"When this person mentioned Sect Master Yang's name, this old man didn't dare act carelessly. I hurried to the ferry dock, found Lord Jin, and reported the matter to him."
"That's all?" Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
Lu Wenfei hastily replied, "Sect Master Yang sees clearly — that is indeed how things transpired. This old man would never dare conceal even the slightest detail."
Yang Kai studied his expression, then gave a slight nod. "I see."
He had someone escort Lu Wenfei away, rewarded him with some goods, and instructed his subordinates to keep a close eye on his movements.
Jin Yuan Lang said thoughtfully, "Sect Master, you suspect that the Profound Thunder Sect..."
"Just being cautious. But they probably have nothing to do with Old Bai's situation — it was merely a coincidence."
Whether there was any connection at all would become clear once Old Bai woke up. But Old Bai's condition was far from optimistic. Yang Kai carefully placed him into his Myriad Bag and brought him back to the Void Land. At the same time, he sent a message to the Star City Governor's Office, having Mo Mei personally issue a bounty search for the Star Luo Qiankun Pill.
Inside a quiet chamber, Old Bai lay on a bed, still unconscious, his breathing faint, the aura around his body exceedingly unstable.
Yue He carefully channeled her World Force to help stabilize the power within Old Bai's Inner World, preventing his injuries from worsening. Yang Kai, meanwhile, activated his Wood-Element power to heal Old Bai's physical wounds.
Yang Kai truly had no idea where the Landlady had gone these past two years or so. By all rights, news of the Hundred Clans Alliance's invasion of the Void Land had long since spread throughout the Three Thousand Worlds. Knowing the Landlady's temperament, if she had heard about it, she would have come to the Void Land to check on the situation immediately.
But she had never appeared. Even when Yang Kai had sent people to Thousand Bird Star City inviting the Landlady to visit, there had been no trace of her.
After parting ways in the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, where had she gone? What had she encountered? Who had injured Old Bai?
Until Old Bai woke, everything remained shrouded in fog.
Two days later, good news arrived from the Star City Governor's Office — a Grand Alchemist in the star city was capable of refining the Star Luo Qiankun Pill. Yang Kai was overjoyed. Over the past few days, he had been continuously treating Old Bai's injuries. With the aid of his Wood-Element power, Old Bai's condition had improved considerably, and his aura had grown much more stable. But until the issue with his Inner World was resolved, a hidden danger would persist — even if Old Bai woke, he could drop dead at any moment.
Yang Kai had been wracked with worry these past two days, and now he had finally heard some good news.
He immediately sent someone to make the invitation. But before long, Mo Mei sent word back — the alchemist was willing to refine pills for the Void Land, but had one condition: he wanted the formula for the Tianyuan Zhengyin Pill along with one hundred portions of Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid to refine Tianyuan Zhengyin Pills!
Mo Mei was furious. The Void Star City's current explosive popularity was built entirely on the Tianyuan Zhengyin Pill — a product that only the Void Land possessed, a true monopoly. If someone else got their hands on the formula, it would severely impact the star city's future development.
That alchemist had clearly seen this and was making his outrageous demand accordingly.
Yang Kai seethed inwardly, but he didn't hesitate for a moment before sending his reply: "Agree to his terms!"
The leakage of the Tianyuan Zhengyin Pill formula wasn't the critical issue — the real concern was the Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid. But one hundred portions could only produce a hundred Tianyuan Zhengyin Pills in total. The quantity was not insignificant, but compared to Old Bai's life, it was nothing.
After sending that message, a thought struck Yang Kai, and he sent another: "Tell that alchemist he can have the formula, but there are only ten portions of Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid. Take it or leave it!"
It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with the Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid — he had plenty on hand. But if he had simply agreed to such an outrageous demand without batting an eye, it would have revealed his hand and harmed their position going forward.
If the alchemist refused, they could continue negotiating.
In less time than it took to burn a stick of incense, Mo Mei sent word back.
The alchemist had agreed!
He likely figured that Heaven and Earth Origin Liquid was extremely rare, and that asking for one hundred portions was merely an opening bid meant to give the Void Land room to negotiate. Getting ten portions was already more than satisfactory.
Agreeing was one thing, but the alchemist was unwilling to come to the Void Land to refine the pills. He would only refine the spirit pills in the star city and conduct the trade there.
He was probably afraid that the Void Land would act against him. After all, coveting the Tianyuan Zhengyin Pill formula was tantamount to openly offending the Void Land. If he actually came to the Void Land's headquarters, his life and death would be entirely in their hands.
This didn't bother Yang Kai in the slightest, and he agreed without objection.
Refining the Star Luo Qiankun Pill would take several days — it wasn't something that could be done overnight. The alchemist still needed to gather all the required ingredients. Fortunately, the star city now boasted a vast array of goods — everything one could imagine — so collecting them wouldn't be too difficult.
Yang Kai was immensely grateful that he had invested so heavily in developing the star city. Otherwise, where would he have found an alchemist capable of refining the Star Luo Qiankun Pill? And where would he have gathered all the necessary ingredients?