In less than two hours, the Lingxiao Sect, nestled among the mountains, came into everyone's view.
The mountain path paved with white jade was clearly visible.
At the summit of the path, a massive plaque bore three great characters: "Lingxiao Sect."
"What a truly remarkable place." Ling Taixu stood inside the warship, gazing down through the crystal windows, greatly satisfied with the current environment of the Lingxiao Sect's headquarters.
"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Yang Kai said with a chuckle, explaining to his grandpa. "What we're seeing now is only a small part of the Lingxiao Sect. The entire sect is composed of eighty-one peaks—nine main peaks and seventy-two auxiliary peaks, each with its own unique scenery. But because we were too few in numbers before, we only chose to settle here. I haven't even fully explored all those other peaks yet. Once everyone is settled here, you can find whichever peak you like and make it your home."
"Good, good!" Chu Lingxiao was greatly relieved as well.
They had been worried before. Yang Kai had brought nearly ten thousand people from the Human, Demon, and Monster races all at once, and they had feared there wouldn't be enough room. After all, the three races together numbered quite a lot, and settling them all would require a great deal of space.
But now, looking out, their eyes were filled with verdant greenery. Majestic peaks rose and fell among the clouds and mist, pavilions and terraces flickered in and out of sight. With eighty-one peaks, there was more than enough room to accommodate the experts of all three races, with plenty of space to spare.
"Are we going to live here from now on?" Dragon Elder Lei Long gazed down below, his face flushed with excitement. This place was a hundred times, a thousand times better than the beast-infested primeval forests of the Tongxuan Continent!
Not only was the spiritual energy of heaven and earth incredibly dense, but the scenery was also first-rate. If the Monster race could cultivate and live here, their future achievements would be extraordinary.
A headquarters was a foundation. As the Monster race's great elder, Lei Long understood all too well how vital a foundation was to a race.
"Yang Kai, the Demon race owes you. If you ever need anything in the future, just say the word, and every one of us in the Demon race will comply without question." Even the proud Chang Yuan spoke from the heart. These words were essentially a veiled offer to join the Lingxiao Sect.
Yang Kai nodded.
The Monster and Demon races had been brought along voluntarily by Yang Kai when he left the Tongxuan Continent. Strictly speaking, Lei Long, Chang Yuan, and the others did owe Yang Kai a great favor. But Li Rong, Han Fei, and the others from the Ancient Demon Clan wouldn't see it that way. Yang Kai was their lord, and they had long sworn to follow him for the rest of their lives. They would only feel honored.
Leaving the experts of the three races immersed in their shock and joy, Yang Kai directed the warship down toward the massive plaza below. At the same time, he swept out with his Divine Sense, wanting to see how the Lingxiao Sect was faring.
But after a moment, his brows furrowed slightly.
He discovered that over a thousand people had gathered within the Lingxiao Sect, yet among them, there wasn't a single familiar aura.
Ye Xiyun, Wu Yi, Chang Qi, Hao An, Huang Juan—none of them seemed to be here. Even the aura of those experts who had submitted from Star Emperor Mountain seemed to have vanished entirely.
Such a conspicuous target descending from the sky, yet not a single person from the Lingxiao Sect had come out to greet them.
Instead, from the pavilions near the plaza, countless unfamiliar strands of Divine Sense extended outward, ceaselessly sweeping back and forth.
This discovery made Yang Kai's expression darken.
Sensing something amiss, Ling Taixu leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Yang Kai, is something wrong?"
Yang Kai let out a cold laugh. "Something's not right. Grandpa, stay in the warship for now—I'll go take a look."
"Good!" Ling Taixu agreed.
Yang Kai waved his hand, ordering the warship's hatch opened, and stepped out with Yang Xiuzhu, Chu Hanyi, and Lin Yurao.
Yang Xiuzhu and the others had clearly noticed the problem too. They exchanged glances, none quite understanding what was going on. But soon enough, Yang Xiuzhu gathered a full surge of Holy Yuan and let out a long cry: "The Sect Master has returned!"
The long cry echoed across all eighty-one peaks of the Lingxiao Sect, lingering in the air for a long time.
Still, no one came to greet them.
Instead, the Divine Sense strands that had been probing the warship seemed to have intertwined, silently communicating about something.
The atmosphere within the entire Lingxiao Sect had suddenly turned extremely sinister.
After a brief moment, the Divine Sense strands dispersed one by one, apparently having reached some consensus. Only then did figures begin shooting out from the pavilions in every direction.
Yang Kai stood in the plaza, still as a mountain, his aura cold and imposing, waiting in silence.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
One figure after another landed nearby, gradually coalescing into a truly terrifying force.
Every newcomer was an expert of the Returning Void Realm or above, with Returning Void Stage Three experts being commonplace. But when they looked at Yang Kai, their gazes were evasive, bearing the guilty look of thieves—none dared meet his eyes. Occasionally, a few had cold, stern expressions, gazing at Yang Kai with something like provocation, as though staring down an enemy.