Within the world of the Sea of Consciousness, Yang Kai and the old man's soul spirit body chased and fled around the Five-Colored Treasure Island.
The old man was unwilling to clash directly with Yang Kai's soul spirit body, lest something unfortunate happen to him. But Yang Kai was young and vigorous, fearless of death, pursuing relentlessly with the clear intention of cutting him down.
In terms of sheer imposing presence alone, the old man had already lost ground.
But in reality, Yang Kai couldn't do much to his opponent. Even though this was his own Sea of Consciousness, even though he was the master here, in terms of the cultivation and application of Divine Sense, the old man had nearly a century more experience than Yang Kai. That much accumulated depth was more than enough to keep himself safe under Yang Kai's pursuit.
While fleeing, the old man even had the leisure to keep observing the Five-Colored Treasure Island.
The more he looked, the harder it became to suppress the greed welling up inside him. He didn't know what this five-colored island actually was, but he could feel a warm and nurturing sensation emanating from it.
When his soul spirit body was near the island, his own Divine Sense seemed to grow significantly stronger, and the depleted portions could recover rapidly.
In an instant, the old man understood—this miraculous five-colored island had to be a supreme treasure capable of nourishing the Divine Sense! That also explained why Yang Kai could possess such tremendous Divine Sense even at the second level of the Shenyou Realm.
The root of everything lay on this five-colored island.
The value of this island might be even greater than the Earth Demon's supernatural abilities.
At the thought of this, the old man's breathing quickened slightly.
His Divine Sense had silently slipped into Yang Kai's Sea of Consciousness, originally hoping to find an opportunity to seize control of him by surprise. Although things hadn't gone entirely as planned, he had now stumbled upon something of immense value.
This time, his efforts had been worth it!
Even if his soul spirit body was damaged, he had to take this brat down. The secrets and treasures hidden within him were enough to make anyone envious, and the old man silently made up his mind.
As if sensing the shift in the old man's thoughts, Yang Kai's expression darkened.
There were three great secrets within him that he could never allow anyone he didn't trust to learn about.
The first was the wordless Black Book, a secret that no one had fully uncovered to this day. The second was the Five-Colored Soul-Nurturing Lotus—only the Earth Demon knew of its existence. The third was the Myriad Medicine Spirit Liquid.
Now this second secret was laid bare right before the old man's eyes, and the old man clearly coveted the Soul-Nurturing Lotus. Yang Kai immediately felt killing intent surge within him.
No matter what, he couldn't let the man leave his Sea of Consciousness in one piece and have this secret leaked!
The moment that thought formed, the entire Sea of Consciousness erupted into turmoil. Countless attacks surged forth like a plague of locusts, descending upon the old man from every direction.
The old man suddenly halted, turned around, and gazed quietly at Yang Kai with a cold smirk. "You're still too green, brat of the Yang family!"
Yang Kai's heart lurched, and a sudden thread of danger pierced through him.
The old man burst into laughter. "You thought the old man was running from you? Hahaha—I was merely setting up my arrangements in secret. How laughable that you didn't notice a thing. Truly, the boldness of youth!"
As he spoke, emerald green lines of light suddenly materialized in the air, weaving together into an enormous curtain that completely shrouded the entire Five-Colored Treasure Island.
In that instant, it severed the connection between Yang Kai and his own Sea of Consciousness.
Yang Kai's expression changed sharply. Without a moment's hesitation, he gripped his small sword Artifact and spun around, charging toward the emerald curtain in an attempt to destroy it.
"Wishful thinking!" the old man roared. He had racked his brains and expended tremendous Divine Sense to set up this measure—how could he let Yang Kai break it so easily?
If the brat actually broke through, all his plans would be for nothing.
Shouting thus, he spread his hand, and thin threads shot out one after another, wrapping toward Yang Kai to encase him.
Yang Kai turned and slashed with all his might, cutting through many of them, but it still wasn't enough.
An intense sense of crisis descended. The entire Sea of Consciousness, affected by the tension and enormous pressure, suddenly turned upside down and became violently unstable.
The old man wore a cold smile, looking utterly composed, as though victory was firmly in his grasp.
Just as those threads were about to wrap around Yang Kai, an appalling pressure suddenly descended without warning.
Both the old man and Yang Kai froze involuntarily, as if under this pressure their very soul spirit bodies might be ground to dust.
The old man was horrified, having no idea what was happening. Even though he was above the Shenyou Realm, he had never experienced such terrifying oppressive force.
Those threads he had shot out to entangle Yang Kai dissolved like spring snow under a blazing sun, vanishing in an instant.
Though Yang Kai also felt the pressure, it was far less severe compared to what the old man experienced. This force seemed to be directed squarely at the old man, with Yang Kai only slightly affected.
Crack...
A sharp sound rang out.
Both people within the Sea of Consciousness world turned toward the sound and froze.
The flat, round object that had been floating above the Five-Colored Treasure Island all this time had actually split open from its very center, forming a delicate fissure.
As though someone had torn apart the void itself, the fissure slowly expanded, and with its expansion, the oppressive force grew ever stronger and more violent.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, winds rose and waves surged in unprecedented fury.
The old man trembled from head to toe as an overwhelming sense of crisis bore down on him, nearly throwing him off balance. His entire soul spirit body flickered and shifted, and agonized howls tore from his mouth.