At the Domain Gate bordering the Chaotic Dead Domain, over a dozen Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators had maintained their vigil year after year, monitoring the movements within the Chaos.
Just as Yang Kai had once surmised, the aftershocks of the battles between Solar Scorching Radiance and Lunar Hidden Luminescence were far too terrifying, often spilling over into neighboring great domains. Once caught in the crossfire, an entire domain would be swallowed up as part of the Chaotic Dead Domain.
For this reason, since ancient times, every Blessed Land and Paradise had deliberately created a Hollowed Domain — an empty buffer zone — to prevent the casualties from their clashes from spreading too far.
Not long ago, the battle between Scorching Radiance and Hidden Luminescence had expanded, engulfing a great domain. However, that domain had long since been evacuated, so while countless Heaven and Earth Worlds were destroyed, there were no casualties.
The cultivators who had fled this domain decades ago had done so for precisely the same reason.
When the Giant Spirit A Er burst out through the Domain Gate, the dozen-plus observers watched but made no move to stop him. In truth, they couldn't have stopped him even if they'd wanted to. Even with an Eighth-Order Supreme Elder personally stationed here, no one would stand a chance against a Giant Spirit.
Watching the direction in which the Giant Spirit had departed, a Seventh-Order woman among them suddenly sighed. "What a pity, what a tragedy. Truly, the heavens are jealous of the gifted!"
The person beside her nodded. "Indeed. For such an outstanding young talent to die like this — fate is truly cruel."
Another spoke up. "Ignorance is bliss. I doubt he even knew what lay on the other side was the Chaotic Dead Domain. Otherwise, how could he have dared follow the Giant Spirit so deep inside?"
"I heard that kid was betrothed to a Core Disciple of the Yin Yang Heaven? Now that he's dead, the engagement is surely void."
"Sect news came through earlier — during Langya's campaign against the Ink, he played a major role. Thanks to him, Langya was able to round up all the Mo Disciples in one sweep and even uncovered some clues about the Ink Clan."
The person they were discussing was, naturally, Yang Kai.
When Yang Kai had charged into the Chaotic Dead Domain alongside the Giant Spirit A Er all those years ago, several of the dozen-plus Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators had witnessed it with their own eyes.
At the time, everyone had been shocked.
First, no one had ever seen anyone act in concert with a Giant Spirit. Those who had spotted Yang Kai at that moment had nearly convinced themselves they were hallucinating.
Second, the Chaotic Dead Domain was an absolute death zone. Even following the Giant Spirit inside, there could be no good outcome — the only result would be instantaneous annihilation by the residual shockwaves of the battle.
After Yang Kai had vanished into the Chaotic Dead Domain with the Giant Spirit, the observers had begun looking into his identity.
They maintained their posts here out of duty, standing vigil year after year to monitor the movements of Scorching Radiance and Hidden Luminescence, but they had their own means of contacting the outside world.
Their inquiries revealed that the young man who had entered the Chaotic Dead Domain with the Giant Spirit was far from being a nobody. On the contrary, he had an impressive background.
The Great Emperor of the Star Boundary. Master of the Void Land. Son-in-law of the Yin Yang Heaven…
The affair of the World Tree had stirred up a tremendous fuss, and even they, stationed out here, had heard the rumors. Slaying a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator while at the Sixth-Order was astonishing enough in its own right. At the Dao Discussion Assembly, he had outshone several Core Disciples from Blessed Lands and Paradises, claiming first place and becoming the Yin Yang Heaven's son-in-law — they had heard about that too.
At Langya, it was precisely thanks to his tireless efforts that they had been able to follow the trail and capture every last Mo Disciple, averting a catastrophe.
The Yang Kai of today had long since ceased to be the unknown figure he once was, having accomplished a string of deeds that the Blessed Lands and Paradises took very seriously. A few inquiries were all it took to uncover his identity.
Calculating the timeline, he must have departed Langya and followed the Giant Spirit straight to the Chaotic Dead Domain.
But no matter how many great deeds he had accomplished, no matter that he carried the feat of killing a Seventh-Order cultivator on his record, he was still merely a Sixth-Order Open Heaven. Once inside the Chaotic Dead Domain, there could be no surviving.
And indeed, that appeared to be the case. Decades had passed, and the Giant Spirit had returned, but the young man who had gone in with him was nowhere to be seen.
No one could survive inside the Chaotic Dead Domain. Not even an Eighth-Order cultivator, let alone a Sixth-Order.
Though they felt a twinge of regret over Yang Kai's death, none of them had any personal connection to him, so their sorrow was brief. The conversation soon shifted.
"Speaking of the Ink Clan — what's the situation in Shattered Heaven?"
Everyone shook their heads. The Eighth-Order Supreme Elder, who knew more than most, shook his head as well. "We've been investigating for decades, but no trace of the Ink Clan has been found in Shattered Heaven. This creature is hiding itself deep."
"And within our Blessed Lands and Paradises? Have any Ink Servants been discovered?"
"Not that I've heard."
"At least things aren't too dire. I wonder how that Ink Servant in Langya got tangled up with the Ink Clan in the first place."
The Eighth-Order Supreme Elder was about to respond when his expression suddenly changed. He whipped his head toward the Domain Gate.
Pronounced spatial fluctuations were rippling outward from the Domain Gate. They had experienced this before — when the Giant Spirit A Er had charged out of the Chaotic Dead Domain, the same thing had happened. But it also happened when the aftershocks of Scorching Radiance and Hidden Luminescence's battle spilled over.
The Giant Spirit was gone. Inside the Chaotic Dead Domain, there was nothing living besides Scorching Radiance and Hidden Luminescence.
The Eighth-Order Supreme Elder felt his heart sink. Could it be that the battle between Scorching Radiance and Hidden Luminescence was about to engulf another great domain? The last overflow had been barely a hundred years ago.
How could it come so quickly?
Without waiting for any order, the dozen-plus Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators simultaneously channeled the power of their Minor Worlds, shielding their bodies. Every one of them looked as though they were facing a mortal enemy.