There was no sun or moon in this strange place, and there was no way to tell how much time had passed. Most of the time, Yang Kai could only estimate how long it had been based on his instincts.
After cultivating within the white mist for roughly half a month, Yang Kai finally succeeded in advancing to the ninth level of the Separation-Union Realm!
This wasn't entirely the result of his hard work—absorbing over eighty blood beads had also played a significant role. Those blood beads were what he'd obtained when he'd parted ways with Chen Xueshu and the others.
Most of them came from demon beasts, though five belonged to Zhenyuan Realm experts, and the energy contained within them was extraordinary.
Absorbing such a massive amount of energy, combined with half a month of cultivation, had naturally allowed him to advance. Moreover, he'd consolidated his position considerably beyond the ninth level, pushing steadily toward the Zhenyuan Realm.
Over these past two weeks, Yang Kai had gradually grown accustomed to the pain in his mind—he could even ignore it entirely now. Though the sensation of pain still lingered, it no longer had any real effect on him.
In the process of damage and repair, his Divine Sense was slowly growing stronger, and his perception had expanded enormously.
Half a month later, Yang Kai began searching for a way out.
Cultivating his Divine Sense didn't require his active involvement at this point. The surrounding white mist would attack on its own, and the Warm Soul Lotus would repair the damage automatically. Whether he paid attention to it or not, the result was the same.
He explored for several consecutive days, yet he remained deep within the white mist. There was no exit ahead, and no sign of where he'd come from behind.
The situation wasn't good. A quiet anxiety began to build in Yang Kai's heart. He even deployed his Yang Flame Wings, but still couldn't fly out of this bizarre place.
On this particular day, while Yang Kai was exploring, he suddenly noticed a subtle change in the white mist around him. The change was so faint that without careful scrutiny, it would have been impossible to detect. This was something only his enhanced perception could pick up—half a month ago, he would have missed it entirely.
He stopped in his tracks and observed carefully.
After quite some time, Yang Kai confirmed it—the white mist around him was slowly converging toward a fixed direction. He had no idea why this was happening, but after searching this place for so long, he'd finally found something, and he wasn't about to let even the smallest clue slip by.
He followed the direction of the mist's flow. The deeper he went, the faster the mist moved. A faint whistling sound emerged, as though something ahead was drawing in the white mist.
Yang Kai grew cautious, his steps light and measured, creeping forward bit by bit.
Before long, a low moaning sound reached his ears, like cold wind howling through a broken hole.
His concentration peaked to the extreme, his perception stretched to its limit, Yang Kai carefully approached the source of the sound.
Moments later, his brow furrowed. He saw a strangely shaped stone standing not far away, and the white mist was flowing into a small hole on its surface.
The stone looked as though it had grown a mouth, gulping down the mist.
Once he determined there was no danger, Yang Kai gradually relaxed. He strolled over with an easy manner, and upon closer inspection, was startled to discover the stone was hollow. Mist poured in from the top and exited through a small hole at the bottom, producing that moaning sound—it was quite peculiar.
With keen interest, he circled the stone and noticed it wasn't ordinary.
There were traces of attacks on its surface—faint scratches, nothing more. The stone hadn't cracked at all.
Someone had clearly attacked it. Anyone who could reach this place would have to be at least at the Zhenyuan Realm, yet even a Zhenyuan Realm cultivator's attacks had only left faint scratches. This stone clearly had something special about it.
An ordinary stone struck by a Zhenyuan Realm martial artist would have been reduced to dust long ago.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai tested it with an attack of his own, and sure enough—his full-powered palm strike couldn't budge it even slightly.
He knew this stone was a treasure, but Yang Kai could only sigh. A stone this size had to weigh several thousand jin at the very least, possibly more. There was no way he could carry it away.
While he was sighing, his gaze was suddenly drawn to the base of the stone, and he slowly crouched down.
Beneath the small hole where the mist emerged, there was a tiny pit—roughly the size of a soybean. Inside it sat a single drop of crystal-clear liquid with an amber hue.
He leaned in and took a whiff. A rich fragrance filled his nose, and his spirit surged with vitality. The feeling was just as refreshing as when the Warm Soul Lotus repaired his soul.
A treasure! Though Yang Kai didn't yet know what this drop of liquid was, it was certainly a treasure—one that would greatly benefit the soul!
Looking at the drop again, his eyes were now filled with greed.
He extended a finger, carefully controlling his Yuan Qi, and extracted the amber drop from the pit.
Before he had a chance to examine it closely, the surrounding white mist suddenly surged, rushing into the small hole on the stone at a speed more than ten times faster than before.
But this time, the mist that entered the hole didn't come back out. Under some mysterious force, it all poured into that tiny pit and vanished.
Yang Kai watched all of this with astonishment.
Gradually, a thin layer of mist seemed to form inside the soybean-sized pit, and at the bottom, a single amber-colored thread began to condense.
Could this single drop of liquid in his hand be the result of the white mist naturally concentrating under these conditions?