Upon careful observation, the round bead showed not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy, as if it were nothing more than a common stone picked up from the roadside. But after staring at it for a few more moments, the unremarkable bead suddenly began to enlarge rapidly before Xi Lei's eyes, transforming in an instant into a vast planet—boundless and utterly desolate. Standing within this planet, Xi Lei's heart lurched with panic, as though his consciousness had been trapped inside a cage.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The jolt of pain pulled him free from the illusion. Cold sweat beaded his forehead as he growled, "A World Bead!"
"That's a World Bead?" Shan Qingluo exclaimed in surprise.
She had no idea what it was either. Before the Jizi Army had set out for the Western Domain, Yang Kai had specifically called her and her sisters aside, handing each of them a single bead and then personally helping them refine it. What it did or what it was called, none of them had bothered to ask—they only brought it out now to slay enemies...
"That's right—this is definitely a World Bead!" Xi Lei nodded. Though he had never personally handled a World Bead before, he had at least heard of them. Connecting that with his earlier experience, he immediately concluded that this was unmistakably a World Bead refined by Yang Kai.
However, this World Bead seemed to differ ever so slightly from the ones he knew about.
It was indeed different. The World Beads given to Shan Qingluo and the others were Yang Kai's very first attempts at refinement. In order to separate the second territory from the Small Mystic Realm, he had refined a great number of dead stars and large meteorites.
These earliest World Beads lacked the ability to house living beings. If one forcibly stuffed a living creature inside, the laws within would grind it to dust.
Only the batch of Realm Beads Yang Kai refined later could store living things—but those had all been handed to Li Wuyi for distribution to the army commanders.
The reason the Star Boundary forces had withdrawn from the Western Domain so swiftly before was precisely because they had employed World Beads. Without them, how could armies numbering in the hundreds of thousands have retreated so quickly?
Though the World Beads in Shan Qingluo's possession could not hold living beings, they had still been forged from actual dead stars. Refined by Yang Kai and attuned to their wielders, hurling one out was the equivalent of flinging an entire dead star at the enemy.
How could those Mid-Rank and High-Rank Demon Kings possibly withstand such a thing when they were caught completely off guard?
Yang Kai still had plenty more World Beads like these, and he planned to find an opportunity to distribute them among the Jizi Army. Used properly, these things would undoubtedly give the Demon Race's powerhouses one hell of a surprise.
Unfortunately, there simply hadn't been enough time. Had he had more, Yang Kai could have refined even more of them, and they would have become a devastating weapon for the Jizi Army.
"We can always ask him about it later," Shan Qingluo said with a smile, clutching the bead tightly in her hand. She had been grieving her own insufficient cultivation, feeling unable to share Yang Kai's burdens. Now, with this treasure in her grasp, she could instantly kill even a High-Rank Demon King who let his guard down. Pure delight filled her heart. Gripping the bead, she strode across the battlefield, World Beads flying from her hand one after another, cutting down enemies as easily as slicing melons and vegetables.
The stalemate at Qingyang Divine Temple was broken. Before Yang Kai had arrived with his reinforcements, the Demon Race army had already shattered the grand formation and stormed into the temple's interior, locked in a desperate battle with Wen Zishan's forces.
But once Yang Kai brought several hundred powerhouses to the scene, it was like throwing a handful of salt into a boiling pan of oil—the entire situation underwent a rapid chain reaction.
Demon Race powerhouses fell one after another. The Half-Saint stationed there found himself utterly useless against the combined efforts of the Lian sisters, reduced to nothing but defense with no room to fight back.
Sensing the dire turn of events, the Half-Saint let out a long, piercing howl. Taking a hit from the Lian sisters head-on to create an opening, he broke free from the circle of combat and fled in a wretched retreat, the Lian sisters in hot pursuit.
With their strongest warrior gone, the remaining demons were no match at all. Corpses littered the ground for a hundred li as the rout unfolded—very few managed to escape.
After a hurried hour, the clamor of Qingyang Divine Temple fell silent.
Wen Zishan stood in the void, drenched in blood, gazing upon the temple's thousands of years of legacy. A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Though this battle had slain many demons, Qingyang Divine Temple had paid a steep price. Disciples' bodies lay everywhere, their deaths grim and wretched.
Even his own army had suffered nearly thirty percent casualties—their vitality was already wounded. The demonic energy released from the slain demons drifted through the air, converging in some distant direction, shrouding the entire Qingyang Divine Temple in an eerie gloom.
When Wen Zishan met with Yang Kai and they exchanged information, only then did he learn that Lingxiao Palace had also been attacked by the Demon Race. But Lingxiao Palace had been well-defended and well-staffed, sustaining virtually no losses and instead leaving the demons battered and broken.
Spotting the several Demon Half-Saints gathered around Yang Kai, Wen Zishan couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. He cleared his throat and said, somewhat sheepishly, "Yang Kai, I'd like to discuss something with you."
"I'll have the Lian sisters accompany you, sir," Yang Kai said.
Wen Zishan blinked in surprise, then broke into a wide grin. "That would be perfect." His original intent had been to borrow even a single Half-Saint from Yang Kai. His army was formidable in its own right, but its one glaring weakness was the absence of a Half-Saint-level powerhouse to anchor it. Normally, that might not matter much—but should a Demon Half-Saint come calling, he would have no one capable of matching them.
He had only hoped for one Half-Saint, yet Yang Kai offered two without hesitation. Wen Zishan marveled—truly, they were family. Elder Yang understood his needs and acted on them.
The battlefield was promptly cleared and the casualties tallied. Yang Kai did not linger. Leading his group, he set off for home.
Back at Lingxiao Palace, Yang Kai immediately sent word to Li Wuyi, reporting the Demon Race army's attacks on Lingxiao Palace's main branch and sub-branches as well as Qingyang Divine Temple.