Two chapters today, a little break. Also, it's Monday—please send in your recommendation votes!
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Behind him came the tinkling, silver-bell laughter of Senior Aunt Feiyu, utterly unrestrained.
Yang Kai was mortified. He'd been so absorbed in grasping the true essence of tearing through space that he hadn't even noticed his clothes had been ground to dust in that void storm.
No wonder Senior Aunt Feiyu had been giving him such strange looks.
He poked his head out of the deep pool beneath the waterfall, wiped the water from his face, and called out: "Senior Aunt, couldn't you have said something sooner when you noticed?"
Feiyu peered her small head over the top of the waterfall, laughing so hard her whole body shook as she doubled over, and replied: "What does it matter? I'm much older than you—don't tell me you're bashful?"
Yang Kai shrank his head back into the pool so that only his eyes were above the surface.
There was simply nothing he could do about this senior aunt of his. What made it worse was that she outranked him in seniority. If any other woman had teased him like this, Yang Kai would have long since put her in her place and shown her that some men weren't to be trifled with.
But she was his senior aunt…
"Anyway, what kind of closed-door cultivation were you doing? How did you end up covered in wounds?" Feiyu straightened her expression and asked with genuine concern.
She'd seen it clearly just a moment ago—Yang Kai's exposed skin was covered with dried bloodstains. He'd obviously lost a lot of blood.
"Things just got a little out of hand by accident…" Yang Kai answered weakly.
Only after confirming he wasn't in serious danger did Feiyu relax. She giggled for a while longer before heading down the mountain.
Yang Kai spent a long time washing in the deep pool, then produced a set of brand-new clothes and dressed.
When he returned to the cave, Feiyu was wearing an amused smile that made Yang Kai feel utterly humiliated.
"Oh right—do you want to go see Elder Du? While you were away, he kept sending Mina over to ask about you. He seems to care about you quite a bit," Feiyu said suddenly.
"Oh. I should go visit him," Yang Kai nodded. "I've got nothing pressing right now, so I'll head over now."
"Alright, don't stay too long!" Feiyu waved her hand, knowing Yang Kai felt a bit stiff around her, and didn't try to stop him.
"I might need to stay there for a while, actually. There are some alchemy techniques I need to consult Elder Du about."
Feiyu shot him a glance and scoffed with a grin: "Suit yourself—just don't pull a repeat of last time and disappear for years without coming back!"
She assumed Yang Kai was just making an excuse to live away for a while. In truth, he genuinely had alchemy questions he needed to discuss with Elder Du.
His alchemy skill had already reached an impressive level—practically on par with Du Wan. Combined with the extraordinary spirit formations he'd mastered, when it came to simply refining pills, he wasn't inferior to Du Wan in the slightest.
But Du Wan had been immersed in the craft for far longer and had developed his own unique insights and understanding.
These were things that required the accumulation and distillation of time—things Yang Kai simply couldn't acquire on his own—which made them extraordinarily valuable.
To free the Ancient Demon Clan from that small mystic realm, Yang Kai's alchemy still fell slightly short. He wanted to push his alchemy to the next level in the shortest time possible, then journey to that endless snow mountain and release the Ancient Demon Clan.
With that clan as his power and backing, Yang Kai would be able to accomplish many things he could never manage alone.
After bidding Feiyu farewell, Yang Kai departed the Heavenly Firmament Sect and flew straight toward Giant Rock City.
He arrived in roughly two hours.
Once there, Yang Kai was surprised to find the city considerably more bustling than before. Everywhere he looked, there were visiting martial artists, though he had no idea what they were all doing here.
Yang Kai shook his head and paid them no mind, heading straight for the Alchemist Association.
He had barely stepped through the front entrance of the Alchemist Association when a young girl came rushing headlong toward him. She looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, her hair tied in twin ponytails—fresh-faced and charming.
She was still young and hadn't fully grown into her figure, but it was clear she'd be a beauty. Her chest held a modest pair of curves, giving her a cute and delicate look.
The girl charged straight up to Yang Kai, spread her arms to block his path, and looked up at him: "Who are you? You can't just barge in here like that!"
Yang Kai blinked in surprise, looking her up and down. He found that this little girl's cultivation was actually quite impressive—well above Sun Yu of the Dragon Phoenix Manor, with a full nine layers of the Zhenyuan Realm.
"Who are you?" Yang Kai shot back.
The Alchemist Association was supposed to have only three people: Du Wan, Mina, and Mina's master, Ye Xiong.
When had a young girl like this been added?
"Who I am is none of your business!" She scrunched her nose and glared at Yang Kai in displeasure. "This is the Alchemist Association—don't you know? Unauthorized people aren't allowed to wander in."
"Unauthorized…" Yang Kai was rendered speechless. This girl was young, small in stature, but she certainly talked big.
"Hmph—you're here to ask Elder Du and Master Ye to refine pills for you, aren't you? If you want pills, come back in a month. Both masters' schedules are completely booked." The girl smugly ventured her guess.