Five days after entering the Five Colored Pagoda, in some location on the first floor, Yang Kai descended from the sky with a placid expression, landing beside two other cultivators. His gaze fell upon the carcasses of four Iron-Armed Divine Ni—one large and three small—lying dead on the ground.
Unlike Yang Kai's indifference, the other two cultivators were practically bursting with excitement.
Of the pair, one wore blue robes and the other white. Both were male, and both were at the third-level Void King realm.
The three had never exchanged names—only surnames. They had grouped up purely out of temporary convenience.
After parting ways with Qin Yu, Yang Kai had been searching for the entrance to the second floor. He hadn't expected to run into these two cultivators here. They had revealed themselves and given him a brief rundown of the situation.
That was how Yang Kai learned they had discovered a patch of rare Golden Crystal Grass. The catch was that four Iron-Armed Divine Ni were guarding the area. The creatures possessed incredibly tough skin and terrifying natural defenses. The two had clashed with the four Divine Ni earlier and failed to gain any advantage, forcing them to pull back. Their plan had been to recruit a third party before taking the beasts on again.
Yang Kai happened to pass through the area, so they stepped forward with an invitation.
After hearing their explanation, Yang Kai agreed to join on the spot.
He had no idea what Golden Crystal Grass actually was, but if two third-level Void Kings were this fixated on it, the stuff had to be valuable.
Besides, it was only four demon beasts. It shouldn't take much time.
On top of that, he wasn't particularly concerned about two third-level Void Kings. Even if they harbored some scheme or trick, Yang Kai felt confident his current strength would be enough to handle it.
A bit of probing revealed that Golden Crystal Grass was a rare spiritual herb capable of tempering a cultivator's physical body. Consuming and refining it directly could significantly boost a warrior's physical strength and defensive capabilities. And if one combined it with other medicinal ingredients to refine Golden Crystal Pills, the effect would be even better.
The Iron-Armed Divine Ni had congregated here precisely because of the Golden Crystal Grass.
The three conferred briefly, then attacked without further ceremony.
Of the four Iron-Armed Divine Ni, the largest one had cultivation at the peak of the tenth stage—equivalent to the apex of the Void King realm. Given a few more years, advancing to the eleventh stage would have been well within its reach. The other three smaller ones were roughly at the level of second-stage Void Kings.
If these had been ordinary demon beasts, the two cultivators could have handled them on their own—or at the very least fought to a stalemate.
But Iron-Armed Divine Ni were different. Their defenses were extraordinary, their strength colossal, and they were utterly fearless in battle. The earlier clash had left the two battered and battered without gaining a single advantage.
Once Yang Kai joined the fight, however, everything changed.
Though Yang Kai was still concealing the full extent of his strength, he had no trouble at all keeping the largest Iron-Armed Divine Ni occupied.
The other two worked together, unleashing every Artifact and technique at their disposal to cut down the three smaller ones. Then, with all three cultivators striking in unison, the last and biggest Divine Ni met the same fate.
"Brother Yang is truly remarkable—still moving with ease and completely unscathed against that monstrous creature. I, Zhao, am impressed." The man in blue spoke with a smile that seemed just a touch forced.
"Indeed. That larger Iron-Armed Divine Ni nearly dealt Brother Zhao and me crippling injuries in our earlier encounter. I'm ashamed to say I never expected Brother Yang could dance around it for so long. I, Sun, am humbled." The man in white nodded in agreement.
"You flatter me. I'm simply a bit more agile in my movements. The beast may possess incredible strength, but as long as I don't let it lock me in a direct exchange, there's not much it can do to me," Yang Kai replied evenly.
Zhao and Sun exchanged a glance, then let the matter drop with a laugh and a casual wave.
After all, they had witnessed Yang Kai's performance during their joint assault on the last Iron-Armed Divine Ni. What they had seen went well beyond mere agility…
For a moment, both men regarded Yang Kai with a measure of wariness.
"Now that these four beasts are dead, we should process them first. The essence blood, hides, and teeth of Iron-Armed Divine Ni are all excellent materials—we shouldn't let them go to waste," the man named Zhao suggested.
"Agreed. Their hides in particular would be ideal for forging defensive Artifacts," the man named Sun added with an eager expression.
Without further hesitation, the three set to work dealing with the four Iron-Armed Divine Ni. Before long, each wore a satisfied look as they divided the materials equally among themselves. All that remained on the ground were scraps of flesh and bone.
"Now all that's left is the Golden Crystal Grass. I wonder how many stalks there are—hopefully it's a decent haul." The man named Zhao fixed his burning gaze on a cave entrance ahead.
"Let's go in and find out." Yang Kai smiled faintly and strode forward, leading the way into the cave.
Zhao and Sun exchanged another glance, then hurried to follow.
The cave's interior was dark and damp, with a strange, nauseating smell that made one's stomach turn. Near the entrance lay the white, gleaming bones of various other demon beasts—stepping on them produced sharp cracking sounds that set the teeth on edge.
The four Iron-Armed Divine Ni had clearly made this place their home.
After a short walk, the three reached the deepest point of the cave.