On the Suspended Continent, the Sword Alliance and Purple Star had each set up their own camps, coexisting without incident. Since the mysterious old man had arrived and snatched over a hundred Spatial Rings, he hadn't been seen for more than ten days. No one knew what he wanted with those rings, much less why he had been collecting those warship fragments.
Yang Kai and Shen Tu had formed an alliance, keeping their distance from the two major powers, perfectly content.
After such a long period of recovery, Shen Tu had finally bounced back. The injuries he had sustained before were essentially healed.
However, since Yang Kai had remained in meditation without waking, Shen Tu didn't dare wander off on his own.
The two major powers began investigating this unknown continent. After some exploration, they confirmed that it was exactly as the mysterious old man had said — there was no danger here.
They found no living creatures on the continent. It seemed that before everyone's arrival, the mysterious old man had been the only living thing here.
While keeping a wary distance from the old man, they couldn't help but feel a certain sympathy for him.
Living alone in a place like this, with no one to talk to, was indeed a dreary and monotonous existence.
Lü Guichen and Yue Xi also rode their Star Shuttles, venturing deeper into the skies, hoping to leave this unknown continent and return to the Star Domain — far from that old man of unfathomable abilities.
But what filled them with despair was that no matter how high or how far they flew, they could never catch sight of twinkling stars. That sky, wreathed in seven-colored luminescence, was like a cage that kept them all trapped on this continent.
Time passed, and everyone's mood grew increasingly restless. Had it not been for the old man's earlier words restraining them, both sides would likely have plunged into battle immediately.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, Yang Kai's flames of Divine Sense power enveloped the spiritual soul left behind after Wu Suo's death, fusing and devouring it.
He had been refining it for over ten days now. Even with his formidable Divine Sense, he still hadn't been able to fully assimilate the Star Map.
He had underestimated the grade of this Star Map.
But he could see hope.
Wu Suo's spiritual soul energy had already dissipated, leaving behind only that cluster of flickering starlight — a breathtakingly beautiful Star Map.
He continuously channeled his Divine Sense power into it, inscribing his spiritual imprint upon the map, branding it with his life aura.
The entire process was like refining an Artifact.
The Star Map began to destabilize, gradually expanding, growing larger and larger, as if it might explode at any moment.
A sense of unease stirred within Yang Kai. His spiritual form arrived on the Six-Colored Treasure Island, where he continued to drive his Sea of Consciousness power, incinerating the Star Map.
A faint crack suddenly echoed from within the Star Map, as if something had split open. The next moment, Yang Kai felt his Divine Sense power flooding uncontrollably into the once impenetrable Star Map. His vast Sea of Consciousness, ocean-like in its expanse, rapidly diminished.
Colorful lights burst across his Sea of Consciousness as countless glowing stars shot out in every direction. Yang Kai's Sea of Consciousness churned in violent upheaval, thrown into utter chaos that left him dizzy in an instant.
Stars filled the sky like a swarm of locusts — innumerable, endless, streaming ceaselessly from the Sea of Consciousness to populate the empty sky above.
Gradually, the sky of his Sea of Consciousness transformed into a dazzling spectacle, as though an invisible hand were arranging its scenery just for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stood transfixed on the Six-Colored Treasure Island, his spiritual form gazing blankly upward, his eyes growing brighter with each passing moment.
The scenery within his Sea of Consciousness was undergoing a dramatic transformation at breathtaking speed.
After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the turbulent Sea of Consciousness finally stabilized.
The scene before him was now vastly different from before.
The Six-Colored Treasure Island still stood at the very center of the ocean. The World-Destroying Demonic Eye still hovered in midair. But the sky overhead had donned a mantle of brilliant starlight, reminiscent of the onset of night, utterly mesmerizing.
This was no illusion conjured by Yang Kai's Divine Sense — this was real.
It was the mark of the Star Map's fusion with Yang Kai!
Overjoyed, Yang Kai stood on the Six-Colored Treasure Island and broke into a wide grin.
With a single thought, his gaze locked onto a particular spot in the starfield. Several stars immediately came into focus.
The stars rotated slowly, driven by a mysterious force, mirroring the exact movements of their real counterparts in the same position across the Star Domain.
Yang Kai's consciousness wove among those stars, witnessing the wonders of the Star Domain firsthand as his Divine Sense power drained rapidly.
Though peering into this Star Map consumed enormous amounts of Divine Sense, Yang Kai was thoroughly satisfied.
With such a Star Map residing in his Sea of Consciousness, he would never again worry about losing his way. He could pinpoint any destination he wished with precision, and might even become an accomplished Star Navigator.
Collecting his thoughts, Yang Kai began to examine his current position.
Within the Star Map, a white dot blinked steadily. When Yang Kai directed his consciousness there, the dot emitted a peculiar ripple of energy, conveying that its location marked where he currently was.
Yang Kai's expression turned peculiar.
Because he discovered that on the Star Map, the white dot indicated he was still at the very center of the Chaotic Abyss — the spot where the black hole had swallowed everyone.
Whether this Star Map was perfectly accurate, Yang Kai couldn't be sure — he would have to verify that later.
So he gathered his mind and stopped wasting his Divine Sense.
He slowly opened his eyes, and at once, a hushed gasp reached his ears.