The examination yielded an unexpected pleasant surprise for Yang Kai.
This Blood Fusion Pill was exactly as he had predicted. While it contained extremely potent blood and qi energy, it also harbored a massive amount of vicious intent and malevolent qi. If an ordinary martial artist came into possession of such a thing, they would cast it aside without a second thought, never daring to consume it. Only cultivators from organizations like the Blood Demon Sect, who practiced evil techniques, could draw upon the vicious qi within the Blood Fusion Pill to bolster their cultivation.
Such malevolent qi was naturally no concern for Yang Kai. After all, he had once possessed energy far more sinister.
He carefully inspected the materials used to refine the pill and secretly felt alarmed. Though he couldn't identify every single ingredient—recognizing only about seventy or eighty percent of them—every material required to refine this pill turned out to be an exceedingly rare spiritual herb. No wonder that even though Deng Ning and his two martial brothers were already Holy King Stage Three cultivators, they had fought so viciously over a single Blood Fusion Pill.
Such peculiar pills were presumably scarce even within the Blood Demon Sect. They would only be awarded as a reward when a disciple rendered extraordinary merit. Deng Ning had obtained considerable gains from the Scorching Sand Expanse and presented them to the Blood Demon Sect's higher-ups, which was how he had received this single pill.
For reasons unknown, word had leaked out, and Ye Yangrong and An Zhiyong had set their sights on it.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai chose not to dwell on their internal disputes. After a moment of contemplation, his expression turning peculiar, he opened his mouth, tossed the Blood Fusion Pill inside, and swallowed it down.
Within his body, the Demon Flame instantly transformed into a state of extreme heat and supreme yang. The moment the Blood Fusion Pill's medicinal power dissolved in his stomach, waves of frigid yin energy surged outward, rushing toward his limbs and bones. But under the refinement of the supremely hot and yang Demon Flame, all of that cold energy was forcibly expelled from his body. Wisps of black qi seeped through his pores and dissipated into the air.
Only the vast blood and qi energy contained within the Blood Fusion Pill remained, circulating through Yang Kai's body and merging into his flesh and blood.
Paying no further attention to the pill's effects, Yang Kai turned to examining the Blood Demon Threads secret technique that Deng Ning had given him.
He wasn't studying it because he intended to cultivate this evil art of the Blood Demon Sect—he was simply preparing for the future. At any point, he might encounter high-ranking members of the Blood Demon Sect. If he ended up clashing with them and they deployed such techniques, at least he would know his enemy.
To his surprise, the moment he looked more closely, Yang Kai let out a soft exclamation. His mind immediately plunged deep into the technique, unable to extricate itself for the longest time. As he studied further, his expression shifted repeatedly—sometimes delighted, sometimes furrowed in thought, sometimes contemplative.
...
One month later, a streak of azure light flashed through the sky above Tianyun City, shooting straight toward Dragon Cave Mountain fifty li away. Moments later, the light halted at the foot of the mountain, and Yang Kai's figure emerged from within.
He looked up toward Dragon Cave Mountain and froze in shock, his eyes widening in disbelief. For a moment, he completely forgot to move forward.
From the time he had departed for the Scorching Sand Expanse until this return, barely more than a year had elapsed. Yet in that short span, the entirety of Dragon Cave Mountain had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
From the foot of the mountain, the sparse peaks that had once dotted the landscape were nowhere to be seen. All that met his eyes was a breathtaking vista shrouded in swirling clouds and mist, through which pulsed impressive fluctuations of spiritual energy. Through the haze, he could make out the cave where he had once meditated—and around it, several pavilion-like structures had risen. Though not numerous, they had already been linked together into a cohesive complex.
A few figures bustled among the buildings, moving back and forth.
Was this still Dragon Cave Mountain? Yang Kai half-suspected he had taken a wrong turn and arrived at some sect's main gate. But fifty li behind him lay Tianyun City without a doubt—he had passed through it just moments ago and had even considered paying Qian Tong a visit to report his safe return.
Though the sight still fell far short of a major sect's grandeur, the fact that such a dramatic transformation had occurred in merely a single year left Yang Kai struggling to believe his eyes.
This was undoubtedly Yang Yan's doing! The Spirit Gathering Array she had previously laid down here must have begun bearing fruit. Moreover, under the probe of Yang Kai's divine sense, the entire Dragon Cave Mountain was enveloped by a mysterious grand formation. His divine sense encountered considerable resistance when trying to penetrate within, and at several concealed locations, he couldn't probe at all—including the very cave where he had once meditated.
Yang Kai's current divine sense was no weaker than that of a Return Void Stage Two cultivator. If even his divine sense couldn't penetrate those areas, then even the most powerful expert on the Dark Star would need to expend considerable effort to peer inside.
Yang Yan had truly accomplished it! Yang Kai couldn't help but be momentarily dazed. Before he had set off for the Scorching Sand Expanse, Yang Yan had spoken of transforming the entire Dragon Cave Mountain into a staggering grand formation. He had never imagined that in such a short time, she would achieve this scale.
He didn't know whether her project was complete. If it wasn't, then this was an undertaking of truly breathtaking ambition.
But... those hundred million Saint Crystals should be nearly depleted by now, shouldn't they? Constructing such a vast formation required materials of extraordinary value. At the thought of this, Yang Kai's face twitched slightly.
Meanwhile, as Yang Kai probed the interior, several weak threads of divine sense emerged from within. They made brief contact with his own before hastily retreating.