What Yang Kai hadn't expected was that the former head of the Gong family could be so vicious — all for the sake of an ancient cave abode, he'd thrown the Gong family's reputation to the winds.
"Brother Gong is being completely honest. I don't see why you'd doubt him," Yang Tai said, eyeing Yang Kai with open sarcasm, as though mocking him for being clever for nothing.
Yang Kai sighed. "In any case, you and Gong Yue are on the same side — that much I haven't gotten wrong."
There was one other thing Yang Kai had gotten wrong, though: he'd assumed Fang Zhuo was also in cahoots with the two of them. During their earlier contest of formation mastery, Fang Zhuo had lost far too quickly — and it was that very comparison that had confirmed Gong Yue's identity in everyone's minds.
Yang Kai had assumed the whole thing was an act, and so his suspicions had extended to Fang Zhuo as well. Only now did he realize that Gong Yue was the genuine article — he truly possessed the strength to crush Fang Zhuo in the art of formations.
"You're searching for a flaw in this array?" Yang Tai had cultivation at the first level of the Emperor Realm and, having grown old enough to be practically a fox, there was no way he wouldn't detect Yang Kai's intentions. Yet he wore an expression of utter confidence, making no move to stop Yang Kai's actions. Instead, a playful smile played across his face. "Then you'd best search carefully. The formations Brother Gong sets don't have many flaws."
Yang Kai whipped his head around, fixing Yang Tai with a piercing stare, and said in a low voice, "So that's how it is."
Yang Tai threw his head back and laughed. "You figured it out?"
Yang Kai nodded. "I have you to thank for the hint. You're the flaw in this array — the array's eye is on you."
Yang Tai admitted it with admirable candor. "That's right. I entered this formation and assumed control of the eye. Breaking the array isn't difficult at all — just kill me." He smiled mildly, like a fox that had stolen a chicken. "But... do you have the ability to do that?"
It wasn't that he looked down on Yang Kai. Though their cultivation levels were comparable, when the group had earlier passed through the toxic barrier, Yang Tai had seen Yang Kai strike — his attacks had been weak and feeble, unable to sustain themselves, his aura fluctuating and unsteady. That only confirmed what everyone had already suspected: Yang Kai was injured. Moreover, as the eye of this illusion array, he had received control of the formation from Gong Yue, granting him strength far beyond the first level of the Emperor Realm within this illusory space.
So he had every reason to feel secure. Even if Yang Kai had identified the location of the array's eye, he lacked the means to break the formation.
"Why?" Yang Kai's brow furrowed deeply.
"Why what?" Yang Tai showed no urgency to act. He currently held an overwhelming advantage and felt confident that taking down Yang Kai would require no effort at all — he could strike whenever he pleased.
"What exactly is hidden behind that blood-red gate — nobody knows. There could be treasure, or it could be a trap. Who can say with certainty what comes from ancient times? You'd even go so far as to murder other people for it. Why?"
Yang Tai let out a hearty laugh and shook his head. "You don't understand. You don't understand anything at all."
"Then I want a clear answer."
Yang Tai's brow creased slightly. He seemed to be talking to himself, almost murmuring. "Inside that gate is something incredibly important — incredibly, incredibly important. It must be obtained!"
Yang Kai felt a jolt of surprise. "You know what's inside? How could you possibly know?"
The blood-red gate bore ancient prohibitions. Half a year ago, Yang Tai, Wu Kuangyi, Hua Yulu, and the others had been unable to crack those prohibitions, which was why they had agreed to go out, find reinforcements, and return to try again six months later. With the prohibitions unbroken, no one could know the secrets hidden behind the blood-red gate.
To murder four or five Emperor Realm cultivators for an uncertain outcome — anyone even remotely sane would never consider it. Yet Yang Tai had done exactly that, and he'd even brought in Gong Yue as his helping hand.
His murmuring clearly indicated that he wasn't entirely ignorant of what lay behind the blood-red gate. That was the most shocking revelation of all. What troubled Yang Kai even further was that something seemed off about Yang Tai's current state — he appeared half-mad, wild-eyed, with none of the composure befitting an Emperor Realm cultivator.
Yang Kai quietly channeled his spiritual power. A faint glimmer of gold flickered in his left eye as divine soul energy surged forth from his mind. He spoke in a low, commanding voice: "Tell me — what's inside?"
"Inside..." Yang Tai blurted out instinctively, but after only a few words, his expression suddenly shifted.
At the same moment, Yang Kai grunted, his face going deathly pale.
His soul had not yet healed. By forcibly channeling his spiritual power again, there would have been no great harm if Yang Tai hadn't resisted — but the moment Yang Tai came to his senses, he counterattacked immediately, striking Yang Kai and inflicting yet more damage to his soul.
"You dare try to manipulate me!" Yang Tai's face twisted with fury. He was done wasting time with Yang Kai. Throwing both arms wide, the seawater behind him surged skyward, coalescing into a vividly lifelike water dragon that whipped its head and tail as it barreled toward Yang Kai.
The dragon's roar shook the heavens in every direction, resonating across the world. Its colossal body grew from the churning sea, stretching from ocean to sky, its massive jaws gaping wide as though it meant to swallow Yang Kai whole in a single gulp.
Cold sweat slid down Yang Kai's forehead. He knew this was all the power of the illusion array, but he still didn't dare take the blow head-on. His current condition was dire — the slightest lapse in concentration could bring about a catastrophe from which there was no recovery.
So when faced with such a terrifying attack, Yang Kai's first instinct was to dodge.
His figure flickered, and he teleported dozens of zhang away. Before he could even steady himself, the seawater beneath his feet was already churning violently, forming a vortex in the blink of an eye — and from within that vortex, yet another water dragon surged forth.