Upon the Spacetime River, Mo held Yang Kai's head as one might pinch a chick, speaking flatly: "Useless waste — you have no right to live!"
With that, his massive hand clenched with violent force.
Yang Kai, already stripped of his ability to fight, could not withstand such an attack. His entire head detonated in a burst of gore. But Mo was not finished. He threw a punch that reduced the remaining corpse to shreds.
This scene was seared into the eyes of every powerhouse watching from afar. All of them froze on the spot, staring in disbelief.
Dead? The man who had been the greatest miracle-worker of all — who had time and again pulled humanity back from the brink of annihilation, who had saved their race from certain doom — was dead, just like that?
Every instinct screamed against it. They reflexively wondered whether some illusion or trick was at play.
But as Yang Kai's body shattered and his aura dissipated, there was no faking that.
Everything confirmed it — Yang Kai was truly dead!
Slain at the hands of Mo, the ancient Supreme.
From the moment Mo had dragged Yang Kai from the Spacetime River to his death, only an instant had passed. Mo had struck without the slightest hesitation, so swift that the watching powerhouses had not even formed the thought of intervening.
A piercing phoenix cry rang out, accompanied by the furious roar of a dragon. Su Yan and Yang Xiao had already transformed into their Sacred Spirit forms, hurtling toward Mo.
Right behind those two silhouettes, every powerhouse on the battlefield charged forward.
Not one of them hesitated, even though they knew they were no match.
Yang Kai was dead. No one in this world could stand against Mo any longer. Mo's power was about to reign supreme over all the Heavens, and there would be no place left for humanity to exist. This was their final stand!
Su Yan was the fastest — the Dao of Space was the Phoenix Clan's innate dao, after all. Once rage and grief consumed her mind, only one thought remained: vengeance. Or else follow him to the underworld.
Her enormous icy-blue form trailed bands of brilliant light as she crossed the distance in a few great leaps, plunging into the heart of the battlefield.
But before she could even unleash her power, something bizarre occurred.
The Spacetime River, once tranquil, suddenly stirred. As waves rolled outward, a figure strode forth from the river's surface atop the cresting water.
The moment Su Yan saw that silhouette, she froze in place. The wave of powerhouses charging behind her were equally dumbfounded.
The one who emerged from the Spacetime River was none other than Yang Kai — the very man Mo had just killed!
He wasn't dead!
Everyone stared in disbelief, just as they had moments ago when they'd watched him die.
Yang Kai had clearly perished right before their eyes — that had been no illusion — and yet here he was, alive, stepping out of the Spacetime River once more.
This eerie spectacle was beyond anyone's comprehension. Resurrection from death was something no one had ever heard of.
Yang Kai, treading the waves, immediately spotted Su Yan and the others. He had expected this. He let out a long breath: "Just made it. Everyone, fall back."
The Ice Phoenix that Su Yan had become hesitated only briefly before turning away, simultaneously channeling the Dao of Space to teleport the arriving reinforcements back with her.
The allied powerhouses returned to their previous positions — still a relatively safe distance from the battle.
Xiang Shan frowned deeply: "What happened?"
Yang Kai had plainly been killed — how could he have come back to life from the Spacetime River? In all his years, he had never witnessed anything so extraordinary.
A sharp gleam flashed through Mi Jinglun's eyes: "The Creation Realm… could this be the mystique of the Creation Realm?"
"What do you mean?" Ouyang Lie's brow shot upward. "Are you saying Yang Kai has already entered the Creation Realm?"
Mi Jinglun shook his head. "But… it doesn't quite seem like it." The Yang Kai who had emerged from the Spacetime River still radiated only a Ninth Rank aura — he had not broken through into a new tier.
Yet apart from that, Mi Jinglun could think of no other explanation. Perhaps the Creation Realm granted the ability to return from death?
Even so, it was utterly absurd.
On the battlefield, upon seeing Yang Kai reappear, Mo turned his head to survey the shattered remains of flesh and bone scattered around him, confirming that he had indeed killed Yang Kai moments ago. Understanding dawned in his mind: "The Silhouette Technique?"
Yang Kai flashed him a grin: "I knew nothing would slip past you."
Mu had lived alongside Mo for so many years. Mo knew every card she held, every secret technique she possessed — there could not be two identical people in this world, except across different stretches of spacetime.
Mu's Silhouette Technique was beyond masterful. To seal away Mo's origin power, she had divided her entire life into three thousand silhouettes, each standing guard over one of the Three Thousand Worlds.
Yang Kai had received Mu's final gift — he had devoured and refined her Spacetime River, expanding the volume of his own river, elevating his comprehension and attainment in the Dao. The benefits had been immense.
Yet the greatest gain was not any of that. It was the Silhouette Technique that Mu had created.
This was the pinnacle of the Dao's wondrous application.
The moment he had engaged Mo, Yang Kai knew he could not possibly match him — there was no way he could shatter his own limitations and ascend to the next realm in so short a time.