The young man spoke: "I can't be certain whether the Blood Dao secret technique has been fully lifted or not. The only way to find out is to wait for this place to collapse."
If the Blood Demon Cave Heaven collapsed and he was still alive, that would mean he no longer needed the ambient energy of this place to sustain himself—it would mean Yang Kai's method had worked.
"There's no need to wait that long. I'll send you somewhere." Yang Kai had no intention of waiting for the Blood Demon Cave Heaven to collapse; by then it would be far too late. As he spoke, he tossed the young man into his Small Universe, while closely monitoring his condition.
Yang Kai had considered hiding the people from Dingfeng City inside his Small Universe and bringing them out of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven before, but the restrictions of that Blood Dao secret technique had killed the idea. The Small Universe was a self-contained world, and without first lifting the Blood Dao technique, recklessly allowing Mo Mei and the others inside would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths—there was no ambient energy of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven within the Small Universe.
Now, the only question was whether the secret technique recorded in the jade slip obtained from Black Crow Divine Lord would actually work. This young man's survival would tell the tale.
Under Yang Kai's watchful attention, the young man entered the Small Universe. He merely looked around at his surroundings in a dazed manner, showing no significant signs of discomfort. After a moment, the young man himself seemed to realize what had happened and let out a triumphant howl at the sky, his excitement and joy practically overflowing.
He had been certain he would die. Who could have guessed that while on the road he would stumble upon someone who not only broke the Blood Dao restriction on him, but even sent him to an entirely unfamiliar world? Though he still had no idea what sort of world this was, at the very least he no longer had to worry about dying.
That feeling of waiting for death—he never wanted to experience it again in his life!
Yang Kai also breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed the jade slip Black Crow Divine Lord had given him was genuine, and the secret technique recorded within had not been falsified. Thinking about it, that made sense—at the time the situation had been urgent, and after Yang Kai made his demand, Black Crow Divine Lord had no opportunity to tamper with anything. If Yang Kai had known nothing about the Blood Illumination Scripture that would be one thing, but he had actually comprehended several of its stone tablet inscriptions. Had Black Crow Divine Lord attempted any deception, Yang Kai might well have caught it.
The secret technique had nothing to do with the core cultivation method of the Blood Illumination Scripture, so Black Crow Divine Lord had been happy to oblige.
The technique worked. Now the remaining question was whether he could reach Dingfeng City before the Blood Demon Cave Heaven collapsed.
His joy tempered by a new concern, Yang Kai found himself troubled. The residents of Dingfeng City were neither few in number nor terribly many—at least three to four thousand people. To lift the Blood Dao restriction on every single one of them would undoubtedly consume a tremendous amount of time.
He would probably be unable to save everyone. All he could do was try his best and leave the rest to fate!
Space itself rippled as his figure flickered in and out of view. The tremors in heaven and earth grew ever more violent, and the very foundational power of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven's world showed signs of shattering apart entirely.
Yang Kai was burning with anxiety. No matter how fast he pushed himself, it still took him a full half-day before he finally caught sight of the great lake where Dingfeng City stood.
At this moment, because of the upheaval in the Blood Demon Cave Heaven's fabric, the formations surrounding Dingfeng City had already been completely destroyed. The great lake itself was an illusory formation—not a real place—and had become warped and unstable as well. Through the failing veil of the formations, Yang Kai could dimly make out the martial cultivators of Dingfeng City fleeing in panic.
Just moments before Yang Kai could reach Dingfeng City, an enormous chasm suddenly materialized outside the city. Immediately after, another spatial rift tore open in the sky above, as though the heavens themselves were being ripped apart.
The entirety of Dingfeng City, along with nearly a hundred li of surrounding earth, was swallowed by that spatial rift and vanished in an instant. Cries of alarm erupted from every corner of Dingfeng City as the cultivators within turned ashen-faced, their expressions filled with horror.
Yang Kai's heart sank at the sight!
He had rushed as fast as he could, and still he was a step too late. But he did not hesitate for even a moment. His figure blurred, and he plunged directly into the spatial rift. A sensation of spinning through heaven and earth washed over him, but he ignored it, keeping his divine sense locked firmly onto the patch of land bearing Dingfeng City as he gave chase.
The Blood Demon Domain—a vast, empty expanse of annihilated void. It was one of the rare Great Domains where no factions existed and virtually no life could be found.
The Blood Demon Domain had not always been this way. Once, it had been no different from any other Great Domain, home to various factions and numerous myriad worlds. But because of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, whose exits appeared randomly at every corner of the domain, those myriad worlds had been thrown into instability. World after world collapsed, spirit continents were destroyed, and over the passage of time the entire domain had become a dead expanse. Only during the periods when the Blood Demon Cave Heaven opened did this place become bustling with activity once more.
In the central region of the Blood Demon Domain, upon an enormous platform, countless martial cultivators had gathered. Among them, Open Heaven realm cultivators were as numerous as hairs on an ox, and no small number were mid-grade Open Heaven powerhouses.
No one knew which great power had created this platform, but it had become a resting place for many cultivators.
These Open Heaven realm experts had brought their respective sect disciples to participate in the Blood Demon Cave Heaven expedition. Once the disciples entered, there was nothing for them to do but wait outside, so they had congregated here, transforming the area into a bazaar.
With so many Open Heaven cultivators gathered in one place, they could call upon friends, sit and discuss the Dao, or hold auctions and trade fairs—any of which was a fine way to pass the time, and all of which offered no small benefits.
Yet at this moment, every single cultivator in the bazaar was staring in shock toward the void in all directions.
Starting half a day ago, something unusual had begun to change in the Blood Demon Domain. First came frequent spatial fluctuations, and then enormous spatial rifts began appearing one after another. Through those rifts, many people could even glimpse the scene within the Blood Demon Cave Heaven.
"Landlady, what's going on?" Bai Qi frowned as he gazed at a rift a thousand li away.
The Landlady's expression was equally grave. She observed for a while, then shook her head. "I'm not sure, but it seems something has gone wrong inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven."