"Young Master, please!" Now certain that Yang Kai had powerful backing, the middle-aged man dared not obstruct him any further. He dispersed his Heaven and Earth force and returned the token.
Yang Kai gave a slight nod and stepped forward to leave.
The middle-aged man called out, "If you're looking for Madam Lan, you should head this way. I spotted her from a distance about a day ago in that direction." He extended his hand and pointed.
Yang Kai cupped his fists. "Thank you. Perhaps we'll meet again!" He flashed forward and streaked in the direction indicated.
The Blood Demon Domain was in utter chaos now, and as a half-step Open Heaven cultivator, he had precious little sense of security on his own. Reuniting with the Landlady and the others would be ideal.
After Yang Kai departed, the middle-aged man pulled out a Communication Bead with an expression of barely contained fury, fed his divine sense into it, and demanded to know why Elder Hong had tried to set him up.
Elder Hong, who was rushing this way at full speed, took one look and nearly coughed up blood. "Brother Xu, you let him go?!"
The man surnamed Xu replied, "He's a Hall Constable of the First Inn — how could I dare stop him?"
Elder Hong erupted into curses. "What Hall Constable?! The First Inn is nothing but an inn — there's no such position as a Hall Constable—"
Hearing this, Xu paused and felt a flicker of doubt. Earlier he had been too intimidated by Madam Lan and the reputation of the First Inn to think clearly. Now that he considered it, the First Inn really was just an inn — a place that gathered, traded, and sold intelligence. What kind of hall would they even have?
Could it be the inn's main hall? Was that so-called Hall Constable literally in charge of the lobby — making that boy nothing more than a serving attendant?
He sent another message. "Even if that person isn't truly from the First Inn, he's still not someone you or I can afford to offend. Elder Hong, I urge you to cut your losses now, before you bring disaster on yourself."
Regardless of Yang Kai's actual identity, the token was no forgery. The aura concealed within it had genuinely terrified him. Especially now, with the Blood Demon Domain in its current state — disciples from every major Cave Heaven and Blessed Land were everywhere. The boy might look like nothing more than a Third-Order Emperor, but who knew where he actually came from? If he offended someone he shouldn't, not only would he suffer, but his entire Sect behind him might be dragged down as well.
In some hidden, remote location, silencing a witness might have been feasible. But the Blood Demon Domain was swarming with people — carrying out a killing and keeping it quiet was far from practical.
Having resolved not to wade into these troubled waters, Xu cut his connection to Elder Hong.
On the other end, Elder Hong pocketed the Communication Bead and snarled, "Coward! Not worth conspiring with!"
Still, he genuinely didn't know whether Yang Kai was truly from the First Inn. If he was, then Elder Hong wouldn't dare touch him either. Come to think of it, back when Yang Kai had seized the Golden Crow corpse and fled into the First Inn, using that as a stepping stone to enter their ranks, the story actually held together.
Did that mean the boy really was a member of the First Inn? Elder Hong's heart sank. It looked like that Seventh-Order inner core was probably beyond his reach.
But watching such a fat piece of meat pass him by without being able to take a single bite was excruciating. He stood in place, hesitating, then suddenly — as if struck by a thought — his eyes narrowed. He pulled out a different Communication Bead, assumed a respectful expression, and fed his divine sense into it, transmitting a message.
In the void, Yang Kai raced along the path indicated by the man he had just spoken with. At the same time, he took out his own Communication Bead, continuously sending messages to the Landlady, Yue He, and Lao Bai, trying to establish contact.
He was certain the Landlady and the others were searching for him as well — they simply didn't know each other's locations. Communication Beads were convenient, but they had a range limitation. Once the distance grew too great, contact became impossible.
Half a day later, Yang Kai finally managed to reach Yue He and they exchanged their positions. His heart settled somewhat — Yue He was relatively close and could arrive within an hour at most.
He didn't dare wander any further. Nearby, he found a patch of desolate wasteland and took cover.
The wasteland was clearly a fragment that had once belonged to the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, though it was small — only a few li across. Several days had passed since the Cave Heaven's collapse, and those spiritual continents that hadn't been collected in time had seen their Heaven and Earth forces dissipate entirely, dissolving back into the void. They had all become scraps of wasteland, large and small.
But such fragments were few. Seventy or eighty percent of the spiritual continents had already been claimed. One could say the entire Blood Demon Cave Heaven had been carved up by the Open Heaven realm cultivators who had come here. It was the first time that Open Heaven masters had ever drawn benefit from the Blood Demon Cave Heaven.
But this opportunity would come only once. The Blood Demon Cave Heaven had already collapsed — there would never be a next time.
After waiting less than an hour, a graceful figure descended from above. Divine sense swept outward, glancing left and right, then turned toward Yang Kai's hiding spot. A soft voice called out, "Young Master?"
Yang Kai stepped out from cover, dispelled the Shadowless Veil's power, and revealed his form.
Yue He hurried over, her brow furrowed with worry. "Young Master, are you alright?" Her face was full of concern — mainly because Yang Kai's appearance after this round of battles was genuinely wretched. His clothes were in tatters, and the dried bloodstains on his body had practically formed a shell.