However, with things as they were, until the issue of that secret realm was resolved, he would be unable to fight anyone.
Fortunately, the Biluo Theater of War was currently at peace. The Ink Clan would need at least several decades, if not a hundred years, to recuperate, so there was nothing requiring his intervention.
The teams that had gone out to explore the secret realm had all returned, each bringing back bountiful hauls. Under Zha Hu's orders, the Dawn was transformed into a streak of light and shot off in the direction of Biluo Pass.
Several days later, Biluo Pass came into view on the horizon.
Looking out, one could see that the void beyond the pass was filled with a vast number of Universe Worlds—worlds that had been relocated back from various resource-rich zones by the soldiers stationed inside the pass over the past two years. On each one, varying numbers of warriors were hard at work mining.
This was an enormous undertaking. Even if tens of thousands of soldiers inside the pass were mobilized all at once, it would take ten to twenty years before these relocated Universe Worlds could be fully excavated.
But by then, the reserves of materials stockpiled inside the pass would be staggeringly vast. Even without supplies from the Three Thousand Worlds, they would surely be enough to sustain Biluo Pass for hundreds, even a thousand years.
It could be said that the Void Yin-Yang Mirror Yang Kai had brought had, in one stroke, eased Biluo Pass's desperate hunger for resources. And what was true of Biluo Pass would likewise hold true for the other human strongholds.
As they neared the pass, Yang Kai's voice came from the cabin: "Lord, this disciple will not be entering the pass. I would ask that you find a safe place outside the pass for me—I need to go into secluded cultivation for a while."
Zha Hu was instinctively about to refuse. Yang Kai was of tremendous importance now; if he was going into secluded cultivation, the safest possible location was paramount, and that meant entering the pass. Secluded cultivation outside the pass? What sort of arrangement was that?
But on second thought, Zha Hu understood what Yang Kai meant. Whatever Yang Kai intended to do during his seclusion, being inside the pass would present certain inconveniences. Outside was naturally the better option.
He nodded in agreement at once: "Very well. I'll find a suitable place for you."
His divine sense spread outward, and he quickly located a promising spot—a fragment of a Universe World left behind after mining.
With so many Universe Worlds being mined outside Biluo Pass, fragments were an inevitable byproduct. These were little more than refuse to Biluo Pass and needed to be cleared away. Though there were people assigned to handle the task, it was only ever tackled once enough debris had accumulated.
This particular fragment was no more than a few hundred li from Biluo Pass, and its size was neither too large nor too small. If Yang Kai went into seclusion here and something unexpected arose, personnel from inside the pass could provide swift reinforcement, with no danger of the Ink Clan exploiting the situation.
The Dawn immediately altered course and flew toward the fragment, arriving shortly after.
Yang Kai stepped out of the cabin, his face pale and his aura fluctuating unsteadily. Even his steps were somewhat unsteady, giving him the look of a man who had drunk too much wine.
But those who knew Yang Kai's current condition understood that this was no intoxication. His Small Universe had simply been overtaxed.
"The Dawn squad stays behind to guard your captain during his seclusion," Zha Hu ordered. "I'm going back into the pass to dispatch some formation masters to set up a protective array. The rest of you, return to the pass as well."
Everyone acknowledged the command, and teams swiftly departed the Dawn, hurtling toward Biluo Pass. Zha Hu himself flickered and vanished in a streak of light.
Yang Kai walked straight to a flat area on the Universe World fragment and sat cross-legged, silently circulating his cultivation technique.
He had previously absorbed an entire secret realm into his Small Universe, which had caused it to stretch to the point of near-agony. Had it not been for the Heaven and Earth Spring anchoring it, the Small Universe might very well have cracked apart.
This realization sent a chill through him. He could not fathom what level of cultivation the original owner of that Small Universe must have possessed in those ancient times. What was certain was that the ancient being's cultivation had absolutely surpassed his own—whether at the Eighth or Ninth Order, he could not say, but anything less would not have produced such a result.
Resolving this situation was actually straightforward. He needed only to purge from the devoured Small Universe all the impurities that were of no use to him. Once that was done, not only would his own Small Universe be free of danger, but the sub-tree of the World Tree would be preserved within it as well.
This had been Yang Kai's original intention, though the time required to accomplish it would likely not be short.
Focusing his senses, Yang Kai quickly perceived that the devoured Small Universe contained all manner of profound Dao Marks—the crystallization of an ancient powerhouse's lifetime of cultivation.
When he and Bai Yi had explored the secret realm before, even while inside it, those mysteries had not been especially apparent. But now, having swallowed the entire secret realm into his body and settled it within his Small Universe, every hidden wonder of that realm lay completely exposed to his perception.
Yang Kai easily detected the vast and profound Dao Marks of alchemy concealed within the secret realm!
This confirmed that his earlier speculation had been correct—the former master of the secret realm had indeed been an extraordinarily accomplished alchemist in life. Otherwise, he would neither have had the inclination nor the ability to cultivate such a medicinal garden within his own Small Universe.
The alchemy of the ancient era must have been vastly different from what existed today. Yet the Grand Dao of the Three Thousand Paths had remained unchanged from time immemorial to the present.
The residual alchemy Dao Marks lingering within the secret realm filled Yang Kai with delight. If he could refine and harness these Dao Marks for his own use, his alchemy skills would surely advance by leaps and bounds.
In truth, Yang Kai had long since stopped pursuing perfection in alchemy. However, among the herbs he had gathered this time, many were species that the human race had never encountered before. They might possess remarkable effects, and if he could take this opportunity to ascertain their medicinal properties, all his hard work would not have been in vain.