The spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which had been stirred up by Yang Kai's aura, returned to normal in that very instant.
"Why would you give up this opportunity?" A flicker of surprise crossed Qian Yue's eyes, and she asked with unmistakable regret.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. It'll come around again sooner or later. What I really want to know is what happened after you entered the Star Domain—and how you all ended up separated."
Qian Yue gave a bitter smile but nodded. "Fair enough. You're too distracted to focus anyway—this wouldn't be the right time for a breakthrough."
She then began to recount, in detail, what had happened to her group after they entered the Star Domain.
Through her account, Yang Kai learned that the dangers they had faced were far more perilous than his own. The star storms went without saying, but the meteorite sea alone had been treacherous beyond measure.
Their physical toughness and divine sense cultivation simply couldn't compare to Yang Kai's. After entering the Star Domain, they had been unable to withstand the crises that confronted them. If Qing Ya and the others hadn't poured everything they had into protecting them, Su Yan would have perished long ago given her level of cultivation.
Even so, two of the Ice Sect's Transcendent Realm elders failed to escape the onslaught of a star storm and perished. In the end, only Ice Master Qing Ya, Su Yan, and the fellow disciples Qian Yue and Qian Hao remained.
The four survivors drifted through the Star Domain for several years. Just when they had fallen into utter despair, they suddenly discovered a void passageway.
Though they had no idea where that void passage in the starry sky might lead or what dangers awaited them, if they gave up this chance, they wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.
After a brief discussion, the four charged into the void passageway. But the passage proved unstable, branching into numerous forks inside, and the group was inadvertently scattered. When Qian Yue finally emerged from the other side, she found herself on the Dark Star.
As for the others, she had no idea where they had ended up.
Yang Kai's expression grew heavy upon hearing this.
If they had been separated along the same fork, then Ice Master Qing Ya, Elder Qian Hao, and Su Yan would all have arrived at the Dark Star as well. But they had taken different forks within the void passageway—who knew where those branches might have sent the other three?
Moreover, Yang Kai estimated there was a ninety percent chance the remaining three were not on the Dark Star. He shared a faint, instinctive connection with Su Yan, one that grew stronger as his power increased.
He had once guided a drop of Golden Blood to circle the entire Dark Star. If Su Yan had truly been there, he would have sensed her.
The fact that forks existed within a void passageway baffled Yang Kai. But the world was vast and full of wonders—he was only a small fry at the second level of the Saint King Realm, and there were plenty of things he couldn't fathom.
The existence of the Ice Soul Pearls proved the three were still alive, just somewhere in an unknown corner of the Star Domain.
After arriving on the Dark Star, Qian Yue had appeared near Black Crow City. Having passed through the void passageway, less than one-tenth of her power remained, and she was terribly weak. Unluckily, in that state she encountered several warriors with dark intentions. Seeing her striking beauty, they attempted to take advantage of her. Fortunately, a Void Returning Stage expert happened to pass by, rescued her, and brought her to the Pleasure Pavilion.
From that day on, Qian Yue had lived in the Pleasure Pavilion, cultivating the dual cultivation technique her rescuer had given her.
As time passed, she gradually came to understand what kind of establishment this was and what fate awaited her. Fortunately, her cultivation wasn't low—she had already reached the first level of the Saint King Realm—so not just anyone could claim her. Occasionally, wealthy guests came at great expense, but none had chosen her, which was how she had remained free until now.
Today, she had received word that a distinguished guest was arriving—the day she would be given to a guest. Qian Yue had been in a state of anxious dread, never expecting that the guest would turn out to be Yang Kai.
Throughout her story, Yang Kai never once interrupted, listening in quiet silence.
As though she had been holding back a bellyful of bitterness, Qian Yue wiped tears from her eyes several times as she spoke. It was hardly surprising. Once, she had been an elder of the Ice Sect—a figure of some renown on the Tongxuan Continent. But after arriving in the Star Domain, before she could even behold its wonders, she had narrowly escaped death multiple times. And when she had finally found some stability, she had been confined to this place and turned into a woman of the pleasure house.
The contrast between before and after was like heaven and earth.
Yang Kai didn't know how to console her. Strictly speaking, Qian Yue was something of a senior to him. But cultivators who reached a high level were skilled at preserving their appearance, so her true age wasn't apparent from her looks alone. He couldn't very well comfort her the way he would a peer—that would be crossing a line.
After her emotions had settled, Yang Kai asked, "If you could see that region of the Star Domain where you were separated again, would you be able to recognize it?"
"I can't say I'd recognize it with absolute certainty," Qian Yue said, nodding gently, "but I do have some impression of the nearby stars."