Given the raw power this person was now displaying, someone like Chang Hao or Chang Xian wasn't even fit to carry his shoes.
How could a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator possibly be this strong? Facing this man impersonating Feng De, Yu Ying felt the same kind of dread and helplessness one might feel standing before an Emperor Realm powerhouse. She didn't even have the courage to flee — she could only stand there frozen, her delicate frame trembling like a quail caught out in winter without a nest.
After killing Zhong Zhenyong, Yang Kai reached out and collected his spatial ring and the Yellow Springs Purgatory Banner. A stream of starlight erupted from the back of Zhong Zhenyong's hand and shot toward Yang Kai, branding itself into the back of his own hand.
Yang Kai had noticed earlier that Zhong Zhenyong's star mark was identical to his own — a six-pointed star mark. With the two fused together, his mark should receive a considerable boost, bringing him one step closer to the next upgrade.
Only then did he turn his gaze, casting an icy look toward Yu Ying.
"Bro-Brother Feng… I… I…" Yu Ying met his eyes and her face went deathly pale in an instant. She stammered, unable to form a single complete sentence.
"It's been a rough journey. You've worked hard," Yang Kai said evenly.
Yu Ying forced out a thin smile, her voice trembling. "It-it's my honor to be of service to Brother Feng."
"Mm." Yang Kai gave a slight nod, then abruptly raised one hand. Space rippled as the pitch-black Moon Blade slashed toward her.
"No!" Yu Ying's beautiful face drained of all color the moment she saw this, and she let out a piercing scream.
She had no idea what kind of sinister technique this was, but she had just watched Zhong Zhenyong die under an identical dark slash with her own eyes. Now Yang Kai was using the same move against her — he clearly had no intention of leaving her alive.
Screaming, she hurriedly summoned her defensive Artifact and channeled her protective Source Force, desperately trying to survive.
But what horrified her beyond measure was that this dark slash was overwhelmingly powerful, beyond anything she could fathom. It tore through all her defenses like a hot knife through butter, effortlessly cleaving through every last one before passing through her body.
Yu Ying felt only a faint sting, and the next moment, consciousness vanished.
Yang Kai reached out and collected her spatial ring. After waiting a brief moment, Yu Ying's star mark also flew forth, and he absorbed it.
He raised his hand once more, launching several bursts of energy that reduced both Zhong Zhenyong's and Yu Ying's remains to dust.
He hadn't hesitated for even a moment in killing Yu Ying. Regardless of whether his identity as Feng De was real or fabricated, he had genuinely saved this woman's life — and yet not only had she shown zero gratitude, but the moment she learned his background was questionable, she'd turned on him in an instant. Such a person deserved nothing less than death.
Besides, Yang Kai had never had a favorable impression of her to begin with.
Having dealt with all this, Yang Kai suddenly furrowed his brow and glanced behind him.
He had detected the people from the Brahma Heaven Holy Land giving chase. He wasn't sure whether they had caught wind of the fire-attribute Origin here and come specifically for that, or whether they had been tracking him and his companions.
In any case, Yang Kai had no intention of crossing paths with them. Those Brahma Heaven cultivators had a grudge against Yu Ying, and now that she was dead, there was no reason for him to get entangled with Chang Hao or Chang Xian.
His figure flickered as he shot toward the dark crimson star at tremendous speed.
The closer he drew, the more intensely he felt the violent heat radiating from this star. Whatever fire-attribute Origin was hidden here seemed to be something truly extraordinary, and even Yang Kai couldn't help but feel a spark of anticipation.
Half an hour later, he landed on some desolate stretch of the star. Looking around, he saw nothing but barren wasteland in every direction. It was as though the entire star had once been engulfed by a catastrophic inferno — not a blade of grass grew anywhere, and the ground lay in utter ruin.
He had no idea how this star had managed to survive relatively intact in the midst of what had been the battlefield of those Great Emperors.
"Hm? Fire Cloud Fungus!" Yang Kai's gaze was suddenly drawn to a patch of something resembling a fiery cloud. With his sharp eyes, he immediately recognized it as Emperor-grade spirit medicine — the Fire Cloud Fungus. What he hadn't expected in the slightest was that spirit medicine could grow in a place like this, let alone Emperor-grade.
But upon further thought, it made perfect sense. With fire-attribute energy so dense here and a fire-attribute Origin present as well, it wasn't strange at all that fire-type spirit medicine could be born.
And in the very instant he was deliberating, Yang Kai suddenly spotted a figure hurtling toward the Fire Cloud Fungus at breakneck speed — clearly someone who had also recognized its value and intended to harvest it.
The Fire Cloud Fungus was Emperor-grade spirit medicine, invaluable in its own right, and its growing conditions were extraordinarily harsh. That made it far more precious than even ordinary Emperor-grade medicine.
As an Emperor-grade Alchemist himself, how could Yang Kai allow the spirit medicine right in front of him to be snatched away?
His figure blurred, and he arrived before the Fire Cloud Fungus a step ahead of the newcomer.
He thrust his hand downward and carved out an entire chunk of the soil the fungus was growing on, then tossed it along with the Fire Cloud Fungus straight into the Small World.
Only after Yang Kai had finished all of this did the figure arrive, skidding to a halt before him.
Seeming to realize it was a beat too late, the person stopped roughly ten zhang in front of Yang Kai, staring at him with a distinctly unhappy expression.
Yang Kai glanced casually at the newcomer. The moment he caught a clear look at the person's face, his brow creased.