A strange fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. Yang Kai sniffed gently and followed the scent, spotting a patch of low-growing vines not far from where he had landed. The vines were laden with pale golden fruits the size of longans, each one shaped peculiarly—they looked, at first glance, like cicadas clinging to the vine, startlingly lifelike.
That strange fragrance was emanating from these very fruits.
Yang Kai walked over and plucked one, examining it closely.
"Golden Cicada Fruits?" His eyes lit up. This was quite the find. Though he hadn't personally refined pills or medicines in a long time, his foundation as an Emperor Alchemist remained firmly intact, giving him discernment far beyond that of ordinary people. These Golden Cicada Fruits were Emperor-grade spirit fruits that could be used to refine a type of spirit pill called the Golden Cicada Pill, which, when consumed, could dramatically accelerate a warrior's Cultivation speed.
Even without refinement, the fruits themselves possessed some of these effects.
This was information Yang Kai had gleaned from ancient texts. In the Star Boundary, Golden Cicada Fruits had long since gone extinct, so he had never seen the real thing. But their characteristics were so distinctive—how could he possibly misidentify them?
The Profound Heaven Temple, this heaven and earth secret realm… seemed to be something truly extraordinary.
He had been randomly teleported here and had already stumbled upon Golden Cicada Fruits. That spoke volumes about just how abundant the resources within this entire secret realm were. No wonder Sheng Yu Zhu had said that in every generation, those who participated in the battle for the Grand Dao and managed to walk out of the Profound Heaven Temple alive would undergo earth-shattering transformations in strength.
Now it seemed likely that opportunities lurked everywhere within the Profound Heaven Temple.
"Where Golden Cicada Fruits grow, there is always a Golden-Line Wind Serpent standing guard…" The thought had barely flickered through Yang Kai's mind when a black shadow lurking among the vines shot straight toward him with lightning speed.
"Sure enough!" Yang Kai grinned and reached out to seize the shadow.
His hand closed around something slippery—an odd spirit serpent roughly one zhang in length, with a pair of fleshy wings along its sides. A straight golden line ran down its back, and its forked tongue flicked in and out, producing a sharp hissing sound. From its gaping mouth wafted a foul, poisonous stench.
Golden Cicada Fruits had long gone extinct in the Star Boundary, and the Golden-Line Wind Serpents that coexisted with them had naturally vanished as well. Though this spirit serpent was barely one zhang long, the aura radiating from its body was comparable to that of a Monster King—in other words, a serpent of this caliber was virtually equivalent to a human Emperor Realm expert.
What made matters worse was that Golden-Line Wind Serpents possessed virulent venom and moved with the speed of wind. Even an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator who encountered one would consider himself unlucky.
The spirit serpent in his grip continued to struggle, monstrous energy rolling off it in waves as its long body coiled tightly around Yang Kai's arm, constricting with tremendous force as if trying to crush it.
Yang Kai chuckled softly and briefly released a trace of his Dragon aura. The writhing Golden-Line Wind Serpent immediately went still, its body wrapped around his arm growing limp. In its vertically slitted pupils, a flicker of terror appeared.
All serpents under heaven carried some trace of Dragon Clan bloodline, however dilute. This mere Golden-Line Wind Serpent could hardly maintain its composure under the pure Dragon aura of Yang Kai.
"Don't be alarmed. I won't take your life," Yang Kai said to it. He had no idea whether it could actually understand him—though he suspected it couldn't. Despite its considerable strength, this Golden-Line Wind Serpent had not developed sentience; it operated on instinct alone.
With that, he stored it away inside the Small World and placed it in the herb garden.
Next, Yang Kai picked the Golden Cicada Fruits before him, then cast a spell to transplant the entire vine into the herb garden as well.
Golden Cicada Fruit vines and Golden-Line Wind Serpents shared a symbiotic relationship. The serpent's growth depended on the sap of the Golden Cicada Fruit vine, while the breath exhaled by the Golden-Line Wind Serpent in turn promoted the fruit's development.
If Yang Kai wanted to transplant one, he naturally had to take both into the herb garden. Removing only one would mean certain death for it—and that was probably the primary reason why Golden Cicada Fruits and Golden-Line Wind Serpents had gone extinct in the Star Boundary in the first place.
Though his main purpose in entering the Profound Heaven Temple was to participate in the battle for the Grand Dao, so long as it didn't cost too much time or effort, Yang Kai had no objection to enriching the species within his herb garden. The treasures found in a heaven and earth secret realm like this were anything but ordinary—things one could never hope to encounter in everyday life. To pass them up would be a true waste. Once he left the Profound Heaven Temple, these resources would serve as valuable assets for rapidly strengthening himself and his companions.
In only a brief moment, Yang Kai had finished the job. After a moment's thought, he waved his hand, and a figure wreathed in Demonic energy abruptly materialized before him.
This was unmistakably a member of the Demon Race, and judging by the aura rolling off him, a mid-grade Demon King at that.
This was, of course, one of Yang Kai's captives. Earlier, when Yang Kai had joined forces with Jiu Feng and Yang Yan to wreak havoc outside the Demon Caverns beyond Canglang City, they had slain numerous members of the Demon Race—and taken a number of prisoners as well.
At the time, Jiu Feng and Yang Yan hadn't understood why Yang Kai had gone through the trouble of capturing Demon Kings alive. He hadn't bothered to explain. Now, however, had come the moment to put these captives to use.
The Demon King had been trapped within the Small World for many days. Upon his sudden release, he hadn't yet grasped the situation. The moment he caught sight of Yang Kai standing before him, his expression changed drastically. He threw a punch while simultaneously retreating at top speed.
Yang Kai casually deflected the attack and simply stared at him, making no move to give chase.
The fleeing Demon King's heart lurched. Before he could figure out what Yang Kai intended, his eyes suddenly bulged and the aura around his body began fluctuating violently, growing wildly unstable.