When Evan Yang arrived, he found many people from Windmount Territory there, including Lana Situ.
"You all plan to leave as well?" Evan asked.
Lana Situ and the others nodded. Lana explained, "Everyone wants to go out and see the world."
"Alright, but there's a dangerous formation inside. I'll have to break it first," Evan said.
No one knew what kind of formation it was, so they could only follow Evan's lead. Evan led everyone through the tunnel in the cave to the End of the Sky. Once there, he temporarily dispelled the restriction, then brought everyone to the edge of the formation.
The teleportation array was covered by a powerful formation. Anyone who hadn't reached the Spirit-Wandering Realm would go mad if they entered—this had been tested before.
Evan's task now was to break this formation so everyone could leave. He activated Heaven's Eye and discovered it was a Pseudo-Immortal grade formation.
"Who set this up back then? Why would anyone arrange such a powerful formation?" Evan wondered aloud, curious about why someone would isolate this place from the outside world.
"Evan, need any help?" Lance Blue asked, seeing Evan lost in thought. Evan shook his head, "No worries, I'll break it myself."
Evan quickly found the array's core and broke it. Soon, everyone outside could enter safely, and saw Evan repairing the teleportation array.
The teleportation array wasn't large—at most, it could send ten people at a time. After Evan finished repairs, he told everyone, "Everything destroyed before has been fixed, but it's still the same as before: ten people per trip. Who wants to go first?"
"We're all heading out anyway, let's go together," Lance Blue said with a smile.
So Lance Blue led the Blue Clan in first. They loaded top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore and activated the array.
After they left, Evan sent another group through. He and Xin Jiang (Jax Jia) and the others went last.
When they emerged, they found themselves on a fifth-class planet. Evan checked the planetary markings and discovered his homeworld was officially called Minor Sky Planet.
"Minor Sky Planet? That's a strange name," Evan muttered, only now learning his world's official name thanks to the array's engravings.
Lance Blue was eager to take the continent's people to explore the nearby major city. Evan told him, "If anything comes up, contact me via Transmission Stone."
"Alright, you go take care of your business. I know you've got a lot on your plate," Lance Blue replied, aware that Evan's main focus was breaking through from Nine Tribulations Realm to Pseudo-Immortal Stage.
Evan smiled. After they left, Lana Situ gathered her courage and said with a smile, "I should take my people out as well."
"Here, everyone uses Interstellar Transmission Stones now. The old ones don't work anymore. Let's buy some first, in case you need to contact me," Evan said with a smile.
Lana Situ wanted to ask how Evan knew she'd want to contact him, but with so many people around, she stayed quiet and simply followed him.
Evan led the group to a nearby major city, found a shop specializing in Transmission Stones, and bought one for each of his companions, including Xin Jiang and Tara Chu.
Lana Situ smiled and said, "We'll be off, then."
"If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me," Evan said with a smile.
Lana Situ nodded, then led the Windmount Territory people away. Still, she felt reluctant, secretly wondering, "Why didn't he ask me to stay?"
Evan had no idea what Lana Situ was thinking. He turned to the remaining two, Xin Jiang and Tara Chu, and asked, "What about you two?"
"What about Winter?" Xin Jiang didn't answer directly, but asked instead.
Evan smiled, "I almost forgot about that. Come on, I'll let you meet her."
After speaking, Evan took them outside the city, found a secluded spot, and brought Xin Jiang and Tara Chu into the tower. Inside, they saw many unfamiliar faces.
Most were unconscious—foes Evan had subdued—but a few were active. Two women especially caught their attention: one was Winter, the other they didn't recognize.
Winter was overjoyed to see Xin Jiang and Tara Chu, and Ye Chen joined them. The four women quickly caught up, sharing their stories and the hardships of the past years.
Evan, of course, didn't join their lively reunion. Instead, he found the Strange Fiend, whose cultivation had improved—he'd reached the Spirit-God Realm, though he was still far from Evan's level.
"You've reached the Spirit-God Realm?" Evan asked with a smile.
"Yeah." The Strange Fiend no longer hated Evan as he once had. He felt comfortable here, able to cultivate, and the spiritual energy around him kept growing denser—a perfect place compared to the outside world.
"After the Three Palaces learned about the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects, they've started moving in earnest," Evan said with a smile.
"What? They know?" The Strange Fiend was shocked—he'd stirred up a lot of trouble back then, and only managed to escape to a nameless planet.
"Of course they know, but there's nothing they can do to me," Evan replied with a smile.
"What's your strength now?" The Strange Fiend still couldn't see through Evan's cultivation.
"Nine Tribulations Realm," Evan said with a smile.
The Strange Fiend was stunned. "What? You've reached the Nine Tribulations Realm?"
"Yeah, don't believe me?" Evan smiled.
"It's not that, just a bit surprised," the Strange Fiend admitted. He found it hard to believe, but knew Evan wouldn't lie about something like this.
"Alright, enough about that. Let me ask—has anything changed while cultivating here?" Evan knew the Strange Fiend was the most diligent cultivator in the tower.
The Strange Fiend replied, "Every hundred years, the spiritual energy shifts subtly. Not sure what causes it."
"Maybe something's working behind the scenes. Anyway, do you want to go out now?" Evan asked.
"Go out? I wouldn't dare—the Three Palaces are full of experts," the Strange Fiend said, startled.
"Their focus is all on me now. They won't bother with you anymore," Evan said with a smile.
"Are you sure?" The Strange Fiend found it hard to believe.
"Why would I lie to you?" Evan smiled.
The Strange Fiend thought it over, but he still preferred it here—he was reluctant to leave.
Seeing the Strange Fiend lost in thought, Evan smiled and said, "Whenever you want to leave, just call out to the sky."
"Thank you," the Strange Fiend replied gratefully—he hadn't expected Evan to treat him so kindly.
When Xin Jiang and Tara Chu saw the Strange Fiend talking with Evan, they were surprised. Winter explained, and only then did they understand what was going on.
Evan was about to ask the women if they'd finished their conversation when he bumped into the Old Beggar, who was holding a wine jug stained with Dreamwine Evan had given him.
"Kid, I never expected your brewing skills to be so impressive," the Old Beggar said, here to beg for more wine. It was rare to see Evan in the tower.
"Senior, I still have some left—I'll keep a bit for myself, and you can have the rest," Evan said, planning to save some for emergencies and give the rest to the Old Beggar.
The Old Beggar was overjoyed—he felt it was truly the finest wine in the world. Seeing him so happy, Evan smiled and asked, "Senior, we've already left the spatial crack. What are your plans now?"
"We've left?" The Old Beggar was even more delighted to hear they'd exited the spatial crack.
"That's right," Evan said with a smile, then explained what had happened. The Old Beggar laughed, "Good, good! Heaven hasn't abandoned me after all. Of course I want to go out and see the world—maybe that Eccentric Immortal hasn't fully recovered yet."
"That's not certain, so you'd better be careful, Senior," Evan said. He wasn't sure if the Eccentric Immortal still had tricks up his sleeve, and didn't want the Old Beggar to take risks.
"He harmed my clan—I won't let that go. His strength is real, unless I can enter the Immortal Realm and grow stronger," the Old Beggar said, agreeing with Evan's warning.
"Senior, you can go out for now. When I reach the Pseudo-Immortal Stage, I'll contact you, and we'll head to the Immortal Realm together," Evan said with a smile.
"Easier said than done. Even with the Pseudo-Immortal Stage, you need a key for the Immortal Gate Entrance," the Old Beggar sighed.
"You know about it?" Evan asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I've seen the records left by my clan—the same ones I showed you later," the Old Beggar sighed.
"Don't lose hope, Senior. As long as there's time, there's a chance to find the key," Evan said.
"If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find it. But luck has never been on my side," the Old Beggar said gloomily.
"That's not true—you met me, didn't you?" Evan smiled.
"You rascal! Fine, I'll trust you this time. I'll do my best to find the key, and when you reach the Pseudo-Immortal Stage, we'll go to the Immortal Realm together," the Old Beggar said.
Evan nodded. "No problem."
After their conversation, the Old Beggar decided to head out and search for the key. With only thirty thousand years left and no medicine to prolong his life, staying in the tower would mean missing his chance. He set off to look for it.
Evan didn't stop him and let him go, reminding him that he could always reach out for help if needed.
The Old Beggar nodded and left after Evan's farewell.
After sending off the Old Beggar, Evan found Xin Jiang and the other three women. He knew Ye Chen was still wanted by the Fenn Family, so he was uneasy letting her leave. He said, "Everyone except you can go out for a walk, or stay here if you prefer."
"The two of us definitely want to go out," Xin Jiang said, making it clear that besides seeing Evan, they were here to improve their cultivation.
"I'll stay here. It's too dangerous outside," Winter said with a smile.
Ye Chen wasn't pleased. "I've mastered one of the Illusory Quad-Change forms—I can go out."
"You have?" Evan asked, surprised.
"If you don't believe me, ask Derek," Ye Chen said with a smile.
So Derek was pulled out of cultivation by Ye Chen.
But Derek hadn't made much progress here. Aside from the Illusory Quad-Change, his cultivation remained at the same level. Evan looked at him curiously, "You haven't been cultivating, have you?"
"Grandmaster, that's not it. I've been cultivating, but I can't break through—it seems I need to absorb that to advance," Derek said awkwardly.
Evan knew exactly what Derek meant—he needed Fiend Star Sources.