The Landlady regarded him with an odd expression once more. "Leave Langya Blessed Land aside for now — first tell me what's going on with Yin Yang Cave Heaven."
"Yin Yang Cave Heaven?" The moment Yang Kai heard that name, Qu Huashang came to mind. She should be safe by now, right? He asked instinctively, "What happened with Yin Yang Cave Heaven?"
The Landlady's teeth were practically grinding. "You have the nerve to ask me? Someone came to me with a marriage proposal, wanting you to marry into Yin Yang Cave Heaven."
"Marriage proposal? Marry into?" Yang Kai's eyes went wide. "What — what kind of joke is this?"
Everyone around them stared at Yue He's expression, which had turned utterly aggrieved. She bit her red lip gently, looking every bit the abandoned young wife.
"Heh…" The Landlady gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I wish they were joking, but they're not. They even sent me a list of the bride price. Want to take a look?"
Yang Kai broke into a cold sweat. "No need — there must be some kind of misunderstanding!"
The Landlady sliced him a venomous glare, as if she wanted to carve a few pounds of flesh right off him. "If people from Yin Yang Cave Heaven are the ones proposing, then it's no misunderstanding. I've heard that you and that Qu Huashang were awfully close inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven?"
You know about that too? Yang Kai very much wanted to ask who the bigmouth was that had told the Landlady all this, but it wasn't something that could be hidden anyway — plenty of people had seen him and Qu Huashang together before the Blood Demon Divine Palace.
Yang Kai's expression turned serious. "Senior Sister Qu helped me tremendously inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven. Without her, I'd probably be dead by now."
"What happened?" The Landlady's eyelids contracted, and a cold light flashed in her beautiful eyes. She had only heard that Yang Kai and Qu Huashang had gone together through the Blood Demon Cave Heaven and appeared to be quite close, but she knew nothing of the details — especially not about how they had supported each other through hardship every step of the way.
Yang Kai waved his hand. "In short, Senior Sister Qu saved my life." He didn't want to go into the specifics, not because he feared causing any misunderstanding, but because the one who had been chasing him was Yin Xinzhao of Xuanyuan Cave Heaven, and the First Inn's backing happened to be a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Elder from Xuanyuan Cave Heaven.
If the Landlady learned about that, she would certainly stand up for him, and that would mean a complete falling-out with Xuanyuan Cave Heaven — something that would do her no good whatsoever.
The Landlady had sheltered him generously all these years. How could Yang Kai possibly bring her more trouble? As for the grudge of being hunted by that Yin Xinzhao, he would repay it with his own hands.
The Landlady gazed at him deeply and let out a soft sigh. "I'm not speaking ill of anyone behind their back. I know that girl Qu Huashang — she's a good person. But she's a Core Disciple of Yin Yang Cave Heaven, and in the future she may even inherit the position of Sect Master. If she's grown attached to you, that may not be a good thing for you."
"Don't worry, Landlady. I can handle this myself."
The Landlady sighed again. "Very well, then look after yourself. Once we're done here, it's time we headed back."
Those few people they still hadn't found — if they truly had met with misfortune, then that was their own choice. If they were still alive, they would naturally find their way back to the First Inn in Thousand Bird Domain, or to Void Land. There was no point lingering here any longer.
Soon the flying ship changed course and headed toward the domain gate of the Blood Demon Domain.
Inside the cabin, Yang Kai took a bath and changed into clean clothes, instantly feeling refreshed and clear-headed. He checked the spoils of this trip, and a smile spread across his face.
To be honest, the harvest this time wasn't enormous — it couldn't even compare to what he'd gained back in the Tai Xu Realm.
But he was extremely satisfied. The most important thing was that he had obtained a Seventh-Order Gold-attribute inner core! That was precisely what he needed most right now.
However, Yang Kai was in no rush to refine it. Refining a Seventh-Order inner core would undoubtedly consume a considerable amount of time. He would need to go into closed-door cultivation properly once he returned.
Beyond that Seventh-Order inner core, the next greatest harvest was the five hundred Open Heaven Pills born naturally between heaven and earth from the Qiankun Furnace! These were treasures that could make anyone's eyes red with envy. Once he handed them over to the Landlady, perhaps she could advance to Seventh-Order Open Heaven. If the Landlady could reach the Seventh-Order, her status and strength would surely increase dramatically, and then she would have leverage when dealing with Xuanyuan Cave Heaven.
As for the warriors of Dingfeng City, Yang Kai had placed even greater hopes on them. From City Lord Mo Mei and Elders like Pang Duo down to Steward Fan Wuxin and the many ordinary residents — every single one of them had accumulated years upon years at the Emperor Great Emperor realm. In Yang Kai's eyes, these were all seeds ready to blossom into the Open Heaven realm. The moment the blood-path restrictions on their bodies were removed, any one of them could advance to Open Heaven at any time!
When that happened, Void Land's foundation would explode in strength.
He himself was currently being watched by every major Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, and deep down he felt a persistent sense of crisis. But in the short term, he couldn't advance to Open Heaven himself, so the only option was to find ways to strengthen Void Land. Otherwise, if a powerful enemy came calling one day, how would Void Land defend itself?
A Seventh-Order inner core, natural-born Open Heaven Pills, and the warriors of Dingfeng City — these were Yang Kai's greatest gains from this journey. The beast-taming methods he had obtained in the Blood Demon Divine Palace, the alchemy furnace, the various spirit pills and medicines, even the remnant of the Blood Radiance Scripture — these were all supplementary rewards that couldn't compare to the former.
Of course, there was also that Wood-attribute divine ability. He would need to set aside time to study it properly. At the time, the flash of inspiration had erupted and he had used it directly, but what exactly this divine ability was and how it worked, Yang Kai himself wasn't entirely clear.
It was his own technique, after all — he had to understand it thoroughly. Otherwise, how could he deploy it the next time he faced an enemy?
Right — Mo Mei and the others knew the Landlady. He should arrange for them to meet. Besides, he hadn't yet had the chance to tell the Landlady the full story of Dingfeng City.
With that thought, Yang Kai immediately flickered into the Small World. A sweep of his spiritual sense, and a look of astonishment crossed his face.