The old man's mouth was bigger than the sky, talking as if even Wen Zishan took orders from him.
Yang Kai snorted, "You make it sound like you're the Red Dust Great Emperor!"
Wen Zishan, the Palace Master, had apparently been raised by the Red Dust Great Emperor himself. If anyone in this world could command him at will, it would undoubtedly be the Red Dust Great Emperor. But the Red Dust Great Emperor was a man who treated life as a game, wandering the mortal world, appearing without a trace and vanishing just as quickly. He had no fixed abode, and no one knew where he was. The Star Realm hadn't heard news of him in a very long time.
The old man's eyes widened at once. "You know about that too?"
Yang Kai said with disdain, "I give you an inch and you take a mile."
This old swindler might truly be some extraordinary eccentric. The way he knew so many secrets, knew so many people, and even had Yao Si treating him with utmost respect — he was clearly no ordinary person.
But if someone said he was the Red Dust Great Emperor, Yang Kai would never believe it.
There was only one reason: because this was the Shattered Star Sea!
The Shattered Star Sea could only be entered by Dao Source Realm cultivators. Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivators couldn't come in at all. With the Red Dust Great Emperor's astonishing cultivation, it would be utterly impossible for him to arrive here. If he tried to force his way through the spatial barriers, it would only destabilize the Shattered Star Sea, causing it to collapse.
The old man smiled faintly, paid Yang Kai no further attention, and turned to look at the Dao Source Realm cultivators who had remained behind. He sighed softly. "Men die for wealth; birds die for food."
The fact that these people were still here meant they clearly wanted to grab some benefits. Especially now that all the Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivators had left, removing many of their most powerful competitors, their spirits had grown excited and eager.
After a brief pause, the old man declared in a clear voice, "You've stayed behind for nothing more than that spatial ring. In that case... I shall grant you your wish."
Hearing this, everyone stared at him with suspicion, unsure what the old fellow really meant.
Just then, the old man suddenly strode forward with surprising swiftness, arriving directly before the black hole. No one could tell what mystical seal he formed. Light blazed from one of his hands as he reached straight into the black hole.
"What's this old fellow doing?"
"Could he be trying to take out that spatial ring?"
"He has that kind of ability? Look — his hand actually went inside!"
"What's it like in there? Wow, the light is blinding. Can't see a thing inside."
A chorus of noisy exclamations erupted as everyone gaped at the old man's actions.
Yang Kai was especially horrified.
Ever since the black hole had formed, he had clearly sensed fluctuations of spatial power. In other words, there was a bizarre space within the black hole, but that space was extremely unstable. Even someone like him, well-versed in spatial power, wouldn't dare enter recklessly.
Yet this old man had managed to reach his hand into that space.
Did he also command spatial power? Yang Kai probed with his senses but detected not the slightest fluctuation of spatial force. Looking more carefully for a moment, Yang Kai's expression turned rather peculiar.
Before long, the old man suddenly gave a low shout and pulled his hand back sharply.
When the light faded, an ancient-looking spatial ring sat in his hand.
The crowd erupted in commotion, their burning gazes fixed on the ring, swallowing saliva one after another.
And looking toward the black hole, the skeletal finger inside was now bare.
"He actually got the ring out!"
"Something like that is even possible?"
"That's absolutely unbelievable. What's inside that ring?"
"Old man, hand over that spatial ring right now, and we might spare your life!"
After the old man extracted the spatial ring, the crowd instantly erupted. Everyone was shouting and yelling while silently channeling their Origin Power, looking ready to pounce and seize it at any moment.
Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Old man, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. How are you going to clean this up?"
Although his strength was considerable, facing over a thousand Dao Source Realm cultivators still made him uneasy. If they all rushed in at once, his only option would be to flee. The old man might be unfathomably deep, but Yang Kai didn't think even he could take on a thousand opponents.
The old man smiled faintly. "Their eyes are only on this ring. In that case, let them have it."
"Let them have it?" Yang Kai was stunned.
Before he could even react, the old man flicked his wrist and hurled the spatial ring into a spot in the void, calling out in a low voice, "If you want it, go fight for it yourselves!"
Using some unknown technique, the old man made the spatial ring erupt in a burst of light and shoot off into the distance with the force of thunder.
"That old man's lost his mind — he actually threw the ring away!"