In the palace where the Nine Heavens Holy Land members were staying on the archipelago, Qian Ning once again met with the Holy Maiden, requesting that they should set out and continue their journey.
Since the Holy Maiden's return, he had already raised the matter twice, but each time An Ling'er had refused him.
This time was no exception.
Qian Ning couldn't help but feel somewhat irritated. Although the Holy Maiden held a higher status than him within the Holy Land, he had accompanied An Ling'er on this trip not only to protect her safety but also to bear the responsibility of leading the entire group onward.
"Miss, finding the Holy Master is your mission. You shouldn't be idling here without moving forward, no matter what your reasons are!"
"I know." An Ling'er's delicate brows were tightly knit, her beautiful face slightly pale. "But I don't know why—these past few days I've had this constant feeling of unease, as though something terrible is about to happen."
"Something terrible?" Qian Ning's expression shifted. "What kind of something?"
An Ling'er slowly shook her head, murmuring, "I don't know either. I can't quite put it into words…"
Qian Ning stared at her, startled and suspicious. After a long moment, he slowly nodded. "In that case, we'll stay a little longer. Whenever you've made up your mind, Miss, we'll leave."
"Mm."
Watching Qian Ning's retreating back, beads of sweat suddenly began to trickle down An Ling'er's forehead. What she had said just now was no deception—she truly harbored such concerns.
She didn't know what was wrong, but these past few days, nightmarish and bloody visions kept flickering before her eyes.
She had initially thought it had something to do with Yang Kai stripping away her soul imprint, but after examining the matter, she found there was absolutely no connection between the two.
…
Inside the secret chamber, Yang Kai had spent a full ten days in seclusion before finally absorbing all the medicinal potency of that Holy Pill.
He had glimpsed some of the mysteries behind the Holy Pill's formation and the secrets of the Pill Cloud. It wasn't a great deal, but it counted as a worthwhile gain, and it greatly satisfied him. As a bonus, his understanding of alchemy had also improved considerably.
As the Holy Pill's medicinal effects gradually dissipated completely, Yang Kai felt that his entire being seemed to have changed from before.
His body felt lighter, his sea of consciousness clearer, and his Divine Sense had grown noticeably stronger. Moreover, inside his sea of consciousness, there was a peculiar sensation—one that made his Divine Sense even easier and more convenient to channel.
Frowning, Yang Kai immediately focused his mind and sank his awareness into his sea of consciousness to examine it carefully.
The moment his soul spirit manifested, Yang Kai froze.
During this period of seclusion, he had been preoccupied with probing the mysteries of the Pill Cloud and hadn't paid much attention to the state of his sea of consciousness. Now, upon discovering the tremendous changes within, he found it almost impossible to believe.
That sea of soul energy, which burned like raging fire on ocean waters, had grown denser—as was to be expected. The World-Destroying Demon Eye and the Divine War Hall still floated in midair, unchanged.
But the greatest transformation was in the island manifested by the Five-Colored Warm Spirit Lotus.
At this moment, that island was radiating multicolored light—brilliant, dazzling, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Yang Kai looked more carefully and was stunned to discover that the island, which should have displayed only five colors, now bore a sixth hue. It had truly become six-colored!
This newly appeared color was somewhat fainter than the other five, but it had undeniably come into existence.
The Six-Colored Warm Spirit Lotus!
Yang Kai blanked out for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed wildly.
Ever since obtaining the Warm Spirit Lotus, he had never imagined it would grow and evolve during his lifetime. After all, according to the Earth Demon, that process took an incomprehensibly long time.
Yet who could have predicted that the absorption of the Holy Pill's potency this time would directly elevate the Five-Colored Warm Spirit Lotus by an entire tier—just one step away from reaching its ultimate seven-colored form!
Each additional color doubled the Warm Spirit Lotus's efficacy.
Yang Kai could feel that the soul-nourishing power of the Warm Spirit Lotus was now far stronger than before. And this effect operated constantly, without pause—as long as Yang Kai possessed the Warm Spirit Lotus, his soul energy would continue to grow, ceaselessly and without interruption.
The magnitude of this harvest was simply beyond imagination.
The evolution from five colors to six had taken nearly ten years. During that lengthy period, Yang Kai had consumed a vast quantity of spiritual pills and medicines—not even counting the nutrients the Warm Spirit Lotus's previous owners had provided.
He didn't know whether, before his time ran out, he would live to see the Warm Spirit Lotus evolve into its final form.
But he was already thoroughly content. Gazing at the island radiating six colors of light, Yang Kai giggled foolishly, unable to contain his delight for some time.
Just then, a strange disturbance emanated from within his soul spirit.
Yang Kai frowned and immediately probed deeper. After a moment, his frown deepened.
It wasn't his own soul that was in trouble. Rather, the soul imprint belonging to An Ling'er was transmitting waves of unusual fluctuation. That woman seemed to have encountered something that terrified her—her heart was trembling, and the imprint emanated a feeling of extreme unease.
What danger could she possibly be in? Yang Kai was puzzled and suspicious.