"Why!" Yi Quan suddenly seethed with fury. "Are all those alchemists completely useless?!"
Yang Kai replied helplessly, "As the saying goes, even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice... Refining a Flesh Restoration Pill requires a key ingredient called the Flesh Restoration Fruit — something that's long since vanished from the world. Without that spiritual fruit, how could anyone possibly refine a Flesh Restoration Pill?"
"How can that be?" Yi Quan struggled to accept Yang Kai's explanation. "Isn't the outside world vast and bountiful, brimming with all manner of resources?"
Yang Kai smiled. "That may be so, but some things are simply beyond one's reach no matter how hard you try."
Yi Quan's face fell with disappointment, and for a good while he seemed unable to recover. But before long, as though struck by a sudden realization, he looked at Yang Kai with renewed vigor. "You seem to know an extraordinary amount about this Flesh Restoration Pill. Could it be that you yourself are one of those alchemists?"
"Well... something like that," Yang Kai nodded, already understanding what Yi Quan had in mind. So before the old man could voice his request, he continued: "However, I should point out that alchemists are ranked by tier, just as warriors are ranked by cultivation level. Different tiers can only produce different grades of pills. The Flesh Restoration Pill is an Emperor-grade pill — it requires an Emperor-grade alchemist to refine. And right now, I'm only a Dao Source-grade alchemist!"
"So what?" Yi Quan barked. "From what this old man can see, you're young yet already possess remarkable cultivation. Given enough time, there's no reason you couldn't reach the Emperor tier. Hmm... When that day comes, you'll refine that Flesh Restoration Pill for me, won't you?"
Yang Kai could only smile bitterly. "That still depends on having the ingredients."
"Then go find them!" Yi Quan said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "This old man isn't afraid of waiting — and I can afford to wait! The moment you find the Flesh Restoration Fruit, you refine the Flesh Restoration Pill. All I need from you right now is your word."
Seeing the old man's earnest expression, Yang Kai's face grew serious. He deliberated for a moment before speaking. "Since Senior puts it that way, I'll do my best. But you may have to wait a very, very long time, and in the end, there may be nothing to show for it."
"No matter!" Yi Quan waved his hand. "As long as you have the intention, that's enough."
As he spoke, it was as though he could already see hope on the horizon. "Come, come — this jar of wine is another gift for you!"
With that, yet another jar of Monkey God Wine appeared before Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned without the slightest hesitation and began to drink.
Three jars of Monkey God Wine consumed in such a short span — even with the Seven-Colored Warming Soul Lotus bolstering him — left Yang Kai feeling thoroughly dizzy.
The gaze Yi Quan fixed upon him grew increasingly warm and kindly. Just as he was about to wave someone over to escort Yang Kai to rest, his expression suddenly turned cold, and he whipped his head toward a certain direction.
Noticing the shift in Yi Quan's demeanor, Yang Kai looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Yi Quan didn't move. He simply stood still and watched for a long while before letting out a cold snort. "Some nerve."
"Senior, what's happened?" Yang Kai asked.
But before Yi Quan could answer, a figure from the demon clan came flying in from outside, cupped his fists, and reported urgently, "My lord! A human powerhouse has breached our defenses! The Blood Wolves are intercepting, but the intruder is extraordinarily powerful. It appears that he might be—"
"I know," Yi Quan cut him off with a cold nod. "Tell the Blood Wolves to fall back. They... can't stop him. Let him in."
The demon clan warrior didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a quick acknowledgment, he immediately withdrew.
By now, Yang Kai had also come back to his senses. His expression darkened. "Could it be... that Zhou Dian has come in person?"
Yi Quan's cultivation was extraordinarily refined — the only human powerhouse he would regard with such gravity was Zhou Dian.
His guess proved accurate. Yi Quan nodded. "Indeed, it is him. He's willing to violate the Celestial Demon Accord and force his way into our Celestial Demon Valley... Could it be that he's come for you?"
"For me?" Yang Kai pointed at his own nose, the alcohol having worn off considerably. He laughed in disbelief. "That hardly seems likely. I only arrived here about ten days ago. Before that, I had never even heard of anyone named Zhou Dian. Why would he come after me?"
"That, even I don't know. However..." As Yi Quan spoke, his figure suddenly flickered, and he appeared before Yang Kai, one hand reaching out to pat the young man's shoulder.
Yang Kai was mildly startled but knew Yi Quan meant him no harm, so he made no move to resist.
A gentle wave of energy flowed from his shoulder and circulated through his entire body, traversing every limb and meridian.
After a moment, Yi Quan's face turned grim. "Someone has indeed tampered with you. This was an oversight on my part."
With that, the force in his palm abruptly surged.
At the same time, Yang Kai let out a muffled grunt, but he clearly heard a strange sound erupt from within his body. Immediately after, his entire being was flooded with an inexplicable lightness, as though some invisible shackles had been shattered.
"My son told me that you once crossed paths with Ban Qing, and that you employed certain means to kill him. Ban Qing was an expert in concealment, assassination, and tracking. When he clashed with you, he appears to have planted a mark on your body. Zhou Dian is tracking that very mark..."
Hearing this, Yang Kai's expression sank.
He had already suspected that Ban Qing might have done something to him during their encounter, but with his own strength he had been completely unable to detect anything. Now it seemed his suspicions were correct — those warriors who had kept finding him hadn't been lucky at all.
But... judging from what Yi Quan had just said, the old man appeared to have known some of the secrets Yang Kai harbored all along. He had simply chosen never to bring it up.