More than a dozen Emperor Realm cultivators from the Star Soul Palace had clearly entered this place ahead of him, yet the moment Yang Kai stepped through, not a single soul was in sight. That was rather strange.
Though if the entrance had a random teleportation function, it would explain the situation before him. Yang Kai had entered similar secret realms before — the entrance might be the same, but those who passed through it wouldn't necessarily end up in the same location.
Judging by the current circumstances, this secret realm was likely one of those types, so even though everyone had entered more or less back-to-back, Yang Kai couldn't see anyone else. The others were probably in the same predicament, each of them likely cut off and fighting alone by now.
That said, there was a silver lining to this — if everyone was scattered across the realm, the odds of finding Lan Xun would be considerably higher. Assuming she was truly here.
After confirming there were no immediate dangers in his vicinity, Yang Kai took stock of the surrounding environment. A grey, hazy world. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth wasn't particularly rich. The entire realm felt lifeless and stagnant — a place like this was unlikely to produce any rare treasures or heavenly materials. At first glance, it resembled certain regions in the Western Domain: gravel blanketing the ground, grey rock formations everywhere, and sparse patches of stunted vegetation clinging to life here and there. Not a single trace of vitality could be felt in any direction.
Yet for reasons he couldn't quite articulate, the moment Yang Kai had set foot here, he'd felt an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart — as though some tremendous danger lurked hidden within this place.
Standing in place for a moment in contemplation, he picked a direction at random and soared forward.
This was indeed a self-contained little world. It possessed its own laws of heaven and earth, though those laws were incomplete, reminiscent of the original Minor Mystic World in some ways. And it was far from small — Yang Kai flew for the better part of a full day without seeing anything of note, nor did he catch any trace of Xiao Yuyang and the others.
They might as well have evaporated.
There was no distinction between day and night in this secret realm. It was perpetually shrouded in that same grey haze, and the surrounding landscape was monotonously similar everywhere one looked. Being alone in such a desolate, lifeless environment was enough to wear anyone down. After another day of searching, Yang Kai — who had been scanning in every direction — suddenly raised his eyebrows and fixed his gaze ahead.
Someone was there!
About ten li ahead, he detected the aura of a living being. He immediately focused his spiritual sense toward that spot.
The person seemed to sense Yang Kai's gaze as well. Their figure flickered, and they shot off in a direction.
Having finally stumbled upon a living soul in this godforsaken place, Yang Kai had no intention of letting them slip away. He immediately gave chase through the air. But before long, he realized the person's speed was almost incomprehensible — no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't close the distance between them. What's more, the person's spiritual sense was extraordinarily powerful. Yang Kai couldn't pierce through to discern their true appearance or their exact cultivation level; every tendril of spiritual sense he extended was blocked by an invisible barrier the moment it drew near.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being toyed with. Yang Kai fumed inwardly, but he also sensed that the other party seemed to be deliberately luring him toward somewhere specific.
Once he had his suspicion, Yang Kai deliberately slowed his pace — and sure enough, the figure ahead slowed down too. He sped up, and they matched him.
How infuriating! Yang Kai seethed. This time he didn't hesitate, pouring every ounce of his strength into the pursuit.
Even though he knew there was very likely some kind of trap waiting for him up ahead, this was the only lead he had. And so, knowing the mountain held a tiger, he had no choice but to head straight toward it.
One chasing, one fleeing — roughly an hour passed before Yang Kai's expression suddenly twitched.
In that instant, he had completely lost the person's aura. They had vanished into this world as though they'd never existed at all, leaving behind not a single trace.
What he did detect instead were several distinct life auras emanating from not far ahead — and three of them felt rather familiar.
At that thought, Yang Kai's eyebrows shot up, and he hastened toward the source.
Before long, he arrived at a rugged hilltop strewn with jagged boulders. Five figures sat cross-legged upon the slope — four women and one man.
When Yang Kai's gaze swept over them, his expression lit up with undisguised joy. He called out immediately, "Yun'er!"
Among the five figures, the one seated at the very center was none other than Lin Yun'er. Though he'd learned on the way here that Lin Yun'er had also gone missing — and had even suspected it might be the same group behind her disappearance — he never truly expected to find her here.
A look at the others confirmed his growing suspicion. Yao Lin, who had been captured in the Eastern Sea, and Lan Xun, who had vanished in the Southern Region, were both present. The remaining man and woman were strangers to him, but given the intelligence he'd gathered, he could reasonably guess that they were either blood relatives or Personal Disciples of one of the Great Emperors — the kind with extremely close ties.
The man had a fair complexion and handsome features, looking to be about thirty years of age. The woman wore a thin veil across her face, concealing her true appearance, though from the graceful, alluring figure beneath her robes, her beauty was almost certainly remarkable.
Yang Kai didn't charge over rashly. He had been deliberately led here — otherwise he wouldn't have found these missing children and disciples of the Great Emperors so quickly.
Why had that person lured him to this place? What scheme lay behind it? In unfamiliar surroundings like these, Yang Kai had every reason to remain on guard.
"Yun'er!" he called out again. But Lin Yun'er, sitting cross-legged across from him, showed not the slightest reaction — as though she had sunk into a deep, unconscious slumber.
Yang Kai swept his spiritual sense back and forth but couldn't detect the aura of whoever had led him here, nor could he find any trace of traps or formations around Lin Yun'er and the others. The five of them appeared to have been struck by some kind of technique that had plunged them into sleep, completely cut off from the outside world.
Of these five, only Yao Lin was at the Third Layer of the Dao Source Realm. The other four were all Emperor Realm cultivators — and the veiled woman's cultivation was the highest of all, matching Yang Kai's own at the Second Layer of the Emperor Realm.