In this world, nowhere was absolutely safe. Yang Kai could only try his best to conceal his form, suppress his aura, and cover his tracks to avoid exposing his location.
Hiding inside the hollow of a withered tree, he kept one eye on his surroundings while absorbing and refining the energy within the blood beads.
The blood beads he had collected over these past few days numbered fewer than twenty. More than half came from third-grade demon beasts, with a few from fourth-grade ones. Besides those, he had just obtained some after killing those three Golden Light Hall cultivators.
By their size, it was easy to discern the grade of each blood bead.
Blood beads from fourth-grade demon beasts were about the size of a pea, while those from third-grade beasts were half as large. In contrast, the blood beads left behind by those three Separation-Union Realm cultivators were as big as a thumbnail.
He took out a third-grade demon beast's blood bead, held it in his palm, and silently activated the True Yang Technique.
The moment his Yuan Qi stirred, he clearly felt a stream of pure, flawless energy pour into his body from his palm, flooding his meridians. It didn't even pause in his dantian before being directly absorbed by his Proud Bone Golden Body.
Before he had even completed a single cycle of the True Yang Technique, the blood bead vanished, completely transforming into his own strength.
Yang Kai was surprised. Although he had previously heard from Ling Taixu that the blood beads obtained here could be easily refined and absorbed without any aftereffects, he never imagined it would be this effortless.
The energy within the blood bead contained absolutely nothing impure—it was as clear as luminous pearl dew. There was no need for refinement; it just had to be absorbed.
No wonder Ling Taixu had spoken so highly of the blood beads appearing here. If someone had a large quantity of them, their strength would surely skyrocket. Except for needing personal enlightenment when advancing to major realms, advancing through minor realms would be completely unimpeded.
Any cultivator who had absorbed energy from a blood bead would find this temptation irresistible. To become stronger, to advance, they would likely spare no living thing that crossed their path—whether human or demon beast. In the eyes of the powerful in this place, all were merely blood beads.
The chance to absorb energy so carefree was too rare. Besides this special extradimensional space that could give rise to blood beads, there was no other place under heaven.
Taking a deep breath and focusing his mind, Yang Kai took out all his blood beads, held them in his palm, and began circulating the True Yang Technique.
A massive stream of pure energy surged into him from his palm, instantly filling his meridians to the point of swelling. This energy poured endlessly from the blood beads in his hand, flowed into his body, and was absorbed by the Proud Bone Golden Body at a speed almost impossible to describe.
One by one, the blood beads in his palm diminished, rapidly transforming into Yang Kai's capital.
Clearly, he could feel himself growing stronger bit by bit, and his cultivation at the third level of the Separation-Union Realm was nearing saturation.
When only the last two blood beads remained in his palm, an invisible field of energy suddenly expanded outward from him in all directions, causing the ambient energy in heaven and earth to churn and rage chaotically.
His advancement faced no obstruction. Without any bottlenecks, he reached the fourth level of the Separation-Union Realm.
Yet Yang Kai felt no joy. His expression darkened, and he cursed silently in his heart. He didn't stop, however, and continued frantically drawing energy from the remaining blood beads in his hand.
Moments later, the two blood beads vanished, and his newly advanced realm quickly stabilized.
He hurried to his feet. Almost without thinking, Yang Kai swiftly left his hiding spot.
Although he had anticipated there would be some disturbance during his advancement, he hadn't expected it to be so obvious in this quiet extradimensional space.
If anyone had been nearby, they would definitely have noticed. If he didn't leave now, he would surely be tracked.
He flew for over ten li in rapid succession, and instead of daring to stop, a faint sense of unease rose within him. He felt as if he were being watched. But when he looked around warily, he couldn't find any clues.
This feeling wasn't baseless. Yang Kai guessed that either the person watching him was extremely powerful, their presence completely hidden from his perception, or someone was tracking him from behind and hadn't caught up yet.
The latter possibility was very likely! After all, if a true expert were watching him, there would be no reason to stay hidden and waste time.
What rotten luck!
But there was nothing he could do about it. Yang Kai felt he couldn't stay at the third level of the Separation-Union Realm forever in this place. While he hadn't sensed immediate danger adventuring at this level, if he encountered a true expert, he would never be able to escape. Every advancement brought some disturbance, an unavoidable drawback.
After flying for several dozen more li, the feeling of being watched grew stronger, and a cold, chilling sensation crept up his spine.
His forward dash suddenly halted. Yang Kai stopped, his face ashen.
He sensed a fluctuation of Yuan Qi coming from behind a large tree ahead. The person wasn't even trying to hide; they were blatantly waiting for him to walk right into the trap.
Someone had actually gotten ahead of him! Their speed was terrifying!
Those who come bear no goodwill. Yang Kai didn't know which sect's disciple he had encountered, nor what their strength was, so he dared not act rashly.
"Heh heh heh…" A sinister, cold laugh echoed out, and slowly, a figure emerged from behind the tree.