After finishing his words, the Earth Demon hesitated again. "However, the Yin-Yang Demon Ginseng can only be used by one man and one woman. Both of those girls have a relationship with you, Young Master. When the time comes, making that choice might be troublesome."
"Two?" Yang Kai found this odd. He'd just heard the Earth Demon say "them" and "they," and Yang Kai had assumed it was a slip of the tongue. Now, thinking about it, he understood.
The Earth Demon probably assumed the women he'd been intimate with were the Hu sisters. After all, when the Earth Demon had been sealed away, Yang Kai had been climbing the endless staircase with Hu Jiao'er and Hu Meier.
Once sealed, the Earth Demon couldn't perceive anything outside, so naturally he had no idea what had happened later in the great hall.
Yang Kai didn't feel like explaining too much. "In the future, whenever I'm alone with any woman, you should seal your own Divine Sense."
He was worried that if he ever got intimate with Su Yan and forgot about the Earth Demon's presence, things would get awkward.
The Earth Demon hurriedly protested his innocence. "Rest assured, Young Master. Though this old servant may be wicked, I would never do something like peek."
"Just remember that!"
"This old servant will keep it firmly in mind."
After a moment of silence, the Earth Demon spoke again. "Young Master, if you don't mind, this old servant would like to go down into the gorge and take a look."
"Oh? What's down there?" Yang Kai's interest was piqued. He was curious about what lay beneath Kunlong Gorge, but his current strength was far too insufficient to explore it.
"This old servant doesn't know what lies below, but I can sense a supremely yang aura — it's the bane of my soul. Besides that, there's a dense aura of demonic energy! These two types of auras are naturally at odds with each other, yet somehow they both appear here. To be honest with you, Young Master, I want to use that demonic energy below to recover my soul's power, so that in the future I may lend you a hand."
Yang Kai's brow furrowed.
It made sense that the Earth Demon spoke of demonic energy below. Kunlong Gorge had been carved open by a supreme demon lord's strike, and that demon had perished at the bottom of the gorge. Residual demonic energy was only natural.
But the idea of the Earth Demon using that demonic energy to recover his soul gave Yang Kai pause. He wasn't sure if he'd still be able to control the Earth Demon once the latter grew stronger. If he couldn't, it would be like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
Then again, after thinking it over, Yang Kai decided there was no need to worry too much. A wisp of his Divine Sense had merged with the Earth Demon. The latter's life and death were nothing more than a single thought away.
As the Earth Demon waited anxiously, Yang Kai nodded. "Go ahead."
He channeled some Yuan Qi into the Soul-Shattering Spike to fuel the artifact for the Earth Demon, then released it.
"Thank you, Young Master!" The Earth Demon was overwhelmed with gratitude. Wrapping himself around the Soul-Shattering Spike, he transformed into a streak of black mist and flew down into the depths of Kunlong Gorge.
After the Earth Demon left, Yang Kai fished a small silk pouch from his robe.
The pouch belonged to Lan Chudie. Inside were two Scarlet Heart seeds. Her face flashed through his mind, and Yang Kai couldn't help but frown.
If this beautiful senior sister weren't so calculating, she'd definitely be someone people would be fond of.
He'd first encountered her at the Black Wind Market, where he'd spent some silver to buy her seeds. Later, they'd met again inside the Inheritance Grotto-heaven — one could call it fate.
They'd explored together, fought together, fellow disciples who'd shared hardships through danger. It was a memory hard to forget.
If her actions hadn't been so chilling, Yang wouldn't have grown cold toward her. In the end, she'd attacked Nie Yong. While it was partly to curry favor with Yang Kai, it also revealed her ruthlessness and pragmatism.
When Nie Yong was useful to her, she'd sheltered him in every way. Before that, Nie Yong had repeatedly harassed and mocked Yang Kai, and Lan Chudie had never once spoken a good word on his behalf — simply because, at the time, Nie Yong was more valuable to her than Yang Kai.
If Lan Chudie had reprimanded Nie Yong just a few times back then as a senior sister, Nie Yong wouldn't have grown so brazen. But she hadn't. Instead, it was Du Yishuang who had always stood by Yang Kai's side. Once Nie Yong was no longer useful, she'd discarded him like a worn-out shoe — and even attacked him.
Yang Kai wasn't going to criticize her for it. Everyone had the right to choose how they lived, and no one else had the right to interfere. Perhaps she was pragmatic. Perhaps she was cold. Perhaps she chased after power and climbed the ranks of the wealthy. But those were her choices, her nature!
Knowing this, all he had to do was keep his distance and never get too close.
He tipped the two seeds out of the pouch and casually tossed the empty silk pouch into Kunlong Gorge.
Where to plant these two seeds? Yang Kai looked around and saw nothing but stone walls — hardly a suitable place for growing herbs.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai had an idea.
At the base of the ancient pine above his cave dwelling, there was a patch of soft soil where even ordinary pines could take root and grow. The Scarlet Heart was a spirit herb, so it should naturally be even more resilient.
Besides, this type of spirit herb absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to grow, so there was no need to worry about it competing with the pine tree for nutrients.