The four women had assumed Yang Kai was just talking — after all, the Demon Race had yet to be eliminated, the Western Territory was in turmoil, and who in their right mind would be in the mood for sightseeing at a time like this? But he actually went ahead and did it.
Departing from Lingxiao Palace, they teleported directly to the ruins of the Thousand Leaf Sect in the Southern Territory. After briefly orienting himself, Yang Kai led the four women on a leisurely journey, stopping to enjoy the sights along the way.
Though news of the Demon Race invasion had spread like wildfire across the Star Boundary — with the Western Territory engulfed in flames of war and the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Territories all mobilizing for the conflict — the war was still far removed from the Southern Territory. Those who hadn't gone to provide support simply went about their lives as usual.
Traveling with four beauties at his side, Yang Kai strolled along in high spirits, crossing countless spirit mountains and great rivers. Every city they came upon, they entered, allowing Su Yan and the others to truly experience the wonders the Star Boundary had to offer.
Speaking of which, although Su Yan and the others had been in the Star Boundary for several years, they had spent most of that time sequestered in Lingxiao Palace for closed-door Cultivation. When the war between the two realms erupted, they had followed the main army to the Western Territory. In the strictest sense, this was their first time traveling about freely — and with Yang Kai, no less. Naturally, their spirits were high, and everything they saw was a novelty. The group of five cut a striking figure wherever they went — one man of extraordinary bearing and four women each possessing their own unique charm — and they invariably drew the attention of everyone around them.
Each night, Yang Kai would lead the four women into the Small World and they would share a bed together.
Their junior martial sister was the most thin-skinned of them all and could hardly bear such indecent arrangements. Su Yan, playing the part of the eldest, even scolded Yang Kai several times. But Yang Kai was incorrigible — completely unmoved by her reprimands. The more fiercely Su Yan lectured him, the more fervently he carried on, and with Shan Qingluo, that enchantress, egging him on at his side, Su Yan eventually stopped speaking up altogether, resigned to letting things take their course.
After meandering about for half a month, the group finally arrived at a vast plain.
Seeing Yang Kai carefully examining the terrain as if searching for something, Shan Qingluo asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"
Yang Kai replied, "The entrance to the Four Seasons Realm opened on this plain all those years ago. I want to see if there are any traces left behind."
Su Yan caught on and asked, "You're worried about Xiao'er and Xue'er?"
Yang Kai sighed. "Liuyan is with them, but they're still children after all. If I could see with my own eyes that they're alright, I'd feel much more at ease."
Of the four women, only Shan Qingluo hadn't yet met Yang Xiao — she had been Cultivating in the Primordial Ancient Lands all this time and had never crossed paths with him. Su Yan, Xue Yue, and Xia Ningshang had all seen the little boy and were quite fond of him. Besides, as Yang Kai's adopted son, the bond between them was naturally closer still.
Now that Yang Kai wanted to search for the entrance, they were more than happy to help.
The five of them spread out and combed through the plain in a careful sweep.
In the end, they found nothing.
The Four Seasons Realm was essentially an independent minor world. Though the last entrance had opened on this plain, no one could guarantee it would open here again. Besides, Qiongqi had been the one to take them in last time — perhaps Qiongqi had another way of entering the Four Seasons Realm.
With nothing to show for their efforts, they had no choice but to move on.
After that, Yang Kai took the four women to the Green Sun Divine Temple, where they stayed for a few days at his own Spirit Sword Peak before setting off for Maple Leaf City.
This had been the first city Yang Kai had entered after arriving in the Star Boundary, making it a place of great significance to him. It was here that he had first met Mo Xiaoqi, encountered Lan Xun for the first time, obtained the Million Sword, and met one of the Great Emperors who wandered the mortal world.
Outside Maple Leaf City, Spirit Lake Palace still stood, with countless martial artists streaming in and out every day. Xia Sheng was no longer here, and Yang Kai had no intention of paying a visit.
As for his old friend Kang Siran — thanks to years of trade dealings with Lingxiao Palace — he had been promoted by the Merchant Guild to president of the Maple Leaf City branch, a position of considerable prestige and power. Back in the day, such a thing would have been utterly unimaginable for him.
When Yang Kai arrived, Kang Siran naturally gave him a warm reception, and the two drank together arm-in-arm at the finest restaurant in Maple Leaf City.
The next day, Yang Kai bid his farewell and led the four women to the ruins of the Emerald Feather Sect. The sect had long since been completely abandoned, its former grounds nothing but rubble. Recalling his first arrival in the Star Boundary, when he and Liu Xianyun had been captured and dragged to the Emerald Feather Sect, it felt as though an entire lifetime had passed.
Back then, the Dao Source Realm had seemed an utterly invincible level of power — but now, he could even spar with Pseudo-Emperor powerhouses. In the blink of an eye, decades of years had slipped by, a thought that left him somewhat melancholic.
Walking the old paths again was like reliving an entire life, and it stirred deep emotions in Yang Kai's heart.
After the Southern Territory came the Eastern Territory, then the Northern Territory...
It wasn't until three months had passed that Yang Kai finally led Su Yan and the others on the journey home, still traveling at an unhurried pace without once making use of the Spatial Teleportation Arrays.
Three months of sightseeing, untouched by worldly affairs, left Su Yan and the others utterly reluctant to part with the experience. There was a feeling among them that if the rest of their lives could be just like this, nothing more could be asked for.
That night, after a bout of wild intimacy, their supple bodies lay scattered across the bed when a sudden fluctuation of an unusual power rippled through the air.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at Su Yan and exclaimed in delighted surprise, "Senior Sister, you..."
Su Yan shot upright and drew a deep breath. "I'm about to break through."
Even Shan Qingluo sat up in astonishment. "Already?"
Su Yan was currently at the third level of the Dao Source Realm. Another breakthrough would mean the Emperor Realm. It had only been a few years since Yang Kai had brought them to the Star Boundary — and while Lingxiao Palace's limitless resources had certainly played a part, the speed of her progress was nothing short of staggering. After all, when Su Yan had first arrived in the Star Boundary, she had only been at the second level of the Dao Source Realm. In just a few short years, she had traversed a chasm that most martial artists could never cross in their entire lives.