Having absorbed the power of Yu Rumeng's primordial Yin, Yang Kai's divine soul cultivation had surged dramatically, now surpassing even ordinary Half-Saints and False Emperors, to say nothing of the Demon Kings gathered in the great hall.
If Yang Kai truly wished to kill them, with a single surge of his divine soul he could shatter the sea of consciousness of most of the Demon Kings present and snuff out their lives on the spot.
But having witnessed such a horrific scene of human suffering in that valley, and now seeing with his own eyes a pack of Demon Kings drinking blood and devouring flesh inside the hall, Yang Kai was seething with rage—how could he simply grant them a quick death?
If they liked eating meat, then let them eat to their heart's content. They would keep going until they had devoured every last scrap of themselves—that was when it would end!
In his crimson eyes, flickering like flames, two lines of blood traced down his cheeks. The technique he had just employed was far more taxing than a direct soul attack. Even with his divine soul cultivation now unfathomably powerful, targeting over a hundred Demon Kings simultaneously was beyond his limits—he had already exhausted every last shred of his soul force.
The dozen or so Demon Kings still standing had gone pale, desperately mounting their defenses. Several of the strongest Mid-Rank Demon Kings fought to hold on with excruciating effort, their bodies trembling violently, teeth clenched tight, not daring to make a sound for fear that the slightest lapse would send them to the same fate as their companions.
The remaining High-Rank Demon Kings had it somewhat easier, but not by much. Inside their minds, a voice echoed without cease, and under its persuasion, the compulsion to devour their own flesh churned relentlessly through their thoughts, impossible to suppress.
"ROAR!" A furious bellow erupted—it was a Mid-Rank Demon King who could no longer endure the pressure and struck first. If he didn't act now, he wouldn't last. Having watched the fate of the companions right beside him, he knew exactly what awaited him once his sea of consciousness collapsed. He would rather die by an enemy's hand than gnaw on his own flesh and blood.
That roar was like a lit fuse. As the Mid-Rank Demon King launched himself forward, the remaining Demon Kings still standing in the great hall swarmed in after him.
In an instant, demonic energy surged wildly through the hall, killing intent overflowing.
Yang Kai had come burning with fury, and seeing these Demon Kings dare strike first only sent his rage skyrocketing. In the turbulence of his emotions, his mind suddenly sank into a state of unprecedented stillness. Body and mind unified, mind and heaven and earth unified, and within his consciousness, something seemed to stir, straining to break free from its shell.
In the hazy depths of his awareness, a flash of the profound truth of the Great Dao flickered through his mind.
His vision transformed. The enemies charging at him vanished. Where he stood was no longer the assembly hall of the Water Cloud Sect—he seemed to be standing in the vast, boundless expanse of heaven and earth itself, his consciousness rising higher and higher without limit, gazing down upon all living things below.
In this wondrous state, the laws of heaven and earth poured into his body, tempering his spirit and essence, while spiritual energy from heaven and earth surged toward him like ten thousand rivers flowing into the sea.
His cultivation climbed, tier by tier!
Back in the Demon Domain, having inherited Ming Yue's legacy, he had advanced to the Third Layer of the Emperor Realm. Due to the laws of the Demon Domain, his Emperor Essence had transformed into Demon Essence, elevating him to a High-Rank Demon King.
After escaping the Demon Domain and returning to the Star Boundary, fighting his way through constant battles under tremendous pressure, the cultivation he had gained gradually stabilized.
Over ten years back in the Star Boundary, treading through lower realms, refining Realms and creating worlds—all of this had been tremendously beneficial to his understanding and his attainment in the Dao of Space had grown so deep that even Li Wuyi now confessed himself somewhat inferior. But his actual cultivation level had barely budged.
And now, more than a decade later, inside this hall of the Water Cloud Sect, Yang Kai had a sudden epiphany. It was as though he had become this very world—when Yang Kai raged, heaven and earth raged!
A peal of thunder exploded from a clear sky, rumbling in all directions.
The aura already radiating from Yang Kai's body surged visibly, intensifying dramatically.
In a state free of all thought, Yang Kai's hand moved on instinct, striking outward—not at any of the Demon Kings, but into the void itself.
As his palm descended, heaven and earth collapsed.
From the center of his palm, a titanic gravitational force rippled outward, drawing in everything around it.
With a tremendous clatter, the tables, chairs, and benches inside the hall—along with the walls and pillars—all flew toward a point in the void, vanishing without a trace.
The Demon Kings who had been charging forward, whether Mid-Rank or High-Rank, could no longer control their bodies. One by one, their faces twisted in horror, limbs flailing as they were swept toward a single point in the void along with the furniture.
Even the Blood Demon seated on the dais was not spared. Despite being over twenty zhang away from Yang Kai, after that palm strike his body drifted inexorably toward it, as though an invisible hand had seized him.
The Charm Demon beside him, merely at the Demon Commander level, had no ability to resist such an immense suction. Her figure wavered, she let out a scream, and was sucked straight into the void, vanishing without a trace—life or death unknown.
With a thunderous roar, blood mist erupted from the Blood Demon's body as he expelled his vital blood without restraint, transforming it into a sphere of crimson light in an attempt to break free from the colossal pull. But no matter how desperately he struggled, he could not withdraw. He watched helplessly as his body drifted closer, inch by inch.
He turned his head and saw the great hall reduced to utter ruin. The once-magnificent architecture had been completely demolished. In the void, it was as though an invisible beast had appeared and was devouring all things—everything that entered its maw, whether Demon King or inanimate object, vanished without a trace.
In this moment of mortal peril, the Blood Demon bit through the tip of his tongue. His vital blood transformed into a blood arrow and shot straight toward Yang Kai's face.