The body had grown smaller, but that didn't mean its strength had weakened—if anything, it was a sign of refinement. The once-obvious Holy Spirit characteristics had also changed. The stone ridges and barbs that had grown on its surface were gone, and in their place, lumps of stone resembling bulging muscles were filled with explosive power. Wicked fire flickered faintly in the crevices of its stone body, and the demonic energy wrapping around it surged skyward in thick billows.
Perhaps because it had only recently advanced, the Law Body couldn't yet control its own power with precision. Yang Kai could clearly sense the aura of a Half-Saint emanating from it—a power that transcended both Demon Kings and the Emperor Venerable Realm. Without having made comparisons, he couldn't tell whether the Law Body was any different from those veteran Half-Saints.
His divine sense surged, recalling the Law Body into the Small Mysterious World to consolidate its cultivation. Yang Kai turned back to rejoin Yin and the others.
He wasn't in a hurry to push on. Yang Kai rode upon Zhui Feng, leading a sizable contingent of demons in grand procession toward Cloud Shadow City. The one-year deadline he had agreed upon with Ming Yue was drawing near, the Law Body situation was now settled, and it was time to make a trip to the Phantom Continent and seek out Yu Rumeng.
If anything had happened to Ming Yue, Yu Rumeng would be the first to know. By staying at her side, he could learn of any developments on the Zhoutian Continent and plan accordingly.
Just as these thoughts were forming in his mind, he spotted a demon racing toward them from the distance. The demon looked harried. As the figure drew near enough to make out clearly, the demon was momentarily stunned upon seeing Yang Kai at the lead. Then he cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, my lords."
Yang Kai gave a slight nod and looked down at him from his mount. "What is it?"
The demon was merely a Demon Commander. He appeared to have flown in from the direction of Cloud Shadow City. Cupping his fists, the demon replied, "Your Majesty, according to our scouts' reports, all the continents of the Demon Domain are currently mobilizing their forces on an emergency basis. The various Half-Saints have also been deployed one after another. It seems something major is brewing, though the reason remains unclear."
Last time, in order to locate Ming Yue, Yang Kai had pulled a considerable number of personnel from Cloud Shadow and Lan Yuan, deploying them across the various continents of the Demon Domain to gather intelligence. Though Ming Yue had since been found, these scouts had never been recalled. Instead, they continued to relay intelligence from across the Demon Domain back to Cloud Shadow City. Recently, anomalies had been detected on the other continents—something significant appeared to be on the horizon. Naturally, they had reported in at once.
Hearing this, Lao Ke furrowed his brows. "Could something have happened at the Two-World Battlefield?" Every continent was mobilizing forces, and numerous Half-Saints had been deployed. This clearly indicated something of enormous consequence. Apart from some development at the Two-World Battlefield, there was nothing else that could prompt the Demon Domain to take such sweeping action.
The Demon Commander shook his head. "I don't know, Your Majesty. However—"
"However what?"
"However, it appears the Half-Saints' target is the Zhoutian Continent, not the Two-World Battlefield."
"The Zhoutian Continent!" Yang Kai's expression shifted. He leaned forward slightly, fixing the Demon Commander ahead with an intense gaze. "Are you certain it's the Zhoutian Continent?"
The Demon Commander wilted under his stare. Swallowing hard, he said, "That is what the scouts reported. Apparently, armies totaling millions from several continents have already been stationed outside the Zhoutian Continent's realm gate."
There was no longer any doubt—something had happened on the Zhoutian Continent. The first person Yang Kai thought of was Ming Yue.
Talk of the devil and he shall appear. Just moments ago, he had been planning to visit the Phantom Continent first to find Yu Rumeng.
Ming Yue had been gravely wounded and trapped on the Zhoutian Continent. Not only was there an enormous grand array there, but Demon Saints were personally guarding it as well. The demons had not even hesitated to blood-sacrifice every living being on the entire Zhoutian Continent, activating the array's full power in order to keep Ming Yue trapped in the Demon Domain forever. What no one had anticipated was that he would secretly infiltrate it—and leave Ming Yue with three leaves from the Tree of Eternal Youth. With the aid of those leaves, Ming Yue could fully recover within a year.
Though he was still vastly outnumbered, at the very least Ming Yue was no longer a lamb awaiting slaughter. An Emperor at the height of his power and a gravely wounded Emperor were two entirely different things.
On this point, the Demon Saints had miscalculated. They would likely pay a steep price for it.
The mobilization of forces across every continent and the mass deployment of Half-Saints were the clearest evidence. These signs indicated that fighting had already broken out on the Zhoutian Continent, and the Demon Saints had likely realized that events were unfolding differently from what they had expected. Otherwise, why would they need to mobilize reinforcements?
Given Ming Yue's previous condition, he could only have grown weaker with time. The combined might of Xue Li and the grand array alone should have been more than enough to condemn him to eternal ruin.
"After one year, pay attention to any news from this place. If anything changes, remember to come. There are still things I must tell you."
Ming Yue's words echoed in his ears. Yang Kai squeezed his legs against Zhui Feng's flanks and turned the mount toward the nearest realm gate at full gallop.
"Your Majesty, where are you going?!" Lao Ke cried out in alarm.
Yang Kai paid no heed. Driving Zhui Feng forward, he vanished from sight in an instant, leaving Yin, Lao Ke, and the others exchanging bewildered glances. They had no idea what had gotten into Yang Kai.
But before they could even begin to figure it out, Yang Kai—who had already disappeared into the distance—actually came back. His expression was grim to the point of being frightening. A command rang out: "Muster every able fighter from Cloud Shadow and Lan Yuan at once! We march to Zhoutian!"