Because he carried the Will of Heaven and Earth, Yang Kai was bound to attract the focused attention of every Demon half-sage. And now that Cang Mo was leading his pursuers here, it was obvious he intended to use Yang Kai as a shield to shake off his enemies.
Think about it — once those Demon half-sages caught sight of Yang Kai, would they spare a second glance for Cang Mo? They would almost certainly swarm Yang Kai first and deal with him before anything else. And in the meantime, Cang Mo could slip away at his leisure.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Yang Kai's expression turned cold. He and Cang Mo already had no shortage of grievances. Back when they were entering the Profound Heavens Temple, Cang Mo had even tried to block him on the grounds that his cultivation realm was insufficient, attempting to prevent him from entering and competing for the Great Dao. In the end, it had been Li Wuyi who overruled everyone and made the final call.
The grudge between him and Cang Mo was neither insignificant nor earth-shaking, but it was undeniable that neither man could stand the sight of the other. Had they run into each other alone inside the Profound Heavens Temple, Yang Kai doubted they would have coexisted peacefully — a fight to decide who was superior would have been inevitable.
When he first sensed that Cang Mo was drawing enemies in his direction, Yang Kai had even considered whether this might be an opportunity to quietly finish him off. But then he reminded himself that the Star Boundary already had fewer pseudo-emperors than the Demon Domain had half-sages. The greater picture had to come first. He let it go.
In the span of a few breaths, the two figures racing toward him came into sharp focus, the distance between them closing rapidly. At a glance, Cang Mo's face was pallid — he looked as though he had taken an injury. The other pseudo-emperor flying alongside him was a middle-aged man whom Yang Kai vaguely remembered as a Corps Commander from Corps Yi, surnamed Feng.
Compared to Cang Mo, Commander Feng was in considerably worse shape. One arm hung limp at his side, swaying back and forth with the momentum of flight. A large patch of blood stained his chest.
It seemed likely that Cang Mo and Commander Feng had already clashed with Demon half-sages and come out of it decidedly the worse for wear.
Closely pursuing the two of them were a full four Demon half-sages. The one at the lead radiated a towering aura and a savage, baleful presence. Undulating waves of corpse energy surged from his body, and with every tree he passed, the foliage withered and died in an instant. This Corpse Demon was none other than Jia Long — the very one Li Wuyi had specifically told Yang Kai to keep a close eye on.
During the previous war between the two realms, Li Wuyi had clashed with Jia Long three times without managing to gain the upper hand, a testament to the latter's formidable strength. Li Wuyi had further said that among all the Demon half-sages, Jia Long was likely at the absolute peak — stronger than any of the others — and would be the greatest threat the Star Boundary faced in this contest for the Great Dao.
Besides Jia Long, the remaining three half-sages hailed from different races: a Bone Demon, a Charm Demon, and a Feather Demon. Each was no ordinary fighter. Demon energy roiled around them as they kept pace with Jia Long in the relentless pursuit of Cang Mo and Commander Feng.
After a brief moment, the fleeing Commander Feng suddenly looked up and spotted a figure hurtling toward them. A flash of astonishment crossed his face, and once he made out who it was, he bellowed, "Lord Yang, run! Don't stop!"
Unlike Cang Mo, who had deliberately schemed to redirect the danger onto someone else, Commander Feng's first instinct upon seeing Yang Kai was to warn him to flee as well. After all, both he and Cang Mo were already wounded, and with four half-sages on their tails, even Yang Kai — whose current strength could rival a half-sage — had no chance of turning the tide. Charging in now would accomplish nothing; he would only drag himself into the trap.
Hearing Commander Feng's shout, the cold edge in Yang Kai's expression softened a great deal, and he offered the man a slight smile.
If Cang Mo had been the only one being chased, whether Yang Kai would have come to his aid was genuinely debatable. The greater picture mattered inside the Profound Heavens Temple, true enough, but Yang Kai was not about to lose sleep over the fate of someone who harbored ill will toward him at every turn. If Cang Mo survived, that was his good fortune. If he died, he had it coming.
But Commander Feng was right there alongside him. No matter the circumstances, Yang Kai could not simply stand by and watch.
He had not wanted a direct confrontation with Jia Long before the final stage of the contest for the Great Dao. His Minor World already held three hidden cards, and with Cang Mo and Commander Feng added to the mix, they would have an immediate numerical advantage. But in an actual fight, it was unlikely anyone would come out unscathed. His current plan was to pick up both men, stow them inside his Minor World, and then teleport away.
The Profound Heavens Temple was riddled with restrictions — the Grand Emperor's ability granted by the Corps Commander's Seal could not be activated, the Spirit Channeling Bead was unusable, and even his spatial jumps were severely suppressed. But if he was truly committed to fleeing, not even Jia Long's fearsome strength could stop him.
And so, under the bewildered gaze of Commander Feng, Yang Kai pressed forward without hesitation.
"Well, well — here I was searching high and low, and you practically walked right into my arms!" A voice like rolling thunder boomed forth. Jia Long, who had been in close pursuit behind Cang Mo and Commander Feng, shot forward with a blinding flash of light in his eyes. A look of savage delight spread across his face as he bared his teeth in a fearsome grin. "You little beast have been an absolute chore to track down!"
He was far from the only one hunting Yang Kai — every Demon half-sage was searching for him. But the Profound Heavens Temple was vast, and encounters between them were rare. Lately, Yang Kai had been using his three hidden cards as bait, fishing for targets across the grounds. Any half-sage who stumbled upon him had not been lucky — they had been extremely unlucky.
For Jia Long, though, this encounter was a genuine stroke of fortune. Setting aside his own overwhelming strength, he had three other half-sages at his side. As long as they could delay Yang Kai for even a moment, the odds of keeping him here were very high.
Even as he spoke, Jia Long's body shuddered, and a torrent of corpse energy surged from his massive frame. It billowed forward like a sky-devouring black cloud, spreading at an astonishing speed, and in the blink of an eye it had nearly overtaken the two fleeing Star Boundary pseudo-emperors.
Cang Mo and Commander Feng's faces changed in unison. Only then did they realize they had gravely underestimated Jia Long's strength. He had been trailing them all this time not because he couldn't catch up, but because he hadn't been willing to expend the effort. Now, upon spotting Yang Kai, he clearly intended to hold nothing back and end things as quickly as possible.