Half an hour later, Yang Kai emerged from the secret chamber, with Bian Yuqing following close behind. The two Third-Order cultivators from the Wind and Snow Sect had already revealed everything they knew and didn't know. Cross-referencing the information from both of them turned up nothing suspicious, so there was no need for further questioning.
"Sect Master, how should we handle those few factions?" Bian Yuqing asked in a soft voice.
The two from the Wind and Snow Sect had named quite a few powers in order to save their lives, but they couldn't confirm whether those factions actually had any collusion with the Heavenly Sword Alliance. It might have been nothing more than speculation, or simply indiscriminate accusations made out of desperation.
Which made handling those factions somewhat tricky.
"Send word to the Grand Governor — have them monitor everything closely. If there's even a whisper of movement..." Yang Kai paused, his voice turning cold. "Better to kill the wrong person than let one slip through!"
Bian Yuqing quickly acknowledged the order. "Yes!"
She understood that what Void Land lacked most right now was time. With just a little more time, Void Land could produce more Sixth-Order cultivators, and every one of them would be indispensable when fighting the Heavenly Sword Alliance. In times like these, information control was absolutely critical.
Otherwise, if Zuo Quanhui got wind of the situation here, he would launch an all-out attack without hesitation.
Zuo Quanhui's faction alone had previously forced the entirety of Void Land's leadership to mobilize. Now, backed by the full might of the Heavenly Sword Alliance, Void Land would be hard-pressed to mount any real defense without more Sixth-Order cultivators.
"What about those two?" Bian Yuqing asked again.
"Hold on to them for now," Yang Kai replied casually. Two Third-Order cultivators were beneath his notice, but since they had chosen to stand against Void Land, he would show no mercy. Once the fighting here was settled, he would send them to the Black Domain to work the mines. Luan Baifeng would surely be delighted to take on a new batch of mining slaves.
The orders were relayed, and the Star Market went into a state of heightened alert. Sure enough, three days later, another spy attempting to leave the Void Domain was caught. After interrogation and confirmation, he was detained as well.
Yang Kai had no idea how much longer Zuo Quanhui could hold his patience. The man had been leading the Heavenly Sword Alliance's blockade of the Domain Gate for three or four years now — not a short time, but not exactly long either. Long enough, however, for a fledgling power to be driven to the brink of collapse.
Void Land had risen to prominence only recently, unlike the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands that had accumulated wealth over countless ages. They had no deep reserves of resources, and now that the Star Market's revenue had been cut off entirely, the only thing keeping them afloat was the profit generated earlier by the Tianyuan Zhengyin Pills.
From Zuo Quanhui's perspective, he was in an unassailable position. All he had to do was wait quietly. Eventually, Void Land would grow desperate enough to break out in search of a way forward, and that was when he could deliver a crushing blow.
But his patience had its limits, and the information blockade around Void Land couldn't be airtight. The Star Market was one thing — there was less cause for concern there — but within the Void Domain itself, there were undoubtedly many more eyes hidden in the shadows, watching.
If the Nine Heavens Grand Array was activated too frequently, it would inevitably alert Zuo Quanhui. When that happened, he would certainly test their defenses.
So Yang Kai figured that Void Land could hold out in peace for at most another year or two.
That should be enough!
Three months later, the Red Dust Great Emperor successfully advanced to the Sixth Order. It went smoothly.
Another month passed, and the Beast Martial Great Emperor broke through to the Sixth Order without incident.
Two more months, and Fang Yue and Xiang Ying both ascended to the Sixth Order — a tense but ultimately uneventful process.
Right on their heels, the Flower Shadow and Ice Feather Great Emperors also reached the Sixth Order!
With that, the number of Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators in Void Land surged to sixteen — and that wasn't counting Luan Baifeng, who was still embedded within the Heavenly Sword Alliance.
The seven newly advanced Sixth-Order cultivators couldn't yet exert their full strength due to their unstable foundations, but they were still Sixth-Order. Even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.
Beyond that, Void Land had also seen over a hundred new Open Heaven cultivators below the Sixth Order. The entire territory could be said to have been swept up in a wave of Open Heaven advancement.
Just as Yang Kai had predicted, the frequent activation of the Nine Heavens Grand Array had drawn Zuo Quanhui's suspicion. The spies lurking deep within the Void Domain managed to get word out however they could, and the years of relative calm were finally shattered.
"Sect Master, a massive fleet of warships just poured through the Domain Gate from Feiyan Domain into the Void Domain. They've been confirmed as belonging to the Heavenly Sword Alliance. Sect Master Mao, who was stationed there, clashed with the enemy for a time."
On Dragon Peak, Yang Kai was examining Qing'er's condition following her metamorphosis when Bian Yuqing hurried over with an urgent expression.
Yang Kai looked over. "What's the situation?"
Ever since returning from the Black Domain to the Void Domain, Yang Kai had stationed Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, and Zhou Ya along with a group of Open Heaven cultivators to guard the Domain Gate. The dual purpose was to block any spies from reaching Feiyan Domain and to keep tabs on developments in that direction.
Over the past few years, the Heavenly Sword Alliance had conducted numerous small-scale probes, all of which had been easily repelled by Mao Zhe and the others. Since Zuo Quanhui had decided to starve Void Land out, he naturally wouldn't open hostilities before the time was right.
This time, however, the situation was clearly different from the minor skirmishes before.
Bian Yuqing shook her head. "Something's wrong. The Heavenly Sword Alliance has deployed multiple Sixth-Order cultivators. Sect Master Mao and the others have been forced to retreat. The Domain Gate has fallen into the Heavenly Sword Alliance's hands."