"Yang Kai has fallen to the demonic path!"
Wen Zishan held a jade slip, probing the information within with her divine sense, her face a mask of disbelief. The jade slip had been sent by Gao Xueting, and it bore Gao Xueting's divine sense imprint — clearly it was no forgery. What's more, Gao Xueting had included a detailed account of the day's events within the slip, making it impossible for Wen Zishan to dismiss.
After staring blankly for a long while, she finally summoned Chen Qian and dispatched her to Tiger Roar City to find Gao Xueting and get a first-hand explanation.
……
In another city, Yang Yan also held a jade slip in her hand, her delicate brows tightly furrowed as she muttered under her breath, "What is that brat up to? How did he manage to pick a fight with Lord Iron Blood, of all people, and end up in Qi Deviation?"
Below her, a group of Emperor Realm cultivators who had come seeking reinforcements watched her expression shift and didn't dare make a sound to disturb her. After a moment, Yang Yan called over one of the Emperor Realm masters and sent him to Tiger Roar City to investigate the situation.
……
"Yang Kai has fallen to the demonic path — what do you two make of it?" In the great hall, Luan Feng looked at Fan Wu and Cang Gou, her voice grave.
"When did this happen?" Cang Gou's eyes went wide, his face full of shock.
"The news just came in." Luan Feng's expression was solemn.
Fan Wu said, "I received the news as well. It seems to have happened just yesterday."
"That kid actually fell to the demonic path?" Cang Gou could scarcely believe his own ears.
Fan Wu replied, "The news came from the Iron Blood Great Emperor himself. It's unlikely to be false."
Cang Gou was dazed, murmuring, "That kid would really fall to the demonic path? That doesn't seem likely. Could you have gotten it wrong?"
Luan Feng and Fan Wu both shook their heads slowly. The former said, "This matter is of the utmost gravity. There is no mistake."
Cang Gou let out a sigh. "What a shame..." Though that kid Yang Kai was always running off to the Barbarian Wilds and making things difficult for them, Cang Gou had to admit he rather admired him. It was rare to see such a brilliantly talented young junior. Now that he'd fallen to the demonic path, his future was as good as over.
Luan Feng said, "Whether or not he's fallen to the demonic path, he is still connected to the Tian Xing descendant. That descendant entered the Blood Gate over a decade ago, and there's been no word since. Perhaps they'll emerge soon. You both know how highly that descendant regards Yang Kai. If things are going badly for Yang Kai, who knows what attitude the descendant will take."
Fan Wu nodded with a solemn expression. "Lady Feng speaks truly. In your view, how should we handle this matter?"
Luan Feng said, "We should find his whereabouts as quickly as possible and send him to the Barbarian Wilds. That way, even when the Tian Xing descendant emerges, they won't have cause to blame us."
Fan Wu nodded. "That's a good plan. Let's settle on it."
Luan Feng said, "Then I'll have Ying Fei make a trip to Tiger Roar City to investigate the situation and find out which direction Yang Kai fled."
"There's no time to waste — go now!"
……
All at once, people arrived at Tiger Roar City from every direction, all seeking information about the events of the day before, and the city suddenly became bustling with activity.
Meanwhile, the news of Yang Kai's Qi Deviation and fall into the demonic path spread as if it had sprouted wings, sweeping through every major city in the Western Domain within mere days and rapidly reaching the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Domains as well. Everyone who knew Yang Kai and was familiar with him reacted the same way upon hearing the news — utter nonsense, nothing but rumor.
But the rumor was remarkably detailed and plausible, claiming even that Yang Kai had been no match for the Iron Blood Great Emperor and had resorted to the despicable act of taking Lin Yun'er hostage to escape...
When this so-called rumor was eventually confirmed, the entire Star Boundary erupted in uproar. No one had imagined that such a rising star could truly fall to the demonic path — and that he had been secretly cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law all along!
As news traveled, errors inevitably crept in. The fact that it was his Dharma Avatar who had cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law gradually became, through retelling, that Yang Kai himself had done so.
Both falling to the demonic path and cultivating the Heaven Devouring Battle Law were things that people could never tolerate. With this, Yang Kai's reputation was utterly destroyed. Coupled with the Iron Blood Great Emperor's earlier words, many were even rubbing their fists and eagerly anticipating the chance to find Yang Kai and strike him down — delivering justice on behalf of Heaven and ridding the people of a menace.
Though Yang Kai didn't know the specifics of what was happening in the outside world, he could make educated guesses, and he had long since steeled himself for it.
Inside the Small Mystic Realm, in the herb garden, Yang Kai sat cross-legged with a solemn expression, the Azure Tree right beside him.
The two Wood Spirits hovered in mid-air, keeping their distance of several dozen zhang, watching Yang Kai with worried expressions. But at a time like this, there was nothing they could do to help, and they were as anxious as ants on a hot griddle.
The dual gold-and-silver sealing power of the Azure Tree flowed into his body under his guidance, channeled by him into his dantian to suppress the ancient demonic qi.
Previously, he had used this ancient demonic qi to coordinate with the Iron Blood Great Emperor, putting on a flawless performance of having suffered a Qi Deviation and fallen to the demonic path. But now that it had come to this, he was discovering that things had become somewhat troublesome.
Ever since he had absorbed this demonic qi outside Maple Forest City all those years ago, Yang Kai had never found a proper way to deal with it, and could only rely on the power of the Azure Tree to seal it away.
But with each successive unsealing, that ancient demonic qi had grown ever purer and more vast, becoming increasingly difficult to control.