Regardless, the best course of action right now was to find someone and get some information. At the very least, he needed to figure out what was going on. After all, these people had entered ten days before him and might know things he didn't. With that thought, Yang Kai retrieved two communication compasses from his space ring and infused them with divine sense.
One of the communication compasses was for contacting Yang Yan, and the other was for contacting Qian Tong — both left over from before, and now they came in handy.
As long as the distance between them wasn't too great, the two sides could establish contact.
After waiting quietly for a moment, Yang Kai put away the communication compasses with a disappointed expression. Neither Yang Yan nor Qian Tong had responded, which meant that even if they were in this place, they were far too distant for communication.
It seemed he would have to rely on himself.
He turned his head left and right, then picked a random direction and shot off toward it.
Even without using his Star Shuttle, Yang Kai's speed was now extremely fast. As he traveled, he didn't encounter a single living person.
However, Yang Kai did find quite a few corpses along the way, as well as traces of battle. Some of the corpses belonged to demon beasts, and some to humans — all of them killed in horrific fashion. It seemed that quite a few large-scale battles had erupted across these grasslands. Judging from how dried the blood was, those battles hadn't ended long ago at the earliest, with the most recent being on the day the Imperial Garden opened.
There were also numerous traces of spirit grasses and spirit herbs that had been collected — it appeared many people had already reaped benefits from this place!
A full half-day passed before Yang Kai suddenly halted, turning his head to gaze in a certain direction.
A hundred li away, faint sounds of fighting could be heard, mingled with the fluctuation of powerful energy collisions. Clearly, a show was underway.
Yang Kai didn't hesitate. He immediately changed direction and flew toward the sounds. Having now advanced to the Returning Void Realm, and having refined his Force to its absolute limit, he could hold his own even against Returning Void Realm third-stage experts. Boldness came naturally to the skilled.
A hundred li was covered in the span of half a cup of tea. By the time Yang Kai arrived and got a clear look at what was happening on the battlefield, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and blurt out in surprise: "Seven-Colored Elk?"
His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He never expected to run into the legendary Seven-Colored Elk here.
The reason he could recognize this demon beast was that he had once obtained Ten-Thousand-Year Incense in the sixth layer of the Scorching Flame Sands. One of the primary materials needed to refine Ten-Thousand-Year Incense was the scent sac of a Seven-Colored Elk!
The benefits of Ten-Thousand-Year Incense went without saying — warriors who cultivated amid its fragrant smoke could clear their minds and purge inner demons. But the materials required for its refinement were extraordinarily rare, every single one a body component of a tenth-rank demon beast, and the Seven-Colored Elk's scent sac was the hardest to obtain of all.
This demon beast was said to be a remnant lineage of an ancient aberrant beast, rumored to have gone extinct long ago. So even some great Sects possessed the method to refine Ten-Thousand-Year Incense, they couldn't cook without rice.
But here he was, having just set foot in this strange place, and he had already stumbled upon a Seven-Colored Elk!
Wait — that wasn't quite a Seven-Colored Elk! Yang Kai's brow furrowed again as he scrutinized the battlefield ahead more carefully. At first glance, this demon beast did resemble a Seven-Colored Elk, but upon closer inspection, he could spot certain differences.
Rumor had it that Seven-Colored Elks were born as eighth-rank demon beasts and, upon reaching maturity, could ascend all the way to the tenth rank. This one before him, though an adult, clearly only had the strength of peak ninth rank — not quite tenth.
Moreover, the seven-colored radiance emanating from its body wasn't nearly as fearsome as the legends described.
A true Seven-Colored Elk's seven-colored radiance was an innate supernatural ability that could pierce through any defense, a power so terrifying that even Void King Realm warriors had to retreat three paces upon encountering it.
To kill a true Seven-Colored Elk, it would take several Void King Realm experts working together — that was the only way it could be done.
Five people were locked in battle against this beast — three men and two women, all of whom were at the Returning Void Realm or above, encompassing the first, second, and third stages. Each wielded an Artifact of mysterious power and ever-changing forms.
Even so, none of the five dared let their guard down. Two of them were already looking battered, clearly having taken serious hits from the demon beast earlier.
Various martial skills and Artifact powers bombarded the creature, yet it stood its ground without budging, a human-like contempt gleaming in its beastly eyes. The seven-colored radiance on its body blazed outward, deflecting every single attack.
After the collisions of energy, the beast remained completely unharmed. Meanwhile, the five fighters, exhausted from the prolonged battle, were all running low on Sacred Energy, panting heavily.
Yang Kai hadn't concealed his approach, which startled all five. In a place like this, the thing most to be feared was the "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" scenario — someone swooping in to claim the spoils after they'd exhausted themselves.
However, once their divine sense swept over Yang Kai and they discovered he was only a first-stage Returning Void Realm cultivator, they all relaxed. The weakest among the five was at this level, with the others at the second and third stages. They naturally didn't take Yang Kai seriously. After exchanging a quick glance, a middle-aged man split off a portion of his attention to monitor Yang Kai while the rest continued their siege on the demon beast.
Yang Kai understood their reasoning perfectly well. He wasn't the least bit offended — in their shoes, he would have done the same thing. There was nothing to take issue with.
But Yang Kai's frown deepened.
Because he realized he didn't recognize a single one of these five people.
Granted, Yang Kai hadn't had much interaction with warriors from other factions on the Dark Star. However, during this opening of the Imperial Garden, he had been out here the entire time refining his own Force. In other words, most of the warriors who had passed by him on their way to the Imperial Garden had crossed his line of sight.
Yet these five — not one of them was a familiar face.