The Puppet Sprout ranked fifty-second on the Earth List. Fine as a strand of hair, it grew in dark places thirty thousand zhang underground and was extremely difficult to find. Once connected with its host's mind, it could control others to serve the host's bidding.
Information Yang Kai had seen in the Wondrous Insect Classic flashed through his mind, and he quickly recalled how to counter this thing.
This was all thanks to the Insect Slave Bracelet left by the Insect Emperor, which had the Wondrous Insect Classic hidden within. Otherwise, with Yang Kai's knowledge and experience, he would have been utterly helpless against the situation before him.
The Puppet Sprout ranked low on the Wondrous Insect List—nearly at the very bottom. Although it was fine as a hair and hard to detect, and the person it was planted on would become puppet-like, obedient to every command, it had certain drawbacks that kept its ranking from climbing any higher.
Having learned the solution, Yang Kai immediately focused his mind and rummaged through his space ring. In just a short while, he produced several herbs.
The numerous guests all watched him with curiosity, none of them knowing what he intended to do. They had been completely baffled when he uttered the words "Puppet Sprout" moments earlier, and no one knew what the thing actually was.
Now seeing him produce these herbs, they secretly wondered whether they were the key to countering that Puppet Sprout.
"Miss Ye, do you have an earth-type demon beast inner core of Dao Source Grade or above? Lend it to me." Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and asked Ye Qinghan.
Ye Qinghan froze for a moment, then hurriedly began searching through her space ring. But before she could find anything, Du Xian had already produced a round, earth-yellow inner core. He looked at Yang Kai and said, "I happen to have one. If Young Master Yang doesn't mind, please take it."
His words had barely fallen when Luo Jin suddenly bellowed, "Du Xian! If you still care about the friendship between Heavenly Crane City and Thousand Leaf Sect, then take your fellow disciples and leave this place at once! I will let everything that happened before slide!"
Du Xian frowned at these words. He glanced at Ye Qinghan and saw her give him a slight nod. A faint smile crossed his lips as he said, "Young Master Yang is a friend of our Thousand Leaf Sect. When a friend is in need, I naturally cannot stand by and do nothing."
Luo Jin's face turned iron-blue. He nodded repeatedly. "Good. Very good. I'll remember what happened today. When I have time, I'll pay a visit to Thousand Leaf Sect and have a word with Ye Hen."
Du Xian's brow furrowed slightly, but he replied with neither servility nor arrogance, "As long as the City Lord is happy."
As he spoke, he tossed the earth-type demon beast inner core to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it in one hand, examined the grade and quality of the inner core, and was greatly satisfied. He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. At the same time, with a wave of his hand, a pill furnace suddenly appeared before him.
The pill furnace swelled upon catching the wind, quickly growing to the height of a man. The exterior was carved with dragons and phoenixes, radiating an extremely intense wave of energy—clearly not an ordinary item.
"Hold on—is this kid an alchemist too?"
"Heavens, that furnace seems to be Dao Source Grade, high quality! To be able to wield such a furnace—doesn't that make him a Dao Source Grade alchemist?"
"What did he say his name was again?"
"Yang Kai. Yang Kai of Lingxiao Sect!"
"Yang Kai… that name sounds so familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, many showing expressions of shock. They had already witnessed the formidable strength Yang Kai had demonstrated earlier, but seeing him produce a Dao Source Grade high-quality pill furnace still startled them, and speculation ran rampant.
Many had already connected him to the person who had caused such a stir by refining the Grand Mystery Pill in the Four Seasons Land.
After all, both shared the same name, both possessed Dao Source Realm cultivation, and both seemed to be skilled in alchemy. The world was vast, but there probably weren't many people with so many overlapping similarities.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yang Kai stoked the furnace fire, and the temperature inside the main hall rose sharply.
Luo Jin narrowed his eyes, watching closely, showing no rush to act. He seemed just as fascinated by whatever Yang Kai would do next.
Yang Kai was more than happy to have it this way. He continuously shifted his hand seals, inscribed spirit formations, and fed the herbs and the earth-type inner core into the pill furnace one by one, carefully controlling the flame.
In less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, Yang Kai suddenly reached out to the side. Yuan Force surged in his palm, drawing a bowl toward him.
Then he leaped to his feet, arriving before the Ink Jade Cauldron. He slapped the pill furnace, blasting off the lid, and reached in with a scooping motion, absorbing the contents outward.
What emerged was a mass of emerald-green substance—sticky, peculiar-looking, in a semi-solidified state. It was clearly a medicinal liquid.
From an alchemist's perspective, opening the furnace at this point would have meant the pill refinement had failed. But to drive out the Puppet Sprout, this was exactly what was needed.
He placed the strange, foul-smelling medicinal liquid into the bowl, then carefully carried it before Chi Yue. With a grave expression, he said, "Senior, drink this."
Chi Yue's delicate brows knitted tightly together, her face turning pale.
The moment Yang Kai brought the half-finished medicinal liquid before her, she caught a horrendous stench. The smell was like a pair of socks that hadn't been washed in decades—simply drawing near it was enough to make one gag.
How could such a thing be swallowed?
Seeing the look of revulsion on her face, Yang Kai grinned. "Good medicine tastes bitter. Drink this, and you'll be fine."