Black Reef Island, somewhere.
Yang Kai sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting in meditation.
Faint footsteps approached from not far away. Yang Kai opened his eyes to find Qi Yunhai, the Third Hall Master of the Sea Palace, leading a group of people over.
The moment he met Yang Kai's gaze, Qi Yunhai promptly lowered his head, staring straight ahead with a posture of utmost respect.
Ever since learning that Yang Kai was the Star Lord of Dark Star that day, Qi Yunhai had not dared act presumptuously again. Though his cultivation realm was on par with Yang Kai's, the latter was cloaked in the radiant halo of a Star Lord—even a thousand or ten thousand of him added together would not be a match for Yang Kai.
He had immediately seen the error of his ways and achieved a thorough epiphany, apologizing and admitting his faults to Yang Kai.
Jiang Huai'an had already been crippled by Yang Kai, leaving the position of Grand Hall Master vacant. Although Sha Hu disapproved of Qi Yunhai's cowardly, spineless behavior, for the sake of the Sea Palace, he had chosen not to make things harder for the man. He had personally pleaded with Yang Kai on Qi Yunhai's behalf, saving his life.
"Sect Master Yang, I've brought the people and the materials you requested." Qi Yunhai stopped five zhang in front of Yang Kai and spoke deferentially.
Yang Kai glanced at the six people behind him, gave a slight nod, and extended his hand. "Hand over the materials."
"Yes!" Qi Yunhai stepped forward and placed a Space Ring into Yang Kai's hand.
Yang Kai released his divine sense and swept through the contents, confirming that the materials inside matched what he had requested. Only then did he nod. "Good. You're dismissed. Tell Elder Sha that the spatial array here will take roughly seven or eight days to complete. He needn't worry—let him focus on handling the Sea Palace's internal affairs first."
With Jiang Huai'an crippled, turmoil within the Sea Palace was inevitable. Although Sha Hu had no ambition for power, at a time like this only he could hold things together, so he would have to bear the burden.
"Thank you for your consideration, Sect Master Yang. I'll be sure to pass along your words."
"Mm."
Qi Yunhai departed swiftly, as though he did not dare linger in Yang Kai's presence for long.
Once he was gone, Yang Kai turned his gaze to the six warriors still standing before him. Among them were men and women, old and young. The eldest appeared frail and decrepit, while the youngest looked no more than seventeen or eighteen—a fine age in the prime of youth. Their cultivation was nothing remarkable. The strongest among them had only reached the first layer of the Void Return Stage, and the weakest was merely at the third layer of the Holy King realm.
As Yang Kai studied them, all six were studying him in turn, each pair of eyes brimming with undisguised curiosity.
After all, the rumors said that the man before them was the Star Lord of Dark Star—the one who commanded this very cultivation star beneath his feet.
Before bringing them here, Qi Yunhai had specifically warned them: under no circumstances should they defy Yang Kai's wishes. Whatever he said was law. If they displeased him, they would be punished by sect rules without mercy.
"Are you the Sea Palace's most accomplished array masters?" Yang Kai asked with a pleasant smile.
Among the six, the elderly man stepped forward and cupped his fists. "Reporting to Sect Master Yang—the six of us are indeed those who have studied the Dao of formations most deeply within the Sea Palace."
"Good." Yang Kai gave a slight nod. "Before Qi Yunhai sent you here, he must have told you what you'd be doing once you arrived?"
"The Third Hall Master said we are to assist Sect Master Yang in forging a spatial array, linking the Sea Palace and the Lingxiao Sect, to enable material exchange between the two sects," the old man answered.
"Correct. Since you already know, I won't waste words. The materials have all been prepared by the Sea Palace. What remains is for you to refine and assemble them—the array seats and array foundations needed to construct the formation. I trust these tasks should not be difficult for you."
The old man seemed to realize that Yang Kai was not the fearsome brute he had imagined. His manner was approachable and his demeanor amiable, which put the old man considerably more at ease. He replied with a note of pride: "As long as we have the forging instructions, the six of us will not disappoint Sect Master Yang."
"Excellent!" Yang Kai smiled faintly and beckoned the six of them closer, then began explaining—telling them which materials should be paired with which, and what shapes each component needed to be forged into.
The six of them possessed an extremely high level of expertise in formations, far beyond Yang Kai's own half-baked knowledge. After only a brief explanation, the six had already grasped his meaning.
Next, Yang Kai withdrew the materials the Sea Palace had prepared one by one, sorting them into categories and distributing them among the six, assigning each to refine different components.
Setting up a spatial array was an extraordinarily complex undertaking. However, Yang Kai had already established one spatial array outside the Lingxiao Sect before coming here, so this was his second time—making the process somewhat more familiar and manageable.
The main work would naturally be completed by him personally. The reason Yang Kai had asked Qi Yunhai to bring these six people along was merely to serve as his assistants, which would save a considerable amount of time.
He also harbored some concern that these six might steal his techniques. After all, the fundamental array diagram of the spatial array remained in his possession. So long as the diagram was not leaked, even if they tried to replicate the process and set up another array on their own, it would be useless.
On this open ground of Black Reef Island, the seven of them each took up their roles.
In just five days, a spatial array covering an area of roughly ten zhang in diameter had been fully assembled.
At first glance, this spatial array looked quite different from those found in major cities. There was no circular archway—only a round array foundation laid upon the ground, giving it a rather streamlined appearance.
Its footprint, however, was somewhat larger.
After all, once this spatial array was completed, it would be capable of spanning distances of several million to over ten million li, and could accommodate up to fifty people for simultaneous teleportation in a single use.