Yang Kai could sense the Earth Demon locked in a fierce battle with the Insect King within the Star Map space on the back of his hand. Although the Earth Demon had initially been no match for the Insect King, the creature had swallowed far too much energy and was unable to digest it all. Its body had grown bloated, its speed drastically reduced, and the Earth Demon was now fighting it on equal footing.
As time passed, the Insect King consumed more and more energy, and the Earth Demon gradually turned the tide in its favor. The Soul Breaker Spear unleashed its full might, beating the Insect King back step by step until wounds covered its entire body.
The back of Yang Kai's hand burned scorching hot. Bearing the impact of so much energy was hurting him too. He looked down and saw that the previously hidden Star Map now blazed with light, revealing the same boundless starry sky as always. Within that cosmos, Yang Kai could make out two figures—one black, one gold—criss-crossing in battle.
A faint smell of scorching drifted up. The True Yang Energy he had been pouring in had exceeded what the area could take, and the skin on his hand had begun to blister and burn.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and endured, continuing to channel True Yang Energy inward. The enormous volume of Yuan Qi was not only overwhelming the Insect King—it was affecting the Earth Demon as well.
The Earth Demon's spiritual soul and the Soul Breaker Spear were both creatures of yin and darkness, and True Yang Energy was their natural bane. Had he not sworn loyalty to Yang Kai as his master, the Earth Demon could never have carried the Soul Breaker Spear while hiding inside his body.
Under normal circumstances this was not a problem, but now the Earth Demon felt as though it were about to melt in that blazing, scorching yang energy.
Unease churned in the Earth Demon's heart. It frantically tried to convey its thoughts to Yang Kai but received no response.
What felt like thousands of years later, the Earth Demon finally caught the faint sound of Yang Kai's call.
"Come out!"
The Earth Demon nearly wept with relief. Moments ago it had genuinely feared that Yang Kai intended to destroy it along with the Insect King—that was why it had gotten no reply. Now, hearing its young master's summons again, an overwhelming sense of gratitude surged through it. A warrior would gladly die for one who truly understood him.
It did not dare linger for even a heartbeat. The instant Yang Kai opened a gap in the Star Map space, the Earth Demon shot out.
The Insect King tried to follow, but the gap opened and sealed in a flash, leaving it no chance.
"Star Trace!" Yang Kai bellowed through clenched teeth. His right fist slowly rose as the pattern of the endless cosmos swirled around him, painting the gloomy burrow with scattered points of starlight.
BOOM! A deafening explosion shook the entire insect nest, and Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
There were no visible marks of the Star Trace technique on the surrounding area. The Earth Demon had watched the whole thing unfold with perfect clarity. Shocked to its core, it cried out involuntarily: "Young Master!"
"I'm fine!" Yang Kai coughed out several mouthfuls of stale blood, his face turning deathly pale. He panted heavily and looked down at his right hand.
The back of his hand was a mangled mess of torn flesh. He could faintly see the tendons within and the gleam of bone beneath. Upon closer inspection, Yang Kai broke into a grin.
The Insect King was dead. Its aura was gone from his body.
First it had been force-fed an enormous amount of energy, then the Earth Demon had dealt it devastating blows, and finally it had taken a direct Star Trace to the face. Surviving all of that would have been a miracle.
The Earth Demon trembled inside. After a long pause, it finally spoke with genuine sincerity: "Young Master… this old servant is in awe!"
It had to be in awe. Yang Kai's Star Trace had not targeted a distant enemy—it had detonated directly on the back of his own hand.
If even slightly off, Yang Kai would have died without a doubt.
Fortunately, Yang Kai's control had been impeccable. The vast majority of the destructive force had been borne by the Insect King, with only the faintest residual shock reaching him.
To be so ruthless to oneself—this was not something an ordinary person could do. The Earth Demon was truly and completely won over.
"Keep watch for a while. I may need a few days to recover," Yang Kai said in a hurried murmur as he tore a strip of cloth and wrapped his injured right hand. Then he shut his eyes.
Star Trace was devastatingly powerful. Back when Yang Kai had used it, a single punch had sent a sixth-rank demon beast crashing to the ground. Even though he had only absorbed a fraction of the backlash this time, it was far more than a cultivator at the fifth level of the Qi Movement Realm could withstand.
His right hand throbbed with searing pain. His Yuan Qi was in disarray, and his internal organs had been shaken enough to shift slightly from their proper positions.
The only comfort Yang Kai found was that despite the mangled flesh on the back of his hand, the Star Map space still existed. At least he wouldn't have to worry about losing his ability to use Star Trace in the future.
It took considerable effort, but Yang Kai finally managed to restore his Yuan Qi to order. He circulated the True Yang Technique ceaselessly, using the True Yang Energy within his body to gently soothe the injured area and clear away the stale blood.
A full two days later, Yang Kai finally opened his eyes. The first thing he asked was: "Those insects didn't break in, did they?"
This was his greatest concern. The small insects were not too worrying—low rank, merely numerous. But the ones as tall as a person were clearly demon beasts of significant rank. Any single one of them was probably no weaker than those disciples from Yunxia.
"They did not," the Earth Demon replied. "Those insects wouldn't dare come in here. This is the Insect King's dwelling."
"Good." Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but notice that his injuries seemed to be healing much faster than before. He unwound the cloth from his right hand. Although the back was still a mass of torn flesh, it was clearly regenerating at a remarkable pace—the exposed bone and tendons were no longer visible.