Half a day later, the clamor gradually subsided. The Abandoned Nest was strewn with crumbling walls and shattered pillars, corpses piled high as mountains.
This den of evil that had persisted for tens of thousands of years was finally swept clean today. Thunderous cheers shook the heavens as everyone vented the joy in their hearts.
Since the Great Desolation Star Domain's invasion, over the span of more than a decade, this was the first victory of such a scale — and achieved in a completely crushing fashion. Though they had only destroyed a single Abandoned Nest, still far from exterminating every martial artist of the Great Desolation Star Domain, today's battle was like a tiny spark illuminating the star field. And a single spark was enough to set the prairie ablaze.
"Leave the rest to you all." Yang Kai offered a faint smile to the people around him, then drifted away alone. This time, he didn't even bring Liu Yan along.
His Dharma Body, Liu Yan, Ruan Biting, and Su Yan — all of them were existences that exceeded the limits of the Star Field. Coupled with the many powerful cultivators already native to the Star Field, this lineup was more than sufficient to resolve the crisis with ease. All it would take was time.
Yang Kai had no need to stay behind. He had more important matters to attend to.
"Where is he going?" Ruan Biting asked, glancing at the visibly displeased Liu Yan.
"To refine the Star Field."
Everyone was stunned.
A Star Field could be refined? They had only ever heard of people refining a Cultivation Star to become its Star Lord — never had they imagined that an entire Star Field could be refined as well. If Yang Kai truly succeeded, what an astounding feat that would be! Would he then become the master of the entire Star Field?
No one dared imagine what changes Yang Kai's journey would bring to the Star Field, nor did they dare imagine just how powerful his strength had truly become.
……
In the boundless expanse of the void, Yang Kai drifted with the current, without any particular destination or fixed direction. After leaving the Abandoned Nest, he traveled at a leisurely pace, continuously channeling his power and leaving traces of his aura along the way.
His earlier experiment had proven that the idea in his mind was viable. If so, then it was time to go all in.
It was somewhat troublesome and consumed a fair amount of time, but it was still a path forward. Perhaps during the refinement process, he might stumble upon a more efficient method.
Ten days later, a vast swath of starry sky surrounding the Abandoned Nest had been refined by Yang Kai. At the same time, the corresponding region on the Star Chart in his Spiritual Sea shifted in color, appearing slightly brighter. Though the illuminated area was negligible compared to the entire chart, it was still a good beginning.
Having successfully refined this stretch of starry sky, Yang Kai immediately set his sights on the next region.
Day after day, in an endless cycle, Yang Kai found the process anything but tedious. On the contrary, he became immersed in it. As region after region — large and small — was refined, and as more sections of the Star Chart in his mind lit up, he could faintly sense a subtle connection forming between himself and the entire Star Field. With a single thought, all the refined areas were within his control.
Had he possessed such a connection back in the Ancestral Domain, he believed he could have pinpointed the Hengluo Star Field's location without relying on the Star Chart.
The Star Field was vast and boundless, nurturing billions of living beings. There were places of death and peril, and places brimming with vitality. During the refinement process, Yang Kai seemed to be able to experience everything within it, each sensation different from the last.
One month, two months, half a year, one year, two years…
Yang Kai drifted through the Star Field like a lone leaf on the water.
And as vast swathes of starry sky were refined under his hand, the illuminated region on the Star Chart grew ever larger. The speed of refinement increased correspondingly. Not only that, he had also devised a faster method.
In a sprawling meteor field, Yang Kai wove through the endless stream, leaping from one hurtling meteor to the next, leaving his aura behind.
Half a day later, he parted ways with the meteor field. Looking back, the stream of meteors stretched out like a colossal dragon rolling through the void, wandering aimlessly through the Star Field. Everywhere it passed, it scattered traces of his aura along its path — which would save him an enormous amount of travel time.
This was one of the methods he had devised: leveraging the meteor field's power to refine the starry sky it traversed. The results were reasonably effective.
Beyond that, there was a second method — far more aggressive and straightforward.
On a celestial body, vast quantities of yellow sand whipped through the air, and the clouds overhead had taken on a murky golden hue, blotting out the light of both sun and moon.
The entire planet was harsh and inhospitable, with fierce gales sweeping up at irregular intervals.
Yang Kai descended from the sky. A sweeping glance revealed that this world was not truly a dead planet. Though the surface was mostly sand and dust, occasional patches of greenery could still be seen. Strange and peculiar birds and beasts inhabited this celestial body, and upon sensing Yang Kai's arrival, they scattered in every direction.
It was no dead planet — dead worlds were devoid of all life, yet this one still possessed vitality. Nor was it an aging star.
It was a world in the midst of vigorous growth, slowly radiating energy and life. Though nothing was apparent now, if one returned in tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, this planet would surely be teeming with life. Even if it couldn't compare to the Dark Star, it would be no lesser than the Tongxuan Continent.
Yang Kai had no intention of waiting tens or hundreds of thousands of years.