The Beast Sea's dense forest—this was Yang Kai's second time here.
Caidie led the way in silence, her seven-colored wings flashing like lightning as they beat the air.
Yang Kai followed at an unhurried pace behind her, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
This surprised Caidie to some degree. She was at the Saint Realm, Stage Two, and had deliberately reduced her speed considerably to accommodate Yang Kai, a mere Transcendent Realm cultivator.
But once she saw that Yang Kai was keeping up without any apparent effort, she gradually began increasing her pace, wanting to reach the Thunderwood Mansion sooner so as not to keep the Great Venerable waiting.
By now she was essentially moving at full speed, and Yang Kai could still keep up.
Caidie's heart trembled with shock, but her naturally cold temperament didn't show—her expression remained unchanged as she silently led the way.
This kid... there's something strange about him! Caidie thought to herself. An ordinary Transcendent Realm, Stage Three cultivator couldn't possibly keep up with her speed, yet he had done exactly that.
No wonder he'd become the new Holy Master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land and had subjugated so many powerful demon race warriors.
She'd originally thought he was just lucky, but only now did Caidie realize this fellow truly had substance.
They flew onward.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed slightly as he continuously surveyed his surroundings.
His movements naturally didn't escape Li Rong's observation. She quietly transmitted a message through her Divine Sense: "Master, have you noticed something suspicious?"
"Mm." Yang Kai replied. "The aura here is a bit strange."
"If there's danger, perhaps we shouldn't go," Li Rong couldn't help but grow nervous.
Yang Kai laughed despite himself. "It's not a dangerous aura. I just feel like this visit to the Beast Sea's dense forest is different from the last one, but I can't pinpoint exactly how..."
There was indeed some kind of aura flowing through the air that Yang Kai found deeply intriguing, but when he tried to examine it more closely, he didn't know where to begin.
"Don't worry too much. The Great Venerable is fairly easy to get along with, and he's a man of his word. These changes are probably related to why he summoned me. We'll know once we get there."
"Oh." Li Rong said no more, though she still cautioned, "If anything truly dangerous happens, Master must not stray too far from me."
"Mm-hmm!" Yang Kai responded absently.
Nowadays he had numerous trump cards at his disposal. He could tear through space, command the Flying Shuttle, and wield the Wind and Thunder Wings. His artifacts were of exceptionally high grade, he could transform into a dragon, and he could even execute the Demon God Transformation. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to harm him unless they caught him completely off guard and disabled him in a single strike. Even amidst an army of thousands, Yang Kai was confident he could escape.
He didn't take Li Rong's warning to heart.
They flew swiftly, and in just two or three days they arrived before the towering Thunderwood Mansion that pierced the clouds.
Upon reaching the destination, Yang Kai was startled to discover that countless demon beast warriors had gathered here—some crouching, some crawling—forming several rings around the area. Many more who had assumed human form stood atop the tree trunk with their eyes closed in meditation.
"So this is the Thunderwood Mansion?" Li Rong gazed at the enormous ancient tree before her in astonishment, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.
Just like Yang Kai's first visit, she was completely stunned by this ancient tree.
A tree grown to this size must be at least ten thousand years old, possibly dating back even further.
The ancient tree contained the essence of lightning, with arcs of electricity occasionally flickering across its surface—pure and refined. The demon beast warriors standing on its branches were entirely unaffected, all turning their gazes toward Yang Kai and Li Rong.
They each gave slight nods of acknowledgment, showing goodwill.
The last time Yang Kai had come here, he had solved the problem of the Pool of Transformation, earning their unanimous approval.
"Follow me." Caidie spread her wings and soared upward.
Yang Kai and Li Rong quickly followed.
Inside the tree house perched among the clouds, Yang Kai met with the Great Venerable.
The last time he'd seen him was also in this very tree house.
The Great Venerable grinned broadly, welcoming Yang Kai's arrival, and gestured for him to sit and talk.
Before a small table, Yang Kai and the Great Venerable sat facing each other. Behind one stood Caidie, and behind the other stood Li Rong.
"Did you bring any cultivation resources for my demon beast race this time?" the Great Venerable asked with a beaming smile.
"You've practically exhausted the crystal ore vein. You shouldn't need any more for the time being, right?" Yang Kai rolled his eyes. The demon beast race had been running roughshod over the Holy Land for two or three years, mining that vein without any restraint—it was practically fishing by draining the pond.
It infuriated Yang Kai, giving him the feeling of lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
"We don't need any for the time being, but that doesn't mean we won't later. Crystals are always best in greater quantities. Our demon beast race doesn't have any veins of our own—nothing compared to your human territories." The Great Venerable shook his head slowly. "Besides, I've heard your Holy Land has been making quite a fortune recently—more crystals than you can use!"