No one could remember the last time the Langya Domain had been this lively. Across every Spirit Continent, Open Heaven cultivators patrolled in groups, their Divine Senses sweeping outward in all directions as though searching for something. Even as they patrolled, they maintained vigilant expressions, World Forces coiled tightly around their bodies, ready to ward off ambush at any moment.
The lower-level Disciples who had no idea what was going on craned their necks to watch, faces full of curiosity.
"What are our Open Heaven cultivators doing? Has the Langya Domain been invaded?" someone asked.
An in-the-know informant sighed. "Not exactly invaders. It's just that a rather… special guest has arrived."
"A guest? What kind of guest would make so many Open Heaven cultivators mobilize all at once? I saw Senior Uncle Zhou earlier, and Senior Uncle Le Mang too—they were all rushing around with grim expressions."
"The Master of Void World, Yang Kai. Ever heard of him?"
"The name rings a bell. Feels like I've heard it somewhere before."
"Of course it rings a bell. The Star Field he came from now hosts a World Tree. Decades ago, didn't Langya select a batch of high-potential, low-cultivation Disciples and send them over for training?"
"So it's him!"
"This guest is no ordinary person. Apparently he's defeated a whole bunch of our Open Heaven Senior Uncles. The Sect Master has issued orders: all Sixth-Order cultivators in Langya are to participate in a trial hunt, and whoever manages to capture him gets a reward!"
"Doesn't that mean Yang Kai has to face every Sixth-Order cultivator in Langya single-handedly?"
"Exactly!"
"He's probably done for."
"That's what makes him extraordinary. The trial's been going on for over ten days, and this Master of Void World is still free as a bird. Meanwhile, Langya's Open Heaven cultivators have lost no fewer than a hundred to him!"
"Hah… you're joking, right?"
"I wish I were, but that's the truth. Ah—there's Senior Uncle Gu!"
The speaking Disciple suddenly looked up, gaze landing on a figure leading a group overhead. "Senior Uncle Gu!" he shouted.
The crowd of lower-level Disciples took up the cry. The name "Senior Uncle Gu" sent a wave of excitement crashing across the Spirit Continent.
Above, a beautiful woman led several Open Heaven cultivators in a rapid sweep across the sky. She glanced down at the noise, then offered a gentle smile.
The Disciples below went berserk. "Senior Uncle Gu smiled at me! Hahaha, Senior Uncle Gu smiled at me—I could die today with no regrets!"
"Bullshit! She was clearly smiling at me!"
"Junior Brother, are you blind?"
"Senior Brother, you're the blind one!"
The fervor of the lower-level Disciples was something to behold. Their adoration for this Senior Uncle Gu was sky-high, and for good reason. The woman, named Gu Ling'er, was not only strikingly beautiful but also unfailingly kind and warm-hearted, always willing to help others. Countless lower-level Disciples had benefited from her generosity. Her popularity soared not only among the junior ranks but among the Open Heaven cultivators as well.
More than a few brothers had harbored secret feelings for her, but none dared confess, afraid of offending the goddess.
While the junior Disciples were losing their minds, Langya's Open Heaven cultivators were on the verge of losing theirs.
Five days ago, Yang Kai had abruptly changed his tactics. Instead of hiding and lying low, he had begun launching proactive attacks at irregular intervals, and the number of Open Heaven cultivators eliminated in the trial had skyrocketed.
No one could figure out what he was thinking, but the entire Langya Domain had effectively been turned into a hunting ground—and the roles of hunter and prey between Yang Kai and Langya's Open Heaven cultivators flipped ceaselessly, moment by moment.
Every Spirit Continent bore the scars of battle.
After losing dozens of Open Heaven cultivators, word of Yang Kai's methods finally spread. Everyone learned that after defeating a fellow cultivator, he would forcefully peddle healing pills from Void World—one pill in exchange for a complete set of Sixth-Order resources!
And refusing to buy was not an option. One Sixth-Order Junior Brother had declined to purchase Yang Kai's healing pill, only to be hung up on a tree as a "sacrifice to the heavens"—right there on the Spirit Continent where the lower-level Disciples lived, for all to see. A crowd gathered to gawk, and the spectacle was spectacular.
Reportedly, that Junior Brother now carried deep psychological scars and felt he could never show his face in public again.
So Senior Brother Le Mang had issued a standing order: if you really got beaten by this guy, it was better to pay up and avoid trouble than to save those resources and lose a face that could never be recovered.
As a result, the Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order cultivators who had originally joined the trial hoping to pick up easy gains were now fleeing in terror.
There was no help for it. A set of Sixth-Order resources was simply far too expensive for the likes of them. Even born into Langya's blessed grounds, they could not produce such a sum. And judging by the accounts of those senior and junior brothers who had already crossed paths with Yang Kai, he showed no mercy based on your rank—all the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order cultivators he had defeated had been made to buy his pills without exception.
Yang Kai's behavior left every Sixth-Order cultivator in Langya seething with humiliation and rage.
Not only had this fellow toyed with Junior Sister Gu's affections and abandoned her, but he was now profiteering on a massive scale during this very trial! It was absolutely intolerable.
But one could not deny it—his strength was genuinely formidable. Even groups of two or three Sixth-Order cultivators traveling together fared no better when they ran into him.
As Senior Brother, Le Mang immediately took it upon himself to coordinate and direct the overall effort.