Meng Wu Ya and Xiao Fu Sheng quarreled for most of the day, but eventually seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, so the both old guys walked out with big grins on their faces.
Xiao Fu Sheng immediately began preparing to open the Myriad Drug Pond for Xia Ning Chang so she could study the Pill Saint’s Statue and gain insight into the Alchemic Way.
Opening the Myriad Drug Pond was quite expensive because every time it was opened, many pills would need to be used as an offering to the Pill Saint’s Statue so that it would reveal its profound mysteries and allow those who gazed upon it to gain enlightenment.
The number of pills required each time was no less than a hundred, and the more that were offered and they higher their quality, the longer the Pill Saint’s Statue would remain active.
Because of this material cost, even Medicine King’s Valley would not necessarily be able to open it more than a few times a year, and every time it was, it was either for an Elder that needed enlightenment or for an Elite Disciple as a supreme reward for their achievements.
In addition to those who belonged to Medicine King’s Valley, the only way outside Alchemists were able to see the Pill Saint’s portrait was for them to participate in the Alchemist Summit.
These Alchemist Summits were held once every five years, and each time they were, numerous Alchemists from all over the world would rush to attend.
During this summit, the pills these foreign Alchemists refined, regardless of the quantity or quality, would all be put into the Myriad Drug Pond in order to open this forbidden area; then the top 50 Alchemists from the summit would be allowed to patronize the Pill Saint’s Statue.
Over the course of thousands of years, it was not known just how many pills the Myriad Drug Pond had consumed.
Hence how it received the name Myriad Drug Pond!
The Myriad Drug Pond and the Pill Saint’s Statue shared a mysterious link, and although Medicine King’s Valley had many times tried to explore this link, they had never managed to discover anything.
Over time, this place had become the holy ground of this world’s Alchemists! The Pill Saint’s portrait becoming the treasure that all Alchemists dreamed of. Many people worked their whole life just so that they could gain a moment of time sitting before the Pill Saint’s Satue.
After learning that the Myriad Drug Pond would be opened for Xia Ning Chang, Yang Kai’s mind began to race.
Although he could not personally go with Xia Ning Chang to the Myriad Drug Pond, he could still send Old Demon to check out the situation.
Yang Kai’s preparations for this could be said to be foolproof, passing control of the Soul Breaker Awl and Old Demon to Xia Ning Chang and even borrowing Dong Qing Yan’s aura concealing ancient jade.
If not for this piece of jade, with Old Demon’s innate Demonic Qi, an Immortal Ascension Boundary master would certainly discover him.
Two days later, once everything was arranged, Xiao Fu Sheng personally brought Xia Ning Chang to Pill Saint’s Peak and to the Myriad Drug Pond.
Thick skinned Meng Wu Ya also said he wanted to tag along but Xiao Fu Sheng ruthlessly refused.
Even Meng Wu Ya was not allowed to approach; it was clear just how much Medicine King’s Valley valued this forbidden area.
On the day Xia Ning Chang went to the Myriad Drug Pond, Meng Wu Ya, suddenly bored, took the opportunity to come to find Yang Kai and have a man to man talk.
During their conversation, Treasurer Meng kept talking to Yang Kai about how thin Su Yan had become while he was gone, how haggard she had become, how much she had missed him, how annoyed she was that Xie Hong Chen was stalking her, chasing her around like a fool, all the while secretly observing Yang Kai’s reaction.
Patiently listening, Yang Kai eventually chuckled, “Treasurer Meng, let us not speak in riddles, you are worried about me trying to start something with Little Senior Sister, yes?”
Meng Wu Ya suddenly glared, apparently not anticipating that Yang Kai’s skin would be so thick to say things so directly. Grinning fiercely, “Little Yang Kai, this old master has watched you as you’ve grown up, so I know you will not be such an insatiable beast, right? Chang’er is not old, and is very innocent, so she is easily deceived… haa… of course, I’m not talking about you specifically, I just don’t want her to find herself in a situation where she will be hurt. That Su Yan girl is a beloved daughter of Heaven, receiving even a little of her favour is something that all men dream of, yet the only one she thinks of is you! You already had a full bowl so you won’t be so greedy to go looking for another bowl, right?
This was the first time Meng Wu Ya had so openly talked with Yang Kai about Xia Ning Chang’s situation, so naturally he was quite frank.
However, Yang Kai simply laughed, “Treasurer Meng, I just have one question for you.”
“En.”
“Do you wish Little Senior Sister to be married and have children in the future, or do you want her to be alone for the rest of her life?”
“How could I bear for her to be lonely?” Meng Wu Ya narrowed his eyes, “She is my treasured apprentice, I naturally hope that she will life a happy and fulfilling life.”
“In that case, Treasurer Meng, who in this world do you believe to be worthy of Little Senior Sister?”
Meng Wu Ya unhesitantly shook his head, his face filled with pride, “No one is worthy! This old master’s apprentice is akin to a pure jade pearl, someone worthy of her has not yet been born.”
“What about Su Yan? How does she compare with Little Senior Sister?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Meng Wu Ya spoke frankly, “Little Su Yan is really extraordinary, but this old master is not boasting, she is still not on my Chang’er’s level!”
“What about… if she received the Heaven’s Cave inheritance, what then?” Yang Kai’s lowered his tone.
Meng Wu Ya expression quickly changed, “She really got it?”
Yang Kai simply nodded.
Meng Wu Ya’s brow wrinkled slightly, recalling the dragon and phoenix vision from that day, “If that’s true, then her future success is limitless, on par with Chang’er!”
“Heh heh!” Yang Kai laughed meaningfully.
Meng Wu Ya looked at him suspiciously, suddenly understanding why he was seemingly talking in circles.
He just admitted that Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang had equal potential, and since Su Yan was willing to be with him, why should Xia Ning Chang not?
“Hmph, after eating from a bowl, how could I simply let it go? As a man, I must be bold with love and hatred, if I am hesitant, that will only hurt Little Senior Sister’s heart.” Yang Kai firmly declared.
Meng Wu Ya’s jaw dropped, unable to refute, angrily standing up and cursing, “You damn little brat, since long ago I knew you were a conniving rogue bastard! Damn it, out of everywhere in this world, this old master had to settle in High Heaven Pavilion and encounter this calamity!”
But regretting now was useless, his own treasured apprentice’s heart already belonged to Yang Kai, and this little rascal also refused to give him face and back down, so there was nothing he could do.
Grinding his teeth, Meng Wu Ya cursed, “Bastard little brat, if you dare make my Chang’er sad, Old Master… Old Master will slaughter your whole Yang Family!”
Finished, he turned around and stormed off.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose but didn’t pay him much mind.
With Meng Wu Ya’s supernatural methods, knowing his real identity was not surprising, he should have heard about it from the Sect Master. However, since Ling Tai Xu had dared tell him, he must be certain it would not leak.
So there was no need for him to concern himself over being exposed.
After a day, Xia Ning Chang and Xiao Fu Sheng returned.
Secretly handing the Soul Breaker Awl and the piece of ancient jade to Yang Kai, this Little Senior Sister of his then quickly entered secluded retreat.
Having spent an entire day studying the Pill Saint’s Statue, she had reaped a great harvest and needed some time to consolidate the knowledge she had gained.
After taking the Soul Breaker Awl back into his body, Yang Kai immediately asked.
“How was it?”
“The defence is extremely tight, in addition to four Immortal Ascension Boundary masters stationed within a three hundred meter radius of the Myriad Drug Pond, there are also more than a dozen guards at the True Element Boundary patrolling the perimeter.” Old Demon hurriedly responded.
“Did you manage to learn anything else?”
“Old Servant could only cautiously investigate the Myriad Drug Pond, but there was not much to be discovered; just, at its bottom, there seems to be a very well hidden and mysterious Spirit Array, one I cannot open.”
“What kind of Spirit Array?”
Old Demon quickly linked his Divine Sense with Yang Kai’s, allowing him to see what he had seen. The image was very vague, but true to Old Demon’s words, there were some faint traces of a Spirit Array; if someone else had examined the pond’s bottom, it was highly unlikely they would have found any clues.
“This Spirit Array…” After staring at it for a while, Yang Kai suddenly realized, this Spirit Array and the one on the fifth page of the wordless Black Book were quite similar.
Clearly there was some kind of connection between the two, and after studying the two for a long time, he concluded that the Spirit Array drawn on the wordless Black Book’s fifth page should be the key to opening this mysterious Spirit Array.
[Looks like I’ll have to go there myself! But with such an impenetrable defense, how can I get in?]
“Young Master, while Old Servant was inside I overheard a few of the guards whispering amongst themselves that once the Alchemist Summit began, the defence around there would become lax. Because Medicine King’s Valley does not have many people, and since the Alchemist Summit is always a bustling time, a lot of the guards from the Pill Saint’s Peak are required to descend the mountain in order to maintain order. When that time comes, only two Immortal Ascension masters will remain; it should be your best chance!” Old Demon suggested.
“Two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters…” Yang Kai frowned.
Two Immortal Ascension cultivators were still two Immortal Ascension cultivators, even if he used the ancient jade to conceal his aura and True Qi fluctuations, there was no way he could also escape their eyes and ears.
And aside from these two masters, there would certainly be others around as well.
He might have a chance if someone could serve as a decoy and lead them away.
Old Demon should be able to do this! As long as he moved fast enough he could return to Hidden Cloud Peak and hide with Little Senior Sister; then, once Yang Kai had finished his business, he would simply need to pick him up again.
The problem was that he certainly couldn’t lead all the guards away, at least one more helper was required; this all caused Yang Kai to furrow his brow.
The Alchemist Summit soon arrived as scheduled; all the world’s most prominent Alchemist gathered in Medicine King’s Valley, ready to show off their skills, win a good ranking, and improve their reputations.
However, on Hidden Cloud Peak, no one seemed to concern themselves with the Summit, only Dong Qing Yan wanted to go join in the excitement, which of course Xiao Fu Sheng did not forbid, often allowing her to walk around and observe.
Xia Ning Chang and Meng Wu Ya were also present on Hidden Cloud Peak, working together with Dong Qing Yan and Old Xiao to study the Alchemic Way.
After these Alchemy discussions, Xia Ning Chang would often accompany Yang Kai, sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting together silently. Every day was filled with joy. If their future days were to be spent in a similar way, he would be satisfied.
The Alchemist Summit was held for a full ten days, and tomorrow was the finale; after the general assembly, the top fifty Alchemists would be brought to the summit of the Pill Saint’s Peak, and then, using all the pills refined during the conference to open it, these fifty would be allowed to visit the Myriad Drug Pond and gaze upon the Pill Saint’s Statue.
This was a once in five years event; garnering attention from around the entire world!
That night, Yang Kai silently left his room.
With tomorrow being the final day of the Summit, tonight should be Medicine King’s Valley’s busiest moment, so after so many days of careful planning and preparation, it was finally time to act.
Clenching the borrowed ancient jade in his palm, Yang Kai continuously poured his True Qi into it in order to conceal his aura.
In the thin moonlight, Yang Kai moved as swiftly as the wind across the mountains straight toward the Pill Saint’s Peak.
After less than half an hour, Yang Kai had once again come to within three thousand meters of the Pill Saint’s Peak, any further and he would be encroaching upon forbidden ground.
Listening patiently for a long time, Yang Kai silently continued to move closer.
But as soon as he made it to within a thousand meters, he suddenly stopped.
Gazing up towards the Heavens, he slowly waited.
A group of dark clouds slowly floated over, obscuring the already dim moonlight.
At this moment, Yang Kai began moving forward again!
Still undiscovered, Yang Kai breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Dong Qing Yan had this magical ancient jade, otherwise this time he really wouldn’t have known how to get this close.
“Old Demon, you’re up.” Yang Kai said.
“Old Servant understands!” Old Demon responded quickly.
Entering the Soul Breaker Awl, Old Demon flew out and began to cautiously take action.
Within ten breaths of time an angry voice from the top of Pill Saint’s Peak thundered, “Who goes there?!”
Following this cry, from all around a group of silhouettes approached, a dozen people rapidly closing in.
A burst of strange ‘Jie Jie’ laughter suddenly rang out, an eerie howl that caused all who heard it to feel cold chills run up their spines.
Before now, the two Immortal Ascension masters guarding the Myriad Drug Pond had not joined the chase, but after hearing this voice both of their expressions immediately changed, and one of them shouted, “Evil Demon!”
Both of them stood up and dashed towards the direction from which Old Demon had escaped. Mid-air, the two men’s eyes met for a moment before one of them hurriedly returned to the Myriad Drug Pond’s side, leaving the other to continue the pursuit.
During this brief sequence of events, Yang Kai took the opportunity to move another two hundred meters closer.
Before even breathing a sigh of relief, Yang Kai quickly took out something he had hidden in his sleeve.
It was a small gray rabbit. Although Medicine King’s Valley did not have any Monstrous Beasts, it still had a large number of small animals such as this rabbit, so Yang Kai had easily been able to capture one.
After applying his Beast Slave Seal, this little rabbit obediently followed his orders.
Skillfully, Yang Kai tossed this rabbit to a spot three hundred meters away where it softly landed. Unhurriedly standing up, the rabbit lightly hopped a couple dozen meters just as Yang Kai commanded before it began dashing forward as fast as it could.
This sudden burst of movement kicked up quite a bit of unnatural noise.
The remaining Immortal Ascension master’s eyes flashed a cold light, and throwing a palm strike towards the direction where this disturbance had originated, he immediately soared out like a bird of prey to investigate.
[Now.]
Yang Kai took a deep breath and activated his Movement Skill. Like a flash of lightning, he came directly to Myriad Drug Pond’s side and before even checking to see what this forbidden area looked like, he dove in, careful not to make the slightest splash.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary master who had stayed behind quickly caught up and captured the little grey rabbit. Looking down at this struggling little thing, he secretly shook his head, thinking to himself that he was a bit too nervous.
He casually released the rabbit a moment later.
* Shua Shua Shua*, the sound of swishing clothes drifted over as the dozen people who had gone out to chase Old Demon returned.
“How was it?”
“We lost him, that demon ran too fast and… it gave me a weird feeling, it was like it had no vitality!” The Immortal Ascension master who had chased Old Demon replied before frowning, “Why are you out here?”
“I heard some movement and came out to check; I didn’t expect to simply find a rabbit.”
The two masters suddenly exchanged a glance, and their expressions rapidly changed, “A diversion!”
Rushing back, the two began to carefully inspect the area around the Myriad Drug Pond.
The Myriad Drug Pond was okay. The Pill Saint’s portait was also all right. Everything was calm.
The group of people looked at each other, and none of them had a clue what that demon had been trying to do, but fortunately nothing had happened. This place was the very foundation upon which Medicine King’s Valley was built. If something had really happened, it wouldn’t only be a loss to Medicine King’s Valley. It would also be a loss to all of this world’s Alchemists. Such a sin was not something these two Immortal Ascension masters could atone for even with their lives.
…
The Myriad Drug Pond was not deep, probably only a couple dozen meters or so.
Yang Kai dove rapidly. The wordless Black Book was gripped in his hand as it had been since before he began sneaking in. Directly flipping to the fifth page as he reached the pond’s bottom, a bright light burst forth from the page and completely enveloped his body.
From the Myriad Drug Pond’s bottom, the hidden Spirit Array’s lines also began to glow and allowed Yang Kai to pass directly through them and reach an area even further below.
A moment later, Yang Kai slowly began to recover his vision, and he immediately noticed that there was no water around. Instead he found himself in a small closed space. Although this space was isolated, it was not barren, and an extremely rich energy circulated about while the air was full of fragrant aroma.
Suddenly, the light wrapping him flowed into his body, and with it, something was deposited into Yang Kai’s mind.
Ignoring this sensation for the time being, Yang Kai first examined his surrounding environment.
This should be below the bottom of the Myriad Drug Pond, and thanks to the mysterious Spirit Array, no one should have come here before; even if their strength was great, it would be impossible for them to discover this place.
No wonder Medicine King’s Valley, after thousands of years, still couldn’t unravel the mysteries of the Myriad Drug Pond. It turns out the root of the mystery had been hidden here.
Curious, Yang Kai swept his eyes around every corner of this isolated room.
Not far from him, he found a deep well-like thing. The top of the well was probably only about the size of a washbasin. Walking up to it, he saw that the well seemed to store some kind of milky-white liquid.
The well itself was surrounded by some mysterious patterns and text, probably another esoteric Spirit Array.
This Spirit Array formed a visible cylinder of energy overtop the well that seemed to constantly be transferring power from above to below.
The source of this energy was the bottom of the Myriad Drug Pond, while its destination was the well.
Sniffing the air around the well, a rich aroma wafted to his nose, the fragrance clearly coming from the liquids contained within.
Carefully dipping a finger into the well, Yang Kai brought a drop of the clear liquid to his mouth. A sweet taste immediately spread across his tongue, and the liquid instantly transformed into a warm energy, which proceeded to soak into his body from his flesh to his bones.
Yang Kai’s body twitched, and he felt the True Element Boundary Second Stage’s bottleneck instantly shatter. In one fell swoop, he broke through to the True Element Boundary Third Stage.
As an intangible aura ripple spread out, Yang Kai’s expression tightened, as he worried that this sudden disturbance would alert the Myriad Drug Pond’s guardians above.
However, to his surprise, this closed space completely isolated the outburst from his breakthrough and did not allow it to spread to the outside.
Secretly breathing a sigh of relief, his heartbeat slowly calmed.
“Amazing!” Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised. What was this mysterious liquid inside the well? Its effects were remarkable!
Although it had been around half a month ago that Yang Kai faintly felt he had reached the peak of the True Element Boundary Second Stage, he had been cultivating for so long without progress, but in just a moment he had experienced a breakthrough thanks to this strange liquid.
Yang Kai suddenly remembered the burst of information he had just received and figured that it would hold the answers to his questions.
Searching his mind, he carefully began to review this new knowledge.
A moment later, Yang Kai’s eyes shot open in astonishment.
He really did find the answers he was looking for.
The milky white liquid inside the well was a kind of medicinal elixir called Myriad Drug Liquid!
Every year, hundreds of thousands of pills were sacrificed to the Myriad Drug Pond, but the energy contained within these pills did not simply vanish but were instead collected by the Spirit Array hidden at its bottom and then drawn into this well.
Once inside the well, the second Spirit Array would transform this energy Myriad Drug Liquid.
This was not something that could be done overnight, but instead required years of time and a constant supply of pills in order to complete.
Medicine King’s Valley’s heritage stretched back five or six thousand years. Every year hundreds, thousands, or even more pills were thrown into the Myriad Drug Pond, so after so many years of accumulation, the total number of pills the Myriad Drug Pond had consumed had reached at least a few million.
A few million! This was a figure that could cause the entire world to tremble.
Even if the grade of the pills were low, the sheer quantity of them would result in a massive amount of energy being gathered here, enough to shake the Heavens and crack the Earth. Not to mention, often, in order to study the mysteries of the Pill Saint’s Portait for longer, Medicine King’s Valley would not hesitate to offer many Earth Grade and even Heaven Grade pills.
On top of that, every year when it was time to worship their ancestors, even Mysterious Grade pills would be sacrificed.
And now, all of these energies had been brought together in this well and converted into Myriad Drug Liquid.
It was easy to imagine just how rare and precious this Myriad Drug Liquid was.
This elixir was formed from the energy of millions of pills being slowly refined over thousands of years!
As for its effects, there were many. Not only could it immediately boost one’s cultivation, if a cultivator were to regularly refine it over a long period of time they could essentially be reborn, completely cleansing and quenching their body. Even if their aptitude was originally mediocre, as long as they continuously took this medicine, they would inevitable one day become a genius.
It could also play a role in Alchemy. When refining any pill, if an Alchemist added a single drop of Myriad Drug Liquid, it would improve the quality of pill by half a grade.
For a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank pill, a half-grade enhancement meant that the end result would be approaching the threshold of the Spirit Grade. This was an unattainable goal that Xiao Fu Sheng had pursued his entire life.
In addition, be it healing, increasing longevity, etc… all kinds of benefits were associated with the Myriad Drug Liquid.
Although this elixir was formed from a variety of pill, its effects far exceeded the effects of those pills. Through a long constant refinement it had undergone a quantitative and qualitative change.
Moreover, the Spirit Array engraved around the well was constantly absorbing World Energy from the surroundings continuously channeled it into the well over the course of thousands of years. The kind of changes this had caused to the Myriad Drug Liquid contained within, no one could said clearly.
This well was simply the most valuable treasure under the Heavens! Anyone who got their hands on it would no doubt accomplish many heroic deeds and could even build an unrivalled force that could disdain the entire world.
Medicine King’s Valley had been sitting on this Heavenly treasure, but had only used it as a medium to activate the Pill Saint’s Portait, not even taking advantage of one-tenth if its full potential.
However, it was precisely because of the existence of the Pill Saint’s Portait that Medicine King’s Valley and the world’s Alchemists continued to offer pills to the Myriad Drug Pond for thousands of year, which ultimately allowed this Myriad Drug Liquid to form.
Without the Pill Saint’s portrait, there would never have been any liquid in this well.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, trying to calm the excitement in his heart.
He didn’t know what kind of face those of Medicine King’s Valley would make if they learned that their Sect’s thousands of years of effort had suddenly become someone else’s stepping stone.
Yang Kai and Medicine King’s Valley had no grievances between them. This time he had really only been following the wordless Black Book’s guidance. He hadn’t intended on robbing them of this treasure.
Pushing down the shame he felt, Yang Kai, still holding the wordless Black Book, quickly sat down cross-legged.
This well was quite large and had a great amount of Myriad Drug Liquid, but without a suitable container, there was no way for him to take it away. Even the Universe Bag Yang Kai had received from Ling Tai Xu was unable to carry it.
But Yang Kai was not rushed.
Calming himself, he turned to the wordless Black Book’s sixth page.
As soon as he had broken through to the True Element Boundary, Yang Kai had felt that the sixth page of the Black Book could be activated, but although he knew that the mysteries of the sixth page had been unlocked, he did not take action immediately.
He hesitated because he had not fully explored the mysteries of the fifth page’s Spirit Array.
The first five pages of the Black Book had nothing inside them except for the incense burner.
Removing the burner, Yang Kai proceeded to pour True Qi into the sixth page.
As he did, a pattern of dark lines suddenly emerged. At a glance he could see that these lines were some kind of Spirit Array, but unlike the one drawn on the fifth page, no matter how much True Qi he channelled into this array, it just continued absorbing it, seemingly without limits.
The Spirit Array’s lines constantly flickered.
A moment later, his True Qi was exhausted.
When this happened, Yang Kai immediately burst a drop of Yang Liquid within his dantian and once again filled his empty meridians, continuing to pour True Qi into the Spirit Array.
After consuming a full ten drops of valuable Yang Liquid, the sixth page finally seemed to be saturated and the Spirit Array underwent a change. The first six pages suddenly combined together to merge into one.
Probing it with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai laughed with satisfaction.
It had been two or three years since he had acquired this Black Book, and although he had long since known that it was made of a giant piece of soulstone, it was not until now that it could fulfil its most fundamental role.
Soulstone was a Precious Treasure that one could forge storage artifacts from.
Such artifacts were actually things only spoken of in legend, so from the moment Yang Kai had first discovered that this wordless Black Book was forged from soulstone, he had been looking forward to the day he could use it as a storage.
This was especially true since a year ago when he had gone out for life experience. The Universe Bag that Ling Tai Xu had given him had shown him just how convenient and useful a storage artifact could be.
If one had a decent storage artifact, they could save themselves a lot of trouble.
And now, that desire had finally been reached.
What the Black Book’s sixth page had given him was the ability to open the wordless Black Books storage ability. The first six pages merging together had created an independent storage space.
Compared to the relatively small storage capacity of the Universe Bag, the Black Book’s internal space was very large, big enough to fit several houses inside. Besides an inability to load living things, there were basically no other limits or restrictions on what could be put into this space.
Moreover, in the future, the remaining pages of the Black Book would become available to him, and once those pages merged with the first six, the amount of storage space would increase.
Allowing his Divine Sense to wander around the huge space, Yang Kai felt truly amazed.
With such a large independent space at his disposal, essentially he would never again have to worry about being able to store things again.
After a moment, Yang Kai recalled his Divine Sense and carefully held the Black Book in one hand while manipulating his True Qi with the other, as he very carefully began removing the Myriad Drug Liquid from the well and loading it into the Black Book.
Every single drop of Myriad Drug Liquid was extremely precious, so Yang Kai was particularly meticulous and cautious, not wanting to spill even the slightest amount.
Fortunately, he had painstakingly cultivated Xiao Fu Sheng’s Yuan Qi manipulation techniques, so he was much more deft at controlling his True Qi than before, which allowed him to complete this task with relative ease.
At the beginning, Yang Kai was quite cautious, but as time passed, his actions gradually became faster. By the end, his free hand was basically tossing the Myriad Drug Liquid into the wordless Black Book’s storage space without him even bothering to watch.
This process lasted a full six or seven hours.
As time passed, Yang Kai’s back began to ache from kneeling over, while the actions of his hands had become mechanical.
When it was all over, he had acquired more than a thousand kilograms of Myriad Drug Liquid.
Looking into the well, part way down, at some point a layer of Myriad Drug Liquid that was richer in texture appeared. It was still a milky white colour, but instead of a flowing liquid it was closer to a semi-solidified state.
Myriad Drug Milk!
Compared to Myriad Drug Liquid it was a higher grade of treasure.
After all, this well had existed for thousands of years, and during that time Medicine King’s Valley had constantly been offering a huge amount of pills to the Myriad Drug Pond. The energy of those pills had all been gathered into the well, and the deeper one went the more ancient and refined the product would become. Naturally that meant that the treasure at the bottom of the well would have more potent effects.
Looking at this layer of Myriad Drug Milk, Yang Kai took a deep breath, grit his teeth, and continued collecting.
Another three or four hours later, the Myriad Drug Milk had been fully harvested, and although it was not as much as the thousand kilograms of Myriad Drug Liquid, there was still at least two or three hundred kilograms.
The Myriad Drug Milk’s effects were twice as strong as its liquid form.
In other words, with such an auxiliary treasure in hand, Xiao Fu Sheng would immediately be able to refine Spirit Grade pills because a single drop of this cream would allow one to improve the level of any pill by a full grade.
Once all the Myriad Drug Milk was collected however, there was still a layer of something at the bottom of the well.
This layer was completely solidified and was clearly the most valuable treasure in the well.
Myriad Drug Cream! Its efficacy was again twice that of its milk form.
Enduring his built up fatigue, Yang Kai once again carefully began collecting this treasure.
After a long time, Yang Kai wiped the sweat off his forehead, and sat cross-legged on the ground while breathing rhythmically in order to restore his strength.
The amount of Myriad Drug Cream he acquired was not much, at least compared the massive quantity of Myriad Drug Liquid and Myriad Drug Milk, only a few dozen kilograms. But these few dozen kilograms of cream were the crystallization of the most potent energies from thousands of year’s worth of sacrificed pills.
Now, the well had been completely emptied, and the thousands of years of accumulation all belonged to Yang Kai.
Frowning as he meditated, Yang Kai couldn’t help but ponder over this several thousand years old cycle.
Gaining enlightenment about the Alchemic Way from the Pill Saint’s portrait was the bait for this cycle, and if an Alchemist wanted to do so they needed to offer a large amount of pills to the Myriad Drug Pond.
Once these pills were placed into the pond, their energy and essence would eventually be gathered here.
Then, only after thousands of years would this large quantity of Myriad Drug Liquid be formed.
Was it the wordless Black Book’s creator that set all of this up? Yang Kai didn’t know.
What he did know was that this entire setup was very clever, using those Alchemists’ pilgrimages here to gain insight to acquire the required materials to fuel this cycle.
As long as the Pill Saint’s Portrait remained, as long as the Myriad Drug Pond was there, and as long as Medicine King’s Valley endured, thousands of years later, it was more than likely that this well would once again be filled with Myriad Drug Liquid.
But in the river of time, all things were impermanent; Medicine King’s Valley maintaining its position for thousands of years was already a miracle, as for if it could continue to do so for many more thousands of years, who could say for sure?
As he was in mediation, the isolated space he was in suddenly had some unusual movements.
His expression slightly changed. Yang Kai hurriedly opened his eyes, surprised to find the space round him filled with a variety of flashing text and diagrams.
These words were old, obscure, and completely unintelligible.
The diagrams were also strange, but at a glance Yang Kai could see that many of them were in fact Spirit Arrays.
These words and patterns filled the chamber with flashing lights, appearing somewhat like tiny glowing fish quickly swimming through a clear lake.
Yang Kai wrinkled his brow in confusion and looked around carefully wondering what exactly was going on.
But before he had a chance to figure anything out, the numerous words and diagrams suddenly flashed brilliantly and madly rushed towards Yang Kai.
In a flash, all of these words and diagrams began silently flooding into his mind. His entire head was seemingly wrapped up in a glowing halo. As these lights continued drilling into him, Yang Kai feel like his brain was constantly on the verge of exploding. The blue veins on his forehead were clearly visible, like a mass of squirming earthworms, grotesque and disturbing to anyone who could see them.
This anomaly lasted for quite a while, until finally the last light shot into Yang Kai’s head, and then the whole chamber suddenly became dark again.
Yang Kai felt a throbbing pain resound inside his mind as he tried to catch his breath and recover his composure.
Involuntarily breathing a sigh of relief, Yang Kai knew that the Soul Warming Lotus had once again saved him, similar to his experience in the Nether Mountain isolate world’s white mist region, automatically repairing his Soul when it became damaged.
Faintly, Yang Kai felt that some new knowledge had been added to his mind, but this time was much different from the times he had gained something from the wordless Black Book, the two experiences couldn’t even be compared.
Every page of the wordless Black Book contained very specific information and was easily understood and conveyed; additionally, the amount of information was very small, so even if one hadn’t cultivated their Soul yet, it was still easy to understand.
But this time the amount of information he received was enormous, to the point that Yang Kai couldn’t even comprehend just how great it was.
Calming himself, Yang Kai carefully tried to examine some of this new knowledge.
And after a while, some inexplicable information jumped out.
The True Alchemic Way!
After slowly reviewing for a while, Yang Kai was surprised to find that this information was all somehow related to Alchemy. No Secret Arts, no Martial Skills, but all about how to practice Alchemy and refining good pills.
This True Alchemic Method wasn’t just a guide on how to perform Alchemy, however; it also contained many formulas for different pills, as well as the experiences of countless Alchemy Grandmasters. Many of their unique methods and insights into Alchemy were also documented. It was definitely a Heaven class treasure.
Although Yang Kai was only concerned about reaching the peak of Martial Arts and did not want to be distracted by pursuing Alchemy, his Little Senior Sister would definitely need this knowledge. If she could acquire all the information in this True Alchemic Method, it would absolutely be a huge boon to her abilities, and coupled with her special physique and skills, it would greatly assist her in refining higher grade and better quality pills.
Considering all this, Yang Kai grinned, and did not rush to leave but instead began carefully studying this information.
But less than ten breaths of time later, Yang Kai suddenly felt a burst of fatigue wash over his whole being and the just-settled throbbing pain once again assaulted his mind.
Gasping for breath, it wasn’t until the Soul Warming Lotus activated and slowly began repairing the damage to his Soul that the pain finally began to subside, but the feeling of exhaustion still continued to linger.
Yang Kai couldn’t help trembling slightly. His Spiritual Energy had actually been completely consumed within the span of a few breaths.
The Soul’s strength was also limited, similar to the Yuan Qi inside a cultivator’s body. Once their Yuan Qi was exhausted, a cultivator could no longer fight, while likewise, once one’s Spiritual Energy was exhausted, one’s Divine Sense could no longer be used.
This was why, even though Immortal Ascension Boundary masters could cultivate their Souls, under normal circumstances, they would not freely use their Divine Sense.
Yuan Qi was easy to restore, Spiritual Energy, on the other hand, was another story. Precious Treasures and pills related to restoring Spiritual Energy were generally many times rarer, and thus much more expensive.
Yang Kai’s cultivation was currently at the True Element Boundary Third Stage, yet he had already begun cultivating his Soul, and already had Spiritual Energy comparable to an ordinary Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth or Fifth stage master, but clearly that was nowhere near enough to explore the mysteries of this True Alchemic Method that had been imprinted into his mind.
Frowning, Yang Kai meditated for another four or five hours before he felt his Spiritual Energy finally recover.
It was only with the Soul Warming Lotus’ constant assistance that recovering in such a short period of time was possible. For a general Immortal Ascension cultivator, if their Spiritual Energy were to be completely exhausted, it would be at least ten days to as long as half a month to do this.
[I have to find some good Spiritual Energy recovering pills after this,] Yang Kai silently thought to himself.
Not satisfied with simply giving up, Yang Kai once again submerged his consciousness into his mind. This time he lasted a few additional breaths before his Spiritual Energy was cleanly consumed again.
This time, however, Yang Kai didn’t simply wait to recover naturally but instead consumed some of the Myriad Drug Liquid, and sure enough, his Spiritual Energy really did begin to quickly recover.
In less than half an hour, he had once again been completely restored and was full of energy.
Repeating this process a dozen times, Yang Kai finally began to glimpse a little bit of useful information.
It was a Spirit Array! Specifically it was an array used to assist Alchemists which could be engraved inside one’s Alchemy Furnace in order to enhance the quality and possibility of success in refining a pill, but the effect was neither very good, nor very stable.
Expending a huge amount of Spiritual Energy and consuming more than a dozen drops of Myriad Drug Liquid to get such a thing made Yang Kai wrinkle his brow involuntarily.
The reward not being proportional to the expense gave him a feeling of receiving more harm than good.
This True Alchemic Way was filled with profound and esoteric knowledge, but with his currently weak Spiritual Energy, it was obviously impossible for him to comprehend the whole picture.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little pity as he slowly put aside this True Alchemic Way, planning to further cultivate his Soul before trying again.
Feeling like his Spiritual Energy had grown slightly through these efforts brought him a bit of happiness though.
The only question now was… why did this True Alchemic Way appear here? And why would it suddenly decide to flood his mind?
If the Black Book’s creator wanted him to master the True Alchemic Way, he or she could have simply sealed it into one of the wordless Black Book’s pages and allowed it to be unlocked once his cultivation had reached a sufficient height.
According to his current cultivation, normally it would have been impossible to accept such a massive amount of information. If it weren’t for the Soul Warming Lotus’s help in repairing the damage, his Soul would certainly have been destroyed.
Although he was still uncertain about how all this had happened, Yang Kai did finally understand the mystery of the Pill Saint’s Statue.
Rumor was that the Pill Saint had left behind his Alchemy inheritance here. It was such a famous story that even Meng Wu Ya knew about the Pill Saint’s Statue, and apparently such rumors were not groundless.
The profound mysteries hidden within the Pill Saint’s Statue were actually this True Alchemic Way.
It was just that when Alchemists studied the Statue to gain enlightenment, they would only receive a very small portion of this knowledge, whereas Yang Kai had the complete archive directly implanted into his brain this time.
Uncertain about whether or not the Pill Saint’s Statue would continue allowing Alchemists to gain enlightenment after this, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
However, everything had already happened, and all the mysteries here had been solved, leaving behind only a dry well.
All he could do now was leave.
After taking some time to adjust his condition to its peak, Yang Kai began looking for the way out.
At first, he thought that this isolated space would have some kind of exit gate, but after searching for a long time, Yang Kai found nothing of the sort.
This discovery suddenly put him into an awkward position. Without an established exit, how was he supposed to leave? Did he have to force his way out? But just outside of this space were at least two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters and a large number of True Element Boundary guards.
The moment he jumped out of Myriad Drug Pond, he would immediately be captured.
Yang Kai had to believe there was some hidden exit somewhere.
But after carefully and meticulously searching around the hidden chamber again he still came up empty.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, and he felt like something about this whole situation seemed a bit off. The Black Book’s instructions had led him to this place in order to obtain the Myriad Drug Liquid, so there was no reason it would do so just to let him be trapped here.
But why couldn’t he find the way out? Was there something he had missed?
Yang Kai continued his blind search and had soon gone over every square millimeter of the room a dozen times.
Half a day flew by.
His patience was reaching its limit.
Yang Kai was now certain there was no gateway out of this place, so if he wanted to leave, the only way to do so was through the Myriad Drug Pond.
But, wasn’t this the same as throwing himself into a net? The Myriad Drug Pond was Medicine King’s Valley’s most forbidden area. Even if he was now considered half a Hidden Cloud Peak disciple, if he appeared from the bottom of the Myriad Drug Pond he would likely not have a good end.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai decided to break through the top. Although there were many guards outside, if he moved fast enough, it wasn’t a certainty he would be caught.
Making up his mind, Yang Kai faced the isolate space’s ceiling, exhaled a breath, and let out a strong punch.
This punch was just a test.
The Myriad Drug Pond had been the centre of Medicine King’s Valley for many years; there must have been many experts who had similarly performed such an attack, wanting to see if below the surface there was some hidden mystery.
However, none of them had broken through the bottom because of the Spirit Array engraved there.
Yang Kai didn’t know if his punch could break through!
But fortune seemed to be on his side, with this single punch, a muffled bang rang out, and the stone ceiling above his head suddenly cracked and eventually burst open with a loud crashing sound, and the water from the Myriad Drug Pond immediately poured in.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled further as doubt flashed across his eyes, but with no time to hesitate, he quickly began swimming upwards and rapidly circulated his True Qi, anticipating the worst.
He was resigned to being besieged and was preparing his best to quickly counterattack.
But unexpectedly, after bursting out of the pond and floating mid-air, he didn’t suffer any attacks. Quickly glancing around, Yang Kai’s pupils involuntarily shrank.
Corpses surrounded the Myriad Drug Pond and blood flowed like rivers.
The originally hundred meters tall Pill Saint’s Statue had now been shattered, broken into pieces that were strewn across the mountain top.
The surrounding air was filled with a thick bloody smell and the sounds of fighting and killing echoed all around.
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn as he surveyed his surroundings and quickly landed nearby.
The area around him was filled with traces of battle, and as he looked further afield, Yang Kai found that smoke was rising from all of Medicine King’s Valley’s twelve peaks and the city in the valley below was in complete chaos.
Floating in the sky, there were many Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators locked in desperate struggles with all kinds of ferocious Martial Skills and strange artifacts flying back and forth.
Someone was attacking Medicine King’s Valley!
What force was so bold?
Not to mention that the Alchemist Summit was currently being held, so it was a particularly sensitive time.
For thousands of years, Medicine King’s Valley had never fought with any force, whether you were good or evil, whether you were strong or weak, Medicine King’s Valley had always upheld a strict principle of neutrality from beginning to end.
Even many devil path cultivators would visit Medicine King’s Valley to make Alchemy requests.
It was because of this policy of neutrality that this place had endured for all these years.
But now, someone had launched an attack on Medicine King’s Valley and not only slaughtered many lives but also destroyed the Pill Saint’s Statue!
This was a Heaven shaking change!
Medicine King’s Valley was inextricably linked with all of this world’s forces. In the Valley town every great force had opened a branch where one of their masters would sit all year round. If someone dared to attack Medicine King’s Valley, they would be making an enemy of the entire world, so no matter how strong their own forces were their destruction would not be far behind.
Buy at the moment, the battle raging across Medicine King’s Valley was obviously quite even. Medicine King’s Valley even seemed to be at a disadvantage.
On top of that… the Pill Saint’s Statue had actually been destroyed. This was a huge loss for the entire world.
Yang Kai faintly felt that the destruction of the Pill Saint’s Statue and the True Alchemic Way’s sudden influx into his mind were linked. After all, the True Alchemic Way’s original vessel was likely the Pill Saint’s Statue itself.
Standing there stunned for a moment, Yang Kai eventually managed to compose himself and activate his movement skill, dashing towards Hidden Cloud Peak.
Dong Qing Yan and Xia Ning Chang were still there. Old Xiao and his two defenceless Aunties were also there, and although Meng Wu Ya sat upon Hidden Cloud Peak as well, who knew what the situation was right now?
Moving as fast as he could, Yang Kai soon approached Hidden Cloud Peak. The scenery around him was only a blur as he rushed forward. Spreading out his Divine Sense in order to gather information, the situation around him immediately became clear.
Evil Qi and Demonic Qi were spread around Medicine King’s Valley, and those who were fighting with Medicine King’s Valley’s disciple were also releasing Demonic Qi.
The attackers were devil’s path cultivators! It was just unknown which Evil Sect they belonged to.
In addition to these devil’s path cultivators and Medicine King’s Valley disciples, there were also many cultivators from the world’s various forces also engaged in battle. All of them assisted Medicine King’s Valley’s forces, but there were not many experts present, so coupled with their lack of coordination, they were losing ground in many places, some of them even becoming corpses.
A few kilometers away, there was even a green poison fog that enveloped a several thousand meter radius. Inside that poisonous shroud, all the trees and plants had withered and died, and the ground was littered with the rotting corpses of many once powerful cultivators. Their remains were now little more than bleached bones.
In the sky above, numerous Immortal Ascension Boundary masters were slaughtered and soon fell back to the ground. Most of these high level cultivators were masters that the great forces had stationed here, but it was clear that the Demonic Qi covered Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators had the upper hand.
Yang Kai frowned deeply. Though he didn’t know why Medicine King’s Valley had experienced such a tragedy, his footsteps never once stopped.
Halfway to his destination, a brawny blood stained man sudden jumped out in front of him, his hands holding a short sword carved out of bone, a chunk of bloody flesh still stuck on the blade.
Revealing a malicious grin, the man’s pair of wolf-like eyes stared straight towards Yang Kai as he brought the hunk of flesh on his sword to his mouth and sunk his teeth into it, chewing on this bloody meat like he was savouring the world’s more delicious delicacy, with a look of ecstasy emerging on his face.
Yang Kai quickly swept his eyes over this man and soon discovered a body underneath his foot. It wasn’t a Medicine King’s Valley’s disciple, instead it probably was someone from one of the great forces. From the looks of it, he had died recently, but the most disturbing sight was that a big piece of flesh was missing from his face.
“Another delicious meal!” The bloodstained man shouted as he flashed a ferocious smile, and his True Qi violently burst forth, exuding a rich demonic breath.
[True Element Boundary Fifth Stage!]
Yang Kai didn’t even pause, and a cold light flashed across his eyes, as he concentrated his Divine Sense and shot it towards the man’s forehead.
The brawny man was suddenly dazed, and his eyes became unfocused.
Although Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was no less powerful than an average Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth of Fifth Stage master, he could only use it in such a rough manner, unable to display its full potential.
However, that was more than enough.
In the blink of an eye, the brawny man had recovered, but before he had time to launch an attack, Yang Kai released a punch straight towards the centre of his chest.
With a loud bang, the brawny hundred kilogram man’s body shot out like a arrow, his chest visibly caved in.
In mid-air, the brawny body burst into a mass of blood fog!
He did not even had time to mobilize his True Qi in order to defend himself.
Not sparing a second glance, Yang Kai continued forward like a meteor.
A moment later, Yang Kai reached the base of Hidden Cloud Peak.
Compared to the other surrounding peaks, Hidden Cloud Peak had very few casualties. After all, this place had always been quiet, and basically, no one ever visited.
But now, the fighting here was incredibly intense.
Before even reaching the summit, Yang Kai looked up into the sky and saw Meng Wu Ya single-handedly fighting against a large group of devil path Immortal Ascension cultivators.
Treasurer Meng was incredibly mysterious, and all of his methods were Heaven defying. His realm was currently only at the Peak of the Immortal Ascension Boundary, yet he was still fighting evenly against six other masters. Two of them had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage, while the remaining four were also by no means weak, each of them had cultivation levels at least above the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage. These masters were more than just one step above the Blood Battle Gang’s masters he had once fought against.
Seven Immortal Ascension Boundary masters were having an all out contest above Hidden Cloud Peak.
Mid-battle, one of the devil path masters couldn’t help but complain, “Where did this old bastard suddenly appear from, he’s so damn strong!”
If it was an ordinary Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary master, they would have long fallen under the combined attacks of all six of them, but Meng Wu Ya wasn’t even at a disadvantage. Each of the Martial Skills he launched contained power that shocked all of them to their cores.
When orders had been given to capture Xiao Fu Sheng, originally only two Immortal Ascension masters had come, and both of them were in high spirits as they felt certain of their victory.
But just before reaching Hidden Cloud Peak’s summit, Meng Wu Ya had suddenly appeared and mercilessly slaughtered them.
With two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters suddenly dying, six nearby devil’s path masters learned that a strong master was guarding Hidden Cloud Peak, and all of them rushed over to attack. However, even with all of them attacking together, they couldn’t gain an upper hand. Although Meng Wu Ya only had a cultivation of peak Immortal Ascension, he still managed to single handedly hold all of them back.
All of Treasurer Meng’s Martial Skills contained huge lethality, and many of them were completely unfamiliar. Seeing these moves, the six attackers slowly became more and more frightened, after realizing they had kicked an iron plate.
What corner did this old guy suddenly jump out from? The six people were thoroughly confused. Wasn’t the only Immortal Ascension master on Hidden Cloud Peak, Xiao Fu Sheng?
Meanwhile, on the top of the peak, Xiao Fu Sheng calmly stood as he leisurely observed this battle.
Although he was also an Immortal Ascension master, his life had been dedicated to Alchem, so he was not proficient in fighting. Even if he utilized the Martial Skills he had cultivated, they wouldn’t be of any help.
The two dignified beauties stood behind him, and behind them were Dong Qing Yan and Xia Ning Chang. The four women each held some faint tension unlike Old Xiao’s indifferent calm.
“Young Master is back!” Old Demon suddenly called out, pleasantly surprised, and sure enough, the next moment, Yang Kai appeared on top of Hidden Cloud Peak.
Immediately after, the Soul Breaker Awl flew out towards Yang Kai ,who naturally reached out and grabbed it. The black gas quickly disappeared back into his body.
Xiao Fu Sheng only spared this whole process a glance, not even bothering to comment while Dong Qing Yan waved to Yang Kai, motioning him over.
“What happened here?” Yang Kai swiftly joined the crowd and inquisitively whispered.
“A day ago, the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land suddenly attacked Medicine King’s Valley. From how swiftly and menacingly they acted, they had clearly been plotting this for quite some time. After injuring or killing the masters from the various great forces standing guard in the Valley Town, they proceeded straight towards Medicine King’s Valley’s twelve peaks, capturing numerous disciples and various Alchemists who had come here to participate in the Alchemist Summit…”
Xia Ning Chang softly spoke about the current situation and all the relevant information she could remember.
Given this information, Yang Kai was also able to figure out a lot of things.
Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land, it was this world’s largest devil’s path practitioner gathering place, a haven for all those who cultivated demonic arts. It was located in the southwest corner of the Great Han Dynasty.
In fact, the entire southwest region could be considered part of the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land.
Within the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land were many masters and various forces. A number of which were not weaker than the Eight Great Families and could be considered transcendental great forces.
As early as a few months ago, the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land had been planning this action and had gone around capturing the descendants of various great forces. Even the men who had been attacking Dong Qing Yan outside Medicine King’s Valley were agents of the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land.
During their assault, which they had timed to coincide with the Alchemist Summit, they had used these kidnapped descendents as human shields in order to force the various masters sent to Medicine King’s Valley to stand aside and not act rashly.
This of course led to Medicine King’s Valley’s side being quickly overwhelmed.
Also, the purpose of this attack was not to destroy Medicine King’s Valley, but to capture Alchemists. Whether they were Medicine King’s Valley disciples or foreign Alchemist who had come to attend the Summit, the number they could grasp was the number they would take.
They had even had designs on the Pill Saint’s Statue, but the Statue itself was too large, and on top of that the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters of Medicine King’s Valley had desperately fought to defend it. Unfortunately, while the two sides were locked in combat the Pill Saint’s Statue was accidentally broken.
The entire time, the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land used all kinds of despicable methods to further suppress the Medicine King’s Valley’s side.
As for Hidden Cloud Peak, if it weren’t for Meng Wu Ya happening to be here right now, Xiao Fu Sheng would probably have long been captured.
Sifting through this information, Yang Kai soon grasped the immediate situation.
However, although the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land was known to be reckless and belligerent, it was still a mystery why they wanted to capture so many Alchemists.
The battle in the skies above was incredibly fierce, and although it was Meng Wu Ya versus six devil cultivators, he was still holding his own.
“Battle Array!” An old black haired man suddenly shouted.
Hearing this order, the six devil path cultivators suddenly scattered, arranged themselves into a mysterious Spirit Array formation, and unleashed a single coordinated strike, which caused Meng Wu Ya’s composed expression to suddenly become slightly grim.
Just as he was attempting to stabilize himself, the six enemies all exchanged a glance and one of the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters suddenly broke formation and flew back down towards Hidden Cloud Peak.
Meanwhile, the remaining five masters ferociously attempted to impede Meng Wu Ya.
“You dare!” Meng Wu Ya roared while releasing a devastating strike, knocking his five opponents off balance, and then he took advantage of this momentary opening to launch a palm at the man flying towards Hidden Cloud Peak.
[Decaying Wood Divine Strike!] A Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Martial Skill!
A swift and invisible palm wind burst forth, immediately causing the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land Immortal Ascension Boundary master to sense danger and hastily dodge.
The Palm strike narrowly missed his body but brushed past his arm, instantly paralysing it, and just this brief contact made his whole arm shrivel up like a dead tree, and it quickly began to decay.
With his face stricken with panic, the man immediately began revolving a healing art to resist this encroachment.
Fortunately for him, he was only grazed by the palm wind, so he was still able to resist its effects, and his shriveled up arm slowly started to restore itself to its original appearance, which allowed his nerves to settle once again.
Laughing maniacally, the man once again sped off towards Hidden Cloud Peak, like an eagle swooping down towards his prey.
Yang Kai and the others, seeing this approaching enemy, all began to madly circulate their True Qi to raise their alertness.
On the summit, only Xiao Fu Sheng was an Immortal Ascension cultivator, but he was not one who could fight. Even if this man had only reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage, it was more than enough to kill them all!
As the attacking devil path cultivator approached, a ferocious grin appeared on his face as he yelled, “Xiao Fu Sheng, if you don’t want to die, then don’t resist! This old master just wants to invite you to our sacred land, there’s no need for this to get unpleasant!”
However, Old Xiao’s expression remained indifferent, totally unafraid.
This man then glanced towards Aunty Xiang and Aunty Lan before sweeping his eyes over Dong Qing Yan and Xia Ning Chang. He stretched out his tongue and licked his lips, while grinning wantonly and said, “A gathering of delicious beauties… Unfortunately, today this old master has an important task to complete; we’ll have to enjoy ourselves together next time!”
Done talking, he swiped out his hand with a grabbing motion towards Xiao Fu Sheng.
In response, Old Xiao coldly snorted, raised his hand, and countered with his own punch.
Seeing this, the man sneered disdainfully and used just his fingers to crush the Martial Skill Xiao Fu Sheng had launched before continuing to extend his grip towards Xiao Fu Sheng’s shoulder.
Completing all this within the span of a breath, the man prepared to leave.
At that moment, Yang Kai, Xia Ning Chang, and Dong Qing Yan Qi simultaneously struck!
Although the three were only juniors, when they each released their full strength Martial Skills the devil path master’s expression suddenly changed, especially in the face of Yang Kai’s attack. With such a powerful strike composed of incredibly pure True Qi, taking it undefended would certainly be bad.
Quickly recovering his hand and swiftly resolving these three attacks, he violently snapped back, “Scram! This old master has no time to play with you!”
But before his voice had even faded, two slender palms suddenly struck towards him.
World Energy suddenly stirred, and the surrounding air was suddenly filled with numerous floating petals, as if the sky had opened up and flowers began raining down, a wondrous sight to behold.
Yang Kai was stunned by this unforeseen occurrence as were Xia Ning Chang and Dong Qing Yan.
Within this rain, Aunty Xiang and Aunty Lan’s two images flashed. One by one they arrived beside the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land master. Their moves were swift and illusory, and their graceful bodies seemingly danced within the fluttering petals.
“You…” The Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land’s cultivator was aghast, and he inadvertently inhaled some of the petals. His body immediately weakened a lot as he moaned, “You possess such skills!”
*Hmph!* Xiao Fu Sheng coldly snorted, “Since you’ve already come, don’t expect to ever leave.”
“It’s a trap!” The man howled mournfully. Whether it was Aunty Xiang or Aunty Lan, at the moment they both displayed strength in no way inferior to his own. So with the two of them together, and Xiao Fu Sheng eying him, even if he wanted to escape, he wouldn’t have a chance.
The two beautiful women remained silent, only gazing coldly at him.
Aunty Xiang soon flourished her hand, gracefully flicked her wrist, and sent one of the gently falling petals between her fingertips shooting forward.
*Puff!*, instantly, the seemingly weightless petal pierced the man’s shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.
Aunty Lan on his other side also waved her hands. Her lithe body shuttled back and forth endlessly and caused the flower petals to flutter and swirl, enveloping the enemy, cutting off all avenues of escape.
Repeated screams rang out, until finally the whirlwind of flowers dissipated and the man reappeared. His clothes were ripped to shreds, and his body was beaten black and blue and covered all over in fresh blood.
Having just witnessed this scene, the three juniors all had faces filled with shock and awe.
Especially Yang Kai and Dong Qing Yan. Both of them had lived together with Aunty Xiang and Aunty Lan far longer than Xia Ning Chang, but up until now they had never seen the slightest hint that they were cultivators.
In the outside world it was a widespread rumor that on Hidden Cloud Peak, in addition to Xiao Fu Sheng, the only other living people were two unknown ordinary maidservants who had been serving him for the past twenty years. Many people didn’t even know their names.
But just now, these two ordinary maids had revealed themselves to both actually be Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth or Sixth Stage masters.
This change was simply too great. Dong Qing Yan found it difficult to believe that the two beautiful women standing before here were the same delicate, gentle, and kind Aunty Xiang and Aunty Lan she thought she knew so well.
Yang Kai suddenly understood why Old Xiao could act so aloof and leisurely. It turns out that there were two masters standing guard right next to him.
As the battle between Aunty Xiang, Aunty Lan and the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land master continued, it became more and more obvious that he had lost the strength to fight back. Amidst the rain of petals, the two women flashed to and fro, and each hit they landed caused a steady accumulation of damage, as they occupied the absolute advantage.
Soon after, a loud howling voice rang out in the distance.
Hearing this voice, the five masters who were fighting with Meng Wu Ya suddenly glanced at each other, then immediately ceased their attacks and abandoned their Battle Array positions to escape over the horizon.
Meng Wu Ya did not give chase and instead floating mid-air and breathed deeply, in an attempt to calm the raging blood within his chest.
As for the Immortal Ascension Boundary master currently pinned down on top of Hidden Cloud Peak, the moment he saw his companions leave, he understood that he no longer had any hope of escape. Then he actually let out a chuckle, and the next moment his True Qi ferociously surged, which caused the Evil Qi surrounding him to become even denser.
“Stop him!” Xiao Fu Sheng’s indifferent expression suddenly changed as he shoute.
However, it was too late, before Aunty Xiang and Aunty Lan had time to suppress him, his True Qi suddenly invisibly dissipated and his body suddenly appeared sluggish.
He actually destroyed his own meridians!
“Heh heh…” Before dying this man revealed a strange grain while disdainfully gazing towards the crowd, and with a cure he said, “The Demon Lord has returned, you cannot resist, hurry and submit to my Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land and perhaps you can live!”
Finished, he collapsed to the ground.
Xiao Fu Sheng’s face became solemn, involuntarily murmuring under his breath, “Demon Lord…”
The Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land’s attack on Medicine King’s Valley resulted in hundreds of their disciples being abducted, along with three of their Elders. Those who had come to participate in the Alchemist Summit had also experienced heavy losses, and it was unknown just how many were missing.
In addition, the Great Forces had suffered numerous casualties. Everywhere one looked on Medicine King’s Valley twelve peaks, there were corpses and blood staining this once pure land. As for the valley town, countless houses had collapsed; the losses couldn’t even be calculated.
The Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land’s actions had drawn condemnation from all sides and infuriated all the great forces. Within a day, even the Eight Great Families had sent their experts to join the counterattack discussions and assist in rescuing the abducted Alchemists.
However, the message Xiao Fu Sheng gave them had greatly shocked all those who had come.
The Demon Lord had returned!
This was what one of the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land Immortal Ascension Boundary masters had said before dying.
The Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land was an immense region, with numerous masters and devil path cultivators spread out across it, and because it was so grand in scale, it was divided up into six regions. Each one was governed by one of the six Great Demon Kings. Each region was distinct in its governance, and although each of them technically belonged to the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land, under normal circumstances, they did not interfere with each other, the well not drawing water from the river.
Above these six Demon Kings, was only the supreme Demon Lord!
And this Demon Lord position had been empty for hundreds of years.
The Demon Lord was not an easy position to obtain. Each of the six Demon Kings had great strength, and each one was superior to any of the Eight Great Families’ top masters. All of them had countless loyal subordinates, but after having shared control of the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land for so many years, none of them had dared claim the Demon Lord’s throne.
A hundred years ago, the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land had once had a Demon Lord. His strength and methods were unfathomable, which allowed him to reign over and slaughter countless lives. Finally, the masters from all of the Eight Great Families joined forces and launched a grand crusade, ultimately killing this man above the Weeping Wolf Abyss!
In that war, many of the Eight Great Families’ masters also perished!
It was only after a century of recovery that their full strength had been restored.
But now, a new Demon Lord had appeared in the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land. How could these masters not be shocked?
If it was someone else who had brought forward this news, no one would have believed him. No one would want to believe, but since it was Xiao Fu Sheng who said these words, the situation was not the same.
The whole world instantly became alert as a sense of tension gripped the land; spies from all of the Great Forces were frequently deployed to the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land to gather any scrap of reliable intelligence.
But what they reported was even more difficult to believe.
A mysterious new Demon Lord had indeed risen in the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land! What’s more, this person had seemingly just appeared and had swiftly seized absolute dominion over the six Demon Kings, now reigning unchallenged over the entire region.
The situation was far more precarious than imagined, and caused many to panic.
…
Atop Hidden Cloud Peak, Yang Kai bid Xiao Fu Sheng farewell.
His purpose in coming to Medicine King’s Valley had been achieved, and since he had not returned to High Heaven Pavilion for a long time, naturally he wished to return.
Xiao Fu Sheng, as if he had long ago anticipated such a parting, did not even appear the slightest bit surprised and instead just gently said, “Although I know you came to Medicine King’s Valley for different reasons, since fate brought you to my Hidden Cloud Peak, you are now also my Hidden Cloud Peak’s disciple. In the future, if you wish, you will be welcome here.”
“En.” Yang Kai, feeling somewhat guilty, simply nodded in acknowledgement.
Xia Ning Chang was also reluctant to part, but knowing Yang Kai had to go, she did not try to retain him.
Moreover, Yang Kai had already discussed this matter with her the night before, and had also given her a drop of Brilliant Flame Liquid and a drop of Soul Cleansing Dew, as well as a large quantity of Myriad Drug Liquid. Given how Xia Ning Chang had already reached the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage, and given the rapid progress of her cultivation, with these things it shouldn’t be a problem for her to break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Yang Kai had also given a drop of Brilliant Flame Liquid to Dong Qing Yan, which would allow her to greatly increase the purity of her True Qi as she broke through the True Element Boundary.
Not only that, Yang Kai had also taught everything he had learned from the True Alchemic Way about Alchemic Spirit Arrays to Xia Ning Chang, which allowed her to study it and pass along her insights to Xiao Fu Sheng.
Yang Kai believed that with the assistance of these Spirit Arrays, Xiao Fu Sheng should be able to refine a pill above Mysterious Grade.
Although this wouldn’t really be a true Spirit Grade pill, but it should still be enough to satisfy Xiao Fu Sheng’s lifelong wish.
Old Xiao, Aunty Xiang, and Aunty Lan were all very good to him, but in return all he could give them was this Spirit Array.
After descending Hidden Cloud Peak, Yang Kai greatly increased his pace and pushed his True Qi as he raced towards High Heaven Pavilion.
Seven or eight days later, Yang Kai finally returned to Sect.
But at the moment he returned to High Heaven Pavilion, Yang Kai felt that something was not quite right.
The whole of High Heaven Pavilion was filled with a lingering Demonic Qi.
Yang Kai’s pace once again sped up. Dashing around the various locations within the Sect, he was surprised to find that whole High Heaven Pavilion was filled with a gloomy air and traces of battle left behind everywhere he went, as well as many High Heaven Pavilion disciples hurriedly carrying their belongings away from the Sect.
“This Senior Brother!” Yang Kai not understanding what was going on quickly stopped one of these fleeing disciples.
“What is it!?” The man impatiently roared, but upon discovering who it was who stopped him, his complexion changed slightly, “Are you Yang Kai?”
As he spoke, his demeanor become significantly more respectful, after all, since a year ago, the incident with Yang Kai and Bai Yun Feng had become quite famous.
“What happened to the Sect, where are all of you going?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked.
“It’s difficult to say,” the man quickly replied, breaking free from Yang Kai’s grip, “You should ask the Sect Master and the Elders yourself.”
Apparently finished, the man turned around and rushed off.
Yang Kai frowned in confusion, but at this time something stirred within his heart and caused him to look up at a white figure flying towards him from the distance.
It was Su Yan.
As in the past, Su Yan was still as cold and beautiful as ever. Having not seen her for a year, her cultivation had grown significantly, and with her increase in strength, the frigid aura she radiated was likewise more powerful than ever. Only when her eyes met Yang Kai’s did this icy temperament, frigid enough to freeze anything in the world around her, becoming gentler.
With a burst of fragrant wind, she gently fell in front of Yang Kai, and her exquisite face showed a small smile, “You’ve returned?”
Yang Kai nodded slightly and asked, “What happened here?”
Su Yan’s bright eyes suddenly became dark, and she gripped Yang Kai’s arm before saying, “Many things have happened, I’ll tell you as we walk.”
Speaking till here, her body began floating up, while Yue Kai also circulated his True Qi and quickly kept up with her.
Feeling this True Qi fluctuation, Su Yan turned her eyes towards Yang Kai in surprise, “You’ve reached the True Element Third Stage?”
Yang Kai simply grinned, “En.”
“You really grow so fast!”
“You as well. You’ve already broken through the True Element Eighth Stage!” Yang Kai was also surprised at how quickly Su Yan’s cultivation had increased while he had left to gain life experience. During that time it was only due to a wide variety of opportunities that he had been able to cultivate so quickly, yet Su Yan had only stayed within the Sect in penance, but had also grow to this extent. If she had the same opportunities and resources as him, she may have grown even more than even he had.
Hearing Yang Kai praise her, Su Yan’s white jade face slightly blushed as she whispered back in a voice filled with happiness, “My Ice Heart Secret Art depends greatly on my state of mind while I cultivate, my mood has improved greatly over this past year, so my strength has also grown significantly.”
Yang Kai grinned knowingly, aware that it was because she had to constantly overcome the ‘side effects’ of their Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art that her mental strength had improved so much. He chuckled evilly before suddenly pressing his lips onto hers.
Su Yan, caught by surprise, was slightly upset with his forwardness, but she also did not try to resist.
“Where are we going?” Yang Kai until now had simply been following behind her, but he couldn’t help squinting his eyes and frowning, “Are we headed to the Sect Master’s secluded retreat?”
Su Yan nodded gently as her expression suddenly became sad and mournful, “Sect Master has ordered that if you come back, we have to immediately bring you to see him.”
“What happened to Sect Master?” Yang Kai quickly noticed Su Yan’s grim expression and immediately asked.
Su Yan lightly bit her lip and only replied after a long silence, “He has been injured and it’s not light…”
“Who was it?” Yang Kai’s expression instantly sank. His Grand Master, Ling Tai Xu’s, strength was not much worse than Meng Wu Ya’s. His aptitude was also outstanding. If it were not for the matters regarding his two disciples causing him to stagnate for more than ten years, he would have long ago surpassed the Immortal Ascension Boundary and arrived at the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary realm.
Such a master was now seriously injured, and from Su Yan’s expression it seemed this injury was by no means normal, but who could wound him like this?
“It was Sect Master’s Second Disciple!”
“What?” Yang Kai was shocked, reacting unconsciously, “But wasn’t he…”
“En, but he managed to escape from the Coiling Dragon Stream and had somehow cultivated his Demonic Secret Art to an unfathomable height. During that day’s battle, in the sky above High Heaven Pavilion, all of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters along with Sect Master were seriously injured. Fourth Elder Zhou Fei was killed on the spot, and all the other Elders were wounded, and countless disciples also fell…” Su Yan voice trembled as she spoke before finally releasing a deep sigh, “If it weren’t for Sect Master’s desperate resistance during that battle, by now, all of High Heaven Pavilion…”
“When did this all happen?”
“About one and a half months ago …” Su Yan shook her head and sighed, “The aftermath of has not yet been cleared, and residual Demonic Qi still blankets much of High Heaven Pavilion. All of the disciples constantly have to use their artifacts to resist this corruption. Many of them, fear being implicated and have also packed up their things and left the Sect.”
Yang Kai frowned deeply, finally understanding why the Sect had become like this.
However, that Second Disciple actually being able to escape from the Coiling Dragon Stream was a development no one had foreseen. The Coiling Dragon Stream, for hundreds of years, had been used to imprison countless people, yet none had ever managed to escape. However, Sect Master’s Second Disciple had somehow accomplished this.
That year, Ling Tai Xu had personally captured him, but due to their mentoring relationship, he could not bring himself to ruthlessly kill him, instead choosing to waste his cultivation and imprison him within the Coiling Dragon Stream, but in doing so he had unexpectedly planted the seed of High Heaven Pavilion’s disaster, which had now sprouted more than ten years later.
If he had only known then, Ling Tai Xu would never have allowed his disciple to live.
As they talked, the two of them had arrived at the Sect Master’s residence.
However, before even stepping inside, Yang Kai felt a rich wave of Demonic Qi blow towards him, which caused his brow to wrinkle deeply.
“Go inside, Sect Master has been waiting for you!” Su Yan gently said.
Yang Kai nodded, opened the door, and stepped forward, but the sight that greeted his eyes sent a shiver up his spine.
A year ago, when they had separated at Nether Mountain, Grand Master had been in high spirits, bantering back and forth with Ghost King Valley’s Gui Li about fighting a life and death battle, but now he appeared extremely haggard and was covered with a thick black gas, apparently enduring serious injuries and was unable to suppress the Demonic Qi which had invaded his body.
Somehow sensing Yang Kai’s presence, the bedridden Ling Tai Xu’s fingers slightly twitched as his eyes seemed to be trying to open.
Yang Kai felt as if his heart was being clenched, and he quickly stepped forward.
Inside the house, in addition to Ling Tai Xu, there was only a High Hall Pavilion Alchemist watching over him.
This Alchemist’s cultivation was not high, probably only True Element Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage, but he was clearly disciple from the previous generation.
“Martial Uncle, how is the Sect Master’s condition?” Yang Kai hesitantly asked.
However, the man could only slowly shake his head, “Things are not good, I’m afraid, before long… he…”
Within the room, Yang Kai walked up to Ling Tai Xu, placed two fingers on his wrist, and closed his eyes to concentrate.
Sweeping him with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai’s heart gradually sank.
Ling Tai Xu’s five viscera and six organs had all been damaged, and an untold number of his bones had been broken. His vitality was fading, and his blood force was all but completely depleted.
The True Qi flow within his body was weak and sporadic, while many of his meridians had ruptured making it impossible to circulate his Secret Art.
Not only that, but throughout his body there was a large amount of Demonic Qi, which was continuing to eat away at his life force and erode his True Qi. If he hadn’t used the last vestiges of his pure True Qi to protect his heart, Ling Tai Xu would likely have died long ago.
The word heavy couldn’t even begin to describe the state of his Grand Master’s injuries, and it was a miracle that he was even still alive at this point and would more than likely pass on any moment now.
Him using his last trace of True Qi like this was probably only in order to preserve his life long enough for Yang Kai to return safely. After all, he had sent Yang Kai into a dangerous isolate world for life experience but had until now not heard any news of him.
“Is there any medicine you can give him?” Yang Kai asked.
However, his Alchemist martial uncle could only grimly shake his head, “With Sect Master condition, what medicine could I offer? Some time ago I gave him some pills, but now there is nothing I dare give him.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, Grand Master’s body was now too weak. If he was given something that couldn’t immediately bring him back from the gates of death, it would instead only cause him to consume the remainder of his True Qi, which would instantly bring about his death.
Fortunately, he was here now.
Yang Kai frowned for a moment before saying, “Martial Uncle, please leave first, I have something to say to Sect Master.”
The High Heaven Pavilion Alchemist hesitated but eventually got up and left. Although he did not know what it was that Yang Kai and Ling Tai Xu needed to discuss, but he did know that before the Sect Master fell into a coma, he had given instructions for Yang Kai to be brought to him immediately should he return.
Sect Master valued Yang Kai, so the relationship between the two was obviously not normal.
Waiting until his Martial Uncle left, Yang Kai quickly brought out some Myriad Drug Cream from the storage space in his Black Book.
He did not dare to use too much, only a half thumbnail portion.
Yang Kai didn’t know if the Myriad Drug Cream could serve as a life-saving medicine, but now it was his best and only hope. After all, it was the most concentrated medicinal essence from millions of pills condensed over the course of thousands of years.
Fetching a teacup, Yang Kai quickly dissolved this Myriad Drug Cream in some hot water.
Then, ever so gently, he brought this cup to Ling Tai Xu’s mouth and slowly made him drink it.
Although it was just half a tea cup of hot water, it was still quite some time before Ling Tai Xu could drink it down.
After this, Yang Kai carefully stretched out his hands, pressed them onto Ling Tai Xu’s chest, and slowly began pouring in his own True Qi to help him refine the medicinal effects.
At the same time, he fully released his Divine Sense and carefully monitored any changes that went on within his Grand Master.
As soon as he began refining this Myriad Drug Cream, Yang Kai clearly felt that Ling Tai Xu’s originally flickering vitality instantly strengthened and the blood flow within his body gradually intensified. Even his heartbeat became more powerful than before.
[It’s working!]
Yang Kai smiled happily and slightly increased the output of his True Qi.
Yang Kai quickly thanked the Heavens, as his nerves began to calm. Just now, Ling Tai Xu was really too weak, if he could not bear the medicinal effects of the Myriad Drug, and it hadn’t instantly begun to restore him to life, his actions would have been tantamount to ending Ling Tai Xu’s life.
This man was his father’s, Yang Siye’s, master! He was also Yang Kai’s Grand Master, so how could he not have been worried?
Fortunately, the Myriad Drug Cream had not disappointed him.
After a moment, Ling Tai Xu’s dantian slowly began to fill with True Qi, and with Yang Kai assisting in the process this True Qi once more began flowing through his meridians, repairing the damage that had been done to them as it circulated. Using his Divine Sense to monitor this, Yang Kai witnessed the entire process as Ling Tai Xu’s five viscera and six organs quickly began to heal.
As a hint of colour began returning to his deathly pale face, Ling Tai Xu unconsciously let out a sigh of relief as the pain gradually subsided.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai also felt relieved.
The Myriad Drug Cream really could restore someone from the brink of death.
A stick of incense later, a burst of footsteps came from beyond the door, which caused Yang Kai to wrinkle his brow slightly and perk up his ears to listen.
After a moment, a group of people entered from the front door.
Yang Kai immediately heard the voice of Su Xuan Wu, “I heard that Yang Kai is back?”
Su Yan gently replied, “Well, he’s inside.”
Great Elder Wei Xi Tong’s voice also called out, “How come you’re out here and not by Sect Master’s side?”
Clearly this question was directed at the High Heaven Pavilion Alchemist.
However, this man simply replied, “Martial Nephew Yang said he had something to say to Sect Master in private…”
“Stop screwing around!” Wei Xi Tong screamed, “Sect Master is unconscious, how could they be discussing anything!?”
Great Elder Wei did not understand why the Sect Master valued Yang Kai so much, even taking great pains before he slipped into a coma to issue an order for him to be brought to him the moment he returned.
Although he had indeed triumphed over Bai Yun Feng when he was just a Separation and Reunion Boundary First Stage, but that shouldn’t have caused the Sect Master to admire him so. It couldn’t be that the Sect Master really wanted to make him the next master of High Heaven Pavilion, right?
This idea was quite uncomfortable for Wei Xi Tong. His relationship with Yang Kai was not harmonious, so naturally he didn’t want to see such a situation come to pass.
Speaking till here, Wei Xi Tong led this group of Elders into Ling Tai Xu’s room.
However, upon entering, the four High Heaven Pavilion Elders were shocked by what they saw. Yang Kai had both his hands pressed onto the Sect Master’s chest and was injecting his own True Qi into him.
“Little bastard!” Wei Xi Tong angrily bellowed, because the Sect Master was in an extremely frail state; even touching him would cause severe harm so how could he possibly endure having True Qi forced into him?
Wasn’t this the same as killing him?
Furious, Wei Xi Tong raised his hand and shot a palm strike towards Yang Kai’s back.
Su Yan’s eyes flashed a cold light, but before she could strike Su Xuan Wu had already sent out his own palm to intercept Wei Xi Tong’s.
The two palm strikes collided mid-air and caused an explosive wind before dissipating.
“Second Brother Su, what are you doing?” Wei Xi Tong glared angrily towards Su Xuan Wu.
Su Xuan Wu, holding down his own inner anger, frowned and shot back, “I would also like to ask First Senior Brother what he is trying to do.”
Wei Xi Tong’s voice sank, “What am I doing? Can you not see what this little bastard is doing right now? Do you want to just stand by and watch him kill our Sect Master?”
“Shut your mouth!” Yang Kai glanced backwards and viciously cursed with a cold expression adorning his face.
While it was true that he did not like Great Elder Wei Xi Tong, especially considering all the times he had acted against him, but he understood at this moment that Wei Xi Tong was truly concerned about the Sect Master as well, so Yang Kai was willing to let a certain amount of this go. However, listening to this noisy self-righteous ass say whatever he wanted still irritated him.
Wei Xi Tong was stunned for a moment, never imagining that this little brat would dare use this kind of tone to speak with him.
But just as Great Elder Wei recovered his wits and was about to sternly educate this arrogant junior, he heard a light cough, followed soon after by Ling Tai Xu’s voice, “Do not quarrel.”
The sound was weak, but it was really Ling Tai Xu’s voice.
The four High Heaven Pavilion Elders were all shocked. Their eyes shot open, and each of their faces was plastered with expressions of disbelief. Each of them couldn’t help but think that they were hearing things because just now they had heard the comatose Ling Tai Xu speak.
“Sect Master?” Wei Xi Tong yelped and shifted his astonished gaze towards the bed, only to see Ling Tai Xu slowly open his eyes and glance back at him.
“Sect Master, you’ve awoken?” Su Xuan Wu hesitantly asked as he stepped forward. Third Elder He Bei Shui and Fifth Elder You Zi Zai quickly followed after.
“Sect Master…” Finally certain that the Sect Master had really woken up, these old men all found their voices trembling, and their eyes suddenly wet. Even the normally staunch and rigid Wei Xi Tong was so. The Sect Master waking up, to them, was like the bright moon had finally emerged from behind the dark clouds, like a heavy stone had suddenly been lifted from their hearts.
High Heaven Pavilion could not be without Ling Tai Xu, especially now, at this critical juncture.
“You all go out first.” Sect Master lightly said.
“Yes, Sect Master!” These few didn’t dare have the slightest hesitation, and respectfully bowed before quickly leaving. All of them sent curious looks towards Yang Kai while they did, and each of them wondered just what kind of miraculous means he had used to bring the fatally wounded Sect Master back from death’s door.
As soon as the last person had left and the door was once again closed, Yang Kai smiled towards Ling Tai Xu, “Greetings, Grand Master!”
Ling Tai Xu looked at Yang Kai and murmured gratefully, “Good, it is good you have returned!”
Saying this, his expression gradually relaxed, and he actually fell back asleep.
But unlike before, this was not a final rest but a peaceful one instead, which allowed Yang Kai to let out a sigh of relief.
Outside the house, the four Elders all glanced around at each other thoroughly confused.
The High Heaven Pavilion Alchemist was also the same.
Half an hour before, Ling Tai Xu’s life had all but been extinguished, but now he had somehow woken up, and from the look on his face, he also seemed to have recovered quite a bit. His vitality and blood force seemed to be restored significantly.
“What kind of wondrous pill did you give to Sect Master?” Wei Xi Tong asked the Alchemist.
However, the latter simply shook his head, “Nothing, Sect Master’s body had become so weak that any pill I fed him would have killed him rather than helped.”
These old men were more and more surprised.
“Perhaps it was something that Yang Kai did?” You Zi Zai said hesitantly said. All of them were well aware of just how grave the Sect Master’s injuries were, and they also knew that it was simply beyond their abilities to help in any way, but after this kid had shown up he had somehow woken up.
“How could that be?” He Bei Shui clearly didn’t believe that Yang Kai possessed such Heaven defying abilities, “What could he possibly have done with his level of strength? And even if he had such amazing strength, where would he have gotten such an amazing healing pill, something that could even restore someone to health from the brink of death?”
Wei Xi Tong also frowned and murmured, “This is really strange…”
Su Xuan Wu on the other hand just coldly snorted. “Sect Master waking up is a good thing, why agonize over how it happened so much, we just have to wait unit Sect Master’s injuries stabilize and then ask him, all this guessing right now is pointless.”
“En, what Second Brother Su says is correct.” Great Elder Wei’s expression finally loosened. Sect Master waking up was a joyous event, so why should they work themselves up over how it happened?
“Good, I will also go back and continue healing.” Wei Xi Tong declared, not digging any deeper into this situation.
The other few Elders also hurriedly kept up with Great Elder Wei. Each of them had similarly suffered heavy wounds in the previous battle, and only after a period of recovery had they had finally stabilized themselves, but it was not like they had been completely restored.
For the next several days, Yang Kai constantly tended to Ling Tai Xu and provided him with a steady stream of Myriad Drug Cream so that his Grand Master’s condition could continue to improve day by day until four or five days later when his injuries had finally healed.
The only thing left to deal with now was the Demonic Qi still inside his body, which manifested as a faint dark gas surrounding him.
A few days later, within Ling Tai Xu’s retreat.
Yang Kai noticed a deep, profound light hidden within his Grand Master’s eyes while the old man smiled. Finally, he was able to speak after a prolonged silence, “I will not ask you what medicine you gave me, nor will I ask where you obtained it. From now on, you will say that my returning from death’s door was because of my own willpower, that I could not simply accept dying while I had unfulfilled wishes… It does not have the slightest relationship with you at all!”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “This disciple understands!”
At first glance, Ling Tai Xu’s words seemed ungrateful and unreasonable, but Yang Kai clearly understood that they were said specifically to protect him.
A medicine that could heal such fatal injuries and restore one to life, a matter of such importance, others would covet it regardless of whether it true or not. For such an item, how could Ling Tai Xu allow him to shoulder such a burden?
“Grand Master, thank you for loaning this to me.” Yang Kai took the Universe Bag out from his sleeve and said.
However, Ling Tai Xu did not accept it. Instead, he smiled, “This was given to you by Grand Master, how could I take it back?”
Yang Kai laughed, “I no longer require it.”
Now that he had the wordless Black Book’s storage space, this Universe Bag really was nothing to him.
But Ling Tai Xu slowly shook his head, “It is your now, if you really have no further use for it, you may grant it to another. Grand Master gave it to you as a gift.”
Yang Kai could only nod, no longer insisting as he placed the Universe Bag back into his sleeve.
Wrinkling his brows, Yang Kai inquired, “Your injuries…”
Ling Tai Xu grinned, “Nothing serious. My strength has been restored to its peak already. Somewhat… my current state is beyond what I was…”
Hearing this, Yang Kai joyous, but still remained largely curious. “Grand Master, the Demonic Qi within your body has yet to fully disperse…”
Ling Tai Xu became pensive before replying, “I am aware of this, but after refining the miraculous medicine you gave me, I think that so long as I can fully disperse this Demonic Qi, my cultivation will advance another stage!”
Ling Tai Xu was already a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, so breaking through another stage would mean rising to the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary!
An Above Immortal Ascension Boundary master was something that even first-class Sects would only have one or two of. Even amongst this world’s superpowers, they were rare.
If Ling Tai Xu could really arrive at the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary, this entire fiasco may become a blessing in disguise.
[Could Myriad Drug Cream help improve a cultivator’s martial prowess?] Yang Kai really didn’t know if it actually had such a wonderful effect; but it was, after all, the most concentrated medicinal essence from within that ancient well. Having such a benefit was not unreasonable.
“Congratulations, Grand Master!” Yang Kai was sincerely happy for Ling Tai Xu, especially knowing that it was issued with his Second Disciple that had caused his ten-year stagnation, otherwise, he would have already had a broken through.
Ling Tai Xu simply smiled, slowly shaking his head.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly become solemn, “Grand Master, did your Second Disciple really escape from the Coiling Dragon Stream?”
When these words were uttered, Ling Tai Xu’s eyes flashed a trace of hidden grief before he sighed and nodded. “Yes… that year, I was certain that I had crippled his cultivation, and then trapped him inside the Coiling Dragon Stream. I allowed him to fend for himself, but to somehow being able to escape within ten years was completely beyond my expectations. My guess is, he should have encountered some kind of incredible opportunity, and managed to restore his strength, even surpassing his old height and pushing his Demonic Cultivation Technique a step further!”
The Coiling Dragon Stream was created by High Heaven Pavilion’s Ancestral Founder during his battle with a powerful devil, and apparently when this devil died he had left something behind. Ling Tai Xu’s Second Disciple must have inadvertently obtained this inheritance.
This Second Disciple seemed to have great fated luck.
“He not only managed to escape the Coiling Dragon Stream, but has also become the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land’s Demon Lord!”
“What!?” Yang Kai nearly cried out in shock, “He is the new Demon Lord?”
This time it was Ling Tai Xu’s turn to be surprised, “You’ve met him?”
“I haven’t seen him myself, but a few days ago, Medicine King’s Valley suffered a massive attack from the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land. I heard it was at his command!”
“What is the current situation? Quickly! Tell me!” Ling Tai Xu did not seem to know about this recent Medicine King’s Valley incident.
This was not because High Heaven Pavilion had not received information about this event, but Ling Tai Xu had been unconscious after suffering grievous wounds since a month and a half ago, so High Heaven Pavilion’s Elders had not had a chance to inform him.
“On the last day of the Alchemist Summit, the Ash-Gray Cloud Evil Land launched an assault after kidnapping and holding hostage many core disciple and true descendants of the various Great Forces…” Yang Kai began recanting his experiences.
Ling Tai Xu’s expression became gloomier as he did, until near the end, his expression became quite downtrodden.
“If what you said is true… Then, I’m afraid that as early as six months ago, or perhaps even longer, he had already managed to escape the Coiling Dragon Stream. It was just that he didn’t decide to attack High Heaven Pavilion until now…” His expression becoming serious, “The situation is grave!”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
“If outsiders were to learn that the new Demon Lord had come from High Heaven Pavilion… then…” Ling Tai Xu’s expression became ugly.
High Heaven Pavilion was only a second-class Sect, but if they knew that the Demon Lord had risen from this place, the world’s Great Forces would certainly come here to seek answers!
Regardless of whatever else he had or may do, this Demon Lord’s appearance had led to Medicine King’s Valley being attacked and the Pill Saint’s Statue being destroyed. Just this one even was enough to shake the world’s foundations, but with these two combined?
“You go see that Su Yan girl. A year has passed, and I’m sure you have much to talk about. This old man must to enter retreat for a few days.” Ling Tai Xu quickly said. Obviously, he needed to consider how to handle this catastrophe.
The world’s walls were made of wind, it wouldn’t be long before the Demon Lord’s origins were discovered, and when that happened, High Heaven Pavilion would certainly face dire consequences.
Leaving the Sect Master’s residence, Yang Kai let out a sigh. In the face of the Sect’s crisis, his personal strength was simply too small to make a difference.
Flying over High Heaven Pavilion, as he looked around, Yang Kai could see that the situation was bleak. More and more disciples were leaving, and no one even tried to stop them.
Arriving in front of Su Yan’s small house, Yang Kai quickly set down.
Pushing open the door to her room, he found Su Yan sitting inside on her bed, like a thousand-year ice sculpture, impervious to the outside world’s changes.
Aware of Yang Kai’s arrival, Su Yan slowly opened her eyes, her cold and elegant expression giving way to a slightly flushed smile mixed with a hint of shyness, a truly attractive sight.
Yang Kai stepped forward, trying to hold down the throbbing in his heart as he sat down opposite her upon the bed.
As their four eyes met, Yang Kai’s were filled with endless desire while Su Yan’s were calm, like a windless lake, and filled with bottomless beauty.
In that instant, he wanted nothing more than to cross the distance between them and taste her wondrous lips; feel her skin upon his own, and indulge in each other’s presence. Naturally, Yang Kai believed Su Yan would surely not refuse.
But… within Yang Kai’s heart, a strange feeling irked him to refrain.
The current relationship between him and Su Yan could be said to be entirely a result of their dual cultivation of the Joyous Unification Art. It was very different from how he and his Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang came to know each other.
The two of them, in fact, had very little interaction up to now. Instead, it could be said that conversing together was quite rare.
However, every time Yang Kai had returned to the Sect, he and Su Yan had almost immediately fallen into indiscrete throes of passion; this type of exchange was not like a men and women who were in love, and longed for each other with all their hearts.
It was more like trying to fulfill an unconscious act of cultivation!
Such a feeling made Yang Kai feel a little disgusted with himself.
The Yin Yang Monster Ginseng he had acquired earlier had yet to play a significant role until now; this was precisely because their intimate relations were closer to forced events than blossomed emotions.
If he wanted the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng to really fulfill its purpose, Yang Kai could not allow the current state of things to persist.
Although it was undeniable that the root cause of their relationship was the Joyous Unification Art, Yang Kai did not want the feelings between the two of them to forever remain simply an advantageous cultivation partnership.
A deep mutual affinity… How many couples in this cultivation world could truly achieve such a thing? Even amongst those old married couples who held great respect for one another, it was still a rare occurrence.
“What are you thinking about?” Su Yan asked gently as she looked towards Yang Kai, quickly noticing the aggressive light which filled his eyes fading away as the burning passion he radiated slowly calming.
This was very different from the past. Usually, every time they two of them reunited and found themselves alone, he would decisively strip her of her clothes and immediately disrobing himself… then…
“I want your body!” Yang Kai grinned as he calmly declared as such.
Hearing this, Su Yan’s white neck blushed slightly, whispering, “It is already yours.”
“But I want your heart even more!”
Su Yan suddenly looked up as she gazed suspiciously towards Yang Kai, her eyes slowly revealing a glimmer of happiness.
“You should understand what I mean when I say this.” Yang Kai smiled.
Su Yan only nodded silently.
It wasn’t until today that Yang Kai understood what was missing between him and Su Yan, but Su Yan had long ago already seen through this, it was simply that she had not said anything. A woman in front of a man would always feel reserved, especially in front of a man she liked, even if she understood that some of his behaviour was inappropriate. Even if she had a longing for something more within her heart, before he noticed it himself, a woman would not bring such things to light.
This was how a wise and gracious woman behaved.
Only by letting him discover such things on his own would her man really mature.
“Shall we do this together?” Yang Kai tilted his head and smiled.
Su Yan simply nodded, a misty look slowly appearing upon her enchanting eyes.
She had been waiting for this moment for quite some time now.
Men and women were not the same; to a woman, their first man would always leave a special impression. Since the time they had first cultivated together, and through the seemingly endless periods of waiting and longing, Su Yan had long ago decided to dedicate her body and soul completely to the young man before her.
The only thing that she was waiting for was for Yang Kai to become aware of this simple yet profound insight.
And now that Yang Kai finally understood, Su Yan was naturally quite content.
At this moment, the relationship between the two of them became more than simply a result of the Joyous Unification Art, and had evolved into true feelings of love between man and woman.
Now, even if the Joyous Unification Art were to disappear, they would not easily separate from one another.
They had taken one step closer to each other, and although they had not reached a true state of uniting their hearts as one at this time, there was now hope that one day they would.
Sitting together, face to face, Yang Kai mouth show a bright smile as he stretched out his hands and laid them atop Su Yan’s lap.
Su Yan then slowly rested her jade white palms upon Yang Kai’s.
Softer than cotton; tender and fragrant; pure as ice; Su Yan’s delicate hands felt incredibly comfortable.
Gentling holding one another, the two smiled warmly towards each other before closing their eyes and circulating their Secret Art.
In Joyous Unification Art’s first stage they needed to have intimate physical contact so that the Yuan Qi could flow freely between them. While this was the most raw and fundamental stage, it also had a unique charm because each and every time they cultivated it was a warm and passionate experience.
This was what Yang Kai did before.
However, the second stage of this dual cultivation art was about their respective states or mind, synchronizing their thoughts so that even with only the slightest of contact they would be able to run this Secret Art.
Yang Kai’s sudden insight had allowed the two to enter this new stage, causing the Joyous Unification Art to advance a step and allowing the dual cultivation between him and Sun Yan to be more rapid and efficient.
As one expects, gambling is a fool’s game, and he slowly ended up in debt. However, before his wallet became red, his wife pleaded him to stop. Naturally, he promised to do so, a lie. In just a mere three days, he returned to his old habits. This time, however, he did so more discreetly. Wearing a watch to when he went off, though sometimes forgetting to return on time. I mean, gambling is called an addiction for a reason right?
This carried on with the wife not muttering a word. A month, no two. She took it in silence. ‘There is no complaint. So, this matter must no longer be a problem in her eyes.’ he slowly lied to himself as the days passed, to truly believe in it.
Of course, he returned back to his old habits, and the wife continued to endure. It was one strange day, where he returned home earlier than usual due to a cancelled game with his friends that his heart broke.
He opened his metal door as per usual, even stepping close to the door but he heard a faint sob. He slowly turned the knob of his bedroom door to peek inside, finding his wife in a daze; eyes red, as droplets rolled down her cheeks. Her gaze was stuck at none other than a wedding photo placed on their desk.
His heart sank but he kept silent. ‘It’s all my fault’, he knew, yet, what could he do? He looked at the time and slowly closed the door again. He decided to return back home at the usual time, bidding his time at a eatery.
There, he order a simple cup coffee, but could not finish his drink. He too, sat there in a daze, as the scene of his wife replayed in his mind. A middle age woman who he had spent 12 years with, crying alone. Someone, who said nothing and bore with everything, She knew nagging would do nothing to convince him. She knew, that he would not stop regardless of what she did. So, she said nothing.
She was ready to bare everything for her husband and yet what was he doing?
Useless? Trash? all these describers were suited for him. Even he, himself cursed his uselessness. But mostly, he was ashamed of himself.
As time went on, he finally returned home with his eyes downcast. There, his heart sank even further as he saw his wife was snuggly tucked in bed, asleep as though nothing went wrong. There, he felt like crying. ‘She’s someone I don’t deserve.’
There, he shook his head and immediately took the majong case. Ashamed by his own actions, he went downstairs and threw the case into the rubbish compartment. As the case entered the void, so too did his addiction, as he never gambled again.
End
Once the third stage was reached, and a real connection between their hearts and minds was formed, even if the two of them were separated by tens of thousands of meters, the True Qi within their bodies would still resonate with one another, and a steady cycle would endlessly continue.
At that point, when the two of them were together, their combat strength would also dramatically increase, and they could use the full range of the Joyous Unification Art’s offensive skills.
The True Qi within Yang Kai body flowed into Su Yan’s, and then from Su Yan’s body back into Yang Kai, the two True Qis smelting and refining one another, continuously enhancing and purifying. As time passed, not just their True Qi experienced a blending; even each of their consciousness began to merge.
It was like an intangible entanglement of their souls, instilling a deep yearning and connection within them so that even without talking, they would be able to clearly feel each other’s presence and even the slightest touch between them would send trembles through their bodies.
A dragon’s roar echoed from Yang Kai body and a phoenix cry responded from Su Yan’s.
As the two of them cultivated within the small house, the glowing images of a dragon and phoenix slowly appeared. If one were to look closely at their clothes, on Yang Kai and Su Yan’s back, they would see a dragon and phoenix gently swimming upon them, seemingly accompanying each other in a majestic dance; the two’s dual cultivation technique circulating more rapidly than ever before.
This time’s breakthrough led to Yang Kai and Su Yan circulating their Yin Yang Joyous Unification Art for a full five days, constantly blending and refining their True Qi, washing away all the anxiety of separation the two had accumulated.
During this time, not only did Yang Kai’s strength improve greatly, Su Yan also reaped a huge harvest.
The two of them did not engage in any great physical intimacy, but they both faintly felt that this dual cultivation had greatly deepened the feelings they had for one another, like they had somehow touched upon the desires they both felt for one another in their hearts.
From when they met until the time the parted, Yang Kai never once acted uncouth.
Su Yan had spent the last year thoroughly honing her mental state, tempering it by resisting the base desires within her heart; if at this time Yang Kai were to press his desires upon her, it would likely destroy her year’s worth of effort, causing her to fall short of an important enlightenment.
For the sake of her future cultivation, Yang Kai had no choice but to remain patient.
Before leaving her, Yang Kai gave Ling Tai Xu’s Universe Bag to Su Yan, along with a few kilograms of Myriad Drug Liquid, Myriad Drug Milk, and two bottles of Myriad Drug Cream.
If taken over a long period of time, the Myriad Drug Liquid would improve a cultivator’s physique. This opportunity was something he naturally would share with his women so that, as long one or two months passed, Su Yan could be reborn.
From the beginning, her aptitude was already top class, so once she experienced this rebirth, her future horizons would essentially be limitless.
In addition, Yang Kai left her a drop each of Soul Cleansing Dew and Brilliant Flame Liquid. Refining the Brilliant Flame Liquid now would allow Su Yan’s True Qi to become purer, while the Soul Cleansing Dew would bring her great benefits once she reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
It was something she would be using in the near future.
Leaving Su Yan’s small hut, Yang Kai immediately flew to the Coiling Dragon Stream.
As he approached, Yang Kai began to see the thick black demonic atmosphere rising from the bottom of the Coiling Dragon Stream, seemingly gathering atop it.
More than a dozen kilometers above the Coiling Dragon Stream was covered in a great black cloud, radiating an overwhelming evil aura.
Since the Sect Master’s Second Disciple had publicly broken out, the Coiling Dragon Stream and surrounding region had become so.
With the concentration of Demonic Qi here, the short term impact on one would not be too great, but if this situation continued indefinitely, a radius of hundreds of kilometers from here would no longer be suitable for those of the righteous path to cultivate upon.
Disciples from all of the Three Sects in this region would be implicated.
During this period, people from the Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall had already come to the High Heaven Pavilion to protest, but seeing High Heaven Pavilion’s Sect Master in such a state, along with one of the five Elders being killed and the other seriously injured, a thick air of depression hanging over the Sect, there was very little they could say or do to make matters more difficult.
On the other hand, Old Demon’s mood was a quite excited, and without waiting for Yang Kai’s request or permission he immediately took the initiative to gather the surrounding strands of Demonic Qi and absorb it into his Soul Breaker Awl, like a sponge soaking it up, continuously swallowing this evil gas.
This vicious and unbearable Demonic Qi was like a sweet delicacy to Old Demon.
Not only was Evil Qi nourishing for his Soul, it also allowed him to repair and enhance his Soul Breaker Awl.
The current ruinous state of High Heaven Pavilion was akin to a Heavenly paradise for him.
Approaching the edge of the Coiling Dragon Stream, as Yang Kai gazed downwards into the abyss below, it was like a staring at an immense black dragon, releasing an endless vicious hostility, like the entire canyon had become a birthplace for Demonic Qi.
“Did you find anything down there that would explain this Demonic Qi?” Yang Kai wrinkled his brow and asked.
“Old Servant didn’t find anything in particular, the only thing of note is that the further down one goes the more intense the Demonic Qi is; but now, this Demonic Qi is somewhat different than it was before.” Old Demon said.
“How is it different?” Yang Kai asked.
“Compared with the past it seems to be richer and purer. Before, there was some kind of energy which was suppressing the Demonic Qi. Young Master, it is likely that the Yang attribute energy you were absorbing from this place was responsible for suppressing this Demonic Qi, but now this suppression seems to have weakened a lot.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly and no longer spoke.
He had also realized that the Yang Qi here was much thinner than before.
After a moment, Yang Kai jumped down, falling through the air, he quickly pushed his True Qi and slowly stabilized his descent before diving into his secluded home.
The inside of his secluded cave didn’t appear to have the slightest damage, even all the embellishments and furnishings brought here by Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang remained unscathed.
The only thing of note that was different was that the two pots of flowers at the entrance had withered. These two pots were things he had acquired from Meng Wu Ya from The Contribution Hall counter; they had clearly been poisoned by the rich Demonic Qi and had long ago shriveled up and died.
Between the two flower pots was a small hole, where the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng had taken root, but now it was missing.
After the day of the battle, Su Yan had apparently not seen it anywhere in High Heaven Pavilion.
The Yin Yang Monster Ginseng was a spiritual object and already possessed its own consciousness, so when it became aware of the surrounding danger it had likely taken the initiative to hide on its own. It had probably sensed the emergence of the new Demon Lord and the rising Demonic Qi within the Coiling Dragon Stream and sought refuge somewhere.
But… it shouldn’t have run far.
It fed upon Yin and Yang Qi, so aside from nearby the Coiling Dragon Stream, there was no other place for it to go.
Closing his eyes and slowly releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly searched for it nearby.
Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai faintly felt a trace of danger radiating from the Coiling Dragon Stream below, so he did not dare search too deeply, only examining the upper regions.
After a moment, Yang Kai smiled lightly as he located the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng.
Indeed, as he expected, the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng had just hidden itself nearby in a mountain seam a few kilometers away.
Using his Divine Sense to contact it and transmit his own goodwill, the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng soon realized that a familiar aura had come and quickly raced towards his side.
After a few dozen breaths of time, the red and white Yin Yang Monster Ginseng re-appeared in front of Yang Kai and directly leapt into his chest, only revealing a portion of its body, its facial features revealing a scared and frightened expression.
Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling as he stretched out a finger and fed it a drop of Yang Liquid; this caused the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng’s expression to relax significantly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you to a new home, it is absolutely safe, no one will bother you there!” Yang Kai whispered and without waiting for it to respond directly placed it into the Black Book’s space.
The Black Book’s space was unable to load living creatures, but for rare herbs and flowers there wasn’t an issue. Although the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng had gained some sentience, in the end it was still just a type of exotic plant so staying inside the Black Book’s space was naturally no problem.
Once inside the huge space, the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng curiously looked around at this empty place and soon discovered the presence of the Myriad Drug Liquid.
Racing forward, it quickly took in the Myriad Drug Liquid.
Yang Kai’s heart immediately clenched as he quickly used his Divine Sense to partition the Black Book’s space, hiding this treasure within.
All of a sudden seeing this good thing disappear, the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng wore a wronged expression and jumped up, dashing around inside the Black Book’s space trying to find the Myriad Drug Liquid.
“Every ten days I’ll give you a drop so be obedient and stay here!” Yang Kai helplessly used his Divine Sense to convey this message. Sensing this, the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng finally somewhat begrudgingly settled down.
Finished handling the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng, Yang Kai walked through the rest of his secluded cave stowing things into the Black Book’s space, including all the precious treasures and Hallowed Artifacts he collected from the Endless Sea Island.
Everything in the cave was swiftly packed away, not leaving a single blade of grass behind.
Exiting his secluded cave, Yang Kai stared into the depths of the canyon at the rising Demonic Qi, pondering to himself.
Seeing through his thoughts, Old Demon tentatively asked, “Young Master, do you want to go down?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded. Down below there was certainly some profound mystery, or else it would have been impossible for Ling Tai Xu’s Second Disciple to restore his strength and advance his Evil Cultivation Technique.
This place was the sight of an Earth shattering battle between High Heaven Pavilion’s Ancestral Founder and a powerful Demon Lord hundreds of years ago, Yang Kai naturally wanted to explore it to see if he could glean something.
This thick Demonic Qi acted as a barrier, blocking the majority of people from descending to the Coiling Dragon Stream’s true depths, even many Devil’s Path Cultivators would not be able to withstand this level of corrosive hostility.
But Yang Kai had Old Demon’s protection, coupled with his own Unyielding Golden Skeleton which was able to consume this Demonic Qi, it was quite possible he would be able to withstand this environment.
Thinking till here, Yang Kai finally resolved himself and directly jumped down into the canyon.
Old Demon couldn’t help being shocked once again at his young master’s boldness.
With the winds whistling past his ears, Yang Kai fell faster and faster, in the blink of an eye already descending a few thousand meters, plunging straight into the rolling black gas.
The next moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt something and quickly deployed his Flaming Yang Wings, quickly shooting back upwards, an expression of pain upon his face as he stared down into the canyon with a lingering fear.
In the instant he plummeted into the thick cloud of Demonic Qi, Yang Kai had felt that his soul had been attacked, as if a hidden aura of brutal and bloodthirsty hostility had surged towards him.
Invisible and dangerous, extremely difficult to prevent.
Even though Yang Kai had been cultivating his soul almost constantly, he still felt that this attack was quite fearsome.
Old Demon on the other hand had not sensed anything and remained completely unharmed.
Leaning against the Coiling Dragon Stream’s rocky wall, Yang Kai directed his sight towards the canyon’s bottom once more, hesitating for a moment before once more descending.
The all-encompassing black gas immediately wrapped around his body, as if it had a will of its own, an embodiment of hostility, giving Yang Kai an eerie feeling.
Once again, as soon as he penetrated this layer of black gas, the overwhelming soul attack hit him, like a million ants gnawing on his body while thousands of needles pierced into his mind, waves of maddening cries and howls filling his ears.
It was as if he had fallen into the depths of Hell.
Yang Kai’s expression cramped up, but fortunately, this time he had mentally prepared himself, and although it was still a painful experience for his soul, he was not completely helpless like before.
As his soul became further damaged, a tingling sensation sudden arose; the Soul Warming Lotus had once again played its role in a timely manner, sending a burst of cooling sensation to his mind, numbing the painful throbbing.
Hovering mid-air, Yang Kai took a deep breath, slowly adapting to this new environment before continuing his descent.
After falling another thousand meters or so, he felt the surrounding black gas’s attack on his soul strengthen sharply, bringing about the same unbearable kind of pain, forcing Yang Kai to halt once again.
Now stuck in place once again, Yang Kai surveyed his surroundings, but still could not see the bottom of the Coiling Dragon Stream.
Frowning, Yang Kai faintly felt that the pain in his soul was too much to bear.
The damage caused to his soul here was much worse than when he had been lost in the white mist field.
When he was trapped inside the white mist field his soul was constantly being damaged, but here, not only was he suffering pain, he was also being bombarded with a fierce hostility and all kinds of malicious intent, which was slowly trying to corrupt his mind.
In terms of hardening one’s soul and cultivating spiritual energy, this place was basically a paradise! All he had to do was descend slightly and Yang Kai could clearly feel his spiritual energy being enhanced.
If he could cultivate here for a long time, opening his Knowledge Sea would probably not be problem.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai understood that he could not afford to spend too much time here. If he did, his mind would probably be poisoned by the surrounding evil aura.
After a long period of silence, Yang Kai suddenly had a thought and asked Old Demon, “Do you know of any Soul Skills? One that can be used for defence would be best.”
“I do!” Old Demon readily responded.
“How come you never mentioned something like that?” Yang Kai asked somewhat bitterly.
“The martial skills and secret arts that Old Servant has mastered are all extremely evil, so Young Master has always been quite opposed to cultivating them.” Old Demon replied in a wronged tone.
“Is this soul defence skill like that too?” Inquired Yang Kai.
“Although it could be considered so, but if you cultivate here, then there would be no need for any cruel or evil methods. Since this place is thick with Demonic Qi it is actually ideal for cultivating this skill.”
“Good, no need for further nonsense then, quickly teach me this soul skill!”
“En…”
Old Demon’s memory was still somewhat garbled, so although it had been more than two years since he met with Yang Kai inside the Heaven’s Inheritance Cave, there was still a great many things he could not remember clearly. But in response to Yang Kai’s orders, Old Demon thought long and hard about this soul skill and eventually imparted all of to him.
Soul Palace!
According to Old Demon, if one wanted to cultivate this soul skill, one would have to find some sentient beings, torture them and finally kill them. Only after experiencing fear, hatred, and despair, would these people leave behind lingering souls after their deaths that could be used to cultivate the Soul Palace skill.
A cultivator would collect these remnant souls and forge them into a labyrinth within their own mind.
The rounds of torture and instilled grievances these souls experience were akin to tempering the bricks for the maze, the more resentment they had, the greater the strength of the labyrinth.
After successfully cultivating Soul Palace, the Knowledge Sea of a cultivator would appear to an outsider as a layered structure, filled with twists and turns. This soul skill’s biggest use was no doubt for defense.
But this skill could actually be thought of as a combination of offensive and defensive soul skills.
If one’s enemy used their Spiritual Energy to attack, their Divine Sense would fall into this maze and would never be able to find its way out, gradually being exhausted by the hidden grievances within the Soul Palace.
Soul Palace did not have a grand accomplishment stage because a cultivator could continuously surround their Knowledge Sea with more building blocks to further consolidate and expand the labyrinth.
Its purpose was to guard a cultivator’s Knowledge Sea tightly, forming an impregnable defense.
And this place, filled with such thick hostile Demonic Qi, was undoubtedly the most suitable place to forge Soul Palace bricks.
Studying this soul skill gradually made Yang Kai grin, quickly comprehending it in order to begin cultivating.
After a short while, Yang Kai became familiar with how to use his own Divine Sense to grasp this free floating hostility and use it as the cornerstones for casting his mental maze.
The entire process was actually quite simple, Yang Kai had already cultivated his Divine Sense considerably, so now he just needed to experiment in its usage.
Over the next few days, Yang Kai familiarized himself with manipulating his Divine Sense, pulling a ray of dark evil aura into his mind then according to his own thoughts and ideas transforming it into bricks and tiles, gradually constructing a fortress around his Knowledge Sea.
Just like building a towering palace in real life, wanting to build a palace in his mind followed the same principals, constructing the maze from the ground up.
Gradually becoming familiar with the process, his actions became faster and more agile.
For an entire month, Yang Kai remained within the Coiling Dragon Stream, cultivating his Soul Palace.
Grasping a wisp of demonic Qi with his Divine Sense, bringing it into his mind, and forging it into a brick. After repeating this process thousands of times, his mental labyrinth gradually took shape and slowly expanded.
After one month of painstaking cultivation, Yang Kai could clearly feel that his own Spiritual Energy had strengthened greatly. He could also spread his Divine Sense out a full twenty kilometers from himself now.
One’s Spiritual Energy was very difficult to cultivate, even for Immortal Ascension Boundary masters. Wanting to have great accomplishments with their Divine Sense was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.
It was significantly harder than cultivating one’s body.
The most common method was to use a soul cultivating skill, or to consume Spiritual Energy enhancing precious treasures.
However, in Yang Kai’s case, loitering in the Coiling Dragon Stream under such harsh conditions to cultivate Soul Palace, and with the assistance of the Soul Warming Lotus, his Spiritual Energy becoming strong was an eventuality.
After another ten days or so, his Soul Palace skill had finally reached an intermediate accomplishment stage.
Although he was still unable to cultivate out his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai could still clearly feel that surrounding his mind was a thick layer of protection, keeping the most critical parts of his mind secure.
This extra layer of protection was formed from the evil energy emanating from the Coiling Dragon Stream.
But it did not affect Yang Kai.
Because when Yang Kai cultivated this soul skill, all the evil energy had been marked with his aura.
With his Soul Palace completed, Yang Kai naturally couldn’t wait to try it out.
At his current position within the Coiling Dragon Stream, the vicious hostility no longer made any impact on him.
So he once again dove down, faster and faster.
Two thousand meters, his Soul Palace was unshaken. Three thousand meters, his mental defences were still undamaged.
Falling to the deepest depths of the Coiling Dragon Stream, Yang Kai never again experienced any erosion from the surrounding hostility. Contemplating for a moment, Yang Kai suddenly realized.
This had nothing to do with his Soul Palace’s defence, but rather because he had used the Demonic Qi in the Coiling Dragon Stream to cultivate this Soul Skill in the first place.
His Soul defence and the surrounding Demonic Qi were essentially the same, how could it possible affect his Divine Sense?
“This soul skill is perfect.” Yang Kai grinned.
Taking a moment, Yang Kai clearly felt just how potent and frightening the evil atmosphere inside the Coiling Dragon Stream was. If he did not have this Soul Palace’s assistance, his Soul would likely have been instantly destroyed.
“The source of this Demonic Qi should be right ahead.” Old Demon suddenly said.
“This place is also the source of the Yang Qi!” Yang Kai was a bit delighted when he felt the Yang Origin Seal in his chest suddenly throb quite violently.
Whatever the Yang Qi source in front of him was, it was no doubt an extremely valuable treasure!
Thinking as such, he briskly moved forward.
The Coiling Dragon Stream was very long, seemingly unending.
As he walked along its depths, Yang Kai saw many bleached and broken bones; when he accidentally stepped on these bones an eerie snapping sound would ring out.
Obviously these were the bones of those who had been sealed within the Coiling Dragon Stream, the High Heaven Pavilion disciples who had been condemned to death here.
On both sides of the canyon there were some short trees that had dark fruits hanging from them.
It seems like in this forsaken place there were still plants which could grow. Yang Kai readily picked one of these fruits and soon found that it too was filled with Demonic Qi; cold to the touch, the fruit radiated a creepy aura.
“Evil Spirit Fruits… Heh, this thing really is here.” Old Demon muttered in surprise, “No wonder your Sect Master’s Second Disciple could survive down here for so long.”
“I had also been wondering what he was eating here for ten years.” Yang Kai smiled wryly before reaching out and plucking the few remaining fruits and tossing them into the Black Book’s space.
The Sect Master’s Second Disciple had not picked clean the fruits here; perhaps he thought that since he had raised these fruits here for the past ten years he should leave something behind as a memento.
But there were not many left in any case, only two or three, and these were not good things by any stretch, they all seemed to contain large amounts of evil energy within.
Continuing forward a while longer, soon Yang Kai spotted a murky figure within the dark Demonic Qi.
Yang Kai’s pupil couldn’t help but shrink, suddenly freezing in pace, gazing forward vigilantly, circulating his True Qi secretly.
In this place, he did not dare use his Divine Sense; once his Divine Sense left the protection of his Soul Palace, it would immediately be disintegrated, so he had been completely unaware of this figures presence until now.
But this figure gave Yang Kai a weird feeling.
It emitted not the slightest breath of life but was still sitting cross-legged, its body surrounding by a dozen meter thick ink black atmosphere that seemed to continuously be churning around it. This black gas completely obscured its true appearance.
“It’s dead!” Old Demon concluded.
Yang Kai nodded, slowly approaching it.
As he got closer, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a chain attached to a collar wrapped around its neck. This chain wasn’t long, probably only about half a meter in total length.
Yang Kai couldn’t help being surprised.
Because he found that the chain and collar were no doubt the Yang attribute treasure he had sensed earlier. This thing was radiating an aura akin to the primordial Sun, many times more potent compared to his True Yang Yuan Qi.
Faintly, Yang Kai felt that his own True Qi was somewhat similar to the Yang aura being emitted from this collar.
However, this was not that surprising when he considered that he had absorbed a great deal of Yang Qi from the Coiling Dragon Stream to build his own foundation, and that Yang Qi had more than likely come from this collar.
This person’s clothing had long ago been turned to dust, and his physique had almost completely withered, but still, this seemingly fragile body still gave off an intimidating aura that made anyone who gazed upon it tremble lightly. All the Demonic Qi within the Coiling Dragon Stream had actually come from this single person’s body.
Even without looking closely, Yang Kai noticed that there was a huge, ferocious wound upon this person’s chest.