Seeing the Great Demon God actually suppressed by four powerhouses working in concert, the Star Boundary's Great Emperors were naturally elated, while the Demon Saints of the Demon Realm wore expressions ashen as death.
Under the scrutiny of countless divine senses, the Great Demon God's sky-shaking aura was waning at a subtle but perceptible pace. He had tried countless times to break free from Tai Yue's binding, but no matter what attacks he directed at Xiao Xiao, no matter what injuries he inflicted, Xiao Xiao showed no sign of letting go. The little fellow had staked everything on dragging him down to mutual destruction, even if it meant dying in the process.
The Demon Saints were alarmed. The Great Demon God was alarmed.
The Great Demon God's setback on the main battlefield set the other Demon Saints on edge, and the changes rippled outward to the battlefields where Great Emperors and Demon Saints clashed.
The stalemate, where neither side had held a clear advantage over the other, finally shifted. The Great Emperors slowly gained the upper hand.
The sudden appearance of Tai Yue Xiao Xiao had been like the last straw that broke the camel's back, triggering a chain of unforeseen reactions. For the Star Boundary, for the countless living beings still alive within it, this was nothing short of a wondrous windfall.
If things continued on this trajectory, Yang Kai and the others truly had hope of slaying the Great Demon God right here.
"Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth—my subjects, all return to my body!" The Great Demon God's low chant echoed between heaven and earth, carrying with it a peculiar thread of power.
Yang Kai suddenly felt a searing heat flood both his eyes, as if blades had been driven into his eyeballs. The pain drilled straight into his skull. At the same time, an immense force surged forth from somewhere beyond mortal perception, and both his eyes seemed on the verge of tearing free from their sockets. Worse still, the World-Cleansing Demon Eye and the Infernal Black Pupil activated uncontrollably—his left eye blazed golden, his right eye plunged into utter darkness, and two streams of profound, otherworldly power surged outward from them.
Yang Kai was horrified. The momentum behind his savage spear thrust faltered abruptly, and he hastily retreated, putting distance between himself and the Great Demon God while channeling his own power into his eyes to suppress the disturbance.
Both the World-Cleansing Demon Eye and the Infernal Black Pupil had originated from the Great Demon God's true body. Long ago, during his battle with the Temporal Emperor, the Great Demon God had been beaten to a pulp, yet his two naturally divine eyes had survived and drifted away into the world. Over the vast passage of time, the eyes had developed sentience and each forged their own destiny.
Strictly speaking, the Great Demon God on the Profound Continent and the one-eyed giant demon that had once invaded the Star Boundary had both been avatars of the Great Demon God—not ones he had deliberately refined, but ones that had spawned independently, acting of their own accord with no connection to the original's will.
But regardless of that, some unseverable link between these two eyes and the Great Demon God always remained.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had long since ascended to the realm of Great Emperor, with the power of heaven and earth shielding him. Otherwise, the Great Demon God would need only a single thought to seize his eyes and strip him of both his great abilities.
It was precisely because of this concern that Yang Kai had never once considered using the World-Cleansing Demon Eye or the Infernal Black Pupil in his battle against the Great Demon God—he had feared giving his enemy any opening to exploit.
Who could have imagined that even without employing them, the Great Demon God could still exert some influence over him?
What was he planning? Yang Kai's vigilance skyrocketed, his gaze locked unblinkingly on the Great Demon God. What brought him a small measure of relief was that though the burning sensation persisted in his eyes, nothing else seemed amiss.
But he quickly grasped the Great Demon God's intentions.
The instant that incantation fell, across the various battlefields, the Demon Saints who had been locked in fierce combat with the Great Emperors abandoned their opponents without hesitation and wheeled around to hurtle toward the Great Demon God, utterly disregarding the devastating techniques bearing down on their backs.
A grim premonition surged through Yang Kai's heart, and he bellowed, "Stop them! Don't let them reach him!"
The Great Emperors needed no such reminder. The moment their opponents turned to flee, they pursued like shadows, their Laws surging as wave after wave of devastating attacks slammed into the fleeing Demon Saints. Seven or eight of them vomited blood, yet none so much as glanced at their own injuries.
Dragon roars shook the heavens. The Dragon Clan Grand Elder and Second Elder gave chase without relent. Ahead of them, Xue Li, Fu Yu, and Huo Bu split off in three different directions, leaving the two elders uncertain which one to cut off.
In the blink of an eye, Huo Bu—the red demon charging at the fore—had closed to within ten thousand zhang of the Great Demon God, his crimson eyes burning with fanatical fervor. Every other Demon Saints shared that same deranged look, one and all.
Yang Kai knew he had to act. He thrust out a dragon claw, reaching across the distance toward Huo Bu's position, and seized the air with a thunderous shout, "Freeze!"
Spatial Laws combined with his mastery over the power of heaven and earth—even as a Demon Saint, Huo Bu's hurtling body jerked to an abrupt halt, freezing rigid on the spot. The transition from full speed to absolute stillness was jarringly sudden.
"Condense!" Yang Kai clenched his fist, and space collapsed inward. A world-ending force erupted at Huo Bu's location.
Huo Bu coughed up a spray of blood that glowed like molten magma, radiating scorching light. He growled beneath his breath, "Detonate!"
His round, gourd-like body swelled violently outward, his skin flushing crimson as though scorched by fire. A cataclysmic explosion tore through the void, carving out a massive chunk of empty space.
Red demons' self-detonation was an innate ability—no charging required and impossible to suppress. It took nothing more than a single thought. An ordinary red demon's self-detonation carried tremendous destructive force, and as a Demon Saint, Huo Bu's was leagues beyond that. The difference was that while an ordinary red demon would be obliterated body and soul, Huo Bu could walk away unscathed.
Yang Kai staggered backward. Despite the ten-thousand-zhang distance, the horrific shockwave from Huo Bu's detonation still drove him back several involuntary steps.
The earth-shattering inferno contracted all at once, reforming into Huo Bu's short, rotund frame. He pressed onward, though his aura had noticeably diminished. He might not be reduced to nothing like an ordinary red demon after self-detonating, but the move had still cost him.
No one could stop him now. Tai Yue Xiao Xiao was pouring everything into suppressing the Great God Demon with no room to spare. Wu Kuang was greedily devouring the Great Demon God's essence, spirit, and vitality. Zhang Ruoxi's sword lights fell one after another. Neither of them could afford to divert their attention, fearing that the slightest lapse would allow the Great Demon God to break free.
In the span of a single breath, Huo Bu had reached a position just a short distance from the Great Demon God. A savage grin twisted his face, his hands formed a series of seals, and once again he uttered a word—soft, weightless, and utterly bone-chilling.