Upon learning that Yang Kai had returned from the Divine Weapon World, Qing Kui came to offer his congratulations, bringing along a considerable amount of fine wine.
The two drank together and conversed at length, enjoying themselves thoroughly.
Qing Kui was particularly envious that Yang Kai had refined thirty percent of the Divine Weapon World's World Force in a single visit. He himself had once entered the Divine Weapon World for training and naturally knew the situation within that minor Source World, yet like all the Yin Yang Heaven Disciples who had entered before him across the ages, he had only managed to refine ten percent.
Refining thirty percent — it was not that he hadn't wanted to, but that he couldn't.
Those ten Great Divine Weapons were manifestations of the World Source. Once you refined even a single one, you would be immediately expelled. Trying to stay by force was an exercise in futility.
"While you were in the Divine Weapon World, Master personally paid a visit to the Thousand Cranes Blessed Land regarding that Zhao Xing matter. However, their attitude remained ambiguous — it seems they won't let things go easily. You'll need to be careful going forward." Qing Kui drained his cup and lowered his voice in warning.
"I know. Lord Xu already spoke to me about this."
Qing Kui sighed. "To be honest, you can hardly be blamed for this. It was that Zhao Xing who provoked you first on the Sin Star, trying to kill you and steal your battle record. He brought it upon himself. But now that he's dead, the Thousand Cranes Blessed Land will inevitably demand an explanation. Out of respect for our Yin Yang Heaven's prestige, they may not act openly, but open spears are easy to dodge while hidden arrows are hard to guard against. The worry is that they'll employ some underhanded tactic behind the scenes — those old fellows who have lived for countless years are not to be trifled with."
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Qing. I will be careful in the future." Yang Kai nodded.
Several days later, a great ship slowly sailed out from the Yin Yang Heaven. Two massive banners fluttered in the wind atop the vessel — one inscribed with the character "Yin" and the other with "Yang," representing the hallmark of the Yin Yang Heaven.
On board, apart from the warriors crewing the ship, only Yang Kai and his servant Gray Bones were present.
At the bow, Yang Kai cupped his fists. "Lord Xu, I take my leave."
Xu Linggong stood with his hands clasped behind his back, offering a slight nod. "Go on. Return to Void Land and cultivate diligently. Don't go wandering everywhere. Strive to advance to the seventh rank as soon as possible. If you encounter any difficulties, send word and I will handle it."
"Thank you, Lord Xu!"
Yang Kai then turned to Qing Kui and Su Yingxue. "Senior Brother Qing, Senior Sister Su, I'll have to trouble you both to look after Senior Sister Qu."
Qing Kui grinned. "Rest easy — little Qu won't suffer any mistreatment."
"Green mountains endure, and—"
"Shut your mouth and get moving!" Xu Linggong waved him off impatiently.
Yang Kai cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Farewell!"
The great ship began to glide forward, and moments later it was hurtling through space at extraordinary speed. After several hours, it had already reached the Domain Gate of the Yin Yang Domain.
A brilliant screen of light enveloped the ship, shielding it from the impact and turbulence of passing through the Domain Gate. Space twisted and distorted, and by the time Yang Kai collected himself, the ship had already exited the Yin Yang Domain.
From here, the crew would handle navigation, so Yang Kai had little to concern himself with. He stood on the deck, silently circulating his cultivation technique, focusing his mind as he inspected the gains from his time in the Divine Weapon World.
Within the Minor Cosmos of every Open Heaven Realm cultivator lay the Dao imprints of their lifelong cultivation. During the process of achieving the Open Heaven Realm, a warrior's Dao Seal would disintegrate and dissolve into the Minor Cosmos, and the Dao Seal was itself the crystallization of the warrior's personal Great Dao.
In essence, a warrior's entire Great Dao was fused into their Minor Cosmos.
Within Yang Kai's Minor Cosmos, the most fundamental was the Dao of Space. Secondary to that were the Dao of Alchemy, the Dao of the Spear, the Dao of Strength, and others.
Now, however, he could clearly sense that something new had appeared within his Minor Cosmos. The Dao imprints of Alchemy and Spear had condensed considerably, but the most dramatic improvement was in the Dao of the Sword.
This was clearly a harvest from the Divine Weapon World. At the final moment, he had refined the Medicine King Cauldron, the Ten-Direction Evil Shadow Spear, and the Qingxu Sword — three of the Great Divine Weapons — and the supreme Dao principles they embodied had been absorbed into his Minor Cosmos as well.
The benefits this brought were not merely an enhancement of his Minor Cosmos's foundation, but also a condensation of his Dao imprints.
If living beings were to exist within his Minor Cosmos, they would have the opportunity to gain insight into the mysteries of the Great Dao by contemplating these imprints, making faster progress in the Daos of Alchemy, Sword, and Spear.
However, although Yang Kai's Minor Cosmos had transitioned from illusory to real — comparable to that of a high-rank Open Heaven cultivator — he had no intention of populating it with living beings. Though his current cultivation was fairly impressive, there was still a gap compared to true high-rank cultivators. Should he ever face a powerful enemy in battle, his Minor Cosmos could easily be shaken.
If the tremors reached a certain threshold, the living beings within would inevitably be affected — for them, it would be no different from a natural catastrophe.
It was precisely because of this consideration that even high-rank Open Heaven cultivators rarely housed living beings within their Minor Cosmoses. Even though they knew that the proliferation of life helped strengthen a Minor Cosmos's foundation and increase World Force.
Only those with supreme confidence in their own strength, or those who were indifferent to the fate of ordinary beings, would brazenly undertake the practice of nurturing living beings within their own Minor Cosmos.
While he was conducting his inspection, Yang Kai suddenly furrowed his brow and looked up in a particular direction.
There, standing silently in the void, was another tower ship. On its deck, two figures stood one behind the other, their gazes piercing through the distance like bolts of lightning, fixed squarely upon him.
Even from so far away, Yang Kai could feel the bone-deep hatred burning in those two pairs of eyes.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"My Lord!" Gray Bones had also sensed the hostility from that direction and hurried over. "I don't know who those people are, but they seem quite hostile toward us."