Qiong Qi had clearly seen something about Zhang Ruoxi that Yang Kai did not know…
And then there was the Ethereal Jade Wall — why had it only reacted to Zhang Ruoxi alone? What did those lightning-fast images flowing across its surface mean?
The problem was that Zhang Ruoxi herself didn't understand her own condition, so there was no way for Yang Kai to get a clear answer even if he wanted to.
Someone shrouded in so many secrets that even Qiong Qi had stepped in to save her life — how could she be taken lightly?
Right now, Yang Kai could only hope that she would grow stronger quickly. Perhaps once her strength increased, she would come to understand the mysteries within herself without even realizing it.
Zhang Ruoxi was Cultivating, so Yang Kai didn't disturb her. Instead, with a flicker of his figure, he arrived directly at the pavilion where Hua Qingsi was staying.
He appeared without a sound, yet Hua Qingsi seemed to sense something the moment he did. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and after her beautiful eyes opened, she shot Yang Kai an admonishing glance. "Could you at least make some noise when you arrive? You nearly scared me to death."
"I didn't know you were such a coward," Yang Kai said with a grin.
"The Four Seasons Land… has it closed?" Hua Qingsi asked thoughtfully.
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded.
"How were your gains?"
"So-so."
Hua Qingsi couldn't help but curl her lip. "You're clearly not being honest. You must have gotten something good, didn't you?"
Yang Kai chuckled. "I did get a little something."
As he spoke, he reached out and produced a pill — snow-white and flawless, perfectly round — pinching it between two fingers.
"That is…" Hua Qingsi's beautiful eyes narrowed as she fixed her gaze on the pill, a look of bewilderment crossing her face.
Though she couldn't identify exactly what the pill was or what it did, her instincts told her that this was something extraordinary — quite possibly a treasure beyond compare.
"Want it?" Yang Kai's lips curved into a subtle arc as he asked.
"Based on the current nature of our relationship, the fact that you could kill me at any time, and the color and fragrance of this pill, I can deduce that it's not a poison or anything harmful to me — there'd be no reason for you to do that. Which means… this pill must be of great use to me?" Rather than answering Yang Kai's question directly, Hua Qingsi began to analyze the situation with meticulous reasoning. "I'm already at the third level of the Dao Source Realm, only a single step away from the Emperor Realm. There really aren't many pills in this world that would be of great use to me. And… I've never even seen or heard of a pill like the one you're holding…"
As she spoke, Hua Qingsi's eyes grew increasingly bright: "The only explanation is that this pill must be one of those things that exist only in legend…" She could no longer contain herself and cried out eagerly: "I want it, I want it! Give it to me, quickly!"
But Yang Kai didn't hand it over right away. Instead, he looked at her with a teasing expression, clicking his tongue. "A woman saying something like that — is that really proper?"
"Go drop dead!" Hua Qingsi flushed crimson at being teased, glaring at Yang Kai through gritted teeth. "Are you going to give it to me or not?"
Yang Kai smiled faintly, no longer toying with her, and tossed the pill over.
Hua Qingsi caught it joyfully. First she held it up before her eyes for a careful look, but couldn't make out anything particular. Then she brought it close and sniffed its scent. She even extended her pink tongue and gave it a gentle lick…
"Is that really necessary…" Yang Kai watched with a dark expression. "Why not just eat it?"
"What exactly is this pill?" Hua Qingsi looked up and asked.
"The Wondrous Mystery Pill!"
The moment those words left his lips, Hua Qingsi froze on the spot. Her beautiful eyes trembled violently, and she stared at Yang Kai in utter disbelief.
"You know what it is?" Yang Kai looked at her with some surprise.
After all, even during their time inside the Four Seasons Land, many warriors had been unaware of the Wondrous Mystery Lotus and the Wondrous Mystery Pill. It had only been thanks to Lan Xun's explanation that everyone had realized just how precious they were.
But Hua Qingsi's reaction made it clear she recognized exactly what she was holding.
"Of course I know…" Hua Qingsi replied matter-of-factly, though her voice trembled with an inexplicable intensity. "This is the legendary… Wondrous Mystery Pill! A single one might not appear for a thousand or even ten thousand years — the Wondrous Mystery Pill!"
Her words were no exaggeration.
While the Wondrous Mystery Lotus might appear once in a while, the Wondrous Mystery Pill was extraordinarily rare. That was because once the Wondrous Mystery Lotus reached maturity, if it wasn't consumed or refined into a pill within three hours, its medicinal potency would dissipate entirely.
For a Wondrous Mystery Pill to come into being, two conditions had to be met simultaneously.
The Wondrous Mystery Lotus had to appear!
And at the very moment of its appearance, a master alchemist had to be nearby!
The odds of both conditions being fulfilled at the same time were virtually impossibly rare — once in tens of millions of years, if that. And even then, the alchemist had to perform at their normal level or better. If the refinement failed, everything was lost.
It was not without precedent in history — alchemists cracking under the pressure of refining a Wondrous Mystery Pill, failing the refinement, and perishing together with their furnace.
That alone spoke volumes about how precious and unattainable the Wondrous Mystery Pill truly was.