The situation in the Black Domain was murky and confusing, and it seemed the only way to get a clear picture was to go there in person.
He had originally planned to wait here for Xin Peng's return and then head to the Black Domain together, but now he had changed his mind.
After all, if he went with Xin Peng, he would inevitably run into Luan Baifeng right away, and many things might remain unclear.
So when Yuan Tongguang extended his invitation, Yang Kai only considered it briefly before agreeing. "That works too. I'll have to trouble you, Brother Yuan."
Yuan Tongguang was overjoyed and enthusiastically beckoned several of his fellow disciples forward to introduce themselves.
Yang Kai casually gave a false name, keeping the surname Yang.
His real name, across the Three Thousand Worlds, might not exactly shake the heavens, but plenty of people had heard of it. As for his origins, he simply claimed to come from Great Moon Province.
The expressions on Yuan Tongguang and the others relaxed noticeably.
Across the vast expanse of the Heavens, forces named after provinces were generally not considered very strong, so upon hearing that Yang Kai and his group hailed from Great Moon Province, Yuan Tongguang and his companions naturally felt no pressure.
Moreover, in their view, Yang Kai and the others had also been drawn to the Black Domain by its resources, and Open Heaven cultivators who could be lured there would not have high rankings — fifth rank at most.
The party of seven set off together, heading toward the domain gate ahead.
Concealing one's cultivation was no difficult task; by simply circulating one's power with care, Yuan Tongguang and the others would never notice the discrepancy.
A few of the others from White Tooth Province seemed quite interested in Qu Huashang and the other two women, frequently striking up conversation. Qu Huashang and her companions responded with polite indifference.
Several hours later, the group arrived at the domain gate.
Yuan Tongguang produced a shuttle-shaped Artifact and gave Yang Kai a slight nod. "Brother Yang, we'll go ahead first and wait for you on the other side."
With that, the group entered the Artifact one by one, and it streaked through the domain gate in a flash of light.
Only then did Yang Kai suddenly remember that the role he was currently playing was not supposed to possess high cultivation. In theory, someone of that rank would not be able to traverse a domain gate with their physical body.
In truth, the pressure one had to endure when passing through a domain gate was immense. Only High-Rank Open Heaven cultivators could safely cross with their physical body; Mid-Rank and Low-Rank cultivators would need an Artifact for protection.
Yang Kai, thanks to his mastery of the Space Law and his incomparably powerful physical body, had always simply walked through domain gates over the years without encountering any danger.
However, he genuinely did not have an Artifact specifically designed for traversing domain gates.
Fortunately, Qu Huashang had come prepared. She understood Yang Kai's thoughts and produced what appeared to be an unremarkable flying Artifact. The four of them entered it before shooting into the domain gate.
The next instant, the group arrived within the Black Domain.
Qu Huashang recalled the Artifact, and their figures emerged.
The three women gazed around with curiosity. This was their first time visiting the Black Domain, which differed from every other Great Domain. A single glance revealed that the void held no scattered stars — it seemed cloaked in endless darkness. A desolate aura permeated every corner of this Great Domain. Even the great sun lurking deep in the void gave off only a murky glow, like an old man at the end of his days, a candle flickering in a storm, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
Luo Tinghe's delicate brows furrowed slightly. The aura of this Black Domain made her very uncomfortable.
Yang Kai immediately spotted Yuan Tongguang and the others, who had arrived ahead of them and were now standing in the void, looking around and waiting.
Upon seeing Yang Kai and his group appear, they enthusiastically waved. "Brother Yang! Over here, over here!"
Yang Kai nodded and led the three women toward them.
Once the full party had gathered, Yuan Tongguang spoke. "Brother Yang, I'll take you to register first. You need to receive an identity token before you can go to those mining planets to extract resources."
"Sounds good!" Yang Kai nodded.
Yuan Tongguang set off in a particular direction, and the others followed closely behind.
Not far from the domain gate's entrance, there was a shattered spiritual continent. It was not large, but a massive palace had been constructed upon it.
People drifted in and out of the palace — some with heads hung low in dejection, others with faces split by grins.
Those coming and going were all third- and fourth-rank Open Heaven cultivators, with the occasional fifth rank, though not many.
These people had evidently all come to the Black Domain to mine of their own free will, and there were quite a few of them. Just as Yuan Tongguang had said, the news that the Black Domain was open and anyone could freely enter to extract resources had spread only three months ago, yet so many had already arrived. One could well imagine that given more time, even more would come.
And... the three-month timeframe was something that caught Yang Kai's particular attention.
Several months ago, he had begun to feel a sense of unease, and upon checking, he discovered that Luan Baifeng and Xin Peng's names had vanished from the Loyalty Register. Doing the math, the changes in the Black Domain had coincided with the disappearance of those two names.
Those entering and leaving the palace were almost all in groups; solitary visitors were rare. It seemed everyone who had come to extract resources understood the wisdom of sticking together for warmth.
Yuan Tongguang had been here once before and was clearly familiar with the process. He led the group straight into the palace. Yang Kai looked around and saw rows of desks arranged throughout the hall, with many people queuing before them. The Open Heaven cultivators behind the desks were busy at work, inquiring about the names, cultivation levels, and origins of those before them, then registering them and issuing identity tokens.
"This way!" Yuan Tongguang observed the scene for a moment, then guided the group toward one of the lines, taking their place at the back.