The Star Boundary was vast, with countless treacherous places.
Setting aside the Star Boundary itself, even within individual Star Realms there existed natural gravity fields of this sort.
In certain areas, gravity could be several times—or even a dozen times—that of normal space, often catching the unwary completely off guard and costing them dearly.
But the natural gravity field here was far more terrifying. Even Yang Kai, who had reached the third stage of the Void King Realm, found himself pinned in place, unable to move a muscle. One could only imagine how powerful its pull truly was.
It had to be a thousand or ten thousand times the gravity of an ordinary location.
Natural gravity fields were exceedingly rare, and the conditions required to form one were extremely harsh. Yang Kai had encountered them before, but those had been fields he could break free from simply by channeling a bit of his strength. Here, however...
His expression grew increasingly grave. He ceaselessly drove the power within his body, yet could only shuffle forward at a snail's pace. Flight was completely out of the question.
He raised his head and gazed upward. At some unimaginable height, a thin sliver of sky was faintly visible. At that distance, without the ability to fly, reaching it would be utterly impossible.
Looking around once more, Yang Kai's eyes narrowed slightly.
This canyon was actually quite short—roughly a hundred zhang in length. Yet below that hundred-zhang stretch lay a ghastly carpet of bleached bones. Some were clearly from demon beasts, others unmistakably human. Most had long since shattered upon impact, scattered across the ground in fragments. Only a rare few still retained something close to their original shape.
There was even a fresh corpse, obviously someone who had only recently met their end. The blood pooling nearby had not yet dried, and shredded flesh lay everywhere—organs flung so far they had scattered across the ground. The scene was absolutely ghastly.
This person had clearly been a Maple Forest City martial artist who had entered the Five Colors Treasure Tower this time around. Like Yang Kai, they had been passing over the canyon when gravity dragged them down. But lacking Yang Kai's means, they had ultimately been smashed to pulp.
Before dying, this person must have been filled with bitter unwillingness...
Yang Kai thought to himself. After all, one who had cultivated all the way to the Void King Realm—who would have imagined that one day they might simply fall to their death in some unknown place? If word of such a death ever spread, it would be enough to make people laugh their teeth out.
But how could the gravity here be so monstrous? Yang Kai racked his mind without finding an answer. He had encountered natural gravity fields before, but none had come remotely close to comparing with this one.
With no other choice, he unleashed the Five Elements Immortal Sword, its five-colored radiance enveloping his body. Moments later, he activated the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique as well. Only then could he begin walking along the canyon floor at a veritable crawl.
Half a cup of tea later, Yang Kai dispersed both the Five Elements Immortal Sword and the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, gasping for breath as he collapsed onto the ground.
Maintaining both techniques for any length of time placed an enormous drain on his reserves. Yet the effect had been negligible—a terrible exchange. He had no choice but to stop wasting energy.
"Am I going to be trapped to death in this godforsaken place?" A dismal thought surfaced in Yang Kai's mind.
A moment later, his brow furrowed again, and a look of profound astonishment appeared on his face.
"Wait—that's not right. The spiritual energy here..."
He had suddenly realized that the ambient spiritual energy in this place was extraordinarily dense.
He didn't know what the most blessed paradise in the Star Boundary looked like, or how rich its spiritual energy might be. After all, he had only recently arrived in the Star Boundary and had never visited the headquarters of any great sect.
But the spiritual energy here was far beyond anything the Jade Bird Sect's headquarters could offer, and certainly nothing like the cave dwelling he had rented in Maple Forest City.
The density of spiritual energy in this place almost exceeded the limits of Yang Kai's imagination.
Sitting here, without even circulating his cultivation technique, the surrounding spiritual energy of its own accord drilled into his body. In a remarkably short time, the strength Yang Kai had expended was fully restored.
Something unusual was going on. Ever since entering the Five Colors Treasure Tower, Yang Kai had noticed that the ambient spiritual energy was exceedingly thin. Whether on the first floor or the second, the situation had been the same. For a region with spiritual energy this dense to suddenly appear—it was impossible not to take notice.
Moreover, because of that terrifying natural gravity field, all of the spiritual energy had been pinned tightly against the ground, confined to a space less than three chi above the surface. It couldn't disperse outward at all.
This had produced a remarkable spectacle: below the canyon, within three chi of the ground, the spiritual energy was as thick as a heavy fog, even showing signs of condensing into visible threads.
Yang Kai had been too preoccupied by his sudden predicament to notice at first, but upon careful observation now, he was struck with shock.
Could there be something precious buried down there?
The thought surfaced in Yang Kai's mind, impossible to suppress. It was the only explanation that could account for the strangeness of this place.
Excitement stirred within him at the realization.
He forced himself upright, channeling the power within his body. Fingers pressed together, he summoned dozens of Gold Blood Threads, which coiled and twisted around one another, gradually taking the shape of a drill bit.
With a sharp cry from Yang Kai, the drill forged from Gold Blood Threads began to spin, boring down toward the ground.
The next instant, a tremendous boom erupted.
Golden light exploded in every direction...
The dozens of Gold Blood Threads instantly unraveled, reverting to their original form and failing to maintain the shape of a drill. At a spot on the ground, sparks flew and flashes of fire flickered.
Moments later, Yang Kai stared wide-eyed at a rice-grain-sized dent in the surface, exclaiming in disbelief, "This hard?!"
Now he could be absolutely certain—there was definitely treasure buried below.