Thanks to patron Old Ma's Sky for another 100,000 red reward
………………
The one-month deadline had arrived, yet he was still stuck here.
This should have been impossible.
Lan Xun had told him before that the Five-Colored Pagoda's opening could only be maintained for one month. Once the deadline passed, the entrance would close, and the entire pagoda would generate an irresistible repulsion that forced every martial artist inside back out.
In other words, once the deadline hit, no matter where Yang Kai and the others were, they would all be returned to the Star God Palace.
But in reality, three days had already passed the deadline, and Yang Kai had felt absolutely none of this world's repulsion.
Over the past three days, Yang Kai had tried every conceivable method from within the house, but none of them allowed him to leave. After much deliberation, he figured either the Five-Colored Pagoda had malfunctioned, or he had been detained by this particular secret realm.
The Five-Colored Pagoda was the Star God Palace's foundation, inherited over tens of thousands of years. If it were going to malfunction, it would have happened long ago — it was extremely unlikely that he would be the one to run into such a problem.
So the second possibility was far more likely.
Was there something special about this secret realm? Why had it detained him?
Three days of contemplation, however, had gradually settled Yang Kai's mind.
The Five-Colored Pagoda was the Star God Palace's treasure. Now that he was trapped inside, the Star God Palace would surely make efforts on his behalf. If the Elders couldn't do anything, then the Great Emperor would certainly step in personally. So there was no point worrying about his situation — better to wait for outside assistance while simultaneously searching for a way out here.
He tidied up briefly and set off in the direction Ah Hu and the others had headed, leaving the village behind.
The canyon was over a hundred li from the village. The last time, Yang Kai had spent a full day of hard travel to reach it. This time, while he didn't need to push quite as hard, he still couldn't afford to delay. Once the heavy snow sealed off the mountain passes, these barbarian clansmen would be unable to move at all.
Under Yang Kai's lead, the group of over a hundred finally reached the mouth of the canyon just before dusk.
Yang Kai's forward stride abruptly halted, and he raised a hand high.
The hundred-plus villagers behind him stopped in unison, like a well-trained army. In an instant, the group fell completely silent, though the long journey had left them all panting.
Ah Hu sidled up and whispered, "What's wrong?!"
"There are people," Yang Kai replied.
Ah Hu's expression shifted. "Are you sure?"
Every barbarian clansman here was a survival expert of the jungle, possessing nearly beast-like instincts for tracking and counter-tracking. Ah Hu hadn't sensed anything unusual, but the way Yang Kai said it with such conviction meant he didn't dare let his guard down.
There were no footprints on the snow. But they could easily have been covered by today's light snowfall.
Yang Kai tilted his head and gestured toward a certain woman in the crowd.
Ah Hua immediately unslung the bow from her back and moved like the wind toward the canyon's flanking wall, vanishing from sight in moments.
The group waited in place for a long while before Ah Hua returned, braving the biting wind, her expression grave. "There really are people. There are campfires deep in the canyon. I can't tell how many — it's too dark."
Ah Hu swore under his breath. "It must be people from another tribe who found the dead beasts here. Dammit. If only we'd come a few days earlier."
The barbarian tribes didn't coexist peacefully — conflicts erupted frequently, especially over food.
There were three hundred beast carcasses inside the canyon that Yang Kai had killed. That was a massive stockpile of resources, enough to feed an entire village through winter.
"Hopefully they're from the Southern Barbarian tribes too. Then we can negotiate. You all wait here — I'll go check the situation." Ah Hu started toward the canyon.
Cangnan Village belonged to the Southern Barbarian tribes. If everyone was from the same tribal confederation, things could be worked out easily enough. At worst, they could split the food down the middle.
"Wait!" Yang Kai stopped him. "No need for that."
Ah Hu looked at him curiously.
Yang Kai took a gentle breath and slightly raised one hand, ancient and guttural syllables issuing from his lips. Within his body, a faint ripple of power stirred.
The very next moment, the air before Yang Kai's face suddenly shimmered, as if a stone had been tossed into a still lake. Ripples spread outward, and a semi-transparent image materialized before everyone's eyes.
The image appeared to show the view directly facing the canyon entrance. Under Yang Kai's control, it pushed steadily inward.
"Hawk Eye!" Ah Hu's eyes lit up.
That was the village chief's Hawk Eye technique — a miraculous sorcery that granted the caster an eagle's field of vision, perfect for scouting.
Hadn't A'Niu only just become a shaman a few days ago? To have already mastered such an advanced sorcery — no wonder the village chief said the village had found its successor, and that everything going forward would depend on A'Niu.
The hundred-odd villagers stood behind Yang Kai, every one of them thrumming with excitement, their eyes filled with reverence.
The Hawk Eye image drifted silently deeper into the canyon, and everything it passed over became crystal clear.