Bai Qi explained, "These Three Thousand Worlds are vast and boundless, with endless space between them. Even for an upper-grade Open Heaven cultivator, traveling from one place to another isn't easy — it takes an enormous amount of time. But we cultivators can't afford to waste so much of it. Time spent traveling could be better spent deciphering secret techniques or cultivating martial arts. That's why the Qiankun Escape Technique was created. It has no other purpose than travel. Take our First Inn, for example — we have a Qiankun Escape Seal inscribed here, and within it, the proprietress's imprint is stored. As long as she's still within this grand domain, no matter where she is, she can return to the First Inn in an instant with just a thought. That's the Qiankun Escape Technique!"
Yang Kai listened with his jaw hanging open. "That's incredible?"
He realized that wasn't so different from his own Void Spirit Bead. Wherever the Void Spirit Bead was, that was his fixed point — a mere thought and he could teleport to its location. The principle was remarkably similar to this Qiankun Escape Technique.
The same went for Spatial Formation Arrays!
But comparing the three, his Void Spirit Bead was more convenient than a formation array, while the Qiankun Escape Technique seemed to have its own advantages and drawbacks.
"That's exactly how incredible it is!" Bai Qi said with a chuckle.
Yang Kai's expression darkened. "So that means Madam Lan used the Qiankun Escape Technique to get back to the First Inn before me?" By now he'd figured it out — he'd thought his earlier move was clever, but in Madam Lan's eyes, he'd simply walked right into her trap. The realization left him thoroughly frustrated.
At least the Golden Crow's corpse hadn't been snatched away, or he really would have coughed up blood.
"Here, I'll give you a bit of free advice," Bai Qi said, grinning at Yang Kai. "There are places called Qiankun Halls scattered throughout these Three Thousand Worlds. Every grand domain has at least one — some have four or five, others only a single one. All you have to do is spend some Open Heaven Pills to leave your aura at a Qiankun Hall, and after that, you can travel freely between any of them."
"Spatial Formation Arrays!" Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
Bai Qi laughed. "That's not wrong, but teleportation through spatial laws has distance limits. The Qiankun Escape Technique is different — as long as your body can withstand it, even within the same grand domain, no matter how far away, you can instantly arrive at any Qiankun Hall where you've left your imprint."
Yang Kai nodded in understanding. "That sounds incredibly convenient. I'll definitely have to check one out if I get the chance. Which faction controls the Qiankun Halls?"
Bai Qi replied, "They don't belong to any single faction. The Qiankun Halls were jointly built by the Thirty-Six Cavern Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. Each hall is guarded by disciples from those Cavern Heavens and Blessed Lands, so fighting inside one is absolutely forbidden. Do so, and you'll have made enemies of all of them."
Yang Kai was visibly startled. "The Qiankun Halls were built by all the Cavern Heavens and Blessed Lands working together?" But after a moment's thought, it made perfect sense. If something like this were controlled by a single faction, no one else would feel safe — and no single faction could maintain exclusive control over it either. It was only natural that the Thirty-Six Cavern Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands would share dominion.
Still, from what Bai Qi was saying, if he ever ran into trouble in the future, he could always take refuge in one of those Qiankun Halls.
"Now, can you tell me what actually happened on the Sun Star?"
Since they'd made the deal beforehand, Yang Kai naturally didn't go back on his word. He recounted his experiences on the Sun Star, and Bai Qi listened with stars in his eyes, marveling endlessly. He wasn't particularly surprised that Yang Kai had managed to conceal himself under the noses of those Open Heaven cultivators — any decent Artifact could accomplish that. What truly fascinated him was how Yang Kai had managed to escape their pursuit.
Yang Kai brushed him off with, "I've mastered the spatial laws and am particularly good at running away."
Besides, it wasn't exactly a secret. During his chase at the hands of Madam Lan and the others, he'd used Teleportation more times than he could count.
They chatted for a good while longer before Bai Qi finally said, tipsy, "That's enough for today. I've got to get back to work. The First Inn's been getting a lot of new arrivals lately — you'd better keep your head down. They're probably all here for you."
Watching Bai Qi leave, Yang Kai's face fell into a worried frown.
He opened his Ruyi Bag to check inside — the Golden Crow's corpse was still there. He'd managed to snatch the hot potato, but figuring out what to do with it was another problem entirely. Still, something this valuable would surely fetch a good price. At the very least, he needed to recoup the two Miemeng Golden Plumes he'd lost.
If all else failed, he could trade it for a piece of Seventh-Order Sun True Gold! That had been his original goal anyway. Once he refined the power of the Five Elements Fire, surely no one would bother targeting him anymore.
Besides, hiding in his room forever wasn't an option. He couldn't hole up here for the rest of his life. He still had some Open Heaven Pills left, but they wouldn't last forever.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai rose to his feet, pushed open the door, and headed straight downstairs.
When he reached the ground floor, Yang Kai swept his gaze across the hall and found it in complete uproar. The original seven or eight tables had been expanded to over a dozen, yet there still weren't enough seats. The entire hall was packed to the brim.
Bai Qi was darting about carrying plates of food when he looked up and spotted Yang Kai. He started in surprise. "Why did you come down?"
The moment those words left his lips, the raucous chatter in the hall fell dead silent. In a flurry of movement, dozens of pairs of eyes locked onto him, and divine senses swept over him without a shred of courtesy. In that instant, Yang Kai felt like a little lamb that had stumbled into a wolf's den — every hair on his body stood on end, and every sense of safety vanished.
Bai Qi shot him a thumbs-up, his expression clearly saying You've got guts, then ducked his head and went back to work.
Yang Kai looked around and, sure enough, spotted quite a few familiar faces. Of the mid-grade Open Heaven cultivators who had chased him before, all of them were present — except for Madam Lan, who was nowhere to be seen.