"Take me out first, and everything else can be discussed,"
"You dare haggle with me, boy?!" Yao Changjun's expression darkened with anger.
"I'm just afraid you'll try to swindle me, Senior," Yang Kai replied.
"With my status, how could I possibly stoop to something so shameless!" Yao Changjun snorted coldly.
Yang Kai shook his head. "There's no telling. What if you don't know how to get out either? If I hand over the spirit herb for nothing, I'd be the biggest fool in the world."
Yang Kai and Yao Changjun both turned their heads and snapped in unison: "None of your damn business!"
Pang Guang's face burned red. He had tried to curry favor and ended up kicking a hornet's nest, his expression growing extremely awkward.
Yang Kai studied Yao Changjun for a moment, then sneered: "Looks like you're a clay idol trying to cross the river — barely keeping yourself afloat. And yet you're bold enough to claim you can take me out? Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!"
One glance at Yao Changjun's current demeanor, and it was obvious the old man had no idea how to leave this godforsaken place.
If Yao Changjun truly had a way out, trading the Twin Lotus Heaven-Mending Lotus for passage wouldn't be out of the question. But the key issue was that this old fossil couldn't even get himself out — how could he possibly bring Yang Kai along?
Having his bluff called, Yao Changjun showed no anger whatsoever. He merely said flatly, "With my cultivation, how could some trivial secret realm possibly hold me? I will find the way out sooner or later."
"Then come find me when you do!"
"Will you hand it over, or not?" Yao Changjun had clearly lost his patience. As he spoke, his aged face darkened to the point where it seemed water could drip from it.
"What do you think?" Yang Kai looked entirely unmoved.
"Very well!" Yao Changjun drew a deep breath. Killing intent had already stirred within him.
However, he did not make a move against Yang Kai immediately. Instead, his gaze suddenly shifted to Pang Guang.
Pang Guang had been enjoying the show, but the instant he caught Yao Changjun's frigid stare, his whole body trembled and he stammered: "Senior…"
"Scram!" Yao Changjun roared. "Otherwise, I'll kill you along with him!"
His voice coalesced into a wave, surging toward Pang Guang like a spear. Pang Guang's entire body shook, and he stumbled back several steps, his face turning pale.
"Senior, I can lend you a hand! I'll help you capture this brat!" Pang Guang hastily offered his loyalty. Having suddenly fallen into this Desolate Void Secret Realm, his single layer of Emperor Realm cultivation gave him absolutely no sense of security. He wanted nothing more than to cling to Yao Changjun's thigh, but the other party gave him no face whatsoever and told him to get lost.
Yao Changjun snorted coldly: "I don't need your help. If you don't leave now… you never will!"
Pang Guang was alarmed. He gritted his teeth, glanced at Yang Kai, then at Yao Changjun, and finally stamped his foot before launching himself toward the depths of the sea.
He didn't know why Yao Changjun was so eager to drive him away, but he knew the old man had truly lost patience. If he kept lingering, it would certainly provoke him into killing.
Facing Yao Changjun with his cultivation, he stood absolutely no chance.
He could only flee first.
Though the sea ahead was far from tranquil — on the contrary, danger lurked everywhere, and he didn't even know which direction to run — anything was better than staying here to die.
In barely ten breaths, Pang Guang vanished without a trace.
"You were in such a hurry to chase Pang Guang away — afraid he'd notice that your soul has been injured?" Yang Kai asked with a grin, his tone casual.
Yao Changjun's expression changed drastically, and a flash of extremely dangerous light passed through his narrowed eyes: "That ambush you launched at me earlier really wasn't just luck!"
Yang Kai laughed aloud: "The Twin Lotus Heaven-Mending Lotus repairs shattered meridians, dantian, and sea of consciousness. You look hale and hearty with no shortage of Emperor Qi, so obviously your meridians and dantian aren't the problem. Being so desperate for the Twin Lotus Heaven-Mending Lotus means you clearly need it to repair your sea of consciousness."
"You understand medicine to this degree?" Yao Changjun was somewhat surprised. To be able to deduce from such small clues that his soul had been injured — this young man before him was clearly no simple character.
"I'm humbly an Emperor-grade Alchemist," Yang Kai said with a slight smile.
Yao Changjun's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly snorted coldly: "Do I look like someone whose intellect is lacking?"
He clearly assumed Yang Kai was talking nonsense.
Yang Kai was still young — having reached the third level of the Dao Source Realm was already astonishing enough. Claiming to also be an Emperor-grade Alchemist? Yao Changjun would be the last person to believe that.