The next morning.
Ye Kunlun had Xiao Jiu escort Han Qingmian away, while he went to the Prime Minister's mansion alone.
He reached a fork in the road.
Ye Kunlun's footsteps halted. The once bustling street had suddenly fallen silent, not a single pedestrian in sight.
At the street corner to his front left stood a dilapidated, headless stone statue, looking out of place amidst its surroundings.
Ye Kunlun gazed at the statue, finding it somewhat familiar.
He then recalled seeing it in the Yin lineage, though he hadn't paid much attention at the time.
Ye Kunlun took a step forward, preparing to cross to the other side of the street.
But as his foot landed, the road beneath him instantly transformed into a muddy swamp filled with decaying corpses.
"Another illusion?"
Ye Kunlun frowned slightly, wondering why the Japanese were so fond of creating illusions.
Jiji—
The little yellow chicken, which had been resting in Ye Kunlun's hair, woke up. It shook off its downy feathers and chirped twice.
In an instant, the surrounding illusion vanished, and the headless stone statue grew a head without any facial features.
Ah—
Suddenly, the featureless head opened a dark, gaping maw, and a fierce attack struck towards Ye Kunlun!
Ye Kunlun threw out a punch, shattering space.
Terrifying power spread outwards, and the world around him, like shattering glass, showed patches of cracks.
Through the cracks, Ye Kunlun could see the world outside, the passing crowds, and the moving vehicles.
The next second, the cracks disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
"Is this your domain?" Ye Kunlun coldly stared at the stone statue, his voice chilling. "You are the strongest being I've encountered so far, but unfortunately—your domain cannot trap me, nor can it cause me any harm."
Even without Xiao Huang Ji breaking the illusion, Ye Kunlun could have easily shattered it.
As for the domain before him, it was a divine ability that cultivators in the Core Formation realm could unleash.
It allowed one to draw enemies into their own domain, where they were the master, capable of manipulating everything!
Of course, just as a domain is a divine ability, there are varying degrees of strength!
A weak domain might only be a space that traps people, with no other formidable aspects.
A strong domain possesses many special attributes. For instance, a fire domain with the five elements, trapping a person while also subjecting them to the torment of flames!
In short, the strength of a domain was determined by the cultivator's cultivation level and physical attributes.
Boom—
As Ye Kunlun finished speaking, the once bright domain instantly turned dim. A massive celestial stone descended from the sky, hurtling towards Ye Kunlun!
Ye Kunlun calmly watched the scene unfold, clearly recognizing that the opponent's domain was not merely a simple space to trap him.
Whoosh—
A pure Yang flame danced at his fingertips, and a sinister grin curved his lips. "Then I shall use my own Pure Yang Fire Domain to break your domain!"
As Ye Kunlun spoke, the Pure Yang fire from his fingertips transformed into a colossal fire dragon.
With a heaven-shattering dragon roar, the fire dragon charged directly towards the celestial stone descending from the sky.
Boom boom boom—
Explosions echoed.
Flying debris, fiery rain!
Terrifying force battered the domain before them, and cracks and fragments reappeared, reflecting the world outside.
Roar—
The fire dragon let out another roar, its boundless flames burning fiercely, and in a flash, it incinerated the formidable celestial stone into nothingness.
Crack crack—
At this moment, the stone statue at the street corner, which had been motionless, stirred.
As the statue moved, the fractured domain repaired itself. The restored domain was different from before, now veiled in a bloody hue.
Ye Kunlun gazed at the statue, noticing that its face seemed to have been painted with a pair of eyes.
The eyes were blood-red, hollow, and eerie, staring blankly at Ye Kunlun.
Ye Kunlun was no longer surprised by such peculiar methods from the Japanese.
Ye Kunlun casually flicked a finger, and the fire dragon, following his movement, charged directly at the stone statue!
Ah—
The stone statue opened its mouth again. The dark, bottomless maw actually swallowed the fire dragon whole.
"Hm?"
Ye Kunlun was startled; this outcome was unexpected.
After all, that was Pure Yang Fire, immensely overbearing, capable of burning almost anything in this world, yet it caused no harm to the statue before him.
"Quite interesting," Ye Kunlun muttered to himself.
Ah—
The next second, the stone statue opened its mouth again.
Whoosh—
A crimson fire dragon gushed out, carrying a dense, eerie aura, and surged towards Ye Kunlun.
Ye Kunlun narrowed his eyes slightly. The fire was Pure Yang Fire, but within it lay another kind of evil power.
He had never encountered such power before, but its ability to alter the properties of Pure Yang Fire was proof enough of its strength.
"Sword, come!"
Ye Kunlun exclaimed, and the Star River condensed in his hand. He thrust his sword forward!
The Star River surged, its immense power seemingly stirring the entire universe. The crimson fire dragon was shattered by Ye Kunlun's single sword strike.
Whoosh—
The crimson flames landed on Ye Kunlun's skin, causing a piercing burning sensation that made him furrow his brow.
"What potent flames!" Ye Kunlun thought to himself as the tip of his Star River sword struck the stone statue's forehead!
Crack—
A crisp cracking sound.
A fissure appeared on the stone statue's forehead, and its eerie eyes shed two lines of bloody tears.
Ye Kunlun frowned. It was only when the stone statue fractured that he sensed a trace of life within it.
Crack crack—
The cracks widened, and when the entire statue was covered in them, with a whoosh, the stone flakes fell away, revealing a gaunt young man.
The man's face was adorned with bizarre makeup, resembling a fox's face in a play, giving one a chilling feeling.
Ye Kunlun sheathed his sword.
The man opened his eyes, revealing only whites, nothing else, which was exceptionally terrifying!
"Thank you!"
The man spoke, surprisingly in Chinese, his voice filled with relief, and a hint of unwillingness.
Ye Kunlun detected his emotions.
Just then, the man extended a hand, and in his palm lay a key—a bronze-colored, rust-covered key!
Ye Kunlun's pupils constricted abruptly!
Because the key in the man's hand was identical to the one Tang Zhuozhuo had produced earlier!
That key once belonged to his grandfather.
But why were there two keys?
"Where did you get this key?"
Ye Kunlun regained his senses, calmed himself, and hurriedly pressed for an answer.
"Ugh ugh ugh..."
The stone statue made a series of strange sounds from its mouth, as if trying to say something, but Ye Kunlun couldn't understand a single word.
The next second, his body turned into a pile of ashes, vanishing into thin air.
Ye Kunlun held the key, his mind reeling with shock, his expression extremely grave.
He could never have imagined obtaining a key that once belonged to his grandfather after slaying the stone statue.
And in Japan, no less!
Yet, in his memory, his grandfather only possessed one such key.
Why did a second one appear?
Was it left by his grandfather, or was it a replica made by someone else?
Why did it appear in Japan? And why was it sealed within a stone statue?
At this moment, Ye Kunlun's mind was filled with countless questions!