Yang Kai had spent nearly thirty years in the Chaotic Dead Zone, and during that time, a full century had passed within his Small World.
The time flow inside the Small World was now four times that of the outside!
When Xu Yi had advanced from the Transcendent realm into the Holy King realm, the time dilation inside Yang Kai's Small World had jumped from twofold to threefold. After that came the Holy King realm, then the Return to Void realm, and then the Void King realm…
During Xu Yi's promotions to Holy King and Return to Void, the time flow rate within the Small World had not changed.
However, upon his advancement to the Void King realm, the time flow had accelerated by another fold.
Xu Yi had now reached the peak of the Void King realm. Had Yang Kai not instructed him to suppress his cultivation, he would likely have already broken through to the Dao Origin realm.
Xu Yi's growth was not slow, but neither was it particularly fast. A century of cultivation from nothing to the peak of the Void King realm—among ordinary people, that might be something to be proud of. But Xu Yi was no ordinary person. He was Yang Kai's Third Disciple, personally tutored by Yang Kai himself. He cultivated within Yang Kai's Small World, and he had inherited the Great Wilderness Scripture—a technique passed down from the primordial era.
Such achievements were hardly surprising.
The reason Yang Kai had told him to suppress his realm was to prepare for his future promotion to the Open Heaven realm.
Just as he had once told Zhao Ya to suppress her realm, the Star Boundary was now a cradle for Open Heaven realm cultivators. Growing and cultivating there, the lower one's foundation, the greater the benefits one could reap.
Though Xu Yi had never had the chance to grow up in the Star Boundary and receive the nourishment of the World Tree from a young age, deepening his cultivation there as a Void King realm cultivator would surely lead to impressive future attainments.
Above the Void King realm lay the Dao Origin realm, and after that, the Emperor Venerable realm. But once one reached the Dao Origin realm, the benefits of entering the Star Boundary would be significantly diminished.
Yang Kai intended for him to advance to Dao Origin within the Star Boundary. Only then would his full potential be unlocked, and he might stand a chance of catching up to the growth pace of his Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister.
That said, this arrangement was rather harsh on Xu Yi.
Over the years, his cultivation had primarily taken place in his dreams. Every session of practice required him to enter a dream state, and he had developed the habit of dreaming daily. Now that Yang Kai wanted him to suppress his realm and avoid advancing, he could not sleep.
In the beginning, drowsiness had plagued him constantly. He had nearly dozed off and slipped into a dream several times, only to be awakened by Yang Kai at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the premature breakthrough to Dao Origin.
Over time, as he struggled against the pull of sleep for extended periods, Xu Yi gradually grew accustomed to it. Yang Kai's request for him to look after the golden carp suited him well enough—since he could not sleep to cultivate, he had nothing else to do anyway.
However, he soon discovered that the golden carp was far too rambunctious. Every single day it would spray him head to toe with water, leaving him in a wretched state.
Word of a new Sect-Protecting Sacred Beast in the workshop spread quickly. Groups of Disciples flocked to the lake to watch, and whenever the golden carp revealed its true form, exclamations rang out without end.
The title of Sect-Protecting Sacred Beast had been coined by Shangguan Ji. Regardless of the golden carp's origins, since it was a creation of the Supreme Elder's own making, bestowing such a title upon it was more than warranted.
Those who had seen the golden carp knew that it had the temperament of a child and that it grew more excited the more people gathered around. So even when the Disciples were drenched by its spray, they were delighted, flocking to the lake to play with the golden carp—which considerably lightened Xu Yi's burden.
While the Seven Stars Workshop inside the Small World buzzed with activity, Yang Kai traveled day and night until he finally arrived at the Yin-Yang Domain.
The grand gift that Brother Huang and Sister Blue had presented him with before his departure had certainly benefited him, but it also carried considerable uncertainty. Yang Kai had no way of knowing when the two dormant forces within his Dragon Crystal would erupt again.
Having experienced it once before, he was rather apprehensive about that power. While it could bring tremendous growth to his dragon body and dragon veins, when those two forces burst forth, they could just as easily put him in a perilous situation.
Fortunately, while Yang Kai could not predict exactly when they would erupt, he was certain it would not happen anytime soon.
This was not Yang Kai's first visit to the Yin-Yang Domain.
The last time, he had come with Su Yingxue and Qing Kui. This time, he was alone.
Much like the Langya Blessed Land, the Yin-Yang Domain did not restrict entry or exit in general. After all, a large Star Market lay within the domain, and cultivators streamed in and out in droves. Imposing restrictions would naturally dampen the market's activity.
The last time the domain's gate had been sealed was because the Dao Discussion Grand Assembly was imminent, and several Great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands had jointly orchestrated the blockade.
This time, the situation was entirely different.
The true heart of the Yin-Yang Domain was the headquarters of the Yin-Yang Heaven. Viewed from the void, it appeared as two massive Spirit Continents shaped like yin-yang fish, head to tail.
Surrounding this yin-yang fish Spirit Continent were numerous other Spirit Continents of varying sizes, all part of the Yin-Yang Heaven.
Having experienced the Langya Blessed Land, Yang Kai was now well-versed in how to enter a Great Cave Heaven or Blessed Land. Moreover, he was no longer an unknown figure—his name was known throughout the Three Thousand Worlds.
And on top of that, he was the son-in-law of the Yin-Yang Heaven! That single status was enough to warrant a formal reception.
Yang Kai went straight to the Star Market and found a Sixth-Order Open Heaven realm cultivator stationed at the market's dock. He announced his name and stated his purpose, requesting that a message be relayed to Elder Xu Linggong or Qu Huachang.