Inside the cave, Yang Kai healed his injuries while simultaneously questioning Liu Qianyun about information regarding the Star Boundary. The woman was remarkably forthcoming—speaking plainly and honestly without withholding anything, which considerably improved Yang Kai's impression of her.
"So what you're saying is, the realm above the Void King realm is the Dao Source realm, and above the Dao Source realm is the Emperor realm?"
"That's correct." Liu Qianyun nodded. "A martial artist must first achieve mastery of their domain to break through to the Void King realm. Once they comprehend the power of law and achieve mastery of that domain, they can then break through to the Dao Source realm. What Dao Source realm cultivators command is the power of law."
"The power of law!" Yang Kai's face took on an expression of reverence.
Liu Qianyun smiled faintly. "Brother Yang, don't overthink it. Even Dao Source realm powerhouses can only make simple use of the power of law. I hear that only upon reaching the Emperor realm can one truly command the laws—that is when a single thought can change the course of oceans and mountains, when words become law!"
"I can understand that." Yang Kai nodded.
"Of course, comprehending the power of law is merely one fundamental requirement for advancing to the Dao Source realm. The other most critical condition is converting your own power into Source Force!"
"Source Force?" Yang Kai's eyes lit up. "Is that the name for the new power we currently have inside our bodies?"
"That's right. A power one tier above Saint Force—that is Source Force. Brother Yang, you've surely felt it yourself. This new power is intimately connected to our own Origin, which is why it's called Source Force."
"I have indeed noticed that."
"Inside that Starlight Passage, the starlight's greatest function is to accelerate the conversion of Saint Force within a Void King realm cultivator's body into Source Force. That's why the more starlight you can absorb in the Starlight Passage, the better." Liu Qianyun explained.
"Then during the five years you spent in there, you must have absorbed a great deal?" Yang Kai's expression grew solemn.
Liu Qianyun shook her head with a bitter smile. "Brother Yang, you're thinking too highly of us. Although we were in there for five years, the actual time we spent absorbing starlight totaled less than two months. For the rest of the time, we were hiding inside the Nether Underworld Dome."
"The Nether Underworld Dome?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
"That's right. It's Senior Brother Yin's defensive Artifact—a Dao Source grade Artifact, I hear, passed down from the Nether Underworld Sect of the Star Boundary. He happened to have it on him this time. Without its protection, we would have been expelled from the Starlight Passage long ago, and there's no way we could have stayed there for five years."
"How so?" Yang Kai asked, puzzled.
"The starlight within the Starlight Passage offers tremendous benefits to martial artists, especially those of us traveling from lower star fields to the Star Boundary. That starlight could be considered the first opportunity we encountered. But do you really think any martial artist can just linger inside at will?" Liu Qianyun smiled sweetly. "That's impossible. The maximum time anyone can remain in the Starlight Passage is two months. Once that time is up, they'll be expelled by the passage's natural laws."
Only then did understanding dawn on Yang Kai's face.
He had harbored suspicions before. If every martial artist could really stay in the Starlight Passage for years, it would have been nothing short of a catastrophe for cultivators from lower star fields. As long as someone like Yin Lesheng controlled the passage, no one would ever have it easy.
Now, after hearing Liu Qianyun's explanation, he realized it was all thanks to the Nether Underworld Dome.
"The starlight in the Starlight Passage can accelerate the conversion of Saint Force into Source Force within our bodies. Naturally, the more you absorb, the better. This is especially true for Star Lord-level martial artists, because they possess a Star Origin within themselves, giving them far greater affinity with the starlight. Their absorption speed is many, many times faster than that of ordinary cultivators." At this point, Liu Qianyun suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked Yang Kai up and down, her expression turning to one of shock.
"What?" Yang Kai frowned.
"Strange!" Liu Qianyun furrowed her delicate brows, her voice laced with disbelief. "Brother Yang, aren't you a Star Lord?"
Back in the Starlight Passage, she had clearly seen it with her own eyes. The surrounding starlight had surged toward Yang Kai's body like a whale drawing in water—that was the most unmistakable sign of a Star Lord. That speed was something even Yin Lesheng couldn't hope to match. The other Star Lord who had traveled alongside Yang Kai hadn't absorbed even a tenth as fast.
"I am a Star Lord." Yang Kai made no effort to deny it, since it had already been exposed back in the Starlight Passage.
"Then why don't you have the Starlight Halo on your body?" Liu Qianyun's expression grew even more puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Yang Kai looked at her with a blank expression.
Liu Qianyun explained, "Let me put it this way. When Star Lord-level martial artists first enter the Star Boundary, because they've absorbed so much starlight in the Starlight Passage and can't refine it all immediately, a layer of Starlight Halo appears on the surface of their bodies. This Starlight Halo is extremely conspicuous. Only when the Star Lord has fully absorbed and merged all that starlight will the halo fade away. But you..."
Yang Kai looked down at himself but couldn't find any trace of a Starlight Halo.
However, with a shift of thought, he probed his own spiritual sea and found it flooded with starlight. Especially in the area where the Seven-Colored Warming Soul Lotus resided, the starlight was so dense it was virtually unimaginable.