It was Little New Year, and the outside world was alive with festivity.
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When the Hu sisters rushed over in a panic, all they saw was devastation — signs of a fierce battle lingered everywhere, and on the ground lay the corpses of the green-robed and yellow-robed elders.
Their beautiful eyes darted around nervously before landing on Yang Kai, who stood not far away.
He seemed to be holding a chain in his hand, standing perfectly still. An aura of icy, terrifying energy pulsed from his entire body.
Swish, swish, swish…
The Ghost King Valley and Treasure Instrument Sect contingents arrived one after another. Upon sensing the strange state Yang Kai was in, their expressions all shifted — none of them knew what had happened to him.
But the situation was far better than what they had feared. At the very least, Yang Kai showed no obvious injuries, and the aura of life emanated from him — he was clearly not dead.
Realizing this, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
Yang Kai noticed their arrival as well, but his mind was still turning over those final words spoken by the wraith before its death.
Just a single sentence, yet it contained a wealth of information.
Demon General Meng Ge — that was how the wraith had referred to itself. From the title alone, it was easy to deduce that this was no freshly born wraith, but rather a figure of considerable origin and standing. Otherwise, it wouldn't have possessed such a distinguished name and identity.
Moreover, the wraith seemed to have been nothing more than a wisp of its divided consciousness.
Four elite fighters — Ghost King Valley, Treasure Instrument Sect — had joined forces against it. They had battled for less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense: two were killed, two fled with grievous wounds, and all the demon had suffered was being pinned to the ground by an artifact spear, which it then casually pulled out as though it were nothing.
A mere wisp of divided consciousness possessed such overwhelming might. If its true self were to appear here, how terrifying would that be?
This being's true strength almost certainly far exceeded anything Yang Kai had ever witnessed or could comprehend! His heart surged with emotion.
Fortunately, it had been a true demon — the Demon Locking Chain reacted only to genuine demons. Had that not been the case, Yang Kai likely wouldn't have been able to do anything about it even after several more decades of cultivation.
After speaking those words, Demon General Meng Ge seemed to know his time was up. He simply dispersed his body without a shred of hesitation.
All that remained was a massive sphere of cold, surging origin essence.
This sphere of origin essence was precisely the treasure concealed within the Evil Spirit Spring.
It had now been absorbed into Yang Kai's meridians.
The Demon Locking Chain in his hand seemed to have lost its spiritual energy in the battle — its entire surface was dim and lifeless, no different from a discarded piece of scrap. But Yang Kai could still feel a faint glimmer of vitality hidden within. As long as it was properly nurtured, given enough time, it would surely recover.
After all, this was a treasure left behind by the founder of Lingxiao Pavilion. Though ages had passed, it would not be so easily damaged.
Yang Kai let out a soft sigh, and suddenly a wave of bold ambition surged through his heart. Having witnessed the splendor of Demon General Meng Ge's divided consciousness today, his resolve to pursue the pinnacle of martial cultivation had been rekindled once more.
Clenching his teeth, his expression turned grave, but his eyes remained resolute.
"Yang Kai…" Seeing him remain silent for so long, the Hu sisters had no idea what had happened and could only call out softly.
"I'm fine." Yang Kai took a deep breath, withdrawing the Demon Locking Chain back into his body. He turned to face the group. "I need to find a place to go into seclusion."
"I know a suitable spot — it's not far from here!" Cheng Ying spoke up quickly.
"Take me there."
……
Deep within an underground cavern in the Evil Spirit Cave, Yang Kai sat cross-legged alone, beginning to refine the energy contained within that sphere of origin essence.
This place had been discovered by Cheng Ying entirely by chance — it was exceedingly well hidden. Moreover, after the upheaval that had shaken the Evil Spirit Cave, evil spirits had virtually vanished from the area.
The members of Ghost King Valley and Treasure Instrument Sect knew that Yang Kai had surely gained another significant harvest, but none were in a hurry to leave. They stayed to guard the cavern entrance above, resting and recuperating.
During this lull, everyone also began systematically refining the evil spirit origin essence they had obtained.
Ghost King Valley and Treasure Instrument Sect had each claimed two Purification Bottles of origin essence — a full forty bottles in total. Divided equally among each faction's members, the amount was still quite substantial.
The Hu sisters had even more. Between the two of them, they had five bottles.
Both sisters were kind-hearted by nature. They had originally intended to give one Purification Bottle each to Ghost King Valley and Treasure Instrument Sect, but the gesture was politely declined.
Both factions were thoroughly satisfied with their gains this time — why would they covet the Hu sisters' share? That was something Yang Kai had given them specifically.
Left with no alternative, Hu Jiao'er and Hu Meier stopped insisting. The sisters activated their Sympathetic Resonance Technique and began refining the evil spirit origin essence at a pace several times faster than anyone else. While it still couldn't compare to Yang Kai's speed, it was far beyond what ordinary cultivators could achieve.
Above the cavern, the others refined their origin essence — and Yang Kai was doing the same.
Only the origin essence Yang Kai was refining was somewhat different from theirs.
Even the essence left behind by that Soul Wraith paled in comparison to this sphere.
As he refined it, the Proud Bone Golden Body pulsed with a steady, rhythmic throbbing, resonating with the energy of the origin essence in a kind of harmonious echo.
The True Yang Energy had completely retreated into his dantian, and Yang Kai's entire body was shrouded in black mist, mirroring the state Demon General Meng Ge had displayed.
Though there was still a notable difference between the two. Meng Ge had clearly been able to control his power, concealing the demonic aura at will. Yang Kai could not — he was entirely enveloped, reduced to a pitch-black silhouette. Only when he opened his eyes did a flash of light pierce through from those twin pupils.