After all this time spent exploring, not a single trace of any Kaitian Realm cultivator had been found in this great domain. The martial arts level across the various Qiankun Worlds that had been discovered was also generally quite low — most couldn't even compare to Biyun Continent. A few could match it, and only one surpassed it. That particular Qiankun World had produced several Great Emperors, but it had stopped there.
This was a fairly obvious characteristic of newly emerged great domains — martial arts was still in its nascent stages.
Now that Void Land possessed such a great domain brimming with treasures and resources, its prospects were boundless. But for the moment, it appeared somewhat lacking in foundation.
Previously, having over a thousand Kaitian Realm cultivators had seemed like a considerable number. Across the Three Thousand Worlds, second-rate forces that could rival Void Land were not nonexistent, but they certainly weren't plentiful.
Yet those thousand-odd Kaitian Realm cultivators needed people to garrison Void Land, guard its Star Market, and explore and develop this new great domain — which of those tasks didn't demand massive manpower? Especially the last one; forget a thousand Kaitian Realm cultivators, even throwing ten thousand in might barely be enough.
Yang Kai could only console himself that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and a meal is eaten one bite at a time. Void Land's rise had been brief — to already have so many Kaitian Realm cultivators was remarkable growth. How could he be so greedy as to bite off more than he could chew?
The Domain Gates required jade tokens for entry and exit, which meant people had to be stationed both inside and outside. First, to keep watch and prevent people with malicious intent from forcing their way in; second, to serve as gatekeepers.
This was a trivial matter that didn't require Yang Kai's attention — Yue He would handle the arrangements.
Passing through the Domain Gate, Yang Kai returned to the great domain where the Star Realm was located.
Several months ago, he had led numerous Sixth-Order cultivators in a desperate battle to intercept the Heavenly Sword Palace tens of thousands of miles from the Star Realm. In the end, borrowing the power of heaven and earth to temporarily advance to the Seventh-Order, he had shattered the Heavenly Sword Palace.
The Domain Gate that battle had torn open was only tens of thousands of miles from the Star Realm.
So the moment he emerged from the new domain, Yang Kai could already see the Star Realm.
What he saw made him pause in mild surprise. "How has it grown taller again?"
The World Tree stood even higher than it had four months ago. He recalled that when he had rushed back from Void Land, the World Tree had been only a few hundred zhang tall. But after that earth-shattering battle — with countless Kaitian Realm casualties — all the scattered world's might had been absorbed by the World Tree as nourishment for its growth, causing it to suddenly soar into a colossal entity several thousand zhang tall.
Now, even from the void tens of thousands of miles away, gazing at the Star Realm, the World Tree's silhouette was clearly visible, standing majestic and vast, blocking out sky and earth.
What surprised Yang Kai even more was that the Demon Realm — which had previously been separated from the Star Realm by some distance — had now merged with it into one!
Within the Star Realm, lush greenery flourished, saturated with the densest vitality. Within the Demon Realm, dark demonic energy churned and rolled. One green, one black — distinct yet complementing each other in radiant glory!
The World Tree's gnarled, interlocking roots pierced through both worlds, binding the Demon Realm and the Star Realm tightly together!
This was something Yang Kai had never anticipated, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether it was a good thing or a bad one.
"Junior Brother Yang!" Qing Kui had been stationed nearby and rushed over as soon as Yang Kai appeared.
Yang Kai nodded and clasped his hands. "Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother Qing."
Qing Kui laughed. "I just made a trip — nothing worth calling hard work."
"Has Lord Xu arrived?" Yang Kai asked.
Qing Kui nodded and lowered his voice. "Master heard about the situation here and came immediately. Time was tight, so he only managed to invite a few friends who happened to be visiting Yin Yang Heaven. But more will arrive in the coming days — Master has already sent disciples to deliver messages to quite a few Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands."
After a brief hesitation, Qing Kui added, "Junior Brother Yang, Master asked me to pass along a message: in the coming years, the Star Realm will certainly become a place of turmoil across the entire Three Thousand Worlds, and the focus of the One Hundred and Eight top-grade powers. He urges you to exercise extreme caution in all things."
Yang Kai smiled faintly. "Naturally, I'm well aware of that."
He gave Qing Kui's shoulder a light pat. "Come — let's go meet Lord Xu and the other seniors."
His figure flickered, crossing tens of thousands of miles in an instant, bringing Qing Kui, Su Yingxue, and Yue He back to Lingxiao Palace in the blink of an eye.
Inside the main hall, Hua Qingsi sat in her chair with nothing to do. Her vision blurred as Yang Kai and the three others materialized, and she quickly rose to her feet. "Palace Master!"
Yang Kai gave a slight nod. Qing Kui looked around and asked in surprise, "Where are my Master and the other seniors?"
Hua Qingsi smiled ruefully. "Those old seniors said they wanted to look around, and I couldn't very well stop them."
Yang Kai extended his divine sense and immediately detected their presence, chuckling with amusement. "Then we'll just have to wait a while." In his perception, the Star Realm had indeed gained several powerful auras, scattered across different locations.
They were all Seventh-Order Kaitian Realm cultivators of formidable strength. Within the small Star Realm, they could move about freely. Yang Kai saw no reason to stop them — and couldn't have even if he'd wanted to.