Yao Si spoke with barely concealed frustration. Yang Kai had sealed the passage between the two realms, buying the Star Boundary over a decade of preparation. The armies of the four domains had drilled and sharpened their blades, yet the moment contact was made, the situation had already devolved like this—how could anyone accept it? This wasn't because the Star Boundary's forces were weak; the Demon Race simply didn't care about casualties.
No one had anticipated the sheer madness of the Demon Race's onslaught. Unless the source of reinforcements from the Demon Domain was cut off, the Coiling Dragon Great Formation would inevitably buckle.
With Yao Si's few words, Yang Kai had already grasped the state of the battlefield. He gave a slight nod. "I'll go!"
The instant the words left his mouth, he took a single step forward, his form blurring. Xia Ningshang's cry of "Be careful!" hadn't even finished leaving her lips before he had vanished.
Where he landed, he had already crossed a thousand li and materialized in the heart of the battlefield.
A Demon King stood three zhang away, staring at him with a bewildered expression, clearly unable to fathom how a person had suddenly appeared before him. But it didn't take long for recognition to dawn. The Demon King's eyes widened and he bellowed, "Yang Kai!"
During the years Yang Kai had spent in the Demon Domain, he had made quite a name for himself, setting foot on nearly every continent. The Battle of Zhou Tian had made him the focus of countless eyes—it was no surprise that this Demon King could recognize him at a glance.
The shout had barely left the Demon King's mouth when he realized the danger he was in. His strength was considerable, but he knew full well he couldn't survive a Demon Saint's pursuit. This human, however, had done exactly that. Without hesitation, the Demon King shot backward at full speed.
As he retreated, Yang Kai casually raised his hand. A crescent of black light hurtled toward the Demon King, cutting through every demon unfortunate enough to be in its path—slicing them cleanly in half—and arriving before him in the blink of an eye.
The Demon King roared, demonic energy surging wildly as he threw a punch forward.
A searing pain shot through his fist. The black crescent had sliced straight through it, cleaved through his arm, and passed entirely through his torso.
The Demon King stiffened, standing frozen in place. He stared blankly toward Yang Kai's position, a few choked sounds escaping his throat. The next instant, his body split apart in two halves, blood spraying wildly, his viscera spilling across the ground.
Yang Kai didn't so much as glance at the Demon King. With a surge of his spiritual sense, vast swarms of dark clouds coiled around him, and from within that black mist came the faintest of buzzing sounds. Looking closely, one would see that the dark clouds were composed of countless tiny insects.
Soul Devouring Beetles!
Yang Kai rarely deployed the Soul Devouring Beetles lightly. As his own strength had grown, their usefulness in combat had diminished—they were ineffective against powerful enemies and utterly unnecessary against weak ones.
But in a situation like this, surrounded on all sides, the Soul Devouring Beetles could unleash devastating effect.
Buzzing filled the air as the vast insect clouds swirled around Yang Kai. With a flick of his spiritual sense, he uttered a quiet command: "Go!"
The insect clouds split into over a dozen clusters, scattering in every direction toward the demon hordes. Wherever they passed, the demons fell in droves—their consciousnesses eroded and their souls devoured by the minuscule parasites, dying without a single visible wound on their bodies.
Having released the Soul Devouring Beetles, Yang Kai paid them no further mind. He let his arms hang at his sides, and with rapid flicks of his fingers, crescent blades shot outward in every direction.
The crescent blades carved through everything in their path, dismantling the demon ranks with brutal efficiency. Row after row of demons were cut to pieces.
Yang Kai strolled forward, the crescent blades never ceasing. Wherever he walked, death followed. Common demons couldn't approach within a hundred zhang of him, and even Demon Kings could barely withstand two or three exchanges.
His speed was extraordinary. In just a few steps, he had crossed dozens of li, and in his wake, a death zone a hundred zhang wide had appeared. Viewed from high above, starting from where he had first landed to his current position, not a single demon remained alive within a hundred-zhang-wide corridor stretching dozens of li long.
After walking and killing for a time, Yang Kai found it somewhat tedious. The crescent blades were formidable, but slaying demons this way still required his own effort. With a thought, he summoned the Wind Gourd.
The mouth of the gourd opened, and from within the small vessel, extragalactic gale-force winds condensed into razor-sharp blades of air, shooting outward in every direction.
Another wave of slaughter ensued. The Wind Gourd, obtained from the depths of the Forbidden Grounds of the Wuhua Temple within the rift of the Void, shone brilliantly today on this vast battlefield—it was simply the supreme Artifact for dealing with groups!
Now things were easier. Yang Kai simply charged forward with the Wind Gourd's mouth aimed ahead, its razor-sharp wind blades cutting an unstoppable path.
When he had first appeared, few had noticed him. But with the Soul Devouring Beetles running rampant, the crescent blades slicing through demon ranks, and the Wind Gourd's arrival, he had instantly become the focal point of the entire battlefield.
Kill enough people, and drawing attention becomes inevitable.
At the dragon's head of the Coiling Dragon Great Formation, Li Wuyi's gaze swept across and found that familiar silhouette. The tension in his chest eased and he let out a quiet breath of relief.
He's finally here—and not too late! Li Wuyi immediately issued his orders. The Coiling Dragon Great Formation shifted, its colossal body winding through the terrain as it surged toward Yang Kai's position to relieve the pressure.
Li Wuyi had spotted Yang Kai, and the Demon Race's powerhouses had noticed him too.
Yang Kai had devoured the Demon Domain, lured two Demon Saints along with Chang Tian into rebellion, and then sealed the passage between the realms. Countless demon powerhouses had long wanted him dead. They hadn't been able to find him until now—now that he had shown himself, how could they let him go?
On the battlefield, a vast sea of blood contracted and transformed into a crimson streak of light, hurtling toward Yang Kai's position at blinding speed.
In the span of ten breaths, it had closed the distance. An overwhelming stench of blood filled the air, and murderous intent locked onto Yang Kai. The blood-red light dissipated, revealing a figure that dove from the sky like an eagle striking at a rabbit, its killing intent savage and overwhelming.