Arriving before the gate, Yang Kai took note of the two stone lions crouching on either side. He had a vague sense that these utterly ordinary-looking stone lions were probably not so simple after all. If they were truly mundane objects, how could they possibly appear here in the void?
While he was pondering this, a voice suddenly drifted out from beyond the gate: "What young friend has come this way? This old man failed to greet you properly at the entrance. Please, come in and have a chat."
The voice was warm and gentle, like a spring breeze washing over him. A pleasant warmth suffused Yang Kai's entire body. Though the voice had come without warning, it unsettled him not at all — rather, it felt entirely natural.
Still, Yang Kai was somewhat surprised. After all, there was nothing before him but a single gate. There were two stone lions flanking the entrance, but no building whatsoever. Where exactly was the speaker? He craned his neck for a peek — there was nothing on the other side of the gate.
The voice sounded rather aged; the speaker was likely well advanced in years. After a moment's deliberation, Yang Kai decided he might as well go with the flow. He cupped his fists and called out, "Where does the elder stand? How may this junior enter?"
The aged voice chuckled. "Simply push the door open."
Yang Kai acknowledged this with a nod. Very well, then — push the door.
He reached out, gripped the door ring, and gave it a gentle push. The gate swung open. The scene he had imagined — the void continuing on the other side — did not appear. The instant the door opened, a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors flashed before his eyes, and then an immense pulling force seized him. Before he could so much as react, he was sucked inside.
When his senses returned, he was standing on an enormous reef. The sound of ocean waves lapped at his ears. He looked up — blue sky and white clouds. He looked down — surf crashing against the shore.
Yang Kai blinked, then couldn't help letting out a low exclamation: "A Little Cosmos!"
A cultivator of the Open Heaven Realm opened heaven and earth within their own body, creating an independent world that existed somewhere between the real and the illusory. That world was what was known as a Little Cosmos, and those who possessed one were none other than Open Heaven Realm powerhouses.
A laugh came from nearby. "Young friend has a sharp eye. This is indeed this old man's Little Cosmos!"
Yang Kai turned toward the voice and saw an elderly man with hair and beard entirely white standing not far away. The old man wore a kindly smile, was slightly plump, and the creases on his face were folded deep — the unmistakable marks of time's passage.
He wore a dark-colored robe, spotless and immaculate, giving him the air of one who had attained a higher path. In one hand he held a round alms bowl, and with the other, he bent his fingers and tapped against it in a steady, rhythmic beat.
Strangely, each tap produced no sound whatsoever, yet Yang Kai could somehow perceive something intangible with each strike — a resonance that stirred in the depths of his awareness.
Recalling the call that had guided him all the way to this place, Yang Kai realized: "It was you who summoned me, elder?"
The old man smiled. "Indeed. And where does the young friend come from?"
"A humble backwater — I wouldn't even know what to call it," Yang Kai replied. Though this old man appeared perfectly harmless, he was a bona fide Open Heaven Realm cultivator. Should he ever decide to make a move, Yang Kai would have virtually no power to resist — especially here, in the old man's own Little Cosmos. Yang Kai had never expected that the very first person he would encounter upon arriving in the outer void beyond the cosmos would be an Open Heaven Realm master. One could never be too cautious; it was best not to reveal the name of the Star Boundary.
The old man did not press the matter. He simply smiled. "I see." Surprisingly, he asked nothing further.
"Why did you summon me?" Yang Kai asked, puzzled. Had it not been for that faint, inexplicable pull drawing him here, he never would have found this place.
The old man smiled. "I did not summon you specifically. I am simply welcoming newcomers who have broken free from the confines of their respective worlds." As he spoke, he gestured to the side with one hand.
Yang Kai followed the gesture with his eyes and only then noticed that the two of them were not alone in this Little Cosmos. There were others on several nearby reefs.
A chill ran through him. When he had first arrived, he had sensed nothing at all. He had even scanned his surroundings and seen no trace of other people. It seemed that unless this old man willed it, he would not have been able to perceive anyone else's presence.
Four figures sat there — three men and one woman.
A burly giant of a man, a dignified woman, a small child, and what appeared to be a member of the Demon Race, with twin horns growing from his forehead. Yang Kai could not tell what bloodline he carried.
Each sat upon a nearby reef, their gazes fixed on Yang Kai.
When Yang Kai swept his eyes across them, only the small child offered him a faint smile. The others remained expressionless. Yang Kai did not know what cultivation level these four had reached, but the fact that they were here meant that each one had been a Great Emperor-level powerhouse in their own small world — they had each condensed their own Dao Imprint, otherwise they would have no business venturing beyond the cosmos.
Taking in the scene, and considering what the old man had just said, Yang Kai asked in surprise, "These four were also summoned by you, elder?"
The old man smiled and nodded. "The void beyond the cosmos is fraught with many dangers. For newcomers such as yourselves, it is hardly a safe place. To venture out recklessly is to invite all manner of unforeseen peril. This old man sends out a spiritual signal from this place, and those sensitive enough to sense it will naturally come here to meet me — just as you and these others have done."
"Why would you go to such trouble, elder?" Yang Kai asked, still puzzled.
"If I told you it was to protect you newcomers, would you believe me?"
Yang Kai slowly shook his head. After so many years of Cultivation, he couldn't claim to have seen through human nature entirely, but it was hard to imagine anyone going to such lengths — expending such effort for no benefit of their own.