Inside the Small World, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, his expression as calm and still as an undisturbed well.
Not far in front of him, the Purple Void Cauldron stood with its lid sealed tight, and inside a thorough extermination was playing out in full force.
Every so often, muffled thuds echoed from within the cauldron, as though something was desperately ramming against the walls, trying to break free. Each time this happened, Yang Kai would send a stream of power into the Purple Void Cauldron, crushing the resistance back down.
As time wore on, the cauldron turned an incandescent red, the surrounding space itself warping slightly from the extreme heat.
And the commotion inside grew ever fainter.
A full day passed before the interior finally fell completely silent. At the same moment, Yang Kai finally received Liu Yan's summons. He waved a hand and opened the Purple Void Cauldron. Liu Yan immediately burst out as a streak of fire, spiraling before him before taking on human form.
"Master," Liu Yan called out, then held forward a small seed mottled in gold and silver. "Master can rest easy now. I guarantee it's as dead as dead can be."
"Good work." Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction and took the peculiar seed. He sent his spiritual sense streaming into it and found that, just as Liu Yan had said, the wisp of spiritual soul power that had been hiding within was completely gone.
That wisp of soul power had clearly belonged to the Wood Spirit. As long as the soul endured, the Wood Spirit could not perish.
But after being tossed into the Purple Void Cauldron and spending a day and night together with Liu Yan, what chance did the Wood Spirit's remnant soul power have of surviving? It had long since been incinerated by the searing heat.
The seed in Yang Kai's hand could no longer be called a Wood Spirit seed. It was now the primordial seed from before the Wood Spirit had ever gained sentience.
What exactly the Wood Spirit's original form had been before gaining consciousness, even Yang Kai didn't know—he had never seen this kind of seed before.
But the fact that it had withstood a full day and night of combined burning from Liu Yan and himself without sustaining the slightest damage proved it was no ordinary thing.
If planted, after several thousand or even tens of thousands of years, it might one day develop spiritual intelligence and become another Wood Spirit—but it would have absolutely nothing to do with the previous one.
"How do you plan to deal with it?" Liu Yan glanced at Yang Kai and asked.
"I'm not sure. What do you think?" Yang Kai looked up at her.
Liu Yan shook her head as well. "That's up to you, Master. But I get the feeling there are two kinds of power flowing through this seed. They could be quite useful."
"Oh? Did you figure something out?" Yang Kai asked, surprised.
"It's just a feeling, really. If you press me for details, I couldn't tell you." Liu Yan smiled.
Yang Kai nodded faintly, rolling the strange seed between his fingers as he pondered. After a moment, his eyes lit up—a good idea had come to him.
He flickered and appeared instantly in the herb garden of the Small World, then found a corner, parted the soil, and planted the seed in his hand.
What this seed actually was and what purpose it served, he had no clue. But if he could let it take root and sprout, let it grow, perhaps he could figure it out.
And in all the world, what place could be more suitable for planting this seed than the herb garden of the Small World?
Beneath this garden lay countless layers of enriched soil, and five Earth Vein Pearls supplied a constant flow of spiritual energy. In this place, the seed's growth time would be drastically shortened. In just a few years, Yang Kai would be able to determine exactly what it was.
After checking it over one more time, he dusted off his hands with a satisfied smile and flickered back to Liu Yan's side.
"Things here are settled. I'm heading back to Maple Forest City. Come with me—I have some questions for you," Yang Kai said, looking at Liu Yan.
"Mm." Liu Yan nodded, then dissolved into a streak of fire and shot straight into Yang Kai's body, vanishing without a trace.
Only then did Yang Kai leave the Small World, orient himself, and set off at high speed toward Maple Forest City.
…
Somewhere tens of thousands of miles from Maple Forest City—the gates of the Flying Saint Palace.
Mountains encircled the area on all sides, mist coiled and rose like steam, and the entrance to the Flying Saint Palace presented a scene of grand magnificence.
Upon one of the peaks in this mountain range, a bare-chested elder with hair and beard entirely white sat facing east, legs crossed and eyes shut. With each breath he drew and exhaled, pure white qi poured from his nose and mouth—and those streams of breath seemed almost alive, transforming into the shapes of various birds and beasts before vanishing into the deep mountain forests. Whatever profound technique he was Cultivating, his posture alone spoke of extraordinary depth.
Just then, the elder's eyes snapped open. The sharp light within them had nearly condensed into something solid, sending a chill through anyone who dared look.
"Hmph. I said before—if there's no business, don't come disturbing me. Tell me—what is it this time? If it's some trivial matter, watch your head!" The elder spoke without turning around, his voice suddenly frigid.
Several dozen zhang behind him, a middle-aged man in dark robes froze in his tracks at those words. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead. He cupped his fists from a distance and answered with a trembling voice: "Reporting to the Palace Master—the Young Palace Master's life plate has shattered!"
From the middle-aged man's words, it was clear the elder was none other than Ning Boyang, Palace Master of the Flying Saint Palace.
"Yuan Cheng's life plate shattered?" Ning Boyang's expression turned cold, and the temperature atop the peak plummeted in kind.
"Yes." The middle-aged man didn't dare lift his head, answering in a somber tone.
"Hmph. That brat really was short-lived. Shattered, then—so be it," Ning Boyang said flatly.
"Ah?" The middle-aged man was stunned. He hadn't expected the Palace Master to be so indifferent about his own son's death.
Could the Young Palace Master actually be a bastard? The middle-aged man couldn't stop the wild thoughts from racing through his mind.