"I just need to rest for a while. It's nothing serious." Seeing that Xia Ningshang looked on the verge of tears, Yang Kai knew she was worried about him and hurried to reassure her.
Xia Ningshang gave a barely perceptible nod, her eyes rimmed red.
"Do you have any pills that restore Divine Sense? Give me everything you've got!" He extended his hand toward her.
Xia Ningshang immediately began rummaging through her spatial ring, and before long she produced dozens of jade vials of various sizes.
During this time she had been sequestered inside the Small Mysterious World, devoting herself wholeheartedly to refining pills. With no shortage of materials, her output had been extraordinary. Every vial contained spirit pills designed to restore Divine Sense, ranging in grade from Saint King to superior Void grade.
If these pills were placed on the open market, they would constitute an enormous fortune.
"The Clear Spirit Restoration Pill is the best I have. A few of them even developed pill patterns. Start with these." Xia Ningshang picked up one of the jade vials, uncapped it for Yang Kai, and tipped a few pills into his palm.
Yang Kai accepted them without a word, popped them into his mouth, and swallowed.
With a sweep of his hand, he gathered every last vial into his own spatial ring, then settled into a cross-legged meditation posture.
His senior sister held her breath and quietly moved a distance away so as not to disturb him, her long lashes fluttering as her unwavering gaze remained fixed upon him.
Visibly, Yang Kai's complexion began to improve. Only then did Xia Ningshang confirm that he truly wasn't in any serious danger — he had simply exhausted his Divine Sense.
As long as Yang Kai was safe, she could rest easy.
Inside the Mysterious World Bead, Yang Kai meditated to recover. Yet a wisp of his Divine Sense extended beyond the bead, vigilantly monitoring the movements outside in case of any unforeseen danger.
As the master of the Mysterious World Bead, he was capable of doing precisely that.
Yang Kai wasn't sure whether this method would be enough to shake off Luo Hai. The man was a second-stage Void King Realm powerhouse — the most formidable enemy Yang Kai had ever faced since he first set foot on the path of cultivation!
If Luo Hai discovered any trace of the Mysterious World Bead, Yang Kai would truly be a turtle trapped in a jar.
A figure streaked past several dozen li from the massive meteorite where the Mysterious World Bead was hidden, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Luo Hai!
He had indeed failed to detect the Mysterious World Bead, and instead continued pursuing in a direction of his own choosing.
Yang Kai's heart relaxed slightly, but he didn't dare let his guard down. He frantically refined the medicinal essence of the pills to restore his Divine Sense while keeping a close watch on the situation.
A short while later, Luo Hai returned from the front and swept past on another side of the massive meteorite, roughly fifty li away.
The terrifying Divine Sense of a second-stage Void King Realm cultivator washed over this expanse of void like a tide, scanning every inch without omission.
His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, gleamed with a piercing light. It was as though they could perceive things at tremendous distances.
Abruptly, his gaze settled on the massive meteorite where the Mysterious World Bead lay hidden.
Yang Kai involuntarily held his breath, his heart tightening with tension.
Fortunately, Luo Hai quickly shifted his gaze and continued searching elsewhere. He had evidently found nothing.
But he was a Void King Realm cultivator, after all. Yang Kai had vanished from this very area, and Luo Hai did not believe that Yang Kai could have slipped beyond the range of his Divine Sense in an instant. He was certain Yang Kai was hiding somewhere nearby — he simply couldn't figure out what method had been used to conceal the boy's aura and life force, rendering even someone of his caliber unable to perceive him.
"Interesting!" Luo Hai murmured to himself. His figure continuously shuttled back and forth through tens of thousands of li of void, searching every suspicious location, while simultaneously calling out in a booming voice: "Boy, this king knows you're hiding right here. But did you really think you could shake me off with this trick? Dream on! Come out now, hand over the Emperor Treasure and the Void Thought Crystal, and this king will let bygones be bygones and spare your life. But if I have to find you myself — hmph..."
Yang Kai heard his words but remained unmoved.
Now that Luo Hai had already torn off the mask, there was no way he would let Yang Kai go. Otherwise, if word of today's events got out, it would be a blow to his reputation.
Moreover, both the Emperor Treasure and the Void Thought Crystal were of immense importance. Why would Luo Hai leave a loose end?
Once he obtained these two things, he would surely discard Yang Kai like a used bridge.
Yang Kai silently cursed Luo Hai for his sanctimonious hypocrisy and shameless treachery.
Back on Emerald Peak Star, Luo Hai had projected a rather favorable impression. As a star's master and a second-stage Void King Realm powerhouse, he had carried no airs at all, seeming approachable and modest. But now, with no witnesses present, he had finally revealed his true face.
Any other Return Void Realm cultivator, faced with the pressure that Luo Hai exuded, might have actually surrendered themselves in hopes of mercy.
But Yang Kai knew that doing so would only hasten his death.
More than half a day passed. Luo Hai circled through this stretch of void several times over, meticulously searching every location, every meteorite — yet he found nothing at all.
This infuriated him to no end.
He was beginning to doubt himself. Was Yang Kai really still hiding here, or had the boy somehow already escaped his grasp?
He suddenly halted, his expression darkening as though he had made a decision. Through gritted teeth, he said: "Boy, you forced this king's hand. I hope you won't regret it when you arrive in the underworld!"
With those words, Luo Hai abruptly raised both hands, fingers spread wide, and formed a circle in front of him.
Terrifying Saint Power surged from within his body, boiling outward. From those ten fingers, a pale white radiance burst forth and converged toward the center.
The Saint Power within him, as if it had finally found a vent, gushed out in torrents, flowing along those ten streams of white light and gathering into one.
In the blink of an eye, a sphere of pure white energy no larger than a fist materialized before Luo Hai.
Though the sphere was small, it undulated with a terrifying force capable of destroying heaven and earth.
And as Luo Hai continued channeling his Saint Power into it, it steadily grew larger.
The wisp of Divine Sense that Yang Kai had left outside the Mysterious World Bead sensed this sight, and his heart sank. He knew Luo Hai was about to attack for real. In that moment he had no idea what to do, and could only force himself to remain calm and observe.
Ten breaths later, the pale white sphere between Luo Hai's hands had already grown to the size of a washbasin.