When they'd entered Zangxiong Valley, their pace had been slow since they needed to search and explore, so the two could only proceed on foot. But now, as they departed, Yang Kai controlled the Star Shuttle, and naturally the time required would be far less.
Just as Yang Kai was rushing outward with Yang Yan in tow, he suddenly halted, freezing as though he'd sensed something. He turned to look off to the side, letting out a soft "huh" of surprise.
"What is it?" Yang Yan asked, startled. She had no idea why Yang Kai had suddenly stopped.
"Nothing," Yang Kai replied calmly. "I've run into one of those people from before. But her state seems… off."
Over there, a figure was hurtling toward them at breakneck speed—whether by coincidence or not, the person was heading straight for Yang Kai. And under his careful observation, he realized the newcomer was none other than the woman called Lu Ying who had been at Shen Shitao's side.
Only now, her expression was panicked, the fluctuations of her Saint Yuan power extremely unstable. She looked rather bedraggled, as though she'd just survived a fierce battle.
And aside from her, Shen Shitao of the Qiantian Sect, Shen Fanlei of the Jidao Gate, and Wang Yuhan were all nowhere to be seen. There was no telling where they'd gone.
They had clearly run into trouble. If it were a stranger, Yang Kai would have immediately put distance between himself and the area. After all, he'd only recently drawn the attention of those special existences within the Corpse Nest, and he had no desire to linger.
But this was someone he knew. He might have walked away if he hadn't seen her, but having seen her, just leaving like that would leave Yang Kai with an uneasy conscience.
After all, it was thanks to Shen Shitao that he'd learned this place was Zangxiong Valley.
After a moment's deliberation, Yang Kai gritted his teeth and steered the Star Shuttle toward Lu Ying.
Lu Ying was flying while darting her gaze left and right, as though searching for something. Suddenly sensing someone approach, she was startled and looked toward Yang Kai. Upon clearly seeing his face, her expression turned to elation—the wariness and panic vanished, and she hurriedly flew to meet him.
Before she even reached him, she called out in a trembling voice: "Senior Brother Yang!"
"Miss Lu Ying!" Yang Kai flew up to her and stopped. Frowning, he asked, "What has you so panicked?"
"Senior Brother Yang, please—hurry and save Senior Sister Shen and the others! They've been targeted by a ninth-rank demon beast!"
"A ninth-rank demon beast?" Yang Kai's expression darkened. "How can there be a demon beast here? And a ninth-rank one at that?"
A ninth-rank demon beast was equivalent to the Void Return Realm. In a place as extraordinary as Zangxiong Valley, for demon beasts to exist was entirely beyond his expectations.
"I don't know either, but there truly is a ninth-rank demon beast there. Senior Sister Shen and the others are trapped—they barely managed to send me out to find help! Senior Brother Yang, I beg you, please go quickly. If we're too late, it'll be over!"
"You're joking, Miss Lu Ying." Yang Kai did not agree immediately. Instead, he furrowed his brow and said, "My cultivation is only at the second level of the Saint King Realm. My strength is even less than Miss Shen's or Brother Wang's. If they've been trapped, wouldn't I just be walking to my death?"
Hearing this, Lu Ying's expression froze, as though she'd finally realized the obvious.
Just now, she'd been desperate to find help. Zangxiong Valley was a place where few people ever ventured, so upon spotting Yang Kai, she'd naturally seized the opportunity to beg for aid. Now, reminded by Yang Kai, her lovely face drained of color.
She had witnessed the demon beast's power firsthand. It had taken the combined strength of all four of them just to barely hold their ground. Even if Yang Kai went, what could someone at his level possibly do to turn the tide? He'd most likely be dragged in as well, unable to escape.
For a moment, Lu Ying stood rooted to the spot, her mind in complete disarray.
Though Yang Kai hadn't agreed outright, he did ask: "What type of demon beast is it? What's its specific strength?"
Lu Ying answered instinctively: "It's a lightning-attribute demon beast. Its strength should be roughly equivalent to the first level of the Void Return Realm. But it's using a thunder pool and restrictive formations over there to perform far beyond its normal level. Otherwise, Senior Sister Shen and the others wouldn't have been trapped—even if they couldn't win, they should've been able to flee."
"Thunder pool?" Before Yang Kai could respond, Yang Yan's eyes lit up, clearly very interested.
"Yes—the thunder pool here is something many people know about. This time, Senior Sister Shen's younger brother Shen Fanlei intended to use that thunder pool to cultivate a secret technique and break through his current bottleneck. Nobody expected this kind of accident," Lu Ying hastily explained.
Yang Kai glanced at Yang Yan, and suddenly her voice rang in his ear via sound transmission: "I want the thunder liquid from that pool!"
Yang Kai sighed, knowing that this time he probably had no choice but to make the trip. Setting aside the fact that he'd never truly intended to stand by and do nothing, now that Yang Yan was interested in the thunder liquid too, it had to be something genuinely valuable.