A deafening boom rang out as the black Demonic Flame wreathing Yang Kai's fist was struck with tremendous force, scattering in all directions. Simultaneously, his entire body was sent hurtling backward by a powerful impact.
From what had seemed like empty space, a faint figure materialized out of thin air. At the very instant Yang Kai was blown back, the sound of cracking bone echoed through the air, and the figure let out a muffled grunt, apparently quite irritated.
"It's you!" Yang Kai growled. Having clashed with this person even once, he instantly recognized who the ambusher was.
It was Lu Ye from the Liuyun Valley — the one who had supposedly left earlier!
Yang Kai had personally watched him depart from this valley and quickly disappear into the distance. Yet somehow, using some unknown method, Lu Ye had secretly remained nearby all along without leaving, completely undetected by anyone. After the Red Candle Fruit had ripened, he'd crept into the valley, fixating on the Red Candle Stand just as Yang Kai had.
No further guessing was needed — the Yaodan Gate disciple had certainly been killed by this very person.
While Yang Kai was still reeling from the other's methods, Lu Ye seemed equally perplexed. The faint figure didn't vanish this time but instead stood amid the red mist, observing Yang Kai for quite some time before speaking: "You're a peculiar one!"
Yang Kai sneered coldly: "You're no less strange yourself!"
Lu Ye had never imagined that a warrior at the First Layer of the Saint King Realm could survive his ambush, let alone exchange a blow with him completely unscathed. Yang Kai, for his part, hadn't expected Lu Ye's abilities to be so uncanny — practically impossible to guard against. If not for his extraordinary Divine Sense, his fate wouldn't have been any better than that dead Yaodan Gate disciple's.
In that moment, both felt a measure of wariness toward the other, and their resolve to kill intensified.
"I've never offended the Liuyun Valley, nor have I offended you personally. So why are you targeting me?" Yang Kai voiced the question burning in his mind. Having provoked such an enemy for no apparent reason — though he wasn't afraid — he still wanted to understand the reason.
"Hmph, the Liuyun Valley!" Lu Ye let out a cold snort, his tone carrying a faint note of contempt that caught Yang Kai off guard. He said nothing more about that, simply adding in a chilling voice: "Blame yourself for taking something you shouldn't have. Otherwise, you'd actually be a promising talent — far better than those mediocre fools outside."
Yang Kai's expression grew peculiar. He had a nagging feeling this man's arrogance was greater than the heavens themselves. The Lu Ye standing before him felt completely different from what Dai Yuan had described — like two entirely different people.
Moreover, he had no idea what he had taken that could make the other so fixated on him. In the Scorching Sands, he'd acquired quite a few treasures — several no less valuable than the Red Candle Fruit, some even surpassing it. Yet Lu Ye hadn't even bothered contesting the fruit, clearly having no need for such a heaven-defying spiritual herb. What exactly was it that made him so intent on targeting him again and again?
But Yang Kai had no intention of asking. Even if he did, given how important the item was to Lu Ye, the other certainly wouldn't answer. Now, in this valley shrouded in red mist, only the two of them remained. A confrontation was inevitable.
Hiss, hiss...
A faint sound came from behind him. Every hair on Yang Kai's body stood on end. Despite having braced himself, he still broke into a cold sweat at this impossible-to-guard-against ambush. Without a thought, Demonic Flame erupted across his body as he whipped his head toward the source of the sound.
There, emerging eerily from the red mist, was a vague silhouette — a gnarled, withered hand thrusting toward him like a blade.
A sword wreathed in rolling Demonic Flame materialized in his grip, and he slashed outward with his Profound Heaven Sword. The blade's radiance met the withered hand and shattered it on contact, causing the blurry figure to flicker and vanish. But the Profound Heaven Sword's energy also dispersed into nothing.
"Your Sacred Yuan is quite interesting — to carry such power! I never would have expected a Saint King Realm warrior like you to exist in this world." Lu Ye's voice drifted from behind him once more, laced with mockery. Yang Kai's eyes narrowed as he spun around — only to find Lu Ye standing right where he'd been, completely motionless, as if the withered hand and the phantom figure that had just attacked had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
What kind of technique was this?
Alarmed, Yang Kai cast aside all caution and was about to launch a preemptive strike when countless copies of the same phantom figure suddenly materialized from every direction. Each one was identical, as if stamped from the same mold, all surging toward him at once. As they charged, powerful martial techniques erupted from each, raining down upon Yang Kai in a storm of killing intent.
Every single strike was solid and tangible — not the faintest trace of illusion.
Yang Kai's expression shifted. He pulled out the purple shield to guard his flank while simultaneously unleashing sweeping arcs of sword radiance, weaving an impenetrable defensive net around himself.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
Wherever the sword light passed, the phantom figures dissipated into nothing, and every incoming strike was deflected. Yet the phantoms from all sides seemed inexhaustible, pouring forward endlessly, wave after wave, driving Yang Kai to the point of exhaustion and giving him a splitting headache.
He had never encountered such bizarre techniques, so he couldn't find a way to counter them for the time being. But after exchanging blows with his opponent for a while, Yang Kai had begun to sense something amiss.