The grand formation sealing the Two Realms Passage over in the Seven Mist Sea was still being set up. The redeployment of various armies, the adjustments to each formation node—none of this could be completed in a single day or two. By Li Wuyi's estimate, finishing the formation within half a year would already be considered fast.
So a decree had already been issued from the Seven Mist Sea: in half a year, a year at most, the Two Realms Passage would be opened. When that time came, they would launch their decisive battle against the Demon Race.
The various armies across the Star Boundary were raring to go.
Yang Kai had returned once more to the lower Star Domain. Having mastered the Space Laws, earned the recognition of the Star Boundary's heavens and earth, and refined the Star Domain's origin, he didn't need to go through the Star Palace at all to return to the Star Domain—an advantage that no other Star Domain Lord possessed.
The last time, he had spent over a decade forging a universe, refining heaven and earth, and finally separating the Small Profound Realm's second territory, thereby eliminating a lingering threat.
This time, he had come with the intention of refining a space Artifact similar to the Profound Realm Bead. The idea had been sparked by a single remark from Fu Renjie—the man was right. If he possessed space Artifacts, the various armies of the Star Boundary would gain tremendous convenience, whether for marching into battle or launching surprise attacks.
Refining a space Artifact was second nature to Yang Kai.
The meteorites and dead stars he had refined before could, in a strict sense, all be considered space Artifacts. In his hands, they could each hold living beings inside—could store living creatures within.
But anyone who didn't comprehend the Space Laws would be unable to unleash that function.
So the only problem now was figuring out how to let people who didn't understand the Space Laws activate these Artifacts.
With the Void Spirit Bead as a precedent to reference, solving this problem wasn't too difficult. Yang Kai was confident he could resolve it before the decisive battle arrived. However, the actual refining process would still require some time.
Inside the core of a relatively small dead star, Yang Kai sat in a state between sleep and wakefulness. His Space Laws transformed into invisible ripples that spread outward, encompassing the entire dead star.
Under the influence of those Space Laws, the dead star's volume shrank in strange, concentric circles.
He didn't know how long had passed. When Yang Kai finally opened his eyes again, the dead star had been reduced to a single bead. He reached out and picked it up, frowning as he examined it for a long while. After a moment of contemplation, he stored it away.
Half a day later, inside the main camp of the Western Region's Jizi Army, Yang Kai appeared beside Su Yan.
Su Yan had been meditating and cultivating inside her tent. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she glanced up at Yang Kai appearing beside her and assumed he was up to no good. Her face flushed. "Husband, don't you start—it's still daytime. If you try anything, I'll… I'll scream."
"Scream for what?" Yang Kai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "Come with me."
Su Yan blinked in confusion. "Where are we going?"
"To test something." Yang Kai offered a casual explanation as he led her out.
The moment they stepped outside the tent, a patrol squad happened to be walking past. The patrol captain caught sight of Yang Kai and Su Yan emerging together from the tent. After a brief moment of realization, he immediately waved his hand, turned his squad around, and made to leave.
"Halt!" Yang Kai called from behind.
The patrol captain's body stiffened. He turned around slowly, his face a picture of misery. "Lord, this subordinate saw nothing at all." After that, he turned to his men. "Did any of you see anything?"
Every head in the squad shook like a rattle.
Su Yan's face went red. She wasn't sure whether she should try to explain a thing or two.
But Yang Kai had already led her up to the squad. He pressed the bead into her hand, pointed at the patrol captain, and said, "Put him inside."
Su Yan looked down at the bead in her palm, her beautiful eyes lighting up. "You succeeded?"
Before Yang Kai had left, he had briefed the army's senior officers on his plan. So when she heard those words, she assumed he had already finished.
Yang Kai shook his head. "I don't know—that's why I need you to try."
Su Yan nodded and walked up to the patrol captain, standing before him. She gripped the bead, Emperor Yuan surging within her, Divine Sense billowing outward and sweeping toward the figure in front of her.
On the other end, the patrol captain was trembling like a quail left without a nest in the dead of winter, his face a mask of despair. "Both Lords, please see clearly—this subordinate truly saw nothing—"
"Quiet!" Yang Kai cut him off.
The patrol captain clamped his mouth shut at once, body shaking like a leaf.
A moment later, Su Yan's Emperor Yuan subsided and her Divine Sense withdrew. She looked at Yang Kai and shook her head. "It didn't work." She had tried several times but couldn't manage to pull the person into the bead.
"As expected." Yang Kai wasn't particularly disappointed. He took the item back from Su Yan's hand and furrowed his brow in thought, trying to figure out where the problem lay.
*Gulp.* The patrol captain, who had been standing frozen in place this whole time, swallowed hard. His nerves were completely frayed—he had no idea whether being caught in the middle of these two lords' private affairs would earn him some retribution.
Yang Kai raised his eyes. "Why are you still standing there?"
The patrol captain said in a small voice, "Does the Lord have any further instructions?"
Yang Kai waved him off. "Go on with your patrol."
"Yes!" The patrol captain looked as though he'd been granted a pardon. He hurriedly bowed, then led his squad and fled in a panic.
Yang Kai stood there for three days and three nights straight. During that time, all the senior officers in the army came to check on him. But Su Yan knew he must have hit on something crucial, so she had ordered people to set up a perimeter around the area well in advance, and she personally served as his guard, not allowing anyone to approach.