This was precisely the reason Yang Kai hadn't led the remnants back to the Three Thousand Worlds through this route.
By the later stages, the surviving army had gathered nearly five thousand people—far too many. In a special environment like a void corridor, he could look after one or two individuals, but not all of them. If any were swept into the void turbulence, they would inevitably be lost in the gaps between dimensions, never to find their way out again.
Thinking of the remnants, Yang Kai's heart darkened once more. The five thousand had charged into the Unreturning Pass, and in the end, fewer than three thousand had likely survived. That was only thanks to the Old Ancestor and Green Bull working together to hold back the enemy. Without those two, all five thousand would almost certainly have perished there.
Suppressing his emotions, Yang Kai focused on pressing forward.
The void corridor leading to the Black Domain was far longer than the one near the Unreturning Pass. Yang Kai now had to carve open the path ahead while simultaneously sealing the route behind him—a formidable test of his mastery over the Dao of Space.
The cauliflower dragon that Third Elder Ji had transformed into was coiled tightly around his wrist, head swiveling to take in the violent void turbulence battering them from all sides, secretly clicking its tongue in alarm.
This was also the first time it had entered a place like this. Back at the Unreturning Pass, it had heard the Phoenix Clan speak of how the void rifts were extraordinarily dangerous—a moment of carelessness and one could lose all sense of direction. But hearsay was only hearsay; it had never experienced it firsthand.
It had once begged a certain Phoenix Clan member to take it deep into the void rifts for a look, only to be sharply rebuked. Even the Phoenix Clan, who themselves commanded the Laws of Space, would not lightly venture into such places—let alone bring along an outsider.
Now, observing Yang Kai in contrast, although the human looked strained, every action he took was methodical and precise.
This fellow's attainment in the Laws of Space might well surpass that of an ordinary Phoenix Clan member! Third Elder Ji speculated to himself.
Possessing an Ancient Dragon bloodline, commanding the Dao of Time, and displaying such profound mastery of space as well—what manner of freak was this?
Yang Kai had no inkling of Third Elder Ji's wild thoughts. His entire mind was fixed on one goal: getting through this void corridor.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the resistance ahead suddenly vanished, and he materialized in a vast expanse of open void.
Behind him yawned an irregularly shaped portal, its interior a swirling混沌 of nothingness.
Yang Kai quickly turned, sweeping his hand outward. The Laws of Space surged forth, dissolving the portal until it vanished without a trace.
Only after completing this did he let out a long breath.
He looked around but saw nothing familiar—only an endless darkness, deeper even than certain regions of the Battlefield of Ink.
Yet he knew: the Black Domain had been reached.
This was the very spot from which he had entered the void corridor all those years ago, stepping into the Battlefield of Ink.
Without lingering, Yang Kai retrieved a handful of Open Heaven Pills and swallowed them to replenish his depleted energy, all while streaking toward the domain gate of the Black Domain.
More than ten years had passed since he'd led the remnants into the Domain of the Void. He had no idea what the situation there looked like now, and so, despite his burning desire to return to the Star Boundary for a look, he knew it wasn't the right time.
He needed to reach the Domain of the Void as quickly as possible.
To get to the Domain of the Void, he first had to reach Broken Heaven.
Yang Kai produced the Heaven and Earth Map of the Three Thousand Worlds, oriented himself, and set off at full speed.
Third Elder Ji seemed accustomed to traveling this way and hadn't reverted to its true form, simply coiled around Yang Kai's wrist—inattentive observers might have mistaken it for a bracelet.
To reach the Domain of the Void as quickly as possible, Yang Kai pushed his speed to its limit, flashing past one Great Domain after another.
Fortunately, he had left imprints in the Halls of Heaven and Earth across many Great Domains. Using them as relay points saved him considerable time.
One day, Yang Kai's figure abruptly materialized inside a Hall of Heaven and Earth in some Great Domain. Without pausing, he vanished in a flicker.
The cultivator tasked with garrisoning this particular Hall hadn't even managed to verify Yang Kai's identity before he had already disappeared. The guard stared in stunned silence.
Every Hall of Heaven and Earth in each Great Domain had been left behind by ancient human ancestors and was jointly managed by the various Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands. Essentially, every Great Domain had one—except for a few extremely remote ones, like the domain where the Star Boundary was located, which had none. The martial civilization there was simply too underdeveloped; no cultivator there could traverse the void.
Garrisoning a Hall of Heaven and Earth was a form of training for disciples of the Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands, though a rather dull one. Trouble-making was strictly forbidden inside the Halls, so very few disciples volunteered for such postings. The assignments were typically handed down through obligation, and the cultivators sent were not particularly powerful. Aside from one mandatory Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, the rest were generally Fifth-Order or below, and their numbers were never large.
Yang Kai, with his Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivation, would have been considered a Supreme Elder in any Grotto-heaven or Blessed Land—the strongest below the Old Ancestors themselves. How could these Fourth and Fifth-Order cultivators possibly detect his movements?
Yang Kai had no intention of lingering. He still had far to go.
No sooner had he stepped out of the Hall of Heaven and Earth, however, than he noticed cultivators fighting outside.