appearance of Flowing Time Great Emperor casting this Divine Ability countless times on the ancient battlefield. Although Yang Kai did not dare to say that he had completely comprehended the essence of this Divine Ability, it was still incomparable to what he could execute in the past.
By the time the Shadow Demon returned to his senses, he discovered that his chest had sunken inward. Li Wu Yi was pressing a hand against his chest with an unfeeling expression and the might of the Space Principles was running rampant inside his body. He had failed to notice Li Wu Yi’s attack during that moment of distraction; hence, he looked horrified as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yang Kai had already summoned the Azure Dragon Spear once more. A Dragon Roar reverberated across the Heavens as he slashed out with the spear. The Dragon Fang that was the head of the spear penetrated the Shadow Demon’s body and there was a loud noise as it exploded into a cloud of black fog before dissipating into the surroundings.
Li Wu Yi frowned. He lifted a finger and pointed at several spots in his surroundings a few times before a muffled groan came from the void, followed only by complete silence immediately after that.
Lowering his arm, Li Wu Yi gave a small sigh, “He escaped in the end.”
There were a few wonderful opportunities after he and Yang Kai joined forces; unfortunately, all their efforts ended in vain. It wasn’t because his or Yang Kai’s strength was lacking, it was simply too difficult to kill a person once their cultivation reached the Half-Saint Realm. It was precisely because of this reason that no Half-Saint had died previously even though the Human Race and the Demon Race had been fighting here for several days now. That was also why Yang Kai’s act of killing the Stone Demon Half-Saint just now had caused such a commotion.
The Shadow Demons were naturally talented in escaping and concealing themselves, so it was not surprising that he managed to escape alive during such a critical moment. If it had been a Stone Demon, Strength Demon, Bone Demon, or a Demon from some other Clan lacking in stealth, they might have ended up dying in this place.
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s a pity indeed.” He changed the topic of conversation, “But, that guy is heavily injured. It’s impossible for him to heal unless he recuperates for a year or more.”
Li Wu Yi nodded and looked around him, “Prepare to evacuate.”
“Here, take these. The others might have use for them.” Yang Kai brought out many World Beads and handed them to Li Wu Yi.
Li Wu Yi looked overjoyed at the sight and nodded happily, “You really came back just in time.”
He had been a little worried at first; after all, 14 armies of the Star Boundary were gathered here. There were simply too many people, so they would surely incur great casualties even though they were withdrawing from battle. Be that as it may, they could keep those losses to the minimum with the help of these World Beads.
The flag of the First Army fluttered as the orders were passed down to the people. The 14 armies of the Star Boundary swiftly retreated in unison and gathered in a mountain valley within Star Soul Palace, and despite their staggering numbers, their movements were orderly.
Upon seeing this, the Demon Race army pursued relentlessly. The confrontation became even more intense among the vanguard compared to the previous days. Without the suppression of the Star Boundary army, the speed of the Demon Land’s expansion seemed to accelerate significantly and the boundaries of Star Soul Palace were rapidly eroded.
…..
Three graceful figures stood on one of the Spirit Peaks in a triangular formation. They were completely surrounded by the Demon Race army and numerous hostile gazes were fixed upon them, a strange light glinting in those eyes from time to time.
After several consecutive days of fighting, these three young women were at their limit. Even though they came from extraordinary backgrounds with strong heritages, they were having a hard time holding on. Their Emperor Qi had been exhausted countless times, and they were completely relying on pills now to replenish their energy.
In order to create an opportunity for their companions to evacuate, these three had been holding back enemies that outnumbered them by more than a hundred times. At this moment, they were alone and helpless, like a tiny reef in the middle of a black tide that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Green vines burst out of the ground, swaying back and forth like Flood Dragons, slaughtering anyone who carelessly approached. With this threat in place, the surrounding Demons did not dare to act rashly as they were prepared to wait for a Half-Saint to come and deal with the situation.
“Princess, I’m here to help you!” A shout rang out as a man appeared out of nowhere. The longsword in his hand glinted with a cold light, cutting down countless Demons. His originally handsome appearance had been reduced to a mess and he was covered in uncountable wounds, fresh blood blurring his eyes and his body. His complexion was as pale as a sheet and he was relying solely on willpower to remain standing.
One of the three girls in front of him was somebody he had grown up with all his life. He had been determined to marry her, watch over her, take care of her, and protect her from harm ever since he was a child. Unfortunately, this battle had forcefully woken him from his dream. Without him realising, the gap between them had grown so large that when she stood on the battlefield, he was unable to stand beside her at all. Hence, the only thing he could do for her was to do his best to slaughter the Demons around her. Now that he finally had the chance to shine, he naturally spared no effort to rush over.
“Don’t come over, Xiao Chen!” Lan Xun shouted sharply when she turned around and saw Xiao Chen’s figure stumbling toward her.
A smile appeared on Xiao Chen’s pale face, [Look at her anxious expression. It turns out she still cares for me.]
In his distraction, his already precarious situation became more and more critical. He saw a fire-breathing skeleton trying to bite him, but he didn’t even have the strength to dodge anymore. His expression changed drastically as he realized, [My destined end has come…]
“Hah!” Lan Xun shouted and pointed her hand in Xiao Chen’s direction. The ground churned like there was an Earth Dragon tumbling about and a green vine shot straight up from under his feet. The moment the green vine broke through the ground, it wrapped around the skeleton and shattered its bones.
However, this momentary delay made the three young women’s situation become more dangerous. Without the protection of the World Pagoda, the defence line they had barely been maintaining collapsed. More than a dozen Demon Kings in their surroundings led hundreds of other Demons towards them with savage grins.
“Xiao Qi! Yun’er!” Lan Xun turned around and glanced at her companions beside her, a trace of guilt in her eyes, [It’s my fault…]
Mo Xiao Qi smiled and shook her head, “Don’t mind it. We just need to kill our way out, right?”
Lin Yun’er piped up naïvely, “En, Uncle Yang will come and save us.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, everything in their surroundings seemed to become still as the Demons charging at them stopped in mid-air. Lan Xun and the others stared in astonishment before a cold light flashed before them and a tall figure appeared.
There was a series of swooshing sounds, following which the frozen world resumed moving again. More than a dozen Demon Kings and hundreds of other Demons exploded all of a sudden. Hundreds of bloody flowers bloomed in the sky in front of them. It was a poignant and beautiful sight.
“Look! I told you Uncle Yang would come!” Lin Yun’er excitedly glanced at Yang Kai, who had appeared out of nowhere, with a look that seemed to say she had expected this.
Meanwhile, Lan Xun and Mo Xiao Qi were slightly in shock.
Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear in one hand and carried Xiao Chen by the collar in the other. Glancing at the three young women, he nodded gently and called out, “It’s time to go.”
Afterwards, Yang Kai turned to the side and gave a whistle. With a flash of golden light, Zhui Feng immediately galloped in this direction from a distance and appeared before Yang Kai almost instantly. Raising his front hooves, he gave a loud whinny.
“Get on!” Yang Kai called out.
Lan Xun and Mo Xiao Qi were still in a daze, but Lin Yun’er had already swung herself up on Zhui Feng’s back. Then, she bent down and pulled her companions up. Although there were three of them, Zhui Feng was an ancient beast with a tall stature, so it was not crowded riding him.
“Brother Xiao, do you still have the strength to move?” Yang Kai asked as he placed Xiao Chen down.
Xiao Chen stared at Yang Kai blankly before nodding in response.
“Good, then rendezvous with everyone else.” Yang Kai stretched out a hand and pointed them in a certain direction.
“What about you, Senior Brother?” Lan Xun lowered her head and asked from where she sat on Zhui Feng’s back.
“I haven’t had enough yet. I’m going to let loose for a bit,” Yang Kai grinned at her before slapping Zhui Feng’s bottom, sending him immediately into a gallop as swift as lightning.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai looked at Xiao Chen, who was still standing still without moving, and gave a small sigh. He could tell that Xiao Chen was completely exhausted and was just about to place him into the Small Sealed World for safe keeping when he saw Zhui Feng turning back. Zhui Feng snorted at Xiao Chen in dissatisfaction as if scolding the latter for not keeping up. He subsequently opened his mouth, gripped Xiao Chen’s collar with his teeth, and hoisted him up before galloping back towards the gathering point again.
The surrounding scenery passed by in a flash, and the sound of killing faded into the distance. Xiao Chen was indifferent despite being held in Zhui Feng’s mouth. His eyes seemed a little dull and his hands were spread out before him as he stared forward blankly.
He had always thought of himself as the favoured son of the Heavens, and in fact, he wasn’t wrong. He was born into a hegemon Sect like Star Soul Palace and his father, Xiao Yu Yang, was a powerful and respected Elder. He had cultivated in an extremely conducive environment with nearly unlimited resources since childhood; allowing him to become one of the representatives of the Southern Territory’s younger generation.
Unfortunately, his glory only lasted until he became an Emperor Realm Master…
When the Shattered Star Sea opened, the best among the younger generation of the Star Boundary broke through into the Emperor Realm in quick succession. Xiao Chen was no exception. Up until then, he firmly believed that his glory was bound to be part of the Star Boundary’s future; however, it would now seem that his short burst of brilliance in his youth was the last of his glory, akin to the afterglow of a sunset.
To date, the people among the younger generation with relations to the Great Emperors had all advanced into the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Take Yao Si, Lin Yun’er, Mo Xiao Qi, Li Shi Qing, and Gao Zhan for example. In particular, Lan Xun was even more incredible. After she refined the World Pagoda, she rose to become a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in one fell swoop.
On the other hand, he was still stuck in the First-Order Emperor Realm, unable to advance.
It would have been fine if that were all. These people had unusual relationships with the Great Emperors after all. They were either the children or Disciples of Great Emperors, so it wasn’t a big deal if their cultivation progressed faster than his. His talent was still no less than anybody else’s, the only thing he lacked was the unique privileges that they had. It only served to inspire him to strive harder to catch up instead.
But, what about Yang Kai? He had no connection with any of the Great Emperors whatsoever. His cultivation had initially been much lower than Xiao Chen’s when they first met each other, but he was now at a level where Xiao Chen had to look up to him.
Xiao Chen couldn’t get close to Lan Xun despite trying his best; rather, he even caused her to become distracted and forced her to protect him instead. On the contrary, Yang Kai had easily slaughtered all the enemies around them.
Xiao Chen looked down at his hands, feeling extremely powerless for the first time. He longed for power. He wanted to become much stronger…
…..
The Star Boundary army evacuated to the mountain valley in an orderly manner and World Beads had long been distributed. Many Division Commanders placed their subordinates who had withdrawn to the mountain valley into World Beads in a rapid fashion.
Be that as it may, how could the Demon Race just sit back and watch as the Star Boundary army withdrew from battle? Countless Demons swarmed towards the mountain valley to keep the millions of the Star Boundary cultivators locked down.
Many Emperor Realm Masters were desperately defending the mouth of the mountain valley to buy more preparation time for the army behind them. Placing people into World Beads was not a simple feat and required the consumption of copious amounts of Spiritual Energy. At this moment, all the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints under the Star Boundary’s banner were fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm so that these Demon Race Masters could not interfere with what was happening within the mountain valley. Therefore, the heavy burden of evacuating the Star Boundary army rested on the shoulders of the many Emperor Realm Masters.
It didn’t matter if it was Wen Zi Shan, Gao Xue Ting, Qiu Ran, Chen Qian, Ma Qing, Chen Wen Hao, or Wu Chang. Regardless of whether the names of the Emperor Realm Masters were famous or obscure, all of them were using their bodies to form an iron-clad defensive wall at the mouth of the mountain valley to prevent the invasion of the Demon Race army.
Fortunately, they had the advantage of topography on their side. Not many of the Demon Race army could swarm around them at one time; otherwise, they would not have been able to hold out against the millions of bloodthirsty Demons that swarmed towards them all at once.
Nevertheless, the situation was extremely precarious. None of the Emperor Realm Masters had much strength left after so many days of intense battle. If they were not careful, even a Demon Great General or Demon General would be able to kill them now.
They would incur injuries from time to time, but there was no time for them to treat the wounds. Despite the blood flowing freely from their wounds, they could only push through with gritted teeth. The lights coming from many Secret Techniques and artifacts flashed constantly, illuminating the area in front of the mountain valley with many blinding flashes of colour.
Amidst all the sounds of fighting, Zhui Feng went on a rampage. He did not know how many times he successfully cut off the Demon Race army’s violent attacks, but it was all thanks to him that Wen Zi Shan and the others managed to persist up until this point.
In a place without the interference of a Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, Zhui Feng was an invincible existence. He simply charged back and forth from the mouth of the mountain valley to the back of the Demon Race army, repeating the same process over and over again. Every trip he made, he left countless Demon corpses in his wake. Killing them excited him greatly, so the sounds of his neighing never paused for a breath. The blood of the Demon Race flowed as thick as mud across the ground, and whenever Zhui Feng’s flaming hooves trod, red fumes evaporated, created a disgusting and nauseating stench.
Unfortunately, there was only one Zhui Feng, and as more and more of the soldiers were placed into the World Beads and sent away via the Space Array in the mountain valley, the people among the Star Boundary army who could stand up against the enemy dwindled.
“Little Xue Ting, take our people and leave!” Wen Zi Shan turned to shout at Gao Xue Ting while swinging his sword and clearing a huge area in front of him.
“I’m not leaving!” Gao Xue Ting stood firmly beside him, the Radiant Sun Mirror hanging high above her head. A scorching ray of light shot out from the mirror, burning with a crackling sound as it landed on the bodies of the Demon Race.
Wen Zi Zhan was furious and roared, “You’ve always been disobedient since you were a child, and you’ve only gotten worse as an adult! Will you just listen obediently for once!?”
She didn’t even look at him. She simply pale-facedly pushed the power of the Radiant Sun Mirror to the limit and replied lightly, “If you’re upset over my disobedience, then you shouldn’t have picked me up back then!”
“You’ll be the death of me!” The words had just left his mouth when he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Shocked, Gao Xue Ting quickly stepped forward to support his body, her red lips trembling slightly as she asked, “A-Are you okay?”
“I don’t think I can hold on any longer…” He currently looked very weak. The corners of his mouth twitched as though he was trying to smile, but he couldn’t manage even that. The light in his eyes was dimming rapidly, and he weakly said, “Be a good girl. Hurry up and go.”
She shook her head strongly, her hair flying in the wind as her eyes turned bloodshot, “Don’t drive me away. I’ll listen to whatever you say in the future.”
“Really? Don’t you lie to me now.”
She hugged him tightly, tears flowing down her face as she sniffed and said firmly, “Don’t you dare die. I’m not lying to you!”
He blinked, his dull and dim eyes quickly regaining their lustre as a smile formed on his lips, “Don’t forget what you just said! You better not regret those words later!”
Afterwards, he suddenly got up and swung his sword to the side. The sword light slashed through the void, cutting a Shadow Demon Demon King in two. Blood and organs spilled across the ground as the Shadow Demon looked down at his lower body with an expression of astonishment on his face.
Meanwhile, Wen Zi Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, “I knew you were hiding in the shadows. If I had not pretended to be dying, you probably wouldn’t have revealed yourself.”
While speaking, he gave a flick of his sword and the two halves of the Shadow Demon turned to mist. His weak and defeated appearance from before was gone, replaced by a triumphant look. All of a sudden, he felt a scorching gaze burning into the back of his head as though about to incinerate him to ashes. Flinching slightly, Wen Zi Shan dared not look back as he shouted to the people around him, “Stand strong! Don’t let these bastards through even if its cost your lives!”
The Emperor Realm Masters of Azure Sun Temple immediately responded, “Yes!”
Only Murong Xiao Xiao dared to throw a cautious glance at Gao Xue Ting.
There were tears in Gao Xue Ting’s beautiful eyes, but the corners of her mouth were curled into a cold smile. The Radiant Sun Mirror that had gone bleak above her head suddenly shone brightly once more. A blazing flame shot out from the mirror, brushing past Wen Zi Shan’s head to blast more than ten Demons into ashes.
There was an audible gulping noise as Wen Zi Shan swallowed nervously. He lifted a hand to touch his hair and felt a patch of ashes as the smell of burnt hair wafted into his nose.
“Brother Wen, something is happening in front!” Ma Qing suddenly shouted, looking in a certain direction with a solemn expression.
Wen Zi Shan had no time to think about other matters as he cocked his ear and listened carefully. There was a rumbling sound coming from the depths of the Demon Race army. Looking into the distance, he saw a plume of smoke and dust heading straight towards them. Everywhere that plume of dust passed, the Demons were forced to open up a path.
“It’s one of our own!” He frowned at the sight.
Ma Qing was stunned, “Is there anyone who has not withdrawn!?”
“Yang Kai isn’t back yet!” With just a few words, Wen Zi Shan could already confirm the identity of the incoming person. He couldn’t help feeling a burst of joy. Yang Kai’s current cultivation was extraordinary and his combat prowess was outstanding. If he could assist them, then the pressure to defend this mountain valley would reduce significantly.
His guess was right. The person rushing towards them from the back of the Demon Race army was Yang Kai indeed. However, he was not alone. He was charging ahead and forging a bloody path through the Demon Race army with the Azure Dragon Spear. Behind him were several dozen people. These were Star Boundary soldiers who had not been able to evacuate in time and were scattered across the battlefield with no support.
Yang Kai had spread out his Divine Sense to cover the entire Star Soul Palace, and after locating these people, he had gone to rescue them one by one. That was why it had taken him so long to return.
Most of the people had been placed into the Sealed World Bead while those who stayed behind were all in the Emperor Realm. Although there were only a few of them, they were akin to a thousand-man army wielding a torrent of deadly steel under Yang Kai’s lead. They made their way through the Demon Race army but suffered no casualties despite facing enemies that outnumbered them by tens of thousands of times.
Those Emperor Realm Masters were filled with admiration and finally understood why Yang Kai could become an Army Commander. His strength was simply not something an ordinary Emperor Realm Master could possess.
Yang Kai led those Emperors to penetrate the dense formation of Demons, swiftly clearing a path and breaking through the siege to arrive at the mountain valley.
When everybody was reunited, there was a sense of elation all around. Many of the Masters who remained to guard the mouth of the mountain valley nodded at Yang Kai with a look of gratitude in their eyes. Those Emperor Realm Masters that he brought back with him were their companions. They originally thought that those people had perished on the battlefield so it was only thanks to Yang Kai that they could return safely. How could they not be grateful towards him?
Carrying the momentum of having killed thousands of Demons, Yang Kai turned around and swept his eyes across the sight in front of him. The Demon Race army that had gathered in this place like a rising tide involuntarily took several steps back as if frightened by his murderous intent.
“Are there any others?” Wen Zi Shan wiped the fresh blood from his face, looking at Yang Kai when he asked the question.
Yang Kai shook his head, “This is the last of them.”
Wen Zi Shan calmed down, “That’s good.” Turning to the rest of the people, he shouted, “Those who are exhausted and injured will evacuate first. The rest will follow later.”
Contrary to expectations however, Yang Kai turned to Wen Zi Shan and said, “All of you should leave. I alone am enough.”
Ma Qing was taken aback by those words, “You alone!?”
Yang Kai grinned in response, “Indeed!”
Wen Zi Shan looked solemn, “Brat…”
Yang Kai raised his hand to stop Wen Zi Shan mid-sentence, “Senior Li and the others are still fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm. If you don’t leave, they won’t be able to leave either. They can only escape safely once all of you have left.”
Wen Zi Shan hesitated, “But, with just you…”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Since I’ve decided to stay behind, it’s only natural that I’m confident in my ability. Besides… Once all of you have left, I can leave whenever I want.”
Upon hearing what Yang Kai said, Wen Zi Shan had to admit that those words were the truth. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he couldn’t win a battle, he could escape at any time. Nobody else had this advantage; therefore, Wen Zi Shan did not waste any more time and nodded, “Be careful.”
These were all men of action, so it was only natural that they did not procrastinate once they made their decision. With Wen Zi Shan in the lead, the Emperor Realm Masters of the Star Boundary’s 14 armies swiftly withdrew towards the mountain valley in quick succession. When they walked past Yang Kai, their murmurs of ‘Be careful’ and ‘Take care’ that entered his ears indicated their respect for him.
In just a short while, all the people that had been standing in front of the mountain valley were gone. Only Yang Kai was left standing there alone. Even so, there was a huge grin on his face. He held his spear by his side, facing millions of Demons alone without the slightest change in his expression.
There was a commotion in the front lines of the Demon Race army. Countless Demon Race members glared at him furiously. The Human in front of them had certainly shown extraordinary strength, even managing to kill a Half-Saint on the spot previously; even so, his arrogant behaviour at this moment was excessive. He was completely looking down on them.
More than 10 High-Rank Demon Kings stood in front of the Demon Race army with gloomy expressions. Their Divine Sense was surging between them as they exchanged a brief discussion among themselves.
Then, they suddenly attacked in unison. Their Demon Qi soared and the power of their Demon Artifacts burst forth. Before the Demon King in the lead could even approach Yang Kai, the overwhelming brilliance of the Demon Artifact behind him shrouded Yang Kai entirely.
No matter how strong Yang Kai was, he was only one person. So what if he could rival a Half-Saint in strength? Even a Half-Saint would be forced to back down when confronted by an army that numbered in the millions.
A series of explosions rang out as countless attacks rained down on Yang Kai, practically burying him in an instant. In front of everybody’s eyes, however, he neither dodged nor evaded those attacks. Instead, he allowed the power of the Demon Artifacts to land on him directly.
Most of the Demons were overjoyed by the sight. Similarly, the Demon Kings charging at him were also delighted. Even though he was acting extremely arrogant and looking down on all of them, it was still something to be celebrated in this situation; after all, he would surely be severely wounded after getting hit by so many attacks. Of course, that was if he was lucky enough to survive the barrage of attacks in the first place.
Those thoughts had barely finished forming in their heads when they saw Yang Kai’s figure fading slightly, making him seem like he was both real and illusionary. At the same time, the numerous attacks went straight through his body and exploded behind him. None of the attacks caused him any damage at all; thus, the Demon Kings couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure solidified again. He reached out, grabbed the Azure Dragon Spear, and thrust it forward without any hesitation. His attack was nothing special, and the speed wasn’t even that fast. Everybody could see the attack clearly; however, the High-Rank Demon Kings looked extremely horrified when the spear came at them. An illusion that the spear was stabbing into them had bloomed in their minds.
The power of the spear seemed to ignore the barriers of time and space, and a moment later, a blood-curdling scream rang out.
By the time the Demon Kings came back to their senses, they immediately noticed that one of them had been impaled on the spear. That person had been pierced through and the tip of the spear was protruding out of his back. His entire being was hanging from the spear as he struggled furiously. But, how could he break free?
A sense of fear crept over the Demon Race army. The person hanging from the spear was one of their companions after all. More importantly, more than 10 Demon Kings were present, but none of them had seen how the attack had been carried out.
In any case, there was no time for them to ponder over the question. The many Demon Kings lunging at Yang Kai had arrived in front of him, completely surrounding him in an instant. All the Demon Kings also pushed their Demon Qi in unison. The Sand Demon escaped into the ground; the Shadow Demon concealed his presence; the Stone Demon and the Strength Demon attacked with their fists or summoned Demon Artifacts; the Bone Demon raised his hand so that his fingers flew out and transformed them into 5 ghastly skulls; the Corpse Demon opened his mouth and spewed out a strong Corpse Poison; and the Flame Demon controlled the flames that could burn down the Heavens to pelt down attacks on him.
Sounds of metal clashing rang out, but aside from the Demons who were besieging Yang Kai, nobody could get a clear glimpse of the situation. All the others could see were figures being thrown all over the place and sparks flying everywhere.
Occasionally, a Demon King would scream after being sent flying backwards with a large hole somewhere on their body. The chaotic melee lasted no more than ten breaths before a spear shadow swept out in a wide circle, forcing all the Demon Kings to quickly retreat or be sent flying backwards.
For a moment, the world became silent.
Yang Kai was covered in blood as he stood in front of the mountain valley. His ragged clothes were even more tattered than before and his hair was further dishevelled. He was kneeling with one knee as his spear was thrust into the ground before him.
*Gululu…*
Blood emerged from the ground as though there was a pool of it deep underground.
Yang Kai lifted his spear and the Sand Demon hiding underground was dragged out. The spear had stabbed right through him and pain coloured his expression as he was being yanked out. Yang Kai gave a flick of the spear and the Sand Demon exploded into pieces. The remains of the corpse scattered across the ground and turned into dust.
The spectating Demons felt a chill running down their backs at the sight. Everything they had just witnessed left them silent in shock. Meanwhile, the High-Rank Demon Kings watching the scene had deep and profound expressions on their faces.
A dozen or so High-Rank Demon Kings had attacked all at once, so how were they unable to kill Yang Kai on the spot with such a powerful line-up? What did it matter if he was slightly injured during the confrontation? In that short ten-breath confrontation just now, he slaughtered at least 3 High-Rank Demon Kings and wounded 7 more of them!
This person in front of them actually managed to block the onslaught of at least a dozen High-Rank Demon Kings all by himself. It would not have been surprising for a Half-Saint to do so, but Yang Kai was nothing more than a High-Rank Demon King! Something like this was simply ridiculous!
They had not noticed anything before their confrontation with him; however, once they started battling Yang Kai in earnest, they discovered the horrors of the spear he wielded. Not only was the spear unimaginably sharp, but it also radiated with great majesty when wielded as a weapon. It affected their minds and made it impossible for them to exert their full strength.
*Xiu…*
A soft sound suddenly rang out and all the Demons felt their hearts clench up. A flowing stream of light shot straight towards Yang Kai’s heart at the speed of light. The initial soft sound seemed to be a signal and immediately following that, a series of swishing sounds rang out incessantly. Cold lights flashed, one after the other, as arrows wrapped in the aura of death shot towards him from all directions.
The Feather Demon Clan was proficient in archery while somewhat lacking in close combat. That was why there was no sign of a Feather Demon during the attack just now. A person’s vigilance was sure to relax after surviving a large battle, so it was the best time to launch a sneak attack.
Yang Kai had just turned the Sand Demon impaled upon his spear to mist when the first arrow came at him. The speed of the arrow was so fast that he couldn’t dodge it in time and a chill enveloped his body. At that moment, he pushed his Demon Qi and the flesh on his chest tightened rapidly.
There was a muffled thud as a metre-long feather arrow pierced a palm’s length into Yang Kai flesh. An overpowering force pushed him back, causing him to stagger several steps before he could stabilise himself again. Afterwards, his spear began dancing. All the remaining arrows raining down on him were sent flying.
The Demon Kings were shocked. Staring blankly at Yang Kai, they exclaimed in their hearts, [How is he not dead!?]
The feather arrow sticking out of his chest looked just like a normal arrow, but the red water caltrop hanging from the end of the arrow indicated the identity of its Master. The one who shot this arrow was the strongest among the Feather Demons, excluding the Demon Saints and Half-Saints. Even a Stone Demon, who had inherently powerful defensive abilities, would be pierced through by this arrow.
[Just how tough is this Human’s body!?]
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy. Reaching out a hand, he clutched at the arrow sticking out of his chest that was still vibrating slightly and forcefully pulled it out. He looked down at his chest while thinking to himself, [It truly is as the saying goes, ‘It is easy to dodge a spear in the light but difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark. If it had been me from before, I might not have been able to block this arrow even in my Half-Dragon Form.]
Several dozen years had passed in the ancient battlefield, as though it was only a day. After being tempered by the two forces on the ancient battlefield, Yang Kai’s physical body had become incomparable to how it used to be. Not to mention, his Half-Dragon Form had grown from 300 metres to 1,000 metres long during that period. The increase in the size of his Half-Dragon Form was also indicative of his Dragon Source’s development, so it was only natural that his physical body had gotten tougher as a result.
Even so, this feathered arrow had broken through his defences and penetrated his chest. He would have been in danger if it had pierced another palm’s length. [If a Feather Demon in the High-Rank Demon King Realm can do this much, then what about a Half-Saint? What about Fu Yu?]
Yang Kai’s fists clenched tightly and the feather arrow that was comparable to a Demon Artifact snapped into two. He then lifted his head abruptly. The look in his scarlet eyes was similar to that of a violent beast’s as his gaze passed through the barriers of space and landed on a figure located more than a dozen kilometres away. Then, Yang Kai smiled wolfishly.
The Feather Demon who launched the sneak attack from the shadows turned ashen-faced when she met the gaze of this horrifying man. Without any hesitation, she shifted her body and landed among the Demon Race army in hopes of blending into the crowd and erasing her presence.
A gust of wind came blowing from behind, inciting a wave of pain as the wind sliced her back. It felt like she had lost a layer of flesh, and when she turned back to look, she saw that Yang Kai, who had originally been more than a dozen kilometres away, had appeared without anybody noticing and was sweeping his spear around at the spot she was standing just now.
She had long known that a distance of a dozen kilometres was no different from standing face to face when it came to enemies proficient in the Dao of Space, which was why she fled the moment she noticed danger. From the situation right now, she was right to have reacted so quickly; otherwise, she would have faced a disastrous ending by now.
“Oh?” Seeing that the Feather Demon was smart enough to avoid him in advance, Yang Kai couldn’t help revealing an amused smile. His feet didn’t move but his body swayed as he chased after the Feather Demon who had slipped into the ranks of the Demon Race army.
For a moment, it was as though somebody had thrown a fistful of salt into a pot of boiling oil. There was chaos among the millions of the Demons as many of them were thrown into the sky, their bodies all exploding into blood mist one after the other.
The Feather Demon could sense a murderous intent locked onto her from behind, so how could she dare to look back? All she knew was that she could not stop moving, or the only ending waiting for her was death. She couldn’t care less about the deaths of those ordinary Demon Race members as she weaved her way to where the crowd was the densest in hopes of throwing Yang Kai off her tail.
“Bastard!”
A High-Rank Demon King, who had been wounded by Yang Kai in front of the mountain valley, flew into a rage. He was not mad at the Feather Demon. The other party was only a High-Rank Demon King after all. Instead, he was furious that Yang Kai was completely looking down on the Demon Race. How dare he charge right into their ranks!?
While cursing furiously, the Demon King turned back to challenge Yang Kai again; however, he was held back by a Strength Demon. The Strength Demon slowly shook his head and said, “That person is proficient in Space Principles. You saw his prowess for yourself. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do against him unless a Half-Saint makes a move!”
Of course, there was a sentence in his heart that he had not said out loud. [Even if a Half-Saint makes a move, it might not make a difference either.]
“Compared to wasting our energy on him, we should chase after the remnants of our enemies instead!”
When the rest of the Demon Kings heard those words, they fervently nodded in agreement. The first reason was that this Strength Demon’s words made sense. Yang Kai was a man who had successfully escaped from the Demon Saints. Although the Demon Race army had great numbers, none of them could do anything to stop him if he was determined to escape. The second reason was that they had grown fearful of Yang Kai during their brief confrontation just now. They would rather face Wen Zi Shan and the others from the 14 Star Boundary armies than to exchange blows with Yang Kai again.
Fighting that Human would most likely lead to their deaths! The fear in their hearts combined with a justified reason gave the High-Rank Demon Kings in front of the mountain valley no reason to hesitate. Even though they knew that the Demon Saints were secretly watching them from the shadows, they immediately issued the command to the troops. The Demon Race army that had stopped in their tracks finally pressed forward in the direction of the mountain valley again.
Just then, a fearsome Dragon Roar reverberated across the sky. It was accompanied by a horrifying pressure that descended from above as though a huge mountain was pressing down on them. The Demon Race army rushing towards the mouth of the mountain valley felt their bodies sinking from the weight, making it very difficult for them to even lift their feet to step forward.
“This is…” Zhu Yan, who had been watching Yang Kai’s movements from the sky, suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. His eyes shone with a shocking light as he excitedly looked up at the figure falling from the sky and descending upon the mouth of the mountain valley.
Similarly, Fu Zhun’s beautiful eyes were gleaming with a strange light. She felt the Dragon Source in her body resonating with the Dragon Roar, giving her the strongest impulse to rush forward without regard for everything else to fight side by side with that person.
Under the gaze of the two Dragon Clan Great Elders, the figure falling from the sky began to swell rapidly all of a sudden. 100 metres… 300 metres… 500 metres… 700 metres… It continued expanding until it finally reached more than 1,000 metres!
Amidst the crackling sounds, the figure was completely covered in golden Dragon Scales. He had Dragon Horns protruding sharply from his forehead; his hands had transformed into sharp Dragon Claws, and a Dragon Tail swept out in all directions behind him.
“Who allowed…”
It really felt as though a small mountain had come crashing down. When the more than 1,000-metre-long Dragon Body came falling out of the sky, its enormous shadow obscured the sight of all the Demons, causing their vision to darken to the point where they could not see the slightest speck of light.
“YOU…”
There was a loud explosion when his feet touched the ground. The Earth trembled and loose rock came falling down from the mountain peaks on both sides. Numerous cracks split open the solid ground with the point where he landed as the source, countless Demons fell into those deep cracks.
“TO PASS!?”
A 1,000-metre-long spear swept out and it didn’t matter whether they were common Demon soldiers or powerful Demon Kings, anyone who was touched by the spear was either killed on the spot or heavily injured. It only took an instant for the entire Demon Race army swarming towards the mountain valley to be wiped out completely.
The Demons were so shocked that they paled in fright. Those who had rushed to the front were dead, and only a few quick-witted Demon Kings were lucky enough to escape alive. At this moment, those Demon Kings were fleeing in all directions, and when they looked up at the behemoth blocking their way, a sense of helplessness grew in their hearts. If the Demon Kings were already in this state, then it was even worse for the weaker Demon Race members, their whole bodies trembling, completely bewildered with terror.
Yang Kai was standing alone in front of the mountain valley, but was comparable to a mighty army of a million! He was so terrifying that the Demon Race army did not dare to take another step forward!
Moreover, he was holding a tiny body in one of his giant claws. That figure was struggling desperately to break free of his iron grip. Judging by her appearance and her unique characteristics, it was the Feather Demon Demon King who had launched the initial sneak attack on him previously. He had actually managed to capture her from amongst millions of enemy troops in a matter of breaths.
The Feather Demon turned around with a pleading and begging expression on her face, but contrary to her hopes, Yang Kai suddenly exerted more strength into his grip.
*Kacha…*
Like the sound of a nut being cracked open, various popping noises came from all over her body. Just listening to those sounds sent a chill up one’s spine. Fresh blood subsequently poured out from between the gaps of Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw, and when he spread his hand open again, what was once a Feather Demon no longer held a humanoid shape. She had been turned into a bloody pulp and the light in her eyes quickly vanished as her vitality disappeared while her remains slid from the palm of his hand and fell to the ground.
*Hu…*
Yang Kai exhaled hot steam from his nostrils as he grinned at the many Demons before him, gripped the shaft of the now giant Azure Dragon Spear, and swung it up high.
All the Demons felt their hearts clenching tight at this sight and the expressions of the Demon Kings also changed drastically as they shouted desperately, “Retreat!”
As soon as those words rang out, the Demon Kings desperately tried to withdraw from the battlefield. They might be able to escape, but how could the swarming Demon Race army manage? They were practically falling over each other in their haste to charge forward previously, but they found themselves facing countless obstacles in their way now that they wanted to retreat. The path behind them was packed with their own people; thus, chaos broke out among the army and they descended into chaos.
The Azure Dragon Spear arced through the air with a straight, cold light and slammed heavily towards the ground.
*Hong…*
When the spear landed, the ground below collapsed. Countless Demons were smashed to bits by the spear, leaving nothing behind. In addition, the violent shockwave swept out in all directions and caused the Demons in a long path to be cut down like wheat in a field. It was followed by a terrifying force of vibration that spread out, sending many fallen Demons into the sky where they exploded into blood mist.
The power of the spear literally created a death zone of more than a dozen kilometres in length and a few kilometres wide with a single smash, right in the middle of the Demon Race army. Any Demons standing within that range died; there were no survivors.
It was not over though. Instead of lifting his spear up again, Yang Kai instead gripped its tail tightly and swept it along the ground…
After a back-and-forth sweep with himself as the centre, the fan-shaped area in front of him fell into a dead silence.
*Gudong…*
There were endless gulping sounds as many Demons swallowed nervously. [Who can fight against such a terrifying existence if the Half-Saints refuse to move? We might have an army of millions, but can we really stop the slaughter of such a monster?]
Before Yang Kai could admire his handiwork in satisfaction though, Zhu Yan’s warning rang out in his ears, “Yang Kai, watch out!”
At the same time, a chill spread all over his body. Yang Kai could even sense the aura of death wash over him at that moment. At the critical juncture of life or death, he felt neither sorrow nor joy; rather, his mind mysteriously entered a state of perfect calm.
He straightened and stood upright, retracted the spear, and slashed out with all his might. He was aiming at a certain place in the sky, completely driven by instinct. He was in a state where he was neither thinking nor feeling; even so, he felt a sense of immense exhilaration when he performed that sweep. It felt as though all the power in his body flowed out along with the attack. He could tell that this was the strongest attack he had ever unleashed in his entire life and it felt as though it resonated with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Even if a Half-Saint stood before him, this attack would claim that Half-Saint’s life!
A small black light suddenly appeared at the tip of the Azure Dragon Spear and the power of the Space Principles surged within it. When it first appeared, it was only the size of a bean. Be that as it may, it rapidly expanded as his spear slashed out and transformed into a black mass with a radius of several tens of metres.
“Huh?” A surprised cry came from the front, and immediately after that, a fist appeared out of thin air and smashed at the Azure Dragon Spear.
Compared to the black mass with a radius of several dozen metres, this fist was so small that it was minuscule. Nevertheless, this was a fist belonging to a Demon Saint, so nobody in the world would dare to underestimate its power.
When this fist collided with the black mass, it strangely did not make any sound. The black mass suddenly shrank in on itself and became a black spot before disappearing with a flash. On the other hand, the fist shuddered from the impact to reveal a brave and heroic figure.
*Hong…*
Only then did a dull but thunderous noise resound from the bottom of everybody’s hearts. It was so deafening that it made one’s vitality churn.
Yang Kai’s Dragon Body fell backwards, crashing into the ground with a loud explosion. He practically filled the entire mouth of the mountain valley, and after crashing into the ground, his Dragon Body shrank rapidly and turned back into his Human form again. His complexion was pale as Golden Blood spewed out of his mouth and nose like flowing water. His aura was so weak that it was practically non-existent.
After being shaken by Yang Kai’s spear, Xue Li appeared and flashed to Yang Kai’s side in the blink of an eye. He subsequently struck out at Yang Kai with his palm without any hesitation whatsoever. As a Demon Saint, he felt genuine contempt for attacking a High-Rank Demon King, let alone performing a sneak attack on one.
However, he had noticed the horror of Yang Kai’s potential during the battle just now. Yang Kai was already so powerful even though he was only a High-Rank Demon King. It would be very bad if he was allowed to continue growing stronger. For that reason, Xue Li blatantly decided to take action without regard for his status. What he could never have expected was that Yang Kai actually survived a punch from him. Despite thinking to himself that Yang Kai was extremely blessed by fate, he did not hesitate to kill the opponent.
Two Dragon Roars sounded at that moment and two murderous intents locked onto Xue Li. A powerful gust of wind came from behind just as he was about to strike Yang Kai with his palm, causing him to furrow his brow so slightly that it was almost imperceptible.
If his attack landed, Yang Kai would suffer a disastrous end. Unfortunately, he would fare no better; the strength of the two Dragon Clan Elders was nothing short of extraordinary after all.
How could Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun continue standing on the sidelines after seeing Xue Li make the first move? The two Great Elders had pushed their Dragon Sources the moment the Demon Saint made his move, transformed into their true bodies, and charged fiercely at Yang Kai.
Likewise, Huo Bo and Fu Yu were not slow to react either. The former radiated a dangerous aura from his body as he rushed towards the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan. On the other hand, the latter pulled out an arrow, aimed at Zhu Yan’s Dragon Body, and shot without delay.
Zhu Yan seemed oblivious to that attack as he continued to slash at Xue Li with his Dragon Claws.
In the end, that palm strike did not land on its intended target. In the Demon Saints’ opinion, Yang Kai indeed had terrifying potential; however, it would still take a very long time for him to grow until he could stand on the same footing as them. Therefore, putting himself in danger just to kill a possible future threat was simply not worthwhile.
Xue Li shifted his body and vanished from the spot, transforming into a bloody ray as he escaped to the side. Zhu Yan’s Dragon Claws ended up grabbing at empty space, causing five deep gashes to appear in the air as a result. Meanwhile, Fu Zhun took the opportunity to open her Dragon Mouth and swallowed Yang Kai whole.
At the same time, Fu Yu’s arrow struck! Zhu Yan had no way to avoid the blow. He had only wanted to rescue Yang Kai before, so he ignored the attacks coming from behind him. Now that Yang Kai was saved, it was too late for him to defend himself. In his desperation, he flicked his Dragon Tail to slap the feather arrow that was aiming at him away.
The force caused the feather arrow to change its direction slightly, brushing past Zhu Yan’s chest and taking out a large piece of his flesh with it. A large amount of emerald green blood splattered in all directions as even the Dragon Clan’s defences could not stop the sharp edge of this arrow!
On another hand, Huo Bo rushed over with a wicked grin. His originally round body swelled like he was inflated with air. Despite his bloated body, his figure was indescribably agile and he headed directly to the place where Zhu Yan was injured.
*Hong…* Huo Bo exploded and Zhu Yan was struck by the impact and sent flying as a result, drawing a roar of pain from his mouth.
In the meantime, Huo Bo’s figure began reforming at the site of the explosion. He was born in the Red Demon Clan and his ability to self-destruct was innate. Unlike ordinary Red Demons, however, this ability of his was not suicidal since he could be reborn from the ashes. It was precisely because of his Innate Divine Ability that he was able to survive exploding again and again, which was also how he eventually cultivated until he became a Demon Saint.
For countless years, the Red Demon Clan had been the lowest Clan in the entire Demon Realm. Huo Bo was the only outlier.
A gigantic Dragon Claw came slapping down on Huo Bo’s head at that moment. His figure had only just reformed though, so how could he dodge in time? Huo Bo turned back just in time to see Fu Zhun, who had transformed into an Ice Dragon, her Dragon Eyes cold as her Dragon Roar resounded through the Heavens.
Huo Bo turned pale with fright. He never imagined that his impulsive whim would put him in danger. If he had known this earlier, he would not have rushed over without thinking first.
Ice Principles ran rampant, seeming to freeze the flames inside his body. He tried his best to dodge but was still slashed by the Dragon Claw in the end. Several long gashes instantly appeared on his body and a destructive cold energy raged around his wounds, not allowing a single drop of blood to flow despite the torn flesh.
Huo Bo gave a strange scream, and before Fu Zhun could attack a second time, his round body transformed into a red light and shot away into the distance.
He actually escaped!
“Waste!” Fu Yu gritted her teeth at the sight and was tempted to shoot him down. Now that Zhu Yan was injured by her attack and Fu Zhun was held back because she had Yang Kai in her mouth, it was the perfect opportunity to eradicate the two Great Elders. It was acceptable even if they had to pay a price for this mission. [I can’t believe Huo Bo! How dare he escape so pathetically!? This just proves that cowards are not qualified to participate in strategic planning!]
With Yang Kai as the trigger, the three Demon Saints and two Great Elders, all of whom had been watching from the sidelines until now, attacked each other in a flurry. Following that brief confrontation, Zhu Yan was injured and Huo Bo fled!
A Dragon Roar sounded once more. The huge bodies of an Azure Dragon and an Ice Dragon intertwined with each other in the sky as though they were one, their spirits connecting with each other. Two huge Dragon Heads reared up proudly, overlooking the whole world.
The two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan were husband and wife, so after spending countless years together, they had long since become connected with each other in heart and soul. It was only natural that they had developed their own set of Unified Secret Techniques.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun were comparable to Great Emperors in strength individually, and by using a Unified Secret Technique it was not as simple as ‘one plus one equals two’. How could they have been a match for the three Demon Saints over the past few years if not for these techniques?
Having fought each other more than once, both Xue Li and Fu Yu sighed in their hearts when they saw the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan in this pose. They knew that they had lost the perfect opportunity to make their move just now. At this moment, they would not be able to kill their opponents no matter how desperately they fought. At most, both sides would end up heavily wounded.
With their souls connected, the Ice Principles that permeated from Fu Zhun’s body helped to seal the wounds on Zhu Yan’s chest. Azure Dragons were known for their restorative abilities, and their bodies contained a virtually indestructible vitality, so they would not be affected by their injuries for a while even though the wounds seemed rather severe. It was fortunate that the target of Fu Yu’s arrow had been Zhu Yan. If she had aimed for Fu Zhun instead, it would be much more troublesome.
Inside the mountain valley, the Star Boundary’s 14 armies had almost finished their evacuation. With the help of the World Beads that Yang Kai previously refined as well as the ones he brought back with him this time, their mobility had increased dramatically compared to before, even though there were many more people in each army now.
*Shua shua shua…*
Numerous figures swooped through the sky to stand beside the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan. They were the Pseudo-Great Emperors that had been busy fending off the Demon Race Half-Saints previously. Led by Li Wu Yi, nearly twenty Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints under the Star Boundary had gotten rid of their opponents and came to stand before the mountain valley. They had been keeping an eye on the movements of the Star Boundary’s army, so there was no need for them to continue fighting the Demon Race Masters anymore once they saw that the moment had arrived.
Similarly, the Half-Saints of Demon Race were freed from their restraints and came to stand behind Xue Li and Fu Yu.
Glaring at each other across the sky, their invisible and intangible aura silently collided with each other. Space flickered constantly as a result, as though it could not withstand the pressure and was about to collapse at any time.
Xue Li stood with his hands behind his back, his scarlet eyes glowing with a cold light as he savagely snarled, “Sooner or later, you will die by our hands.”
Fu Zhun coldly snorted in response, “It won’t be too late for you to talk big when that day comes!”
After saying that, she slowly retreated to the rear of the mountain valley with Zhu Yan in tow. Li Wu Yi and others scattered to the sides and escorted them. What reassured them a little was that the Demon Race showed no movement as they retreated to the Space Array.
The Demon Race simply watched the people from the Star Boundary retreat quietly. They knew that it was meaningless to continue the battle now that things had come to this. Both parties were practically equal in strength, so neither could do anything to the other.
In truth, however, this battle was a complete defeat for the Star Boundary. It wasn’t that their strength was inferior to their enemies, it was just that the Demon Land had eroded all of Star Soul Palace and was still expanding outward without stopping. Star Soul Palace was the cultivation paradise of the Southern Territory’s Martial Dao for millennia. It symbolised the pinnacle of the highest Martial Dao in this territory, but at this moment, it had fallen into the hands of the Demon Race.
A brilliant light flashed at the Space Array before the last remnants of the army vanished from sight.
Xue Li watched coldly until the people from the Star Boundary had completely retreated before he muttered, “We should speed up our plans.”
Fu Yu put away her Divine Bow and replied, “It’s almost complete.”
“How much longer will it take?” He turned to look at her.
“According to the information from various sources, three months at the most.”
“Three months?” The corners of Xue Li’s mouth twitched to reveal a playful smile, “In that case, we should let them enjoy the next three months.”
..…
Yang Kai’s mind felt as though it was bobbing up and down on the vast ocean. All sorts of thoughts incessantly flashed through his head, conjuring various disjointed paragraphs of strange information. It was all the information he never understood before. For some reason, he could now understand them perfectly. He did not know how long had passed, but his eyes jerked open when a ray of light appeared in the darkness.
“Husband!” A soft cry rang out.
Yang Kai turned his head to the side and saw several pretty faces looking at him with anxiety and concern written all over their faces. Xia Ning Chang’s eyes were even red and swollen, making it obvious that she had been crying.
“Husband!” Su Yan called out softly again. Although she had tried her best to suppress it, her voice was still a little shaky. They had remained by his side throughout the period he had been unconscious. Now that he was awake again, it felt like a rock was finally lifted from their hearts.
Great Elder Zhu Yan had mentioned that there would be no problems as long as Yang Kai could regain consciousness; however, it would be rather troublesome if he remained in a coma. The injury he received this time was inflicted by a Demon Saint after all. It was a completely different situation from before, so nobody knew what would happen to him.
A small smile appeared on Yang Kai’s face as he reached out a hand and stroked Su Yan’s face. Su Yan seemed a little restrained in front of everybody, but even so, suppressing her shyness, she reached out to hold his big hand and allowed him to brush her cheek.
“Why are you still crying?” Yang Kai reached out his other hand and held Xia Ning Chang’s soft hands, “I’m fine now.”
It would have been fine if he had not said anything, but the moment he spoke, Xia Ning Chang’s tears started flowing again. She lay down on the bed, her shoulders shaking as she suppressed her sobs. As if influenced by her, the eyes of Luo’er, Xue Yue, and even Zhu Qing turned red. They quietly turned their heads away and wept secretly.
He comforted each one of them in turn, but he spoke until his mouth went dry to no avail. His efforts were ineffective, and just as he was feeling helpless, a person’s voice came from behind in a frosty tone, “Why are you all crying!? It’s not like he’s dead! Get out!”
If it were anybody else who spoke those words, Su Yan and the others would not have obeyed; however, it was Fu Zhun who had scolded them just now, so how could they dare to disobey? Fu Zhun was famous for being cold and harsh. It was only in front of Yang Xiao that she would display a touch of tenderness.
Anyways, nothing good would come from disobeying her, so after speaking to Yang Kai for a bit, the women reluctantly left the room.
Yang Kai then got up from the bed.
Zhu Yan, who had followed Fu Zhun into the room, hurriedly said, “Lie down; you’re still not fully recovered. Don’t move around unnecessarily.”
While speaking, he coughed lightly, making it obvious that his injuries were not healed either. He had taken an arrow from Fu Yu previously and was further injured by Huo Bo’s self-detonation. Although his life was not in danger, his injuries were not insignificant.
Yang Kai replied, “I’m not uncomfortable in any way. I feel fine.”
It was the truth. He did not feel the slightest discomfort anywhere even though he had just woken up from a coma. On the contrary, his body was overflowing with power. He did not understand the reason for this situation either.
Zhu Yan was stunned. He and Fu Zhun observed Yang Kai together and saw that he was indeed in perfect condition; thus, they couldn’t help but be amazed.
Ordinary High-Rank Demon Kings would not have survived being targeted by a Demon Saint; however, Yang Kai had stubbornly resisted a punch from Xue Li. Although he ended up in a rather miserable condition, it was a blessing just for him to survive. Who could have known that he would not suffer any drawbacks? That was simply unbelievable. What bothered the two Great Elders even more was that his eyes seemed to be much more profound than before. It was as though he became more reserved, which in turn made him hard to read.
“Was there something you needed from me?” Yang Kai had some speculations.
It was impossible for Zhu Yan to delay receiving treatment for his wounds and wait around for Yang Kai to wake up instead, unless there was something vital these two needed from him.
“I do have something to ask you,” Zhu Yan nodded affirmatively.
“Have a seat,” Yang Kai gestured. There was tea on the table, so he took out some cups and served them. Pushing the tea towards the pair, Yang Kai poured another cup for himself, sipped on it and thought back to the feeling he experienced when he blocked Xue Li’s punch with his spear. That scene had appeared in his dreams countless times while he was unconscious, which gave him a lot of inspiration and insight.
Fu Zhun got straight to the point, “The main reason we came looking for you is to ask about your spear…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Yang Kai suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed at something. The Azure Dragon Spear appeared in his hand, and he handed it to her with a smile, “Second Elder, please have a look for yourself.”
An ancient and desolate Dragon Aura flooded out of the spear as though a Dragon had stepped out of an ancient scroll to appear before them. The Dragon Source in her body trembled uncontrollably in response and her expression stiffened slightly and she hastily reached out to take the spear from him.
Likewise, Zhu Yan leaned closer to study the Azure Dragon Spear together with her.
Outside the palace, Su Yan and the others walked out one by one. A group of people immediately gathered around them to ask about Yang Kai’s situation. Su Yan informed them that Yang Kai was awake. Moreover, the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan were speaking to him. Only then did they feel relieved.
Shan Qing Luo saw a pretty figure among the crowd. Smiling, she walked over and gently nudged that person in the side, “Big Sister, Husband is all right.”
Ji Yao panicked before she nodded and said, “En, I heard.”
Shan Qing Luo sighed leisurely, “When Husband was in a coma, he kept muttering our names in a daze. It was really heartbreaking.”
Ji Yao forced a smile on her face, “Junior Brother holds you all dear in his heart. Despite being in a coma, he still thinks about you.”
Luo’er tilted her head to the side and looked at Ji Yao, “What you said makes sense, Big Sister.”
She raised a finger and pressed it against her red lips in an innocent and cute manner that somehow made her look enchanting instead, “But, Big Sister… Husband called out your name too…”
Ji Yao’s tender body trembled and a red flush crept up her face and she asked in a flustered voice, “R-Really?”
“En.” Shan Qing Luo blinked her big eyes and looked at Ji Yao innocently, “I wonder why. Big Sister, do you owe him money?”
“N-No,” Ji Yao’s face turned even redder as she had a sudden feeling that her ‘affair’ had been discovered, so she was at a loss for what to do.
Shan Qing Luo said pensively, “Oh. He must have been confused then.”
Ji Yao forced a smile and said, “It’s good that Senior Brother Yang is awake. Honoured Master is waiting for me to return so I will take my leave first.”
Watching Ji Yao fleeing in embarrassment, Shan Qing Luo pursed her lips and smiled coquettishly, [Honestly. What a thin-skinned woman.]
Both Demon Qi and Demon Essence were rich and dense in Star Soul Palace. What was once a cultivation paradise of the Southern Territory was now a Demon Land.
A Half-Saint and more than 10 Demon Kings sat cross-legged inside one of the palaces. The expressions on their faces were full of hardships and struggle. The Half-Saint and the Demon Kings were wounded during the battle several days ago; moreover, every one of them had been injured by Yang Kai without exception. Strictly speaking, their injuries could not be considered serious. The Half-Saint’s injuries could even be said to be negligible. It was the Blood Demon Half-Saint who was previously scratched on the arm by Yang Kai.
However, the Blood Demon Half-Saint discovered over the past few days that his wound would not heal no matter what he did. There was a strange force around his wound that eroded away at his flesh. It wasn’t just that that insignificant wound was failing to heal, it was also becoming larger and more aggravated. What made him despair though was that the more he tried to suppress his wound, the worst it got instead.
Xue Li stood in front of the Blood Demon Half-Saint, his eyes slightly lowered as his hand was placed on the Blood Demon Half-Saint’s shoulder. His mighty Demon Saint’s aura was overflowing from him. All of a sudden, Xue Li’s expression changed. Lifting his large hand, he formed a claw and grasped at the wound of the Blood Demon Half-Saint in front of him. A bloody arrow shot out of the wound and he caught it in the palm of his hand.
The blood arrow in his hand was like a living thing, even transforming into a blood-coloured Spirit Snake and trying to drill its way into his palm. Xue Li’s expression froze for a moment in surprise, though he wasn’t the least bit worried. Wrapping his Demon Qi around that Blood Snake, he held it in the palm of his hand.
Fu Yu, who was standing by the side, glanced at Xue Li in surprise. Although her expression gave nothing away, she knew that what Xue Li was doing had consumed a lot of his energy as there was a trace of exhaustion in the depths of those eyes.
[He is only treating a wound. I can’t believe it made Xue Li so tired. What the Hell is that?] Her expression subconsciously became serious. She looked at him and asked, “What happened?”
Xue Li stared at the Blood Snake in his hand deeply, letting it toss about on his palm but not daring to have any direct contact with it. His pupils contracted slightly and he grimly replied, “Martial Truth!”
“Martial Truth!?” Fu Yu was taken aback by his words. She felt like she had just heard something incredulous and her voice went one octave higher without her realising, “That little brat has realised a portion of the Martial Truth!? Did you make a mistake?”
Xue Li just glanced at her quietly and said nothing. The meaning behind his silence was clear. Even she knew that he would never make a mistake regarding something like this; thus, she took a shallow breath of cold air and murmured, “No wonder…”
She recalled the scene of battle between Yang Kai and the Stone Demon Half-Saint when Yang Kai first appeared. It was obvious that Yang Kai was not overwhelmingly powerful in any way, but he still managed to kill the Stone Demon Half-Saint on the spot. Although he had the support of the three young women, their help ultimately did not play a large role in that battle. The one who really determined the outcome of the battle was Yang Kai himself.
She initially believed that the Stone Demon Half-Saint was more useless than he seemed and his cultivation as a Half-Saint was a complete waste. Seeing as he ultimately died at the hands of a Demon King, his death was not even worth pitying. It would now seem though that she had wronged him. It wasn’t that he was not good enough, it was that Yang Kai had comprehended a part of the Martial Truth! Power of that level was something even the Demon Saints themselves feared. Even Xue Li did not dare to touch it carelessly, so what more need be said about a mere Half-Saint? How could they survive after being corroded away by the Martial Truth!?
“We missed an opportunity!” A cold light mixed with a hint of annoyance flashed in Xue Li’s eyes. If they had known that Yang Kai had already begun comprehending Martial Truth, he would have gone for the kill regardless of the costs that day.
While speaking, he lifted his hand and the wriggling Blood Snake shot out and vanished out of sight in the blink of an eye. Even though it was a weak piece of Martial Truth, it was not something Xue Li could disperse easily. With his strength, he could only extract this Martial Truth from the body of the injured Blood Demon at most. Although he could sense that Yang Kai’s Martial Truth was still quite feeble, a new door had opened up for Yang Kai nevertheless. If Yang Kai was allowed to continue growing, there might come a day in the future where he was strong enough to even kill them.
“That little brat is just a Demon King! How could he realise the Martial Truth?” Fu Yu’s complexion was ashen. Yang Kai had achieved what even a Demon Saint like her could not; thus, her fury stemmed mostly from envy. [If I could comprehend such power, then the First Demon Saint wouldn’t be Huang Wu Ji anymore. It would be me, Feather Demon Fu Yu!]
Xue Li narrowed his eyes slightly, “He disappeared for three years. It seemed he entered the Demon Realm during that period, but he did not have this power before. He must have encountered some kind of opportunity in the Demon Realm.”
“The Demon Realm…” She was surprised.
[If it was an opportunity in the Demon Realm, it should have come to us instead! How can it be wasted on a Human!?] Her heart was instantly filled with fury.
“Sir, please save me!” A cry came from the side, interrupting the conversation between the two Demon Saints. It was one of the Demon Kings who could no longer withstand the pain caused by the Martial Truth wreaking havoc on his body. Therefore, he opened his mouth to ask for help. He had seen Xue Li doing something, and then the pained expression on the Blood Demon Half-Saint’s face disappeared. It was obvious that the Demon Saint had the means and power to alleviate his pain.
That strange force was raging around his wounds and causing them to deteriorate at a constant pace. There were no signs of improvement whatsoever. It made no difference no matter how high his cultivation or how tough his body.
Xue Li walked over to the Demon King and raised a hand to pat the Demon King on the shoulder. His actions were very light, as though he planned to comfort the other party. However, the Demon King immediately turned into a pool of thick blood the moment Xue Li’s palm touched him. The stench of blood flooded the hall instantly.
The remaining Demon Kings waiting for treatment were stunned by the sight. They never imagined that Xue Li would not only refuse to provide treatment but also kill them without any hesitation. Unfortunately, they had no time to ruminate over the situation. Their faces suddenly distorted in agony as every one of them felt the blood in their bodies boiling all at once. Hence, they were horrified and shouted desperately, “Sir!”
Xue Li was indifferent to their pleas and simply watched them coldly. He was a Blood Demon and a Demon Saint on top of that. He was the greatest Master when it came to controlling fresh blood. It only required a flash of his thoughts and the blood in those Demon Kings’ bodies came under his control.
Fu Yu stood watching from the sidelines, showing no intention of stopping him. That was because she knew that it was impossible for him to waste his strength on these Demon Kings. Judging from his actions just now, expelling the Martial Truth inside the body of his clansman consumed a large amount of energy. A Half-Saint might be worth saving, but a Demon King was not.
The mournful pleas gradually turned into blood-curdling screams; then, a muffled sound rang out. All the injured Demon Kings had exploded into a mist of blood. Surprisingly, the blood mist did not disperse in all directions. Not a single drop of blood splashed out either. Instead, the blood mist condensed into a huge blood ball in front of him.
In the past, a blood ball like this would have been a great supplement to Xue Li. Even so, how could he invite trouble upon himself whilst knowing that remnant Martial Truth was hidden within? He thus lifted his hand and the blood ball flew out of the palace to some unknown place in the distance.
“Where is Huo Bo?” Xue Li wiped his hands. Those slender hands were like a woman’s, clean and without a single speck of dirt on them.
The moment he mentioned Huo Bo’s name, Fu Yu became livid and her face was covered in a malevolent aura, “Who knows? He vanished completely since his departure three days ago. He is probably hiding somewhere to tend to his wounds,”
“That waste!” It was clear that Xue Li was also furious at Huo Bo. The grudge and hatred between them had existed for many years, so they had always disliked each other, but now, Xue Li was even starting to entertain thoughts of murdering Huo Bo. He pondered in silence for a moment, “Find him. Make him go and kill Yang Kai.”
She said, “Finding him is not difficult, but making him do something is practically impossible. You know what a coward he is…”
Xue Li sneered in response, “I might not be able to order him around, but that person can. Right?”
A frenzied light flashed through Fu Yu’s eyes at those words and she nodded lightly, “I understand. He won’t dare to disobey if that’s the case. But, if he goes alone… We will lose what advantage we have if he dies in the hands of those two old Dragons.”
The corners of Xue Li’s mouth curled, “It’s fine. Can Ye is almost fully healed.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about anymore.” Fu Yu smiled, looking extremely charming.
At the start of the second Two Worlds Great War, Can Ye had used himself as a bridge to connect the two worlds, forcibly opened the Two Worlds’ Passage, and led the Demon Saints and the Demon Race army into the Star Boundary. The price he had to pay for his actions was extremely heavy and he was severely wounded in the end. Therefore, he had secluded himself to heal from his injuries and did not reveal himself for the past few years.
The Star Boundary was already at a disadvantage regarding top Masters and were relying fully on the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan to maintain the current situation. If Can Ye were to come out of retreat, then it would undoubtedly make things worse for the Star Boundary.
…
“The Outer Universe?” Inside the room, Fu Zhun’s eyes widened in astonishment. It was quite funny to see the shocked expression on her face when she generally had such a cold demeanour.
“A towering giant?” Similarly, Zhu Yan also looked shocked.
The two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan had lived for a very long time, and although they spent most of their time on Dragon Island without involving themselves in worldly matters, they came from a noble Race that had existed since the beginning of the universe. When it came to the accumulation of knowledge and heritage, there was no other Race in the world that could compare to the Dragon Clan. There were many ancient books that recorded various unknown secrets on Dragon Island and the two Elders had spent much time reading those books when they had nothing better to do over the course of their lives. Not to mention that they all bore Dragon Sources, which carried the inherited memories and experiences of their ancestors.
It could be said that in the whole of the Star Boundary, even the Great Emperors could not compare to them in terms of experience. Even so, they couldn’t help feeling extremely shocked after listening to Yang Kai’s story.
“Did you really go to the Outer Universe?” Fu Zhun asked anxiously.
“I can’t guarantee it, but it is a great possibility.” Yang Kai thought back to what he experienced previously and felt that there was no other plausible explanation for that vast Starry Sky he arrived at except that it was the Outer Universe.
He had escaped from the Void Crack where the Demon Realm once existed. The Demon Realm was originally a universe in and of itself, so the entire universe had vanished without a trace after he devoured the whole Demon Realm with the Sealed World Bead. Perhaps, that had inadvertently forged a connection to the Outer Universe. Unfortunately, Yang Kai could not be sure of it.
“What is the Outer Universe like?” Fu Zhun asked enthusiastically.
Yang Kai scratched his head, clueless as to how to describe what he saw back then. Recalling everything he had seen though, he said emotionally, “It was incredibly vast. It felt like the sky outside a cage.”
She suddenly revealed an expression of longing at those words.
“Do two Seniors know about the Outer Universe?” Yang Kai looked at them and asked. From what Fu Zhun had said just now, it seemed that they had known that there was another sky beyond their world long ago.
Fu Zhun and Zhu Yan looked at each other before the former nodded in response, “It was briefly mentioned in the ancient books belonging to the Dragon Clan, but the description was very vague; therefore, we have never been sure about its existence.”
It was rumoured that the first generation of Dragons arrived on Dragon Island from the Outer Universe and eventually left behind their descendants in that independent world. Unfortunately, this matter had happened too long ago, so far back in history that even Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun could not be sure of the truth. It wasn’t until they heard Yang Kai’s story that they became more confident about what was recorded by their ancestors.
“What about the giant…” Zhu Yan caressed the Azure Dragon Spear, “Was this spear gifted to you by the giant?”
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about the giant named Ah Da. Looking back on it now, he still felt shocked by what he witnessed that day. His Half-Dragon form was enormous as it was, but he was no more than a bug in front of that charmingly naïve giant.
Yang Kai did not know what Race Ah Da belonged to for the latter to grow to such a humongous size, but fortunately, Ah Da was not hostile. Yang Kai would not have returned alive otherwise.
The two Elders exchanged a glance with each other and saw the shock reflected in each other’s eyes.
Yang Kai raised his hand and grabbed the Azure Dragon Spear. The spear covered in Dragon Scales suddenly flashed with a series of lights that was dazzlingly bright. The Dragon Aura within the body of the spear slowly emerged, like the awakening of an ancient Dragon that had been slumbering through the ages. It caused the Dragon Sources in Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun’s bodies to throb painfully.
Zhu Yan coughed again.
“Great Elder’s wounds…” Yang Kai looked at Zhu Yan’s abdomen and saw a faint trace of blood seeping out.
“It’s not a big deal, but it will take some time to heal,” Zhu Yan waved his hand dismissively, indicating that his injury was nothing serious.
Yang Kai smiled, “I might be able to help you heal faster, Great Elder. I might even be able to… make the two of you stronger.”
As soon as this statement came out, both Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun looked at him in astonishment. Both of them had cultivated for countless years, and after having reached their current Realm, it became extremely difficult for them to improve their cultivation any further. The advancement of the Dragon Clan’s strength did not come from hard work alone. Rather, it required the stimulation of their Source and the accumulation of time. The greater the awakening of their Source Strength, the greater their power!
Ordinary Dragon Blood Flowers no longer had any effect on them. Only Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers could stimulate their bloodline and awaken their Source by a slight margin. Unfortunately, Peak-Rank Dragon Blood Flowers were treasures most people could only dream about owning. Even with the full power of Dragon Island, only a few such Spirit Flowers were cultivated over thousands of years. In addition, Yang Kai had taken all of them recently.
They were unable to rely on the Dragon Blood Flower and intensive cultivation was also proven ineffective; as such, they could only wait for the accumulation over time. Thus, when the pair heard what Yang Kai said, their first reaction was disbelief. Then, they recalled Yang Kai’s more than 1,000 metre-tall Half-Dragon Body that he displayed in Star Soul Palace three days ago and couldn’t help becoming excited.
They clearly remembered that Yang Kai was only around 300 metres long the last time they saw him performing the Dragon Transformation. It was incredible that he could grow to the size of more than 1,000 metres in just over ten years. If Yang Kai could do it, then why couldn’t they? All of a sudden, they realised that what he had in his body was the Golden Divine Dragon Source. As the Source Strength became increasingly integrated with him, he would certainly be able to obtain the inheritance and memories of the many Dragon Clan ancestors before him. It was possible that he had derived some sort of secret from them.
“What are the odds?” Fu Zhun suppressed the excitement in her heart; however, the sparkle in her eyes revealed everything she was trying to hide.
“That would depend on how much you can endure.” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
Zhu Yan gave a soft chuckle, “If something this good really does exist, then this Old Master will show you the Dragon Clan’s endurance.”
Both he and Fu Zhun had been pitched against the three Demon Saints, and over the years, they had barely managed to maintain the current situation. Even so, they suffered losses many times. There were also many occasions where the couple had to rely on their Unified Secret Techniques to make Xue Li and the others hesitant to take action lest they harm themselves in the process. That was how they managed to avoid catastrophic losses so far.
If they could increase their strength in addition to speeding up their healing process, then there was no need for them to suffer this abuse any longer. At that time, they might no longer be at a disadvantage in a two-against-three battle. Who could say? They might even manage to snatch the initiative back. At the very least, they would not be stuck in such a passive situation.
“Good. Let’s not delay this matter. Let’s set off once I’ve made some preparations.” Yang Kai retrieved the Azure Dragon Spear and stood up.
“Where are we going?” Zhu Yan looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.
“Dragon Island!”
At such a critical juncture, Yang Kai and the two Elders of the Dragon Clan were going to Dragon Island, and a conservative estimate indicated that it would take them a month at the very least to return.
Naturally, such a confidential matter could not be publicised. Nobody could guarantee that there were no remnants of Demon Heavenly Dao among the Star Boundary armies. If this news was leaked to the enemy, the Demon Saints would definitely make a move when the two Elders returned to Dragon Island; after all, there would be nobody to stop Xue Li and the others from attacking.
Therefore, Li Wu Yi was the only one who Yang Kai informed of the truth. It was only announced to the public that both Yang Kai and Great Elder Zhu Yan had gone into retreat to heal from their injuries.
Luckily, they had the Space Array which made coming and going easy and untraceable. After issuing some simple instructions, Yang Kai, Zhu Yan, and Fu Zhun embarked on the journey back to Dragon Island.
One day later, the group of three entered the Small World of Dragon Island and went straight to the Dragon Temple without stopping. At this point, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun finally understood Yang Kai’s plan.
Huge Dragon Bodies coiled around the pillars of the cold and empty Dragon Temple. In the darkness, many pairs of Dragon Eyes watched them. The silhouettes of ancient Dragons loomed in and out of sight, filling the air with terrifying Dragon Pressure.
“Do you plan to borrow the power of the Ancestral Dragon Souls?” Zhu Yan turned to look at Yang Kai.
“Do you have any other methods apart from this?” Yang Kai did not deny. He had only just learned of this Secret Technique as it wasn’t something that he learned from others. Rather, it was something he comprehended from the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength in his body.
The Source seemed to contain this Secret Technique from the beginning, but his integration with the Source had not been enough in the past; thus, he could not gain further insight at the time. After cultivating in the ancient battlefield for decades, however, his Dragon Transformation now allowed him to assume a 1,000 metres long form. Furthermore, the integration with his Source was greatly enhanced compared to before. Likewise, much of the information contained in the Source was no longer obscure.
There were two Restricted Areas on Dragon Island. One was the Dragon Temple and the other was the Dragon Grave.
The Dragon Grave was the burial place of all members of the Dragon Clan. That place had served as the Dragon Clan’s graveyard for countless aeons and the bones of many large and mighty Dragons were entombed there. With the exception of the Dragon Clan’s previous Great Elders, the Great Elder was the strongest of the Dragon Clan and shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding and continuing the Dragon Clan’s inheritance. Following the death of each generation of Great Elder, their body would enter the Dragon Grave while their Dragon Soul would remain in the Dragon Temple where they would silently continue to guard it.
There were now more than ten generations of the heroic Souls belonging to former Dragon Clan Great Elders inside the Dragon Temple. These Dragon Souls still retained their majestic appearances, but their consciousness was no longer present. There was only a trace of instinct left in them, so they could be considered dead. Even if they were dead, however, these Souls were not to be desecrated.
Yang Kai said, “The Star Boundary needs both of you right now. If you can’t even protect yourselves, then how will you protect the Star Boundary? If anything happens to the Star Boundary, what will be left of your homes? No eggs can remain unbroken when the nest is destroyed. This plan is truly our last resort. I’m sure the Souls of the Great Elders in the Heavens above would not blame us for doing this. They would be proud of us instead.”
Zhu Yan frowned deeply, looking hesitant. Although he knew what Yang Kai was saying was true, it was inevitable that he would hesitate to take this step.
Surprisingly, Fu Zhun was more accepting of the idea and persuaded Zhu Yan via Divine Sense transmission, “Yang Boy is right. You are injured right now, and if we don’t heal your wounds quickly, the situation you and I will have to deal with will only be more difficult once those Demon bastards are free to come after us. Xiao’er is still so young. How will Xiao’er grow if there is no pure land left in this world?”
Having lived with each other for countless years, she was naturally the person who understood him the most and pulled out her secret weapon by mentioning Yang Xiao’s name. It was then that Zhu Yan finally let out a long sigh, “Forget it. I will bear the full responsibility if the Souls of our ancestors in Heaven were to blame us for this.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “We are doing this for the sake of the world. How could the Seniors blame you? Besides, this… is also the wish of the Seniors!”
His expression became solemn after saying that and a golden light filled the entire palace when a high-pitched Dragon Roar sounded. Instantly, the ice-cold Dragon Temple was flooded with a golden brilliance that added a touch of warmth to their surroundings.
A series of cracking sounds rang out as Yang Kai transformed. The Dragon Pressure radiating from him was immeasurable and a mysterious Dragon Language chant echoed from his mouth, seemingly resonating with something in the hall. Likewise, the Dragon Souls coiling around the surrounding pillars raised their heads and joined in the chant. One after another, the huge figures flew down, coiled around him, and wriggled about under his feet.
The two Elders were stunned by the sight. Despite knowing that Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source, it was still shocking to see such a scene. The Dragon Clan was arrogant, claiming to be the Head of the Myriad Spirits; therefore, they would never bow their heads to any other creature. However, they were currently watching as Dragon Souls of generations of the Dragon Clan’s Great Elders seemed to be prostrating themselves at the feet of their King.
The mysterious Dragon Language became more rapid, sounding like a violent storm. As Yang Kai chanted, a strange sound seemed to reverberate from the depths of the Dragon Temple.
The two Elders were shocked and turned to look in that direction at the same time. What they saw was a piece of land slowly floating up from the deepest part of the Dragon Temple.
Zhu Yan couldn’t help widening his eyes in surprise. Although the Dragon Temple was one of Dragon Island’s Restricted Areas, he had entered and exited this place many times. Even so, it wasn’t until today that he learned that there was another mystery to the Dragon Temple. If even he did not know, Fu Zhun would have even less chance of knowing so she couldn’t help asking, “What is that?”
Zhu Yan could only shake his head in response.
There was a loud rumbling noise that accompanied the rising of the ground. The entire Dragon Temple shook as though it was going to collapse at any time. It wasn’t until a certain moment when the abnormal noise stopped abruptly along with the trembling of the hall. From what the two Elders could see, something that looked like a pool or pond had appeared in the depths of Dragon Temple. The pond seemed to be connected to the Dragon Temple as one entity and was filled with an ancient and desolate aura. At first glance, it seemed to be something with a long history; moreover, it was engraved with extremely complicated runes and patterns.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun immediately recognized at a glance that those intricate patterns were Dragon Language Characters, but even they could not figure out the meaning behind them.
“Did you really think that the Dragon Souls of the Great Elders in every generation stayed here just to protect Dragon Island?” Yang Kai’s booming voice echoed in the hall, “They remained here to guard against the downfall of the Dragon Clan. How many years have they been waiting? How many years of emptiness have they experienced? It was all just for today!” While speaking, he pointed with his finger and shouted, “Go!”
The moment the word left his mouth, the many Dragon Souls coiling around him seemed to receive some form of guidance. They raised their heads and roared, stretched their bodies to their full length, and rushed towards the pool. One after another, the Dragon Souls plunged into the pool and turned into little dots of fluorescent light before disappearing. In contrast, a thick amber liquid gradually appeared in the pool that was originally empty.
The pond was not large, only having a radius of about 100 metres. However, the Dragon Souls ranging from several tens of metres long to a thousand metres long plunged into the pong and vanished. At the same time, the viscous amber liquid in the pool gradually increased. By the time the last of the thousand-metre-long Dragon Souls plunged into the pond, the pond was almost filled to the brim with that liquid.
“Dragon Rebirth Pond… This is the Dragon Rebirth Pond…” Zhu Yan murmured to himself under his breath, his visage flushed red with excitement. Even his body was trembling slightly from emotion.
The Dragon Clan’s Dragon Rebirth Pond was different from the Dragon Rebirth Pond written in the legends of the outside world.
The rumours in the outside world claimed that there was a mysterious place located somewhere in the world that could help various beasts with Dragon Clan bloodlines flowing through their veins evolve so that they could transform into True Dragons and achieve success overnight. Be that as it may, the records left behind by the ancestors of the Dragon Clan indicated that the real Dragon Rebirth Pond was not like that at all; rather, what they were looking at right now was the real thing!
Even if Zhu Yan was initially clueless about the purpose of the pool hidden deep within the Dragon Temple, how could he not recall what he had read in the past after witnessing the Dragon Souls of the Great Elders across the generations merging into the pond and turning into pure Dragon Marrow with his own eyes?
It was rumoured that the Dragon God created the Dragon Rebirth Pond in ancient times, and so long as the Dragon Rebirth Pond remained, the Dragon Clan would never perish! Therefore, the importance of the Dragon Rebirth Pond to the Dragon Clan was self-evident. Zhu Yan had not understood the meaning behind these words in the past, and it wasn’t until now that the meaning became clear to him. How could the Dragon Clan be annihilated while the Dragon Rebirth Pond continued to exist? The Dragon Clan might face a declining period, but the time for them to rise again would eventually come once there enough resources were accumulated.
“When else would you enter the pond if not now?” Yang Kai turned to look at the two Elders of Dragon Clan.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun glanced at each other before flying out in unison to stand in mid-air. Dragon Roars shook the skies as an Azure Dragon and an Ice Dragon revealed their true bodies. Then, they plunged straight into the Dragon Rebirth Pond.
The two Great Elders had Tenth-Order Dragon Veins, so their true bodies were very long. Nonetheless, the size of their current bodies could not be compared to Yang Kai’s more than 1,000 metres long Half-Dragon Body or the First-Generation Dragon Clan Great Elder, who was of similar length. They were just that enormous.
Fortunately, the pond seemed to be infinitely large despite its apparent size. The enormous Dragon Form plunged into the pond and instantly vanished out of sight. Immediately afterwards, a muffled sound came from the Dragon Rebirth Pond, like the cries of someone suffering from great pain.
Yang Kai strode towards the Dragon Rebirth Pond. When he got closer, he looked down and saw two Dragons inside the pond. The two Dragons that had shrunk in size countless times were swimming and twisting about in the pond. Every twist or twitch that they made caused ripples to appear on the surface of the thick Dragon Marrow. Dragon Roars rang out incessantly; it appeared that Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun were not in as good a condition as they seemed from the surface.
Needless to say, it was impossible to obtain greater power without paying a cost. The Dragon Marrow within Dragon Rebirth Pond might be an amazing tonic, but how could they become more powerful if they could not withstand the torturous process of remoulding their bodies?
Yang Kai sat cross-legged beside the Dragon Rebirth Pond, grinning at the two dragons in the pond, “Enjoy yourselves, you two.”
That malicious smile made Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun shiver.
After that, Yang Kai began casting a Secret Technique. The mysterious Dragon Language resumed once more, giving Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun no time to think about anything else. An even louder Dragon Roar came from the pond. The two Dragons twitched constantly as countless small cuts appeared all over their Dragon Bodies. Then, the Dragon Marrow seeped into their figures through the open wounds and stimulated their Sources.
…..
On top of one of the Spirit Peaks in High Heaven Palace stood a graceful figure on a stone platform, overlooking the south. The afterglow of the setting sun scattered across her beautiful face, adding a touch of loneliness and sadness to her expression. A breeze blew past her, causing her black hair to fly in the wind. When she breathed in the slightly cold air, she felt a chill in her chest.
A little girl the size of a palm stood at Lan Xun’s feet. Pulling at Lan Xun’s dress, the little girl scrambled and climbed until she finally climbed up to Lan Xun’s shoulders with great difficulty. She panted heavily from the tiredness, then she sat down on Lan Xun’s shoulder and accompanied Lan Xun in looking out into the distance.
“I’m useless, aren’t I?” Lan Xun spoke up suddenly, her eyes reddened slightly. Her father was dead, the legacy he left behind for her was lost, and her lofty dream of reviving Star Soul Palace to its former glory was now nothing more than a fool’s dream. Having lost her direction, she was at a loss for what to do in the future.
Unable to speak, the little girl let out a string of wordless babble instead for some time. She panicked slightly when tears suddenly rolled down Lan Xun’s cheeks and raised her two little hands to catch the tears that were larger than her fist. She was so anxious that her face was flushed.
All of a sudden, Lan Xun abruptly lifted a hand to rub at her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her tumultuous emotions. Immediately following that, light footsteps came from behind and Xiao Chen’s weak voice sounded, “Princess, you are here again.”
Lan Xun stood with her back to him and replied softly, “The scenery at High Heaven Palace is beautiful.”
Xiao Chen came to her side and stood side by side with her. Looking out at the scenery for a bit, he smiled slightly, “It’s not quite as good as the Palace’s.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he realised his mistake and hurriedly added, “Princess, forgive me. I did not mean to…”
She waved her hand dismissively with a smile, “It’s fine. The Demon Race is powerful. Besides, the outcome of one battle doesn’t mean anything. The winner is the one who survives until the end.”
He nodded in agreement, “It is good if that is what you think, Princess. Star Soul Palace… We will get it back one day.”
“That’s right. We will get it back.” She agreed nonchalantly. [What won’t I do to get it back? But, what can I do even if I managed to get it back? Who can survive for long in that land without first dispelling the Demon Essence corrupting it?]
“En!” The little girl gritted her teeth and clenched her fist as though cheering Lan Xun on.
Lan Xun smiled and reached out to touch the little girl’s face. She was thankful for this little girl’s company over the past few days. She did not know whether she could have remained strong and persevered otherwise. A ray of hope remained in the darkness as long as this little girl was here with her.
Xiao Chen turned his head and looked at the little girl with an intent stare. Even though he knew that she was the Spirit of the World Pagoda, he still found it extremely difficult to believe.
The little girl seemed uncomfortable receiving attention from others, so when Xiao Chen stared at her intently, her face flushed red and she flailed her hands wildly. The little body twisted and transformed into a mimosa plant, and after that, she sank into Lan Xun’s body and vanished out of sight.
The afterglow of the setting sun draped against the side of Lan Xun’s face as a deep melancholy practically covered her visage. Not so long ago, she was just a young girl herself. Why did she have to shoulder the heavy responsibilities that would make most people despair now? The once carefree Princess of the Southern Territory now had more perseverance on her pretty face than many other people have ever had.
Years ago, a little boy had met a little girl for the first time in Star Soul Palace. The little boy had shouted, “Come with me in the future. I will protect you!”
That little girl giggled non-stop in response.
“I will become stronger! I will definitely protect you!” The little boy’s expression had been very serious.
Xiao Chen felt distressed. He wanted to pull her into his arms and shield her from the outside world! He wanted her to put down the heavy burden she carried on her shoulders!
“The sun has set. I’m heading back. Senior Brother, you should also head back soon. Your wounds… are not healed yet,” Lan Xun smiled at Xiao Chen and turned to leave.
The hand that Xiao Chen had just lifted fell back down again. Looking at the darkness that gradually swallowed all light, he clenched his hands into fists. [I have to become stronger. I must become stronger! Only when I become stronger can I help solve her worries. Only then will I stop feeling so helpless!]
…..
In the Ancient Wild Lands located in the Eastern Territory, the 3 Monster Race Divine Venerables were leading 3 Monster Race armies. Most of the soldiers were from the Monster Race or had Monster Race blood in them. In contrast, there were very few people from the Human Race among them.
The Stone Spirit Clan and the Wood Spirit Clan that used to live in the Ancient Wild Lands were also serving under Luan Feng and the others. The Stone Spirit Clan played a huge role in many of their battles against the Demon Race. The 9 Stone Spirits had slaughtered countless enemies while the healing abilities of the little Wood Spirits of the Wood Spirit Clan were highly valued by Luan Feng and the others. Many soldiers had been rescued by the Wood Spirit Clan’s medical treatment.
For the 3 Divine Venerables, both the Stone Spirit Clan and the Wood Spirit Clan were existences akin to precious treasures. In particular, the Wood Spirits would never be placed in danger and were generally given priority to receive protection instead. For that reason, neither the Stone Spirit Clan nor the Wood Spirit Clan had suffered any casualties no matter how the tragic battles had been in the past.
At this moment, Luan Feng, Fan Wu, and Cang Gou were all gathered in the Phoenix Nest Palace while a Monster General knelt before them and seemed to be saying something.
When the Monster General finished making his report, Luan Feng stood up abruptly and quickly asked, “Are you certain!?”
The Monster General hurriedly replied, “Yes, Divine Venerable. I’m certain I did not make a mistake. I have been watching the Blood Gate for all these years. Not long ago, I noticed some changes that occurred where the Blood Gate was located. Although it was not obvious, I dare say that my words are true.”
“Give us a detailed explanation.”
Not daring to disobey, he quickly recounted what he had seen. He had been instructed to monitor the situation at the Blood Gate for all these years, so nobody knew the situation there better than him. Nearly 30 years had gone by since the Blood Gate vanished and things had been unusually quiet all this time. To his surprise, he recently felt a strange force abruptly leak out from the place where the Blood Gate once stood. When he noticed the anomaly, he verified his findings several times to confirm that it was not just his imagination before hurriedly coming to report his findings. Unfortunately, he only knew so much. Anything else aside from that was unclear to him.
After listening to the report, Luan Feng glanced at Fan Wu only to see that Fan Wu was also looking at her. Their gazes met and there was no need for further communication. Fan Wu stood up and declared, “Let’s go have a look.”
In any case, any changes in the Blood Gate could be classified as a major incident to the Monster Race living in the Ancient Wild Lands. Since ancient times, there had been a saying in the Ancient Lands that went ‘Enter the Blood Gate and experience rebirth; stimulate the ancestral bloodline and become a Divine Spirit’. Hence, the Blood Gate was a Holy Land for all Monsters in the Ancient Wild Lands.
It was all because of the Heavens Order Palace located there. The Sources of countless Ancient Divine Spirits were sealed inside the Heavens Order Palace. Although the Monster Race living in the Ancient Wild Lands had more or less inherited the bloodlines of Ancient Divine Spirits, those bloodlines were buried deep within their bodies. Not only was it usually unnoticeable, but there was also no way to awaken their bloodline. However, if they could obtain a Divine Spirit Source sealed in the Heavens Order Palace, they could integrate with it perfectly and be reborn as a Divine Spirit to restore the glory of their ancestors.
That saying had been passed down through countless generations. It was just that nobody had ever managed to enter the Blood Gate after so many millennia. It wasn’t until several dozen years ago that a girl named Zhang Ruo Xi managed to enter Blood Gate with a small Stone Spirit. After that, the Blood Gate had vanished.
Thinking back to that day, Zhang Ruo Xi had only been in the Origin Returning Realm and was completely vulnerable in front of Luan Feng and the other Divine Venerables. Even so, she unexpectedly experienced a breakthrough and awakened her bloodline when Yang Kai was forced into a desperate situation. She had summoned the Heavens Order Sword, beheaded Shi Huo, and taken away Shi Huo’s Source. A Divine Spirit, who was also one of the four Great Divine Venerables that stood at the top of the Monster Race in the Ancient Wild Lands, had been completely powerless in front of her.
To this day, Luan Feng and the others still shuddered whenever they thought about what happened back then. It was rumoured that the power of Heavens Order would greatly restrain Divine Spirits, that they were the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits. At first, they had been sceptical of this statement, but after witnessing Zhang Ruo Xi reaching out and seizing Shi Huo’s Source like she was taking a toy from a three-year-old child, all doubts they had vanished.
The Star Boundary was currently in a critical situation and an anomaly had occurred at the Blood Gate. They had no idea whether it was a curse or a blessing for the Monster Race of the Ancient Wild Lands.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi seemed very close to Yang Kai at the time, so many years had passed in addition to the awakening of her bloodline. Nobody could tell what kind of attitude she would have towards the Divine Spirits upon coming out of the Blood Gate. What if she went and killed all the Divine Spirits in the world like her ancestor? If that was the case, Luan Feng and the other Divine Venerables would be the first among her victims.
The three Monster Race Divine Venerables moved swiftly and arrived at the place where the Blood Gate vanished in the past within four hours of leaving the Phoenix Nest Palace.
Luan Feng furrowed her brows together before they even got close, however, and looking down at the jungle and mountains below from where she stood in the sky, she saw countless Monster Beasts running in the same direction. Most of these Monster Beasts were not very powerful. They had yet to develop sentience, so they were simply acting according to instinct under the influence of something. The direction they were heading was none other than where the Blood Gate was located. From the looks of things, something really must have happened at the Blood Gate. Why else would these Monster Beasts act like this?
When they arrived at the mountain where the Blood Gate was located, the trio saw an uncountable number of Monster Beasts gathered around and even more Monster Beasts were rushing over.
“Sure enough; something has happened,” Cang Gou frowned, staring at the mountain where he could faintly feel wisps of energy leaking out. That trace of energy was weak and insignificant, but it had caused the Monster Beasts gathered in this place to compete between themselves for ownership over the power. As a result, a bloody fight had broken out and many Monster Beasts with insufficient strength were killed on the spot, their blood dying the entire mountain red.
“But, it doesn’t look like it will open for the time being.” Fan Wu seemed pensive. The Blood Gate was still nowhere to be seen and only a faint trace of the strange energy leaked out from the other side. These were indications that the Blood Gate was on the verge of opening once more; however, there was no telling when the Blood Gate would reopen completely.
“There will come a day when it reopens.” Luan Feng looked worried, “We have to inform Yang Kai.”
If there was anybody in this world who could stop Zhang Ruo Xi, it was Yang Kai. Several dozen years ago, Zhang Ruo Xi managed to kill Shi Huo even though her cultivation had been very low. Who knew what kind of power she would display after so many years of intensive cultivation inside the Blood Gate?
Luan Feng was afraid that Zhang Ruo Xi would kill her indiscriminately the moment the latter came out of retreat, and for that reason, it would be best if Yang Kai was around to monitor the situation.
“Let’s send somebody to High Heaven Palace!” Fan Wu nodded, “I heard that the Demon Race destroyed Star Soul Palace half a month ago. More importantly, he returned from the Demon Realm on the day of the grand battle.”
Now that they had the Space Arrays connecting all four territories, it became much more convenient for them to communicate with each other; hence, there was no reason for the Eastern Territory to remain clueless about what happened more than 10 days ago.
Luan Feng shook her head, “This is an important matter. I will go myself. No matter what I have to do, I need to get him to come here.”
Fan Wu pondered in silence for a bit after hearing those words before nodding, “Good.”
Afterwards, Luan Feng set off immediately and rushed towards High Heaven Palace. She couldn’t help but regret her foolish actions back then. [Why did I destroy the Space Array at Phoenix Nest Palace? Whenever I need to go somewhere else now, I have to go all the way to the place where the Stone Spirit Clan used to live. That was the only place where Yang Kai later arranged another Cross-Territory Space Array.
By the time she arrived at High Heaven Palace, half a day had passed. She met with Hua Qing Si and explained her reason for coming only to learn that Yang Kai was healing in retreat and could not be disturbed. After staying at High Heaven Palace for more than ten days and still seeing no sign of Yang Kai, she had no choice but to leave a message with Hua Qing Si asking him to go to the Ancient Wild Lands immediately after coming out of retreat.
Hua Qing Si naturally had no objections to that.
..…
Deep within the Dragon Temple, the roars of the Azure Dragon and the Ice Dragon coming from the Dragon Rebirth Pond never ceased for even a moment. Strong as the Dragon Clan’s Elders were, the agony they experienced during this past month had left their voices completely hoarse.
The Dragon Marrow remaining in the Dragon Rebirth Pond was only a metre deep at this point.
Inside the Dragon Temple, Yang Kai’s chanting in the Dragon Language had also been maintained the entire time. The complex patterns and runes inscribed around the surroundings of the Dragon Rebirth Pond flashed constantly and emitted a strange power which helped Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun absorb the Dragon Marrow.
It had taken much longer than expected.
It wasn’t until a month and a half after they began that Yang Kai finally stopped chanting. Deep exhaustion was etched all over his face. The more than 1,000-metre-long Half-Dragon Body that he had been maintaining all along also dissipated at this moment and he returned to his Human form.
There were no more movements coming from within the Dragon Rebirth Pond and Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun seemed almost dead, even their auras were extremely feeble.
All of a sudden, a high-pitched Dragon Roar sounded. The weak auras of the two Dragon Clan Elders suddenly surged violently. Two rays of light, one green and one white, shot out from the Dragon Rebirth Pond.
As soon as they broke free of their restraints, the Azure Dragon’s body swelled rapidly. His originally 600-metre-long body suddenly transformed into a more than 1,000-metre-long behemoth. On the other hand, the Ice Dragon’s body was slightly smaller, but the difference between them was not great.
An overpowering Dragon Pressure filled the entire Dragon Temple as the two enormous Dragon Heads intertwined with each other. Their Dragon Roars were brimming with joy and excitement.
Yang Kai watched them with widened eyes, casually popping a restorative Spirit Pill into his mouth with a smile.
The two Dragons seemed to notice his gaze and rushed over to him. When they got closer, they turned back into their Human forms and revealed their faces.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at them, “Congratulations to the two of you.” Then, he looked at Zhu Yan and added,” Great Elder, you look much younger than before.”
Although Zhu Yan’s original appearance could not be considered old, he had the appearance of an ordinary man in his 50s. After spending a month and a half in the Dragon Rebirth Pond though, he looked to be only in his 30s. He was back in his prime and his originally grey hair had also turned back to black. On the other hand, Fu Zhun had not changed much even though she obviously looked a few years younger than before.
The two Elders looked at each other before they knelt on the ground in unison and said respectfully, “Greetings, Sir Dragon God! Many thanks, Sir Dragon God!”
The only person capable of activating the Dragon Rebirth Pond and making the ancient Souls of the former Great Elders willingly enter to become Dragon Marrow was the legendary Dragon God. After all, the Dragon Rebirth Pond was created by the Dragon God in the past.
It would seem that the Golden Divine Dragon Source was none other than the Source left behind by the Dragon God. Legend claimed that he was the progenitor of the Dragon Clan’s bloodline and without him, there would be no Dragon Clan in this world! For that reason, he was also known as the Ancestral Dragon among the Dragon Clan.
It was naturally impossible to make the proud Dragon Clan members lower their heads toward a Human. Even when Martial Beast Great Emperor fell out with Dragon Island because of Fu Xuan, the Dragon Clan had never once backed down. However, Yang Kai was no longer just a simple Human to the Dragon Clan anymore. He was the inheritor of the Dragon God Source. Even the two Dragon Clan Elders did not dare to show him disrespect.
Yang Kai glanced at them before he raised his hand to indicate for them to be at ease, smilingly saying, “You don’t have to act this way. This was originally the legacy of the Dragon Clan, it is only right for you to use it. Besides, I am not the Dragon God. I was only lucky enough to inherit the Source he left behind.”
Following the development of the Golden Divine Dragon Source in his body, the vast amounts of information contained within had gradually become clear to Yang Kai; therefore, he was not too surprised by Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun’s current attitude. Still, he added with a soft laugh, “What’s more, I am Xiao’er’s Adoptive Father and the two of you are Xiao’er’s Biological Parents. We are not outsiders to each other.”
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun got up smoothly and glanced at each other again before Zhu Yan smiled, “You’re right.”
The two of them secretly felt relieved. They did not dare to show disrespect towards the heir of the Dragon God, but when it came down to it, Yang Kai had yet to mature, so it would be very uncomfortable for them if they were told to be respectful towards him all the time in the future. Therefore, this was the best outcome.
“It’s about time. I still don’t know if anything has happened in the outside world. Let us leave without delay,” Yang Kai stood up and walked towards the outside. Although he was still weak, he swiftly recovered after taking another Spirit Pill.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun followed, but after a short hesitation, Zhu Yan asked, “Since you already know about the Dragon God Source, then the other one…”
“Are you talking about Su Yan?” Yang Kai paused and turned back with a smile, “Once I return, I’ll help her awaken the Ancestral Phoenix Source.”
“Sure enough; it’s her!” Fu Zhun exclaimed in realization. She had her doubts before, but she could not be certain. Hearing it from Yang Kai’s mouth now, she finally confirmed that what she had guessed all along was correct.
“How much do you know about the Dragon God and Ancestral Phoenix?” Yang Kai asked. Even though the Golden Divine Dragon Source in his body was greatly awakened and had taught him many things that he had not known about before, he was still completely clueless about the origins of the Dragon God and Ancestral Phoenix. What puzzled him even more was how the two of them had fallen to such a state. Not only that, but they also fell into a Lower Star Field and landed in the world of the Great Han Dynasty.
The Dragon and Phoenix inheritance that Yang Kai and Su Yan received was obtained in that world but was later completed in the Dragon Phoenix Palace in Tong Xuan Realm.
Zhu Yan shook his head in response, “We don’t know either. Nothing was written regarding this matter among the ancestral records.”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s fine. We will figure it out one day.”
The Source in his body had yet to be fully integrated. He was certain that everything would become clear once it was fully awakened. In any case, what he needed to deal with right now was the matter regarding the Demon Race.
Upon leaving Dragon Island, Yang Kai parted ways with Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun.
The two Dragon Clan Elders had been suppressed by the Demon Saints for many years now; therefore, they had long been holding in their rage as they had nowhere else to vent their grievances. Now that their strength had greatly increased with Yang Kai’s help, it was only natural that they wanted to get revenge. At the same time, they could use the chance to verify their strength. A battle on that level was beyond Yang Kai’s ability to interfere with, so he did not accompany them.
After Yang Kai wished them well in their fight, he stepped onto the Space Array.
Once Yang Kai left, the two Dragon Clan Elders turned to look in a certain direction before their figures flickered and they transformed into their Dragon Forms and headed off into the distance. They were not afraid of failing to find Xue Li and the others as the ten Primary Demon Strongholds were guarded by Demon Towers that were all connected to one another. They only needed to cause trouble at any one of those Demon Strongholds and Xue Li and the others would definitely arrive after receiving the news.
Xue Li and the other Demon Saints probably never imagined that Zhu Yan would be able to recover from his injuries within such a short period. On the contrary, Huo Bo was still hiding in some corner and tending to his wounds after taking a hit from Fu Zhun more than a month ago. With a two-against-two battle and the sharp increase in their strength, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun secretly decided to give Xue Li and Fu Yu a big pleasant surprise.
After returning to High Heaven Palace via the Space Array, Yang Kai didn’t even get the chance to sit down before Hua Qing Si came to report to him about the matter regarding the Ancient Wild Lands. He was shocked to hear the news and immediately set off towards the Eastern Territory without further delay.
The current situation was not very favourable for the Star Boundary. Although the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan had experienced a sharp increase in strength after being tempered in the Dragon Rebirth Pond, the overall situation in the Star Boundary remained in a precarious state. If they could obtain another powerful Master on their side at this time, the situation might become very different.
Yang Kai was unable to estimate just how powerful Zhang Ruo Xi was now after she awakened her Heavens Order bloodline; however, after spending so many years cultivating in retreat inside the Blood Gate, her strength would certainly be rather impressive.
Furthermore, she had brought Xiao Xiao along with her at the time. The Stone Spirit Clan was also one of the descendants of a Divine Spirit. Not to mention, that Divine Spirit was a famous existence. Therefore, Yang Kai was looking forward to seeing how much Xiao Xiao and Zhang Ruo Xi had grown.
He met with Luan Feng and the others when he arrived, and after a brief questioning, Yang Kai learned that only a slight anomaly had taken place and the Blood Gate had yet to reveal itself fully.
He could understand what Luan Feng and the others were worried about though. Heaven’s Order had slaughtered many Divine Spirits in ancient times, and even after so many years, the supreme deterrence still remained. It stemmed from the horror and fear that existed within their bloodlines. Hence, they maintained a somewhat defensive attitude towards the descendent of Heaven’s Order that was about to return.
On the other hand, Luan Feng and the others felt reassured when they saw Yang Kai. They wanted him to stay here no matter what, and he too did not want to leave before Zhang Ruo Xi returned.
Fortunately, he had nothing better to do at the moment. He had handed the matters related to the Sixty-First Army over to Yao Si, High Heaven Palace had Hua Qing Si taking care of matters, and the battle with the Demon Race was not going to end any time soon. Hence, he agreed readily. Besides, he also wanted to welcome Zhang Ruo Xi back properly when she came out of retreat.
Thinking about it, several dozen years have passed since then. The little girl he brought back from the Zhang Family was now an existence that even the Divine Spirits were extremely concerned about. He could almost hear her voice echoing in his ears when she called him ‘Sir’, as well as the warmth of her red lips when they parted.
He sent a message to High Heaven Palace informing Hua Qing Si that he would be staying in the Ancient Wild Lands for some time and also reminded her to contact him immediately if anything urgent came up.
One day later, he sat down cross-legged on a mountain peak located more than a dozen kilometres away from the Blood Gate, facing in its direction. A sound sliced through the air, followed by a set of light footsteps, and then a familiar fragrance entered his nose.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked at the woman that had landed next to him. She had a cold expression on her face and was dressed in a neat white dress which made her look like a pure lotus with not a speck of dust on her. He smiled at her, “Senior Sister.”
Su Yan glanced out into the distance, “Is that the Blood Gate over there?”
He nodded, “En, but it’s only showing the first signs of opening. It has yet to appear completely. I have no idea when it will finally open.”
“There are so many Monster Beasts. Were they attracted by that strange aura?” She observed the Monster Beasts covering the mountains and the wilderness.
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “All the Monster Beasts in the Ancient Wild Lands basically have bloodlines of Ancient Divine Spirits in them. Although these Monster Beasts have yet to gain sentience, their instincts are telling them that something over there can make them stronger.”
Su Yan nodded at those words and smiled, “Is that young girl named Zhang Ruo Xi inside there? I heard she is the descendent of Heaven’s Order.”
She did not know much about Zhang Ruo Xi as she had not met her before. She only heard Yang Kai mention the girl’s name once or twice in the past.
“En!” Yang Kai felt slightly amazed whenever he recalled the scene where Zhang Ruo Xi had killed Shi Huo. Who could have imagined that the body of such a weak-looking girl would contain such great power?
Su Yan turned to look at Yang Kai, “I also heard that Heaven’s Order is the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits. They wiped out all the Divine Spirits in the world during ancient times. My body also contains a Divine Spirit Source. Will she kill me once she comes out of retreat?”
Yang Kai burst out laughing at those words, “Why would she? What happened in the past is in the past. This is the present. Even if that little girl has Heaven’s Order’s bloodline, the Heaven’s Order of the past is not her.”
It was similar to how he remained himself despite inheriting the Dragon God Source.
“Who knows…” She seemed unconvinced, “She might kill me in a fit of rage when she sees me with you.”
Yang Kai glanced at her in astonishment and asked in disbelief, “Senior Sister… Are you jealous?”
Her clean and fair face flushed red, something that rarely happened. Turning her head to the side, Su Yan muttered, “Of course not. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Yang Kai grinned in response, laughing heartily. Reaching out his hand, he held her small hand and pulled her into his embrace, despite her exclamation of surprise.
Her face flushed even redder than before and she squirmed slightly, “Don’t… Ah…”
Before she could finish her sentence, her mouth was covered by his. Her beautiful eyes instantly widened in shock and the intensity of her resistance gradually died away. Sighing softly in her heart, she slowly closed her eyes.
Fortunately, he did not go too far. Yang Kai soon released her and held her gently in his arms. This rare moment of warmth and quiet made her body relax completely. She leaned her head against his chest and listened to the powerful heartbeat coming from within. She was curled up against his body like a kitten. There were neither words nor passionate movements. They were simply embracing each other quietly; however, it felt as though she had the entire world in her hands at this moment.
After a while, she opened her eyes, looking nostalgic as she said, “I should go back and continue cultivating.”
When she received his message, she rushed over immediately. She did not know what he wanted to do, but from the looks of it, he had no plans of doing anything to her. Although she was reluctant to leave, just having that short moment of warmth was a great gift in this chaotic world. How could she dare to ask for more?
Yang Kai sighed, “You don’t need to try so hard. You have me.”
The women by his side had been working extremely hard in their cultivation over the years, just to chase after him. They might never have said anything before, but it was impossible for him not to notice. In particular, Su Yan worked harder than everybody else as his First Wife.
Su Yan quietly leaned against Yang Kai’s shoulder and said softly, “You advance too quickly. We Sisters are unable to share your worries, but at the very least, we won’t become a burden to you.”
Yang Kai was about to say something, but she pressed a finger to his mouth to stop him, “This is our wish. You can’t stop us. Besides… We also walk the Martial Dao, how can we not cultivate earnestly?”
He grabbed her hand and gave a soft sigh, “Alright then. But, you have to watch over them. Don’t let them become too impatient. Haste is detrimental in the Martial Dao. It will be bad if they suffer from any hidden dangers.”
“I know.”
“The same goes for you.”
“Mmm.” She stood up, “I really have to go now.”
Nevertheless, he pulled her back and looked at her with a smile. The sweet and gentle look in his eyes nearly made her melt. She struggled against the temptation in her heart and practically begged, “Please let me go. If you feel lonely, I can ask the others to come and keep you company.” After saying that, she laughed to herself, “But, I don’t think they will.”
Shan Qing Luo and the others had gone into retreat. At a time like this, nobody would come even if she summoned them. The short-term separation was for the sake of being together forever in the future. Women had always been greedy creatures since time immemorial.
Yang Kai, however, shook his head and smiled mischievously, “It’s useless even if they come.”
She panicked slightly. Looking left and right, she showed a distressed expression, “What do you want?”
[Although there is nobody here, the mountains and wilderness are crawling with Monster Beasts. Who can say if any of these Monster Beasts will gain sentience one day and take on a Human form? What if they recall what they see here today!? I can relax my body and mind to allow him to do whatever he wants in the bedroom, but doing it here is absolutely impossible!] Su Yan was a little puzzled as to why her Junior Brother was clinging to her today. It was a little annoying, but she mostly felt that it was heart-warming.
He smiled slyly, “Senior Sister, you misunderstand. I called you here today for something important.”
She furrowed her eyebrows together and glanced at him with a look of disbelief on her face.
He took her hand and pulled her so that she sat opposite him. He gently said, “Focus your mind and empty your thoughts. Don’t let anything distract you!”
As a person who cultivated Ice Attribute Secret Arts, something like that was as easy as eating and drinking for Su Yan so she was able to enter an ethereal state almost instantly the moment she tried.
“Try not to let shock overwhelm you no matter what happens, okay?” While saying so, Yang Kai lifted a finger and pressed it against her forehead.
His action was both very slow and very gentle. It looked like he was caressing her; however, a high-pitched Dragon Roar rang out when that finger pressed against her forehead. A large golden Dragon rushed out of his body and plunged directly into Su Yan’s. Her beautiful eyes widened instantly and her body felt like it had been struck by lightning. Her pupils rapidly expanded and she felt as if the world had turned upside down.
There was a whooshing sound similar to the sound of wings flapping the next moment and behind her back, a beautiful, pure, flawless, and all-white Ice Phoenix that was inviolable appeared all of a sudden. It stretched its neck and let out a cry. The voice was clear and loud, piercing through the sky and resounding across the Heavens.
…..
Luan Feng was massaging her temples inside the Phoenix Nest Palace with an uneasy look. Fan Wu and Cang Gou were there too. Although they had managed to get Yang Kai to come, the three Monster Race Divine Venerables were still unable to relax completely. They were currently discussing what to do if the Heavens Order descendant no longer cared for her family anymore when she came out of retreat.
Before they could come to an agreement, however, the sound of a clear Phoenix Cry sounded. Luan Feng stood up abruptly and looked out in amazement. She could feel the Source Strength in her body throbbing and nearly going out of control.
“What is it?” Fan Wu asked nervously, his expression changing when he saw her reaction. Something that could make Luan Feng react as though she had encountered a great enemy could not be a trivial matter. His heart jumped in fright as he asked in a horrified voice, “Has Heaven’s Order returned?” [But, how did I not perceive anything if that was the case?]
Cang Gou’s face turned pale and the corners of his mouth twitched at those words, “Don’t scare me…”
“Didn’t you hear that?” Luan Feng looked at the two in amazement.
“Hear what?”
“A Phoenix Cry!”
Fan Wu and Cang Gou breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at each other again, they shook their heads in unison, “How could there be a Phoenix Cry?”
“But…” Luan Feng frowned, but halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realised something. She had not heard the loud Phoenix Cry with her ears. Rather, it came from within her own body, resonating with her Source and Soul.
It was a resonance between Sources, so how could Fan Wu and Cang Gou hear that?
“What’s going on?” Fan Wu looked at Luan Feng with a solemn expression, but the latter did not answer the question. She simply stepped outside of the palace with a shift of her body, staring intently in a certain direction, a hint of excitement in those beautiful eyes of hers.
…..
Jiu Feng was dressed in a fiery red dress, meditating and adjusting her breathing on Spirit Beast Island in the Eastern Territory. She had been injured by a Demon Race Half-Saint during the last battle at Star Soul Palace in the Southern Territory. Her injury might not be serious, but it was not something that could be ignored either. Fortunately, she was a Divine Spirit, so her body was tough and recovering from her wounds was not a difficult matter.
She slowly opened her eyes when the clear Phoenix Cry sounded from deep within her Soul and glanced in the direction of the Ancient Wild Lands, tilting her head to the side with a doubtful expression.
…..
Several kilometres underground, beneath High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory, where the magma boiled up from the core of the world, large bubbles floated to the surface and burst with loud popping noises. A beautiful Fire Phoenix was devouring the Earth Fire energy of the lava to stimulate the Phoenix True Fire and develop the Phoenix Clan Source in her body.
All of a sudden, the figure of the enormous Fire Phoenix distorted and turned into a small humanoid figure standing on top of the magma. Liu Yan cocked her ears and listened attentively. Her exquisite eyebrows soon furrowed deeply.
…
When the Phoenix Cry rang out in the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory, all living creatures throughout the Star Boundary with the Phoenix Clan bloodline in them felt the resonance. The purer the bloodline, the more deeply they were affected. The Source Strength in their body seemed to dance with an air of jubilation that left people scratching their heads and wondering what was going on.
…
Luan Feng rushed forth within the Phoenix Nest Palace, followed by a very bewildered Fan Wu and Cang Gou. When she flew closer to the Blood Gate, she immediately saw something shocking.
A humongous Phoenix phantom was suspended in the air above a mountain peak located more than a dozen kilometres away from the Blood Gate. It was pure white and flawless, as though it was completely carved from the finest ice jade. Various birds of all shapes and sizes surrounded the mountain peak around the Phoenix phantom. These birds flapping their wings constantly were Monster Beasts of the Ancient Wild Lands. Some were big while some were small. The big ones were as large as houses while the small ones were as small as sparrows. Most of them were the natural enemies of one another, but they were coexisting harmoniously at this moment, and even more birds were gathering in this direction from all over the Ancient Wild Lands.
It didn’t take long for the entire mountain peak to be surrounded by an impenetrable wall formed from tens of thousands of birds. The enormous Phoenix stood in the middle of it all like a moon surrounded by the stars. All sorts of strange cries rang out incessantly. Even so, there was not a hint of panic within those cries. Rather, they sounded elated.
“This is…” Fan Wu stared in astonishment.
“The Myriad Birds Greet the Phoenix!” A red tinge of excitement surfaced on Luan Feng’s fair visage for some reason.
If the Dragon Clan claimed to be the Head of the Myriad Spirits, then the Phoenix Clan was recognised as the Head of the Myriad Birds. Luan Feng had a Phoenix Clan bloodline and in addition, she was powerful enough to make all the Monster Race in the Ancient Wild bow down to her. Be that as it may, she was unable to make so many Monster Beasts that had yet to gain sentience to surround and worship her.
In the midst of everything, she had the feeling that something major was going to take place within the Phoenix Clan today. It was something so shocking that the entire Phoenix Clan would take notice.
Little spots of light suddenly began glowing like fireflies and a stunning light appeared out of thin air, filling everyone’s field of vision. That dazzling light was formed from the condensation of the purest World Energy. The splendid colours illuminated the entire Ancient Wild Lands, making it seem like part of the Heavens.
As the dancing lights converged around the body of the Phoenix standing in mid-air, the all-white figure slowly but surely became even purer and more radiant. At first, the difference was not obvious; however, it soon became more and more intense until the dazzling radiance filled the sky.
Luan Feng stared blankly at the scene in front of her and murmured, “When the first Phoenix was born, it brought light to the world…”
“What?” Unable to hear her clearly, Cang Gou turned to look at her.
She shook her head in response, indicating that she had no interest in explaining; even so, her beautiful eyes were burning with a frenzy that he couldn’t help being surprised at.
The Heavenly light shone brighter and brighter and soon became so dazzling that Luan Feng and the others couldn’t help squinting at the glare. As the World Energy converged in one spot, the pure white Phoenix in the sky gradually took on an ancient and noble air.
The birds flying around became even more excited, and their cries became louder and louder.
As time passed, Yang Kai maintained his posture of pressing one finger against Su Yan’s forehead without moving. The Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength in his body had been pushed to the limit. Sitting opposite him, various expressions flitted across Su Yan’s beautiful face. The Ancient Ice Phoenix behind her flapped its wings gently, revealing a light, majestic, and elegant figure.
It felt like the white light was the only light left that remained in the world. Before that beautiful existence, everything else appeared dull and inferior in comparison.
An unknown amount of time passed when finally, a high-pitched Dragon Roar and a clear Phoenix Cry rang out, the birds surrounding the mountain peak suddenly spread out in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, two enormous figures rose into the sky from the top of that mountain peak. One was an enormous Golden Dragon while the other was a pure white Ice Phoenix.
The Dragon and the Phoenix were an auspicious omen, and as they intertwined with each other, they soared towards the Heavens together with their Spirits connected as one. A gaping hole instantly appeared between the clouds in the sky, almost as if someone had ripped open the Heavens themselves.
Thunder rumbled across the skies and rain began to fall. The raindrops were brimming with pure World Energy, and as it came falling down, all the plants in the Ancient Wild Lands were covered in a layer of vitality that could be seen with the naked eye.
Cang Gou caught a few drops of rain in his hand and tasted them, his brow rising slightly as he muttered, “It’s sweet.”
Amidst the lightning and thunder, two enormous figures loomed in and out of sight among the layer of clouds. They seemed to be frolicking with one another, but all the living creatures in the world did not dare to look at them directly.
*Kacha…*
Following a strike of lightning, two gigantic figures swooped down from the sky, and even Fan Wu and the others couldn’t help paling in the face of the glorious majesty that descended from the sky.
The gigantic figures landed on top of a mountain peak located more than a dozen kilometres away from the Blood Gate and disappeared. Following that, Yang Kai and Su Yan opened their eyes in unison, looking at each other without saying a word. Everything was expressed in that silence.
Su Yan smiled, making Yang Kai fall into a daze. She had always been a great beauty who was highly blessed by luck during her creation. Now that she had awakened the Ancestral Phoenix Source, she had an air of awe-inspiring, inviolable, and sacred nobility about her. It was something that would make ordinary people feel blasphemous just by gazing upon her.
“Husband…” she called softly.
“Take your time to digest it.” He patted the back of her hand, “I will stand guard for you.”
She nodded, closed her beautiful eyes, and immersed herself in her mind. The Phoenix Clan Source in her body had always been extraordinary, on the same level as his Golden Divine Dragon Source. It was just that their cultivation had not been high enough all this while, so they could not draw out too much of its strength previously.
Yang Kai had undergone intensive cultivation in the ancient battlefield for decades which allowed his Dragon Source to greatly develop. He had now used his Source to stimulate Su Yan’s Ancestral Phoenix Source, so it was only natural that it would benefit her.
Be it the Dragon God Source or Ancestral Phoenix Source, the many Secret Techniques and cultivation methods contained within were extremely valuable treasures; however, the information related to these things would only gradually be known to them when their Source was integrated to a certain extent. Most Divine Spirits experience a similar manner of growth, which was why they relied on the accumulation of time and stimulation of bloodline to grow more powerful.
Therefore, when it came to Divine Spirits, their inheritance would never go extinct as long as their Source was not destroyed. Compared to other Races, the Divine Spirits had a greater advantage in these kinds of matters even though they had a much smaller population.
Not far away, Luan Feng looked on. She seemed to have a lot of questions to ask but hesitated to step forward; hence, Yang Kai got up, took a step towards her, and immediately arrived next to her.
“Yang Kai… The Source in Su Yan’s body…”
“En!” Before she could finish her question, he gave an affirmative answer.
Luan Feng was taken aback for a moment before she broke out into a smile, “It really is.”
When she saw the divine light just now, a guess had formed in her heart but she had not dared to be certain. Speaking of which, she had long known about the fact that Su Yan had a Phoenix Clan Source in her body as it was something she had discovered from the first time she met the latter. Moreover, Luan Feng vaguely felt very familial towards Su Yan at the time, similar to an urge to get close to her.
She had not understood the reason behind that feeling at the time, but the realisation dawned on her now. That was the Ancestral Phoenix Source. Seeing as she had the bloodline of the Phoenix Clan in her body, how could Luan Feng not sense something when they were in such close proximity to each other? Then, she remembered another little girl named Liu Yan who seemed to be very well-behaved in front of Su Yan.
Logically speaking, Liu Yan was almost equivalent to a Divine Spirit. In addition, she was much stronger than Su Yan. As arrogant as the Phoenix Clan was, there was no reason for her to be so obedient for no reason. Luan Feng had always assumed that Liu Yan was only so well-behaved on account of Yang Kai, but now it would seem that Liu Yan had experienced the same feeling she did. They couldn’t help but want to approach and protect the one who carried the Ancestral Phoenix Clan Source.
It was completely unexpected for the Phoenix Clan Source to be awoken under such circumstances, but at this rate, there was hope for the revival of the Phoenix Clan again.
Both the Dragon and Phoenix were highly respected existences in ancient times, which was a huge contrast to their inheritance nowadays. At the very least, the Dragon Clan still occupied Dragon Island and had their own gathering place. On the other hand, the Phoenix Clan was practically withered in terms of population. They each lived on their own, far from each other. It was a far cry from the prosperity and unity of the Dragon Clan.
While the Dragon Clan was scarce in numbers, there were at least more than ten adult Dragons on Dragon Island. On the contrary, Luan Feng and Jiu Feng of Spirit Beast Island were the only two who had ‘purer’ Phoenix Clan bloodlines across the entire Star Boundary. Liu Yan was later added to the mix, but even so, it was still incomparable to the Dragon Clan
But, it was different now. The person who had awoken the Ancestral Phoenix Source would definitely be able to bear the responsibility of reviving the Phoenix Clan’s former glory. Before that could happen, however, they first had to deal with the hidden dangers of the Demon Race. If the entire Star Boundary was taken over by the Demon Race, there would be no point talking about reviving the Phoenix Clan. It would be a miracle just for the Clan to not go extinct at that point.
Luan Feng’s beautiful eyes became slightly cold upon this realization. Her hands were clenched into fists as she stared in Su Yan’s direction. She secretly vowed to herself. [No matter what happens, I have to protect her. Even if the Star Boundary goes up in flames, even if I die in the process, as long as she survives, a ray of hope will remain for the future of the Phoenix Clan. I’m sure that person on Spirit Beast Island will have the same mindset as myself.]
The slight movement at the Blood Gate in the Ancient Wild Lands was followed by the awakening of the Ancestral Phoenix Source in Su Yan’s body. During such a chaotic period in the world, these were signs of great prosperity. As the saying went, ‘Turbulent times birthed Heroes’. While these incidents might seem unrelated, they were threaded together in a way that could be linked back to one person.
The Blood Gate was related to Yang Kai, as was the awakening of Su Yan’s Ancestral Phoenix Source and the rise of the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan…
Just as Su Yan was focused on digesting and absorbing the large amounts of information contained in the Ancestral Phoenix Source, an Earth-shaking battle broke out in the Southern Territory.
The fall of Star Soul Palace represented the loss of the entire Southern Territory. It was a huge mark of shame for any cultivator in the Star Boundary, but it was especially so for the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan. For that reason, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun went straight to Star Soul Palace as soon as they left Dragon Island.
Xue Li and Fu Yu initially thought that there was something wrong with their eyes when they first noticed the arrival of these two uninvited guests. It had been many years since the second Two Worlds Great War broke out, but the Demon Race had always held the initiative. The Demon Saints had always attacked as they pleased and withdrew as they wished.
Meanwhile, the Star Boundary could only suffer in passive silence with no way of grasping the initiative. Xue Li and the other Demon Saints had been leading Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun around by the nose for all these years. When had there ever been a time when the latter party took the initiative to attack instead?
Therefore, Xue Li and Fu Yu were completely caught off guard when the two Dragon Clan Elders came charging into Star Soul Palace as they had thought that Zhu Yan was still in the middle of recovering from his injuries.
Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun did not waste time on nonsense or greetings. They immediately started attacking the moment they arrived. When the two 1,000-metre-long Dragons revealed their true forms, Xue Li’s scalp tingled with fear for a moment. Both he and Fu Yu immediately realised that they were in deep trouble.
In this earth-shattering battle, the two Dragon Clan Elders, who had experienced a sharp increase in strength, finally had a chance to vent their pent-up frustrations and carry out their vengeance. It was the first time they pushed the two Demon Saints into a corner. The fallout of the battle swept across the Demon Race camp, causing numerous Demons to die as a result.
No matter how much Xue Li racked his brains, he could not understand what was going on. Only a mere two months had passed since their last encounter, so how did these two old Dragons undergo such a significant increase in size that directly resulted in an absurd boost in their strength!?
The combination of the couple’s new-found strength and their Unified Secret Techniques oppressed the two Demon Saints so badly that they could not lift their heads at all. With no other choice, Fu Yu urgently summoned Huo Bo.
After the last battle at Star Soul Palace, Huo Bo had suffered injuries and fled as a result. He was currently in hiding to treat his wounds, but it had only taken Fu Yu half a month to track him down. She had planned to send him on a mission to kill Yang Kai when his injuries had gotten a little bit better, but how could they afford to worry about Yang Kai right now? The two old Dragons were the ones that needed to be dealt with urgently.
Huo Bo had to come and provide support even if he was reluctant because he knew that his life would become extremely difficult in the future if something were to happen to Xue Li and Fu Yu.
The combined strength of the three Demon Saints finally stopped the fierce momentum of the two Dragon Clan Elders. Many Half-Saints also provided support from the side. Even so, the battle lasted for 10 whole days before it stopped.
When the two Dragons retreated, Xue Li stared at the chaotic mess that remained of the Demon Race camp and his scarlet eyes turned even redder at the sight.
Scarcely a few days of calm went by before he received a message from the Eastern Territory. The two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan had shown themselves at another Demon Stronghold. Not daring to delay, he immediately headed there with Fu Yu and Huo Bo to stop them.
The Demon Towers were connected to each other and could facilitate instantaneous travel back and forth between them. Unfortunately, their arrival was still a little too late and two Half-Saints died at the Demon Stronghold in the Eastern Territory as a result.
In the following month, the two Great Elders of the Dragon Clan travelled across the four territories of the Star Boundary, targeting various Demon Strongholds without warning and recklessly slaughtering numerous Demon Race Masters.
Although Xue Li, Fu Yu, and Huo Bo came to the rescue on many occasions, they still could not recoup the heavy losses they sustained.
The two Dragon Clan Elders’ sudden increase in strength resulted in an instant reversal of the current war situation. The Star Boundary now held complete control over the initiative in battle, and all 55 Star Boundary armies were jubilant to hear the news.
Even so, Demon Saints were still Demon Saints. How could they allow themselves to be led by the nose by the two Dragon Clan Elders?
10 days later, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun came to one of the Primary Demon Strongholds in the Western Territory once more to attack. This time around, however, they did not see any signs of the three Demon Saints coming to provide support, which made them very uneasy.
The news soon came through the Space Beacon. While the two Dragon Clan Elders were on the move, the three Demon Saints had gone straight to a gathering place of the Star Boundary’s armies. It was a situation where ‘If you kill my clansmen, I’ll slaughter yours in return’.
They were shocked by the news and immediately returned to help. Unfortunately, they were one step too late. By the time the two Dragons arrived at the place, they saw a mournful scene all across the Star Boundary army camp. Two Army Commanders were also killed in battle.
Meanwhile, the three Demon Saints of the Demon Race had long since disappeared.
Both Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun had gloomy expressions on their faces when they saw the purgatory-like scene before them. The Demon Saints might not care about the number of casualties among the Demon Race army, but the two Dragon Clan Elders could not ignore the safety of the Star Boundary army. The three Demon Saints were undoubtedly using their actions to say, “You can kill, but so can we. Let’s see who breaks first.”
After this incident, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhu became more cautious about making a move lest they brought harm to the rest of the Star Boundary. They did not dare to act recklessly either. If news of them appearing somewhere were to spread, Xue Li and the others were bound to take action. On the contrary, Xue Li and the others would be hesitant to attack carelessly if they kept their whereabouts a secret.
One month quickly passed by in that temporary period of peace. Xue Li was sitting down cross-legged in a secluded room of Star Soul Palace in the Southern Territory when his expression suddenly changed. He opened his eyes and listened to something attentively, his attitude very focused. Furthermore, there was a faint hint of respect reflected in his scarlet eyes. A short while later, he grinned and laughed maliciously. He then transformed into a blood light and appeared next to Fu Yu with a slight shift of his body.
“What is it?” Fu Yu looked at him.
He laughed evilly, “It’s starting!”
She was taken aback for a moment, then she was overjoyed, “It’s finally starting.”
The two of them stood side by side on top of a mountain peak, looking out into the vast the Star Boundary. Xue Li slowly reached out his hand and grabbed at the air as if he was holding the entire world in his hand and gave a low laugh, “They are doomed!”
On the other hand, Fu Yu, who had been tense and nervous all this time, finally relaxed. She reached out a hand to push her hair behind her ear with a smile, “En, it’s over. It’s a pity they still don’t know anything. They really are ignorant!”
…..
In the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory, Yang Kai, who had been keeping guard next to Su Yan suddenly opened his eyes. He furrowed his brow deeply and looked around his surroundings as an inexplicable sense of trepidation flooded him all of a sudden, almost as if something terrifying was about to take place.
This feeling came out of nowhere with no prior warning. Hence, his first reaction was to assume that there was a powerful enemy with malicious intentions towards him lurking nearby; however, he found nothing when he swept his Divine Sense around.
With his current cultivation, his Divine Sense was powerful enough that even a Demon Saint lurking in the vicinity would not be able to escape his detection completely. That was already the case for a Demon Saint, what more need be said for anybody else?
Since he could not detect anything, that could only mean that there were no enemies nearby. In that case, what was this sense of foreboding in his heart? After ten breaths, that ominous feeling not only did not reduce in any way but instead grew stronger. Additionally, he felt as though there was a huge mountain pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn and the more he thought about it, the more certain he became that something was about to happen. Unfortunately, he could not figure out the source of that feeling.
Just as he was about to investigate his surroundings carefully one more time, a loud buzzing sound rang out in his mind without warning. The noise was absolutely deafening, but more importantly, it resounded directly in the depths of his Soul. It instantly caused his mind to waver and he became dizzy as a result.
With a muffled grunt, he fell forward. Fortunately, a jade white hand stuck out and caught him as Su Yan exclaimed, “Husband!”
Although she had been absorbing the information contained within the Ancestral Phoenix Source, she was not unaware of the outside world; therefore, she immediately noticed when something happened to Yang Kai.
There was a whooshing sound as Luan Feng flew over. She was shocked to see Yang Kai bleeding from his seven orifices and looking extremely pale, “W-What happened!?”
Due to the appearance of the Ancestral Phoenix Source, Luan Feng had not left this place even once over the past few days. She was planning to wait until Su Yan woke up to have a good chat with the her, so she more or less witnessed Yang Kai’s abnormality with her own eyes.
“I don’t know,” Su Yan was completely flustered. Even so, she forced herself to calm down. Grabbing Yang Kai’s hand, she poured a thread of her Divine Sense and Emperor Qi into him to investigate his condition carefully. However, she felt an overwhelming power erupting out of his body and repelling her mind before she could even check anything. She couldn’t help grunting in a muffled voice and staggering backward a few steps in response.
Yang Kai was originally collapsed on the ground, but he suddenly sat up without warning. He opened his eyes wide as two streams of blood flowed out from them. His eyes were completely out of focus and filled with an air of indifference. In addition, an aura that made other people not dare to look at him directly surged from his body as he shouted, “Heavens’ Revelations, Profound Heavens Manifestation!”
He enunciated each word carefully. Those words sounded like thunder rumbling in the skies, so deafening that they hurt just to hear them.
“What?” Su Yan was shocked as she reached out a hand towards him. His current condition was clearly very strange, almost as if someone else was speaking through him.
“Don’t touch him!” Luan Feng screamed, grabbing Su Yan’s outstretched hand as she slowly shook her head, “Something’s wrong.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Su Yan’s small face was filled with anxiety and worry. Even her voice shook slightly from emotion.
“I don’t know,” Luan Feng shook her head, similarly confused. [Could it be a dissonance in his cultivation? But, he has not been doing anything recently, he was just sitting opposite Su Yan to guard her. Can one experience cultivation dissonance just like that? Besides, his body has already been contaminated by the Demon Qi, so it should be impossible for him to experience cultivation dissonance so easily.]
In front of them, Yang Kai suddenly collapsed to the ground again after saying those words. His wide-open eyes gradually closed and that overwhelming aura vanished without a trace. It seemed like everything had gone back to normal; even so, both Su Yan and Luan Feng knew that this seemingly normal condition was the biggest abnormality of them all.
“He should be fine now,” Luan Feng said hesitantly.
Su Yan hurriedly broke free from Luan Feng and threw herself in front of him. Helping him up, she leaned him against her body and reached out to wipe the blood on his face, her eyes reddening in response. Even though she did not know what was wrong with him, only one thought echoed in her heart when that anomaly occurred just now, [Please don’t let anything happen to him.]
When Yang Kai opened his eyes once more, he immediately saw Su Yan’s concerned and anxious expression and asked in a slightly dazed manner, “Senior Sister?”
He didn’t seem to have any recollection of what had happened just now.
Su Yan worriedly asked after his condition. Only when she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him did she finally let out a breath of relief.
Finally able to relax slightly, she immediately asked, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “I can’t say. I just have a feeling that… the Great Emperors are in grave trouble.”
He didn’t even know where the Great Emperors were currently, but he could roughly sense their current state. It seemed that somehow or other, they had formed an indistinct connection between them and this connection gave him a slight sense of how they were doing at the moment.
“Do you not remember what happened just now?” Luan Feng asked from the side.
He raised his head to look at her and slowly shook his head.
She frowned slightly and recounted everything she saw and heard just now to him.
“Heavens’ Revelations, Profound Heavens Manifestation?” He looked confused, “I said that?”
Both Su Yan and Luan Feng nodded in unison, indicating affirmation.
Yang Kai was stunned as he had no idea when he said those words. Even now, he showed no signs of understanding the meaning behind them after Luan Feng brought them up.
While he was deep in thought, the world suddenly began to shudder. A loud rumbling came from within the clouds. Startled, Yang Kai hurriedly looked up but saw nothing unusual. The rumbling sounded like the world groaning in pain and it lasted for a whole quarter hour before disappearing.
Similarly, Luan Feng was baffled too, “What was that just now?”
But who could answer her?
At this moment, Space Principles fluctuated slightly and a jade slip appeared out of nowhere in front of them. Li Wu Yi’s aura came from within the jade slip.
Yang Kai reached out a hand and grabbed the jade slip. Sweeping it with his Divine Sense, his expression changed drastically after briefly checking the contents.
“What happened?” Luan Feng asked.
“The Demon Lands are expanding,” he quickly said.
She frowned at those words, “The Demon Lands have always been expanding.”
Ever since the 108 Demon Lands appeared in the Star Boundary, the corrupted land had been expanding outward without pause. Those lands seemed to have a strong corrosive nature and were constantly eroding their surroundings. This was especially true for the Demon Lands where the 10 Primary Demon Strongholds were located. The reason for the fall of Star Soul Palace was not that the Star Boundary army was weaker than the Demon Race army. It was just that the entire Star Soul Palace had been devoured by the Demon Land and became part of it as a result.
The Demons were like ducks in water within the Demon Land. On the other hand, the Star Boundary cultivators were terribly restricted in many ways. Under such conditions, it was only natural that they were unable to compete against the Demon Race. As a result, Star Soul Palace had already been eroded by the Demon Land. There was no point defending it to the last man as it would only add to the casualties.
“It’s different this time. The expansion is proceeding very quickly. Much faster than before.”
“How fast is it?” Her expression froze.
“I’m not sure. We’ll know once we have a look,” The information had come directly from Li Wu Yi. According to him, the Primary Demon Strongholds in the Northern, Southern, and Western Territories were showing the same signs. Therefore, he wanted Yang Kai to check on the situation at the Demon Strongholds in the Eastern Territory. Yang Kai wrapped Su Yan and Luan Feng in Space Principles while speaking before all of them vanished from the spot.
A quarter-hour later and a few million kilometres away, the trio arrived in the vicinity of one of the Primary Demon Strongholds.
Standing in the sky and looking down, Yang Kai’s complexion became incredibly pale. The boundaries of the Primary Demon Stronghold were madly expanding into the surroundings at an unstoppable pace that could be seen with the naked eye, advancing several hundred metres every breath. The speed of this expansion was absolutely appalling.
Even Luan Feng couldn’t help covering her red lips with her small hands, her beautiful eyes brimming with horror.
There was no need for comparisons. While the Demon Strongholds had been constantly expanding in the past, that speed could not be said to be particularly fast. However, the current speed they were looking at was at least a few hundred times faster than that!
At this speed, it would take less than two years for the entire Star Boundary to turn into a Demon Land. If that happened, how would the trillions of Humans survive? They would definitely be corroded by the Demon Essence and reduced to Demons.
Everywhere across both the land and the sky, countless birds and beasts were scrambling to flee for their lives. They seemed to have an instinctive sense of the approaching danger. When the Demon Land expansion came towards them, they all knew intuitively to stay away. Unfortunately, they could not escape from the expanding Demon Lands no matter how fast they were. The darkness spreading out behind them devoured the fleeing creatures in an instant. Under the corrosion of the Demon Essence, the generally well-behaved and docile creatures immediately lost their minds and began tearing into each other without regard for anything else.
It wasn’t just the birds and the beasts. There were also many Humans fleeing for their lives in the mountains and wilderness.
The second Two Worlds Great War broke out many years ago and the Demon Race ran rampant throughout all four Territories of the Star Boundary. Any cultivator with the slightest sense of valor or responsibility was recruited into the army to kill the enemy. Nevertheless, there would inevitably be people who narrowly survived in the cracks due to luck. They had been hiding out deep in the mountains and the wilderness to protect themselves while hoping for the Star Boundary armies to chase the Demon Race away so that they could restore their homes. There were quite a few people like these. Rather, it could be said that there were many, many such people.
The Star Boundary was very vast and contained trillions of living creatures. How many people were actually recruited in the fifty-five armies? Compared to the total population in the Star Boundary, the fifty-five armies barely even made up a fraction of a fraction of it. Some were too weak and ended up being refused by the various armies as a result, but there was also a small number of Masters among those who chose to only protect themselves.
At this moment, these people finally ran out of places to hide. The Demon Land was spreading out, eroding their shelters and forcing them to flee into the distance. But, where could they escape to? The Demon Land was expanding far too quickly.
Yang Kai personally witnessed as a First-Order Emperor Realm Master was overtaken by Demon Land expanding behind him. He had no choice but to push his Emperor Qi to resist the Demon Essence that constantly tried to eat away at him. With his cultivation as a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, he might be able to hold out for a while without losing himself, but be that as it may, he would eventually be reduced to a Demon so long as he failed to escape from the Demon Land.
Yang Kai retreated with Su Yan and Luan Feng in tow. The words Mo Sheng once told him echoed in his mind. The Demon Realm did not used to be called the Demon Realm, it was once known as the Peerless World. Additionally, the dominant Race in the Peerless World was once the same as the Star Boundary, Humans. It was just that the Peerless World became a Demon Realm after Mo Sheng devoured the Auspicious Spirit Essence of the world and the Humans living in that world turned into the Demon Race in the end.
Yang Kai did not know what the Peerless World had looked like when its Auspicious Spirit Essence had been devoured back then; however, he was currently witnessing the scene of the Star Boundary being devoured.
In other words, everything he was seeing in front of him was the process of the Star Boundary’s Auspicious Spirit Essence being devoured, as well as part of Great Demon God’s healing process!
The Auspicious Spirit Essence was being devoured and the Star Boundary was turning into a Demon Land. If the expansion was progressing so quickly, wouldn’t that mean that Great Demon God had reached a critical juncture in his healing process!?
He couldn’t help shuddering at the thought. Last time, Flowing Time Great Emperor had fought against the Great Demon God, with the former suffering fatal wounds and the latter losing their physical body. Who could fight on behalf of the Star Boundary this time?
There were no news from the Great Emperors. The only ones that could be relied on at present were the two Dragon Clan Elders, but they were being restrained by the three Demon Saints. They could not take action easily. What’s more; would it really make a difference if they stepped up now?
Without noticing, the Star Boundary had already reached the moment where life and death were at a critical point! Moreover, the Demon Race forces were bound to give the Star Boundary no respite this time around.
“I need to return to the Northern Territory for a bit,” Yang Kai quickly said. There were changes to the Primary Demon Stronghold in the Eastern Territory, but he did not know about the situation in the Northern Territory. Therefore, he had to check as soon as possible. If the Northern Territory was also facing a similar situation, then he had to find a way out for High Heaven Palace and the various armies as soon as possible.
After hesitating for a while, he turned to Luan Feng and said, “If it comes down to it, you should retreat as soon as possible too.”
Luan Feng smiled bitterly, “Where can we go?”
Yang Kai opened his mouth to answer but found himself speechless instead. The Star Boundary might be vast, but where would they find a pure land if this was the situation everywhere?
The only thing he could be certain about was that the rumbling sounds that lasted for around a quarter-hour just now were definitely related to the sudden expansion of the Demon Lands. Unfortunately, he still could not figure out the reason behind the sudden and rapid expansion of the Demon Land.
Parting with Luan Feng, Yang Kai took Su Yan back to High Heaven Palace in a flash. Hua Qing Si had already sent numerous messages to him; thus, she immediately came to greet him the moment he returned.
He lifted his hand, “I’ve heard about it. Head Manager, please ask all the Army Commanders to assemble at the Main Conference Hall. I’m going to check on the situation.”
“Yes!” She accepted his orders and left.
When the Star Boundary armies retreated after the fall of Star Soul Palace, about half of them withdrew to the Northern Territory and were stationed at High Heaven Palace. The other half had gone to the Eastern Territory.
Originally, High Heaven Palace could not have accommodated so many people, but they now had the World Beads that Yang Kai had refined which made things much easier. Most of the soldiers usually remained inside the World Beads. Although the environment there was no better than a Dead Star and there was no vitality in the surroundings, the soldiers did not need to obtain anything from their surrounding environment. If they needed to heal or cultivate, they could just use Source Crystals or Spirit Pills as a substitute.
After issuing some simple commands, Yang Kai set off again, quickly arriving outside Blue Wave City and staring down at the sight below him with a solemn expression.
Just like what he had seen in the Eastern Territory, the Demon Stronghold below was rapidly expanding. It had more than doubled in size within a short period of time; furthermore, its momentum continued unabated.
The Demon Race army was crowding around in the Demon Land and it seemed that one of the Demon Kings had noticed Yang Kai’s arrival and began calling out. In the next moment, a figure shot out from the Demon Land and came rushing straight at Yang Kai. The power of a Half-Saint coming from that figure was unmistakable.
Before the Half-Saint got closer, he let out a soft exclamation, “Yang Kai?”
His voice carried not only a hint of shock but also a thick sense of fear. His shock came from the fact that Yang Kai had arrived at this place alone. If he could get rid of Yang Kai, he would definitely win the appreciation of the Demon Saints. On the other hand, he was afraid of Yang Kai’s unusual combat power. News of Yang Kai killing a Stone Demon Half-Saint during the battle at Star Soul Palace had long since spread to all the Demon Race. Xue Li and the others had even warned all the Half-Saints sternly, “Never underestimate the enemy if you ever meet Yang Kai in battle. Do not be fooled by his cultivation. Do not underestimate him. He is comparable to any Half-Saint in terms of strength!”
No Demon would dare to ignore a Demon Saint’s warning; therefore, the Half-Saint who rushed over abruptly stopped in his tracks when he recognized Yang Kai’s identity. With several thousand metres between them, he raised his hand and summoned a Demon Artifact that looked like an ordinary axe.
The axe rapidly swelled in size after it was summoned and a horrifying Demon Qi radiated from it. It then transformed into a huge Shadow Axe and came slashing down at Yang Kai. The power behind this slash was so great that it even split the mountain in half.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and summoned out the Azure Dragon Spear, calmly spinning it in his hands as he swung it up to intercept the Shadow Axe.
A Dragon Roar was heard amidst the slashing sound, which was followed by a deafening explosion. Both Yang Kai and the Half-Saint were involuntarily pushed backwards by the impact.
The Half-Saint who came rushing at Yang Kai widened his eyes in astonishment, shocked to the core. Xue Li and the other Demon Saints had already warned them about Yang Kai, so he knew that Yang Kai should not be taken lightly. Even so, it was a little unbelievable to see Yang Kai blocking his attack so easily.
[This bastard really does have the strength of a Half-Saint!] His gaze involuntarily fell upon the Azure Dragon Spear and his pupils contracted slightly. Among the warnings from Xue Li and the others, great emphasis had been placed upon this spear with unknown origins. It was said that the spear was extremely powerful, and it would seem to be true. Yang Kai had managed to block his attack despite only being a High-Rank Demon King. Perhaps, it was largely due to the power of this spear.
Yang Kai’s strength did not make him shrink in fear though; instead, it aroused the bloodlust and arrogance in his heart and he shouted, “Again!”
Raising the axe up high, the Demon Qi in his body surged as he poured it into the Demon Artifact before another Shadow Axe came smashing down again.
“Scram!” Yang Kai shouted. He only came here to check on the situation, so he had no time to fight a meaningless battle with this Half-Saint. With a shift of his body, he lunged toward his enemy. A spear shadow flashed out from the Azure Dragon Spear and loomed across the sky as he thrust out while ignoring the Shadow Axe that was slashing down on his head.
The Half-Saint paled greatly at the sight. Yang Kai acting so decisive right from the start left him feeling a little lost for what to do. If he didn’t dodge this attack, it would surely end in a lose-lose situation for both parties. Leaving aside the question whether he could kill Yang Kai with his strike, things would not end well for him if he was hit by Yang Kai’s spear.
It was said that Yang Kai had realised some sort of mysterious Martial Truth and if one received an injury from him, that Martial Truth would corrode their flesh and leave them in a half-dead state. Even a Half-Saint was helpless against it. Only the Demon Saints had the ability to disperse that power.
During the battle at Star Soul Palace previously, a Blood Demon companion had been injured by this Martial Truth, and in the end, Xue Li had stepped in to help remove the Martial Truth and save the Blood Demon’s life. As for all the other Demon Kings who were injured by Yang Kai, it was rumoured that they were abandoned by Xue Li and slaughtered on the spot. That was because even though Xue Li could remove the Martial Truth, it consumed too much energy. Wasting a Demon Saint’s energy on Demon Kings was obviously not worth it, so they were all killed instead.
All sorts of thoughts raced through this Demon Race Half-Saint’s head in that instant before he immediately made the decision to retreat from battle while retrieving his Demon Artifact Axe at the same time. The axe danced and formed a Shadow Axe in front of him, acting as a shield.
There was a series of clanging sounds and two figures rushed into the Demon Land at a high speed, one in front of the other.
There was a look of great horror on the Demon Race Half-Saint’s face. The power coming from the spear opposite him was so strong that he could barely fend off the attacks; thus, he couldn’t help widening his eyes in terror.
[Is this kind of power something a Human can have!? I heard that Yang Kai can transform into a more than 1,000-metre-long Dragon, and it looks like it’s true! I’m not fighting some ordinary Human, he’s clearly a giant Dragon! In that case, it’s not surprising for him to have such raw strength.]
What frightened him even more was the strange aura coming from the Azure Dragon Spear. Despite his experience and knowledge, he could not figure out what that aura was. The aura was extremely mysterious, almost as if it contained a great secret that left everybody scratching their heads in confusion. That was most likely the Martial Truth the Demon Saints mentioned before. Feeling even more frightened, he vowed to himself that he would never allow himself to be hurt by this Martial Truth.
Last time, a Demon Saint had been willing to step in and help remove the Martial Truth from the Blood Demon Half-Saint’s body because the situation had not been serious. Now that the strength of the two Dragon Clan Elders had exploded, however, the three Demon Saints had to maintain peak condition at all times to ward off these powerful enemies.
[If I get injured in this encounter, I won’t be lucky enough to receive help from the Demon Saints in resolving the Martial Truth. At that time, my life or death would depend entirely on myself!] Bogged down by fear, the Demon Race Half-Saint was unable to exert his full strength and soon fell into a complete disadvantage in his battle with Yang Kai as he retreated over a thousand kilometres.
Numerous figures rushed out from the depths of the Demon Stronghold, each of them emitting the aura of a Half-Saint. It was clear that they came to provide support after seeing their companion’s pathetic state.
Before they could approach, however, they heard an angry roar and a golden light erupted. Yang Kai’s figure swelled rapidly and soon a 1,000-metre-long burly figure stood in the sky. Even the Azure Dragon Spear had increased in size to 1,000 metres.
The horrifying pressure that burst out caused the Half-Saints to choke in fear and they involuntarily stopped in their tracks.
The humongous Dragon swung the 1,000-metre-long giant spear in a sweeping motion towards the Half-Saints, causing the world itself to shudder in response.
Who among those Half-Saints would dare to face such an attack head-on? When they saw the spear coming toward them, their expressions changed drastically and they all fled backwards.
On the other hand, the Half-Saint fighting Yang Kai could not avoid the attack and could only desperately activate the power of his Demon Artifact to form a huge axe to forcefully defend himself.
In the end, he was sent flying, coughing up blood mid-air. The light of the Demon Artifact Axe in his hands went dim and it was clear that its spirituality had been considerably damaged. When the Half-Saint finally stabilised his figure again, his expression was overflowing with unwillingness and rage.
It would have been one thing if Yang Kai was actually a Half-Saint as forcing him to retreat this much would have meant that his strength was inferior to his opponent; however, Yang Kai was nothing more than a High-Rank Demon King. It made him feel useless instead. He was a Half-Saint after all; when had he ever suffered such humiliation before?
Fortunately, although his organs had been shaken by the impact and he suffered light injuries, it was nothing serious. He had not been injured by the rumoured Martial Truth.
It wasn’t until he turned back to look at his companions that the ugly expression on his face dissipated significantly. They were also showing fearful expressions at this moment; moreover, nobody dared to come forward lightly. Their reactions relieved some of his embarrassment and humiliation from getting injured.
Yang Kai raised his spear. His mountain-like body stood on the ground as his cold gaze swept out. Nobody dared to meet those pale gold Dragon Eyes directly. His thunderous voice boomed, “Come at me if you want a fight! If not, then make way!”
Hearing those words left the Half-Saints fuming from anger.
This was a Demon Stronghold, the place where the Demon Race army was stationed, yet not only did Yang Kai barge into this place alone, he also dared to make such arrogant statements! If it were anybody else, they would not have tolerated such actions even if it were a Pseudo-Great Emperor standing there. They would definitely have come at him all at once and taught him the consequences of shameless boasting.
But, this was Yang Kai. Leaving aside the fact that he had just displayed strength comparable to a Half-Saint, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. Who could restrain him here? Moreover, they had to worry about getting hurt by the Martial Truth while fighting him…
Ordinary injuries would not have bothered them, but it was a kind of injury that even a Demon Saint would find troublesome. That was not something anybody would dare to experience. The only ones who could keep him in check at this point were the Demon Saints. Be that as it may, the Demon Saints would not take action so easily at this critical juncture; therefore, the Half-Saints simply stood frozen in place and stared at Yang Kai coldly despite their ashen complexions.
Yang Kai snorted but did not provoke them any further. He came here only to investigate the situation and quickly realized that the Demon Stronghold in the Northern Territory was identical to the one in the Eastern Territory. Nevertheless, he was still clueless as to why such a huge change had occurred.
Since he couldn’t figure it out from outside the Demon Stronghold, then he could only barge in and have a closer look. Why else would he have come here alone if not for that?
According to the information from his intelligence, Xue Li and the others were still in the Southern Territory’s Star Soul Palace. They seemed to have made that place their base. He did not know if they were purposely humiliating the Star Boundary by doing so, but although they could come here very quickly, Yang Kai planned to escape at the slightest hint of abnormality. He had no intention of giving Xue Li and the others a chance to attack him.
The Azure Dragon Spear stood beside him like a giant pillar that towered into the skies and seemed to have noticed his intentions. The body of the spear let out a Dragon Roar before an illusory Azure Dragon emerged from the giant spear and coiled around it. The enormous Dragon Head was held high, overlooking the world while monitoring all four directions.
Closing his eyes, Yang Kai relaxed his mind and spread out his Divine Sense like a tidal wave. Nobody else would dare to do something like this in the Demon Land as Demon Essence was abundant within the Demon Stronghold; moreover, it was highly likely for them to become corrupted by the Demon Essence when their Divine Sense left their body. Doing so might leave behind hidden dangers at the very least. However, Yang Kai was different from ordinary people. His Emperor Qi had been converted into Demon Qi, so why would he fear the Demon Essence in the Demon Stronghold?
His target was very obvious. He was aiming for the Demon Tower standing in the middle of the Demon Stronghold. Since the Demon Towers could connect to each other and produce an effect similar to Cross-Territory Space Arrays, allowing the Demon Race to travel back and forth in the blink of an eye, it was only natural that it could allow his Divine Sense to navigate between them.
By borrowing the Demon Tower, Yang Kai would be able to clear the fog in front of him and look at the overall situation by standing at a greater height. He would be able to figure out the reason behind the Demon Land’s sudden expansion.
He had no intention of concealing his intentions, so it was only natural that the Half-Saints watching him hungrily from nearby would notice what he was doing.
One of them was a Bone Demon. He twisted his skull and glanced at the Demon Tower. The emerald Ghost Fire in his eye sockets danced slightly as his teeth made metallic noises when they knocked against each other, “Clever bastard. I can’t believe he even thought of using this method.”
“Hey, should we stop him? If this goes on, he will probably notice something.”
“How?” Another Half-Saint sneered, “Do you plan to go up and fight him?”
“Why not?” The Half-Saint who spoke previously looked eager, “He is alone after all.”
“What’s the point of fighting when we know we can’t kill him? Not to mention, we have to be wary of getting injured by him. As you all know, that Martial Truth…”
“The Demon Saints are about to make their move. Besides, the Star Boundary will figure out the truth sooner or later. What difference does it make whether it’s a little earlier or a little later? Let’s just leave this guy to the Demon Saints.”
“That’s right. I’ve already sent a message to the three Venerables. If they plan to stop him, then they will definitely come. If they don’t come, then we don’t need to do anything unnecessary either.”
Following a simple discussion, the Half-Saints quickly came to an agreement to stand back and watch how things unfolded. It wasn’t that they were cowardly. It was just that… the Martial Truth was much too troublesome. Nobody was willing to stand on the frontlines and risk their life. With nobody leading them, it was only natural that they could not become united. Furthermore, they had the Demon Saints to decide for them. Why would they need to take the risk?