"There's really no need for the Sect Master to worry too much. The might of an Emperor Artifact is unfathomably deep, but limited by the user's cultivation realm, it's essentially a one-shot affair — after a single strike, the wielder is powerless to act again. You've experienced it firsthand, so you should understand better than anyone." Seeing the wariness on Yang Kai's face, Ye Xiyun stepped forward to offer reassurance.
"That's true." Yang Kai nodded slightly, the wariness in his heart diminishing considerably as he felt a sudden wave of relief.
The power of an Artifact had always been tied to the strength of its wielder. No matter how high-grade the Artifact or how fearsome its potential, if the martial artist using it lacked sufficient cultivation, they simply couldn't unleash its earth-shattering might.
The Dragon Bone Sword Emerald Rain was a prime example. Though Yang Kai could currently wield it as fluidly as moving his own arm, without the slightest hitch, he always felt that it still harbored immense untapped potential.
That potential didn't lie in the sword itself — it lay in him.
His own strength was the bottleneck limiting the Dragon Bone Sword's performance.
"If the Sect Master intends to make a move this time, why not bring me along? Since Star Emperor Mountain has already deviated from its original principles, I certainly can't stand by and do nothing. Besides… I'd like to see an old acquaintance and settle some old debts."
"Oh?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, his curiosity burning with sudden intensity.
He had always wanted to know why Ye Xiyun had left Star Emperor Mountain all those years ago. After all, she had once been the helmsman of that colossal power, holding a position of supreme prestige. Unless some unbearable grievance had forced her hand, she would never have abandoned such a place to live in seclusion, hidden from the world for over a century.
But it wasn't the sort of thing he could easily ask about. If Ye Xiyun was willing to share, he would gladly listen. If she wasn't, pressing the matter would be pointless.
What he could be certain of was that there was absolutely some deep-seated enmity between Ye Xiyun and Star Emperor Mountain.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai chose not to voice his doubts. Instead, he spoke with a serious expression: "Here's what I'm thinking — hear me out, Grand Elder. If there's anything amiss, please point it out…"
Yang Kai then laid out his plan in detail.
An hour later, he left the Hundred Flowers Residence and returned to the Heavenly Unity Palace.
The palace was utterly silent. Yang Kai sat cross-legged, produced the Feather Spirit Arrow, and began channeling Sacred Energy into it to recharge.
This Artifact he had obtained inside the Fallen Emperor Mountain was truly formidable. Despite its usage limitations, that could do nothing to diminish its extraordinary efficacy — a Return Void Stage Tier Two martial artist couldn't withstand a single strike from it, and even someone like Qu Zheng at Return Void Stage Tier Three could only dodge rather than face it head-on.
Inside the Fallen Emperor Mountain, the Feather Spirit Arrow's energy had been completely depleted, so naturally Yang Kai needed to recharge it.
In less than half an hour, the job was done.
Yang Kai carefully stored the arrow away. Just as he was about to make further preparations for the operation ahead, his expression suddenly shifted, and a grin spread across his face. He fixed his gaze on a particular spot on the ground and waited quietly.
Moments later, a small head poked up through the floor in a bizarre manner — angular, sharp-featured, like a piece of unyielding stone. The only exception was the pair of eyes atop that head, which were bright and brimming with intelligence.
A Stone Puppet.
Yang Kai hadn't brought the Stone Puppet along on this trip. Instead, he had left it behind at the Sect.
First, he hadn't anticipated so many complications or the kind of battles he would face; otherwise, bringing the Stone Puppet would have been a significant asset.
Second, the Stone Puppet had been assigned a task.
Its charge was to guard the stone embryo of another Stone Puppet. After returning from the Emperor's Domain last time, Yang Kai had fused a Blood Essence Stone with that embryo in hopes of giving birth to a second Stone Puppet, and so he had entrusted the guardian duty to Little Stone.
Now that he had returned to the Sect, it had sensed his presence and immediately came to the Heavenly Unity Palace.
Whether the second Stone Puppet had been successfully born or not, Yang Kai was filled with eager anticipation.
But when he looked at Little Stone, he couldn't help but frown and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Those eyes, usually clear and bright, now held a unmistakable look of panic. The moment it popped out of the ground, it scrambled toward Yang Kai on all fours, then hunched over and tugged at the hem of his trousers, babbling some incomprehensible language as it urgently tried to drag him outside.
"What happened?" As the Stone Puppet's master, Yang Kai could naturally sense its agitation and unease. But the Stone Puppet was a living creature of limited intelligence — Yang Kai had only ever given it a single drop of golden blood at the time of its creation, so he couldn't clearly discern its thoughts.
"You want me to come with you?" Yang Kai asked again. Only then did the Stone Puppet nod vigorously.
"Lead the way." Yang Kai gave a slight nod and allowed the Stone Puppet to pull him along, following it out of the palace.
Soon, the pair left the Transcendent Sect's main stronghold and headed deep into the surrounding mountain range.
The Sect's headquarters now stood upon the ruins of an ancient power, the Profound Mystery Sect. These ruins were vast, and the Transcendent Sect, with its comparatively modest holdings, occupied only a small fraction of them.
The place the Stone Puppet was leading him to could also be considered part of the Profound Mystery Sect's original headquarters — situated atop a towering peak.
That peak rose straight as an arrow, its summit piercing the clouds. Jagged rocks jutted out in wild profusion, and the scenery was strikingly beautiful.
An hour later, the Stone Puppet brought Yang Kai to the mountaintop. At the summit lay a broad platform the size of a plaza, with an elegant palace standing upon it.
It was likely a palace built by the Profound Mystery Sect in its heyday, though now it stood completely empty.
And just in front of that palace, resting on the ground, was a strange, round stone roughly the size of a washbasin, colored a deep, blood-red. One could faintly see the dense spiritual energy in its surroundings being drawn toward it, streaming into the stone.
From within it came a rhythmic thudding — thump, thump — like a heartbeat. Strong, vigorous, and perfectly regular.