While the group was talking, Fei Zhitu had apparently already figured something out on his end. He rolled up the beast-hide diagram, beckoned, and with a flicker of movement, darted into Mount Luodi.
"Heh heh, go on ahead, young friend—this old man will bring up the rear. Oh, and try not to resist the Emperor's Might within Mount Luodi. Just silently perceive it." Ning Xiangchen offered another kindly reminder.
"Thank you for the warning, Senior!" Yang Kai gave a slight nod and charged into Mount Luodi alongside Cai He, Du Sisi, and Lian Guang.
Once the four Saint King Realm cultivators had entered, Ning Xiangchen and the other two Void Return Realm cultivators followed behind.
Within Mount Luodi, there was no danger of running into fierce beasts or venomous snakes. But one could frequently encounter warriors who had gone mad—attacking anyone and everyone without reason or distinction.
These warriors had all originally come to Mount Luodi to cultivate, but for various reasons, they had lingered here too long. The Emperor's Might had shattered their sanity, plunging them into a state of madness.
Every year, countless warriors came to this place, and accidents within Mount Luodi were far from uncommon. Besides these madmen, there were also warriors with ill intentions who treated this place as an ideal spot for murder and robbery, carrying out their sordid business here.
However, among Yang Kai's group of eight, four were Void Return Realm cultivators, and with a powerhouse like Fei Zhitu leading the way, there was no need to worry about encountering such problems.
The moment he set foot in Mount Luodi, Yang Kai felt an invisible force envelop his entire body. Under its influence, the circulation of his Saint Origin suddenly became somewhat sluggish. And when he extended his divine sense, he found he could only perceive the situation within a few hundred zhang of his position.
Under the Emperor's Might, his divine sense had been suppressed to such a degree.
Yang Kai couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up his spine. The Emperor's Might was omnipresent—as though an unseen pair of eyes was watching him from the void, observing his every move. It made Yang Kai deeply uncomfortable, giving him the inexplicable sensation of being surveilled.
And this was merely a trace of Emperor's Might! If the actual Emperor of the Starry Sky were to descend, how terrifying would that be?
By now, Yang Kai no longer doubted whether the Emperor of the Starry Sky had truly existed. The two Star Emperor Tokens he had obtained were rumored to have been left by the Emperor of the Starry Sky. Star Emperor Mountain was also said to have some connection to him, and this Mount Luodi was no different.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. The Emperor of the Starry Sky had most likely existed.
Facing the Emperor's Might, Yang Kai instinctively wanted to put up some resistance, but he recalled Ning Xiangchen's earlier kind advice. He discreetly observed Cai He and the others, saw that they all appeared perfectly composed, and decided to simply quiet his mind and pay it no attention.
This was still only the outermost perimeter, and the Emperor's Might here wasn't particularly strong. Even without resisting, it would pose no harm.
Following behind Fei Zhitu as they pressed onward, they indeed encountered no warriors along the way. Fei Zhitu guided them flawlessly around the sightlines and divine sense ranges of the warriors cultivating here.
After all, this operation was of the utmost secrecy, and Fei Zhitu had no desire to cause any unnecessary complications.
They walked like this for two full days.
As they ventured deeper into Mount Luodi, the Emperor's Might enveloping them grew invisibly stronger. But rather than alarm, Yang Kai felt delight—in merely two days, he could already feel that his divine sense had grown somewhat more powerful. Under the subtle, persistent influence of the Emperor's Might, his Sea of Consciousness had also become noticeably clearer and purer.
This was truly an excellent place for cultivating divine sense. He hadn't even done anything deliberate—simply staying here had already yielded such benefits. If he were to actually find a spot here to focus on cultivating his divine sense or soul techniques, the results would surely be far more efficient.
Unfortunately, the Emperor's Might of Mount Luodi was only suited for warriors to temper their divine sense. Beyond that, it could also help consolidate one's own presence. The effects were rather one-dimensional; otherwise, this place would absolutely become a cultivation holy ground, and it wasn't inconceivable that the various major factions on the Dark Star would fight over its ownership.
After another three days of walking, Yang Kai began to feel somewhat strained. Not for any other reason than that although the Emperor's Might here could purify the Sea of Consciousness and strengthen a warrior's divine sense, this forced, one-sided purification placed considerable pressure on the warrior themselves. If one couldn't withstand it, it would inevitably affect one's mental state.
Yang Kai had it relatively easy. Up until now, he still hadn't resisted the Emperor's Might, following Ning Xiangchen's advice all along—silently perceiving the various mysteries contained within it, and reaping rich rewards.
The other three Saint King Realm cultivators were not faring nearly as well. As early as yesterday, they had all independently activated their own divine sense to provide a modicum of resistance against the Emperor's intrusion. When compared side by side, the disparity in their divine sense cultivation was immediately apparent.
This scene not only shocked Cai He and the others, but also left Ning Xiangchen and his companions marveling in wonder.
After all, while Cai He and the other two shared Yang Kai's Saint King Stage Three cultivation, two of them were experts in the Dao of Formations, while the third was skilled in the art of crafting and controlling puppets.
Whichever path it was, the demands on divine sense were extraordinarily rigorous. The Lian family's puppet art, in particular—at most, Lian Guang could command over a hundred puppets in battle, each one infused with his own divine consciousness. The demands on divine sense were even more fearsome than those of studying formations.
One could say that these three already possessed divine sense cultivation that surpassed warriors of the same level.
Yet when compared to Yang Kai, they actually fell slightly short.