……
"Not bad. This is my Sea of Consciousness." A voice came from beside him.
Yang Kai turned his head and was startled to find Yang Yan sitting cross-legged in the void, forming a strange hand seal with a solemn, dignified expression. Around her, all manner of halos flickered in and out of existence — rosy clouds and auspicious light that made her look nothing short of divine.
She gazed at him with a smile, identical to the Yang Yan in his memories.
"Is it you… or her?" Yang Kai frowned, unable to be certain.
Yang Yan pursed her lips. "Does it make a difference?"
Yang Kai shrugged. "It might not make a difference to you, but it makes a hell of a difference to me. I'd rather not get sliced to bits in here by her on a whim. That's the Starlight Emperor we're talking about!"
"I *am* the Starlight Emperor!" Yang Yan huffed.
"Fine, it's clearly you then." Yang Kai relaxed. As long as it wasn't that legendary Emperor speaking with him, there was nothing to worry about. He glanced around and asked, "Did you call me here for something?"
"Nothing in particular." Yang Yan shook her head slowly. "I simply sensed your aura and pulled you in."
Yang Kai smiled ruefully.
He had long since shed the skin of the clueless youth he once was — his strength had undergone earth-shattering transformation. Below the Void King Realm, he was essentially unmatched, and he would even dare to trade blows with an ordinary Void King.
Yet here, before Yang Yan, he was reduced to a little fish or shrimp that she could knead and reshape however she pleased…
It was a blow to his pride.
As if sensing his thoughts, Yang Yan giggled. "Don't sell yourself so short. Honestly, I've never seen anyone cultivate as quickly as you. Even in that place, you'd be considered a top-tier genius. All you lack is the tempering of time. Given enough of it, you'll one day stand at my level."
"Are you trying to comfort me?" Yang Kai glanced at her and frowned. "What 'place' are you talking about?"
Yang Yan just smiled mysteriously without answering.
Seeing she had no intention of explaining, Yang Kai waved his hand. "Forget it. Pretend I never asked."
Yang Yan nodded gently, then her expression turned serious. "Even though I've been in slumber, merging the dharma body's soul with my own, I haven't been entirely cut off from the outside world. I've sensed that something has changed on the Dark Star in recent years. A couple of months ago, Ye Xiyun even came here in person. What exactly happened? Is the Lingxiao Sect all right?"
"The Lingxiao Sect is fine, but the Dark Star is in serious trouble." Yang Kai sighed. He flew over to Yang Yan and sat down cross-legged before her, then recounted the Corpse Spirit Sect's army and its rampage.
Yang Yan listened with full attention, only nodding at the end. "So an Eye of the Nether Springs was sealed beneath that Hero's Burial Valley. That's partly our fault. If we hadn't taken the Solar True Essence, that Eye of the Nether Springs would never have resurfaced."
"That's exactly why it's such a headache. If it were anything else, the Lingxiao Sect could simply stay out of it — sit tight in our headquarters while the world goes to hell outside, and it wouldn't be our problem. But this one, at least in part, traces back to us. I can't just stand by and do nothing." Yang Kai sighed.
Yang Yan clearly agreed with his reasoning. After a moment's thought, she said, "Could you go and meet this mysterious leader of the Corpse Spirit Sect?"
"You're interested in him?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that I'm interested in him. It's just that his method of transforming corpses into spirits, and the way he controls the Corpse Spirit Sect — it reminds me very much of someone I once knew."
"Who?" Yang Kai's eyes widened.
"That person called himself the Corpse Emperor. Back in the day, he also controlled a race — one that also called itself the Corpse Spirit race. That's why I took notice."
"The Corpse Emperor…" Yang Kai drew a sharp breath, his expression shifting several times. "On the same level as you?"
Yang Yan was the Starlight Emperor. If someone had dared take the title of Emperor for himself, he had to be an existence on the same level.
Yang Yan nodded softly.
Yang Kai's face turned grim in an instant.
Yang Yan smiled, pursing her lips. "Don't get so worked up. The Corpse Emperor couldn't possibly come here, so that person can't be the Corpse Emperor himself. I'm merely guessing he might have some connection to him — perhaps he's an old acquaintance of mine. My old friend was quite close to the Corpse Emperor, so knowing the method of transforming corpses into spirits wouldn't be at all surprising."
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and looked at Yang Yan. "Even if he's not the Corpse Emperor, if he's one of your old acquaintances, then he's certainly not someone I can handle. Going to meet him on my own — wouldn't that be suicide?"
"I'm not going to send you to your death!" Yang Yan shot him a reproachful glare. "If that man truly is who I suspect, his strength absolutely cannot exceed the Void King Realm. At most, he's only at the third level of the Return to Void Realm. The Dark Star has its own laws of suppression — as long as he's still on the Dark Star, it's simply impossible for him to break through!"
Yang Kai's expression eased slightly. If that mysterious leader really was only at the third level of the Return to Void Realm, there was nothing to fear.
It was just that…