Yang Kai grinned and said, "Tsk tsk, that's quite the tempting offer. Unfortunately, I've got quite the grudge against the Yellow Spring Sect—especially with your Sect Master's Personal Disciple, Yin Lesheng…"
Wu Yuanzheng said, "I've already said it: if you're willing to join my Sect, all past grievances will be forgiven. As for Junior Nephew Yin, I'll handle him myself. I trust he's not someone who fails to see the bigger picture."
"So it's really all wiped clean?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
"When have I ever gone back on my word?"
"Even if Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen have already been killed by me?"
Wu Yuanzheng's eyes narrowed, the smile vanishing from his face in an instant. He growled, "What did you say?"
Yang Kai replied evenly, "Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen have already been killed by me."
Wu Yuanzheng roared, "Impossible!"
The reason he had come here in the first place was because he'd heard that Yin Lesheng and Hua Feichen had brought a group of Yellow Spring Sect disciples to the Ancient Land to settle a grudge against someone. Yin Lesheng was the Sect Master's Personal Disciple, having broken through from a lower-plane Star World, and his aptitude was exceptional—his future was bright, and his value to the Yellow Spring Sect was immense. The Sect Master thought very highly of him.
Hua Feichen was even more formidable—an Elder of the Yellow Spring Sect who wielded considerable authority within the organization.
The two of them had snuck into the Ancient Land with a large group of disciples without Wu Yuanzheng or the Sect Master knowing beforehand. When the Sect Master happened to hear about it, he was furious and deeply worried—the Ancient Land was extraordinarily dangerous, and he feared something might happen to his Personal Disciple. So he'd sent Wu Yuanzheng to find them personally.
After arriving, Wu Yuanzheng had immediately sought out Heaven Unity Castle and learned from them about the grudge between Yin Lesheng and Yang Kai. He'd also learned from Qi Hai that Yang Kai possessed the Phoenix Fire.
Wu Yuanzheng had been delighted, sensing that this trip might present him with a great opportunity. If he could obtain the True Phoenix Fire and refine it, there was no telling—he might just become the next Emperor Yanwu! And when that happened, the Yellow Spring Sect would answer to his command.
He'd quietly resolved to find Yin Lesheng and seize Yang Kai's Phoenix Fire. That was why he'd been so generous as to offer Yang Kai an Elder's position.
What merit could a mere First-Order Emperor Realm cultivator possibly have to possess a divine treasure like the Phoenix Fire? Only a powerhouse of the Third-Order Emperor Realm like himself had the right to subdue divine fire and put it to use.
Who would have thought Yang Kai would suddenly drop such a bombshell…
After returning from the Shattered Star Sea, Yin Lesheng had broken through to the First-Order Emperor Realm. And Hua Feichen was a Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivator. Yet now Yang Kai claimed to have killed them both.
Wu Yuanzheng's first instinct was disbelief—let alone the fact that Yin Lesheng carried an Emperor's Last Stand Pill bestowed upon him by the Sect Master, a pill that contained a full-power strike from a Third-Order Emperor Realm expert sealed within it.
"You? Kid, you'd better watch your tongue before the wind bites it off!" sneered the Yellow Spring Sect Elder who had previously attacked Qi Hai, clearly not believing Yang Kai's words either. With Yang Kai's strength as it was, how could he possibly have killed the Second-Order Emperor Realm Hua Feichen?
But before the Elder had even finished speaking, his eyes suddenly went wide, and he stared ahead in shock.
There, an object had appeared in Yang Kai's hand—pitch-black and exuding an eerie, cold energy. With a flick in the wind, it released a wailing chorus of ghostly howls.
"The Yellow Spring Hell Banner!" that Elder cried out in alarm, and even Wu Yuanzheng couldn't help but twitch. His gaze locked onto the Yellow Spring Hell Banner.
"It really is the Yellow Spring Hell Banner…"
"And the aura within it is incredibly dense—it doesn't look like a Dao Source-grade artifact. It looks more like an Emperor-grade Yellow Spring Hell Banner!"
"Only the Elders and the Sect Master or Vice Sect Master within the Sect possess Emperor-grade Yellow Spring Hells Banners… Could it be that he really did kill Elder Hua?"
The group of Yellow Spring Sect disciples erupted into a clamor of shocked discussion.
The Yellow Spring Hell Banner was an artifact that every Yellow Spring Sect disciple would refine, though its power varied depending on the cultivator's strength.
The one in Yang Kai's hand was none other than the Emperor Artifact left behind after Hua Feichen's death. Some of the disciples couldn't discern the aura on the banner, but Wu Yuanzheng and the other Elder recognized it immediately—it was unmistakably Hua Feichen's.
Wu Yuanzheng's expression turned ashen.
If Hua Feichen was dead, then Yin Lesheng, who had been with him, likely hadn't met a better fate. The Sect Master had groomed Yin Lesheng as the Yellow Spring Sect's future successor, pouring enormous effort and resources into him. If he was dead, who could possibly quell the Sect Master's rage?
"You really did kill Elder Hua!" The Yellow Spring Sect Elder was beside himself with fury. He howled, "Boy—give me your life!"
Blinded by rage, he launched himself forward without a moment's hesitation, black energy rolling off him in sinister waves. He seemed intent on killing Yang Kai to avenge Hua Feichen. No one knew what kind of relationship he and Hua Feichen had shared.
Wu Yuanzheng was alarmed and shouted, "Elder Zhong, get back!"
Though Yang Kai's cultivation was only at the First-Order Emperor Realm, if he'd been capable of killing Hua Feichen, then Elder Zhong was no match for him. Elder Zhong had lost his reason to fury, but Wu Yuanzheng could see the situation clearly.
But his call came a shade too late.
Yang Kai watched Elder Zhong hurtling toward him, his expression calm, and simply chuckled. "Don't be hasty, Elder Zhong. I'll send you to keep Hua Feichen company right now."