Yang Kai's spirits lifted. "That's right up my alley! Tell me quickly how to refine this Blood Demon Divine Palace."
The Artifact Spirit replied, "Swear a binding oath first, and obey my commands from now on."
Yang Kai's expression darkened. "A mere Artifact Spirit dares make such brazen demands — you truly have no idea what you're dealing with." Sure enough, birds of a feather flocked together. The Blood Demon Divine Lord had been no good, and the Artifact Spirit born from his divine palace was no better either — actually trying to control him.
"You don't want the Blood Demon Divine Palace? You don't want the Blood Demon Cave Heaven?" The Artifact Spirit regarded him with open curiosity, as though it genuinely couldn't understand why he would refuse.
Yang Kai let out a cold snort. "What in all the world matters more than one's own freedom?"
The Artifact Spirit pressed, "If you can refine the Blood Demon Divine Palace, then everything within the Blood Demon Cave Heaven will be yours to command. Endless resources, inexhaustible supply. Given enough time, there's no telling whether you might reach the heights the former master once stood at. Compared to that, what's a little freedom worth losing? And besides, even if you swear the oath, I won't ask you to do anything that harms yourself. I only want to protect myself."
Yang Kai studied it with mild surprise. "You even know how to dangle a carrot? Your intelligence is higher than I'd have expected." He shook his head and went on, "But don't waste your breath on me. Your terms are non-negotiable."
If Black Crow Divine Lord refined the Blood Demon Divine Palace, Yang Kai might not necessarily die. But if he agreed to this Artifact Spirit's conditions, he would truly be finished.
The Artifact Spirit's brow furrowed deeply.
Yang Kai said, "That Black Crow Divine Lord was your master's mortal enemy in life. If he manages to refine this divine palace, do you really think he'll tolerate your existence? The first thing he'd do is wipe out your spiritual intelligence. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't have come looking for me of your own volition. So if you want my help, stop throwing out these absurd conditions. We can cooperate instead."
"How would that work?" the Artifact Spirit asked.
Seeing this shift in attitude, Yang Kai felt somewhat reassured. The Artifact Spirit did have a measure of intelligence, but it wasn't a living being after all. Since it was willing to negotiate, there was room to work with.
"You lead me to Black Crow. I'll help you stop him from completing the refinement."
"I'm not sure you can," the Artifact Spirit said, sounding skeptical.
"How will we know unless we try?" Yang Kai fixed it with a steady gaze. "Standing around here waiting for doom is worse than taking a shot!"
The Artifact Spirit fell silent for a long moment before finally saying, "Follow me." With that, it drifted off in a specific direction, moving at tremendous speed.
Yang Kai didn't hesitate and hurried after it.
As the Artifact Spirit born of the Blood Demon Divine Palace, it knew this place better than anyone. Following behind it, Yang Kai navigated a dizzying series of twisting corridors and palace halls, walking for what felt like the time it took an incense stick to burn, before they suddenly emerged into a grand hall.
The hall was completely empty save for a massive formation array on the floor that radiated a faint, luminous glow. And at one corner of that array, a figure sat cross-legged — none other than Black Crow, who had seized Zhou Yi's body.
Black Crow's entire body was wreathed in a dense blood mist, the crimson qi expanding outward in frenzied waves, trying to flood into the formation's patterns. As he continued his efforts, the entire Blood Demon Divine Palace resonated with a deep, thrumming hum.
One glance told Yang Kai that he absolutely could not let Black Crow complete the refinement of this formation. Once it was fully refined, the Blood Demon Divine Palace would belong to him.
Black Crow had clearly been at this for some time. He had already refined roughly one-tenth of the formation — the portions he had claimed were saturated with blood mist, while the rest remained intact.
Yang Kai breathed a small sigh of relief upon seeing this. He hadn't arrived too late. If Black Crow had refined much more, even his arrival probably wouldn't have been enough to stop him.
"Artifact Spirit, you dare interfere with my plans!" Black Crow's eyes snapped open as he caught sight of Yang Kai and the Artifact Spirit, and his voice dripped with venom. "Once I've refined this Blood Demon Divine Palace, your soul will be the first I extinguish!"
His gaze shifted to Yang Kai, teeth grinding. "You brat — like a ghost that won't stay buried, you hound me at every turn! You deserve to die!"
"Less talk, Black Crow — hand over your life!" Yang Kai roared, raising his hand to summon the Azure Dragon Spear. At its tip, a fist-sized black hole spun in dizzying circles, harboring enough destructive force to shatter heaven and earth.
The spear thrust forward, and all things would collapse!
Black Crow's expression shifted. The blood mist wreathing his body thickened several-fold in an instant, and the ground beneath him transformed into a vast sea of blood. Yang Kai plunged straight into it. Despite fighting with all his might, he couldn't distinguish north from south, let alone locate Black Crow's true body, much less kill him.
Yang Kai unleashed a frenzied barrage of spear strikes, then burst back out of the blood sea, his face grim.
Black Crow's mocking laughter echoed from within the sea. "A junior who thinks a bit of skill makes him invincible, yet has no idea how far above him the heavens truly are. You don't realize that your little tricks are nothing but a clown's antics before my eyes. You want to play? Then I'll play with you properly — do try to enjoy yourself!"
The blood sea churned, and from its depths, enormous flocks of blood crows surged forth, cawing wildly as they assaulted the mind. A dark tide of them blotted out the sky as they dove toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai raised his spear and struck with blinding speed. The blood crows burst into splashes of crimson, but they were utterly endless.