The Minor Mysterious World. He didn't know how long had passed before Yang Kai finally came to.
The instant he opened his eyes, the events from before immediately flooded his mind.
Yang Kai jolted with alarm and sat up at once, frowning as he probed the condition of his own body.
What left him unsettled was that the demonic qi, which had plagued him endlessly, was now completely gone — not a trace remained within him.
Instead, in the area of his lower abdomen, there was an indescribable pain. It felt like burning, yet also like freezing — utterly bizarre.
He hurriedly lowered his gaze and saw an unusual gold-and-silver dual-colored pattern in his lower abdomen, resembling a brand imprinted directly into his flesh.
"What is this?" Yang Kai stared at it with suspicion.
But the moment his consciousness sank into the brand, his vision suddenly went dark, as though the entire world had plunged into blackness. In that boundless darkness, a violent aura was roaring in fury, struggling against some sort of restraint, desperate to break free.
Startled, Yang Kai bit the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain restored clarity to his mind.
He looked again — there was no boundless darkness. Everything he had seen was nothing more than an illusion.
"A seal?" His brow rose, his expression a mixture of surprise and shock.
By now, he had fully grasped what had happened.
The gold-and-silver dual-colored pattern branded onto his lower abdomen was clearly an extraordinarily profound seal. All the demonic qi within his body and a trace of demonic will in his sea of consciousness had been completely suppressed by this seal in the lower abdomen — not a hint could leak out.
"Such a thing actually exists in this world?" he murmured, his expression shifting.
He knew from firsthand experience just how dense that demonic qi was, and how vicious the demonic will.
With his strength, once wrapped in demonic qi and controlled by the demonic will, he had been able to fight three Sovereign Realm experts to a fierce draw — that was how formidable it was.
Yet now, a single naturally formed seal had suppressed it all. If he hadn't deliberately probed, he wouldn't have detected even a trace of demonic qi or demonic will inside him. How unfathomably powerful must such a seal be?
At this thought, Yang Kai immediately turned his gaze toward the gold-and-silver two-colored tree.
The next moment, his expression froze.
The tree, which had been growing vigorously before, now looked malnourished — its leaves had turned yellow and wilted, drooping lifelessly, and the gold-and-silver radiance it once emitted had completely vanished.
It looked utterly drained!
The seal was clearly formed by a mysterious power from within this gold-and-silver two-colored tree. After having that power extracted, the tree had ended up in this state.
The gold-and-silver two-colored tree had existed in the medicine garden for only about a year.
But the medicine garden within the Minor Mysterious World contained countless layers of rich earth, five Earth Vein Pearls, and was perfectly suited for the growth of spiritual herbs and wondrous medicines.
A single year of survival in this medicine garden was essentially equivalent to a hundred years of growth in the outside world!
The hundred-year essence of the gold-and-silver two-colored tree had been completely extracted by Yang Kai, forming a natural seal that suppressed the ancient demonic qi and demonic will. That wasn't too unreasonable.
At this realization, Yang Kai's heart trembled, and then great joy surged through him.
If his suspicions were correct, he would never have to worry about demonic will eroding him again.
Although he didn't know how long the seal in his lower abdomen could last, as long as the gold-and-silver two-colored tree was given another year, it would regenerate that mysterious power. And when that happened, even if the seal loosened, Yang Kai could draw upon the tree's power to reinforce the suppression.
He was deeply curious — what kind of ancient rare tree was this, possessing such tremendous power?
With that thought, he extended his hand in a beckoning gesture.
The next moment, a flash of light, and both the Dharma Body and Hua Qingsi appeared not far from Yang Kai.
"Has the trouble been resolved?" The Dharma Body studied Yang Kai, sensing no trace of demonic qi emanating from him, and couldn't help but find it extraordinary.
Yang Kai nodded. With a flicker of his divine sense, he transmitted a stream of information into the Dharma Body.
After a brief moment of contemplation, the Dharma Body grasped everything and nodded. "So that's how it is!"
He also looked toward the gold-and-silver two-colored tree, his eyes blazing with light.
"L-little brother, hello there." Hua Qingsi forced a smile, her expression somewhat unnatural. Yang Kai's overwhelming might from before had left an indelible psychological shadow on her. The man surnamed Fu, who had been her equal in strength, had been swatted to death with a single palm. Though Yang Kai hadn't killed her immediately, as a prisoner now, she had no sense of security. As she spoke, she unconsciously put on a display of feminine charm, saying, "Your previous state had me worried to death."
Yang Kai gave her a cool glance, noncommittal. "I have a question for you."
"Please ask away, little brother," Hua Qingsi said with an awkward smile.
"Do you recognize this tree?" Yang Kai pointed at the gold-and-silver two-colored tree.
In his mind, given that Hua Qingsi came from the Star God Palace and possessed considerable strength, she should be well-versed and knowledgeable — perhaps she could shed some light on this.