Wu Kuang had no three heads and six arms. If one hadn't already known his identity, simply bumping into the man on the street, no one would ever connect him with the title of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
Not only was there nothing particularly remarkable about him—even the figure standing before the Dragon Tomb at this moment seemed somewhat unreal, neither solid nor ethereal, like an illusion that was also disturbingly real.
Zhu Yan halted in his tracks, his expression turning grim.
"It's over—a Phantom Soul Projection!" Mo Huang barked, his face equally severe.
The figure ahead was indeed Wu Kuang, but it was not his true body. It was a secret art projection that had almost perfectly replicated his aura and appearance.
"We've been played!" Fu Zhun ground her teeth.
Whether it was the tracking art she had deployed or the guidance of Mo Huang's small beast, every indication had pointed straight at the Dragon Tomb. Coupled with Yang Kai's seemingly airtight deductions, everyone had concluded that Wu Kuang's objective on Dragon Island was the Dragon Tomb—and the myriad sources of Dragon Clan power contained within.
But upon actually arriving, they discovered that everything had been wrong.
With nothing more than a single Phantom Soul Projection, Wu Kuang had successfully diverted everyone's attention to this location, while his true body was already off somewhere else, carrying out whatever scheme he had in mind.
This was the real "luring the tiger from the mountain."
In this world, the only beings capable of deceiving a Great Emperor were fellow Great Emperors. Though Wu Kuang's strength had not yet fully recovered, he had lurking in the shadows and, with a mere flick of his wrist, played every last one of them like puppets.
He was bold—yet supremely confident!
Just as everyone's minds were in turmoil, Wu Kuang's phantom smiled faintly: "Friends, I trust you've been well!"
No one paid him any mind. It was merely a Phantom Soul Projection—there was no point engaging it in conversation. One might even accidentally fall for some trap Wu Kuang had laid.
Since the Dragon Tomb was not Wu Kuang's target, then what exactly was he after?
Yang Kai and Li Wuyi simultaneously turned their heads in the same direction, then glanced at each other, each seeing the same surprise reflected in the other's eyes: "Such dense spatial power fluctuations!"
Among everyone present, only the two of them were versed in the Dao of Space. When that wave of power had first rippled outward, they had been the first to sense it.
Right after, Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun detected it as well—followed swiftly by Mo Huang.
Fu Zhun stomped her foot and shot off as a streak of white light, with Zhu Yan close behind, both moving with the speed of falling meteors.
Mo Huang's face was ashen as he hissed, "It's the Dragon Palace!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the truth struck everyone like a thunderbolt.
Wu Kuang's true target had been the Dragon Palace all along. He had used the Phantom Soul Projection to draw every powerful being on the island to the Dragon Tomb, while his real body had already slipped into the Dragon Palace unobserved—its purpose anyone's guess.
"This is bad—he's going to escape!" Mo Huang shouted, as though something had just clicked. He bolted toward the Dragon Palace at once, and for the first time, a trace of genuine anxiety surfaced on his face. Clearly, the stakes were enormous.
As they all hurtled through the air, a blinding burst of radiance suddenly erupted from the distant location. A pillar of light surged skyward, piercing straight through the clouds and into the heavens, as though it had punched a hole right through the sky itself.
And the fluctuations of spatial power only grew more pronounced, more concentrated with every passing moment.
Yang Kai gripped Zhu Qing's hand, flying at her side, his expression equally grave. Well versed in the Dao of Space, he understood all too well what these fluctuations signified—yet he could not for the life of him figure out how Wu Kuang had managed it. The man was the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, yes, but he had never heard that Wu Kuang possessed any notable attainments in the power of space.
He sighed inwardly. Every powerhouse on Dragon Island had been run ragged by Wu Kuang this time. Even if they rushed over now, it would almost certainly be too late.
Wu Kuang had gone to all this trouble on Dragon Island, which meant he must have had an airtight plan and preparations.
If Wu Kuang escaped, then he and Mo Huang would be left to face the unbridled fury of the Dragon Clan. Mo Huang was the Beast Martial Great Emperor—he probably didn't fear Dragon Island all that much. But Yang Kai couldn't say the same for himself. Standing before a colossus like Dragon Island, he couldn't help feeling a touch of unease.
After a brief deliberation, Yang Kai quietly gathered Li Jiao and Liu Yan's avatar to his side, and, when no one was watching, tucked them both into the Small Profound World.
He needed to prepare his escape route early.
The pillar of light erupting from the Dragon Palace blazed ever brighter, illuminating virtually the entire island. After a while, the brilliance finally began to wane, gradually contracting and fading.
By the time the group hurriedly arrived at the Dragon Palace, the light had already died away. All that remained was an unmistakable pulse of spatial power emanating from deep within the structure.
The Dragon Palace was a towering, majestic edifice, radiating an aura that stretched back through countless ages. Having weathered hundreds of thousands of years of wind and frost, it was one of the most critical pillars of the entire Dragon Clan.
Only beings who carried the blood of the Dragon Clan were permitted to set foot inside—and that blood had to be absolutely pure. Dragon descendants like Li Jiao didn't even have the right to approach the palace; if they forced their way in, they would be crushed to dust by the dragon might contained within.
Yang Kai was the last to arrive. Outside the Dragon Palace, Li Wuyi and Jiu Feng were waiting. Apart from them, everyone else had vanished—clearly, they had already entered.
Upon seeing Yang Kai, Li Wuyi offered him a faint smile. Jiu Feng, however, let out a murmur of surprise.
She had noticed that Liu Yan was gone, and several others connected to Yang Kai had disappeared as well. She shot Yang Kai a deeply meaningful glance but said nothing.
"I'll go inside and take a look," Yang Kai announced, then stepped through the entrance with Zhu Qing.
He wasn't there to join the spectacle. He simply wanted to know how Duan Hongchen was faring.