"The Void!"
Just two words, yet they drew the gaze of every living being in the Star Realm. In that moment, countless pairs of eyes lifted skyward of their own accord. Whether human, demon, or of the demon race, all shimmered with an indescribable light.
The native creatures of the Star Realm most of all—when those two words fully solidified upon the Void Heaven Cauldron, a thought erupted instinctively from the depths of their hearts: within the Star Realm, a new Great Emperor had been born! The thought came from nowhere, no one knew how it arose, yet every single one of them believed it without doubt.
Because this was the will of the Heavenly Dao…
To witness the birth of a Great Emperor with one's own eyes in one's own era—what an honor, what a thrill. Morale that had been flagging moments before surged upward in that instant!
Hidden somewhere within the demon army, Xue Li's eyelid twitched. He gritted his teeth. "He actually… succeeded."
Though he had learned from Jia Long that the Source Heaven Fruit had ultimately fallen into Yang Kai's hands, Xue Li had still clung to a sliver of hope. Yang Kai's strength was insufficient—even if he had obtained the Source Heaven Fruit, he surely wouldn't ascend to Great Emperor so quickly. At most his power would increase somewhat, and he still wouldn't be a match for the Demon Saints.
But now it seemed that the Source Heaven Fruit truly held boundless wonders—it had enabled that High-Rank Demon King to advance directly into the realm of Great Emperor!
In the blink of an eye, Xue Li's thoughts turned and he bellowed through clenched teeth: "Pass the order—at any cost, take Lingxiao Pavilion for me in the shortest time possible!"
Yang Kai had ascended to Great Emperor and claimed the title of The Void. No one knew what level of power he would possess when he reappeared, nor when he might show himself. What their side needed to do now was seize Lingxiao Pavilion as quickly as possible and taint the last bastion of purity in the Star Realm. Only then would all their planning be truly complete—even if Yang Kai truly possessed the power of a Great Emperor, it would be to no avail.
The order was given, and the already frenzied assault intensified by another three parts. The protective sect formation of Lingxiao Pavilion flashed wildly, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Sensing this, Li Wuyi hurriedly relayed his own orders, commanding the surviving soldiers of the Star Realm to hold the line with everything they had.
Looking down from high above, the boundless demon army resembled a black tide, crashing toward Lingxiao Pavilion from every direction in wave after wave. Within the pavilion, the various armies held their ground, unleashing move after move of divine techniques, flash after flash of artifact light, driving back the dark tide again and again.
In the midst of this desperate struggle, no one noticed that high in the sky, the Void Heaven Cauldron—having manifested the two characters of The Void—shattered with a thunderous roar and quickly vanished.
At the southeastern corner of Lingxiao Pavilion, where the Ji Zi Army and five other armies had established their defensive positions, Yao Si sat at the center of command, his expression grave as he directed operations. Order after order issued from his mouth, relayed downward by his personal guards. Days of continuous combat had left him no rest; his mind raced at tremendous speed, searching for strategies to break the enemy. Yet under the demon army's frenzied onslaught, all he could do was mount a passive defense with the meager forces at his disposal.
"Commander! The formation can't hold much longer!" A demon general from the Flying Eagle Garrison swooped in, his excessive expenditure leaving him too unsteady to even stand. As he spoke, he collapsed at Yao Si's feet.
No sooner had his words fallen than a groaning sound came from the formation, followed by an unending series of cracks.
Yao Si looked up, and his expression changed drastically. Across the southeastern barrier, crack after crack appeared on the formation's light screen, spreading rapidly outward.
He turned his head and saw Hua Qingsi suspended in midair, clutching the Sect Master's Grand Seal, channeling the power of Lingxiao Pavilion's spiritual veins to reinforce the formation. But she too was pale as paper, her figure swaying as though she might topple at any moment.
The protective formation of Lingxiao Pavilion was formidable indeed, but even it could not endure such prolonged, frenzied assault from the demon army. That it had held this long was thanks to the desperate resistance of the Star Realm's armies.
And now, the formation finally reached its limit.
Crack—
A sharp, shattering sound rang out as the southeastern formation collapsed entirely. A tide of demon warriors surged through the breach, their earth-shaking roars causing heaven and earth themselves to change color.
Yao Si channeled his Emperor Yuan and roared: "Those who invade our Star Realm—death without mercy!"
"Kill!" The thunderous battle cry shook the heavens. Faced with the swarming demon hordes, not a single Star Realm soldier retreated, for every one of them knew that Lingxiao Pavilion was humanity's last foothold. Lose the pavilion, and they would lose the entire Star Realm. Behind them, there was nowhere left to fall back.
Rather than be corroded by demonic qi and reduced to mindless abominations, they would die on the battlefield—even in death, they would tear a piece of flesh from the demon race.
Solemn, mournful sorcerous incantations rose from all across the army, and light after light of sorcery flickered forth, enveloping great swathes of Star Realm warriors.
Like two torrents of steel, the two forces charged toward each other, and in the next instant, they collided with a thunderous crash.