Yang Kai had been traveling with Ji Ping's group through this place for many days. Though there had been some rough patches, they hadn't encountered any truly dangerous situations, because Ji Ping possessed ancient texts passed down from his ancestors and knew which direction was safe to travel.
But Di Ji was different. He had come here dead set on finding treasures, running into all manner of deadly dangers and fighting his way through. The people who'd been by his side had long since perished, leaving him as the sole survivor barely clinging to life—and in poor condition at that.
He had originally planned to sneak up behind Ji Ping and kill him, never expecting Yang Kai to catch him red-handed.
Di Ji glared viciously at Yang Kai, furious that he'd ruined his scheme.
"How did you get here?" Ji Ping asked coldly.
Di Ji let out a heavy snort. "I'm not deaf. There were screams coming from this direction—did you think I wouldn't hear?"
As he spoke, his expression turned to wild delight. He looked at Ji Ping and said, "Everything you said just now—is it true? This Body Tempering Divine Pool can really improve a person's physique? Your ancestors really cultivated to Return Void Stage Three?"
"So what if they did?" Ji Ping didn't deny it. Di Ji had clearly been here for a while and had definitely heard everything he and Gui Che had said. Denying it now would serve no purpose.
"Good, good!" Di Ji was overjoyed. "I haven't wasted six months leading my people to hunt you down. Before, I had no idea what you were really doing—I just knew there were benefits to be had. Now I finally understand. Ji Ping, you're no match for me. If you want to live, scram while you can. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
A flicker of panic crossed Ji Ping's face. His cultivation was only at Saint King Stage Two, while Di Ji was a minor realm above him—he knew he wasn't his match. But the panic quickly vanished, and Ji Ping smiled. "Your condition isn't great either, is it? If you could kill me easily, you wouldn't be wasting time on all this talk. I just wonder—if the two of us really fought right now, who'd be the last one standing?"
"You noticed?" Di Ji laughed nonchalantly, without a hint of embarrassment, and nodded. "Since you've seen through me, I won't play games. There are only the two of us left here now. Neither one can really do anything to the other. How about we negotiate?"
"What do you want?" Ji Ping asked, irritation in his eyes.
He had known Di Ji had also brought people into this place, but he never expected to run into him at this final stage. He wanted nothing more than to kill Di Ji right then and there, but he was worried about the consequences. He didn't dare act rashly.
"We don't go after each other. The pool is big enough for both of us to temper our bodies inside. We both walk away with benefits, and nobody gets hurt." Di Ji proposed, his expression dead serious.
"Fine. I was thinking the same thing. We've come this far—I really don't want to fail at the last step. Giving you a share of the benefits is no big deal." Ji Ping nodded readily.
"Then it's settled?" Di Ji chuckled.
Ji Ping nodded again.
The two stared at each other from a dozen zhang apart, both wearing satisfied expressions, as though they had truly reached an agreement.
Without warning, a dark-golden suit of armor materialized on Ji Ping's body. His fists swung, and waves of fierce power erupted from his knuckles. The energy condensed into solid form, like a barrage of sharp swords, howling toward Di Ji.
A silver light flickered in Di Ji's hand, and that silver spear materialized lazily in his grip. The patterns along its shaft seemed to come alive, radiating a thick aura of water. Raging waves surged forth, meeting Ji Ping's attack like a tsunami.
The battle erupted in an instant. The two who had just struck an agreement moved to kill each other at the very same moment.
Hiding in the pool water, Yang Kai let out a cold laugh. He knew perfectly well that these two could never coexist peacefully. Ji Ping couldn't afford to give Di Ji time to recover—once Di Ji was back in form, Ji Ping would be no match for him. So he had to make his move now, whether he felt confident or not. He had to go all in.
Though Ji Ping's cultivation was a notch below, Di Ji wasn't in peak condition. Until the fight was over, no one could say which side would win.
After watching for a while, Yang Kai grew bored. He relaxed his body and stopped resisting the pulling force from below, letting it drag him down into the pool water.
He wanted to see what secrets lay hidden in the depths.
The dark-red water churned as though boiling. The various mysteries contained within ceaselessly tempered Yang Kai's blood.
He squinted as he sank lower and lower. It was a long time before he finally felt himself touch the pool bottom. Only then did the pulling force disappear.
It was pitch black down here—nothing was visible. The dark-red water blocked all light from penetrating.
Yang Kai had no choice but to take out a luminous stone and hold it in his hand, releasing his Divine Sense to probe his surroundings. Not far away, he detected a strange fluctuation of power. He knew that had to be the altar Ji Ping had mentioned.
He didn't rush toward the altar. Instead, he began searching around the pool floor.
Before long, he found a Space Ring lying quietly on the bottom. He sent his Divine Sense inside to examine its contents, and Yang Kai broke into a broad grin.
Inside the Space Ring were the thunder-attributed spirit wood that had grown from the remains of the tenth-stage demon beast Thunder Phoenix after its death, the carapace of the Red-Tail Purple-Armored Scorpion, and countless medicinal herbs along with seven or eight demon beast inner cores.
This was Gui Che's Space Ring!
Satisfied, Yang Kai tucked the ring into his robe and stowed it carefully.
Space Rings were unique. Because they contained an independent space within, they conflicted with the Demon God's Secret Tome—all Space Rings couldn't be stored inside it. But Cosmos Bags could. Yang Kai had no idea why.