"It's a long shot, but let's give it a try. If it fails, don't blame me. If it works, you're buying me a drink later!" As he spoke, Yang Kai produced a jade bottle, popped the cap, pried open Old Bai's mouth, and poured the contents straight in.
Old Bai swallowed the entire bottle without warning, and before he could ask what it was, his expression suddenly stiffened. He stared wide-eyed at Yang Kai, his face filled with utter shock.
"Well?" Yang Kai asked tensely, watching him.
A long moment passed before Old Bai's eyes suddenly lit up, as though something had clicked into place. He blurted out in disbelief, "Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid?!"
"Does it actually work or not?" Yang Kai wanted to kick him. Now was hardly the time to harp on trivialities.
"Got any more?" Old Bai smacked his lips, his expression far from satisfied.
"Yes!" Yang Kai didn't waste words. He produced another bottle of Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid and tipped it into Old Bai's mouth.
Old Bai gulped it down in one swallow, then drew in a deep breath. The dejection and gloom from before vanished entirely, replaced by a surge of vigor and confidence. "Get back! Watch me, Old Bai, break through to the Open Heaven Realm today and seek the Great Dao!"
Yang Kai promptly took off, flying a full hundred li before he stopped.
From afar, he could see Old Bai sitting cross-legged in the void, his hands forming seals. Even across the hundred-li distance, Yang Kai could clearly sense the chaotic forces within Old Bai rapidly settling down, while a profound and mysterious aura began to ripple outward.
It actually worked! Seeing this, the tension in Yang Kai's chest finally eased.
He'd only acted on a sudden impulse — remembering to give Old Bai some Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid — and had no idea what specific effect it would have.
Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid was something he'd brought back from the Heavenly Secret Realm where the Void Heaven Palace stood. It was a spiritual essence that could only be born when heaven and earth first came into being. He had collected quite a bit of it at the time, though he'd barely used any since.
He had heard, however, that the reason the Iron Blood Great Emperor surpassed other Great Emperiors in combat strength was precisely because he had consumed Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid inside the Void Heaven Palace.
Yang Kai had tried it himself once. The sensation of the spiritual liquid spreading through his body, and the feeling of splitting heaven and earth in that hazy trance, remained vivid in his memory. Old Bai's current condition was essentially a disorder of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements — an unstable nascent Small Universe World within his body. Yang Kai had figured Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid might help.
Now it was clear it hadn't merely helped — it was exactly the right remedy.
As time trickled by, the chaotic aura faded away, replaced by the mutual generation and restraint of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. Threads of the World's might began to seep outward from Old Bai's body. Under the sweep of his divine sense, Yang Kai could sense what seemed like a brand-new world being born over there.
Yang Kai's spirits lifted, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the scene.
Though he himself was still untold ages away from advancing to the Open Heaven Realm, having this opportunity to observe the process firsthand would give him a wealth of experience to draw on when his own breakthrough eventually came.
Boom...
A deep, resonant sound rolled over from a hundred li away — the impact of a great bell tolling from within Old Bai's body. As the sound rippled outward, a shockwave expanded from him in concentric rings.
With each ripple, Old Bai's aura grew a shade deeper and more refined.
Boom, boom, boom...
The shockwaves kept spreading, and Old Bai's aura climbed steadily higher, every trace of that earlier disorder gone. Behind him, a hazy phantom slowly took shape.
At first the image was indistinct, but as time passed it gradually solidified.
Yang Kai looked on in wonder — because the phantom was unmistakably the First Outpost. The sight before him made it seem as though he had stepped back inside it.
This must be Old Bai's Small Universe World! Yang Kai realized.
So far, the only Small Universe World belonging to an Open Heaven Realm master that he had truly witnessed was Duan Hai's — the Earth Protector of the Fire Spirit Land at the Seven Artistry Grounds. Back when the Myriad Knot Worm had devoured him and separated him from Zhang Ruoxi, Duan Hai had drawn him into that world. It had been a vast ocean with a lone island rising from its center.
It seemed that every warrior's Small Universe World was unique. Old Bai was a worker at the First Outpost, and the place held deep significance for him — so his Small Universe World, condensed upon breaking through to Open Heaven, was modeled after it.
Yang Kai gained a flash of insight.
Over at Old Bai's side, the process was already stabilizing. His breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm was now only a matter of time. Yang Kai himself had taken no small amount of injuries, so he simply sat cross-legged and began regulating his breath to heal.
Days passed. The aura of the World's might on that side grew denser and denser, and gradually the ethereal Small Universe World solidified. Then, without warning, a staggering wave of pressure erupted from Old Bai.
Within his Small Universe World, Old Bai opened his eyes. Lightning crackled through the void as he raised his head and let out a long, soaring howl, the sound rolling like thunder through the nine heavens.
The Small Universe World flashed once and vanished, sinking back into Old Bai's body.
In the next instant, a figure streaked across Yang Kai's vision. Old Bai had crossed the hundred-li distance and now stood before him, grinning broadly. "Hold off on the congratulations — I owe you that drink. How long has it been?"