Before she could finish, Hu Jiao'er cut in: "What if we did come to get close to you because of that? So what?"
She was getting annoyed with Yang Kai for thinking the worst of people. Were the sisters really that scheming? How heartless.
Sensing her irritation, Yang Kai stayed silent.
Hu Jiao'er continued, "When that thing lands, we'll go in with you. You know more than we do anyway. You provide the intel, and I'll protect you. How does that deal sound?"
"Protect me?" Yang Kai glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Look at the state you're in — don't you need protecting? Besides, your cultivation is so low. What if you run into trouble inside?" Hu Jiao'er chuckled lightly. "And don't even say Su Yan from your Lingxiao Pavilion will look after you. She hasn't so much as glanced your way these past few days. Your little rescue the other day was wasted."
"Suit yourself." Yang Kai didn't want to waste any more breath arguing. They'd all be going in together anyway, and having more people around meant more safety.
"Hmph!" Hu Jiao'er let out a cold snort, grabbed her sister's hand, and moved away from Yang Kai.
They waited another day. Finally, the object in the clouds revealed its full form and descended toward the ground. Everyone stood up, staring dumbfounded at the thing a hundred li away.
It could only be described as a colossal, towering structure — though all that was visible to the eye were layer upon layer of seemingly endless staircases climbing upward.
And at the very top, hidden among the clouds, there appeared to be the silhouette of a palace.
The inheritance site? Yang Kai let out a soft breath.
At the same time, many disciples from the three sects were buzzing with excitement and tension. They didn't know as much as Yang Kai, but they had enough sense to recognize that a structure of this magnitude surely held treasures inside. Now everyone was just waiting for the moment it touched down to rush in and fight for what they could.
Under the eager gaze of countless onlookers, the enormous structure finally made contact with the ground.
With a muffled boom, the earth shuddered slightly. The massive vortex in the sky shifted in some strange, inexplicable way, then vanished.
The rumbling went on for what felt like an eternity before everything finally settled.
The structure now stood firmly on the ground.
A cry went up among the disciples of the three sects. Several hundred people suddenly broke into a sprint, charging toward it in a mad dash.
Yang Kai headed that way too, though without the same desperate urgency. As the Earth Demon had said, inheriting something like this was a matter of fate and fortune — not foot speed.
Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of white swept past. Looking up, he saw Su Yan gliding forward, her robes fluttering in the wind. Her pace wasn't fast, yet her speed was anything but slow — like a leisurely stroll, ethereal and touched with a hint of nobility.
Sensing his gaze, she turned her head. Her long lashes trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came.
In the blink of an eye, the sea of disciples from the three sects cut off their line of sight.
Two wafts of fragrant wind came from either side. The Blood Battle Gang's twin sisters flanked Yang Kai — one with a sweet, radiant smile, the other with seductive eyes that carried a sharp edge.
The elder sister spoke up: "I said I'd protect you, and I will. Don't worry. We sisters already received an inheritance once before. If there's anything good this time, we won't fight you for it."
Yang Kai looked up again, but Su Yan was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, brat, I'm talking to you." Hu Jiao'er grew irritated at his lack of response.
"I heard you," Yang Kai replied helplessly.
"Hmph. I can't figure out what's so great about you," Hu Jiao'er muttered under her breath, too quietly for Yang Kai to catch.
The hundred-li distance was covered quickly. Before long, the three of them stood before the magnificent golden staircase.
The colossal structure, which occupied an impossibly vast area, was now surrounded by a hazy barrier of light. On the surface of the barrier, there was what appeared to be a door-like opening.
The disciples of the three sects either went in alone or in small groups, each finding a door and slipping through the barrier. The crowd outside shrank rapidly.
Oddly enough, standing before the barrier, one could clearly see the staircases on the other side — yet every disciple who stepped through simply vanished without a trace, as though swallowed by some invisible maw.
Seeing this, both sisters couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
"Yang Kai, where did they go?" Hu Jiao'er asked nervously.
"I don't know." Yang Kai shook his head and walked up to an unclaimed door. He extended a hand and pushed it inside. Only a ripple stirred, but he couldn't see anything on the other side.
"Should we go in or not?" Hu Meier's courage was even smaller, and she was already trembling.
Yang Kai glanced up at the clouds, then stepped straight through the door.
Seeing his decisive action, Hu Jiao'er gritted her silver teeth, grabbed her sister's hand, and said, "Let's go!"
They stepped into the barrier. The scene inside was exactly what they'd seen from outside — those seemingly infinite staircases stretching upward. Yang Kai, who had entered first, was right there in front of them, standing at the base of the first step, lost in thought.
They looked around. There was no trace of anyone else. It seemed every door led to a separate space — only those who entered through the same door ended up together.
Yang Kai turned around and tapped the door with a finger. Ripples spread outward, and the door on the barrier vanished.
Their way back was sealed. Yang Kai took a deep breath, lifted his foot, and stepped onto the first staircase. The moment his foot landed, his brow furrowed, and he froze in place.
"What's wrong?" Hu Jiao'er asked.