At the very back of the crowd, Lan Xun walked forward with reddened eyes and offered a graceful bow. "Thank you, Lord Void, for avenging my father. The Star God Palace is eternally grateful!"
Yang Kai smiled bitterly once more. "Junior Sister Lan, you're too kind. I received Lord Mingyue's great kindness, and it is thanks to him that I've achieved what I have today. How could I not do everything in my power?"
That address—Junior Sister Lan, just as he had always called her—nearly brought tears streaming from Lan Xun's eyes again. "Should Senior Brother ever need anything in the future, the entire Star God Palace will not hesitate to answer."
Xiao Chen, walking close behind her, could not suppress a flicker of melancholy and helplessness in his eyes.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and said, "We can worry about the future when it comes. Right now, we still need to get through this crisis first."
As he spoke, a thought flickered through Yang Kai's mind, and everyone present felt their vision blur. Before they could even process what had happened, they suddenly found themselves standing atop a towering peak.
Turning to look, they realized this peak was none other than the location of Lingxiao Palace.
Involuntarily moved, they understood that moments ago they had all been on the battlefield hundreds of miles from Lingxiao Palace. To appear here in an instant was undoubtedly Yang Kai's doing—but then again, Yang Kai had already ascended to Great Emperor, so such a feat was only natural. This kind of power was something only a Great Emperor could wield.
Surveying the scene before them, all of Lingxiao Palace lay in ruins, a scene of utter devastation.
Under the Demon Race's earlier full-scale assault, Lingxiao Palace's Sect-protecting grand formation had been breached. Demons had poured in from every direction, engaging the Star Boundary's warriors in a desperate battle for this last sanctuary. Both sides had suffered countless casualties.
At this moment, within Lingxiao Palace, who knew how many corpses of both humans and demons lay piled up. This place, once blessed with verdant mountains and clear waters, now resembled an ashen purgatory.
The Corrupted Land had already expanded to the outskirts of Lingxiao Palace, and demonic intent now permeated within as well. If left unchecked, it would not be long before even this last bastion of purity was utterly consumed.
When that time came, where in the Star Boundary would humanity have even a foothold to stand on?
Under the gaze of all present, Yang Kai slowly rose into the air, his expression solemn. An invisible aura of Dao flowed outward from him, instinctively inspiring a sense of reverence that made one want to bow in worship. Eyes glazed over, stares drifting.
Boom…
A silent tremor resounded in the depths of every heart. Yang Kai's hands danced through rapid seals—seals so peculiar that not a single person could decipher what they represented.
As the seals shifted, visible shockwaves emanated outward from Yang Kai like ripples spreading across a pond.
Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared in astonishment at their surroundings. Wherever the ripples passed, the scattered demonic energy throughout Lingxiao Palace seemed to be driven back, rolling outward with the expanding waves.
At first, the ripples spread slowly, their frequency low and pace unhurried. But as time passed, they expanded ceaselessly, soon engulfing all of Lingxiao Palace and continuing outward beyond it.
A deep, solemn voice echoed between heaven and earth: "In the name of Void, I return this world to clarity and light—scatter!"
Boom…
The shockwave detonated. A ring of concentrated radiance erupted from beneath Yang Kai's feet and surged outward in all directions.
Wherever the radiance touched, demonic intent dissolved, the Corrupted Land melted away, and the earth returned to its original state. Even the oppressive gloom that had long hung over Lingxiao Palace could not withstand this baptism of heaven and earth's power. A massive hole opened in the sky, and piercing sunlight streamed through, creating the illusion of having stepped into an entirely different world.
The hole in the sky rapidly expanded outward, and the Corrupted Land on the ground began continuously receding…
Boom, boom, boom…
Ring after ring of radiance pulsed outward at a steady, deliberate rhythm.
Li Wuyi's expression shifted as something clicked in his mind. His figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot.
A short while later, he reappeared, his face alight with excitement.
"Commander, what did you find?" Bing Yun asked softly.
Li Wuyi's voice was a mix of elation and disbelief. "The range of the Pure Land is expanding!"
"Really?" Zhu Yan exclaimed.
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
At those words, spirits soared throughout the crowd.
Though watching Yang Kai's actions and witnessing the transformation of Lingxiao Palace had already planted the suspicion in everyone's minds, it was only when Li Wuyi personally went to confirm it that they dared believe it.
The Pure Land's expanding reach meant that the Star Boundary's forces would have a greater area of operations going forward. They would no longer be forced to cling desperately to this single pocket of Lingxiao Palace, no longer so helplessly on the defensive.
After years of oppression, had the moment finally come to strike back?
The Demon Race had deployed their grand formation, corroding the Star Boundary with boundless demonic intent. The Star Boundary's Great Emperors had all been trapped, with no one to stand against them. The two Dragon Clan Grand Elders, while possessing power on the level of a Great Emperor, were not true Great Emperors. Husband and wife together, they could contend with the three Demon Saints—but they were powerless against the demonic intent that was eating away at the very fabric of the world.
Yang Kai was different. He bore the will of heaven and earth, recognized by the heavens themselves. Now, in all the Star Boundary, he was the sole Great Emperor. In other words, his very being had become the voice of this world—and naturally, he could draw upon the power of heaven and earth to protect this realm.