When they were still thirty li from the valley, Halika stopped. He hemmed and hawed for a good while before finally saying, "Little brother, I'll wait for you here. If things don't work out, leave immediately—don't linger. Master Zong Ao absolutely despises people like that. If you anger him, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Yang Kai swept a glance over him. Halika's expression turned awkward, and he explained, "You're young, Little Brother, and your cultivation is low. Even if Master Zong Ao gets angry, he probably won't stoop to attacking you personally. But if I go along with you…"
"Understood." Yang Kai guessed his concerns and didn't insist. He scooped Xueyue into his arms and departed like a bolt of lightning.
Halika stood rooted in place, craning his neck and staring ahead, his heart in his throat. He had no idea whether Yang Kai's trip would go smoothly, or whether Zong Ao would beat him to a pulp.
Thirty li—Yang Kai arrived in the blink of an eye.
He went straight to the front of the palace and called out in a clear voice, "Senior! My lady has suffered a grievous calamity and lies unconscious. I hear that you are the finest Alchemist on Rain Waterfall Star, and I've come specifically to beg for your aid. Please do me the favor of examining her."
Inside the palace, all was silent. Yang Kai could sense the presence of a living being within—the Alchemist called Zong Ao was indeed there—but there was no response.
He called out three more times, with the same result.
Far off, Halika's heart nearly leapt into his throat. He silently resolved that if Zong Ao stormed out in a rage, he would flee instantly without a second thought.
Outside the palace, Yang Kai waited anxiously.
Reclusive experts always had their quirks, and Yang Kai understood that. So he didn't act rashly. Even Halika and Lin Mufeng were wary of Zong Ao—if he, a minor cultivator at the second layer of the Saint Realm, provoked the man, the outcome would certainly not be pleasant. So he simply stood outside holding Xueyue, speaking in a respectful tone, quietly awaiting Zong Ao's response.
He was also thinking. What if Zong Ao refused to see him?
Xueyue was unconscious and he couldn't just leave her be. Their lives were connected—if anything happened to Xueyue while she lay in a coma, he wouldn't survive either.
So Yang Kai was desperate to wake Xueyue up, sever the soul chain, and regain his freedom.
Just as he was wrestling with these worries, an aged voice suddenly drifted out from within the palace: "Come in!"
Yang Kai paused, somewhat surprised that things had gone so smoothly. An expression of genuine surprise crossed his face. He carefully considered the tone of Zong Ao's voice, found no displeasure or anger in it, and stepped inside.
The palace gates stood wide open. There were no guards or servants to be found. In this domain spanning thousands of li, it seemed Zong Ao was the only living soul.
After navigating through the palace, Yang Kai arrived before an enormous chamber. From within came a rich fragrance of pills. He stepped inside cautiously and looked around—his pupils contracted involuntarily.
This chamber was clearly Zong Ao's alchemy room.
Dozens of pill furnaces, large and small, stood arranged throughout the room. Each still radiated residual heat, suggesting they had been used not long ago. In one corner of the chamber, a large number of jade bottles were heaped together, each filled with pills. They came in every color and type—the sight was quite spectacular.
Yang Kai estimated that the pile contained at least two hundred bottles. They had been tossed on the ground in complete disarray, as though they were worthless trinkets.
Yang Kai was secretly stunned. Only then did he realize that what Halika had said before was no exaggeration—the sheer volume of pills Zong Ao produced was truly terrifying.
At that moment, Zong Ao sat in a beast-hide chair, holding a jade bottle in his hand, inspecting its contents.
He checked the bottle, found nothing he wanted, and casually tossed it into the corner with the rest, adding it to the existing pile.
More than a dozen jade bottles sat beside him.
He examined them one by one, and his face broke into a grin. He murmured to himself, "Another one. Heh heh, not bad, not bad—my labor wasn't wasted. Ah, but pills are so hard to refine…"
With that, he extracted a pill from the jade bottle and placed it into another that he had prepared in advance.
Yang Kai looked closely. Every single pill in that destination bottle bore pill patterns.
It seemed Zong Ao only kept pills that had developed pill patterns, discarding the rest like worn-out shoes without a second glance—regardless of what grade those pills were or how valuable.
While Zong Ao was inspecting the pills, Yang Kai didn't interrupt. He simply stood there in silence.
After a while, Zong Ao finished his work. He tucked the patterned pills into his robes, raised his eyes to look at Yang Kai, and let out an odd chuckle. "So you're the kid who was sneaking around my herb garden stealing techniques, are you?"
Yang Kai's face reddened. He said sheepishly, "Some days ago, I happened to pass through this area. I was captivated by the mysteries in the herb garden and couldn't help stopping to study for a few days. If I caused any offense, please forgive me, Senior."
No matter where you went, stealing techniques was a terrible transgression, and Yang Kai knew he'd been in the wrong.
But at the time, he truly hadn't thought much of it. Now that the man was pressing him on it, he had nothing to say.
"Mm." Zong Ao seemed reasonably satisfied with Yang Kai's candid admission. He rose from his chair and said with a light laugh, "Forget it, it's nothing major. You're in luck today, boy—I just finished refining and had a bit of success. Since you're an Alchemist yourself, I'll let it slide."
Only a fellow Alchemist could comprehend the mysteries hidden in the herb garden. This, Zong Ao understood better than anyone.
"What happened to your lady?" Zong Ao asked of his own accord.
Yang Kai's expression turned solemn. "She's unconscious, her life force frozen, her consciousness scattered, and her spiritual soul nowhere to be found!"