Years ago, Yang Xiao had sent word back, asking Hua Qingsi to keep an eye out for Void Dojo disciples who cultivated the Laws of Space. Though the Void Dojo had produced a fair number of disciples over the years, they weren't exactly plentiful, and those who practiced the Laws of Space were even fewer.
Hua Qingsi had recommended two of them, but unfortunately, neither had achieved sufficient mastery in the Dao of Space to meet Yang Xiao's requirements.
This Fang Tianci, however, seemed like a suitable candidate.
But such matters couldn't be forced, so Hua Qingsi merely made the recommendation. Whether to seek out Yang Xiao was Fang Tianci's decision alone.
"Disciple will remember," Fang Tianci nodded.
Hua Qingsi produced a Cosmos Map and handed it to him. "Go to Xuanming Domain yourself. Once you arrive, report to the Military Command and get registered."
"Yes!" Fang Tianci accepted his orders, stowed the Cosmos Map, and took to the air.
Traveling from Lingxiao Domain to Xuanming Domain required transiting through only one major domain—the one where the Human Race's Supreme Command was headquartered. The route was perfectly safe. In truth, as long as the thirteen front-line domain battlefields held, the rear defenses were as solid as fortifications of gold and stone.
Fang Tianci frequently consulted his Cosmos Map to orient himself and occasionally channeled the Laws of Space to hasten his journey, making good speed.
After transiting through the domain housing the Supreme Command, he arrived in Xuanming Domain in less than a month. He stopped a small squad that appeared to be heading back to the rear for resupply, asked for directions, and made straight for the floating continent where the Xuanming Domain Military Command was located.
Upon arriving at the Military Command, he reported his name and origin, completed his registration, and received an identity badge. The one who handled his paperwork was a beautiful woman of Third-Order cultivation.
Because her cultivation wasn't particularly high and she was a woman unfamiliar with the ways of combat, she had been assigned to safe duties in the rear.
The woman was very patient. Upon learning that this was Fang Tianci's first time at the Xuanming Domain battlefield and that he had never fought the Ink Clan before, she explained many basics to him, which left Fang Tianci quite grateful.
When she finished, Fang Tianci asked, "Might I ask if you know someone called Yang Xiao?"
The woman's eyes lit up. "You mean Lord Yang Xiao? Of course I know him. Are you looking for him?"
Fang Tianci was taken aback. Hua Qingsi had only told him to come to Xuanming Domain and find Yang Xiao, without specifying how. He had assumed that finding one person on such a vast battlefield would be no easy task, but it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Even this logistics cultivator handling military paperwork in the rear knew of Yang Xiao—it seemed he was quite famous.
However, noticing the blush on the woman's face, Fang Tianci realized that Yang Xiao's reputation wasn't merely a matter of name recognition.
Sure enough, upon hearing that Fang Tianci was looking for Yang Xiao, the woman grew even more enthusiastic. "Senior Brother, what business do you have with Lord Yang Xiao?"
"I'm from Lingxiao Palace. The Grand Steward sent me to find him," Fang Tianci replied.
The woman's eyes lit up even brighter. "You're from Lingxiao Palace!"
Xuanming Domain was nominally under Yang Kai's watch—Yang Kai being the master of Lingxiao Palace—and there were many cultivators from Lingxiao Palace stationed here. In all of Xuanming Domain, no faction carried a weightier name than Lingxiao Palace. Not even the great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands could compare.
"Do you have a Cosmos Map?" the woman asked.
"I do." Fang Tianci hurriedly produced his Cosmos Map and handed it over.
The woman took it, swept it with her spiritual sense for a moment, then handed it back. "Lord Yang Xiao's squad has been fighting on the front lines for a long time. They should be resting and resupplying at this base recently. If you head there now, you might be able to catch them."
Fang Tianci took it back and checked—sure enough, a position had been marked on the Xuanming Domain map within his Cosmos Map. He nodded gratefully. "Thank you."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait!" The woman called after him.
"Is there something else, Junior Sister?"
The woman blushed and handed Fang Tianci a spatial ring.
Fang Tianci was completely baffled.
The woman said shyly, "Could I trouble you to pass this along to Lord Yang Xiao? I can't go to the front lines to fight, so there are some healing and recovery pills inside. Consider it my personal contribution to Lord Yang Xiao. Please tell him to stay safe."
"Sure." Fang Tianci nodded. Though he had never met the man, he privately concluded that this Yang Xiao must be exceptionally popular with women—otherwise, why would this rear-echelon logistics woman single him out for support among all the soldiers fighting on the front lines?
"Oh, and my name is Yunxi!" the woman added.
Fang Tianci didn't know whether to laugh or cry, privately suspecting that Yang Xiao probably didn't even know the woman's name.
Following the directions on his Cosmos Map, Fang Tianci spent several days before finally arriving at a human base. However, he was stopped before he could enter. Though he produced his badge and verified his identity, he was still required to step into a Purification Formation.
Warriors who went out to fight faced the constant risk of being corroded by the Ink Force. Once ink-corrupted, they would become Ink Puppets—and Ink Puppets looked no different from ordinary cultivators on the outside, making them nearly impossible to distinguish.
For this reason, every human base had a massive Purification Formation modeled after the internal structure of a Purification Ship, containing vast stores of Purification Light.
Should anyone contaminated by the Ink Force or already turned into an Ink Puppet step inside, the Purification Light would naturally purge the Ink Force from their body.