Reaching the Southern Domain from the Northern Domain in the blink of an eye was not impossible — so long as one had a cross-domain spatial formation. But such formations were exceedingly rare across the entire Star Boundary. It seemed only a handful of Great Emperor sects possessed them, relics passed down from the ancient era, and whether they even still functioned was anyone's guess.
The woman and the half-aged elder had not considered this possibility before either, but after catching the whispered murmurs around them, the realization finally dawned.
Could it be that what they had just used was a cross-domain spatial formation? The more they thought about it, the more convinced they became. Only a cross-domain spatial formation could produce such severe aftereffects from teleportation — after all, traversing billions of li in a single instant was nothing like any ordinary teleportation array they had ever experienced.
But where would Lingxiao Palace have gotten a cross-domain spatial formation? The territory Lingxiao Palace occupied had originally belonged to the Wenqing Sect. Most of them had visited the Wenqing Sect before and were well acquainted with its resources. They knew for certain that the Wenqing Sect could never have possessed something like a cross-domain spatial formation.
It was well known that the Palace Master of Lingxiao Palace, Yang Kai, was an expert in the Laws of Space. Could it be that he was capable of constructing even a cross-domain spatial formation? If that were truly the case, it was a staggering accomplishment.
The woman and the half-aged elder exchanged glances, each seeing the shock reflected in the other's eyes. The whispers around them grew louder. The words "Southern Domain" appeared with startling frequency. Some still refused to believe it, while others, like the two of them, stared at the formation over there with burning intensity.
If this truly was a cross-domain spatial formation, it was an enormous treasure. Just as Yang Kai could see the profits that would flow from connecting the trade between two domains, so too could they. With such a formation linking north and south, any sect would be able to amass a fortune.
Out of caution, the woman was about to seek out someone from Lingxiao Palace to inquire further, but as her gaze swept across the area, her expression froze.
The half-aged elder had not yet recovered from the shock of arriving in the Southern Domain in an instant and the existence of a cross-domain spatial formation. Seeing her expression, he was taken aback and sent a voice transmission: "What is it?"
The woman did not respond at all. She simply stared fixedly in one direction. Puzzled, the elder followed her gaze and was rendered speechless in an instant.
Over there stood eight or nine stone figures, each several zhang tall, their entire bodies composed of clearly defined blocks of stone. Every one of them radiated an extraordinary aura, and the mere sight of them delivered a powerful visual impact. Their bodies, seemingly stacked from blocks of stone, exuded an indescribable sense of raw power. Not a single person would dare doubt their formidable combat strength.
These... these couldn't be the legendary Stone Puppets, could they? Weren't they supposed to be extinct? How had so many of them appeared here?
If that were all, it would have been one thing. But directly opposite the Stone Puppets stood a crowd of shadowy figures, not particularly numerous — roughly thirty or so. Yet every single one of them radiated monstrous demonic aura, terrifying beyond belief. The woman and the half-aged elder had been so stunned by the cross-domain spatial formation that they had not detected any of this demonic energy before.
Now that they focused their senses, their faces changed drastically.
These demonfolk were all at the Demon King level. Not one among them was an opponent either of them could hope to match.
The woman and the half-aged elder could clearly see the three Demon Kings of Lingxiao Palace mingling with the other demonfolk, chatting and laughing together. Counting carefully, there were thirty-two in total.
In other words, there were thirty-two Demon Kings here. What kind of power did that represent? The so-called top-tier sects typically had only a single third-level Emperor Realm master holding them up. The Lihua Palace had only Li Jiao. The Mitian Sect had only Mi Qi. The Wenqing Sect had had only one in its heyday. The Ice Heart Valley had had only Bing Yun.
When compared against that, the strength represented by these thirty-two Demon Kings was nothing short of terrifying. To put it bluntly, the two hundred Emperor Realm cultivators gathered here from the Northern Domain probably could not defeat them even if they joined forces — unless they truly worked in perfect concert, in which case they might stand a fighting chance.
Were these also helpers that the Palace Master of Lingxiao Palace had summoned? Where had this horde of Demon Kings come from? Why had there never been a whisper of their existence before?
Gulp...
The sound of swallowing filled the air as every gaze shifted from the cross-domain spatial formation to these Demon Kings. The Demon Kings had clearly noticed the attention as well. Many of them cracked open their massive, bloody grins in mischievous fashion, their demonic aura flaring even more fearsomely. The sight left the Northern Domain's Emperor Realm cultivators trembling with fear, terrified that these creatures might go berserk and charge in for a massacre — in which case they would be utterly doomed.
A certain rumor suddenly surfaced in the woman's mind. Her pupils contracted as she studied the two men and one woman standing before the thirty-two Demon Kings, and she sent a quiet voice transmission: "Thirty-two Demon Kings. Does that remind you of anything?"
"Remind me of what?" the half-aged elder responded reflexively.
The woman said, "I've heard that in the Eastern Domain, there is a Primordial Desolate Land that has preserved its ancient wilderness atmosphere, unchanged through ten thousand ages. And within that Primordial Desolate Land, there are Four Great Sovereigns, each commanding eight powerful Demon Kings under them..."
The half-aged elder stared blankly. "Four Great Sovereigns, each with eight Demon Kings?" That added up to exactly thirty-two. He had actually heard this rumor himself, but a rumor was merely a rumor. Without seeing it with one's own eyes, no one truly believed it.
But the world did not deal in such coincidences. The Primordial Desolate Land had thirty-two Demon Kings, and here there were exactly thirty-two as well.
The half-aged elder's face went pale as he said, "You're suggesting they came from the Primordial Desolate Land? That's in the Eastern Domain..."