If he had possessed the Ageless Tree back then, he would have revived and been reborn long ago. There would have been no need for tens of thousands of years of painstaking planning, nor would this grueling battle be taking place today.
"How could you possibly have the Ageless Tree?!" The Great Demon God's jealousy drove him to the brink of madness.
In response, Yang Kai's fist came swinging toward him with savage force. The blow landed squarely on his temple, and his vision went black in an instant, his skull ringing with a deafening hum.
On instinct he reached out and seized Yang Kai's arm, tearing away a massive chunk of flesh and blood. Yang Kai paid it no mind. His fists flew like the wind, a sky-full of afterimages raining down upon the Great Demon God, the thunderous impacts echoing without cease.
The Great Demon God, equally reckless, stuffed the torn flesh into his mouth, chewed vigorously, and swallowed it whole. Since Yang Kai had refined the Ageless Tree, his entire body could essentially be regarded as the tree itself—his flesh and blood brimming with its essence.
A surge of exuberant vitality exploded from within his stomach, managing to stave off some of his grievous injuries.
No one had imagined that the final battle, in its ultimate moments, would unfold like this. The Great Demon God's colossal body had been pinned to the ground by Yang Kai's Azure Dragon Spear, which channeled the will of heaven and earth to hold him fast, leaving him unable to move. Yang Kai's two-hundred-zhang half-dragon form was nearly straddling him, raining down attacks with frenzied abandon, while the Great Demon God swung his arms, continuously tearing strips of flesh from Yang Kai's body and gulping them down.
Each fist crashed home with a muffled boom that reverberated across the entire world. The Great Demon God's head was nearly deformed, split open with countless wounds. Yang Kai fared no better—vast swathes of flesh had been ripped away from his body, exposing golden dragon bones that gleamed brilliantly.
Under the effects of the Ageless Tree's essence, both of their injuries were being rapidly repaired and replenished. For a time they were locked in something resembling equilibrium, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Now it came down to who could endure longer.
A figure staggered toward them from not far away. Wu Kuang let out a low, cackling laugh, his face a mask of crazed exhilaration. He stopped directly above the Great Demon God's head, his hands weaving seals at a furious pace before a single palm struck downward. His voice rang out in a low shout: "Heaven-Devouring Battle Law!"
The palm descended without any apparent overwhelming force, yet to the naked eye, streams of pure energy were being ripped from within the Great Demon God's body, dissolving into Wu Kuang's own frame.
A look of rapturous bliss spread across Wu Kuang's face, as though he were tasting the most exquisite delicacy in all the world, and his laughter grew ever more unhinged.
"You bastard!" The Great Demon God glared upward at the insect hovering above him.
Wu Kuang met his gaze, his eyes brimming with mockery. He taunted, "If you've got the guts, then glare me to death!"
Under normal circumstances, the Great Demon God might not have given Wu Kuang's actions a second thought. Earlier, when he had been fighting the Star Boundary's Great Emperors single-handedly, Wu Kuang had deployed this Heaven-Devouring Battle Law multiple times to siphon his power, with negligible effect. But these were not normal times. He was already running on fumes—his body pinned by the Azure Dragon Spear, Yang Kai's attacks pelting him like a tempest, and now Wu Kuang was draining him as well. He could barely hold on, his power hemorrhaging away, vanishing into thin air, so fast that even the Ageless Tree's essence couldn't replenish it.
A sense of panic rose from the depths of his heart, and the Great Demon God's expression changed drastically.
He raised his palm to grab at Wu Kuang, but a dragon tail swept casually around his arm, its immense force locking his limb in place. He struggled several times, only to find himself completely immobile.
The Great Demon God roared in fury and drove his other hand toward Yang Kai's chest. Mid-strike, his palm transformed into a blade that plunged deep into Yang Kai's torso, his fingers closing around the powerfully beating heart.
But before he could exert his strength, Yang Kai was already baring his teeth in a savage grin. Both hands seized the Great Demon God's enormous hand, squeezing it in an iron grip, and a single word escaped his lips: "Explode!"
The Laws of Space rippled violently. Spatial force detonated at the base of the Great Demon God's arm, sending blood spraying in every direction. The arm was severed clean off, and a scream of agony tore from his throat.
Yang Kai casually flung the massive severed limb behind him, and once more his storm of attacks engulfed the Great Demon God.
At the stump of the Great Demon God's severed arm, demonic energy surged and flesh writhed, on the verge of regenerating a new limb. Yet under the influence of Wu Kuang's Heaven-Devouring Battle Law, blood and pure energy were continuously devoured from the wound. It showed no signs of healing whatsoever, let alone regrowing the arm.
Amid the rumbling thunder of their clash, the Great Demon God's overwhelming aura plummeted steadily. Yang Kai's own aura was dropping too. Even after refining the Ageless Tree and fully recovering to fight a second round, holding his own against the Great Demon God in direct confrontation was taking its toll.
"Get off me!" Like a final deathbed surge, the Great Demon God—whose aura had been waning—suddenly erupted with violent force. As he roared, a blast of savage power poured from his mouth, transforming into a lethal wave of destruction that slammed into Yang Kai.
His two-hundred-zhang half-dragon body, without the slightest pause, was hurled backward through the air. Mid-flight, the sound of bones shattering echoed from within him as wounds burst open across his chest, golden blood scattering like rain.
He crashed heavily to the ground. Yang Kai scrambled to his feet quickly, but before he could fully stand, his legs buckled and he dropped to one knee again, gasping for air. His vision blurred with blood, and the entire world was bathed in gold.
"It's time!" Wu Kuang, who had been hovering above the Great Demon God's head this entire time, steadily devouring his power, suddenly murmured. Then he threw both arms wide and called out, "Junior, if things go south, don't hesitate—tear him to shreds without mercy, or the consequences will be catastrophic!"