Yang Kai didn't pursue. Not because he was magnanimous enough to let a petty foe go.
It was because…
A spirit net suddenly shot out from the forest below, hurtling straight toward Yan Luo. Caught completely off guard, he was wrapped up tight before he could react. Yan Luo was horrified. He desperately channeled his Sacred Yuan to resist, but what filled him with despair was that the more he struggled, the tighter the net constricted. In just a few moments he had been bundled into a cocoon, the fine cords biting deep into his flesh. The net carried some kind of sealing power that rendered the Sacred Yuan in his body completely inert.
At the other end of the spirit net, an elderly man with sallow, earth-toned skin materialized unhurriedly, a dry tobacco pipe held casually in one hand. He regarded Yang Kai with a complicated expression.
After a moment's hesitation, he lifted the pipe in one hand and the netted Yan Luo in the other, closing the distance to Yang Kai in two or three strides. He looked him up and down. "What is your cultivation level?"
Though he had been turned down by Yang Kai earlier, he couldn't let the matter drop. He felt it would be a waste for a talent from the Star Domain to be killed by Azure Sea Palace's people, so he had been quietly tailing them. His original intention had been to find an opportunity to rescue Yang Kai from mortal danger, do him a favor, and use the opening to recruit him into the Hall of Eternal Life.
Who could have guessed that instead of selling a favor, he would witness a spectacle that shook him to his core.
Two Dao Source Realm, First Layer cultivators — killed by this young man as though it were nothing. Didn't that mean he could dispatch Old Xu himself with equal ease? What truly unnerved him was that he couldn't gauge the depth of this young man's cultivation at all.
Even if he possessed some artifact that concealed his true level, the spiritual energy fluctuations during combat would make it impossible to hide. Yet from beginning to end, this young man's strength had remained a complete mystery.
"What shall I call you, old sir?" Yang Kai asked with a smile.
The elder replied, "Xu Houtu."
Yang Kai said, "I owe you my thanks for your help, Elder Xu."
Xu Houtu shook his head in resignation. If this man could casually kill two Dao Source Realm cultivators, what kind of wave could a Void King Realm, Third Layer old man like himself possibly make? Even without his intervention, this fellow called Yan Luo would never have escaped. Changing the subject like this was clearly a way of dodging his question.
After a moment's thought, Xu Houtu said, "Azure Sea Palace has nearly ten Dao Source Realm cultivators, and the Palace Master possesses the formidable cultivation of Dao Source Realm, Second Layer. Having killed two of their people, I'm afraid they won't let this rest."
Yang Kai replied, "I have no particular interest in exterminating entire families, but if someone insists on courting death, I won't show mercy."
Xu Houtu's heart lurched. His earlier remark had ostensibly been to share some intelligence about Azure Sea Palace, but it had also been partly a probe. Now seeing that Yang Kai didn't even bat an eye at a Dao Source Realm, Second Layer opponent, he immediately realized he had underestimated the young man's abilities.
He also gave up on the idea of recruiting him into the Hall of Enduring Life. A powerhouse of this caliber—even if they somehow managed to bring him in—would only cast an unsettling shadow of pressure and unease over everyone.
But… how was this even possible?
He had watched with his own eyes as Yang Kai arrived from the Star Domain. How could someone from there possess such overwhelming power? What Star Domain could produce a talent like this? It was utterly unheard of, beyond anything he had ever encountered.
"I wonder what brings Young Friend Yang to the Ancestral Domain?"
Since recruitment was off the table, building a friendship couldn't hurt. There might come a time when such a connection proved useful.
Yang Kai considered for a moment and said, "I'm simply trying to travel from the Ancestral Domain to another Star Domain."
This Xu Houtu didn't seem like a bad person—his decision to follow them all this way proved as much. Besides, Yang Kai knew nothing about the Ancestral Domain, and He Yunxiang was no help at all. If a local could offer even a bit of guidance, it would make things far more efficient.
"I didn't originate from that Wuji Star Domain. I only ended up there by chance, and I'd like to find my way back to my homeland."
Xu Houtu nodded in understanding upon hearing this. "That's certainly one way to go about it."
The Ancestral Domain maintained connections with many Star Domains. Using it as a transit hub to reach other Star Domains was something many powerful cultivators had confirmed was possible—the result was that it could be done, though it required a considerable price. Naturally, it also demanded formidable means.
"I'm simply not sure how to go about it. Do you have any suggestions, Elder Xu?" Yang Kai asked.
Xu Houtu said, "Well, that depends on which Star Domain you wish to reach. I don't mean to boast, but having been born here in the Ancestral Domain and dealt with warriors from quite a few Star Domains over the years, I may very well know someone from yours."
Yang Kai's eyes lit up. "Have you ever heard of the Hengluo Star Domain?"
Xu Houtu gave the matter serious thought, then shook his head under Yang Kai's expectant gaze. "I'm afraid I haven't."
He added reassuringly, "However, the Ancestral Domain is vast beyond measure. The Hall of Enduring Life only guards three or five Star Path entrances, and those three or five most likely aren't connected to the Hengluo Star Domain—otherwise I would certainly have heard of it."
Yang Kai asked in surprise, "You mean there are many such entrances throughout the Ancestral Domain?"
"Heh heh—several hundred, at the very least."
Yang Kai was stunned.
Xu Houtu continued, "You would do well to visit some of the other Star Path entrances and make inquiries. If anyone from your homeland has come to the Ancestral Domain, you should be able to learn something from those entry points."
"Where are these entrances located?"
Xu Houtu thought for a moment, then reached out and drew two spatial rings toward him—the rings that had belonged to Yan Renhao and Duanmu Qi, whom Yang Kai had killed moments ago. He forcibly erased the imprints on both rings and searched through their contents.
After a moment, he pulled out something that looked like a rolled scroll and tossed it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it and eyed him with suspicion.
Xu Houtu said, "Pour your Divine Sense into it."
Yang Kai unrolled the scroll and flooded it with Divine Sense. The next instant, points of light flickered to life within it. His interest piqued, he immersed his consciousness more deeply, and the glow suddenly drew much closer.