Half a day later, Yang Kai returned to Flying Swallow Peak from Wen Zishan's place.
During those half days, Wen Zishan had explained the mysteries of the Divine Glimpse Mirror to Yang Kai in great detail. The more Yang Kai learned about it, the more astonished he became that such an extraordinary treasure could exist in this world, along with such an enigmatic space.
Wen Zishan was right—as long as one could enter the Divine Glimpse Mirror and come out alive, the benefits to any warrior would be immeasurably vast. This wasn't a simple increase in raw strength, but a comprehensive enhancement of one's entire foundation and overall capabilities, making it of extraordinary significance to any warrior.
And with that, he finally understood why Gao Xueting had suddenly come to find him a few days ago and why she had gifted him a "Purple Yang Mystic Light Shield" before departing. She had either foreseen this matter long ago or had been preparing in advance, specifically giving him a soul-defense artifact so that he would have an extra layer of protection upon entering the Divine Glimpse Mirror.
At this thought, Yang Kai's heart skipped a beat. After pondering for a while, he showed a bitter smile and murmured, "Ginger is spicier the older it gets!"
The reason he said this was because he had realized something—he had been selected to enter the Divine Glimpse Mirror, and Wen Zishan and the others had probably discussed it more than ten days ago.
Yet today, Hall Master Wen had deliberately put on a show of reluctance, repeatedly hinting through his words that the rewards given to Xia Sheng and the others were different from Yang Kai's, all to lure Yang Kai into using up his earlier promise.
In other words, even if Yang Kai hadn't used up Wen Zishan's promise of one reasonable request, he should still have been able to enter the Divine Glimpse Mirror.
Now that things had reached this point, regret was useless. Yang Kai felt he should actually be grateful to Wen Zishan—for opening up the great secret of the Qingyang Divine Temple to an outsider like him and giving him the opportunity to enter the Divine Glimpse Mirror. What did it matter that the promise was spent?
Tomorrow he would be entering the Divine Glimpse Mirror, so after returning to Flying Swallow Peak, Yang Kai didn't rush to refine the Purple Yang Mystic Light Shield further. After all, with only half a day remaining, no amount of refinement would make much of a difference.
He simply sat cross-legged in meditation, adjusting his condition to its peak.
The next day. At dawn, Yang Kai opened his eyes, a brilliant gleam of spirit light shining within his pupils. Clearly, he had rested well.
He then set off toward a certain direction deep within the Qingyang Mountain Range.
Approximately half an hour later, Yang Kai descended at the foot of a towering peak.
On the open ground ahead, four figures were already standing. Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and recognized them as Xia Sheng, Xiao Baiyi, and the others—Murong Xiaoxiao and Shen Muji were among them as well.
"Haha, I knew it—Brother Yang would definitely come too!" Xia Sheng burst into laughter the moment he spotted Yang Kai.
Xiao Baiyi, on the other hand, looked visibly shocked. He had assumed the Divine Glimpse Mirror was a closely guarded sect secret, and that no matter how great Yang Kai's contributions were as an outsider, there was no way he'd be given access. He hadn't expected their Hall Master to be this generous.
"Junior Brother Yang!" Murong Xiaoxiao smiled brightly at Yang Kai and gave him a nod of greeting.
"Brother Yang!" Shen Muji also cupped his fists slightly. Though he and Yang Kai still weren't particularly familiar with each other, at least they had exchanged a few words before. Besides, everyone here was about to enter the Divine Glimpse Mirror together, and they would need to support one another, so getting on good terms beforehand was only natural.
Yang Kai returned the cupped-fist greeting, acknowledged each person in turn, and exchanged a few pleasantries before steering the conversation in a new direction. "Is it just the few of us going in this time? No elder accompanying us?"
Xia Sheng smiled. "Of course there is. I've heard that inside the Divine Glimpse Mirror, the dangers are considerable. The Temple wouldn't feel at ease letting us Daoyuan Realm cultivators go in alone—they'll most likely send a Dizun Realm elder to assist us."
"We just don't know who it'll be," Shen Muji said with a grin.
Xia Sheng's expression darkened and he muttered, "Please, just don't let it be Elder Gao..."
The last time they had traveled to the Four Seasons Realm, she had thrown him off the ship on the way back. He had developed a healthy fear of Gao Xueting.
After saying this, Xia Sheng turned his head with a suspicious look, staring at Murong Xiaoxiao. "Xiaoxiao, did you not sleep well last night? Why is your eyelid twitching?"
"It's not that..." Murong Xiaoxiao answered in a small voice, her face etched with anxiety.
"Hmph!" Xiao Baiyi gave a cold snort and turned his gaze elsewhere. Shen Muji and Yang Kai—one looked up at the sky, the other looked down at the ground...
Xia Sheng suddenly seemed to realize something, and his entire body shuddered.
From behind him, a wave of chill washed over, as though an otherworldly demon lord stood at his back, a towering presence that blotted out heaven and earth, plunging Xia Sheng into an icy abyss.
"Haha..." He let out a forced laugh. "What was I just saying again..."
Before he could finish, a tremendous pain exploded atop his head, as though someone had struck him with a vicious blow. His whole body crumpled to the ground, spread-eagled in the shape of the character "大," lying perfectly still...
"All of you, follow me," Gao Xueting said flatly, then turned and flew upward.
"Yes!" The group responded in unison and hurried after her.
As Murong Xiaoxiao departed, she cast one more look of pity at Xia Sheng, but she didn't have the courage to pull him up. She could only pray silently for her senior brother in her heart.
Along the way, Gao Xueting didn't say a single word, and the pressure she exuded weighed heavily on the disciples. For some reason, whenever they were around Gao Xueting, the disciples all involuntarily became somber and silent, as if intimidated by her icy aura.