Beside the boundless Blood Sea, upon a pillar of crimson, a towering figure stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His features were strikingly handsome in a sinister, wild way, his fiery red hair whipping about in the wind, and his scarlet, beast-like eyes gazed into the depths of the Blood Sea, emanating a mysterious glow as though he sought to peer through to Mingyue's condition within.
Unfortunately, though Mingyue was wounded and trapped, he was far from helpless. Even someone as powerful as this figure could not see clearly into the inner reaches. The soft radiance emanating from the Blood Sea blocked both his line of sight and his Divine Sense, leaving him somewhat exasperated.
The Great Emperor of the Star Boundary was no pushover, it seemed.
Their earlier clash had given him a slight advantage, but nothing decisive. What puzzled him most was why Mingyue had suddenly attacked him. Was this the desperate thrashing of a cornered beast?
A Great Emperor shouldn't be so irrational. But then why would he do something like that?
He pondered for a while but arrived at no conclusion. With a slow shake of his head, he lifted his gaze once more to the endless Blood Sea and let out a soft, cold snort. Mingyue was wounded, and with himself personally overseeing this place — backed by the Twelve Heavenly Demon Formation powered by the blood sacrifice of every demon on the Zhoutian Continent — Mingyue would most certainly be kept here forever within the Blood Sea. Even if he was a Great Emperor, he wouldn't be able to stir up so much as a ripple.
At that thought, he swept his great hand outward. The blood from the bodies of all the demons who had perished nearby from the aftershocks of his battle with Mingyue surged forth simultaneously, streaming like spirit serpents into the Blood Sea.
As the crimson light flickered, the figure vanished without a trace.
…
Inside the Blood Sea, within the pure land formed by that gentle radiance, Yang Kai stared at Mingyue's abdomen with a blank, horrified expression.
He had long guessed that Mingyue's current state must be dire — wounded, even — but he had never imagined the injuries could be so severe. A massive hole gaped in his lower left abdomen, the flesh entirely gone. Though no more blood seeped out, the terrifying demonic energy still corroded him ceaselessly, making for a truly ghastly sight.
For an ordinary person, it might have been manageable. But Mingyue was a Great Emperor. One look at the wound told you just how ferocious that battle must have been.
And even now, a trace of dried blood still lingered at the corner of Mingyue's lips — undoubtedly from a small loss he'd suffered during his most recent exchange with the Demon Sovereign. In terms of raw strength, he and the Demon Sovereign were closely matched, but the other side held every advantage — timing, terrain, and manpower — while Mingyue was far from his peak. Losing ground was only to be expected.
"You are Yang Kai?"
Just as Yang Kai was examining the Great Emperor, Mingyue suddenly spoke, his expression tinged with surprise — he hadn't expected to encounter someone from the Star Boundary here, let alone someone he knew.
Yang Kai straightened his expression and clasped his fists in salute. "Yang Kai, Guest Elder of the Azure Sun Divine Temple, greets the Great Emperor!"
Mingyue was the guardian deity of the Southern Domain, so Yang Kai naturally adopted his Southern Domain identity for the audience.
Mingyue nodded gently, then asked with a hint of suspicion, "How did you end up here?"
Yang Kai replied in a solemn voice, "This junior was entrusted by Lord Tianshu to enter the Demon Realm and investigate Your Excellency's whereabouts." He paused briefly, then added, "And I thank Your Excellency for saving my life just now." By now, he understood exactly what had happened.
It must have been when he entered the Blood Sea and released his Emperor Yuan that Mingyue detected him. That was why he had suddenly launched his attack — to disrupt the Demon Sovereign's perception — and then carved out a path through the Blood Sea to guide Yang Kai here.
Without Mingyue's intervention, Yang Kai was certain the Demon Sovereign would have discovered him, and what would have followed was anyone's guess.
Mingyue smiled warmly. "You're rather bold, aren't you?"
Yang Kai rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Fortunately, I had good luck." If Mingyue hadn't been the one to detect him first — but rather the Demon Sovereign — the mere thought made his scalp tingle.
Mingyue nodded. "So that old codger Tianshu sent you… I'm sure he has his reasons, but I must admit I'm curious. How did you manage to enter the Demon Realm safely and make it all the way here?"
Yang Kai scratched his head. "This junior has defected from the Star Boundary and defected to the Demon Realm. Back in the Star Boundary, I'm now infamous — everyone wants a piece of me."
After saying this, he stole a glance at Mingyue and found that the Great Emperor not only showed no sign of anger but actually wore an expression of keen interest. He hurriedly explained the circumstances.
A moment later, Mingyue clicked his tongue in amazement. "So in other words — that Yu Rumeng originally infiltrated the Star Boundary and got close to you, but because her strength had been severely diminished, she couldn't force you. She had to use softer methods to lure you into the Demon Realm. And you had already seen through her intentions the whole time, so you played along, recruiting Iron Blood to help you put on a convincing show? And then you smoothly defected from the Star Boundary and ended up here?"
Yang Kai nodded with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "That's more or less what happened."