Biluo even spotted Su Yan! She froze on the spot.
Su Yan had gone missing twenty years ago and had remained completely unreachable since, yet somehow she had returned to Lingxiao Sect. Not daring to be remiss, Biluo hurried forward and bowed. "Biluo greets the First Mistress!"
Yang Kai certainly had no shortage of women by his side, but if one had to rank them, Su Yan would unquestionably hold the top position — not because of the depth of her feelings for him, nor because she was his first woman, but because she possessed a commanding bearing that inspired conviction.
Xueyue and Shan Qingluo might bicker with each other from time to time, but in front of Su Yan they were always perfectly behaved. For the woman who was the undisputed First Mistress, Biluo naturally had to show proper respect.
Su Yan replied with a smile. "It's been a while."
Biluo said, "Twenty years. The Queen has been thinking of you constantly, Mistress. If she knew you were safe and well, it would lift a great weight from her heart."
Su Yan turned to look at Yang Kai. "You didn't tell her?"
Yang Kai scratched his face. "I forgot."
"Too busy, you mean?" Su Yan teased. Even Yang Kai's thick skin couldn't quite withstand the jab.
He had spent three days with Shan Qingluo doing nothing but indulging themselves — hardly a moment to spare for anything else. Having Su Yan call him out on it left him feeling a touch embarrassed.
Fortunately, Su Yan wasn't the type to dwell on such matters. She turned to Biluo and said, "We've come this time to lend Qingluo a hand. Where is she? Take us to her."
Though all the experts of the Myriad Beast Manor had been killed, the sect had been entrenched on Emperor Star for over a decade and had claimed nearly ninety percent of its territory. Relying solely on Crimson Moon Province to reclaim that land would take considerable time. Yang Kai had returned to Lingxiao Sect both to test the efficacy of the Space Array and to bring reinforcements over from the Dark Star.
Su Yan and her group were merely the vanguard; more cultivators would follow to assist Shan Qingluo.
Reclaiming Emperor Star was simply a matter of time.
"Yes!" Biluo acknowledged.
Su Yan looked at Yang Kai. "Xueyue and Ningshang are up to you."
"I know. I'm heading out now." Yang Kai nodded. His experiences on Dark Star and Emperor Star had only deepened his understanding of how dire the situation across the entire Star Domain had become, and he was deeply worried about Xia Ningshang and Xueyue, desperate to see them and confirm they were safe.
With a few brief words and no proper farewells — everyone knew they would be reunited before long — Su Yan departed with the Lingxiao Sect cultivators in a characteristically carefree manner. Yang Kai and Liu Yan stepped back onto the Space Array and set off once more.
……
Water Moon Star, the headquarters of the Hengluo Chamber of Commerce.
By the time Yang Kai arrived here — a full month after departing Emperor Star — he gazed out into the void with a look of puzzlement. He had expected to find this place wreathed in the smoke of battle, just like the several stars he had encountered along the way, ravaged by the fires of war. Instead, Water Moon Star was eerily peaceful, without a single trace of conflict.
A thread of unease stirred in his heart.
Beyond the nebula, several warships floated in the void. Yang Kai's sharp eyes immediately picked out the insignia of the Yellow Spring Sect on their hulls, and his unease intensified.
He cut straight through the gap between the warships and plunged into the atmosphere.
Behind him came a series of violent explosions. The Yellow Spring Sect warships hadn't even caught a glimpse of their attacker before they were blown apart one by one, blossoming into blinding flashes of light. The commotion instantly alerted every powerful cultivator on Water Moon Star, and they all looked up in unison. Many clearly realized what was happening, and their faces changed.
Their gaze was quickly drawn to a streak of light plummeting straight down from the sky, cutting brazenly through the clouds and crashing into what had once been the main city of the Hengluo Chamber of Commerce.
A tremendous boom shook the city to its foundations. The ground fractured, deep fissures spreading in every direction as a howling gale swept outward, toppling buildings across the surrounding area.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Figures shot in from every direction, hovering in the air and staring down at this uninvited guest.
Yang Kai surveyed his surroundings with cold eyes, his heart sinking. His earlier fears had been realized — Water Moon Star had already fallen. Not a single cultivator around him was familiar, and several of them wore clothing that bore clear marks of the Yellow Spring Sect. Even those who weren't Yellow Spring Sect members most likely hailed from the Great Desolation Star Domain.
How could it have fallen? Yang Kai couldn't fathom it, no matter how hard he tried.
He wouldn't have been surprised if Emerald Star had fallen — it had neither particularly powerful cultivators nor any formidable forces. But if even Dark Star and Emperor Star hadn't been conquered, how could Water Moon Star have fallen? This was the Hengluo Chamber of Commerce's homeworld, and the Chamber had been one of the three most powerful organizations in the entire Star Domain. Before the rise of Dark Star and Lingxiao Sect, the Hengluo Chamber of Commerce had even surpassed Purple Star and the Sword Alliance in strength.