Inside the Small World, massive chunks of land materialized out of thin air. Invisible laws and spiritual energy surged along with the devouring, flooding into this little pocket of heaven and earth, merging with the Small World's own laws and natural order, making this micro-realm ever more solid and complete.
Along with the land came all manner of living beings — mostly human, but also a number of demon beasts that the Black Sphere had swallowed. Suddenly thrust into an entirely different world, they were thoroughly shaken.
All of these beings had failed to escape the Black Sphere's pull and been consumed. They had assumed their fates were sealed, yet when they came to their senses and found themselves unharmed, they could scarcely believe it. They rushed about telling one another, preparing to explore the mysteries of this new world and figure out their circumstances — only to find themselves confined to a specific area by some invisible force, unable to venture any significant distance away.
The entire Yellow Spring Star had been thrown into chaos.
As time passed, everyone learned that a demon-like existence was rampaging across the Yellow Spring Star, riding a colossal Black Sphere capable of devouring all things. This figure's power was unmatched, and even the famed Yellow Spring Sect had been razed to the ground.
Thus, martial artists with the ability to flee the Yellow Spring Sect set out without delay, no longer daring to linger on this star for even a moment longer. Those without the means to escape could only pray that Heaven would show some mercy — but what awaited them was the soul-shaking terror of devouring.
Two months later, the Yellow Spring Star had been completely transformed. Viewed from the void above, the star that the Yellow Spring Sect had once claimed as its home world — once brimming with spiritual energy, blessed with verdant mountains and clear waters, teeming with countless living beings — had become a realm of utter death. Cities both great and small had vanished. Sects and clan compounds were gone without a trace. Even the many sacred peaks and great rivers had disappeared entirely…
The Yellow Spring Star now resembled nothing so much as a colossal meteorite. Jagged, unbroken trenches scarred its surface, and its overall size had shrunk by a full circle.
If any martial artist from the other stars of the Great Desolation Star Domain were brought here to inspect it, they would never recognize this as the Yellow Spring Star. They would most likely assume it was some long-dead, silent world.
"What a nuisance." Yang Kai hovered above the Yellow Spring Star, his divine sense sweeping through the Small World as he muttered under his breath.
He had not anticipated that so many inhabitants would suddenly appear in the Small World, but there was nothing to be done about it. The Yellow Spring Sect was not a dead star — it was a thriving cultivation world with an enormous population. When he had activated the Mysterious World Pearl to devour the star, martial artists at the Saint King realm and above on the Yellow Spring Star could flee in time, but what about those below the Saint King realm? And what about all the ordinary mortals? He certainly couldn't expect them to escape the Yellow Spring Star and flee into the Star Domain on their own.
That would simply be sending them to their deaths.
So Yang Kai had decided to go all the way through with it, swallowing these living beings along with the land itself into the Small World.
Now, figuring out what to do with all these beings was a problem.
Should he take them to some other cultivation star and release them? But the sheer number of these beings numbered in the billions — roughly eighty percent of the Yellow Spring Star's entire population had been drawn into his Small World. Even if he wanted to set them free, he didn't have the time, and which single cultivation star could suddenly accommodate so many people?
On second thought, why bother setting them free at all? He had no intention of killing them in the first place. He could simply let them live in the Small World and fend for themselves.
A world needed the thriving competition of all living things to generate an endless stream of vitality. Perhaps these beings would bring unexpected changes to the Small World in the future, making its natural laws more complete and refined. Yang Kai could clearly sense that the Small World did not resist the arrival of these billions of beings — if anything, it seemed to welcome them with open arms.
There was another consideration as well. He had established the Heavenly Palace in the Star Boundary, and such a vast Sect required a constant influx of fresh blood. That fresh blood naturally meant new Disciples.
Where would he recruit them from? The Northern Territory certainly had no shortage of talent, but who could truly know the hearts and backgrounds of every newly recruited Disciple?
But these beings inside the Small World were different. As the master of the Small World, Yang Kai could perceive their innermost thoughts with a mere thought. He could select from these billions of beings those with good character and impressive aptitude, and begin cultivating them from a young age. Disciples raised in this way would have unwavering loyalty to the Heavenly Palace — that much was guaranteed.
The more he considered it, the more he felt this was an excellent idea. It had the flavor of accidentally planting a willow tree and finding it had taken root.
When a nuisance becomes a blessing, one's mood naturally improves.
Looking more closely at the Small World, he could confirm that significant changes had indeed occurred. The outer layer of the Yellow Spring Star had been stripped away in a broad ring, and everything that had been devoured had been absorbed into the Small World. The damaged portions of the Small World had been nearly repaired entirely.
Moreover, the total area of the Small World had expanded several times over.
Although the original Small World had not been small, how could it compare to an entire Yellow Spring Star? Though both were technically micro-realm worlds, the difference between them had been vast.
If the Yellow Spring Star was a true micro-realm world, then the space inside the Mysterious World Pearl had previously been nothing more than a tiny micro-realm. Now, after the snake had swallowed the elephant, the Small World had undergone tremendous growth.
In that moment, a flash of inspiration flickered through Yang Kai's mind, and he caught a vague glimpse of something.
The Small World had itself been forged through human refinement, transformed from a small pocket of heaven and earth into its current state. If others could refine a micro-realm world, then why couldn't he upgrade and improve the Small World? Yang Kai didn't believe he was inferior to anyone.
And the harvest and insight gained from this process — upgrading and constructing a world — would surely be something that no amount of seclusion cultivation could provide. It would be of tremendous help in comprehending the might of worlds. And the might of worlds was the key to becoming a Great Emperor!
At this thought, Yang Kai grew so excited he could barely contain himself, his determination solidifying even further.