More than ten li behind Yang Kai, Tao Yang's group had been making their way forward with great caution. After walking for so long, however, they hadn't spotted a single Evil Spirit, and a sense of bewilderment grew in their hearts.
"How come it's so peaceful here?" Rong Mei furrowed her brow and muttered.
Tao Yang's expression was one of unease, a hint of alarm flickering across his face. He said gravely, "I'm afraid all the Evil Spirits along this path have already been cleared out."
"Who would bother clearing out the outermost Evil Spirits?" Rong Mei let out a soft laugh, then seemed to catch on to something, turning her head to look at Tao Yang. "Senior Brother, you mean…"
"Mm. No one would bother making a special trip back here, but anyone walking from the outside in has to clear them along the way." Tao Yang's gaze burned as he looked ahead. "It seems I still underestimated his abilities. This person is not only powerful—the Cultivation technique and martial skills he practices appear to be especially effective against the Evil Spirits here. Otherwise, even with his strength, he wouldn't be moving this quickly."
The other three wore expressions of shock, no longer daring to look down on Yang Kai in the slightest.
…
Yang Kai held the Spirit Purification Bottle in his hand and aimed it at a cluster of Evil Spirit Essence before him. After struggling for quite a while, he still couldn't suck it in.
A deep sense of confusion arose in his heart.
After examining it carefully for some time, he suddenly realized—the Spirit Purification Bottle apparently had a limited capacity. It couldn't absorb Evil Spirit Essence indefinitely.
At this thought, Yang Kai shook his head with a bitter smile and reached out directly, drawing the Evil Spirit Essence into his palm. He guided it through several circuits within his meridians.
Under the refining burn of his pure True Yang Energy, this cluster of Evil Spirit Essence was quickly purified, transforming into a stream of energy that surged into his Proud Bone Golden Body.
It was simpler than he had expected.
After absorbing this burst of energy, a strange sensation suddenly welled up from within the Proud Bone Golden Body—as though it was ravenously hungry for this kind of energy, demanding more with an insatiable thirst.
Sure enough, the energy here suited the Proud Bone Golden Body's appetite perfectly. Realizing this, Yang Kai couldn't help but light up with delight.
Last time, when he had refined Le Yu's Violet Evil Spirit Flame, he'd felt something similar. He had speculated that this place might be a blessed ground for the Proud Bone Golden Body. Now it seemed that was indeed the case.
Since refining Evil Spirit Essence was so easy, Yang Kai simply drew all twenty clusters of essence from the Spirit Purification Bottle directly into his meridians.
It took less than a quarter of an hour to refine them completely.
The Proud Bone Golden Body radiated an even more joyful and eager sensation, and Yang Kai's entire being felt refreshed and comfortable in tandem.
The only slight disappointment was that these energies only increased his strength. He hadn't gained any additional insight, nor had his Divine Sense power grown at all.
Grinning, Yang Kai was still quite satisfied. After all, it was said that special Evil Spirit Essences within the Fierce Fiend Evil Cave were rare—whether you encountered one or not depended entirely on luck.
Just as he was about to continue exploring ahead, his mind suddenly stirred. He turned his head to look in a certain direction, his expression growing peculiar.
After frowning in thought for a moment, Yang Kai quickly headed that way.
Half an hour later, the sounds of fighting reached his ears—flashes of multicolored light and martial techniques flickering over there.
Following the glow, Yang Kai saw a crowd of people gathered together. Men and women alike, none of them particularly old, they were fighting several Evil Spirits under the leadership of a young woman of delicate age.
The martial techniques they unleashed leaned toward the sinister and yin-natured. Everyone's hands had gone deathly pale, like ghost claws emanating waves of cold energy, and from time to time someone would release a ghastly face-shaped technique that snarled and shrieked as it entangled the Evil Spirits.
These ghost-face techniques bore a certain resemblance to the Evil Spirits themselves—both had blurred, indistinct features and terrifying appearances.
What caught Yang Kai's attention even more, however, was that the Evil Spirits they were facing looked somewhat different from the ones he had encountered before.
The ones he had fought had all been a sickly green color, but these were a deep crimson, like fresh blood—far more terrifying to behold.
Moreover, these red Evil Spirits were undoubtedly much stronger than the green ones. Even their ethereal, formless bodies were considerably more solid.
That was why, despite this group having a few more people than Tao Yang's party, they still couldn't secure victory in any short time.
Four or five red Evil Spirits hovered around them, letting out piercing shrieks at intervals. Through these cries, they seemed to resonate with one another, coordinating their attacks—retreating immediately after a missed strike, advancing and falling back with discipline. They were far more troublesome than the green Evil Spirits.
Still, the martial artists held the advantage on the field. After just a brief exchange, the red Evil Spirits' bodies began to dim, and once one of them was struck down, the scales tipped decisively toward the fighters.
Those ghost-face techniques were unleashed again and again, tearing through the red Evil Spirits with devastating force.
For reasons unknown, just before one of the red Evil Spirits perished, it suddenly veered past everyone and lunged directly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow but didn't dodge. He wanted to test the combat strength of these red Evil Spirits, so he extended one hand, True Yang Energy surging beneath his palm, and met it head-on.
With a single palm strike, the red Evil Spirit let out a miserable shriek and disintegrated into the air, leaving behind a cluster of Evil Spirit Essence that floated before Yang Kai.
This cluster of Evil Spirit Essence was clearly far superior to the ones he had obtained earlier.