That alone would have been reason enough to celebrate, but what truly set his heart racing was the fact that the Divine Wanderer Mirror world housed numerous powerful figures — Yi Quan, Bailu, Yuan Fei, Zhou Dian, Yuan Qing, Lian Yan, and even Tian Yan, an existence on the level of a Great Emperor, standing right before him.
If he could one day refine a Body Restoration Pill, Yang Kai could summon a force capable of sweeping through the entire Star Boundary at any time!
Just the thought of it made his blood boil.
Tian Yan smiled without a word, that cryptic look lingering on his face.
Reading his expression, Yang Kai suddenly realized that his earlier conversation with Granny You must have been overheard by this powerful figure. That was how Tian Yan knew he possessed the Seven-Colored Warming Divine Lotus, and knew exactly what he intended to do by attempting to communicate with the will of this world.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of embarrassment.
After a brief silence, Tian Yan finally spoke. "It's not that I'm unwilling to help you with this — it's simply that your cultivation is too low. Unless the world's will chooses to contact you on its own, there is no way for you to perceive it. Even with me serving as an intermediary, it won't work."
"The authority of an Emperor, mastery over Laws?" Yang Kai murmured, lost in thought.
Warriors at the Dao Source Realm could already perceive the power of Laws, but they could only mobilize and borrow from them. At the Emperor Realm, however, one gained true mastery — the Laws became part of one's very being. The might of heaven and earth was the greatest Law of this world, and communicating with it naturally demanded a commensurate level of cultivation.
"Correct." Tian Yan nodded.
"That's… a real pity." Yang Kai let out a long string of sighs.
Tian Yan said, "Possessing the Seven-Colored Warming Divine Lotus doesn't mean you have no chance. However, you'll need to raise your own strength further. If what that woman said is true — that you could subdue the Mirror Spirit and refine this world — then for the beings within it, that might actually be a blessing. I shall be watching with great interest."
Yang Kai's brows shot upward. He cupped his fists and declared, "Junior will do everything in his power!"
Tian Yan offered an approving nod. "That day will come. For now, the immediate priority is dealing with these Soul-Devouring Insects."
"But, Senior…" Yang Kai's face fell with worry. "If you're unable to seal these Soul-Devouring Insects, I wouldn't dare take them with me."
Tian Yan chuckled. "With my strength alone, it would indeed be impossible. But if I can harness the power of heaven and earth to replicate what was done back then, then there should be no problem at all."
Yang Kai's eyes lit up. "Then there's no time to waste — I'll trouble you, Senior."
Tian Yan gave a faint nod, then suddenly sat cross-legged on the ground, perfectly still.
Yang Kai stood quietly in place, waiting. He knew the other party was reaching out to the will of this world — contacting the Mirror Spirit of the Divine Wanderer Mirror.
As a Great Emperor-level existence, Tian Yan should have a very good chance of succeeding.
In the blink of an eye, a vast, oceanic wave of divine sense erupted outward, surging toward the four cardinal directions, dissolving into the void, shifting and threading through the unseen spaces.
Before the sheer purity and overwhelming power of that Divine Sense, Yang Kai felt as insignificant as an ant. His heart trembled with shock, and a look of deep reverence crossed his face.
This state of affairs persisted for a full two hours.
Just as Yang Kai's mind wavered between hope and anxiety, Tian Yan suddenly opened his eyes. Brilliant light shot from his pupils, and he called out in a low voice, "Young friend Yang, are you ready?"
At those words, Yang Kai's spirit surged. He realized that Tian Yan had successfully drawn upon the power of heaven and earth, and hurriedly nodded. "Junior is ready."
Tian Yan said, "You possess the Warming Divine Lotus, so I will use it as a vessel and cage to seal the Soul-Devouring Insects within it. But you must remember — although I am borrowing the might of heaven and earth and supplementing it with my own Divine Sense, once you leave this world, the seal will not be able to hold for long. Before that deadline arrives, you must deal with the Soul-Devouring Insects properly, or the consequences will be catastrophic!"
"Junior understands!" Yang Kai replied gravely, nodding.
The seal at the altar had been able to endure for tens of thousands of years without failing because it remained within the Divine Wanderer Mirror world, sustained by the will of the Mirror Spirit and nourished by the power of heaven and earth.
But if Yang Kai left this place, the seal he carried with him would be like a tree without roots, a river without a spring — there was no way it could last long.
He had to fully subdue the Soul-Devouring Insects, or banish them entirely, before the seal broke.
Yang Kai quietly made up his mind: if all else failed, he would banish the insects into the void. After all, with his mastery over Space, he could tear open the fabric of space at any time.
"Open your mind!" Tian Yan barked another command.
Yang Kai immediately straightened his posture, settling his breathing and focusing his thoughts.
In the next instant, he watched as the black altar before him seemed to melt away, and at the same moment, a rapid, buzzing hum filled the air. Countless Soul-Devouring Insects poured out from where the altar had been.
Looking more closely, these insects appeared far more violent and unruly than the ones he already possessed, and the aura they radiated was incomparably savage.
After all, these Soul-Devouring Insects had once been extraordinarily powerful. It was only tens of thousands of years of sealing that had weakened them. Even so, they were still a cut above the ones Yang Kai currently controlled.
For reasons he couldn't fathom, the moment they were freed, every last one of them came swarming toward him, as though something about him drew them irresistibly.
At the sight of this, Yang Kai's scalp went numb.
He was currently in a spiritual soul form, and this swarm of Soul-Devouring Insects was not the one he had been controlling. If they surrounded him, it wouldn't be long before he was devoured entirely.
Even his Divine Sense Fire might not be effective against them.
But despite the terror crawling through his heart, he did not dodge.