The journey back to Void Territory from the Shattered Heaven was long and arduous. Since this was Honghu's first time leaving the Ancestral Land and she had never left a mark at any of the Qiankun Palaces across the various Great Domains, there was no way to use them as waypoints. As a result, the two of them had to fly through each Great Domain under their own power.
This inevitably took more time than Yang Kai's original trip.
Yang Kai didn't return directly to Void Territory. Instead, he made a detour to the Dayan Domain first.
He still remembered the palace artifact he had commissioned Master Trouble to forge.
After all these years, that palace artifact should be finished by now. Ever since he had witnessed the marvels of the Heavenly Sword Palace belonging to the Heavenly Sword Alliance, Yang Kai had been itching to get his hands on a palace artifact of his own.
The Dragon Clan's Crystal Palace could technically be considered a palace artifact—and a supremely high-end one at that—but it was tied to the Dragon Clan's cultivation and heritage, and not something to be used lightly. When Yang Kai had departed the Ancestral Land before, he had left the Crystal Palace behind at the Four Phoenix Pavilion.
Dayan Domain. Yang Kai found the entrance to the Dayan Blessed Land with practiced ease. Cupping his fists, he called out in a loud voice: "Master, this junior has come as promised. Please reveal yourself."
After a single call, the portal opened.
Yang Kai and Honghu flashed inside.
A figure came to meet them from ahead—it was a young, fresh-faced girl.
"Junior Sister Cen!" Yang Kai nodded in greeting, recognizing her as one of the remnants of the Dayan Blessed Land, a Fourth-Order Opening Heaven named Cen Cen. Last time he had been here, he had met several Open Heaven cultivators from the Dayan Blessed Land, and Cen Cen had been one of them. There had also been a Sixth-Order named Nalan Lushui, who was nowhere to be seen now—he had no idea where she had gone.
"Senior Brother Yang!" Cen Cen returned the greeting, then glanced curiously at Honghu behind Yang Kai.
"Is the Master here?" Yang Kai asked.
Cen Cen nodded. "He is. The old ancestor has been waiting for you. What you wanted has already been forged. However…"
"However what?" Yang Kai's heart skipped a beat, wondering if something had gone wrong with his palace artifact.
Cen Cen lowered her voice. "The old ancestor's been in a bit of a foul mood lately."
Yang Kai laughed. "Why's that?"
"Some annoying people showed up." Cen Cen pouted. "You'll understand when you see him."
With that, she took the lead and headed inside.
Yang Kai found this rather puzzling. The ruins of the Dayan Blessed Land were known to very few—he had only learned of them thanks to the proprietress. How could anyone have found their way here? And given Master Trouble's cultivation and status, who could possibly put him in a bad mood?
Following Cen Cen along the path, they soon arrived at Master Trouble's place of seclusion.
Before they even got close, Honghu whispered in Yang Kai's ear: "Be careful. There are several capable youngsters inside."
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow slightly. Honghu was the equivalent of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, and even among Eighth-Order practitioners she was one of the best. If she called someone "capable," they certainly weren't some nobody—they had to be Seventh-Order or above.
And the only Seventh-Order and above cultivators around belonged to the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.
Up ahead, Cen Cen stopped and turned around. "The old ancestor is inside. Go on in yourself, Senior Brother."
"Thank you, Junior Sister Cen."
Cen Cen rolled her eyes playfully. "If you really want to thank me, put in a good word with the old ancestor. When you head back to the Star Boundary, take me with you. I haven't seen Senior Sister Nalan in years, and I really miss her."
"I'll do my best," Yang Kai said with a slight smile.
Cen Cen clenched her fists and pumped them encouragingly. "I'm counting on you!"
After Cen Cen left, Yang Kai and Honghu stepped forward into the great hall. Instantly, several gazes swept toward them.
Yang Kai looked up and couldn't help but show a look of surprise. Staring at one of the elders, he blurted out with a laugh: "Elder Yu?"
The old man was none other than Yu Changdao of the Xiaoyao Blessed Land—who was also nominally the Supreme Guest Elder of Lingxiao Palace. Back then, Yu Changdao had taken a fancy to a naturally Dao-Body infant in the Star Boundary and wanted to take him as a Personal Disciple. Unfortunately, the child's mother had insisted on honoring her late husband's dying wish to have the boy join Lingxiao Palace.
No matter how Yu Changdao tried to persuade her, the mother wouldn't budge.
In the end, it was Yang Kai who had come up with the offbeat idea of having Yu Changdao join Lingxiao Palace as a Supreme Guest Elder. That way, even if the child studied under Yu Changdao, he would still technically be a Lingxiao Palace Disciple. Yu Changdao finally got what he wanted, and Lingxiao Palace gained a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator as a Supreme Guest Elder!
A happy ending for everyone!
Since Yang Kai had left the Star Boundary, he had first gone to repair Qiankun Palaces at various locations, then traveled to the Black Prison to relocate the mining star, subsequently cultivating within the Gale Wind Divine Ability in the Shattered Heaven, then pursued by enemies over the Heavenly Earth Spring, entered the Ancestral Land to break the seal on the Demon Territory, refined his Dragon Vein to become a true dragon.
In the blink of an eye, decades had passed.
Yang Kai had never expected to run into Yu Changdao here.
Not only that—the other several people in the room were all familiar faces, and they happened to be the External Affairs Envoys of various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands who should have been stationed in the Star Boundary.
Besides Yu Changdao of the Xiaoyao Blessed Land, there was Hong Xiangling of the Qingxu Heaven—that old coot had once been extremely eager to play matchmaker for Yang Kai, leaving a deep impression on him. There was also Duan Ruishan of the Wuxiang Heaven, and Lu Zhengyang of the Qingming Blessed Land.
Four Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators in total. Each one of them virtually represented their respective Cave Heaven or Blessed Land wherever they went.