Only that one place in the world could produce such earth-shattering geniuses, which was why Meng Hongliang had panicked so badly at the last moment.
He'd heard before that the people from that place were cold and ruthless, but now it seemed that wasn't entirely true—at the very least, this fellow named Yang Kai was pretty decent.
It seemed the world's rumors really couldn't be taken at face value.
Neither Yang Kai mentioned the Fire Radiance Crystal Marrow, nor did Huang Xiran ask about it. Both understood tacitly.
For Huang Xiran, being able to exact his revenge was already more than enough. How could he push his luck and ask Yang Kai for the Fire Radiance Crystal Marrow? After all, that was already considered his spoils of war.
Once Yang Kai's figure vanished from sight, Huang Xiran hastily gathered the scattered Space Rings from the ground, extracted the Saint Crystals and pills within, and quickly left the area. He planned to find a secluded spot to heal his injuries and, if possible, contact other fellow sect members to stand guard for him.
Five days later, Yang Kai passed through the Scorching Zone and abruptly arrived at a place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was extraordinarily dense. Here, there were none of the ever-present heat waves of the Scorching Zone, nor the Fire Toxins that constantly invaded the body. As far as the eye could see, vegetation grew lush and green, birds sang and flowers bloomed, and the air was filled with a crisp, refreshing scent. This place was practically a paradise hidden from the world.
The Heavenly Treasures Zone!
Yang Kai's spirits lifted. He knew he had finally crossed through the first layer—the Scorching Zone—and entered the second layer: the Heavenly Treasures Zone.
The Flowing Flame Sand Region was truly bizarre. Layer upon layer of distinct zones, each with vastly different environments, yet at the boundary between each layer, the Scorching Zone and the Heavenly Treasures Zone were perfectly separated—the heat waves and Fire Toxins could not penetrate this place in the slightest.
Since parting ways with Huang Xiran of the Extreme Dao Sect, Yang Kai had spent these five days traveling nonstop.
As he pushed deeper, he encountered warriors from several factions. These warriors moved in groups, doing nothing but hunting Fire Spirit Beasts within the Scorching Zone while searching for fire-attribute spirit herbs and medicines. Of course, if they could get their hands on rare ores like Fire Radiance Crystal, that would be even better.
Basically, more than half of the warriors from each major faction who entered this place stayed in the Scorching Zone doing exactly this. Only the rest would enter the Heavenly Treasures Zone to search for spirit herbs and medicines—and those who qualified to enter were the elites among elites of their respective sects.
It didn't seem entirely fair. Those with lower strength and worse aptitude fought on the outside, while those with greater strength and better aptitude calmly searched for treasures within. But that was simply how the world worked—the better your aptitude and the greater your strength, the more favorable the treatment you received.
It was the same principle as the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
If you wanted access to better resources, you first had to improve your own strength.
Yang Kai had traveled peacefully along the way, never encountering anyone like Meng Hongliang who enjoyed picking fights. Apart from the occasional strange looks from other warriors, everything else was fine.
Those warriors, seeing that Yang Kai's realm was low and that he was wandering the Scorching Zone alone, assumed the fellow had a death wish. Most watched with the attitude of spectators enjoying a show. One woman, however—a refined-looking lady Yang Kai didn't recognize—ran up to him and urged him to turn back immediately, to stop courting death.
With someone showing such good intentions, Yang Kai gave a few casual brush-off responses. The woman, seeing that Yang Kai was determined to push deeper, didn't waste any more breath. She simply shook her head and sighed, thinking that there really were fools in this world who didn't value their own lives.
The Scorching Zone, which should have taken around ten days to traverse, had taken Yang Kai nearly a month due to the strange valley and the illusion array that had delayed him.
By now, many people had surely already entered the Heavenly Treasures Zone. But Yang Kai wasn't anxious. He extended his Divine Sense and leisurely began searching for spirit herbs and medicines.
Wei Guchang had said that although there were no Fire Spirit Beasts in the Heavenly Treasures Zone, there were quite a few demon beasts lurking about, so he still needed to stay alert.
For several days in a row, Yang Kai didn't encounter a single person.
His harvest was meager. He wasn't sure whether it was because others had gotten there first, or whether the zone was simply like this. After all those days, Yang Kai's expectations for the place had gradually diminished. Moreover, he had once seen the riches of the Floating Continent.
The Floating Continent was where the true abundance of resources lay—spirit herbs and medicines were everywhere, Void Grade and Void King Grade specimens numbering beyond count.
Most of the herbs he'd gathered in the Heavenly Treasures Zone were mid-to-high Saint King Grade, with some at Void Grade. For anyone else, such a haul would be considered enormous, but Yang Kai was rather indifferent.
He hadn't managed to find several of the specific herbs he was looking for.
After the Flowing Flame Sand Region closed, he wanted to refine some power-boosting pills for Wu Yi and the others. After all, Wu Yi and Yu Feng's strength was far too low.
One day, as Yang Kai was walking along, he suddenly made a peculiar expression and sniffed the air.
He smelled something familiar—a very distinctive medicinal aroma with a faint hint of tartness.
Emerald Luo Grass! Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
Emerald Luo Grass was precisely one of his targets for this trip. It wasn't that the Dark Star didn't produce Emerald Luo Grass—but the moment any appeared, it would be snatched up by the major factions, because this herb was the primary ingredient for refining Void Condensing Pills.
Although the highest-level alchemists on the Dark Star were only at the low Void Grade, they could still attempt to refine Void Condensing Pills. Out of ten batches, they might succeed with one—and that represented a significant chance of producing a Void Return Realm expert.
For precisely this reason, Emerald Luo Grass was completely unavailable on the market. It was one of the most sought-after herbs around.
If Yang Kai wanted it, his only hope lay in this expedition to the Flowing Flame Sand Region.
He just hadn't expected that he would actually make a discovery.