He pressed onward without a moment's rest.
Windstorm Domain also had a Qiankun Palace. Unfortunately, Yang Kai had never visited this place before, so he naturally hadn't left his mark in that Qiankun Palace. Had he done so, he could have saved a great deal of time by using the Qiankun Grand Array as a relay point.
But since he was here now, he might as well leave his mark in the Qiankun Palace. It was on the way after all, and it might prove useful on the return trip.
After several more days of travel, Yang Kai spotted an ancient palace drifting in the void from afar, knowing he had arrived at this great domain's Qiankun Palace.
But before he could rush into the palace, he saw a large number of warriors pouring out of it, transforming into streaks of light that scattered and fled in every direction.
The hurried demeanor of these warriors filled Yang Kai with a sense of foreboding.
The number of warriors emerging from the Qiankun Palace was enormous—virtually a ceaseless stream. Yang Kai couldn't help but wonder whether every cultivator in Windstorm Domain capable of traversing the void had gathered here.
Otherwise, a great domain like Windstorm wouldn't normally have this many Open Heaven realm cultivators assembled in one place.
He flashed forward and seized a young man who had just stepped out of the Qiankun Palace and was about to leave, asking in a low voice, "What happened here?"
The warrior was merely a Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, already panicked and fleeing for his life. To suddenly be grabbed like this infuriated him. He strained to break free but couldn't.
He was a shrewd one, though, and realized the person who had seized him was likely far stronger. He immediately suppressed his anger and said hurriedly, "I don't know what happened either. I only heard people say the sky has broken, that a great catastrophe is coming to Windstorm Domain, and everyone is fleeing. So I joined them."
The sky has broken? Yang Kai was bewildered.
While he was momentarily stunned, the Fifth-Order Open Heaven strained again and finally broke free of Yang Kai's grip, quickly departing.
Just then, nearby conversations drifted into Yang Kai's ears. He turned to look and saw two Sixth-Order and one Fifth-Order cultivators talking—apparently leaders of some factions.
He walked toward them, and drawing on his previous experience, deliberately released his Eighth-Order aura.
Among a crowd of warriors where Fifth and Sixth-Order cultivators could reign supreme, the sudden appearance of an Eighth-Order naturally drew attention. The three chatting warriors immediately fell silent and turned to look.
Yang Kai approached the three and cupped his fists slightly. "Yang Kai of Star Realm. Might I ask what's going on here?"
The three's eyes lit up at his words. The oldest-looking Sixth-Order cultivator said hesitantly, "Are you the Lord of Star Realm?"
They had certainly heard of Star Realm's great reputation. Several of their factions had wanted to send their most talented disciples to Star Realm to cultivate, hoping to benefit from the nourishment of the World Tree, but they'd never found the right connections—a regret they'd long harbored.
They also knew that Star Realm had several Great Emperors who had received the acknowledgment of heaven and earth, and the most formidable among them was the one titled Void, Yang Kai.
However, rumor had it that this person had entered closed-door cultivation over a thousand years ago and hadn't been seen since.
They hadn't expected to run into someone here claiming to be Yang Kai of Star Realm.
"That's right!" Yang Kai nodded.
The three were both delighted and astonished. Delighted because after all these years they'd been unable to connect with Star Realm, and now—of all times, when Windstorm Domain faced catastrophe—they had encountered the Lord of Star Realm himself. Astonished because Yang Kai had already reached the Eighth-Order!
As far as they knew, this Lord of Star Realm had been only at the Sixth-Order when he disappeared from public view a thousand years ago. How long had it been? And now he was already at the Eighth-Order.
Could the World Tree truly be that wondrous?
They naturally attributed Yang Kai's rapid advancement to the World Tree. It wasn't ignorance on their part—rumors about the World Tree were greatly exaggerated, and having never visited Star Realm, how could they know the truth?
As for their belief that Yang Kai had been in closed-door cultivation for a millennium, that was a story Star Realm itself had put out. Many among the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands knew that Yang Kai had entered the Ink Battlefield from the Black Domain, but this couldn't be made known to outsiders, so they had publicly declared that Yang Kai was in seclusion.
Upon learning that the person before them was indeed the Lord of Star Realm, the three hurriedly paid their respects. These were the sect masters of the three largest factions in Windstorm Domain. The oldest Sixth-Order cultivator among them was Zhao Longji, Sect Master of Fenglan Sect. The other two both deferred to his lead.
Faced with an Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator who was also the Lord of Star Realm, the three didn't dare show the slightest negligence. Zhao Longji proceeded to explain the situation in detail.
It had started some time ago, when a disciple of Fenglan Sect had been out traveling and suddenly noticed an anomaly in a certain area of the void. The disciple's cultivation wasn't particularly high, and he didn't dare investigate rashly, so he immediately returned to report to his sect. Fenglan Sect promptly sent a Vice Sect Master with a team to investigate.
When they arrived, what they found was shocking.
From the time the disciple first discovered the anomaly to when the Vice Sect Master arrived with his team, only about ten-odd days had passed. But the void, which had initially shown only a slight anomaly, now appeared as though a hole had been torn through it. From that hole, an ink-colored substance continuously leaked out, spreading through the void.
The Vice Sect Master was a cautious man and immediately ordered a disciple to venture in for a closer look. But the moment that disciple entered, he screamed and fled back, his entire body corroded by the ink-colored force, struggling to resist it.
Fortunately, the Vice Sect Master was no weakling and moved to subdue him.