Why did those Great Thousand Worlds possess such magnificent atmospheres, with Disciples whose Cultivation advanced at breakneck speed? Was it not because their foundations were immensely strong?
That was precisely why Yang Kai had issued the order to seal the formation immediately! Once the grand formation was sealed, the heavenly might released upon the deaths of those Open Heaven Realm cultivators would be trapped within Void Land. Given time, it could be absorbed and assimilated by the land itself.
Su Yan and the others, along with the various Great Emperors, hurried over. These warriors from the Star Boundary had been locked away in secluded Cultivation this entire time. Now that they had all condensed Dao Seals, it was the perfect time to refine Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements—naturally, they could not afford to waste a single moment. The battle today had been enormous in scale, and even if they wanted to remain oblivious, there was no chance of that.
Yet in a clash of this magnitude, they would be of absolutely no use. So even though they had sensed what was happening, they merely observed from the shadows and did not reveal themselves. They understood that their strength was meager—charging out would not only fail to help, but could very well become a burden.
Now that the greater battle was decided, they naturally had to come and see.
Yang Kai was still recovering from his injuries when the Second Steward, Bian Yuqing, gave them a brief account of the day's events. Only then did the group realize just how close Void Land had come to facing a life-or-death catastrophe.
The Great Emperors exchanged glances, chose not to disturb Yang Kai, and turned to head back into seclusion. Su Yan and the others did the same.
It was not that they did not care about Void Land's situation—rather, today's ordeal had instilled in them a powerful sense of crisis. Void Land had managed to avert disaster this time, but what about the next?
If they wanted to help, they had no choice but to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Every second counted, and they threw themselves into their Cultivation with desperate resolve, not daring to slack off for even an instant.
Yang Kai had created such an exceptional Cultivation environment for them—not even requiring them to worry about resources. If they still could not achieve something, they would be letting down all of his painstaking efforts.
Under Yue He's supervision, the grand formation rumbled shut. The illusion array had sustained some damage, but the Nine Heavens Formation inherently possessed self-repair capabilities. Moreover, Nanmen Dajun had served as an assistant under the Wu Liang Grandmaster for several months, receiving not a few of his genuine teachings—this degree of damage was something he could patch up slowly over time. The Nine Heavens Formation was not a major concern.
The only troublesome issue was that the energy stored within the Nine Heavens Formation had been completely exhausted, leaving it powerless to unleash its might once more. However, that was merely a matter of time and accumulation to resolve.
The battlefield had been cleaned up as well. Corpses were piled high as mountains. The Hundred Families Alliance had deployed no fewer than ten thousand troops this time, yet only a handful had managed to escape. Those who had invaded Void Land—whether Open Heaven Realm cultivators or those below—had suffered catastrophic losses. The bodies had been scattered throughout Void Land's territory and were now being collected by the assembled warriors, stacked into heaps.
The stench of blood rose to the heavens. Yue He raised her hand, and a single flame reduced every last corpse to ash.
Having slain over ten thousand, the spoils were enormously rich as well. Every single warrior had carried more than one Spatial Ring on their person. This time, Void Land had claimed tens of thousands of Spatial Rings in total. Even though the owners of most of these rings were not particularly wealthy, one had to remember that the Open Heaven Realm cultivators among them were certainly not poor. The Mid-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators who had come—every one of them held a position of great authority within their respective Sects, so how could they lack any savings?
Take Qi Jin, Ling Chunqiu, and Hong Lao, for example.
And Kong Feng above all—as the Heavenly Sword Alliance's Master, how could his fortune possibly be meager?
But Yang Kai did not concern himself with the matter of the spoils, delegating it entirely to Second Steward Bian Yuqing. After all, she would be the one handling all of Void Land's future material expenditures, so naturally the task of carefully cataloging these items fell to her.
"Young Master, the battlefield has been cleaned up," Yue He said softly, appearing beside Yang Kai in a flash after incinerating those ten thousand corpses.
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. His aura was still somewhat unsteady, and his complexion remained quite pale, but he looked considerably better than before. He nodded and asked in a measured voice: "What are the casualties?"
"Dozens injured, no deaths. The wounded are not seriously hurt—they'll recover after a period of rest," Yue He replied.
Yang Kai nodded slightly and let out a sigh of relief.
To stand alone against the Hundred Families Alliance, not only annihilating them completely but without suffering a single casualty among their own ranks—if word of this spread, no one would believe it. When two armies clashed, even if one side was routed, how could the other possibly emerge unscathed?
Yet that was exactly what had happened. Not a single one of Void Land's three hundred and thirty-five Open Heaven Realm cultivators had perished. Among those three hundred and thirty-five, three hundred and fifteen were warriors from Dingfeng City, a dozen hailed from Xuehong Continent, and the remaining handful were Void Land's original forces.
It had to be said—this was nothing short of a miracle.
And the key to achieving such a result was undoubtedly the power of the Nine Heavens Formation. Those three hundred-plus Open Heaven Realm cultivators had charged through two rounds of combat, all within the illusion array. In that environment, the enemy was disoriented and bewildered, while their own forces, guided by Yang Kai, moved like fish through water. As long as they were careful and cautious, how could they possibly die?
Getting wounded, however, was unavoidable. When enemies fought back with the desperation of those facing death, there would inevitably be moments when their blows landed.
Yang Kai rose slowly to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings. Every pair of eyes was fixed upon him, shimmering with excitement.
Whether they hailed from Dingfeng City or Xuehong Continent, none of them had ever experienced such a thoroughly exhilarating battle. And this battle had made them deeply appreciate the true strength of their organization. Now, as members of Void Land, they naturally shared in its glory!
"Today, Void Land was able to overcome this crisis entirely thanks to everyone's united efforts. I thank you all for your hard work!" Yang Kai called out in a clear, resonant voice.