Thinking back to how the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had once faced the Great Demon God, it was remarkably similar to what he, Lü Baiyang, had just experienced. The difference was that back then, no powerful experts had descended from the heavens to mete out justice on their behalf — but today, Void Land's forces had pursued the enemy to its heels and unraveled what had been an inescapable death trap.
Lü Baiyang said with some embarrassment, "You flatter me, sir."
"What is this continent called?" Yang Kai asked casually.
Lü Baiyang answered respectfully, "Reporting to sir — this is the Azure Cloud Continent!" His heart hammered. These people really had come from beyond the stars; otherwise, they wouldn't have been unaware of even this continent's name.
He had long suspected that beyond the Azure Cloud Continent lay a vaster sky and a broader path of martial cultivation, but suspicion was only suspicion — it could never be confirmed. Everything he had witnessed today, however, verified those years of conjecture.
As though reading the eagerness in his eyes, Yang Kai smiled warmly. "You've already gained the acknowledgment of this world's Heavenly Dao and condensed your own Dao Imprint, achieving the status of Great Emperor. After that, the next step is to refine vast quantities of resources, gather the forces of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, and use them to create heaven and earth within your own body. That next realm is called the Open Heaven Realm!"
Lü Baiyang's face was filled with longing as he murmured in a daze, "Create heaven and earth…"
"I'll be staying here for some time," Yang Kai said. "Shortly, I'll have someone explain the subtleties of the Open Heaven Realm to you in detail."
Lü Baiyang was overjoyed and bowed so low his hands touched the ground. "Lü Baiyang thanks you for your grace, sir!"
Cultivating alone was like a blind man crossing a river — groping forward one step at a time. To have the guidance of a true expert and spare all that trial and error? How many detours could that save? It was an immense stroke of fortune.
Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively. "This calamity that befell the Azure Cloud Continent today — it was, in truth, somewhat related to me. The battle today has inflicted heavy losses on your continent, so consider this my compensation."
Lü Baiyang immediately protested that he wouldn't dare accept such a thing.
Yang Kai shifted the topic. "How old is the Azure Cloud Continent?"
Having received the acknowledgment of the Azure Cloud Continent's Heavenly Dao and achieved the body of a Great Emperor, when it came to knowledge of this world, no one could surpass Lü Baiyang.
Back when Yang Kai had become a Great Emperor, he had experienced the entire lifecycle of the Star Boundary — from its birth to its growth. Lü Baiyang's experience would have been much the same.
"Roughly no more than a million years," Lü Baiyang replied after a moment's thought.
Yang Kai nodded slightly. "Truly young!"
A world born no more than a million years ago — that was indeed young enough. And now it could basically be confirmed that this Great Domain was a newly formed one.
"Mo Mei," Yang Kai called out.
Mo Mei stepped forward two paces. "Sect Master!"
"Go back to the Star Boundary and bring people over. Spread them out and survey this entire Great Domain. If you discover anything unusual, report back immediately!"
"Yes!" Mo Mei acknowledged the order and turned to leave.
A newborn Great Domain — unclaimed territory, a fat piece of meat. Since Yang Kai had discovered this place, he naturally intended to seize the advantage of proximity. If this Great Domain truly harbored anything of value, deploying over a thousand Open Heaven Realm cultivators to search in all directions would surely turn up some clue.
Such a prize was not something Yang Kai would let slip by easily.
Void Land's finances were in dire straits. Having had its Domain Gates blockaded for years by Zuo Quanhui's Heavenly Sword Alliance, its accumulated reserves had been nearly depleted, and it was in urgent need of replenishment — otherwise, even the daily cultivation of its Disciples would become a problem.
The Star Market needed to have its trade restored, Void Land's material supplies had to be secured, and the matters of the Star Boundary still awaited discussion. Though this battle against Zuo Quanhui had been won, there was no shortage of things to deal with. Yang Kai couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, lamenting that only now, as a leader, did he understand how expensive salt and cooking oil could be — how much more comfortable it had been to be a hands-off boss.
The battle had been exhausting for everyone. Yang Kai instructed each person to find a place to rest and recuperate, then asked Yue He to brief Lü Baiyang on the basic knowledge of the Open Heaven Realm before finally entering seclusion.
Before his death, Zuo Quanhui had deliberately collapsed his own Small World, and the resulting World Force had flooded into Yang Kai's Small World. Although Yang Kai had promptly locked down heaven and earth, and Wu Kuang had further activated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art to devour the entire ten-thousand-li region's worldly foundation dry, some of that power had still seeped into Yang Kai's Small World.
This power that belonged to Zuo Quanhui was nothing short of impurity within Yang Kai's body — he had to find a way to purge it, or it would sooner or later undermine his foundation.
Lü Baiyang personally found a secluded location for Yang Kai's seclusion.
It was a forbidden ground belonging to one of the four great sects on the Azure Cloud Continent. Dingtian Peak had originally been an excellent place — otherwise, it could never have become the sacred peak in the hearts of the continent's martial artists. However, the recent battle had left the area around Dingtian Peak in ruins, and the sacred peak itself no longer existed.
Lü Baiyang was the foremost cultivator on the Azure Cloud Continent, a man of great prestige and respect. With him vouching, no one dared refuse.
Yang Kai entered the forbidden ground of a sect called the Hunyuan Gate without any trouble.
In truth, he hadn't insisted on using their forbidden ground for seclusion — for someone of his current level, any spot would do. But Lü Baiyang had offered, and Yang Kai simply gave him the face of accepting.
A group of Hunyuan Gate's senior leaders accompanied Lü Baiyang, watching with their own eyes as he treated the unfamiliar young man with the utmost deference — even adopting the posture of a junior disciple toward him. The sight left them thoroughly unnerved.
They knew exactly who Lü Baiyang was: the man who stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Azure Cloud Continent. What kind of person could possibly warrant such respectful treatment from him?
The old patriarchs exchanged uneasy glances, their minds churning with suspicion — yet not one of them could make heads or tails of it.