Day and night were indistinguishable, yin and yang were in chaos, heaven and earth shrouded in primordial disorder — this was the most striking feature of this otherworldly dimension.
"We're in!" Shu Xiaoyu exclaimed with some excitement. Chen Xueshu and Yang Kai, however, immediately swept their surroundings with wary eyes. Only after confirming there was no danger nearby did they involuntarily let out a breath of relief.
This foreign territory spanned a vast area, and those who had entered on separate lily pads would not appear in the same location. Yang Kai had learned this beforehand, and now that he saw it for himself, it proved to be exactly as described.
Yang Kai subtly increased the distance between himself and the other two. Though the movement wasn't overt, Chen Xueshu still caught it.
Chen Xueshu took no offense. With a faint smile, he looked at Yang Kai and said, "Junior Brother Yang, would you like to travel with us? We can look out for one another!"
Yang Kai slowly shook his head and cupped his fists. "I appreciate the kind offer, but I'd like to try going it alone."
Chen Xueshu gave a slight nod and didn't press further. "Then do take care, Junior Brother Yang!"
"Until we meet again!" With that, Yang Kai turned and swiftly departed, activating his movement technique.
"Why'd he rush off like that? It's not like we were going to eat him!" Shu Xiaoyu pouted her slender, crimson lips, clearly displeased by Yang Kai's wariness.
Chen Xueshu chuckled and patted Shu Xiaoyu on the head. "That's exactly what he's afraid of!"
"But we weren't planning to do anything to him!" Shu Xiaoyu huffed, her cheeks puffing out slightly. "His cultivation is so low — I bet he'll die pretty quick in here."
Chen Xueshu's expression turned serious as he shook his head. "Not necessarily. That person is extremely cautious and careful. People like that tend to live quite a while. Besides, I get the feeling there's something peculiar about him."
"What's so peculiar about him?" Shu Xiaoyu blinked her large eyes in puzzlement.
"He's only at the third level of the Separation-Union Realm, yet he dares to come here. Either he's tired of living, or he's got something to rely on."
"You mean..."
"That fellow likely has some extraordinary means. Otherwise, his elders would never have let him come to a place like this for training. Sigh — everyone who can enter this place has their own tricks. We should be careful too, and try our best to avoid conflict with anyone."
After parting ways with the two from Bright Moon Sect, Yang Kai pushed his movement technique to the limit and covered over a dozen li in quick succession. He changed direction several times along the way, then suddenly doubled back and flew up into the canopy of a large tree, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.
It wasn't that he was judging others by his own standards — it was simply that caution never hurt.
Moreover, this served as a test. He wanted to see whether Chen Xueshu and Shu Xiaoyu were genuine or merely smiling snakes with honeyed words.
After waiting quietly in the tree for a long while, Yang Kai found no sign that anyone had followed him. He was now certain the two harbored no ill intent toward him.
Both of them possessed Zhenyuan Realm cultivation and were undoubtedly prodigies within Bright Moon Sect. If they had truly wanted to make a move against him, they would have had no reason to hold back until now.
Ling Taixu had said before that if he met someone truly trustworthy, there was no harm in joining forces. And now, Chen Xueshu and Shu Xiaoyu had made it onto Yang Kai's list of those he trusted.
If fate brought them together again, Yang Kai wouldn't mind traveling alongside them.
Hiding among the treetops, Yang Kai first tested his two offensive Artifacts. After several attempts, he discovered with a sinking feeling that Artifacts truly could not be summoned here. They seemed genuinely sealed within his body.
"Earth Demon!" Yang Kai called out.
"This old servant is here," the Earth Demon replied promptly.
"Can the Soul-Shattering Spike be used?"
"I'm afraid I must disappoint the Young Master. It cannot..."
Yang Kai cursed the wretched place under his breath. Even the Soul-Shattering Spike — an Artifact that didn't technically belong to him — had been restricted. Without it, the Earth Demon couldn't contribute any combat power either. This time, it looked like he would have to rely on his own strength alone.
Fortunately, Ling Taixu had given Yang Kai a Cosmos Bag before this, filled with quite a few useful items.
He'd never had the time to sort through it until now. With a moment to spare at last, he retrieved the small cloth pouch from his chest, untied the opening, and reached inside. His hand closed around a trove of things.
There appeared to be over a dozen bottles of pills. Most were healing medicines, but several contained purely yang-attribute pills. This delighted Yang Kai immensely — his grandmaster truly did care for him. With these bottles of pills, he no longer needed to worry about running short on Yang Liquid.
Beyond the pills, Yang Kai also found over a dozen sets of spare clothing, and a longsword.
This longsword was not an Artifact — merely a weapon forged from fine steel — so it could be used here without issue. However, Yang Kai had never learned any swordsmanship. Swinging it around clumsily in a fight would be less effective than bare-handed combat. At his level of cultivation, an unfamiliar sword would add nothing to his combat ability.
Packing everything away carefully once more, Yang Kai leaped down from the tree, cracked his knuckles, and set off on his training expedition with eager anticipation.
Half an hour later, Yang Kai happened upon a fourth-rank demon beast. He dispatched it after some effort, then stood quietly in place and waited.
Sure enough, just as he'd heard, the moment the demon beast died, Yang Kai could clearly feel its energy and the essence of its flesh converging toward a certain point in midair.