The devouring process didn't just leave Yang Kai in high spirits — the entire Heluo Star Domain seemed to swell with a joyous undercurrent. A world possessed its own will, and it could naturally sense that what Yang Kai was doing would benefit it.
As time passed, the rate of devouring only accelerated. No matter how desperately Wu Heng struggled and maneuvered to stem the tide, it was futile. He could only watch helplessly as his territory bled away, grief and fury warring in his chest.
At one point, a sudden thought struck Yang Kai. He turned it over in his mind even as he continued maintaining the Star Domain's devouring, weighing its feasibility. The more he considered it, the better it sounded, and he very nearly patted himself on the back a hundred times over.
He opened his eyes and looked toward the Dharma Avatar.
Throughout the refinement and devouring process, the Dharma Avatar had been standing guard at his side without moving an inch. Now their gazes met, and the Avatar instantly grasped what he was scheming. It gave a faint nod and extended one palm toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai channeled the Star Domain Origin, forcing it out of his spiritual sea. A brilliant star map — shrunk countless times over — materialized in his palm, blazing with radiant light.
The Dharma Avatar took it and swallowed it in a single gulp, then settled cross-legged in the void of space. It took a good while before its eyes opened once more, and it nodded toward Yang Kai, signaling that everything had gone smoothly.
In this moment, the Dharma Avatar had temporarily replaced Yang Kai as the master of the Heluo Star Domain.
Only the Dharma Avatar could get the Star Domain Origin to accept a new master so effortlessly. Anyone else would have found it utterly impossible — likely devoured by the backlash the instant they swallowed that star map.
After all, strictly speaking, the Dharma Avatar's consciousness was a split fragment of Yang Kai's own. The two originated from the same source, their auras a perfect match, so the Star Domain Origin naturally wouldn't offer much resistance. Add to that the fact that the recent devouring and refinement had already given the Star Domain Origin a taste of the benefits, and the Avatar stepping in as temporary master became all the more seamless.
Moreover, the Dharma Avatar had been practicing the Heavenly Devouring Battle Art for years, and its comprehension and application of the technique far surpassed Yang Kai's own. Having it drive the Star Domain Origin's devouring and refinement meant efficiency that Yang Kai couldn't even dream of matching.
Now freed up, Yang Kai turned his head toward that stretch of darkness and bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Wu Heng — I'm coming for you!"
While devouring and refining his opponent's Star Domain had certainly vented a great deal of frustration, it hadn't actually inflicted all that much direct damage on Wu Heng himself. Perhaps only after the entire Great Desolation Star Domain had been completely refined would it truly wound him at the root.
Yang Kai had no intention of dragging this out. He'd promised to beat the man so badly his own mother wouldn't recognize him, and that was exactly what he intended to do. Clashing across the boundary wall like this — even with the upper hand — simply didn't provide the satisfaction he craved.
Fortune favors the bold!
Yang Kai was going to charge into that tiger's den once more! But this time was different from the last. Last time he'd gone in to rescue Li Jiao and Lü Sanniang, retreating immediately after succeeding. This time, he intended to tear the Great Desolation Star Domain apart from the inside out!
There was, of course, another reason — Yang Kai needed to find a way to repair the Small World.
As the saying went, the wool comes from the sheep's back. The Small World had been damaged because of Wu Heng, so naturally the means to repair it had to come from him. The Great Desolation Star Domain was sure to contain no shortage of materials for the job.
With that thought, Yang Kai plunged headlong into the darkness without a shred of hesitation.
In the Great Desolation Star Domain, amid the stars, the black hole had already expanded to a span of a million li. Even several nearby dead stars had been swallowed clean, vanishing without a trace.
Wu Heng kept retreating, pouring every ounce of his strength into resisting the black hole, but could only slow the rate of absorption — not stop it.
Just a moment ago, the devouring had suddenly ceased, and he'd felt a flicker of hope. But before he could even begin to celebrate, it started again — and this time, faster than before.
He had no way of knowing about the identity swap between Yang Kai and the Dharma Avatar. Now that the Avatar was driving the Heavenly Devouring Battle Art, the technique's terrifying power had risen to an entirely new level.
While Wu Heng was still reeling in confusion, a figure suddenly flashed out from within the enormous black hole.
He squinted, and his eyes went red. Gritting his teeth, he roared, "You bastard — you dare come back?!"
The figure was none other than Yang Kai himself. Wu Heng simply could not believe that this guy had the audacity to show up again. Did he not know how to write the word "death"? But then another thought struck him — if Yang Kai was here, why had the devouring on the other side only grown faster?
By all reason, a Star Domain's master could not possibly drive the domain to devour anything while absent from it. Yet Yang Kai had clearly crossed the boundary and was standing right before him.
Could it be that he wasn't the Star Domain's master at all? Had he been wrong this entire time?
No — during their brief exchange last time, Yang Kai had definitely wielded the Star Domain's power. Otherwise, he couldn't have sent Wu Heng flying with a single punch.
When enemies meet, their eyes burn red. Wu Heng had no time for deeper analysis. His face twisted into a savage mask as he bellowed, "Since you've come, then die here!"
Having already suffered two bitter losses at Yang Kai's hands, Wu Heng wasn't about to hold back. He struck with everything he had from the very first move, thrusting his massive hand toward Yang Kai in a phantom grab and clenching it tight.
Yang Kai's entire body was instantly locked in place. Every bone in his frame creaked and cracked under the pressure, and a mouthful of golden blood sprayed from his lips.
Provoking the master on his own turf — Yang Kai wasn't going to walk away unscathed. But he showed no panic, no alarm. He simply looked at Wu Heng and flashed a grin.
That grin held no good intentions whatsoever. It made Wu Han's heart lurch the moment he saw it, an instinctive certainty that some new scheme was afoot.
The next instant, his face changed dramatically.