Yang Kai gritted his teeth. Hoping Wu Kuang would show mercy to Yu Rumeng was unrealistic. Moreover, no matter who won or lost in their battle, it wasn't an outcome Yang Kai wished to see. The only option now was to shatter the Great Demon God's plan as quickly as possible to turn the tide.
With that thought, Yang Kai focused his mind and fixed his gaze forward, roaring: "Mo Sheng, prepare to die!"
The power of heaven and earth surged forth, pressing down upon the demonic energy. The dimming world was swept clean of its gloom, and light once again broke through!
Mo Sheng bellowed. In that colossal body of demonic energy, both his eyes burned with intense unwillingness and killing intent. So close—just a little more, just a tiny bit more, and his plan would have reached perfect completion. But this one tiny shortfall had cost him everything at the final moment.
Over a hundred thousand years of plotting and patience, undone at the critical juncture by a brat who had lived barely a century. The fury in Mo Sheng's heart was something not even heaven and earth could contain.
Unable to call upon the power of the Great Emperors, in this domain, no matter how many tricks he had up his sleeve, he could not compete with Yang Kai for control over the forces of heaven and earth. And the final trump cards he had placed so much hope in—Yang Kai had knocked one of them unconscious outright, while the other two were unable to break through Wu Kuang's defenses in any short timeframe.
He couldn't afford to delay any longer!
If he continued stalling, his situation would only grow more passive and dire.
Having lived for so long, having dominated the vast expanse of the cosmos, Mo Sheng was not a man who hesitated when a decision was needed. Seeing that he could not stop Yang Kai, he made his choice in an instant.
"All of you will pay the price!"
As his roar echoed forth, the demonic energy across heaven and earth churned violently, as though it had gained sentience, pouring as one into the Great Demon God's body. In the blink of an eye, the winds rose and clouds gathered. Looking in every direction, the demonic energy from all across the Star Boundary surged like a rainbow piercing the sun, madly converging into the Great Demon God's form.
Yang Kai's expression turned grave. Though he didn't know what Mo Sheng was doing, it was clear the latter refused to sit idly by and await his doom. One could say that this battle had only now reached its most critical juncture.
Yang Kai dared not let his attention waver for even a moment. His eyes remained locked on Mo Sheng's movements, unwilling to miss the slightest detail!
At the same time, Yu Rumeng, who had been entangled with Wu Kuang, suddenly exerted full force, disregarding her own survival entirely. She launched desperate, life-threatening attacks at Wu Kuang—every strike aimed to kill, her own defenses left completely open.
Wu Kuang could do nothing but defend.
Seizing this opportunity, Chang Tian broke free and lunged straight toward Zhan Wuhen.
Yang Kai was momentarily stunned upon seeing this, unsure of what it meant. But this move was clearly commanded by the Great Demon God, and regardless of what the Great Demon God intended, he could not be allowed to have his way. Yang Kai roared: "Stop him!"
But how could anyone stop him? Chang Tian was also a Demon Saint-level powerhouse. If he was determined to flee, even Yang Kai himself couldn't prevent it—let alone the fact that Wu Kuang was being kept busy by Yu Rumeng.
Yang Kai watched helplessly as Chang Tian rapidly closed in on Zhan Wuhen, and the unease in his heart grew ever stronger.
With a thunderous boom, Chang Tian crashed into the battlefield. Combining his strength with Huang Wuji's, he forced Zhan Wuhen—previously locked in even combat—to be driven back in a single sweep. Seizing the moment, Huang Wuji spun around and shot toward the Great Demon God's location.
Zhan Wuhen moved to pursue, but Chang Tian threw himself in the way, forcing Zhan Wuhen onto the defensive.
Freed, Huang Wuji accelerated. And under Yang Kai's watchful gaze, the Demon Domain's foremost Demon Saint plunged headlong into the Great Demon God's colossal body and vanished without a trace. A savage laugh boomed across heaven and earth: "All of you will die!"
As those words fell, the massive body collapsed, contracting, converging toward its center. Faintly, within the shroud of boundless black energy, the outline of another figure emerged.
That figure was none other than Huang Wuji, who had just thrown himself in!
Seeing this, Yang Kai's expression changed. How could he not understand the Great Demon God's intentions?
He had found it somewhat strange earlier—though the Great Demon God had manifested, that enormous body was composed entirely of condensed demonic energy, not a physical form. Even after devouring most of the Star Boundary's spiritual essence, how could he have fully recovered?
Now it made sense. Having his soul inhabit a powerhouse's body was undoubtedly an excellent method. It was something akin to possession, and since all the Demon Race had been born from him, there would naturally be no complications whatsoever.
One could say that so long as the Great Demon God wished it, he could possess any member of the Demon Race without the slightest risk.
Understanding this, Yang Kai broke into a cold sweat. Thank goodness the Great Demon God hadn't chosen to possess Yu Rumeng—otherwise, he truly wouldn't have known how to handle it. Face Yu Rumeng—kill or not kill? If he killed her, Yu Rumeng would surely perish; if he didn't, there would be no way to answer to the rest of the Star Boundary. Then again, Yu Rumeng was a woman, and so long as the Great Demon God hadn't gone completely mad, he probably wouldn't choose to possess her.
Had it come to this out of sheer desperation? Mo Sheng had been contending with him all this time over the last pure land of the Star Boundary, but had been thwarted by one complication after another. Seeing that things could not succeed as planned, he could only change his strategy.
Yang Kai didn't know what would happen if the Great Demon God truly devoured that final patch of pure land, but judging from the current situation, it would undoubtedly be an outcome the Star Boundary could not accept.
And the truth was exactly as Yang Kai had guessed. If Mo Sheng had any other choice, why would he have changed his plan?
In his original scheme, there had been no need to possess another's body at all. As long as he could fully devour the Star Boundary's spiritual essence, combined with the intact world's spiritual power, the severed palm that Huang Wuji had been safeguarding, and his own divine abilities, he could have reconstructed his physical form. Even if he couldn't restore himself to his peak strength, he would at least be left with no hidden ailments. Over time, he could continue to recover, and there would come a day when he was fully healed.