These benefits weren't something he could get by sitting in meditation inside his own cave. Yang Kai was glad he'd mustered the resolve to come out and explore.
"How many days have I been gone?" Yang Kai asked.
"Thirty-five days," the Earth Demon answered.
That long? Yang Kai hadn't felt the passage of time at all, nor had he expected that a single moment of insight would consume so much of it.
Fortunately, his dantian stored a generous supply of Yang Liquid—all refined from the pills Xia Ningshang had given him—otherwise he never would have had enough to sustain such prolonged practical insight.
Thirty-five days. He wondered how Su Yan was doing.
But he had faith in her. Su Yan was no ordinary woman. The last time she'd nearly lost control, the biggest reason was probably that he was still at Lingxiao Pavilion, which had shaken her resolve.
But this time, with him far away, she had no choice but to brace herself against the surges of desire that arose during cultivation. It was burn the boats or nothing. She would succeed—he was sure of it. Next time they met, Su Yan's strength would have improved considerably. The Ice Heart Art trained not only the body but, more importantly, the state of mind.
"Where am I…?" Yang Kai looked around, completely clueless about his current location. After more than thirty days of running, he figured he must be incredibly far from Lingxiao Pavilion by now.
While he stood there in a fog, his ears twitched. He turned around to look behind him—something was happening over there.
He stood still and waited quietly for a moment. A convoy appeared in the distance, gradually coming into view.
Yang Kai stepped off to the side of the road and watched the approaching procession.
It consisted of three horse-drawn carriages, flanked by several warriors armed with swords and sabers, mounted on tall steeds, galloping toward him.
Standing by the roadside, Yang Kai clearly drew the warriors' attention. He could feel multiple wary gazes locking onto him, but his expression remained composed. He didn't react at all, just stood there quietly.
Over a month of insight had taught him to fully suppress the Yuan Qi within his body. Not only could he stand here undetected—even in the middle of a fight, barely any fluctuations of energy would leak out.
These warriors clearly weren't strong enough to gauge his true depth. So after their gazes swept over him, they lost interest.
The man on the lead horse—a middle-aged fellow—roared at Yang Kai: "Little beggar, get out of the way! Don't block the road!"
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He didn't want trouble and stepped back a few paces to avoid eating dust.
He'd actually been planning to flag them down and ask where this was, but seeing how guarded the warriors looked, he abandoned the idea. No sense starting a misunderstanding.
Several horses thundered past, and the convoy followed in their wake.
Yang Kai observed carefully. Of the three carriages, the one in the middle had left noticeably deeper ruts in the ground—it must be carrying something heavy and valuable.
When the last carriage passed by, it trailed a faint, pleasant fragrance. From behind the window, a pair of bright eyes briefly met Yang Kai's gaze in mid-air.
This carriage clearly carried a woman of the household.
Only after the convoy had passed did Yang Kai step onto the main road and look ahead in the direction they were heading.
He didn't know where he was, but since the convoy was heading this way, they had to be going somewhere with people. He might as well follow.
But he'd taken only a few steps before his expression darkened.
He noticed that one person had broken off from the convoy and was riding back toward him. And it was the very same middle-aged man who had yelled at him earlier.
What did he want? Robbery? Yang Kai let out a cold smirk. Confident in his own ability, he stood his ground without moving.
Before long, the middle-aged man reined his horse to a halt in front of Yang Kai. He pulled the reins tight, and the tall horse reared up with a sharp whinny.
Yang Kai watched him in silence.
The man looked impatient and spoke: "Little beggar, consider yourself lucky. Our young miss has a kind heart. She says this is a remote wilderness where bandits and wild beasts might lurk, so she wants us to give you a ride."
With that, the man bent down, reached out, and grabbed Yang Kai by the collar. Yang Kai nearly resisted but held himself back.
The man's manner was rough, but there was no malice behind it. Yang Kai had been planning to follow them to a populated area anyway, so this suited him perfectly.
The middle-aged man lifted Yang Kai up, draped him across the horse's back, slapped the horse's flanks with his heels, and with a "Hyah!" turned to chase after the convoy.
Yang Kai was bounced around mercilessly. Just as he was gritting his teeth through the discomfort, the man had already caught up with the convoy. He grabbed Yang Kai by the collar once more, tossed him into the air, and called out with a laugh: "Elder Wu, catch him!"
The old driver on the lead carriage didn't even lift his eyelids. His whip crackled through the air, coiling neatly around Yang Kai's waist. With a gentle pull, he drew Yang Kai over to sit beside him.
The convoy never stopped once the entire time.
That old man is a master! Yang Kai eyed Elder Wu with surprise, estimating that he was at least at the Zhenyuan Realm.
Within a major sect like Lingxiao Pavilion, the Zhenyuan Realm was nothing remarkable—Su Yan and Xie Hongchen from the younger generation had already reached it. But for small factions and minor families, the Zhenyuan Realm was an existence they could only look up to.