Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the black dot that had appeared in the void slowly expanded, quickly growing to the size of a baby's fist. From within that black dot emanated the aura of an entire world!
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, finally understanding why so many people had gathered here.
Xu Wang let out a low exclamation: "A Cave Heaven!"
The black dot that had suddenly appeared in the void was none other than a portal leading to some unknown Cave Heaven!
When a High-Order Open Heaven cultivator's Small World transitioned from ethereal to corporeal, if that Small World did not collapse upon the cultivator's death, it had a chance of being preserved. The Small Worlds left behind by Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators were known to the world as Blessed Lands, while those left behind by Eighth and Ninth-Order cultivators were called Cave Heavens.
The vast expanse of the heavens, the Three Thousand Worlds, countless Great Domains—any one of them could harbor Blessed Lands or Cave Heavens. The only difficulty lay in finding their portals.
But if one were to say which Great Domain contained the most Blessed Lands and Cave Heavens, it would undoubtedly be the Shattered Heaven. After all, this was where the great powers of antiquity had waged their wars, and the number of High-Order Open Heaven cultivators who had perished here was beyond counting.
Throughout the world, many Sects and forces—particularly the second-tier powers—maintained a permanent team exploring the Shattered Heaven, hoping to discover one of those hidden portals.
Before coming to the Shattered Heaven, Yang Kai had wondered whether he might stumble upon something by chance. But it was merely a passing thought—he hadn't harbored any real expectations.
The Shattered Heaven had existed for so long that any portals easy to find had long since been discovered. Those that remained undiscovered were naturally hidden extremely deep. And the Shattered Heaven was so immeasurably vast that even with his mastery of the Dao of Space, he couldn't be sure of finding anything.
Yet he had never imagined that while pursuing the Blood Crow, he would actually spot a Cave Heaven portal right before his eyes!
This was a relic left behind by, at minimum, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator—containing all of that powerhouse's possessions. Forget Mid-Order Open Heaven cultivators; even High-Order ones would be tempted.
While Yang Kai stood in a daze, the black dot had expanded to the size of a palm. Then, before everyone's eyes, the entrance to the Cave Heaven suddenly contracted and vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed at all.
Both Yang Kai and Xu Wang wore expressions of shock.
The burly man Yang Kai had questioned earlier had been staring at the portal with eager anticipation, his entire body thrumming with power, ready to charge in at any moment. But the portal's sudden disappearance dashed all his hopes, and he couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh, muttering curses under his breath.
From what he said, it seemed this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened—the portal had appeared before but never managed to fully open.
Yang Kai finally understood why this place had attracted so many people.
Clearly, this Cave Heaven's portal showed signs of opening for some unknown reason, but it had never managed to open completely all at once. Word had spread, and Open Heaven cultivators had gradually converged here, all waiting for the moment the portal would finally open wide, so they could rush in and plunder to their hearts' content.
"If Junior Brother made a move, could you force it open?" Xu Wang asked quietly through a secret transmission.
Yang Kai was silent for a moment, then nodded. "It would take some effort."
Xu Wang's eyebrows shot up. "Impressive, Junior Brother!"
Yang Kai looked at him belatedly. "Senior Brother Xu, you know who I am?"
The question seemed rather odd, since the two had only just parted ways outside the Gale Wind technique and had already exchanged names. But Xu Wang understood what he was asking.
He smiled slightly. "When I first heard your name, it sounded somewhat familiar. Then, after witnessing your abilities, I finally recalled that at the Yin Yang Heaven's Dao Discussion Assembly, there was someone who left several Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands in utter embarrassment—and even killed a Core Disciple of the Thousand Crane Blessed Land."
"Add to that the commotion about the Star Boundary's World Tree in the Lingxiao Domain these past few years. I may not pay much attention to outside affairs, but I've heard a thing or two. If it were just that, it wouldn't matter—billions of beings exist in this world, and sharing a name is hardly unusual. But a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator who completely outclasses even an old monster like the Blood Crow who had stolen a body for rebirth? If I still couldn't figure out who you were, I'd hardly be worthy of being called a man of the Bright King Heaven."
Yang Kai nodded gently.
Xu Wang stared in surprise. "You really are that Yang Kai of the Void Territory?"
Yang Kai laughed helplessly. "Hadn't you already guessed?"
Xu Wang slapped his forehead and grinned. "I was just guessing—I didn't expect it to actually be true." His eyes suddenly burned with excitement. "I heard you killed Zuo Quanhui! Is that real?"
Yang Kai said, "It's true, but there were other circumstances involved. It wasn't my doing alone!"
Xu Wang nodded. "Regardless of the method, killing a Seventh-Order cultivator while being only Sixth-Order is shocking enough. Uh, since you're stronger than me, shouldn't I be calling you Senior Brother?"
As he said this, there was a hint of embarrassment on Xu Wang's face. When he'd first met Yang Kai, he had taken the title of Senior Brother for granted, naturally assuming that as fellow Sixth-Order cultivators, no one from outside the major Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands could be a match. Now that he knew this Yang Kai was *that* Yang Kai, he could hardly keep up the pretense.