"Heavenly Sound Treasure Box." Yang Kai reached out and tapped the box, and it immediately emitted a series of ding-dong sounds, like a mountain spring or a specter in an empty valley, reviving anyone who heard them.
The ding-dong sounds continued as the box rose layer by layer, gradually transforming into the shape of a pagoda with nine tiers. Each tier rotated—some clockwise, some counterclockwise, some fast, some slow—emitting different sounds that converged together to compose a beautiful melody.
Moreover, as the Heavenly Sound Treasure Box spun, a layer of pale blue mist began to spread, gradually expanding outward until it filled an enormous space. The pale blue mist resembled a starry sky untainted by any impurities, dotted with countless stars, making one feel as though they were standing amid the cosmos. Everything around was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Now that's a fine treasure," Nanmen Dajun's eyes lit up as he watched. Although he felt the Heavenly Sound Treasure Box wouldn't be of much direct use to him personally, for any martial artist below the Emperor Realm, this wondrous melody could definitely assist in cultivation, making it easier to enter a state of self-forgetfulness. Cultivating in that state would surely yield twice the results with half the effort.
"You should be able to put it to good use," Yang Kai said with a smile.
Nanmen Dajun's eyes brightened as his mind was already scheming—using the Heavenly Sound Treasure Box as the nexus of an array formation, supplemented by several other artifacts, to construct a Heavenly Sound Palace. The task would not be difficult for him. Once the array was completed, the entire Heavenly Sound Palace would be suffused with the sounds of the box, greatly benefiting the disciples who entered for secluded cultivation.
Yang Kai was right. The Heavenly Sound Treasure Box could only reach its full potential in the hands of a Grand Array Master like Nanmen Dajun. Amplified by array formations, it would absolutely become another cornerstone of Lingxiao Palace—a blessing for all disciples below the Emperor Realm.
"Leave it to me." Nanmen Dajun carefully stored the Heavenly Sound Treasure Box away, then looked at Yang Kai with concern. "Palace Master, are you all right?"
He had already noticed something was off with Yang Kai—his complexion was abnormally pale. He had witnessed firsthand just how powerful Yang Kai was. Even the sect masters of the Northern Region's top sects, Mi Qi and Li Jiao, couldn't make a ripple against him. The three great demon kings obeyed his every command without question. For such a powerful individual to look this pale could only mean one thing: he had sustained severe injuries.
Nanmen Dajun couldn't think of anyone in this world who could wound Yang Kai like this, and naturally he never would have guessed at Yang Kai's harrowing experiences within the Thousand Illusion Dreamscape.
Yang Kai shook his head.
Nanmen Dajun pressed on: "Would you like me to come along? I don't know what you're planning, Palace Master, but I imagine it has to do with that formation. If I accompany you, I could at least help with breaking arrays."
"No need." Yang Kai waved him off. "I'm fine, and it wouldn't be convenient to bring you along on this trip."
He was responding to Xia Sheng's request—accompanying Hua Yulu to explore an ancient grotto-heaven. Hua Yulu had mentioned she could only bring one helper, and dragging along an extra person without permission might trigger some kind of conflict.
Yang Kai refused, and Nanmen Dajun didn't insist further. He gave Yang Kai a report on Lingxiao Palace's recent developments before returning to the Northern Region through the cross-dimensional teleportation array.
Yang Kai didn't rush to leave. Instead, he sat cross-legged and first took some spirit pills for soul repair, then began refining the Flowing Cloud Shuttle.
He realized he had underestimated the impact the Thousand Illusion Dreamscape had on his soul. He had thought that with the Seven-Colored Warm Spirit Lotus guarding him, his soul should have recovered fairly well within half a month, no matter how severe the damage.
But in reality, more than ten days had passed, and his soul showed hardly any improvement.
He guessed this was due to his excessive overdraw of spiritual power—not merely from the injuries sustained in the Dreamscape, but also from the time distortion. Five days had stretched into two years of subjective experience, placing an enormous burden on his soul. It was as though Yang Kai had burned through two years' worth of soul energy in five days. Replenishing it would certainly not be something that could be accomplished in ten or fifteen days.
An Emperor-grade artifact was not easy to refine, especially with his soul power running low. But he still spent several days carefully branding a simple imprint inside the Flowing Cloud Shuttle. It was enough to pilot the shuttle in flight, though he couldn't unleash most of its true power.
That would suffice. For Yang Kai, the Flowing Cloud Shuttle's greatest use was as transportation.
He set off again. After thinking carefully for a while, he confirmed his destination. After the Thousand Illusion Dreamscape, many of his old memories had grown hazy.
The Southern Marsh—a dangerous region in the Southern Domain. It wasn't as unforgiving as the Northern Permafrost, where once you entered you never returned, but every year a number of powerful cultivators still perished there. What drew martial artists into the Southern Marsh were its rich and abundant spirit treasures, and the various grotto-heavens hidden in its unknown corners.
Legend had it that long ago, the Southern Marsh had been the flourishing heartland of the Southern Domain's martial world. Countless sects and powers had established themselves there, growing and thriving—until a cataclysmic upheaval transformed the prosperous region into a swamp, and the Southern Domain's cultivators gradually abandoned this treasure land.
During that cataclysm, countless sects were destroyed and many grotto-heavens buried. Occasionally, a risk-taker would stumble upon the ruins of an ancient sect or inheritances left by powerful cultivators, and would rocket to fame, soaring to extraordinary heights.
The Southern Marsh also harbored many unique spirit flowers and rare herbs—treasures found nowhere else in the entire Star Boundary. Any single one could fetch an astronomical price.