The existence of a labyrinth within the void rift was already astonishing enough.
What made it even more incredible was the fact that there was now a humanoid afterimage lingering inside it.
Who was this person? Or rather, who had left this afterimage behind?
Both Yang Kai and Li Jiao stared wide-eyed in that direction, but to their disappointment, no matter how hard they looked, they could not make out the afterimage's true appearance.
The secret technique that produced this afterimage seemed to have existed for many years. Although it was extraordinarily powerful in its own right, prolonged exposure to the forces of this void rift had rendered it somewhat unstable. The shadow flickered and wavered, stretching tall one moment, shrinking into a squat round shape the next, as though it could collapse at any time.
For reasons he could not explain, Yang Kai felt the shadow looked oddly familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
"Brother Li, have you ever encountered this person?" Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
Li Jiao shook his head. "I can't tell, but this person is definitely no weakling."
Though the afterimage was unstable, the aura it occasionally leaked was immensely powerful — clearly not that of an ordinary Emperor Realm master.
Yang Kai nodded, his mind racing through the faces of every powerful figure he had ever encountered, trying to match them with the shadow before him.
But just then, the afterimage suddenly pulsed outward and contracted, transforming into a fist-sized orb of pearly white light that began drifting slowly in a particular direction.
Yang Kai had no time to dwell on his thoughts. He grabbed Li Jiao and said, "Follow it!"
Li Jiao started. "Follow that thing?"
"Mm." Yang Kai grunted in affirmation. He had a feeling that the appearance of this shadow might represent a turning point. He had been searching for a full month and still could not find his way out of this void labyrinth. At this point, he had no choice but to grasp at straws and see what tricks this light orb had up its sleeve.
Without further hesitation, they followed close behind the orb.
Its path was even more erratic and unpredictable than anything Yang Kai had encountered before — seemingly aimless, yet upon careful observation, there was a discernible pattern to its movements.
Yang Kai felt a surge of quiet excitement. His guess had been right after now.
All he wanted to know was who had left this shadow behind. He kept studying the orb intently, but could not uncover much. The orb had been produced by the afterimage's secret technique and, over countless years under the influence of the void's power, had become so distorted and warped that tracing it back to its origin was an exceedingly difficult task.
After several days of following it, Li Jiao had grown despairing.
Yang Kai's heart was heavy with doubt too, and on more than one occasion he was tempted to give up. But the thought of abandoning their efforts halfway seemed like a waste, so he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
Then, at some unknown moment, the orb suddenly accelerated, shooting directly toward a fixed direction.
Yang Kai hurried after it.
When they reached a certain point in the void, the orb burst apart without warning, dissolving into motes of faint luminescence that scattered and vanished.
"Oh come on..." Li Jiao stared blankly.
After following this orb for days, he had never expected this kind of outcome. He very nearly let loose a string of curses. Was all of this just a colossal waste of time? This turn of events sapped whatever remaining confidence he had in Yang Kai. He began to feel that the two of them were doomed to be trapped here forever — that they would never escape this labyrinth.
But when he turned to look at Yang Kai, he found the man beaming with undisguised joy, as though he had just discovered something extraordinary.
"Palace Master Yang?" Li Jiao called out.
Yang Kai turned to him and said, "I found it!"
"Found it?" Li Jiao frowned instinctively. "Found what?"
"What do you think?"
Li Jiao froze for a moment, then excitement surged through him. "You mean... you've found the exit?"
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded firmly, then thought for a moment. "When I open the exit, go through it immediately. Don't hesitate or delay — if we're too slow, Dragon Island might detect something."
"Got it!" Li Jiao swallowed hard.
So they had found it? After just a few days of following that orb, they had located the exit? What in the world was that thing? Why had it guided them to the exit's location?
But none of that mattered anymore!
What mattered was that he was about to set foot on Dragon Island — about to fulfill his lifelong wish. Li Jiao's emotions churned — excitement, anxiety, anticipation, unease—
Just as his feelings roiled, Yang Kai's expression turned solemn, and the power of the Space Law erupted around him.
He thrust both hands forward into the void before him and then ripped them apart with savage force.
A bizarre sight materialized — as though something had been torn asunder, a massive rift suddenly opened in the void ahead.
"Go!" Yang Kai barked.
Li Jiao hurled himself headlong into the rift, Yang Kai close on his heels, and the two vanished in an instant into the boundless expanse of the void.
In the Eastern Region, above the Eastern Sea — on an island suffused with spiritual energy, blessed with natural beauty, a place that seemed almost like an immortal paradise.
A man clad in white stood in the void with his hands clasped behind his back.
Beside him, a stunning woman in a black palace gown stood with her arms folded across her chest. Her crossed arms pressed against her ample bosom, subtly deforming their shape. Her gown was slit up to mid-thigh, exposing a long expanse of leg to the open air, her skin fair and smooth, possessing the lustrous sheen of white jade.