Yang Kai's arrival once again went unnoticed by anyone. Within the Small Mysterious World, ninety-nine percent of the martial artists were in closed-door Cultivation.
Inside the pavilion, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, consumed several medicinal pills to aid in his recovery, and then began circulating his Saint Yuan to dissolve the residual energy lodged within his body.
Within those fine strands of residual energy was embedded the killing intent of a Void King Realm powerhouse — filled with a ruthless, murderous will. Had Yang Kai's physical body not been so formidable, that intent alone would have ground his bones to dust.
A Void King Realm Second Stage powerhouse's methods could not be judged by common sense.
Yang Kai circulated his Saint Yuan, threading it through his meridians and flesh, sending it to encircle those fine strands of residual energy.
But before long, his expression shifted dramatically, turning ugly beyond measure.
His Saint Yuan, dense and abundant enough to stand above all others at the Return to Void stage, was utterly useless against that residual energy. The Saint Yuan that enveloped the strands seemed to crumble on contact — no matter how massive or concentrated the flow, a rift was torn through it in an instant, and his forces scattered in disarray.
He refused to give up. He circulated his Saint Yuan again and again, hoping to wear the residual energy down little by little.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the pavilion, Yang Kai's aura had not recovered in the slightest. If anything, it had grown even more feeble.
Ten days of effort had yielded absolutely nothing. Luo Hai's residual energy remained untouched, and Yang Kai had only depleted his own Saint Yuan in the process.
A full major realm separated them. His Saint Yuan was simply no match for that residual energy.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and ceased his futile efforts. Though his appearance was haggard, his gaze remained sharp and clear.
The residual energy was lifeless, but he was not. He was certain he could find a way to dissolve it — he simply hadn't discovered the right method yet.
If Saint Yuan couldn't do it, what about the other powers within his body? Yang Kai harbored more than one kind of force.
There was the Power of Space. There were the Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi…
With that thought, Yang Kai began his experiments.
He condensed a stream of Power of Space and sent it to envelop one of the fine strands of residual energy. As though sensing the threat, the moment the Power of Space closed in, the residual energy lashed back. Its razor-sharp intent stabbed directly at the space force. The attack did have some effect, but it didn't shatter on contact the way Saint Yuan had.
There was hope! Yang Kai's eyes lit up, and he controlled the Power of Space with even greater care.
Shortly after, the Power of Space succeeded in wrapping around the single strand, and no matter how the energy thrashed and darted within, it could not break free.
The next instant, Yang Kai activated his consciousness, and the Power of Space carrying the trapped residual energy tore through spatial barriers in an instant, depositing it outside his body.
The Power of Space dissipated. The invisible strand of residual energy shot off into the void, piercing a tiny, pinhole-sized hole through the pavilion wall before vanishing without a trace.
Seeing this, Yang Kai let out a quiet breath of relief, confirming that the Power of Space could indeed purge the residual energy from his body. But doing it this way was far too tedious and inefficient.
During his flight from Luo Hai, over ten thousand strands of residual energy from the aftermath of Luo Hai's attack had pierced into his body. Using this method to remove them all would take no less than three to five years.
Far too long!
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and turned to another option: the Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi.
The Indestructible Five Elements Sword was a body-tempering technique, but the process of Cultivating it would cause the practitioner to develop the Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi — five types of Sword Qi, each with a different function. Metal and Fire governed killing, Wood governed life, and Earth and Water governed defense. The five elements overcame and nurtured one another in turn, and when Cultivated to the absolute peak, they could grant a martial artist the Indestructible Body.
Yang Kai's Indestructible Five Elements Sword could barely be called half-matured. It was useful in combat, but the legendary Indestructible Body was still far out of reach.
Now he activated the Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi within him, extracting the Metal and Fire Sword Qi — the two that governed killing — and directed them against Luo Hai's residual energy.
Within his flesh, golden and crimson radiance bloomed, weaving through his wounds as the two Sword Qi launched their assault on the residual energy.
Though Luo Hai's residual energy had no one directing it, it refused to submit meekly. Faced with the interception of the two Sword Qi, it fought back.
It was futile. In merely three breaths, the Metal and Fire Sword Qi ground that strand of residual energy into nothingness.
Yang Kai's eyebrows shot up, and a look of elation crossed his face.
He hadn't expected the Indestructible Five Elements Sword to prove so remarkably effective against Luo Hai's residual energy — far more so than the Power of Space.
Though this made a kind of sense. The Power of Space, profound and vast as it was, operated on entirely different principles. Luo Hai's residual energy appeared to be derived from Sword Qi of its own. The Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi, being Sword Qi as well, was a natural counter.
With hope now in sight, Yang Kai spared no effort. He activated the full array of the Indestructible Five Elements Sword — not just Metal and Fire, but Water, Earth, and Wood as well — and his efficiency improved dramatically.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai saw no reason to waste time. He retrieved his Five Elements treasure and inscribed a formation around himself, arranging the components in their proper sequence. He purged Luo Hai's residual energy on one hand while Cultivating the Indestructible Five Elements Sword on the other.
Time slipped by, and three months passed in what felt like an instant.
The residual energy within Yang Kai's body was finally purged clean. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he felt that his Indestructible Five Elements Sword Qi had grown significantly more powerful.