"What should we do then?" Yang Yan asked, a note of worry in her voice.
"It's fine. Her mentioning this place was actually her way of telling me not to be nervous. The vast majority of people in the Liuli Gate have no idea about this — otherwise she wouldn't have come here to have me refine the Ningxu Pill."
"That may be, but we should still be careful. The Liuli Mountain is the Liuli Gate's greatest treasure. If word gets out, they certainly won't let it rest."
"I understand the stakes." Yang Kai nodded lightly. "By the way, Qian Yue isn't in closed-door cultivation right now, is she?"
"No!" Yang Yan shook her head.
"Have her come see me. I have something to discuss with her." Yang Kai turned and walked back into his stone residence.
Inside the stone residence, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, his expression blank as though lost in deep thought. Sensing someone approaching outside, he immediately opened the restrictions and let them in.
Sure enough, it was Qian Yue.
"Yang Kai, you wanted to see me?" Qian Yue asked.
"Mm, come sit." Yang Kai gestured. Though Qian Yue didn't understand what this was about, she came over and sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion before him, curiously studying her surroundings with an interested expression.
Truth be told, among everyone besides Yang Kai himself, Yang Yan was the one who frequented this stone residence the most. Others rarely set foot here — only when a Dragon Cave Mountain martial artist needed to break through a bottleneck would they come to the specially prepared chamber outside the stone residence for secluded cultivation, where they could sense a trace of the aura emanating from the Nine-Twist Crystal Jade Tree, supplemented by Ten-Thousand-Year Incense. Both were enormously beneficial for a martial artist's breakthrough.
This was Qian Yue's first time here, so she was naturally curious.
This was one of the most secretive locations in all of Dragon Cave Mountain.
"What did you want to see me about?" After looking around for a while, Qian Yue's expression turned serious as she asked. She and Yang Kai both hailed from the Tongxuan Continent. Although many years ago her strength had been sufficient to look down on Yang Kai, now she owed her excellent cultivation environment and abundant cultivation resources entirely to Yang Kai's kindness. Not to mention that Yang Kai's strength had long since surpassed hers.
So now Qian Yue treated Yang Kai only as a peer — and there was even a faint trace of reverence in her heart.
"I need your help with something."
Qian Yue smiled faintly. "Sure. I was just lamenting that there wasn't much for me to do around here. What kind of help do you need? Just say it."
"I need your spiritual soul body to enter my Sea of Consciousness." Yang Kai looked straight into her eyes, speaking with utmost seriousness.
"What?" Qian Yue's face went blank with shock as she stared at Yang Kai in utter astonishment. She had never imagined he would make such an inconceivable request. Letting another's spiritual soul body enter your Sea of Consciousness — this was no trivial matter. Generally, this was something only done between the most trusted or most intimate of people.
After all, a person's Sea of Consciousness harbored far too many secrets — things no one would want an outsider to know.
The last time Yang Kai had entered Yang Yan's Sea of Consciousness, it was because Yang Yan had voluntarily lowered her Divine Sense defenses, placing absolute trust in him. Otherwise, Yang Kai would have had no way to break in.
Now, hearing Yang Kai say this, Qian Yue was naturally shocked beyond measure — but also felt a trace of gratitude.
Regardless of Yang Kai's original intention, the fact that he could say this so openly meant he clearly did not regard her as an outsider.
"I can enter, but what do you want me to do? Are you trying to cultivate some kind of secret technique?" Qian Yue guessed casually.
"No, don't overthink it. I just need you to find a place," Yang Kai explained.
"Find a place?" Qian Yue's delicate brows furrowed in deeper confusion. How could finding a place require entering Yang Kai's Sea of Consciousness?
"Find the location where you and Su Yan separated!" Yang Kai's face turned solemn as he spoke in a low, stern voice. Before Qian Yue could question him, he continued, "You'll understand once you go in yourself. It's too troublesome to explain."
Though Qian Yue was still thoroughly bewildered, she didn't hesitate further and gently nodded her head. "Then lower your Sea of Consciousness defenses."
Yang Kai nodded slightly, closed his eyes, and sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness. The next moment, his spiritual soul body manifested, hovering at a certain point above the sea.
After only a brief wait, Yang Kai felt another surge of soul energy charging straight into his Sea of Consciousness. He furrowed his brow but did not resist, allowing it to pierce straight through. A moment later, light flashed before his eyes, and Qian Yue's spiritual soul body appeared.
No sooner had she materialized than she let out a startled cry, immediately mobilizing her soul power to resist the scorching heat bearing down from all directions.
Yang Kai's Sea of Consciousness was similar to Yang Yan's, only far more powerful. The ocean below was entirely ablaze with flame. With Qian Yue's current cultivation — only at the first level of the Saint King realm — she was immediately affected.
Seeing this, Yang Kai waved his hand, and a wave of soul energy surged outward, enveloping Qian Yue and shielding her from the searing impact of the Divine Sense fire.
"Your Sea of Consciousness... is really quite dangerous." Qian Yue's face was still pale with lingering fear. She turned to look around, and with her keen perception, she could naturally tell that Yang Kai's Divine Sense had undergone a mutation — and one of tremendous power. If not for Yang Kai's deliberate protection, she wouldn't have been able to endure here for even a short while.