Like a bolt of thunder, like a flash of lightning, they tore through the sky in a blur of light and shadow, the magnificent mountains and rivers below vanishing behind them at breakneck speed. The wind blasting against his face was ferocious beyond compare—at this velocity, Yang Kai had truly never seen or heard of anything like it.
At one point, when Zhui Feng pushed its speed to the absolute limit, it suddenly threw back its head and let out a piercing, unbroken cry, one that rang with unmistakable excitement.
The entire Hundred Spirits Continent was vast—at least on the map, it appeared so—but under Zhui Feng's extreme speed, the continent suddenly didn't seem all that large.
It circled a certain area in a wide loop, and only after half a day did Zhui Feng gradually slow down, descending into a valley. Half a day of relentless sprinting had not left it the slightest bit fatigued; if anything, it seemed as though it had merely warmed up, still brimming with energy.
The valley was lush with verdant growth, exotic flowers and rare herbs vying in fragrant splendor. A hazy, luminous glow enveloped the area, lending the valley an ethereal, almost heavenly beauty.
Hei Lian was already waiting for them here, as though she had known all along that Zhui Feng would come. When their eyes met, a hint of helplessness crossed her face—she simply couldn't keep up and had no choice but to wait here.
Yang Kai dismounted and patted Zhui Feng's back. The creature tilted its head over and nuzzled him affectionately.
"How was it?" Hei Lian stepped forward with a smile.
Yang Kai nodded slightly. "It lives up to its reputation!" He thought to himself that it would be wonderful if he could spirit Zhui Feng away. As a mount, the creature was certainly impressive in appearance, and with speed like this, it would be a tremendous asset for both travel and combat.
But that thought remained nothing more than idle fantasy. Even though Zhui Feng had grown close to him on account of his Dragon Clan bloodline, Yang Kai doubted he could actually abduct the creature—at the very least, Chang Tian would never allow it.
He looked around and asked with puzzlement, "What place is this?"
What truly baffled him was why Hei Lian had come here ahead of time to wait.
Hei Lian said, "This is Zhui Feng's territory."
So that was it.
As they spoke, Zhui Feng suddenly let out a whinny. The next moment, from every direction, a herd of Demon Flame Horses came galloping in—each one beautifully proportioned with sleek, gleaming manes, though all noticeably smaller than Zhui Feng. They gathered around the stallion, nuzzling and rubbing against him in affection.
Yang Kai looked them over carefully and realized that these Demon Flame Horses had all likely come to Zhui Feng as mates. He couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing—the fellow was living quite the comfortable life.
After a brief interlude of play, Yang Kai, under Zhui Feng's watchful gaze, flew out again with Hei Lian. There was no other option—while riding on Zhui Feng's back, he hadn't been able to see a thing, so he had to let Hei Lian guide him on another sweep.
The entire Hundred Spirits Continent had a total of four World Gates. Yang Kai had originally assumed that Chang Tian brought him here to make use of his Space Law to repair the gates, but after examining all four, he found that none of them had any issues—they were perfectly stable, in fact. This left him somewhat confused. If the World Gates were fine, why had Chang Tian sent three Half-Saints to kidnap him and bring him here?
That said, through his probing, he had discovered that Hei Lian had no intention of preventing him from leaving the Hundred Spirits Continent. When approaching a World Gate, he could very well seize the opportunity to flee. Once through the gate, he would be randomly teleported to a location on an adjacent continent, and even if Hei Lian gave chase, she wouldn't be able to catch him again.
This proved that the Hundred Spirits Continent truly bore him no ill will. Perhaps they had at the very beginning, but after Yang Kai's Dragon Clan origin was exposed, Chang Tian may well have changed his mind.
"Senior Chang Tian—what exactly does he want me to do?" Yang Kai asked on the way back.
Hei Lian smiled faintly. "Since the Lord didn't tell you himself, it wouldn't be my place to say too much. If you truly wish to know, why not go ask him directly? If the Lord is willing, he'll naturally explain everything."
Yang Kai couldn't help but roll his eyes.
They returned to the same peak where the Lotus Sisters had been staying. Before the palace, Bai Lian was already waiting. Upon seeing her sister and Yang Kai appear, she spoke immediately: "Yu Rumeng has arrived!"
Hei Lian turned to look at Yang Kai, a smirk curling at her lips. "She really does value you."
They had only brought Yang Kai back a few days ago, yet Yu Rumeng had already made her way here. This meant that Yu Rumeng had departed from the Phantom Continent the moment they had set out on their return journey—otherwise, it would have been impossible to reach the Hundred Spirits Continent this quickly. The degree of importance this female Demon Sovereign placed on Yang Kai was plain to see.
"Where is she?" Yang Kai looked to Bai Lian and asked.
"She's speaking with the Lord at the moment, but he said that if you returned, you were to be informed at once."
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, and Bai Lian promptly sent a transmission.
Before long, a dazzling beam of light came streaking from the distance. When it drew close and a figure materialized, it was none other than Yu Rumeng.
Her expression was tense with worry as she landed directly beside Yang Kai, looking him up and down before finally asking, "Are you all right?"