Yang Kai took one look and recognized that the figure shrouded in darkness was the Void King realm expert he had taken note of earlier!
Before entering the Lost Lands, this person had seemed to take an interest in him as well, and Ni Guang had warned that he was dangerous — best not to provoke him lightly.
Yang Kai hadn't expected to run into the fellow here, of all places. What was more, the man had already used some technique to trap his prey. That black curtain enveloping the Void Sky Beast was unmistakably his Artifact.
The Artifact reeked of sinister, malevolent energy — the kind that could only be refined by sacrificing a vast number of living beings. That alone told Yang Kai its owner was no benevolent soul. The number of people who had perished at his hands was surely beyond counting.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed.
The situation was far from favorable. Though his own resources were not insignificant and he didn't particularly fear this man, the Void Sky Beast was currently trapped within the range of his Artifact. He had fought tooth and nail to wound the beast to this extent, and the thought of handing the prize over to someone else was something Yang Kai simply could not accept.
Yet charging headlong into that black curtain to seize the beast's Inner Core didn't seem like a wise move either.
He wasn't afraid of the fellow and was confident he could flee right under the man's nose if things turned ugly — but that didn't mean he could go toe-to-toe with the man's Artifact. If he blindly rushed into that curtain of darkness, Yang Kai estimated his fate would be no better than the Void Sky Beast's.
What should he do?
How could he reclaim the Inner Core without provoking the other party? Yang Kai's mind raced, but no suitable answer presented itself.
"Heh heh heh heh…" Just as Yang Kai's thoughts were whirling, the Void King realm expert wrapped in shadow let out a chuckle laden with meaning, as though he were in fine spirits. Then he spoke: "Kid Yang, you're quite the lucky one — having such a beautiful companion in a place like this. It makes this old man envious indeed."
At those words, Yang Kai's expression shifted involuntarily.
The man had called him by his surname the moment he opened his mouth. He clearly knew who he was — yet Yang Kai couldn't for the life of him recall ever having crossed paths with a Void King realm expert like this.
The Void Kings he had encountered were not numerous. He remembered every one of them, and none matched the figure before him.
Yang Kai studied the man outwardly, betraying nothing, and ventured: "Senior knows me?"
"Of course this old man knows you. Heh — what, you've forgotten about me already?" The Void King spoke in a teasing, mocking tone.
Yang Kai gazed at him. He didn't sense any overt hostility from the other party, so after a moment's hesitation he cupped his fists and said: "Forgive my poor memory, Senior — I'm afraid I cannot recall you. Since you recognize me, would you be willing to show your true face?"
"That you don't recognize this old man is only natural. After all, my aura has changed considerably from the old days." The man showed no impatience and nodded slightly. "Take a closer look and see if you can figure out who I am."
As he spoke, the dark qi that had shrouded him began to recede like an ebbing tide, dissipating rapidly.
An instant later, the man's features came clearly into Yang Kai's view.
"What?" Yang Kai stared in shock, frozen in place, and blurted out in disbelief: "Senior Ghost Ancestor — how could it be you?"
Once the dark qi had dissipated, he had recognized the man immediately.
This Void King realm expert was none other than the first Void King he had ever encountered after entering the Star Field — the one who had been trapped on the Suspended Continent for two thousand years and called himself Ghost Ancestor!
Ghost Ancestor had been swallowed by a spatial vortex and cast adrift on the Suspended Continent, where he had remained for two millennia. In that time, he had cultivated from the Saint King realm all the way to the Void King realm, forging a legend in the process.
But for two thousand years on that continent, he had been utterly alone — until Yang Kai and the others had also been stranded there.
At the time, Ghost Ancestor had been studying a spatial formation, attempting to use it to teleport off the Suspended Continent, but he had never succeeded. In the end, it was Yang Kai's proficiency in the power of space that had allowed them to escape.
Seven people had fled together: Ghost Ancestor and Yang Kai, Yue Xi and her two disciples, and two others — Shen Cha, a son of Ao of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and another woman.
The past was like smoke, but this had been the first significant event Yang Kai had experienced after entering the Star Field. How could he ever forget?
Ghost Ancestor had been the first Void King he'd ever met. His memory of the man remained vivid.
Yet Yang Kai had never imagined he would encounter him in a place like this.
Though Ghost Ancestor was ruthless in his methods and violent by nature, he was at least a man who honored grudges and debts. All those years ago, he had owed Yang Kai a life-saving favor, and after leaving the Suspended Continent he had kept his word and released Yang Kai — even gifting him a Star Emperor Token as thanks.
Without that Star Emperor Token, Yang Kai would never have been able to kill Luo Hai on Crimson Star.