Yang Kai also looked forward to the day when the Nine Heavens Grand Formation would be deployed.
However, for now, he needed to seek out some powerful Artifacts first; otherwise, even if the grand formation was completed, it wouldn't have much power.
After doing some mental calculations, he figured he needed at least one defensive Artifact and one offensive Artifact—and that was only the minimum requirement. The more Artifacts there were, the greater the formation's power would be!
He was going to have to spend a fortune again, Yang Kai thought to himself.
Several days later, three figures shot out from the gap in Void Land's grand formation—Yang Kai, the Landlady, and Yue He.
Below, Chen Tianfei, Lu Xue, Guo Ziyan, and the others bowed to see them off.
Yang Kai was heading out to seek Artifacts that would serve as the many formation nodes for the grand formation. This was something only the Landlady could help with—asking her to introduce him to Artifact Refining Grandmasters.
Yang Kai knew virtually nothing about the Thirty Thousand Worlds and had no idea where to find such people.
They certainly existed within those great Caves and Blessed Lands, but Yang Kai had no way to get in, let alone whether they would even receive him.
He had originally intended for it to be just the two of them—the Landlady and himself—but before departure, the Landlady insisted on bringing Yue He along.
Yang Kai didn't understand. He had wanted to leave Yue He behind to hold down Void Land, but since the Landlady insisted, he went along with it. Fortunately, even though Void Land's defensive strength was thin, they still had Zhu Jiuyin.
He instructed her to watch the house, and she wouldn't slack off. Her strength hadn't fully recovered yet, and she still needed considerable time to adapt to the laws of heaven and earth of the outside world, but if it truly came to a fight, an average mid-rank Open Heaven cultivator would certainly be no match for her.
He doubted anyone foolish enough would go looking for trouble at Void Land.
First, they went to the Qiankun Hall in the Void Domain and left behind his soul imprint. That way, Yang Kai could use the Qiankun Escape Technique in the future to save some travel time.
After leaving the Qiankun Hall, the Landlady summoned her tower ship, and they sped along the way.
After passing through several great domains in succession, on this particular day, upon entering a great domain, the Landlady finally withdrew the tower ship.
"Are we there?" Yang Kai asked.
The Landlady didn't answer. She merely looked at Yue He with a smile.
Yue He's face had gone somewhat pale. She looked at the Landlady timidly and said, "Sister... what happened back then was entirely my doing. If you wish to punish me, then punish me—please don't implicate others. Please, show mercy, Sister."
As she spoke, she was about to kneel.
The Landlady reached out to support her and chuckled lightly. "What are you thinking? What do you think I brought you here for?"
Yue He looked at her and said, "Don't you mean... to fulfill that Heart Demon Oath?"
"Heart Demon Oath?" Yang Kai was startled. How had this suddenly come back to the Heart Demon Oath again? Back at Void Land, Yue He had nearly killed herself over this very Heart Demon Oath, and it was only because the Landlady had intervened in time that she'd been stopped.
Over the past days, the two sisters had been getting along fairly well, with little visible rift between them, and Yang Kai had assumed the matter was behind them. But now, hearing the Heart Demon Oath mentioned again, he immediately sensed that things were about to go south.
The Landlady nodded and said, "The Heart Demon Oath cannot be dissolved—it must be fulfilled. However... there is still room for maneuver. Follow me."
Saying this, she took the lead and headed forward.
Yang Kai and Yue He exchanged a glance and hurried after her.
Halfway there, Yang Kai took out the Qiankun Map for a look and found that it was exactly as he'd guessed—this was the Cuiwei Domain, and within this great domain there was a second-rate power that wasn't really a second-rate power: Yue He's Cuiwei Palace!
Cuiwei Palace had only one Open Heaven cultivator—Yue He, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven—while everyone else was below the Open Heaven realm.
The reason it could be called a second-rate power was that Yue He was there holding the fort. The reason it couldn't was that it lacked the heritage of a true second-rate power.
Still, Cuiwei Domain had indeed been named after Cuiwei Palace.
What was the Landlady planning to do? Yang Kai felt a vague sense of worry, though he also felt she wouldn't go too far.
It didn't take long before they arrived at Cuiwei Palace. It was situated on a Spirit Island—not very large, with a shallow foundation. Yue He had cultivated it for a thousand years, but one person could only do so much, and she hadn't invested too much effort into it.
The three of them stopped at the outskirts of Cuiwei Palace, and the Landlady ordered, "Bring out all of your people."
Yue He pressed her red lips together, gave a soft acknowledgment, then rushed into Cuiwei Palace and quickly disappeared from sight.
Yang Kai turned to look at the Landlady, wanting to ask what she was really planning, but not knowing how to raise the question. He could only wait patiently.
Soon, figures began flying out of Cuiwei Palace, heading toward them under Yue He's lead. There weren't many—only two or three thousand. For a so-called second-rate power, this was rather meager, but Yue He had never created Cuiwei Palace to develop a faction. She had merely been looking for a place to shelter. These people were all ones she had taken in over the years, and there was no real hierarchy between them and her.
The warriors' strength varied wildly—Emperor Realm cultivators were rare even among them. Yue He had to constantly channel her power to protect them just to keep them alive in the Void.
"Sister, everyone has been brought out," Yue He said softly, head lowered, looking as though she was ready to accept whatever judgment was handed down.
The Landlady gave a gentle nod and slowly raised one palm. The aura of World Force began to spread from her body, and she spoke in a soft voice: "Outside Suoyang Land all those years ago, this Empress swore a Heart Demon Oath. Unless this oath is resolved, there is no hope of reaching the Seventh Order in this lifetime. Little Xiao He, today this Empress will settle this grudge with you!"