"He's gone!" Yang Kai called out, reaching over to playfully tease Xiao Xiao. The little creature promptly scurried up his arm. It was hard to imagine that such a tiny being could transform into a towering giant like Tai Yue and grapple with the Great Demon God in a contest of raw strength.
In the previous battle, Tai Yue had been torn apart twice, and while his life was no longer in danger, he—like the other Great Emperors—needed proper rest and recuperation.
"He sure left in good spirits," Duan Hongchen said with a chuckle.
"It's for the best that he's gone," the Flower Shadow Great Emperor murmured with quiet relief, her gaze drifting ever so briefly toward Zhan Wuhen as she spoke.
Over there, Zhan Wuhen's eyes were cold and sharp as he stared in the direction Wu Kuang had departed, a faint thread of killing intent still lingering about him.
During the battle at the Shattered Star Sea all those years ago, no fewer than four Great Emperors had perished at Wu Kuang's hand. One of them—the Green Lotus Great Emperor—had been Zhan Wuhen's closest friend, which meant Zhan Wuhen's hatred for Wu Kuang ran bone-deep, and his loathing for the Heaven Devouring Battle Art was just as profound.
Among all the surviving Great Emperors, none hated Wu Kuang more than Zhan Wuhen.
If given the chance, he would not have hesitated to fight Wu Kuang to the death and avenge his fallen comrade.
But during the battle against the Great Demon God, every last ounce of the Star Boundary's strength had been rallied into a single cohesive force, and Zhan Wuhen had been forced to set aside his personal vendetta. Now, there was even less room for such matters. The Star Boundary could not afford any more upheaval. Besides, Wu Kuang had devoured Mo Sheng, and with his current level of strength, Zhan Wuhen doubted he could do much against him even if he tried.
"Good riddance, good riddance." Duan Hongchen nodded repeatedly. These years of sharing a single body with Wu Kuang had been suffocating for him. Now that Wu Kuang had his own physical form once more, Duan Hongchen was finally free of him for good.
The only thing that still nettled him was that during the earlier battle, Wu Kuang had used his body to unleash the Heaven Devouring Battle Art, devouring the Great Demon God's vital essence. While that had brought him no small amount of benefit, it had also left behind certain hidden dangers—a double-edged sword, to say the least.
"Who knows when we'll meet again," Yang Kai said casually, still toying with Xiao Xiao.
Perhaps… there would be no chance to meet again at all. The cosmos was vast and boundless beyond imagining. Even if he himself one day broke free from the confines of this realm and stepped into the world beyond, what were the odds of their paths crossing again?
The words had barely left his lips when Yang Kai's brow furrowed suddenly. He lifted his head and gazed up toward the sky.
The others had noticed it too. As they all looked up, they saw a black speck plummeting from the heavens at tremendous speed, trailed by an aura of savage, violent energy.
The speck swelled rapidly in their field of vision and within moments had taken the shape of a giant standing several hundred zhang tall.
Who else could it be but Wu Kuang, who had just departed?
Yang Kai set Xiao Xiao on his shoulder and asked with a bemused smile, "What brings you back? Did you forget something?"
Wu Kuang's expression was peculiar—somber and grave above all else—as he spoke. "You'd all best come with me. The Star Boundary may be in a catastrophe beyond anything we've faced."
"What do you mean?" Zhan Wuhen's face darkened.
"Come see for yourself." Wu Kuang wasted no further words. He turned and shot back out beyond the boundaries of the realm.
The others exchanged glances. Divine senses flickered rapidly between them in a brief exchange, and then Yang Kai barked, "Move!"
With that, he was the first to follow.
"Be careful—it could be a trap!" Zhan Wuhen sent via divine transmission, his trust in Wu Kuang's character clearly still lacking. Even so, he followed close behind.
Over a dozen figures surged forth in a grand procession, heading beyond the bounds of the realm.
The higher they ascended, the stronger an invisible resistance became—bearing down on their shoulders like a mountain, threatening to force them back down.
"It's weakened considerably," Mo Huang sighed involuntarily. "Is this the result of the laws of heaven and earth falling into decay?"
"That must be it," Zhan Wuhen confirmed with a nod.
The Great Emperors had reigned over the Star Boundary for countless years—of course they had attempted to venture beyond the realm to glimpse the world outside. Not once, but many times.
This invisible resistance was something they knew all too well. Every time they tried to leave the Star Boundary, they encountered it. But this time was different. The resistance had clearly diminished by a great deal.
This force was none other than the binding of the realm itself. Those whose strength was insufficient could never break free of it and step beyond its confines.
The Great Emperors were all capable of doing so, but once they stepped outside the Star Boundary's realm, they lost the support of the world. A Great Emperor outside the realm was no longer truly a Great Emperor—the world beyond was treacherous beyond measure, and they could not sustain themselves for long before being forced to turn back.
Thus, before the Great Demon God's invasion, the Great Emperors had known nothing of what lay beyond.
In the span of roughly a dozen breaths, everyone felt the pressure vanish from their bodies, the invisible weight dissipating entirely. At the same time, their connection to the Star Boundary grew faint beyond measure.
And then, at that very moment, a sound like rolling thunder reached their ears, deafening and bone-rattling. Every face among them changed in an instant.
A split second later, a violent gale screamed toward them head-on. The force of it was so tremendous that even the Great Emperors could not hold their ground—they were sent tumbling every which way, scattered like leaves in a storm.
It took a good while before the gale finally subsided. The group stared at one another, and no one could say what had just happened.