Yang Kai had only been at the Jade Feather Sect for four months, yet he had already been thrown into the Bone Prison twice.
However, his circumstances were vastly different each time. The first could be considered being dragged back against his will; the second was merely a punishment.
He and Liu Xianyun were locked in one cell, while Zhou Yi and Chu Fei's group of four were in another, separated only by a corridor. Even in the darkness, Yang Kai could still feel the venomous gazes directed at him from across the way.
Yang Kai ignored them completely.
At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the cold, damp ground, his brow furrowed deeply.
He probably couldn't stay at the Jade Feather Sect any longer. He and Liu Xianyun had only joined this sect out of necessity, feeling no attachment whatsoever to the place. Now that this incident had occurred, Yang Kai had no desire to linger here any longer.
If he stayed, someone might come looking for trouble again someday. Yang Kai assessed that his current strength was not high, and he wouldn't be lucky enough to escape danger every time. If even one thing went wrong, his martial arts career would likely come to an end.
Especially after seeing Yan Xiuran and Zhou Yi whispering together for a long time before casting sinister smirks in his direction as they left, Yang Kai knew they were definitely plotting something. They might even be scheming to have him killed here.
Yang Kai was not about to sit and wait for death.
Right now, Protector Bian and the others like Kou Wu were not in the sect. As long as they were clean in their methods and handled the aftermath well, there would surely be no loose ends.
Besides, even if Bian Yuqing returned, with that woman's unpredictable temperament, whether she would stand up for him was anyone's guess. She had thrown him to the ice cliff back then with no good intentions—it was merely a way to test his potential!
If he died, she certainly wouldn't care. If he survived, she might pay him a bit more attention, but that absolutely did not mean she was kind-hearted.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai quietly began to reach out to a powerful being here.
"Senior, Senior, Senior Wu Mengchuan…"
Yang Kai kept calling out softly.
To his surprise, he received no response.
The first time he had been locked in the Bone Prison, this fellow called Wu Mengchuan had come to him of his own accord, saying he wanted to pass on a secret technique to break the restrictions inside his body. But at the time, Yang Kai hadn't understood the Jade Feather Sect well enough and hadn't dared to act rashly, fearing he would be used as a pawn.
Now, if he wanted to break free from the Jade Feather Sect, he had to rely on Wu Mengchuan's abilities.
If the man really was at the Daoyuan Realm, Third Stage, releasing him to cause a commotion would absolutely be a good choice. Then Yang Kai and Liu Xianyun could take advantage of the chaos to escape.
But now the other party wasn't responding at all, which made Yang Kai wonder whether the Jade Feather Sect had transferred the man away, or whether he was simply dead.
Still, he didn't give up, and kept trying.
Finally, after a full two hours of attempts, a faint wave of concealed divine sense rippled outward, transmitting a thought to Yang Kai.
"It's you, brat—you've been locked up again?" Wu Mengchuan sounded quite surprised.
Yang Kai's mouth twitched: "Senior, spare me the jokes. But why didn't you respond for so long? I thought you were no longer here."
Wu Mengchuan's laughter came through: "The amount of spiritual power I can recover each day isn't much. It's only enough to sustain half an hour, so I don't dare use it lightly."
"So that's how it is!" Yang Kai nodded slightly, not doubting him.
"What do you need from this old man, brat? Have you already considered cooperating with me?" Wu Mengchuan's emotions carried a hint of barely contained excitement—after all, after all these years in this place, he had finally found a suitable helper and wasn't about to let the opportunity slip.
If he missed this chance, whether he could ever escape the Bone Prison in his lifetime was uncertain.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, then said: "Cooperation is no problem. I can help Senior escape from here. But… what can Senior offer me? After all, I can't just work for nothing."
"What do you want? I won't lie to you. I have nothing of value on me right now. Even if I promised you something, I probably couldn't give it. But if you trust this old man, once I'm free, whatever you want, I can give it to you!" Wu Mengchuan said in a deep voice.
Yang Kai pursed his lips, looking unconvinced: "How about this, Senior—do you have any decent secret techniques? Just teach me one."
"Want a secret technique?" Wu Mengchuan repeated, then fell silent.
Yang Kai wasn't anxious; he simply waited quietly.
The reason he had made this request was partly just a shot in the dark. Even if Wu Mengchuan offered him nothing, to survive he would have no choice but to cooperate. Making a demand was merely giving it a try. But from the other party's silence, it seemed there might actually be something to this.
This made Yang Kai realize that Wu Mengchuan was desperate to leave this place, and that he himself was an indispensable ally! Otherwise, the man wouldn't be taking this so seriously.
Should he drive an even harder bargain? The thought suddenly popped into Yang Kai's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
The other party's strength was so high. If he provoked him, once the man regained his freedom, the first person he would deal with would probably be Yang Kai.
After a good while, Wu Mengchuan came to a decision. He let out an odd laugh and said: "Very well. Since you want a secret technique, this old man will pass on the most powerful secret art he knows. With this technique's help, reaching the Emperor Sovereign Realm someday won't even be a dream! Prepare yourself!"