"You really have played one hell of a game!" Yang Kai was genuinely startled. He hadn't expected that Wu Mengchuan had actually passed down the Heaven Devouring Battle Art to quite a few people—but everyone else who had cultivated it had been killed by the backlash.
After all, not everyone had a body like the Dharma Idol.
He secretly congratulated himself. Fortunately, he had resisted the temptation back then and never cultivated this Heaven Devouring Battle Art—otherwise, he probably wouldn't even have known how he died.
Although he considered his willpower to be above average, the Heaven Devouring Battle Art was simply far too bizarre. The fact that Wu Mengchuan had been able to cultivate it to the third level of the Dao Source Realm was by no means just a matter of strong willpower. Perhaps the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had left behind some cultivation experiences for him to reference.
"If we can recreate our ancestor's glory, what are a few hundred years of waiting?" Wu Mengchuan's body trembled as he declared in a booming voice.
Yang Kai's expression darkened. "I'd like to ask—what exactly is the difference between the main copy and the copy?"
"Hehe, they're basically almost identical, but naturally there are some differences. Warriors who cultivate the copy are merely seeds. Once they reach the peak of the third level of the Dao Source Realm, the seed will have matured and can be devoured by the one who cultivates the main copy—allowing them to advance to the Emperor Realm! Moreover, once the seed matures, the one who cultivates the main copy can sense the other from an extremely great distance." Wu Mengchuan's tone grew increasingly excited.
Yang Kai suddenly understood. "No wonder you were able to find me in the Broken Star Sea—you can sense the connection."
Earlier in the Origin Sea, he had released the Dharma Idol as well. That must have been when Wu Mengchuan sensed it.
Wu Mengchuan raised his arm high and cried out, "For this day, this Seat has waited for several hundred years! At last, the clouds have parted and the moon shines through!"
Yang Kai nodded. He had asked everything he needed to ask, and understood everything he needed to understand.
The reason the Dharma Idol had hit a bottleneck and couldn't break through really was due to the cultivation technique—but the technique wasn't incomplete. It was simply designed that way.
He pondered for a moment, then said, "What if the one who cultivates the copy devours the one who cultivates the main copy? What happens then?"
Wu Mengchuan froze, but quickly grasped what Yang Kai meant. He chuckled. "Young man, you've got quite the ambition. Very good, very good! With your talent, if you hadn't practiced the divine art, you would surely have made great things in the future. What a pity… now you are nothing more than a stepping stone for this Seat's advancement."
"You still haven't answered my question!" Yang Kai said with a grim expression.
Wu Mengchuan snorted. "If you truly manage to devour this Seat, then naturally it should be you who advances. What's there to ask?"
"So that's how it is…" Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction. "That's the best possible outcome."
"Do you have any more questions, boy?" Wu Mengchuan barked. "Ask them all at once and get it over with—I can't wait any longer!"
"None!" Yang Kai flashed him a grin.
That bizarre smile caught Wu Mengchuan off guard. He gritted his teeth. "Playing tricks!"
As he spoke, his source power suddenly surged, as if he was preparing to strike at Yang Kai.
"Hold on!" Yang Kai suddenly raised a hand.
"What now!" Wu Mengchuan snapped impatiently.
Yang Kai looked at him with an odd smile. "Aren't you going to ask why you can no longer sense the mature seed?"
Wu Mengchuan's expression blanked. Come to think of it—he had been wondering earlier why he couldn't sense the mature seed's fluctuations anymore. But Yang Kai had kept asking him question after question, and he had forgotten. Now, with Yang Kai's reminder, it suddenly came back to him.
"Why?!" he demanded.
"Hehe…" Yang Kai spread his hands wide. "Because I never cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art in the first place!"
"What?!" Wu Mengchuan turned deathly pale. "You didn't cultivate it? Impossible!"
If Yang Kai hadn't cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art, how could he have advanced to the level of the third stage of the Dao Source Realm in such a short time? And judging by Yang Kai's demeanor and aura, his advancement wasn't even recent—his cultivation base was thoroughly solid and condensed.
If Yang Kai hadn't cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art, then how did he explain the seed fluctuations Wu Mengchuan had sensed before?
He had clearly flown over immediately upon sensing those fluctuations and then laid eyes on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai spoke gravely. "The one who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Art is someone else entirely!"
"Who?!" Wu Mengchuan's pupils contracted.
Yang Kai waved his hand. An enormous figure suddenly descended from the sky. That colossal shadow blotted out all the light overhead, casting a vast expanse of darkness across the ground below. When it landed, the earth shook faintly.
Wu Mengchuan's jaw dropped as he stared up at the mountain-like existence. A feeling of suffocation washed over him, and for a long moment he couldn't breathe.
And at the very instant this mountainous being appeared, the connection he had lost was restored.
This time, Wu Mengchuan sensed it clearly—the fluctuations were not coming from Yang Kai. They were coming from this monster.