The Star Boundary had very few Great Emperor Sects — all told, no more than three. In the Eastern Region, there was the Spectral Palace of the Phantom Great Emperor; in the Southern Region, the Star God Palace of the Bright Moon Great Emperor; and in the Western Region, the Shadow Kill Hall of the Night Shadow Great Emperor…
Of course, the Medicine Pill Valley and the Spirit Beast Island could also be considered forces belonging to Great Emperors, but they weren't truly sects. Neither had ever taken in large numbers of disciples. Both the Medicine Pill Valley and the Spirit Beast Island were simply the secluded residences of their respective Great Emperors, places ordinary people had no chance of entering.
And every Great Emperor Sect served as the bedrock and guardian deity of the great region where it was based — an entity no one dared to provoke.
As the paramount sect of the Southern Region, the Star God Palace had been fulfilling this role for tens of thousands of years, earning the reverence and worship of the region's countless martial cultivators.
Over the course of tens of thousands of years, with the convergence of vital energy from all living beings, the existence of the Star God Palace had become inextricably linked to the fortune of the entire Southern Region. Some said that if the Star God Palace were ever destroyed, the whole Southern Region would be plunged into fire and flood, its people ravaged and doomed beyond redemption.
Still, with the Bright Moon Great Emperor presiding, the destruction of the Star God Palace was far from easy — unless another upheaval on the scale of the Devouring Great Emperor's era came to pass.
It took Yang Kai seven days to reach Star Moon Mountain.
The mountain was staggeringly tall, towering and precipitous, its peaks seeming to brush the ninth heaven, close enough to pluck the sun and moon from the sky or shroud the stars beneath one's hand.
A heavy, ancient aura rolled toward him. What lay before him was not simply a mountain range but a living colossus, standing sentinel over the Southern Region for tens of thousands of years, gazing down upon the rises and falls of all living beings.
Yang Kai was no stranger to broad knowledge or extensive experience. He had witnessed the majesty of countless sects — from a top-tier force like the Azure Sun Divine Temple to the Ice Heart Valley and the Wenqing Sect, which were not far behind. Yet not one of them could compare to the Star God Palace.
Standing here, one felt a mysterious elevation, as though the entire self were being uplifted, stirring a subtle yet palpable sense of exhilaration and joy.
In the wilds of the mountain, rare and wondrous birds and beasts frolicked among the peaks. Through veils of cloud and mist, pavilions and towers appeared and vanished — an immortal realm, breathtakingly beautiful, a sight that made one loath to look away.
"So this is a Great Emperor Sect?" Yang Kai murmured.
"Who goes there!"
He had barely stood there for a moment when a sharp shout rang out. Two streaks of light shot toward him from the distance, arriving in the blink of an eye and resolving into two figures. Both were young men, their auras at the Dao Source Realm — rich and pure, the hallmark of cultivators with rock-solid foundations and boundless potential. Given time, they might very well shatter the Emperor Realm bottleneck and become formidable powerhouses in their own right.
Such exceptional martial cultivators, in any other sect, would undoubtedly have been groomed with full resources as future successors.
Yet the way these two carried themselves, they appeared to be nothing more than mountain guards. Yang Kai couldn't help but marvel — this was the Star God Palace, all right. Only fellow Great Emperor Sects like the Spectral Palace and the Shadow Kill Hall could boast such depth.
"This is Star Moon Mountain. Outsiders are forbidden from trespassing! Go back the way you came, or you will not be forgiven!" Of the two Dao Source Realm cultivators, the one on the left — who looked slightly more composed of the pair — barked at Yang Kai.
Though his cultivation was a full realm below Yang Kai's, neither he nor his companion showed the slightest trace of fear. Instead, they shouted at him with commanding boldness.
That was the confidence of the Star God Palace's disciples!
In the eyes of a Star God Palace disciple, every martial cultivator in the Southern Region fell into only two categories: fellow sect members and non-members.
Yang Kai was clearly the latter. So regardless of how high his cultivation might be, there was no reason to treat him with any particular deference.
Yang Kai studied the pair for a moment, then cupped his fists. "I have been invited here by someone. Please, don't be alarmed."
"Invited?" The young man who had spoken first furrowed his brow, studying Yang Kai with suspicion. "Who invited you? State a name, and my senior brother and I can relay the message for you."
Since this person claimed to have been invited, it meant he had some connection with one of their fellow disciples. It wouldn't do to offend him carelessly, so the young man's tone softened noticeably.
Yang Kai was about to explain the situation when his expression shifted, and he smiled. "No need — someone is coming to meet me."
The two disciples turned to look.
A beam of colorful light was hurtling toward them from the distance, arriving in the span of a heartbeat before halting nearby. The radiance dissipated, revealing a beautiful and captivating figure.
"Senior Brother Yang!" Lan Xun greeted him with a smile, and in that instant, the entire world seemed to lose its color.
"The… the Princess?" The two disciples were instantly dumbstruck, staring at Lan Xun who had appeared so suddenly, their eyes so wide they could barely move.
They had thought little of Yang Kai's claim to have been invited — just an outsider with some vague connection to one of their own. But now it turned out that the person who had invited him was the Crown Princess of the Star God Palace!
How could it be the Princess? She was outstanding in every regard — not only had she inherited the Great Emperor's Bright Moon Physique, but her talent in the martial dao was nearly unmatched. She was breathtakingly beautiful, easygoing and approachable, and enjoyed immensely popular standing throughout the entire Star God Palace. She was the dream of countless young prodigies.
Even the proudest Star God Palace disciples considered it an honor to exchange even a single word with the Princess.
Those who earned such a privilege were vanishingly few — only Senior Brother Xiao Chen, who served as her constant guardian, had the opportunity to see her radiant smile day in and day out.
A figure worshipped as a goddess by untold numbers of Star God Palace disciples — why on earth would she have invited a man to come here?