"There's such a thing?" Yang Kai exclaimed in shock.
"Either that mine pit contains the demonic qi of an ancient Great Demon that's been sealed away, or it contains the body of an ancient Great Demon itself… Damn it, how did the Jiang family even discover this place, and they actually broke the seal!" Mo Xiaoqi's beautiful face was twisted with fury.
"So it seems the reason there was so much Clear Heart Jade in the mine wasn't because it formed naturally, but because of the seal?" Yang Kai murmured thoughtfully.
The greatest function of Clear Heart Jade was to clear the mind and purify the spirit — it was the natural antithesis of that evil demonic qi. Perhaps… a long, long time ago, some ancient powerhouse had used an enormous quantity of Clear Heart Jade to set up a seal deep underground. But with the Jiang family continuously sending people to mine there over the years, the seal must have been damaged, which was how the demonic qi had leaked out.
"Hopefully it's the former. If it's the latter…" Mo Xiaoqi trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.
"What would happen?" Yang Kai asked.
Mo Xiaoqi gave him a dark look and continued: "It would mean that ancient Great Demon has a chance to revive. If that truly comes to pass, I'm afraid only the Ten Great Emperors personally intervening could destroy it."
Hearing this, Yang Kai's expression turned grim in an instant.
"The demonic qi is spreading!" Mo Xiaoqi suddenly made another discovery and called out sharply.
Yang Kai glanced back in the midst of their flight and saw that it was exactly as Mo Xiaoqi had said. The enormous mass of demonic qi that blanketed an area of a thousand miles in every direction was dispersing in all directions as though responding to some unseen command. The rolling waves of demonic qi surged forward like unstoppable floods, leaving devastation in their wake wherever they passed.
At the foot of the barren mountains near the mine, there had once been a small village. But now, as the demonic qi swept through it, screams erupted one after another from within.
When the demonic qi finally dissipated, one by one, figures wrapped in pitch-black aura rose from every corner of the village…
And then, all of them fixed their eyes on Yang Kai and Mo Xiaoqi fleeing in the distance, and gave chase.
These ordinary people who had never cultivated before now displayed stamina no less formidable than that of wild beasts. They moved with agile, lithe bodies, swift as cheetahs. Although they could not possibly catch Yang Kai, they showed no intention of giving up.
"Master…" Just then, a faint voice came from Yang Kai's arms.
"You're awake?" Yang Kai looked down. Zhang Ruoxi was gazing up at him with open eyes. Her fair face, which had been deathly pale, seemed to have regained some color after this period of rest. Yang Kai quickly circulated his Source Power, sending it flowing through her body in a circuit. Only after confirming that she was unharmed did he finally relax.
"Master, please save the widows and orphans of my Zhang family!" Zhang Ruoxi pleaded. "They know nothing of what's happening here. If we leave them to their own devices…"
Hearing this, Yang Kai's brow furrowed slightly, but after only a moment, he nodded: "Very well. I'll head to the Zhang family estate immediately!"
"Thank you, Master!" Zhang Ruoxi replied gratefully.
"Brother Yang, why don't we split up?" Mo Xiaoqi suddenly suggested. "You go to the Zhang family. I'll head to Maple Leaf City and warn the City Lord to prepare defenses early. Otherwise, once this demonic qi reaches Maple Leaf City, it may already be too late."
"That works." Yang Kai nodded. He had been considering the same thing, so Mo Xiaoqi's suggestion came at the perfect time. "Be careful out there. I'll make my way to Maple Leaf City as quickly as I can to meet up with you, and then we'll get far away from this place!"
"Mm." Mo Xiaoqi nodded firmly, then surged with power and transformed into a streak of brilliant light, shooting straight toward Maple Leaf City.
After she departed, Yang Kai accelerated abruptly.
Half an incense stick's time later, he arrived at the Zhang family estate.
At this moment, dawn was just breaking. However, the widows and orphans of the Zhang family were early risers — there were already signs of movement within the grounds.
When Yang Kai arrived, the only two remaining men of the Zhang family — a fat warrior and a thin warrior — were sparring in a clearing. Their cultivation was roughly equal, and they were locked in a heated exchange.
Just as the fight reached a stalemate, the space before their eyes blurred and a person appeared out of nowhere.
Both the fat and thin warriors were startled. They each took a step back and shouted sharply: "Who goes there?"
But in the next instant, the fat warrior's face lit up with joy, and he cried out in pleasant surprise: "Why, it's our benefactor!"
"And Ruoxi!" The thin warrior had also spotted Zhang Ruoxi being gently set down by Yang Kai, and he rushed forward with a warm welcome.
Ever since Yang Kai had saved the Zhang family from annihilation the last time, every member of the household had been overwhelmed with gratitude. Seeing him now, their faces naturally beamed with happiness.
"Second Brother, Third Brother…" Zhang Ruoxi's cheeks flushed slightly, as if somewhat embarrassed, and she quickly called out in a soft voice.
"You two catch up. I'll go find the old matriarch!" Yang Kai said, and in the next instant his form blurred and vanished without a trace.
"Our benefactor was in such a hurry — what's going on?" The fat warrior instinctively sensed that something was wrong and looked at Zhang Ruoxi with concern. "Has something happened?"
"It's like this." Zhang Ruoxi knew this was no time for pleasantries, and she quickly recounted everything that had happened at the mine.
After hearing the full account, both the fat and thin warriors turned deathly pale.