Wu Heng had no intention of intervening, yet the darkness was not devouring space as quickly as he had expected. Seeing this, he let out a cold laugh.
Though both were Lords of their respective Star Domains, the length of time one had held that title mattered, and there was naturally a difference in proficiency. Yang Kai had only recently become a Star Domain Lord, and he likely could not yet leverage the full advantages of that status — which explained why his encroachment was so sluggish.
Wu Heng retreated gradually, watching from afar with cold eyes, waiting for the moment to slam the door shut and trap the dog inside.
Within the Heluo Star Domain, Yang Kai sat with both eyes closed, his state somewhat peculiar. His divine sense drifted and flickered, as though he had become one with the entire Star Domain, his great maw wide open, gnawing away at something.
Near the Void Passage, a swath of starry sky had appeared that clearly did not belong to the Heluo Star Domain. Within that stretch of sky, not only were there asteroids of all sizes drifting about, but also subtly different Heavenly Laws seeping into existence, creating a delicate friction with the native Laws already in place.
Though the Great Desolate Star Domain and the Heluo Star Domain were both Star Domains with largely similar Heavenly Laws, there were still differences — much like the divergences between the Laws of different Cultivation Stars within the same Star Domain. These differences were not obvious, but the more powerful one was, the more clearly one could perceive them.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Art circulated, using the Great Desolate Star Domain as its foundation and a stretch of starry sky as its stomach, digesting the space that had been devoured.
The sensation within Yang Kai's mind was even more wondrous. Though he was channeling the Heaven Devouring Battle Art through the entire Star Domain as his base, everything was still directed by his own will. As the Star Domain digested the devoured space, he could perceive every detail within it with crystalline clarity.
In the starry sky that had belonged to the Great Desolate Star Domain, the Heavenly Laws collapsed and dissolved, gradually assimilated and suffused by the Laws of the Heluo Star Domain. The two merged together, slowly becoming indistinguishable from one another.
There had been no resistance at all.
Where was that bastard Wu Heng? Logically, the devouring should not have gone this smoothly. Wu Heng was bound to have taken precautions, yet Yang Kai had sensed not the slightest obstruction. This struck him as strange.
Strange or not, he did not slow down. While he urged the power of his Star Domain forward as darkness to encroach upon another Star Domain's starry sky, he simultaneously circulated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art to digest what had been swallowed.
He did not know how much time had passed when, suddenly, from the other end of the darkness, a tremendous opposing force surged forth. The space he had been devouring was rapidly being wrenched back. Not only that, but an incomparably terrifying power was also piercing through the thick darkness, seeking to strike back at his consciousness.
So he finally makes a move? Yang Kai had been waiting for this moment, so he was not the least bit flustered. He did not even bother defending himself, allowing the force to travel through the darkness and hurtle toward him unimpeded.
On the other end of the darkness, Wu Heng chuckled without cease, his eyes filled with mockery.
What a naive calf that knows no fear of the tiger. If Yang Kai had been willing to let the matter drop, that would have been one thing. But no — he had actually tried to devour Wu Heng's Star Domain in return. How could Wu Heng swallow his pride without teaching the boy a lesson?
The more widely the darkness spread, the greater the area it engulfed, and correspondingly, the more mental energy Yang Kai expended.
Wu Heng had timed his strike for precisely the moment when Yang Kai could not immediately withdraw. With a savage lunge, he harnessed the power of his Star Domain and prepared to deal Yang Kai a devastating blow.
Just as the Heluo Star Domain had experienced before, the darkness within the Great Desolate Star Domain now receded like a tide, revealing the starry sky that had been swallowed up. Barring any surprises, everything would be restored to its original state before long.
Then Wu Heng's smile froze on his face. He seemed to sense something, and his eyes went wide with shock.
The power he had sent coursing through the darkness had struck an invisible barrier and could advance no further, let alone inflict any damage on his opponent. And this barrier existed in territory that belonged to his own Star Domain.
How was that possible?
How could Yang Kai have erected such an impenetrable barrier within his starry sky?
Wu Heng felt his heart sink as a growing sense of unease took root in his chest.
At the same time, the darkness had receded to its absolute limit. No matter how desperately Wu Heng pushed, he could not make it advance a single inch further.
He lifted his gaze, and his jaw dropped open. His eyes were filled with utter disbelief.
There, where the starry sky should have been, a black hole hundreds of miles in diameter dominated his vision. Inside it churned primordial chaos and nothingness, as though heaven and earth had not yet been born — a sight that filled one with an immense sense of dread.
At the very center of that black hole lay the spot where the Void Passage had once been. But the original Void Passage had never been anywhere near this large. It had now expanded to more than a hundred times its former size!
What was going on? Had his Star Domain actually been refined by Yang Kai?
Only this explanation could account for why the Void Passage had expanded into a black hole hundreds of miles wide. The starry sky that had once occupied the space within the black hole no longer belonged to the Great Desolate Star Domain. With that refined starry sky gone, the void left behind had formed this enormous black hole.
How on earth had he managed it?
Wu Heng began to suspect that his eyes were deceiving him.
After all, in the three years of effort prior, though he had devoured vast swaths of the Heluo Star Domain's starry sky, that had been nothing more than devouring — he had been utterly unable to refine any of it. If he had been able to, Yang Kai would never have reclaimed it so easily.
Devouring and refining were two entirely different concepts.