It seemed like there might be the beginnings of a cold — I'd been coughing lightly for the past two days, and now the roof of my mouth felt a bit swollen. Still had to go sweep graves today.
***************
The cave seemed impossibly deep. Yang Kai kept falling for a good while before reaching the bottom.
After a moment longer, the sound of fighting suddenly drifted up from below. Flashes of light flickered across his vision and vanished — someone was clearly unleashing martial techniques.
Yang Kai grew more cautious and vigilant. He realized Shan Qingluo hadn't been lying. This Evil Spirit Cave was indeed fraught with danger, but there were people training inside at every moment. He'd only just entered, and already he'd run into others.
The more dangerous a place, the greater its rewards. The marvels of the Evil Spirit Cave were more than enough to draw people in by the droves.
It was a time of chaos in the world, with many people occupied by battles outside. In peacetime, there would have been even more people here.
Where there were people, there were disputes — fights, bloodshed. That was a truth as old as time, no matter the place.
A short while later, the sounds of combat and the flashes of light grew clearer.
Yang Kai listened carefully. It sounded like four people, none of them particularly strong. Probably all Zhenyuan Realm martial artists.
As he continued to fall, he quietly extended his Divine Sense to probe the surroundings. Waves of extremely sinister energy filled his range of perception — some strong, some weak, all of them deeply unpleasant to sense. These must be the so-called evil spirits.
There were also traces of martial artists moving about, but they were scattered and kept their distance from one another, like neighbors sharing a well who never encroached on each other's territory.
Though he detected no immediate danger, Yang Kai quickly withdrew his Divine Sense.
Releasing one's Divine Sense was a risky endeavor. If he encountered some attack capable of harming Divine Sense, he could be injured. Even Shenyou Realm experts didn't keep their Divine Sense extended at all times — they merely used it to scan their surroundings on occasion.
It took a full half a cup of tea's time before Yang Kai finally reached the cave floor.
Not far ahead, four figures were locked in fierce battle. All kinds of martial techniques flew through the air, the fighters coordinating seamlessly — when one retreated, another pressed forward; when one dodged, another countered. Their movements were orderly and disciplined, with not a trace of panic.
Their opponents were several entities radiating an eerie green glow. They looked vaguely human, with blurry but ferocious features on their faces. Yet their bodies seemed both intangible and solid at the same time — ethereal and phantasmal.
They let out terrifying howls and wails, accompanied by ghostly shrieks and gusts of cold, sinister wind. While none were particularly powerful, they were extraordinarily difficult to kill.
These must be the evil spirits! Sure enough, they were quite bizarre.
Yang Kai had appeared behind them without any of the four noticing. They were probably too focused on the battle before them.
To avoid any misunderstandings, Yang Kai deliberately made some noise.
All four startled and quickly turned to look.
In the next moment, one person silently leapt out of the fray, turned to face Yang Kai, and stood on guard with wary vigilance.
Yang Kai's expression remained neutral. He showed no hostility whatsoever, simply standing there in silence, waiting for their fight to conclude.
The man studied him for a moment and realized this, then flashed Yang Kai a brief grin of acknowledgment.
Yang Kai gave a faint nod in return but didn't engage further, instead quietly observing the environment of the Evil Spirit Cave.
The underground was like a world unto itself — the entire cavern was hollow, with only the occasional stone pillar rising to some unfathomable height.
The cave was barren, nearly devoid of any trace of life. It was hard not to feel oppressed by the atmosphere. The surroundings were also quite complex, a tangled labyrinth of rock formations.
Despite being deep underground, it wasn't dark at all. Everywhere, a soft, luminous glow flickered — somewhat like fireflies, somewhat like ghostly flames — casting the entire Evil Spirit Ground in a light reminiscent of an asura's purgatory. Even the people within it looked grim and fearsome.
After watching for a while, Yang Kai had already formed a plan.
If only Earth Demon were here right now. These green evil spirits would have been a fine feast for him. Unfortunately, he was probably still at the bottom of Kunlong Gorge, absorbing demonic energy — he wouldn't have the good fortune of being here.
Before him, the four martial artists — though one was standing guard against Yang Kai, leaving them a man short in the fight — the remaining three no longer held back. They unleashed their fiercest techniques, quickly dispatching several of the green evil spirits.
Accompanied by piercing shrieks, the green spirits' bodies suddenly disintegrated, dissolving into the air.
All that remained were several clusters of what appeared to be remarkably pure substance, though they still contained traces of sinister energy, hovering in midair.
Evil Spirit Essence! Yang Kai's interest stirred.
Every martial artist who came to the Evil Spirit Cave was here for this — Evil Spirit Essence. Absorbing and refining it could bring all manner of benefits.
However, these clusters of green Evil Spirit Essence looked rather weak — the energy within them wasn't particularly dense.
Noticing this, Yang Kai lost interest and withdrew his gaze.
The four fighters all glanced at Yang Kai, pleased by his calm and non-threatening behavior. One of the men, who appeared to be the most composed, said to a woman nearby, "Rong-er, put it away."
"Okay!" The woman nodded, then fished a small bottle from the pouch at her waist. She aimed it at the clusters of green Evil Spirit Essence and circulated a thread of her Zhenyuan.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...