The Giant Spirit God A Da's face hadn't changed, but the Great Emperors' expressions had already shifted first. Zhang Ruoxi was right—the Giant Spirit God's mind was simple, like a child's, but that also meant he was moody and unpredictable. For Yang Kai to needle him in a verbal sparring match like this, without any regard for his own safety—if he managed to piss the creature off, there would be no good ending for anyone.
Zhang Ruoxi was understandably nervous, but at this point, no one dared step in to intervene. Yang Kai was the one who knew the Giant Spirit God A Da, and it was best left for him to handle this matter. Regardless of how things turned out, the Star Boundary's side could only accept whatever came. If anyone else rashly intervened, it was entirely possible that things would spiral out of control.
"I can't talk any sense into you." On the other side, Yang Kai had been bickering with A Da for quite a while and was fuming with frustration.
A Da reached up to scratch his face, turning his head to the side. He pretended to look over casually, but when he noticed Yang Kai glaring at him, he quickly averted his gaze, looking somewhat guilty.
Yang Kai said helplessly, "A Da, that's my home. If you eat it, I won't have a home anymore. Understand?"
A Da rubbed his belly. "Hungry!"
Yang Kai wished he could just run the guy through with his spear. After fuming for a moment, he paced back and forth along the creature's arm, then stopped and tilted his head. "You wouldn't be hungry if you had something to eat, right?"
"Something to eat?" A Da's eyes lit up, and he immediately lowered his head, gazing at Yang Kai with eager anticipation.
"Just wait for me!" With that, Yang Kai turned and flew back the way he'd come.
A moment later, he returned to the group and said with an expression of exasperation, "We've got a bit of a problem."
Zhan Wuhen asked, "He wants food—where are you going to find it for him?" They had all watched Yang Kai's exchange with A Da just now, and they understood what Yang Kai was planning. But a dead world—where could you possibly find one of those?
"What he eats isn't actually hard to find, but it would only keep him satisfied for a while. If we don't find a real solution to the Star Boundary's problem, I'm afraid we won't be able to send this guy away."
"Even temporarily pacifying him would work. We can figure something out later."
Yang Kai nodded. "That's the only option, I suppose. This guy… he's as stubborn as they come." As he spoke, he turned to Duan Hongchen. "To keep him satisfied, it would have to be Lord Hongchen, wouldn't it?"
"Me?" Duan Hongchen was startled.
"Dead stars!" Yang Kai explained. "Last time I ran into him, I fed him some World Beads. He loved them. World Beads are refined from lower-plane meteorites and dead stars. Since he eats World Beads, he certainly wouldn't turn up his nose at dead stars—in fact, those dead stars are probably exactly what he wants."
Hearing this explanation, Duan Hongchen suddenly understood. "Wait a moment!"
All of the lower-plane star fields had been refined and fused together by Wu Kuang. He had originally intended to use this method to gain insight into a higher realm of martial arts. Now that he had obtained the Great Demon God's body, there was no need for that anymore. Besides, he had originally used Duan Hongchen's physical body to carry out the refinement, so the resulting Universe World had been left to Duan Hongchen.
There were countless dead stars across the lower-plane star fields, and finding some among them would be no trouble for Duan Hongchen. Even if these dead stars were removed, it wouldn't have any impact on the various star fields.
In a short moment, a dozen or so objects resembling chess pieces materialized in Duan Hongchen's hands—each one a dead star that had been refined.
Wu Kuang had been able to use the starry sky as a board and the stars as game pieces. Having gone through all of that alongside him, Duan Hongchen could do the same.
"Give me a few more." Yang Kai took them.
Duan Hongchen lowered his head and got to work again.
After another brief pause, Yang Kai finally turned and flew back toward A Da.
A Da watched Yang Kai approach with a look full of anticipation, his expression brimming with excitement.
"Open your mouth!" Yang Kai flew up to him and commanded.
A Da immediately split his mouth wide open, revealing what looked like a massive black hole, a sight that sent chills down the spines of Zhan Wuhen and the others.
Yang Kai flicked one of the chess pieces in. The moment it landed, A Da's eyes blazed bright. He crunched down with a series of loud cracks, his face radiating pure delight, and even his bald head seemed to glow a little brighter.
Before long, a single dead star had been devoured. A Da looked thoroughly unsatisfied.
As if Yang Kai didn't know what he was thinking, he immediately flicked another chess piece into that gaping maw.
In the void, the colossal Giant Spirit God crunched away on dead stars one after another, the sounds sending shivers down the spines of the assembled Great Emperors.
As time passed, the chess pieces in Yang Kai's hand dwindled one by one. Sensing that the moment was right, he spoke up: "A Da, we're friends, right?"
"Friends?" A Da blinked, staring at Yang Kai. The word was clearly something he didn't quite understand.
"You ate my food, which makes us friends." Yang Kai coaxed him patiently, then held up the Azure Dragon Spear. "You gave me this spear, so I'm your friend too."