Nearly two months of frantic work, with practically every ounce of strength the entire Star Boundary could muster—the Great Emperors included—finally brought all the miscellaneous tasks to a close.
Duan Hongchen had transported countless living beings from lower-star realms, and across all four regions of the Star Boundary, every place that could support life now teemed with vitality. Each cluster of settlements had been outfitted by Yang Kai with spatial arrays. The fifty-five armies of the Star Boundary had been disbanded; according to the sects and families they originally hailed from, their members were free to choose where they wished to settle.
Yang Kai had cast his arts to rebuild Lingxiao Palace. Though he had managed to restore roughly seventy or eighty percent of its former appearance, it still fell far short of what it had once been—something that could not be accomplished in a short time. The recovery of Lingxiao Palace, much like the recovery of the Star Boundary itself, would require a long period of accumulation and settlement.
Lan Xun led the surviving members of the Star God Palace back to the Southern Region to begin the work of reviving it. Before her departure, she made a special visit to pay her respects, expressing her heartfelt gratitude over and over. Xiao Chen trailed along at her side, his face flushed with shame. He had previously been bewitched by the Great Demon God, demonic thoughts churning within him, and at the critical moment of that final battle, he had launched a sneak attack on Yang Kai alongside Li Shiqing, nearly committing an unforgivable act. He had been struck down by Yang Kai for it. That ambush had not been of his own volition, yet if his heart had been clear and upright, how could demonic thoughts have taken root in the first place?
After that ordeal, Xiao Chen seemed to have matured considerably. Gone was the old habit of looking down on others while overestimating himself; it was as though some of his rough edges had been ground away—though whether that was fortune or misfortune remained to be seen.
His injuries had yet to fully heal, but no lasting damage remained. With proper rest and recuperation in the future, a full recovery was only a matter of time.
Army after army, group after group departed from Lingxiao Palace and scattered to every corner of the Star Boundary. Two months later, only the original disciples of Lingxiao Palace remained within its halls.
After such a catastrophe, Lingxiao Palace's hundred thousand disciples had been reduced to fewer than sixty thousand—and that was only because the disciples had been cultivating for a relatively short time, their strength insufficient for battle. Many had been pulled into the Small Mysterious World by Yang Kai ahead of time to escape the calamity.
If Lingxiao Palace had suffered so, one could only imagine what the other sects had endured.
Nine out of ten homes in the entire Star Boundary lay empty—that was no figure of speech, but a grim reality.
The calm that followed the great battle gave those who had survived that hellfire of blood and steel an almost unreal feeling, yet it also made them cherish the present peace all the more.
In the void, the colossal Giant Spirit God sat crunching and chewing on something. Yang Kai had assumed his two-hundred-zhang half-dragon form, sitting cross-legged before the giant, gripping an enormous waterskin and gulping down its contents. The rich fragrance of wine billowed outward.
After drinking for a time, Yang Kai turned his head to look at the Giant Spirit God and let out a breath of wine-scented air, making A Da wrinkle his brows.
The Giant Spirit God seemed to eat nothing besides those dead worlds. Yang Kai had tried getting him to drink some wine before, but A Da had refused him mercilessly. The very scent of it was something the giant found distasteful.
"A Da, have you thought of any good solutions for the situation back home?"
This was already the third time Yang Kai had come to ask. The first time, A Da had shown no reaction whatsoever. The second time, the giant seemed to have understood what Yang Kai was asking about, but offered no answer—only saying he needed to think about it.
Now it was the third time.
Upon hearing Yang Kai's question, A Da chuckled, his jaws still crunching away without pause.
"Don't just eat—at least give me some kind of idea." Yang Kai stared at him with a look of helpless exasperation.
"Heh heh!"
Yang Kai's mouth twitched. He couldn't help but let out a mild curse, then laughed despite himself. "Being as carefree as you are day in and day out really is something rare. Tell me—do you have any other brothers or sisters? Ruoxi said the Giant Spirit Gods are an entire race. If you're a race, you can't be the only one, can you?"
A Da blinked, then raised a finger as massive as a mountain peak, knitted his brows tight, and began counting on it one by one with a look of deep concentration.
After counting for a long while, he arrived at no discernible result, and Yang Kai couldn't make anything out of it either.
Yang Kai raised a hand to his forehead. "Forget it, forget it. Take your time counting, take your time thinking. Just tell me when I come back next time."
With that, he stood and turned his gaze toward the direction of the Star Boundary, flashing a grin. "There's a happy occasion waiting for me over there. Wouldn't do to be late—off I go."
Saying this, he strode in long steps toward the Star Boundary.
"The World Tree!" A rumbling voice suddenly came from behind.
Yang Kai froze mid-stride and whipped his head around. "What did you say?"
But when he looked, A Da was still there with his brows furrowed into furrows, busily counting his fingers one by one, looking for all the world as though he hadn't said a word.
Yang Kai nearly thought he had been hearing things.
But that voice had unmistakably been A Da's—he was absolutely certain of it. He studied the giant carefully for a moment, then abandoned any intention of pressing the matter. Silently, he committed the three words "World Tree" to memory, turned, gave a wave, and continued on his way.
The Southern Region, the Qingyang Divine Palace.
Like Lingxiao Palace, the Qingyang Divine Palace was in a state of ruin. This place, too, had once been a battlefield—the Demon Race army had invaded, sacred peaks had crumbled, and demonic intent had corrupted the land.
Yet its condition was considerably better than that of Lingxiao Palace. After all, the area surrounding Lingxiao Palace had been the site of the final battle, and the terrifying forces unleashed there had rendered the void unstable for a million li in every direction, riddled with spatial fractures.
This place was damaged, yes, but its overall structure had been preserved.