A grand trial at the Open Heaven Realm level had taken place in Langya, and though its conclusion was somewhat imperfect, it was still acceptable enough.
And during this trial, Yang Kai had truly shone. As the trial's target, he had beaten nearly every Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator in all of Langya!
Although every Sixth-Order Open Heaven in Langya had ground their teeth in hatred toward Yang Kai during the trial, his overwhelming strength had still earned the admiration of many.
Langya had its own deep reserves of talent, and its disciples were not the sort who couldn't handle losing. They had lost this time, so they would work twice as hard and win it back next time. The path of martial cultivation was always about knowing shame and then forging ahead with renewed vigor.
And so, after the trial ended, Yang Kai received a great many invitations.
Numerous Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators from Langya invited him to visit their cave abodes and exchange insights on cultivation.
This was common enough. On the martial cultivator's path, practicing behind closed doors made it easy to go astray. Sometimes, a simple exchange of ideas could spark a flash of insight or bring about an epiphany.
There were at least several dozen invitations in total, all delivered to the place where Gu Pan resided.
Yang Kai had originally been fretting over how to naturally make contact with the Ink-corrupted, but these invitations were like a pillow delivered just as he was nodding off to sleep.
The Langya Open Heaven cultivators who had invited him naturally extended invitations to their own friends as well. True exchange required a gathering, and so over the next half month, Yang Kai was kept perpetually busy. Each day he traveled between the spirit islands of Langya, heading to the cave abodes of those who had invited him—small banquets every day, grand feasts every three.
When there were few people, three or five would gather together. When there were more, eight or ten would assemble in one place. They would share their perspectives, spar and compare notes.
Everyone gained something from it.
Yang Kai also got to witness the formidable depth of Langya's Open Heaven cultivators.
During the trial, he had struck hard in order to flush out the Ink-corrupted, so nearly every Langya Open Heaven cultivator who crossed paths with him had been defeated in short order.
But that didn't mean the Langya Open Heaven cultivators were all pillow-flower showpieces. As one of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, with countless years of heritage, standing tall among the Three Thousand Worlds—it would be impossible to maintain that position with a bunch of empty shells.
With the same cultivation base and heritage, Yang Kai could clearly feel that Langya's Open Heaven cultivators were somewhat stronger than their counterparts in the outside world. If someone like Mao Zhe were thrown into Langya, he might not even rank in the top hundred among the Sixth-Order.
The many secret techniques of Langya opened his eyes wide, and certain cultivation methods were especially beneficial.
Every day, Yang Kai set out in high spirits and returned in high spirits.
Half a month later, on a morning, Yang Kai held an antique-style invitation in his hand. The calligraphy on it was elegant and delicate, clearly written by a woman, and there was a faint fragrance wafting from the card—a most pleasant scent.
The signature at the bottom of the invitation bore the unmistakable name Gu Ling'er!
Gu Ling'er's invitation had actually arrived several days prior, and today's engagement came from her invitation!
Would there be any discoveries or gains? Yang Kai didn't know, but deep down, he felt that he was not far from the core of the Ink-corrupted!
And as long as he could find that core, he would have the chance to follow the threads and locate the hidden Ink Race.
The sound of something cutting through the air came from outside, as if someone had flown in and landed before his door. Then Gu Ling'er's gentle voice rang out: "Junior Brother Yang!"
Yang Kai tucked away the invitation and pushed open the door, finding Gu Ling'er standing there gracefully. Their eyes met, and Gu Ling'er offered a soft smile—in that instant, heaven and earth seemed to lose their color.
Yang Kai said in surprise, "Senior Sister Gu, why did you come in person? I was just about to head over."
Gu Ling'er covered her mouth and smiled. "Junior Brother, you're not familiar with Langya yet, are you? I heard that when you went to Junior Brother Wang's place the other day, you got lost on the way, and they waited half a day without ever seeing you."
"Ha ha ha..." Yang Kai looked thoroughly embarrassed. "It was an accident, an accident. Langya simply has too many spirit islands—I can't keep track of them all right away."
Gu Ling'er said with deep meaning, "I'm afraid it's because Senior Sister Gu went to the Five Lights World for training and you've been a bit distracted, isn't it?"
After the trial ended, Gu Pan had been sent to the Five Lights World to train on Li Yuanwang's orders. So during this period, Yang Kai had been living alone on Gu Pan's spirit island.
Li Yuanwang's arrangement was clearly made with Gu Pan's safety in mind. A Supreme Elder was stationed in the Five Lights World, so even if turmoil arose in Langya, it wouldn't spread that far. The arrangement was foolproof.
"Senior Sister jests," Yang Kai said seriously. "There really is nothing between Senior Sister Gu and me."
Gu Ling'er covered her mouth behind her hand. "Go say that to the other senior brothers and sisters—then see whether they believe you or not!"
Yang Kai felt his teeth ache. The people of Langya were absolutely convinced that something was going on between him and Gu Pan, and there was truly no way to explain it away.
Where had it all gone wrong? Yang Kai turned it over in his mind but couldn't figure out where the original misunderstanding had started.
But he couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. The innocent have nothing to hide, after all.
"Senior Sister, shall we go?" Yang Kai asked.
Gu Ling'er nodded. "Please follow me, Junior Brother." With that, she took the lead.
Yang Kai's figure flickered as he moved to her side, walking alongside her. Neither of them flew particularly fast. They chatted casually as they went—Gu Ling'er's voice was gentle as water, exquisitely pleasing to the ear.
Yang Kai sighed inwardly. For someone like her to be one of the Ink-corrupted—he had to admit that fate was cruel indeed.
He had asked Li Yuanwang before whether there was any hope of returning to normal after being corroded by the Ink's power. Li Yuanwang's answer had been just three words: "Impossible."
In other words, once one was Ink-corrupted, that was that—they were enemies through and through. No matter how normal they appeared on the outside, no matter how unchanged from their usual selves, an Ink-corrupted was always Ink-corrupted.