Compared to the Three Thousand Worlds with its long and storied history, both the newly born Void Land and Yang Kai himself were nothing but fledgling newcomers.
This vast expanse held far too many secrets he had yet to uncover, far too many sights he had yet to see.
Just as Xu Linggong had said, the secret of the Hall of Ends concerned the safety of the Three Thousand Worlds, and Yang Kai still couldn't piece together why.
The Hall of Ends served as a waystation for cultivators. As long as one left an aura imprint within it, one could use the Void Escape Technique from anywhere within the same great domain and instantly return to the Hall. The thing was certainly wondrous beyond measure, but what did it have to do with the safety of the Three Thousand Worlds?
There was no point fretting over things he couldn't figure out. The time would come when he'd understand the root of it all.
Yang Kai was gazing at the massive Gale Wind Divine Ability before him, preparing to charge into it, when a figure suddenly burst out from within the gale.
The man's clothes were tattered and stained with blood, nearly crashing right into Yang Kai.
Yang Kai hastily halted his momentum. The figure rushing out was also startled—clearly not expecting to encounter a living person in this place.
But his reaction was incredibly swift. With a sharp turn he brushed past Yang Kai and landed cautiously a hundred zhang away, staring back in astonishment.
Yang Kai sized him up. Though the man looked wretched and his aura was weak, he was clearly a Sixth Order Open Heaven cultivator. What was more, the dense wounds covering his body were flickering with faint golden light, and under that glow, the flesh around the wounds squirmed and rapidly healed.
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. The sight before him instantly reminded him of a secret technique unique to one of the great Cave Heavens—the Immovable Ming Wang Body!
Fortunately, the Star Boundary's World Tree was renowned throughout the world. Yang Kai had recently been stationed in the Star Boundary and had interacted with the Upper Order Open Heaven cultivators from all one hundred and eight Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands. Under Xu Linggong's deliberate and inadvertent tutelage, he had gained some understanding of these top-tier forces.
Among the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens, there existed Ming Wang Heaven, whose disciples were all formidable body refiners with physiques so extraordinary they far surpassed cultivators of the same order. This was because Ming Wang Heaven possessed the Immovable Ming Wang Body, a technique perfectly suited for body refinement.
From top to bottom in Ming Wang Heaven—whether Sect Masters, Elders, or ordinary Disciples—all were proficient in body refinement. Those qualified to practice the Immovable Ming Wang Body were the cream of the crop.
They didn't much care for using Artifacts either. Their bodies were the greatest Artifact of all. Across the entire vast expanse, Ming Wang Heaven had collected more body refinement techniques and secret arts than anyone. Techniques like the Immovable Ming Wang Body, the Vajra Indestructible Body, and the Flawless Golden Body—which were rarely seen on the outside—could be found in abundance within Ming Wang Heaven.
Xu Linggong had once joked that cultivators from Ming Wang Heaven were best described in two words: damn tough! Whether male or female, they had thick skin and rough hides, paying no mind to injuries that would give others pause.
When cultivators of equal order clashed, unless one side possessed overwhelming finishing power, it was usually the Ming Wang Heaven cultivator who prevailed in the end—wearing their opponent down through sheer physical endurance.
Yang Kai hadn't expected to run into a Ming Wang Heaven cultivator here of all places. And as it turned out, just as Xu Linggong had described, these guys who practiced the Immovable Ming Wang Body were all death-defying maniacs who regularly needed external forces to hammer their bodies into shape.
The fact that this man had burst out of that enormous Gale Wind Divine Ability meant he had clearly been using it to temper his body!
Yang Kai felt a surge of respect. This level of physical conditioning was nearly comparable to his own half-dragon physique. After all, that Gale Wind Divine Ability had very likely been left behind by a Ninth Order Open Heaven cultivator—even ordinary Upper Order cultivators would struggle to survive inside. Yet this Sixth Order cultivator before him, despite looking battered, had suffered nothing more than superficial wounds.
Yang Kai had a powerful body because of his Dragon Clan bloodline. This man, on the other hand, had forged his through pure, hard-won cultivation.
"Junior Brother, are you here for body refinement too?" The man raised an eyebrow and asked.
"That's right," Yang Kai said with a nod and a smile.
The man's eyes lit up immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot Yang Kai a big thumbs-up: "Good eye, good guts!" He then jabbed the thumb toward his own nose and declared with supreme confidence: "You've got a bit of my style!"
Yang Kai chuckled. Now that he'd confirmed the man was from Ming Wang Heaven, there was no need for caution. Cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands didn't ordinarily go looking for trouble.
"Xu Wang!" The young man introduced himself and looked at Yang Kai with eager warmth. "And what should I call you, Junior Brother?"
Both being Sixth Order, he unhesitatingly cast himself as the senior—clearly a man of easygoing temperament.
"Yang Kai!"
"So it's Junior Brother Yang." Xu Wang nodded slightly. As they spoke, the dense wounds across his body had already fully healed. His energy was still a bit low, but a short rest would restore him. He said enthusiastically: "Since you've set your sights on this Gale Wind Divine Ability and want to go inside for body refinement, then as your Senior Brother, I have to give you a word of caution."
"Please, Senior Brother Xu!" Yang Kai gestured for him to continue.
Xu Wang said: "The interior of this ability really is an excellent place for body refinement, but it's also extraordinarily dangerous. You need to be careful, Junior Brother—especially watch out for a type of Wind Spirit that breeds inside. Don't let them get close. Those things are incredibly annoying. They can devour World Force to grow stronger, and the more you fight them, the more powerful they become. But if you leave them alone, they cling to you like maggots on rotting bone. And what's worse, they can infiltrate a cultivator's Little Universe."