"Ssss…" Ni Guang stared at the Ghost Ancestor like he was looking at an idiot. "You've been stuck here for two thousand years? What could possibly be so great about this place that you're so reluctant to leave?"
He looked around and found nothing particularly remarkable about the area.
"Did you think I wanted to be here?" The Ghost Ancestor's face darkened immediately. "I was trapped here for two thousand years! Trapped for two thousand years — do you know what that's like? It was worse than death…"
Just recalling those two thousand years sent a chill through the Ghost Ancestor's heart.
His outburst made Ni Guang's expression shift dramatically. "Trapped for two thousand years… So that's how it is. No wonder I'd never heard of someone like you before. You were trapped for two thousand years. Does that mean you only recently escaped?"
"That's right. I owe it to that brat Yang. Otherwise, I'd probably still be locked away." The Ghost Ancestor nodded.
"A place like this could trap someone of your caliber?" Ni Guang looked bewildered. "I can't see anything dangerous about it at all."
"This place… it's the Chaos Abyss, isn't it?" Xue Yue had been observing her surroundings, and she suddenly spoke up thoughtfully.
"You've got quite the eye, little girl." The Ghost Ancestor let out a cackling laugh. "That's right — this is the Chaos Abyss!"
"What? This is the Chaos Abyss?" Ni Guang's face changed. "The place in the Star Domain that's rumored to be extraordinarily dangerous?"
"What, are you scared?" The Ghost Ancestor glanced at him sidelong.
"Of course I'm scared! I've heard that even Void King Realm powerhouses who come here might die without a proper burial. You tell me — should I be scared or not?"
"Hehe, the rumors aren't wrong. The Chaos Abyss is normally quite harmless — perfectly peaceful. But if a Chaos Vortex appears and you get pulled in, you could be torn to smithereens!" The Ghost Ancestor sneered. "Back then, I was being hunted by enemies and had no choice but to flee here for refuge. Then a Chaos Vortex appeared out of nowhere and dragged me in…"
"And that didn't kill you? You really do have one hell of a lifespan," Ni Guang exclaimed in astonishment.
"I certainly do. I was dragged in there and trapped for two thousand years, until that brat Yang also got swept in. He was the one who guided me out." The Ghost Ancestor drew a deep breath. It was precisely because of this encounter that Yang Kai and the Ghost Ancestor had come to know each other.
However, since their escape, the two had never crossed paths again — until this trip to the Lost Domain.
"Senior, if what you're saying is true… then did Yang Kai go to…"
"That's right. That brat Yang went to the place that trapped me before." The Ghost Ancestor grinned.
Xue Yue's face changed sharply.
"Don't worry. Don't forget what kind of power that brat Yang commands. The reason I was able to escape back then was entirely thanks to him navigating through spatial rifts to guide me out. Since he can get in now, he must be completely confident. Besides, once he's inside, that old fool Zi Long can only stand outside and glare. All we need to do is wait patiently out here. That brat Yang might just walk out on his own one day."
"Waiting here… isn't it somewhat dangerous?" Ni Guang said worriedly. Even though the Chaos Abyss was peaceful at the moment, if a Chaos Vortex appeared, it would be a matter of life and death.
"What's there to fear? Chaos Vortices don't just appear whenever they feel like it." The Ghost Ancestor was completely unfazed.
"In that case, let's wait. But let me say upfront — I've got a mountain of business back at my trade consortium. I can't afford to delay too long. I'll wait here for two months at most." As he spoke, Ni Guang quietly glanced at Xue Yue.
Though his words were directed at the Ghost Ancestor, he was really telling Xue Yue: now that she knew Yang Kai had hidden himself inside the Chaos Vortex and wasn't in any mortal danger, she could put her mind at ease. There was no need to keep waiting here.
"It's up to you. I'm waiting for that brat Yang to come out," the Ghost Ancestor said with a light chuckle.
As they spoke, they had arrived near Zi Long and his group.
Zi Long was already in a foul mood, and seeing Ni Guang and the others approaching, he let out a cold snort, his expression displeased.
Ni Guang couldn't be bothered with him. After their previous clash in the Lost Domain, neither had gained the upper hand, and their pretense of civility had long since been discarded. There was nothing left to say, so Ni Guang and the others simply stood apart from Zi Long's group and began waiting quietly.
……
The Suspended Continent. Yang Kai tore through the void and materialized with ease.
This place could be considered his first stop in the Star Domain. It was here that he had met the Ghost Ancestor, witnessed what the Void King Realm truly looked like, and realized just how insignificant he once was — vowing to cultivate fiercely and make himself strong.
After several decades, returning here filled him with a sense of wistful nostalgia.
Although his cultivation had not yet reached the Void King Realm, he was no longer some weakling.
Back then, he had been captured by a handful of Saint Realm cultivators without so much as a fight. Now, he could destroy millions of them with a wave of his hand.
The Suspended Continent was precisely the safest haven Yang Kai could think of for evading Zi Long's pursuit.
Before he had departed all those years ago, he had left a trace of Divine Sense deep beneath the Suspended Continent. By following the connection between that trace and himself, he could pinpoint the continent's exact location and use his spatial power to arrive here.