Zhan Wuhen regarded him with pity. "That probably includes you as well!"
Though he didn't know what the secret technique was or how it could steal the Heavenly Will from his body, Zhan Wuhen could tell that executing it required an enormous price — just as trapping him here had demanded a price of its own. Huang Wuji had been immobilized for years as well.
That severed palm was embedded in Huang Wuji's chest, ceaselessly draining his vital blood. Before long, Huang Wuji's strength would plummet. Whether he could even maintain his cultivation as a Demon Saint at that point was questionable.
And he had paid all of this — solely to strip away that portion of Heavenly Will from Zhan Wuhen's body.
His own situation was dire, and the others were probably no better off. Imprisoned for years, Zhan Wuhen knew nothing of the Star Boundary's current state, but judging by Huang Wuji's behavior, the Star Boundary had likely reached a critical moment of survival or annihilation.
Panic gripped his heart. He wanted to break free of these shackles, to escape this place, but he was powerless to do so. He clenched his teeth and stared fixedly at Huang Wuji.
"Don't waste your energy. It's somewhat regretful that I couldn't kill you with my own hands, but this outcome is acceptable enough."
"You think you have the ability?" Zhan Wuhen's face was dripping with contempt. "Do you even have the strength for that?"
Huang Wuji slowly shook his head. "It's too late for anything now." With that, he closed his eyes and said no more.
"Hehehehe... Found you!"
At that moment, a low laugh suddenly rang out, flowing clearly into the ears of both Zhan Wuhen and Huang Wuji. When the laughter ceased, Zhan Wuhen's expression turned peculiar — he thought he had misheard.
But Huang Wuji's face changed drastically. "Who's there?!"
Even as a Demon Saint, Huang Wuji's face was now filled with terror. This unnamed pocket of space had been personally created by the Demon God himself, specifically designed to imprison the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary. In all these years, only he and Zhan Wuhen had ever been here. How could a third person possibly have discovered it?
*Riiip* — the sound of something being torn echoed through the void.
Immediately after, a crack appeared in the boundary wall of the pocket space. From within the crack, two enormous hands emerged, gripping both sides of the fissure and pulling with tremendous force. The boundary wall split apart like silk cloth, the tear expanding rapidly.
Under Huang Wuji's disbelieving gaze, a figure slipped through the rift, swept the chamber with an amused smile, and landed his eyes on Zhan Wuhen. A teasing grin spread across his face. "You look like you're in quite the state!"
Zhan Wuhen's eye twitched. He frowned. "Duan Hongchen?"
Standing before him was a ruddy-faced, white-haired elder with a youthful complexion — and this half-aged man was none other than the Duan Hongchen he knew.
The newcomer grinned savagely. "That old fool has already been dealt with by me!"
Zhan Wuhen's expression darkened. "Wu Kuang!"
"You're Wu Kuang?" Huang Wuji's face changed as well. He had certainly heard of this terrifying figure who had single-handedly annihilated four Great Emperors, and a deep wariness took root in his heart.
Wu Kuang rubbed his chin like a madman, his eyes flicking between Zhan Wuhen and Huang Wuji with undisguised malice. He let out a sinister chuckle. "Let me think... which one should I devour first? My Heaven Devouring Battle Law is positively starving."
"You wouldn't dare!" Zhan Wuhen roared in fury.
Huang Wuji's face was twisted with bitterness. He knew of Wu Kuang, and naturally he knew of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law as well — the most terrifying technique in all the Star Boundary. Wu Kuang's fearsome reputation from the Battle of the Emperors had been built largely on the strength of this very art.
But right now, both he and Zhan Wuji were pinned down here, unable to move freely. Against Wu Kuang, they had absolutely no power to resist.
He simply couldn't fathom how, at such a critical juncture, this man had appeared out of nowhere!
And it wasn't just Huang Wuji who was baffled — Zhan Wuhen couldn't figure it out either.
Ever since the battle on Dragon Island, when Wu Kuang had fled from the Dragon Temple into the lower star fields, there had been no news of him. Later, Yang Kai had told Zhan Wuhen that Wu Kuang had entered the Ancestral Domain, though no one knew what he'd been scheming there. If not for the fact that Wu Kuang shared a body with Duan Hongchen — two souls in one frame — Zhan Wuhen would have stormed the Ancestral Domain long ago to settle the score.
It was precisely because of Duan Hongchen as a hostage that Zhan Wuhen had been forced to exercise restraint.
Who could have guessed that after all these years, he had merely nurtured a tiger that would turn on him?
Right now, the aura radiating from Wu Kuang's body was extremely formidable. He had long since reached the realm of Great Emperor. Though he was not quite at the peak he'd displayed during the Battle of the Emperors, he wasn't far from it.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was truly remarkable. After all, Duan Hongchen had once severed his own cultivation before entering the Shattered Star Sea, where he had been at only the Dao Source Third Stage. And in how few years had Wu Kuang managed to fully recover?
"Enough games — saving people is what matters!" As he spoke, Wu Kuang's expression shifted once more, turning solemn. Even the voice emanating from his mouth carried subtle changes.