The moment
Of course, Ye Chong wasn't specifically targeting him — this restriction had surely been set tens of thousands of years ago.
Even though he understood this, Yang Kai still felt somewhat displeased.
The man had come asking him to deliver something, yet was acting as though he needed to guard against a thief. Who would be comfortable with that?
Still, Yang Kai didn't let it show. He simply accepted the ring and said, "Rest assured, Senior. I will deliver this to Sect Master Ye."
"Excellent, excellent!" Ye Chong let out a soft breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from his mind. Then he added, "Of course, this King will not let you help for nothing."
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai's eyes lit up immediately. He knew the other party was about to offer him a reward, and anticipation filled him.
But Ye Chong didn't say right away what he intended to give. Instead, he stared thoughtfully at
Even though Liu Yan was merely an artifact spirit, being stared at like that made her skin crawl, and she couldn't help but duck a little behind Yang Kai. The other party was a third-level Emperor Realm powerhouse — even at the end of his rope, who knew what he was still capable of?
After a long moment, Ye Chong seemed to make up his mind and spoke. "You may enter the cave where this King was previously situated. There, you may find an opportunity."
Yang Kai quickly asked, "Please elaborate, Senior."
Ye Chong said, "When the opportunity comes, you will know. If it doesn't come, asking is useless!"
Yang Kai's face darkened. The man's words were essentially meaningless — he claimed he wanted to offer a reward, yet refused to spell it out clearly, being all coy and secretive about it. It seemed rather petty.
But the other party was an ancient predecessor from tens of thousands of years ago, so Yang Kai couldn't be bothered to argue with him, nor was he particularly interested in offering thanks. For Yang Kai, this entire trip was simply about helping the Thousand Leaf Sect repair their space formation. His conversation with Ye Chong had been nothing more than a fortunate coincidence.
He had never intended to keep the ring for himself anyway. Of course… had Ye Chong not placed that bloodline restriction on it, Yang Kai would certainly have studied and copied the inscriptions on it before returning it to
The Dao of puppets genuinely interested him.
But with the bloodline restriction in place, Yang Kai naturally couldn't explore what treasures the ring held. If he tried, there might be some kind of backlash. Ye Chong was a third-level Emperor Realm powerhouse — who knew whether he had laid some dangerous trap within that bloodline restriction.
While Yang Kai was silently grumbling to himself, Ye Chong suddenly asked another question, "How long has it been?"
Yang Kai frowned. "I don't know the exact number of years. Approximately tens of thousands."
"Tens of thousands…" Ye Chong stared blankly, then let out a bitter laugh that wouldn't stop. "Then how is the Thousand Leaf Sect faring now? Are there many experts within the sect?"
Yang Kai replied, "If by experts you mean Dao Source Realm cultivators, then yes, there are quite a few. As for the Emperor Realm — not a single one."
Ye Chong sighed. "This King has ruined the Sect!"
His tone was thick with self-reproach and regret. Back then, had he not been so willfully obstinate, ignoring all counsel and carrying every technique and secret art into the secret realm in order to comprehend the method of refining oneself into a puppet — a path to the Great Dao through one's own body — the Thousand Leaf Sect would never have fallen to its current state.
In the end, he had failed.
The moment of failure was when he realized his mistake. He had underestimated the authority of the Heavenly Dao, believing himself certain to succeed. He had foreseen the decline of the Thousand Leaf Sect, so he had exhausted what little power remained to preserve a wisp of his remnant soul within the corpse puppet, waiting tens of thousands of years until Yang Kai arrived.
Seeing him like this, Yang Kai didn't know what to say.
After his sigh, Ye Chong's head suddenly drooped, hanging limply against his chest. The emerald glow in those two eyes gradually dimmed until it vanished entirely. Then, a wisp of dark energy drifted out from the top of the corpse puppet's head and dissipated into nothing.
Yang Kai knew that this Sect Master of the Thousand Leaf Sect from tens of thousands of years ago had finally perished completely. Not even a shred of remnant soul remained.
After losing his last remnant soul, the corpse puppet's body suddenly clattered apart, collapsing directly into a pile of white bones.
Yang Kai sighed deeply.
Even the most powerful martial artist would eventually turn to dust. Ye Chong had sought to prove the Heavenly Dao through his own body — hadn't he too been hoping to obtain an immortal vessel? What a pity that despite his extraordinary genius, he still could not overcome the constraints of the laws of heaven and earth.
If even a third-level Emperor Realm cultivator ended up this way, how difficult must true immortality be? Yang Kai wondered whether the Ten Great Emperors could have achieved it.
The thought arose, and Yang Kai slowly shook his head. The Ten Great Emperors certainly couldn't have reached that level either — otherwise, figures like the Devouring Great Emperor and the Time Great Emperor would never have perished.
He did have a faint hope, though. Provided he could first refine that Tree of Immortality. Legend had it that whoever refined the Tree of Immortality could obtain an undying, indestructible body — whether that was true or not, he had no idea.
After sighing for a long while, Yang Kai's emotions settled somewhat. Then, together with Liu Yan, he buried Ye Chong's remains on the spot.
He didn't bury them too carefully, because once the teleportation formation here was restored, Ye Hen would surely come in person. This matter was best left to Ye Hen — after all, Ye Chong was his ancestor, and he ought to hold a proper funeral ceremony.
After dealing with Ye Chong's remains, Yang Kai led Liu Yan toward the cave where they had first encountered him.
Ye Chong had said there was an opportunity inside the cave, but Yang Kai was rather skeptical. Though he hadn't had time to examine it carefully before, nothing particularly special had caught his eye when he entered.