Everyone else had clearly noticed the same problem, and they all looked toward Yang Kai and Ai'Ou with puzzled expressions.
"I didn't use any special techniques—just my normal cultivation absorption," Ai'Ou said with an innocent look on his face. As he spoke, he glanced over at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded. "I didn't use any special techniques either."
All six of them were figures of considerable standing in their own right. Having come to this place from across the Star Domain, they naturally cooperated rather than schemed against one another, so the others had no reason to doubt their words.
"That's strange then. Is there something different about the two of you?" Gu Cangyun furrowed his brow in thought.
Suddenly, Chi Yue's eyes lit up, and she murmured in a contemplative tone, "Could it be... because they're Star Masters?"
Hearing this, everyone's expression shifted to one of understanding—it made perfect sense.
Among the six of them, only Yang Kai and Ai'Ou had refined a Star Source and become Star Masters. The other four had not. If there was anything that set the two apart from the rest, that had to be the explanation.
Thinking about it more carefully, it was the only explanation that made any sense.
"How fascinating—the Star Master body holds such hidden wonders?" Wu Dao shook his head, a hint of regret on his face. Had he known this sooner, he would have found a way to refine a Cultivation Star, no matter how dangerous it might be. It would have been worth the risk.
The starlight surrounding them had the effect of cleansing the body and the soul, but that was merely what they could perceive. There might be many more undiscovered benefits hidden within, so naturally, the more one absorbed, the better.
Now, the other four could only watch with undisguised envy as streams of starlight poured continuously into Yang Kai and Ai'Ou's bodies and vanished without a trace.
Ai'Ou couldn't help but laugh aloud, his face beaming with pride.
Yang Kai considered for a moment, then spoke up: "How about this—we split up. I'll go one way by myself, and you seniors take the other path. We shouldn't stray too far from each other, just close enough to sense one another."
Wherever he went, no starlight remained. He naturally couldn't have the others trailing behind him.
Fortunately, no danger had been discovered in this place so far, so splitting into two groups was feasible.
"That works," Wu Dao nodded, agreeing to Yang Kai's proposal.
The others had no objections either. The six of them split into two lines—Yang Kai on the right, the other five on the left. The group of six advanced at a leisurely pace.
Though Yang Kai hadn't figured out why the Star Master body was such a tremendous advantage here, the starlight flooding this place clearly had something to do with Star Sources. Otherwise, it wouldn't have made him and Ai'Ou stand out from the rest.
It was most likely because Star Sources resided within their bodies that the starlight was so drawn to them and so easily absorbed.
After a quick glance to the left confirmed that Ai'Ou and the other four were perfectly fine, Yang Kai turned his attention inward, focusing on the benefits the starlight was bringing his body.
His physical body had always been extraordinarily robust. After years of tempering in the Dead Zone, it had long since surpassed what should have been possible at the Void King realm.
Yet even so, as the starlight entered him, Yang Kai could feel his physical constitution improving markedly. His flesh rippled and shifted, and within every fiber of muscle there seemed to dwell power enough to rend heaven and earth.
Even the pure golden blood flowing through his veins underwent a degree of purification.
That pure golden blood was Yang Kai's unique treasure. He had always believed it had already reached the pinnacle of purity—but only now did he realize how narrow his vision had been.
The pure golden blood could still be further refined!
His flesh was cleansed until not a speck of impurity remained. His bones turned translucent and jade-like, and even his internal organs took on a faint, porcelain-like luster.
This was the mark of a body that had reached ultimate purity.
His soul had reaped tremendous benefits as well.
Yang Kai manifested his Soul Spirit and slipped into his own Sea of Consciousness. He found motes of starlight permeating the entire expanse, some being absorbed and integrated to strengthen his soul, while others flew toward the magnificent island conjured by the Seven-Colored Warming Soul Lotus, where the lotus welcomed them.
Having received the starlight, the Warming Soul Lotus radiated ethereal, seven-colored luminescence that rippled outward in concentric rings.
Within that radiance lay indescribable mysteries. As the ripples washed over him, Yang Kai's soul grew more solid and more powerful.
Seeing this, Yang Kai suddenly understood!
Earlier, he and Ai'Ou had stood out from the group, absorbing starlight at a rate the others couldn't hope to match. That could be explained by their status as Star Masters.
But among Star Masters, he was absorbing starlight more than ten times faster than Ai'Ou!
That was harder to explain.
He hadn't been able to figure out the reason before, but now, seeing what was happening inside his Sea of Consciousness, the answer dawned on him.
It was the Warming Soul Lotus! With the lotus assisting in the absorption of starlight, fusing it with his own being, how could Ai'Ou possibly compare?
At the sight of this, a thought suddenly struck Yang Kai, and he recalled the words once spoken by Wu Shengfeng—that powerful figure from the Falling Star Sect of the Star Boundary.
Wu Shengfeng had said that one more step of evolution would bring the Warming Soul Lotus to its ultimate form.