The mystery hidden in elixirs

After the group finished discussing their plan and were about to take action, Junior Brother Ye suddenly looked at Yuan Lang and said, "Senior Brother Yuan, it seemed like something fell out when Yang Kai fled earlier. Do you know what it was?"

Yuan Lang paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Junior Brother Ye, your observation is quite keen."

As he spoke, he opened his palm to reveal a small bottle and said, "It appears to be a bottle of pills."

"May I take a look?" Junior Brother Ye asked with a slight smile. Both Yang Kai and the woman with him possessed high-grade treasures, indicating their significant wealth. When the bottle fell, Yang Kai had shown clear reluctance. Pills that could cause him to hesitate must be of considerable value.

It was precisely because of this that Junior Brother Ye didn't want Yuan Lang to keep the treasure all to himself. Everyone had participated in the battle, so naturally, the spoils should be shared.

"Of course!" Yuan Lang understood Junior Brother Ye's intentions and didn't intend to monopolize the loot. As he spoke, he uncorked the bottle and took a look inside, immediately expressing surprise.

"It seems to be a yang-attribute pill!" Yuan Lang's face lit up with a bit of joy.

Junior Brother Ye and Junior Brother Wu were equally excited. "Really?"

"See for yourself," Yuan Lang said as he poured some pills from the bottle and flicked them to the two junior brothers.

"They truly are yang-attribute pills!" Junior Brother Wu exclaimed with great delight. As soon as the pills touched his hand, he felt a significant amount of the chill in his body dissipate, to the point where he no longer needed to expend energy to fend off the invading cold. These pills were practically the perfect counter to the valley's yin energy.

No wonder Yang Kai was reluctant to part with them. In such a harsh environment, these yang-attribute pills were exactly what he needed. Now that he had lost them, he would be in an even worse state.

Yuan Lang shook the bottle and said, "The pills have been divided, but let me warn you, these pills might have hidden dangers. Don't consume them; just keep them with you to ward off the cold. I'll go ahead."

After all, these were pills that Yang Kai had dropped. What if they were poisoned? Although the group wasn't as cautious as Senior Brother Cai, they weren't foolish enough to ingest something from the enemy.

With that, Yuan Lang executed his movement technique and disappeared.

The other two quickly tucked the pills into their robes and each chased after Yang Kai in the direction he had fled.

Like a wounded beast licking its wounds, Yang Kai was quietly hiding in the canopy of a tree, doing his best to suppress his aura, his eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

He was in poor condition. After a fierce battle with five disciples from Storm Rain Tower, he had already sustained injuries, and the recent assault by four members of Blood Battle Gang had only exacerbated them.

Especially the sword that had pierced his shoulder—it had likely damaged his tendons, making his left arm feel almost powerless.

To avoid being tracked by his blood trail, Yang Kai had seared all his wounds with yang liquid, sealing the flow of blood.

Though the indomitable will allowed him to maintain his peak strength, Yang Kai was still a Fourth Stage Open Yuan Realm martial artist. After successive battles, his physical and mental exhaustion was immense. If not for his unyielding spirit, he might have collapsed long ago.

Reflecting on the perilous fight just now, Yang Kai couldn't help but smirk coldly.

That Senior Brother Cai was indeed a formidable master of the Separation and Reunion Realm. Even with most of his cultivation sealed, it took Yang Kai ten full drops of yang liquid to penetrate his energy defenses and deliver the fatal blow.

But it was worth it! Although refining ten drops of yang liquid was arduous, it was not a waste to exchange them for the life of a Separation and Reunion Realm master.

In this dire situation, Yang Kai's mind was sharper than ever. He understood that if he failed, not only would he lose his life, but Xia Ning Chang would be implicated as well.

Given the stakes, Yang Kai dared not relax in the slightest.

Of the Blood Battle Gang members, besides Long Hui and the strongest among them, three remained. These three were not as formidable as Senior Brother Cai, and Yang Kai wasn't afraid of facing any of them one-on-one. However, if they joined forces, it would be difficult.

To know oneself and the enemy is the key to winning a hundred battles! Yang Kai had to figure out the movements and attack directions of the three Blood Battle Gang members to devise a plan to eliminate them.

That's why he had intentionally left a bottle of pills behind before leaving. In fact, the primary purpose of the recent battle was to hide the fact that he had dropped the bottle; killing Senior Brother Cai was secondary. Fortunately, both goals were successfully accomplished.

The bottle contained Green Blood Mysterious Yang Pills, which Yang Kai had concocted with Xia Ning Chang after finding several Green Blood Mysterious Yang Flowers a few days earlier.

Since his dantian still had a decent amount of yang liquid and he was in a hurry at the time, Yang Kai hadn't consumed the pills. Now, they had come in handy.

Sometimes, pills don't need to be ingested to cause trouble. Yang Kai wanted to teach them that even if they kept his pills close, they would still face problems.

He was confident that his plan would succeed. After all, this was a place where yin energy converged, chilling the bones. When yang-attribute pills suddenly appeared, there was no need to guess what those people would do.

As long as they carried the Green Blood Mysterious Yang Pills with them, Yang Kai could use the Yang Source Seal to track their positions. This way, he would hold the initiative!

After hiding for a while, Yang Kai felt the Yang Source Seal on his chest react. His expression tightened, and he immediately held his breath, even suppressing his heartbeat.

Before long, a figure flashed below. Yang Kai frowned as he watched.

Why was there only one person?

After waiting a bit longer, he saw another figure hurriedly pass by nearby.

A short while later, the third person suddenly appeared under the tree where Yang Kai was hiding. Yang Kai quietly looked down and found that it was the weakest member of Blood Battle Gang.

This person scanned the area for a moment before quickly disappearing as well.

Strange, why had they split up? Yang Kai frowned in thought but couldn't figure it out.

Little did he know that the three had assumed he was already at the end of his rope and that he possessed a powerful Earth-grade treasure. By splitting up, they hoped to see who might be lucky enough to find him.

It wasn't unreasonable for them to think this way. For an ordinary Open Yuan Realm martial artist, the energy stored in their body wouldn't be much. After several life-and-death battles, they would naturally be running low on energy. But Yang Kai was different. Although his meridians didn't hold more energy than other Open Yuan Realm martial artists, his dantian was filled with yang liquid. Before setting out, he had stored over forty drops of yang liquid in his dantian. Even if the energy in his meridians was depleted, one drop of yang liquid could completely replenish it, making him full of vitality again.

In other words, as long as his dantian had reserves, and he had the stamina and mental focus, Yang Kai was an unstoppable fighting machine.

Had Senior Brother Cai still been alive, his cautious and prudent nature would have prevented them from splitting up, giving Yang Kai the opportunity to take them out one by one. But now that Yang Kai had gone all out to kill him, Yuan Lang was in charge, driven by greed and not considering the potential consequences.

Yang Kai couldn't understand the deeper implications, but now that things were going even more smoothly than he had anticipated, how could he not seize the opportunity?