Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On the plaza of the Human Emperor City, hundreds of thousands of people streamed in from every direction, families in tow.
Before Yang Kai, the entrance to a dark, void-like passage hung silently in midair, its yawning maw like that of an invisible beast — no matter how many people walked in, it could swallow them all clean.
The entrance was, of course, the gateway to the Small World. Manifesting it openly was simply a matter of convenience; otherwise Yang Kai would have had to tuck hundreds of thousands of people into the Small World one by one through the World Bead. Letting them walk in of their own accord was far easier.
The royal family's gaze was full of probing curiosity, their eyes lingering ceaselessly on the entrance. They clearly wanted to know what exactly this thing was — how could it possibly swallow so many people? But Yang Kai said nothing, and they did not dare ask.
Time trickled by.
It took an entire day and night before Yang Kai had finished arranging for every last resident of the Human Emperor City. Those who entered the Small World would naturally appear first in the new Human Emperor City — a fortress Yang Kai had personally constructed, its defenses as solid as iron. Within the Small World, it was practically impervious.
These hundreds of thousands would live and multiply in the Small World from now on, no longer subject to the peculiar laws of the Samsara World.
The royal family and the Domain Emperor realm cultivators were also taken inside, though Yang Kai placed them elsewhere. The war between the two worlds still required their strength — their journey's end would not be the Small World.
The Sacred Tree was transplanted by Yang Kai into the medicinal garden, arranged in a triangular formation alongside the Tree of Immortality and the Azure Tree.
Everything was in order. The city was now completely empty. The Samsara World, unchanged for over a hundred thousand years, had its landscape irrevocably altered by Yang Kai's arrival.
Yang Kai launched himself skyward and streaked through the air, heading naturally toward Demon Rage City — the exit from this world was nearby.
Another day later, Yang Kai arrived above Demon Rage City. He looked down, raised his hand, and summoned Guixu with a flick of his finger toward the city below.
A-Wang's eyes instantly lit up. His tiny body transformed into a streak of black light and shot toward the city.
Moments later, Demon Rage City erupted into chaos. Countless demons fled in every direction, screaming in panic. Guixu split its gaping maw wide, and wherever it passed, demons vanished utterly, all swallowed into its belly.
It was the bane of the demon race. Even Demon King-level powerhouses were no match before it, and the strongest in Demon Rage City were only Demon Kings.
The last time Yang Kai had come, he had been in a hurry to find the exit and leave this world, so he'd had no interest in dealing with the demons in the city. This time, he would show no quarter. The demons had already invaded the Star Boundary. If the demons of this world ever found a chance to break free and enter the Star Boundary, it would be the Star Boundary's living beings who suffered.
Guixu rampaged through the city for an entire day. The demons suffered devastating casualties — eight out of ten were killed. A handful of stragglers remained, but Yang Kai couldn't be bothered with them. He grabbed Guixu and sped toward the entrance.
As before, a biting wind blew from the entrance, cold enough to freeze the soul. Even Yang Kai could not endure it for long.
However, with A-Wang clearing the path ahead, Yang Kai was largely undisturbed. The bone-chilling gale rushing toward them was all swallowed into A-Wang's belly without a trace. Last time, Yang Kai, Zhu Qing, and the others had relied on A-Wang's power to make their way out.
He had no idea how long he traveled against that frozen wind before he finally felt a ripple of spatial energy from ahead.
Knowing the exit was near, he didn't hesitate. Scooping up A-Wang, he dove straight in.
Floating through the void, Yang Kai retraced his old path. Once again, he sensed the auras of two vast worlds — the Star Boundary and the Demon Domain. In other words, the exit from the Samsara World connected not only to the Star Boundary but also to the Demon Domain.
Just like the small world where he had found Lan Xun and the others.
He suddenly recalled that the last time he left the Samsara World, he had arrived directly in the Western Region — and the shattered small world had also been in the Western Region. Could there be some elusive connection between the two?
If so, the Frozen Expanse warranted close attention. Otherwise, if the demons ever invaded through that front, the Northern Region could become the next Western Region.
Following the aura of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai tore through space and emerged into daylight.
What greeted his eyes made his brow furrow.
The surrounding land was barren wasteland. That alone wouldn't have been remarkable — the Western Region had always been more desolate than the others. What made Yang Kai uncomfortable was that this stretch of earth was saturated with demonic energy. The land had fallen, become demonic soil.
Not far away, a small demon patrol was making its rounds, led by what was unmistakably a Demon Commander.
Yang Kai's appearance immediately drew their attention. The patrol turned to look his way, and the leading Demon Commander flashed Yang Kai a grin. A bloody radiance erupted from his entire body, and he lunged forward in a flash.
The stench of blood washed over Yang Kai, a presence designed to unsettle the mind and crush one's courage.
A Blood Demon! This was a classic Blood Demon technique against enemies — it rarely failed. Even when both sides were evenly matched, once the victim was shaken by the bloody aura, their combat strength would plummet.
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow and slowly extended a hand forward, seizing hold.