Six days later, the Dharma Avatar rose to his feet, and with his movement, the entire world rumbled ceaselessly.
After six days of refinement, all the Open Heaven foundations from those who had perished in this world had been devoured by the Demon Realm. While some portion had certainly been wasted, it absolutely did not exceed twenty percent.
That was a terrifying ratio.
Lu Xue and Guo Ziyan both stared at the Dharma Avatar with expressions of shock. Even with all the storms they'd weathered and the knowledge they'd accumulated, they were deeply shaken.
After all, when an Open Heaven cultivator perished in a realm, the World Force that leaked from them would indeed be absorbed by that realm, gradually assimilated and merged—but that required an extremely long time, and the amount of power the realm could accept was limited, perhaps only ten or twenty percent at most. The bulk of it would dissipate into the void, an unavoidable waste.
But these past few days, they had clearly felt that the foundations of those fallen Open Heaven cultivators from the Mo Yu Sect had been wasted almost not at all—nearly all of it had been devoured and fused by this world at astonishing speed.
What kind of world was this? And what manner of being was this stone man?
Guo Ziyan and Lu Xue couldn't quite grasp it, but Yang Kai had received exceedingly clear informational feedback from the Dharma Avatar.
This battle had indeed consumed a considerable amount of the Demon Realm's reserves. After all, the two mid-tier Open Heaven cultivators had clashed at the end, reshaping the landscape within a million-li radius and shattering heaven and earth.
But compared to the losses, the gains were far greater!
The deaths of those eight low-tier Open Heaven cultivators alone were enough to compensate for this battle's losses—and then some, to say nothing of the World Force that had leaked from Mo Yu Ancestor after his death as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven.
The reason Mo Yu Ancestor had set his sights on the Demon Realm was that, according to his perception, this world had an exceptionally high compatibility with him. If he could seize the Demon Realm and devour its laws and World Force, he could not only heal his injuries in a very short time but even elevate his strength to the next level.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai had ultimately ruined his plans—not only had his scheme failed, but he had lost his life.
The Demon Realm's laws and World Force were a tremendous tonic for Mo Yu Ancestor, and likewise, Mo Yu Ancestor's foundations were a tremendous tonic for the Demon Realm! The fusion of the two had been as natural as water flowing downhill, accomplished without the slightest effort.
If not for this, the Dharma Avatar would never have been able to complete the absorption in a mere six days—it would have inevitably required far more time.
As for the current state of the Demon Realm, while the shattered landscape within a million li had not changed much in appearance, compared to before the battle, the Demon Realm had undergone tremendous growth.
The laws of heaven and earth had become more solidified, and the World Force more formidable.
The solidification of the laws meant that the Demon Race living in the Demon Realm could better comprehend the Great Dao and advance their strength more quickly and conveniently.
The more formidable the World Force, the greater the power that Demon Saints like the Dharma Avatar, Yu Rumeng, and Bei Li Mo—those recognized by the will of heaven and earth—could wield on this land!
If before they could exert the strength of Second-Order or Third-Order Open Heaven while standing in the Demon Realm, then now they could exert Third-Order or Fourth-Order!
According to the Dharma Avatar's estimation, if the Demon Realm had possessed these reserves earlier, Mo Yu Ancestor would have had to personally intervene to suppress them—sending his subordinates would have been utterly futile.
In short, the Demon Realm had experienced tremendous growth from this battle!
This inevitably set Yang Kai's imagination running wild.
Yu Rumeng, Bei Li Mo, and the others were one thing. Though they were Demon Saints, they still had the potential to advance further—once they broke free from the confines of their Small Worlds, they could condense their own Dao Imprints and walk the path of opening heaven and forging worlds.
But the Dharma Avatar was different. Back then, when he had activated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art and given rise to the peculiar existence that was Gun Gun, he had become inextricably bound to the Demon Realm.
If he were to leave the Demon Realm, without the foundation of the Heaven Devouring Battle Art to sustain it, the Demon Realm would inevitably collapse.
This was why Yang Kai had left the Dharma Avatar in the Demon Realm to hold the fort all those years ago—the Dharma Avatar couldn't leave.
He had originally believed that the Dharma Avatar would have no room for further growth for the rest of his existence, condemned to remain trapped within the Demon Realm forever. But now it seemed... the Dharma Avatar might have another path to growth.
As long as enough Open Heaven cultivators perished in the Demon Realm, he could devour the power leaking from their collapsed Small Worlds and bolster the Demon Realm's reserves.
The stronger the Demon Realm's reserves, the greater the power the Dharma Avatar could wield!
Currently, with the Demon Realm's support, he could wield the power of Third-Order or Fourth-Order Open Heaven. But one day, might he be able to wield Fifth-Order, Sixth-Order, or even Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order power?
Yang Kai's eyes gleamed, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
But while this possibility existed, implementing it in practice would be extraordinarily difficult. After all, where would he find enough Open Heaven cultivators to slaughter? Even if they existed, they wouldn't necessarily come to fight in the Demon Realm!
The growth potential of the Dharma Avatar and the Demon Realm was promising, but the limitations were considerable as well.
Reining in his thoughts, Yang Kai communicated with the Dharma Avatar for a time, relaying some information to him.
The Dharma Avatar understood and immediately set the Demon Realm moving in a particular direction—toward the Star Boundary.
This time, Mo Yu Ancestor had stumbled upon the Demon Realm by chance and harbored malicious designs upon it. This had made Yang Kai realize that even positioned at the fringes of the Three Thousand Worlds, they were not entirely safe. Who knew—next time, another Ancestor might set their sights on the Demon Realm.
With the Demon Realm's current strength, opposing a powerful mid-tier Open Heaven cultivator was still beyond their capabilities.