Previously, when the Profound Heaven Hall opened, numerous Half-Saints of the Demon Race had already obtained considerable intelligence about the struggle for the Great Dao from Can Ye, which undoubtedly proved that Can Ye was somewhere within the Star Boundary—though no one knew where he was hiding to recuperate from his wounds.
Having learned of this intelligence, how could Yang Kai not take extra precautions against him?
Can Ye's injuries had been sustained when he used his own body as a bridge to link the Demon and Human realms, forcibly tearing open a passage between the two worlds, after which he was struck down by the Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wuhen.
Since then, there had been no word of him whatsoever. He was clearly secluded in closed-door cultivation, healing his wounds.
Now that the conflict between the two realms had reached its most critical juncture, whether he wished it or not, he could no longer remain on the sidelines. And sure enough, when Yang Kai returned from the Profound Heaven Hall wielding the might of a Great Emperor, the Night Shadow Great Emperor—Can Ye—who had been lurking in the darkness all along, finally made his appearance.
Black mist shrouded his face, concealing Can Ye's true features, but Yang Kai could clearly sense that within that mist, a pair of eyes were scrutinizing him with piercing intensity.
"You still haven't reached the Great Emperor realm?" A grating voice carried over from across the way, like iron grinding against iron, setting one's teeth on edge.
"Heavenly Dao has acknowledged me. I am a Great Emperor!" Yang Kai replied evenly.
Can Ye shook his head slowly. "Don't mistake the last gasps of this world for your crutch. You haven't truly reached the Great Emperor realm."
Yang Kai grinned. "So what? I've always enjoyed fighting above my weight class, and in most cases, it's my enemies who meet a tragic end. Besides… how much of your power can you actually bring to bear?"
Though their exchange had been brief, Yang Kai had keenly discerned Can Ye's current condition—his injuries had not healed!
The wounds had been left by Zhan Wuhen, and at their level of cultivation, once one was injured, three or five years was far from enough to recover. Though Can Ye had spent the past few years secluded in closed-door cultivation, diligently tending to his wounds, the time simply hadn't been sufficient for a full recovery.
Had Yang Kai not made his appearance, Can Ye likely wouldn't have emerged from seclusion prematurely. It was precisely because Yang Kai had revealed himself that he was forced to act.
"Futile death throes!" Can Ye lowered his gaze to the battlefield below. "Two of the Dragon Clan's great elders are pinned down and unable to disengage. Even if the Heavenly Dao has acknowledged you, if I choose to obstruct you, you'll be too distracted to lend them aid. And without you, Lingxiao Pavilion will surely fall within an hour. When that happens, this vast world will have no place left for you to hide!"
Yang Kai tilted his head slightly. "Then it looks like I'll have to kill you within the hour."
"Try it!"
The instant the last word fell, Can Ye raised his hand. A curved blade well over three meters long materialized in his grip, slashing forward.
Before him, Yang Kai materialized out of thin air, the Azure Dragon Spear thrusting straight at him. At the spear's tip, a massive black sphere radiated an aura of cosmic annihilation.
The curved blade struck the black sphere. The sphere vanished without a trace, but Can Ye's entire body shuddered, and he was sent hurtling backward involuntarily. The impact even dispersed much of the black mist veiling his face, revealing a pair of eyes filled with utter shock.
In their second exchange, he had actually been forced back a step.
Though gravely wounded and unable to unleash his full power, the strength Yang Kai displayed still stunned him. By his perception, Yang Kai had genuinely not reached their realm—he had merely been granted the title of Great Emperor through the world's final desperate gamble and had acquired some of a Great Emperor's abilities. Yet here he was, truly wielding power on par with a genuine Great Emperor.
The dispersed black mist recongealed, once again concealing his unusual expression, and his figure rapidly began to fade.
Yang Kai reached out, clasping toward him, and bellowed: "In the name of my Void, I bind the locks of heaven and earth—SEAL!"
Clang, clang, clang— A strange cacophony erupted from the void as streams of invisible void force, previously imperceptible, now converged until they became visible to the naked eye, resembling transparent chains that radiated outward from Yang Kai in every direction.
In the blink of an eye, those transparent chains had completely sealed the heavens and earth within a ten-thousand-li radius, forming an enormous cage.
Can Ye's figure gradually materialized in one corner of the cage, hovering in midair like a specter, silent and motionless.
Yang Kai leveled his spear forward and roared: "Can Ye! Today, either you die or I perish!"
As his words fell, spatial rift after spatial rift tore open within the massive cage. Throughout its interior, heaven and earth collapsed in ruin—yet the space immediately around Can Ye remained entirely untouched.
Can Ye's expression shifted. His voice turned icy: "You've lost your mind!"
From Yang Kai's tone, he had heard absolute resolve. In other words, Yang Kai wasn't bluffing—he truly intended to fight to the death right here and now!
It was almost incomprehensible. At their level of cultivation, determining life and death in a one-on-one duel was extraordinarily difficult. Can Ye himself was a Great Emperor acknowledged by heaven and earth. Moreover, even if this world were completely corrupted, with Yang Kai's current strength he might not necessarily come to harm. So he couldn't fathom why Yang Kai was acting this way.
"Without demonic frenzy, there is no life!" Yang Kai gazed coldly at Can Ye. "Enough talk. Accept your death."
He extended his hand and clenched it viciously toward Can Ye. The countless spatial rifts within the cage surged simultaneously, shooting toward Can Ye like a horde of serpents erupting from their den.
Can Ye brought his curved blade down. A single strike infused with the power of heaven and earth, it appeared unremarkable yet was profoundly mystical. His body seemed to transform into a reef standing firm amid a vast ocean, utterly immovable, and the spatial rifts slid past him on every side, leaving him entirely unscathed.