The edge of heaven and earth was chaos. The Qiankun Furnace, through cycle after cycle of devouring and erupting, continuously expanded the vastness of this world.
Each and every Qiankun world that came into being originated from the Qiankun Furnace, and those grand, magnificent celestial phenomena all came from the Qiankun Furnace as well.
Along the return journey, the celestial phenomena were endless in variety, each one harboring tremendous danger. Fang Tianci, who controlled the physical body, naturally avoided them whenever possible, never daring to draw near lightly.
Yet there were inevitably moments of carelessness.
This was a celestial phenomenon resembling a black hole. In terms of sheer scale, it was not particularly large—it seemed barely bigger than an ordinary Qiankun world, merely well-concealed.
Fang Tianci, failing to notice it in time, swept past the phenomenon only to find himself involuntarily drawn toward it. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
From this seemingly unremarkable black hole phenomenon poured forth a devouring force of irresistible magnitude. Centered on the black hole phenomenon, more than half the surrounding void was collapsing inward toward it.
Fang Tianci repeatedly activated the Spatial Laws in an attempt to break free, but failed each time. Even after Yang Kai took over the body, he still could not break loose.
Under that terrifying devouring force, the surrounding void became extraordinarily viscous, and the power of the Dao of Space was greatly diminished here.
Yang Kai now was like a fallen leaf caught in the maelstrom of a vast ocean. Spiraling with the current, he circled endlessly around the black hole vortex, each rotation bringing him one step closer to the black hole phenomenon.
No one knew what dangers lurked within that black hole phenomenon. What was undeniable was that falling into it would surely mean a grim end.
Unable to break free by force, Yang Kai could only go with the flow. Traveling at full speed in the direction the devouring force pulled him was the only way he might escape the black hole phenomenon's pull—finding life within death.
Circle after circle, the black hole phenomenon's pull combined with Yang Kai's own efforts drove their speed ever faster, far surpassing the limits of what Yang Kai could achieve on his own.
Moving at such terrifying speed placed enormous strain on the physical body. With a slightly weaker physique, the body would have disintegrated long before escape was possible.
Fortunately, his current body was that of a Saint Dragon, empowered by the dragon bloodline. Though he felt tremendous pressure, he could still endure.
Lei Ying constantly encouraged him: if they were killed fighting the Ink Clan's powerhouses, that would at least be a death worth something. Dying in a place like this would be far too hard to accept.
After several more rotations, their speed increased further still. And when their velocity broke through a critical threshold, Yang Kai suddenly felt his body go light. The pulling force from the black hole phenomenon could no longer hold him. His body traced a graceful arc, shooting outward at tremendous speed, distancing itself from the black hole phenomenon.
Lei Ying cheered, and Fang Tianci, who had kept his nerves taut the entire time, finally let out a breath of relief.
Only after they had thoroughly distanced themselves from the black hole phenomenon—no longer able to sense any pulling force from behind—did Yang Kai gradually slow down and look around.
He did not hand control of the body back to Fang Tianci. Years of secluded cultivation and comprehension had allowed him to fully digest everything he had gained from the Qiankun Furnace.
"These celestial phenomena are truly bizarre—impossible to guard against," Lei Ying's voice came through. "Good thing the boss is quick-witted, or us three brothers might have ended up right there. Second Brother, take notes."
Fang Tianci said nothing. He always felt that since they were all clones of the main body, praising the main body like this was essentially praising himself…
But along this journey, he had witnessed far too many celestial phenomena—grand and magnificent, yet eerie and unfathomable. They were miracles of creation, truly beyond the power of mortals to resist.
Perhaps only by reaching the level of a Creator could one unravel their mysteries. The Creator Realm—what manner of wondrous realm was that, exactly?
"Boss, did we go the wrong way? We've been running for so long and still haven't found the way home," Lei Ying spoke up again.
Yang Kai shook his head. "The Qiankun Furnace sits at the edge of heaven and earth. Since this world was created by the Qiankun Furnace, heading in the opposite direction should be correct. We haven't gone the wrong way—it's just that this world seems far more vast than we imagined."
"It's been about a hundred years, hasn't it?"
"It has."
In this void, while it was impossible to calculate the exact time elapsed, judging by the traces of passing years within his own Small Qiankun, it had indeed been a hundred years since they escaped from the Qiankun Furnace.
A hundred years, traveling by means of spatial arts, and they were still drifting through this void—testament to how boundless this world truly was.
Over this hundred years, though Fang Tianci had been in control of the body the entire time, Yang Kai would periodically attempt to connect with the World Tree, hoping to establish contact with the old tree on the other side. Unfortunately, there had been no progress at all.
After all, when he had returned from the ocean celestial phenomenon all those years ago, it had taken only a few decades.
Their current position was undoubtedly deeper within the world.
Yang Kai sometimes wondered if they had gotten the direction wrong. But traveling through this silent void without any proper frame of reference, how could they determine the correct bearing?
After traveling a while longer, passing by a Qiankun world, Yang Kai's heart stirred. He flashed forward and plunged into this Qiankun.
He reached out with his senses carefully.
Lei Ying was completely baffled, not knowing what Yang Kai was doing. He quietly asked Fang Tianci, "Is the boss looking for something?"