Yang Kai had already caught up to Lu Baichuan long before reaching this point.
However, he didn't reveal himself right away to strike the killing blow. Instead, he trailed behind in secret.
With Yang Kai's Divine Sense and the supplementary Void Art concealing his presence, even a Dao Source Realm expert might not detect him—let alone Lu Baichuan, who was busy fleeing for his life.
The reason he hadn't moved in for the kill yet was that Lu Baichuan had piqued his curiosity. The power of Space was not easy to master. The fact that Lu Baichuan could condense even a single Space Needle for an attack showed he possessed genuine skill in that domain.
So Yang Kai had decided to follow and see for himself.
After sensing Lu Baichuan enter this hidden chamber, Yang Kai hurried in after him, maintaining the Void Art and concealing himself off to the side.
But something utterly unexpected happened. The moment he crossed the threshold, the Void Art was shattered by an odd, invisible force—exposing his presence entirely.
He could clearly feel that the force emanated from the pitch-black jade disc suspended in midair.
"You… how did you get in here?!" Lu Baichuan's face was ashen, as though he'd seen a ghost, and he barked out the question in a harsh, strained voice.
Yang Kai withdrew his gaze from the black jade disc, glanced at him, and smiled. "I simply followed you in."
"Despicable! You truly mean to hunt me down to the last breath? Young brother, I've never had any grievance against you—no old enmity, no recent grudge. Why must you press me so hard? Rather than both of us coming out of this battered and bleeding, why not let this go? I'll let you leave peacefully." Seeing that Yang Kai hadn't attacked immediately, Lu Baichuan's expression softened slightly, and he tried to negotiate.
"As if I need your permission to leave," Yang Kai scoffed. "Besides, even though you and I have no personal quarrel, I made a promise to the Zhang family. I won't let you walk out of here alive."
"You brat! You're pushing too far! You really think this old man is afraid of you? Fine—then neither of us will come out of this in one piece!" Lu Baichuan could see that Yang Kai was immovable. He knew further words were pointless and that his only option was a desperate fight.
As he spoke, his full power surged into motion. His eyes turned bloodshot as he lunged toward Yang Kai. The Thunder Wind Hammer appeared once more, arcs of lightning crackling across its surface, the racing bolts tearing the small chamber full of holes.
Yang Kai smiled faintly and said in a calm voice, "Come out."
With a casual wave of his hand, the insect queen made her dramatic entrance—all snow-white, wielding twin purple and green swords.
The moment she appeared, the insect queen received Yang Kai's command and charged toward Lu Baichuan, swinging both long swords.
Previously, with so many people around, Yang Kai had been reluctant to reveal the insect queen's existence. But now, in this sealed chamber with only himself and Lu Baichuan, there was no issue at all. With the insect queen's current power at the Dao Source Realm, Second Stage, dealing with Lu Baichuan would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Feeling the aura radiating from the insect queen, Lu Baichuan's blood ran cold. "An eleventh-rank demon beast?!" he gasped.
His face went deathly pale in an instant, and every shred of fighting spirit drained away like smoke.
He himself was only at the Void King Realm, Third Stage. He would have to flee at the mere sight of an ordinary eleventh-rank demon beast—and this insect queen clearly wasn't ordinary. On top of that, she could wield two sword-type Artifacts…
"Young brother, I surrender! Please, spare my life!" Lu Baichuan begged without a shred of dignity.
Yang Kai paid him no attention whatsoever.
The insect queen naturally ignored him as well. A frigid sword intent flooded outward as the purple and green swords trailed arcs of ghostly light, slashing toward Lu Baichuan.
In an instant, the chamber erupted with surging energy. Lu Baichuan shrieked desperately, throwing everything he had into his defense, but he couldn't protect himself against the insect queen for even a moment. Before long he was slashed from head to toe, his body drenched in blood. The bitterness in his heart surpassed even the taste of the bitterest herb.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had already stepped up to the pitch-black jade disc and was examining it with a furrowed brow.
This object was utterly bizarre. He probed it with his spiritual sense, only to find that his consciousness vanished into it without a trace, like a stone dropped into the sea.
Moreover, it had been able to break his Void Art—an unknown and peculiar ability indeed.
After studying it for a while, Yang Kai reached out and grabbed the jade disc. To his surprise, it came away easily in his hand. He channeled his power into it, but just as before, it vanished without a trace, offering no feedback whatsoever.
"Strange, very strange," Yang Kai muttered, shaking his head.
"Young brother, spare me! If you want to know what that thing does, I'll tell you everything—every last detail! Just spare my life!" Lu Baichuan had been driven into a corner by the insect queen with nowhere to run and no way to dodge.
What truly gnawed at him was that this chamber, built to conceal treasure, had been reinforced by his Lu family's ancestors to a staggering degree. Even a Dao Source Realm powerhouse would have to work hard to break through it. With his own abilities, shattering the chamber to escape was completely out of the question.
"You know what this thing is?" Yang Kai turned to look at him.
Lu Baichuan blurted out, "I know a little about it!"