The Dragon Pearl usually remained concealed beneath Yang Kai's chin, invisible to the naked eye. But when he turned his gaze inward, he could clearly see that the once crystal-clear Dragon Pearl was now covered in fine hairline cracks, its luster dimmed.
The strike he had unleashed using the Dragon Pearl had indeed inflicted catastrophic damage on Zhufeng, but Zhufeng's counterattack had damaged the Dragon Pearl in turn.
This was exactly why Yang Kai had always been reluctant to summon the Dragon Pearl lightly. Once deployed, its power was indeed limitless, but the risks were equally immense — if the Dragon Pearl were ever destroyed, his life would be in immediate peril. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not come to pass.
However, with the Dragon Pearl damaged, Yang Kai had a nagging suspicion that he would be unable to activate the Dragon Transformation Art for the foreseeable period, let alone assume the form of a great dragon, unless the Dragon Pearl was fully restored.
He had once trained for a time in the Crystal Palace of the Sacred Spirit Ancestral Ground. During his cultivation there, as his bloodline power grew more refined, certain dragon clan inheritances had awakened in him on a subconscious level. He knew that once the Dragon Pearl was damaged, repairing it was an extraordinarily troublesome process.
He would have to rely on the power of his own dragon veins to slowly nourish and warm it back to wholeness — a painstaking effort that could not be rushed.
So for Yang Kai at this moment, the Dragon Pearl problem was neither catastrophic nor trivial. Since only his own dragon veins could restore it, there was no point in growing anxious.
The Evergreen Art continued to circulate steadily. Yang Kai consumed several more Opening Heaven Pills and took out a set of refinement resources, silently converting them to replenish the losses his Small Universe had sustained.
After two or three days of this, Bai Yi's eyelashes suddenly trembled, and she let out a soft, faintly strained hum as her eyes opened.
"You're awake?" Yang Kai noticed the movement at once and quickly turned to look at her.
Bai Yi's injuries were severe. Yang Kai had been continuously assisting her healing, but that was ultimately external aid. The fact that she had awakened on her own was good news — as long as she could direct her own recovery, her healing would accelerate considerably.
Hearing his voice, Bai Yi's gaze was still somewhat dazed, but the memories of what had happened before she lost consciousness quickly returned to her. Her expression shifted in alarm. "Where are we? What about Zhufeng?"
"We're still in Zhufeng's lair," Yang Kai said. "Zhufeng is dead." As he spoke, he pointed to the side.
Bai Yi turned her head and looked. Not far away, Zhufeng's massive body lay on the ground, decapitated. The enormous head stared with wide, bulging eyes fixed straight in their direction, as though even in death it refused to stop watching them.
Bai Yi could not help but be stunned — Zhufeng was actually dead! While she had been unconscious, Zhufeng's aura had been at its peak. Though he had been wounded by the combined assault of herself and Yang Kai, he had still been far beyond what a Seventh-Order cultivator could hope to handle.
She had been certain that she and Yang Kai were doomed. Yet upon waking, she found herself staring at Zhufeng's corpse.
She did not know what exactly had transpired after she lost consciousness, but she understood that it must have been a titanic battle.
"You saved me, Senior Brother?" Bai Yi asked.
Yang Kai chuckled. "There's no one here but you and me. Of course I saved you."
Bai Yi's expression was complicated. She let out a soft sigh. "You didn't need to save me."
Yang Kai frowned at her words — they sounded rather off. After a brief pause, he said, "Heal your injuries first. They're not light. If you delay any further, there could be lasting consequences."
Bai Yi nodded faintly and struggled to sit up cross-legged, silently circulating her cultivation technique.
Within the secret realm, silence fell over the pair as both devoted themselves to recovery. Under the Evergreen Art's protective seal, not a trace of the Ink Force could seep through.
Another seven or eight days passed. Yang Kai had finally recovered — the injuries on his body were essentially healed, and the emptiness of his Small Universe had been replenished. He was not yet back to full strength, but he was not far off.
Bai Yi's recovery was slower than his, but once she sensed his movement, she opened her eyes and slowly rose to her feet, offering a graceful bow. "Thank you for saving my life, Senior Brother."
Yang Kai regarded her quietly and said, "If you truly wish to thank me, then live well and slay more of the Ink Clan. With your exceptional strength, if you were truly lost, it would be an enormous loss for our people."
Bai Yi pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yes."
Before this, Yang Kai had not noticed anything amiss, but Bai Yi's words upon waking had made him realize there was a problem.
Bai Yi harbored a clear death wish.
Perhaps when she had thrown herself in front of him to shield him from Zhufeng's ferocious blow, she had already resolved to die.
Yang Kai had cured quite a number of Ink Disciples over the years, and he understood the mindset of some of them. These Ink Disciples all had the blood of their own people on their hands.
While under the Ink Disciple's influence, they had served the Ink Clan above all else, obeying the Ink Clan's commands, aiding their tyranny, and cutting down human warriors without mercy. After being cured by Yang Kai, those memories became agonizing recollections.
The people they had killed were once their comrades-in-arms, their own kin. Such experiences were virtually guaranteed to become a demonic burden in their hearts, tormenting them day and night without reprieve.
Bai Yi's case was particularly pronounced. With her masterful archery and her powerful Seventh-Order Opening Heaven cultivation, even Yang Kai himself had suffered at her hands on multiple occasions. What chance did ordinary warriors stand against her?
How many human Openers had died under Bai Yi's arrows, Yang Kai did not know — but it was certainly not just one or two.
It was precisely this that gave rise to Bai Yi's death wish. She felt she had no face left to return to the human stronghold. Her hands were drenched in the blood of her people, weighed down by the ghosts of those she had killed.