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……
They had lost track of the Corpse Spirit Cult Master's movements. With that man's capabilities, finding him now would be harder than ascending to heaven.
This operation hadn't been entirely successful, but at least the Corpse Spirit Cult Master shouldn't be making any moves for the time being. He'd sustained considerable damage himself, especially from that final Emperor Treasure strike — it must have placed an enormous burden on his body, or he wouldn't have held off using it until the very end.
Qian Tong clearly understood this as well, so he had no intention of asking Yang Kai to pursue further. After a moment's thought, he said, "Even though that man escaped, the Corpse Spirit Cult remains a serious threat. Let's return to Burial Hero Valley first and destroy that corpse nest. Last time, I sensed quite a few Corpse Spirits slumbering within it."
"Mm, that's exactly what I was thinking." Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
The two discussed their plans briefly, then immediately set off, racing toward Burial Hero Valley.
Three days later, they returned to the valley. The Corpse Spirits that had originally occupied it had suffered heavy losses when Qian Tong went on a rampage last time, though they hadn't been completely wiped out. The survivors had retreated to parts unknown, leaving behind only those who remained in the corpse nest, still in the process of transformation.
Before Qian Tong destroyed the nest, Yang Kai made another trip to the location of the Yellow Spring Eye, hoping to find a way to destroy it. After all, this was the very source that gave birth to the Corpse Spirits. If he could destroy it, the Corpse Spirits would no longer be able to increase their numbers, and the remaining remnants could be slowly purged until the Dark Star eventually returned to peace.
But he was disappointed — this thing simply could not be destroyed. The Yellow Spring Eye appeared to be connected to another world, and the dense Yin Corpse energy flowed in from that other world, pooling within the eye to take the shape of a spring.
Legend had it that the Yellow Spring Eye connected to the Yellow Spring Underworld!
The only way would be to descend into it and destroy the bridge linking the two worlds.
Yang Kai didn't dare take that risk, so he and Qian Tong joined forces to temporarily seal the Yellow Spring Eye's aura, then proceeded to destroy the corpse nest and eliminate those still undergoing transformation.
By the time Yang Kai and Qian Tong returned to the Lingxiao Sect, ten days had already passed.
Yang Kai gave Ye Xiyun and the others a brief account of the operation. Ye Xiyun was greatly shocked — she had never imagined that such a bizarre technique as indefinite soul possession existed in this world.
The other Elders all sighed with astonishment as well.
"Based on what the Sect Master has described, doesn't that make the Corpse Spirit Cult Master practically immortal?" Ye Xiyun's elegant brows furrowed deeply.
"Not exactly," Yang Kai replied. "His soul possession technique may be eerie and unpredictable, but it must exact some toll on his body — you can see that from how his hosts keep changing. The problem is, he got away this time, and now who knows where he's hiding. Finding him will be exceedingly difficult." He let out a sigh.
Ye Xiyun nodded gently. "Even though we failed to kill the Corpse Spirit Cult Master, sealing the Yellow Spring Eye is already a significant achievement. The Corpse Spirits should no longer be able to grow their numbers. It's time we launched a counterattack."
Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled faintly. "Does the Grand Elder have something in mind?"
"Strike while the momentum is ours!" Ye Xiyun declared in a deep voice. "The reason the Dark Star's situation has been deteriorating over the past two years comes down to two factors. First, the Corpse Spirits are far too bizarre, and the number of transformed experts keeps growing. Second, there has been no convincing leader — every major sect and faction has been fighting independently, making them easy prey to pick off one by one. But now things are different. With the Void King-level warship and your return, Sect Master, plus Elder Qian's breakthrough to the Void King Realm — if the two of you step forward, the combined prestige of the Lingxiao Sect and Shadow Moon Hall should be enough to unite the entire Dark Star. Once that happens, why would we fear the Corpse Spirits?"
"I have no objections," Qian Tong declared at once. "The Dark Star is my homeland — contributing to its defense is my natural duty."
Ye Xiyun turned her gaze to Yang Kai.
"I'm fine with it too," Yang Kai said lightly. "I'll leave this matter to you and Elder Qian. The Sect's full resources are at your disposal — I'll just pitch in where I can."
"If the Sect Master wishes to slack off, then so be it. It's decided." Ye Xiyun was nothing if not decisive, and she settled the matter immediately.
In the following discussion, the Elders and Qian Tong hammered out the specifics — how to unite the Dark Star's remaining experts and factions, how to establish authority, how to root out the Corpse Spirit Cult…
In truth, it was all quite straightforward. The Lingxiao Sect already commanded considerable prestige, and with Qian Tong personally leading the charge — a Void King Realm cultivator of high standing — all he needed to do was raise the call, and the response would surely be overwhelming.
With the combined strength of two major Sects, backed by a Void King-level warship, it wouldn't be difficult to gather and liberate the experts and Sects plagued by the Corpse Spirit Cult. That force would snowball, and once it swept across the entire Dark Star, the Corpse Spirit Cult would cease to exist!
Ye Xiyun had even prepared a plan to spread word throughout the Dark Star that the mysterious Cult Master of the Corpse Spirit Cult had been slain by Yang Kai and Qian Tong working together!
Though this was fabricated news, no one would question it — and the real Cult Master, still hiding for his life, certainly wouldn't come forward to refute it.
This piece of information would deal a devastating blow to the morale of the Corpse Spirits and the human cultivators who had defected to the Corpse Spirit Cult, providing tremendous support for the operations to come.
Yang Kai did not take part in the discussions. Instead, he went alone to Yang Yan's pavilion.