Chapter 4558
Soon, a grand and majestic palace appeared before Kai. The light was coming from within the palace.
Kai stepped inside and, after a brief glance around, continued deeper into the structure. The light emanated from the main hall. Although the doors and windows were tightly shut, the light seemed to penetrate everything.
He pushed open the doors of the main hall and entered. In the center of the hall stood a candlestick with a lit candle.
Strangely, this small candle’s light was visible from a long distance and even pierced through multiple layers of walls.
Kai, unbothered by this peculiarity, walked toward the candlelight.
“Is anyone here?” he called out as he advanced.
Since there was a lit candle, someone had to be present.
“There’s no one here… only you,” an old voice echoed from all directions within the hall.
Kai froze, looking around, and asked, “If you aren’t human, how can you speak human language?”
The voice paused, then chuckled. “I am not human. I am a god — a god who controls your life and death. Now that you are here, your fate is in my hands.”
As the words faded, a powerful force enveloped Kai, draining his spiritual power. He struggled desperately, his energy depleting with each effort.
The force didn’t seem intent on killing him, just on exhausting his strength until he could no longer resist.
“Let me go! Who are you?” Kai cried out, his eyes filled with fear.
“I told you, I am the god here. Now that you’ve entered my domain, you must obey me!” the old voice declared, filled with pride.
Kai continued to plead for mercy and struggle desperately, but his spiritual power was draining rapidly. Eventually, he was too weak to move. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, cold sweat covering his forehead.
The oppressive force vanished, and the candlelight in the hall grew brighter. Slowly, three figures materialized. One of them, an elderly man in a robe, looked down at Kai with a proud expression.
“Which one is this?” the old man asked a middle-aged man in a green robe beside him.
“Zang Lao, this is number 9,847 — just a few more to reach 10,000,” the middle-aged man replied.
“These humans are so foolish. The more forbidden a place, the more they want to explore it. The more we deny them entry, the more curious they become,” Zang Lao said, chuckling. “At this rate, we’ll reach 10,000 within three years. Then, we can refine the Wanxin Pill. What a wonderful prospect.”
Kai lay on the ground, observing the trio. He realized they lacked the aura of human cultivators; instead, they radiated demonic energy. Moreover, they were not physically present — these were mere phantoms.
This confirmed that Kai was trapped in an illusion array. These three were projecting illusions, keeping their real bodies safely outside the formation.
“Brother Lu, go extract this kid’s heart. Be careful — if he dies first, the heart will be worthless,” the man in the green robe ordered.
Brother Lu nodded, a gleaming knife in his hand, clearly well-practiced in this gruesome task.
As Brother Lu approached, Kai smiled and pushed himself up from the ground.
“You still have the strength to stand?” Zang Lao asked, surprised.