Black Crow City naturally couldn't compare to those super cities, so even though Shen Fanlei was merely a Saint King Realm disciple of the Extreme Dao Gate, he still had some connections with a senior who guarded the space formation in the city. He had once done a small favor at that person's request, and the other party would surely grant him face. Learning this, Yang Kai felt relieved—he figured using the space formation should be no problem, and it wouldn't be nearly as troublesome as his last return from Demon Blood City.
That said, getting around on the Dark Star really did require connections. Otherwise, just trying to use the space formations in each city would be an excruciating headache.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had been lucky both times—someone had always been willing to help whenever he returned from the outside.
He just wondered whether there existed some kind of pass that would allow unrestricted use of space formations across the entire Dark Star. If such a thing existed, it would undoubtedly be far more convenient.
Yang Kai had originally assumed no such thing could exist, but after casually asking about it, he learned from Shen Shitao that this kind of pass did indeed exist! This surprised him greatly, and he quickly pressed for more details.
Shen Shitao seemed to understand what he was thinking and naturally held nothing back, answering every question in full.
After hearing Shen Shitao's explanation, Yang Kai couldn't help but laugh bitterly, shaking his head over and over.
This pass did indeed exist and was recognized by roughly eighty percent of the powers on the Dark Star, but obtaining it was practically harder than climbing to heaven. There were two methods to acquire it. The first was to accomplish some great deed beneficial to the entire Dark Star. This condition sounded simple enough, but in reality it was utterly impossible to fulfill.
The powers on the Dark Star were as numerous as ox hairs. Though they cooperated with one another, conflicts never ceased—what benefited one side might well harm another. Satisfying all parties was an impossibility, so meeting this condition was nothing short of a pipe dream.
The second method was much simpler than the first—if one could gather ten first-tier sects to jointly vouch for them, one could obtain this pass that granted unimpeded travel across the Dark Star!
This method was comparatively simpler, but only relative to the first. After all, there weren't that many first-tier sects on the Dark Star—twenty at most—and gathering ten of them to vouch for you was still practically impossible.
Sects like the Shadow Moon Palace, Qiantian Sect, and Liuli Gate—the ones Yang Kai had encountered—were all first-tier sects that qualified, but the guarantors had to be prestigious elder-level figures within those sects.
Both methods could yield the pass Yang Kai wanted. But after hearing everything from Shen Shitao, he extinguished any hope in his heart—with his current capabilities, he couldn't fulfill either condition.
As they talked along the way, time flew by. Five days later, the party of six arrived at Black Crow City without the slightest hitch. After paying a few Saint Crystals, the guards at the city gate promptly let them through.
Once inside, Yang Kai looked around and saw roads of varying widths crisscrossing the city, lined on both sides with numerous shops. While the martial artists coming and going throughout Black Crow City might not have been as numerous as fish crossing a river, the place was still bustling with activity, giving it a rather lively atmosphere.
"Young Brother Yang, are you planning to stay here for a few days, or are you in a hurry to leave?" Shen Shitao suddenly turned back to glance at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai thought for a moment and said, "If possible, I'd naturally like to leave as soon as I can. I still have some matters to take care of."
This trip had yielded a great deal of materials and Saint Crystals, and the Stone Puppet had also pilfered quite a bit of Thousand Illusion Glass. Yang Yan was naturally eager to throw herself into her artifact refining endeavors. From what Yang Kai had heard, she seemed to want to forge something truly astonishing. When he asked what exactly she planned to make, she was mysteriously vague about it, leaving Yang Kai quite exasperated.
Leaving Yang Yan aside, just the condition of his two capable assistants—the Stone Puppet and the Artifact Spirit—was enough to make Yang Kai lose any desire to linger outside. Only by returning to Dragon Cave Mountain could he put his mind at ease and give his two helpers a proper chance to rest and recover.
Hearing him say this, a flash of disappointment crossed Shen Shitao's eyes, but she didn't press the matter. Instead she said, "In that case, Fanlei will go check on the space formation now and see whether that elder is there. If all goes well, Young Brother Yang, you should be able to leave before nightfall."
Yang Kai naturally had no objections. He politely asked Shen Fanlei to look into it, then stood in place with Shen Shitao and the others, waiting quietly.
In the meantime, Shen Shitao made one more attempt to invite Yang Kai to participate in the Qiantian Sect's trial, but he politely declined once again. Seeing this, Shen Shitao didn't want to pester him further, and instead struck up a cheerful conversation about other matters.
After roughly an hour, Shen Fanlei returned.
However, his expression was somewhat awkward, as though he had failed in his task.
The moment he saw that look, Yang Kai's heart sank. He silently wondered whether the other party had been unwilling to make an exception. If so, this would be trouble—flying from here back to Dragon Cave Mountain would take a good two or three months.
Shen Shitao clearly had her own suspicions as well. As soon as her brother arrived, she quickly asked, "Fanlei, it didn't go well?"