“You having such thoughts are more than enough,” Yang Kai said gratefully. In the last battle with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, almost all of the first-class forces had participated, and all of those that did had suffered losses, some of which were quite severe. Yang Kai had never expected that all of these people he had almost forgotten would rally together to participate in the Inheritance War simply because of he might be one of the Yang Family Young Lords.
In particular, the women from Ten Thousand Flower Palace were breaking a centuries old precedent to do so. In order to do so, Yang Kai knew they had encountered many obstacles from their respective Elders.
The most important point though was that the events of last night hadn’t reached their ears yet, so they knew nothing about the current situation in War City. Without knowing Yang Kai’s current status, they had still stepped forward voluntarily; this was truly something worth taking note of.
These people were friends he had made in that Isolated World and they traveled all this way simply because they sincerely wanted to help him, after all, Yang Kai had saved all of their lives from the hands of the Tian Lang Dynasty’s cultivators.
On top of all that, all of these youths were leaders amongst the younger generation in their respective Sects!
“Water Moon Hall, Pure Heart Palace, Soaring Feather Pavilion, Ten Thousand Flower Palace…” Qiu Yi Meng eyes flashed brilliantly as a radiant glow seemed to adorn her face, her tone quite excited as she spoke, “All of these Sects are first-class forces. Without even mentioning the first three, just having Ten Thousand Flower Palace come to support you in the Inheritance War! Yang Kai! Your face is really big! How did you meet all these people these past few years?”
Dong Qing Han and Fan Hong also stared at Yang Kai with amazement, never having expected his circle of contacts to be so wide.
Chen Xue Shu smiled and shook his head, “Actually, there are two other Sects we couldn’t get in contact with. If they learned about Brother Yang participating in the Inheritance War, I’m certain they would also come.”
“Oh? Which two forces?” Qiu Yi Meng asked full of interest, wondering just how deep Yang Kai’s bottom line was.
“One of them is the Endless Sea Island’s Asura Sect, and the other is the Tian Lang Dynasty’s Sen Luo Temple!”
These words cause everyone else in the hall to be stunned.
The Endless Sea Islands Asura Sect! The only ones present who understood the details of this foreign Sect was Qiu Yi Meng. It was a first-class force in the Endless Sea Islands and was in no way weaker than ordinary first-class forces of the Great Han Dynasty. In fact, because the Sects of the Endless Sea Islands occupied islands with particularly rich World Energy, they produced a number of materials that weren’t available in the Great Han Dynasty, making it easier for many Endless Sea Islands cultivators to increase their strength.
As for the Sen Luo Temple, everyone had heard of it!
Sen Luo Temple was the Tian Lang Dynasty’s super force! Its status was equivalent to the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families. As long as one had even a bit of worldly contact they would be familiar with this name. The people gathered right now in Yang Kai’s mansion were all from first-class forces, so naturally these Young Lords and Young Ladies had heard of Sen Luo Temple.
“Young Lord Kai is too amazing! Not only do you have friends from the Endless Sea Islands, but even people from other dynasties as well! This Fan Hong is deeply impressed.”
“You lying bastard…” Qiu Yi Meng gnashed her teeth, “Before, when I asked you how many supporters you had, you told me that there was none! To think I almost believed your nonsense… Hah, I’d like to see you try to fool me again!”
Yang Kai shook his head with a chuckle and didn’t explain.
From the start, he hadn’t counted on the people mentioned by Chen Xue Shu at all, but the actions of these Sect’s disciples had given him a pleasant surprise.
“Junior Brother Yang, since it is really you, I should go back and deliver the good news so that the others from my Sect can come here at full speed. Those from Soaring Feather Pavilion, Pure Heart Palace, and Ten Thousand Flower Palace also need to be informed. I’m certain they’re all guessing about whether or not you are the Yang Kai they all know. If they find out you are, I’m certain they’ll all be very happy.” Chen Xue Shu proposed excitedly.
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll be troubling you then.”
Pausing slightly, he then called out, “Ying Jiu!”
Suddenly, In the hall, a blurry figured appeared like a ghost. No one knew when he had come or how long he had been hiding; in fact, it was more than likely he had been there the whole time. The blurred figure swayed a few times before gradually condensing into a solid and the portrait of Ying Jiu appeared in the eyes of everyone.
Everyone in the hall was terrified, especially the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters who stood behind their Young Lords and Young Ladies, even they hadn’t noticed Ying Jiu’s aura before.
This Blood Warrior… was really unusual.
“Reporting.”
“Escort Senior Brother Chen out of town!”
“Yes!”
Chen Xue Shu and Su Xiao Yu hadn’t encountered any problems arriving here, but if they were to leave from Yang Kai’s compound, they would definitely be regarded as enemies by his brothers. If they didn’t have a master to escort them, it was likely they would be intercepted.
Each of Yang Family’s Young Lords had their own intelligence organization, and naturally they would do everything possible to stop new forces from joining their opponents.
Chen Xue Shu obviously knew this point, so he made no attempt to object, simply turning to Ying Jiu and politely cupping his fists solemnly and respectfully saying, “Many thanks for Senior’s protection. Junior Brother Yang, Junior Sister Su and I should leave immediately.”
“Little Sister Su should stay behind. One of you is enough to deliver a message.” Qiu Yi Meng suddenly spoke, smiling as she continued, “Don’t misunderstand, I just want to know more about what happened during your life experience in that Isolated World and how you all came to know this bastard.”
Hearing this, Chen Xue Shu smiled slightly helplessly before nodding, “Good, then Junior Sister Su will remain here and accompany Young Lady Qiu, Senior and I will return shortly!”
After that, he hurriedly cupped his fists towards Yang Kai before heading for the exit.
Ying Jiu nodded silently before his body blurred again, disappearing instantly.
“Qiu Yi Meng, you make arrangements for them.” Yang Kai said lightly before turning to the others in the hall, “All of you are free to go about your own business, I don’t believe there will be any battles in the short term. You should take advantage of this opportunity to rest and familiarize yourselves with each other.”
“What are you going to do?” Qiu Yi Meng asked.
“Cultivate.” Yang Kai grinned and strode away.
“Cultivating madman!” Qiu Yi Meng shook her head and smiled wryly.
“His strength isn’t without reason,” Huo Xing Chen muttered thoughtfully, immediately becoming slightly bitter, “If I put in half as much effort as him, the difference between us shouldn’t be so bad, right?”
Qiu Yi Meng was too lazy to reply.
Inside his room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the floor and examined the content of his Black Book space.
During this period of time he had been frantically collecting supplies, so the Black Book space was now full of all kinds of supplies and materials, as well as finished pills and artifacts. The Earth Grade artifacts Huo Xing Chen had brought today were also included.
With the addition of these artifacts, Yang Kai was capable of arming everyone currently supporting him.
By now, Yang Kai had built up a good force, but at this moment, seeing this dazzling array of materials, he still couldn’t help feeling a bit moved.
There materials included many high quality spirit grasses and herbs as well as numerous rare and precious metals, along with a variety of useful spirit pills.
If he could hire some good Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, this pile of materials would be enough to refine many rare and useful spirit pills and artifacts.
Yang Kai discovered that, unconsciously, he had actually gathered an amount of wealth not inferior to a mid-sized family, and this was just the beginning.
The Bamboo Knot Gang was still continually buying materials that flowed into the Central Capital from all over the world, and as more forces came to join him, the amount of supplies he had would only increase.
Not only was Yang Kai gathering materials, his brothers were as well; however, in this aspect, Yang Kai was one step ahead of them.
During the Yang Family’s Inheritance War, the first result most outsiders would notice is an increase in the price of all kinds of Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials.
As the price of these materials increased, the status of Alchemist and Artifact Refiners also rose. A lot of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners would also arrive in War City and the Central Capital in order to wait for solicitation from the Yang Family’s Young Lords.
Yesterday was the first day of the Inheritance War, so the various Yang Family Young Lords had only wanted to compete for the first victory, but today, these same Young Lords had begun sending out invitations to high-level Alchemists and Artifact Refining Masters. The rewards for service were naturally high as well, the higher the grade of Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, the more they would be paid.
The only ones who didn’t post such recruitment notices were the Eighth Brother Yang Quan and Yang Kai.
Yang Quan was well aware that he had no hope of victory, so even if he could attract some Alchemists and Artifact Refiners to work for him, they naturally wouldn’t treat him seriously, as for Yang Kai, he had no intention of seeking out outside Alchemist and Artifact Refiners.
He had already made arrangements!
The finished pills in the Black Book space were divided into their various categories, but all of the Yang attribute pills and those useful for cultivating Spiritual Energy had been taken out.
When he saw the Yin Yang Monster Ginseng, Yang Kai’s look couldn’t help but sink slightly.
Where had Su Yan gone? He had sent hundreds of people from the Bamboo Knot Gang out to inquire, but to this day there was still no news. Even his Grand Master Ling Tai Xu and the High Heaven Pavilion Elders seemed to have evaporated, leaving behind no trace of their whereabouts.
Letting out a sigh, he remembered that High Heaven Pavilion still carried the title of an Evil Sect. The world was still reeling from the existence of the Demon Lord, so every day Yang Kai hadn’t won the Inheritance War was one more day he couldn’t clear High Heaven Pavilion’s name!
Being declared an Evil Sect wasn’t actually a big problem, the key was that the current Demon Lord hailed from High Heaven Pavilion. This was the root cause of High Heaven Pavilion’s downfall. If it could cultivate a character like the Demon Lord, no one could say for certain it couldn’t cultivate a second one.
Collecting his thoughts, Yang Kai began to absorb the energy from the Yang attribute pills.
There were eight Above Immortal Ascension Boundary masters in War City constantly monitoring all of their movements, something which made Yang Kai feel uncomfortable. If he didn’t quickly break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, one day his many secrets might be discovered by these eight old men.
Right now, he had reached the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, only two Minor Realms away from the Immortal Ascension Boundary. It was not far.
It took a full day for him to fully absorb the Yang attribute pills in the Black Book Space, but after he finished, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the Yang Liquid in his dantian and the True Qi in his meridians had increased in both density and purity.
The incense burner he had not used in a long time was also taken out again and ignited while he circulated his True Yang Secret Art. Simultaneously, Yang Kai also began cultivating his Spiritual Energy by studying the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way.
The incense from the incense burner could suppress the speed at which he could circulate his True Yang Secret Art by exerting a kind of pressure on him. By doing this, when the incense had been burnt through, the speed at which he could circulate his True Yang Secret Art would increase slightly; repeating this process over and over again would eventually yield great benefits.
As for studying the True Alchemic Way, for Yang Kai this was the fastest way for him to deplete his Spiritual Energy which was the most effective method he had of cultivating his Soul.
The True Alchemic Way was too vast and profound. Not only did it detail a variety of magical Alchemic Spirit Arrays, it also contained the experiences of countless Alchemy Grandmasters, more than enough for Yang Kai to study for several lifetimes, but if he wanted to extract useful information from the True Alchemic Way which was imprinted into his mind, he had to consume a lot of Spiritual Energy.
Doing so damaged his Soul, but with the aid of the Soul Warming Lotus such damage would be instantly repaired.
Proceeding in such a reckless manner and supported by a massive amount of resources, Yang Kai’s cultivation and Spiritual Energy grew at an obvious rate.
Every morning Yang Kai would practice his Tempered Body Record under the rising sun and then take a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid.
After such a long period of accumulation, the Myriad Drug Liquid’s cleansing effect on his body presented itself, allowing Yang Kai to cultivate faster and more efficiently than ever before.
The best part was that this increase in cultivation efficiency would accompany him for the rest of his life, a truly unlimited benefit. As his strength further improved in the future, the effect he obtained from consuming the Myriad Drug Liquid every day also improved.
Such an effect was no different from a snowball rolling downhill!
War City, Eastern Corner, Eldest Brother Yang Wei’s compound.
After a few days of retreat, Yang Wei quietly went out and soon came across the Meng Family’s Meng Shan Yi who was standing in his courtyard, apparently he had been waiting here for some time and was deep in thought, his brow thoroughly wrinkled.
“Brother Meng,” Yang Wei greeted.
“First Young Master.” Meng Shan Yi heard this voice and looked up, happily replying as he hurriedly walked over and immediately brightened up, “First Young Lord’s seems to have made a breakthrough in his Secret Art.”
Yang Wei nodded lightly and affirmed, “En, I am about to advance to the Immortal Ascension Second Stage, I should break through within a few days.”
Meng Shan Yi couldn’t hide his admiration and envy. Although he was also the eldest son of the Meng Family and his aptitude was excellent, he was still only at the True Element Ninth Stage still. Even though he was about to break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, he was still far behind the Yang Family’s Eldest, Yang Wei.
[Amongst the youths of the Central Capital there are quite a few geniuses!] Meng Shan Yi thought to himself.
Liu Qing Yao of the Liu Family was a given, and it was also well known that the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady Qiu Yi Meng had broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage two months ago. Besides these three, there were no others who had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary yet, but there were many on the verge of breaking through.
This made Meng Shan Yi feel a faint sense of crisis.
Although he was the Meng Family’s First Young Lord, and it didn’t really matter if his strength wasn’t the highest amongst his generation, but which man didn’t dream of being strong?
“What are you doing here?” Yang Wei asked calmly.
“It’s like this First Young Master, since you arrived in War City and entered retreat, it has been four days, I felt it best to remain here in order to update you on the situation as soon as you exited.”
Yang Wei nodded lightly and turned around, “Come inside to speak.”
Inside the room, the two sat down around a small table and Yang Wei silently listened to what had happened on the first night to his Third Brother Yang Tie. Throughout the first part of the session, his expression remained indifferent, as if everything had gone exactly according to his expectations.
But when he heard that Yang Kai had intervened and not only managed to obtain the flag but also captured Yang Tie from under everyone’s noses, his eyes couldn’t help narrowing slightly, his face finally showing a hint of surprise.
Meng Shan Yi smiled bitterly, “Your Ninth Brother’s actions were too unexpected. Both Yang Kang and Yang Ying went for wool but came back shorn. As an aside, it seems he let Yang Tie go back to the Central Capital instead of exchanging him for supplies from your family.
“He even did that?” Yang Wei asked somewhat confused.
“That’s why I said his actions were too unexpected.” Meng Shan Yi shook his head slowly, “I can’t understand what he is thinking or how he will act. At first, I thought he would continue to take action and attack Yang Quan while everyone else consolidated their forces, but he hasn’t made any moves at all these past few days.”
“If he’s half as intelligent as he appears he wouldn’t do that!” Yang Wei’s eyes flashed.
“Good, I didn’t understand it at first either but after some thought, it became obvious Yang Kai didn’t want to stir up everyone’s collective resentment.” Meng Shan Yi’s expression showed a hint of admiration, “He looks farther ahead than I do.”
“Don’t underestimate my Ninth Brother, my instincts tell me he’s not done yet.” Yang Wei frowned, recalling his encounter with Yang Kai in front of the Elders’ Hall when his True Qi fluctuated involuntarily.
“First Young Master means…?”
“Ninth Brother may be my biggest enemy in this Inheritance War, even stronger than my Second Brother!”
“How is that possible?” Meng Shan Yi clearly didn’t believe it, seemingly thinking that Yang Wei was overestimating Yang Kai too much. “Although many people have come to join him over the past few days, all of the Young Lord’s compounds have seen similar expansion. The friends you have made over the past few years have also begun gathering here now. On that note, many of them would like to see you.”
“En,” Yang Wei nodded gently, “I’ll go arrange things with them personally.”
Meng Shan Yi suddenly showed some excitement, “Does First Young Master want to take action then?”
“What action?” Yang Wei looked at him curiously.
Meng Shan Yi’s brow furrowed slightly at this question, “Does First Young Master not plan to attack Yang Quan? Yang Kai shouldn’t be willing to cause trouble right now, thus drawing too much attention to himself while all of your other brothers are still in the process of reorganizing their forces after the losses they suffered. Right now is a rare opportunity! As long as First Young Master sets out in force, I don’t believe Yang Quan will resist too strongly, after all, you are still the Eldest Brother, your prestige in your younger sibling’s hearts should still carry some weight.”
Yang Quan only had one Blood Warrior at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage with him while his mother had come from a second-class force. This kind of defensive power wouldn’t be difficult to breach with Yang Wei’s current forces.
“If we act now it is definitely possible for me to subdue Eighth Brother.” Yang Wei didn’t refute Meng Shan Yi’s analysis, “Even if he does resists, it will still be futile in the end.”
“If so, why does First Young Master hesitant?” Meng Shan Yi asked, slightly puzzled.
“If there’s not enough benefits, I won’t act!” Yang Wei shook his head, “This topic ends here. When the right opportunity to attack arises , I will attack. For now, Brother Meng, accompany me to meet those people.”
Saying so, Yang Wei stood up and walked out.
Although Meng Shan Yi was a bit displeased in his heart, he didn’t say anything; however, he couldn’t help wondering… would eliminating Yang Quan really not yield any benefits? Forget about the fact that Yang Quan himself and his flag could be used to exchange for a large quantity of materials for the main family, after he had been removed from the competition, his allies could be recruited to Yang Wei’s side.
How were there no benefits!?
At this moment, three hundred kilometers away from War City.
Along a dusty road, two beautiful and enchanting women were laughing as they walked forward. Beside these two great beauties were two pure and innocent young girls, one of whom was quite lively, constantly calling out Aunt Xiang or Aunt Lan as she tittered on about whatever interesting topics she could think of, causing the two beautiful women to show warm smiles.
The other girl was, in contrast, was very quiet. This girl was covered by a thin veil which perfectly hid her true appearance from those around her, but her pair of bright sparkling eyes which were exposed was indescribably beautiful while still appearing as tranquil as shimmering water. Adorning her forehead was a light blue gem which only further emphasized her otherworldly charm; she was like an immoral fairy that had not been tainted by worldly matters.
As she gazed in the direction of War City, the eyes of this veiled girl shone with expectation and joy mixed with a touch of shyness. Every time the figure in her memory emerged, it seemed that her cheeks hidden under her veil would blush lightly.
A maiden is most beautiful when she is in love.
Right now, she was the most radiant she had ever been. Even for the two beautiful women who interacted with her frequently, this appearance of hers couldn’t help surprising them a bit.
The livelier girl suddenly came over and took the arm of the veiled and giggled mischievously, “Is Elder Sister thinking about my cousin?”
Hearing these words, Xia Ning Chang immediately became shy as her delicate earlobes glowed a bright red as she made a flurried attempt to deny, “I… that is… I mean, don’t talk nonsense!”
“Hehehe,” Dong Qing Yan laughed happily as she followed up, “Nonsense? Then why is it that whenever I mention him Elder Sister blushes?”
“Am I blushing?” Xia Ning Chang couldn’t help but stretch out her hands and cover her cheeks, only to remember shortly after that she was still wearing her veil. Even if she was blushing, others definitely couldn’t see it.
However, she still felt her cheeks were quite hot.
“Just look how flustered you are.” Dong Qing Yan continued to tease, “Elder Sister Xia, what do you like about my cousin? I can only think of him as someone normal, nothing special at all.”
“I don’t like him.” Xia Ning Chang denied.
“Then why was it when you heard he would participate in the Inheritance War you immediately left from Hidden Cloud Peak? Master was quite upset, he said that without Elder Sister Xia around there was no one else to discuss the Alchemic Way with.”
“I am his Little Senior Sister, Senior Sisters have to take care of their Junior Brothers. It’s a matter of course.” Xia Ning Chang whispered in a pitifully quiet voice. Even she felt that this reason was too far-fetched, unable to convince anyone including herself.
Aunt Xiang and Aunt Lan who were nearby and overheard this conversation between the two girls couldn’t help but laugh.
For this pure, quiet, and innocent girl Xia Ning Chang, the two beautiful women had nothing but affection. Neither of them had children of their own, but after spending many months together with her on Hidden Cloud Peak, they regarded her as their own daughter. Xia Ning Chang being in love with Yang Kai was something they were well aware of and had no objections to.
From their perspective, only a Young Lord from the Yang Family could reluctantly be worthy of their daughter and have the ability to protect her.
“Do you really not like cousin?” Dong Qing Yan stared at her meaningfully.
Xia Ning Chang stared hard at her for a long time before somehow managing to nod stubbornly.
“Thank goodness, that means I can marry cousin later without any worries.” Dong Qing Yan giggled impishly as she casually let out this shocking statement.
“Ah…” Xia Ning Chang was stunned as she stared at Dong Qing Yan in a dumbstruck manner.
“Alright, don’t tease you Elder Sister Xia anymore, you’ll make her cry.” Aunt Xiang couldn’t stand by any more and reached out to pull Dong Qing Yan to her side, quickly glancing over at Xia Ning Chang and whispering, “Don’t listen to her nonsense, she’s just playing with you.”
Xia Ning Chang gently nodded and smiled, “It’s alright for Little Sister Dong to marry Junior Brother. If you become husband and wife, you will definitely grow closer.”
Hearing this comment, Dong Qing Yan immediately looked over and Xia Ning Chang and waved her hands frantically, “I don’t want to marry someone like my smelly cousin who always runs around and I can never see. I’d rather marry someone ordinary who will love and spend his life with only me. That would make me happiest.”
Aunt Xiang and Aunt Lan were both secretly surprised by the magnanimity of Xia Ning Chang. This girl was clearly interested in Yang Kai and dearly missed him when he had left Hidden Cloud Peak, but when she heard someone else wanted to marry him, she was not only not against it but instead agreed with a big smile.
Xia Ning Chang obviously didn’t want to continue exploring this topic so she quickly changed the subject by asking, “Aunt Xiang, isn’t it a bit inappropriate for Medicine King’s Valley to have sent out so many people this time?”
As she asked, she glanced back over her shoulder.
Behind the four women was Old Man Meng. He wore a grim expression and sighed. When he thought about how they would soon see Yang Kai, that bastard boy soon, his heart ached for his treasured apprentice.
As these thoughts raced through his head, Meng Wu Ya let out another long sigh, but thinking about how he was helpless to stop things now that they had gone this far, all he could do was try his best to squeeze out a smile uglier than if he had simply broken down in tears.
Behind Treasurer Meng, there was another group of people, all of them dressed in white, numbering at least thirty! These people didn’t possess great strength, even their leader Qin Ze was just a trivial Immortal Ascension Boundary Second Stage master, the weakest of them only having Peak Separation and Reunion cultivations. If such a group of people were plunged into a fight with a true master, they might not even have the strength to run away.
However, these people were all Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley! Even if they didn’t possess great strength, they were still highly respected existences; no one would dare take the initiative to offend them.
Alchemists were also divided into grades corresponding to the grades of Precious Treasures, i.e. Common Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, Mysterious Grade…. Each of these grades further divided into low, mid, and high rank.
A flower symbol representing the Alchemist’s grade was generally displayed on their chest.
The number of petals of this flower represented the Alchemist’s grade, while its colour, gold, silver, or white, corresponded to high, mid, and low rank. Through the embroidering on their chest, one could see at a glance what level an Alchemist was.
These Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley each proudly displayed the floral emblems on their chests. All of them had least two petals while more than half had three-petals. On top of all that, Qin Ze even had four petals!
Four petals, this meant he was a Mysterious Grade Alchemist!
Throughout the entire Great Han Dynasty the number of Alchemists qualified to wear the four-petal emblem numbered only a few dozen, one quarter of which belonged to Medicine King’s Valley.
Those whose embroidered flowers had three petals were Heaven Grade Alchemist who could confidently refine Heaven Grade pills while those with two petals were Earth Grade Alchemists.
“Master Aunt, what instructions do you have?” Qin Ze saw Xia Ning Chang glance back and quickly approached her, respectfully asking if she had some request of him.
Xia Ning Chang hastily replied in a somewhat flustered voice, “Senior Brother Qin, don’t call me that, I am still younger than you.”
However, Qin Ze’s expression remained extremely serious as he shook his head, “That will not do, Master Aunt. Since Master Uncle Xiao announced to Medicine King’s Valley that you are his peer, then no matter the difference in our ages, you are my, Qin Ze’s Master Aunt!”
Xia Ning Chang couldn’t help smiling bitterly, not knowing what to say.
She had heard that Yang Kai was going to participate in the Inheritance War and had immediately said she wanted to go to the Central Capital alone with Meng Wu Ya to help, but Xiao Fu Sheng had suddenly made a declaration, summoning thirty Medicine King’s Valley disciples to accompany them.
Xia Ning Chang had resided on Hidden Cloud Peak for so long but only Hidden Cloud Peak’s people knew about her expertise in Alchemy.
Alchemists by nature were an arrogant group of people, so Qin Ze and the other disciples of Medicine King’s Valley looked down on Xia Ning Chang. As a result, Xiao Fu Sheng’s decision had stirred up many feelings of jealousy.
During the Grandmaster’s announcement, he had proclaimed that Xia Ning Chang’s achievements in Alchemy were equal to his own, even somewhat beyond, and that in time she would certainly reach a height even he could not reach.
Qin Ze naturally did not believe this. After all, in this world, who could compare with Grandmaster Xiao?
Extremely confident in his abilities after promoting to Mysterious Grade Alchemist a few days ago, Qin Ze boldly challenged Xia Ning Chang to a contest.
The result was a crushing defeat! After this incident, Qin Ze sincerely admired Xia Ning Chang and no longer dared to be disrespectful to her.
Alchemists were like this, they had their own unyielding pride. If you wanted them to respect you, then you had to conquer them in the Alchemic Way. In this way, Alchemists were a relatively straightforward group.
Usually, disciples of Medicine King’s Valley were unable to even see Xiao Fu Sheng, much less learn Alchemy from him, but now another Alchemist Grandmaster comparable to Xiao Fu Sheng had appeared, and she was so young. Naturally they would be respectful towards her.
In the beginning, these thirty people had been a hundred kinds of unwilling, but after her contest with Qin Ze their attitudes did a complete turn-around as all of them couldn’t be more eager to follow Xia Ning Chang in order to learn the Alchemic Way from her.
However, Xia Ning Chang clearly knew that although Xiao Fu Sheng said he had convened these thirty Alchemists to follow her in order to study the Alchemic Way, he was in fact doing so to help Yang Kai.
“It’s nothing, we were just chatting.” Aunt Xiang waved her hand.
Qin Ze nodded without complaint and immediately retreated back, leading the other thirty Alchemists with him.
“If I recall correctly, Medicine King’s Valley has never participated in the Inheritance War before. I’m afraid my actions this time will lead to criticism.” Xia Ning Chang said worriedly.
In response, Aunt Xiang smiled and said softly, “Don’t worry, what Medicine King’s Valley chooses to do, no one is qualified to comment. But it seems Grandmaster Xiao really cares about Yang Kai, if not, how could he have issued such an order? Mobilizing thirty talented Alchemists and even instructing your Aunt Lan and myself to accompany you because he was afraid of what might happen to Yang Kai.”
Xia Ning Chang nodded silently.
How could Xiao Fu Sheng not care about Yang Kai? Yang Kai had made both her and Lu Si bring him two sets of Alchemic Spirit Arrays which he had painstakingly studied in this period of time. For Grandmaster Xiao, these two sets of Spirit Arrays were more valuable than any other treasure in this world. Given their source, how could Grandmaster Xiao not concern himself with Yang Kai’s safety?
Who cares if Medicine King’s Valley had remained neutral for thousands of years, what did it matter if Medicine King’s Valley didn’t involve itself in worldly matters, in front of these two Spirit Arrays, everything else was unimportant!
This order had even nearly caused Grandmaster Xiao and the Valley Lord to quarrel.
Thinking about Grandmaster Xiao acting willfully and hiding shortcomings, Xia Ning Chang couldn’t help but smile.
After a while, the sky grew dark and everyone stopped to rest at the edge of a river.
Gazing off in the direction of War City, Xia Ning Chang’s heart pounded, [Tomorrow, I’ll be able to see Junior Brother again. When we meet, how should I greet him? What should I say first?
For a time, Xia Ning Chang fell into such contemplation.
……
Yang Kai Mansion, inside his room.
As the incense burner puffed, and a light fragrance filled the room, Yang Kai’s True Yang Secret Art seemed to be circulating at a snail’s pace, as if his True Qi was being pressured by a mountain, barely able to advance forward. At the same time, Yang Kai’s mind was completely absorbed in exploring the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way; as he gradually became aware of the hidden profundities of the world, his state of mind was unconsciously tempered.
As his understanding of the True Alchemic Way grew, Yang Kai began to realize just how precious the knowledge it contained was. Every now and then, his expression would change, sometimes displaying shock, sometimes excitement, sometimes confusion.
After an unknown amount of time, absorbed in the True Alchemic Way, Yang Kai had gradually become unaware of the outside world’s situations, his entire being focusing on absorbing and understanding this profound knowledge.
The experiences of various Alchemy Grandmasters were also slowly being digested in his mind.
A brand new picture seemed to be slowly unfold in his mind; by peering into the True Alchemic Way, Yang Kai gradually discovered that his understanding of the Martial Dao was also enhanced.
Facing this kind of temptation, Yang Kai could barely control his impulse to delve into the Alchemic Way in order to experience first hand the knowledge he had gleaned, to see what new horizons would open up before him when he successfully refined his first pill.
During this time, remembering what Xiao Fu Sheng had once said to him, Yang Kai did his best to suppress this desire.
Before one reaches the Immortal Ascension Boundary, they must not practice Alchemy! Now, he had even more reason to break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary as soon as possible. After reaching the Immortal Ascension Boundary, once he found some spare time, he would try his hand at Alchemy.
The improvement of a cultivator’s strength not only depended on their accumulation of True Qi, physical training and their own understanding of the Martial Dao were the keys to successfully breaking through; therefore, when cultivators encountered bottlenecks, they wouldn’t choose to enter retreat but instead would go out into the world, hoping to encounter some special opportunities which would improve their own comprehension, allowing them to push past their bottleneck.
Yang Kai faintly felt that exploring the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way would not only increase his Spiritual Energy, but would also greatly improve his understanding of his own strength.
Immersed in this situation, Yang Kai was unaware of how long it was before he gradually woke up.
Opening his eyes, his True Yang Secret Art was still circulating slowly, but he could feel it was obviously faster than its initial speed. The True Qi in his body had apparently adapted to the current pressure and as time passed it would only get faster and faster. .
Moreover, his current True Element Boundary Eighth Stage cultivation seemed to have consolidated considerably.
Letting out a gentle breath, Yang Kai felt a little happy.
Standing up, he put the incense burner back into the Black Book space and then used a strand of pure True Qi to created a swirling vortex at his fingertip to absorb all lingering fragrance in his room.
The incense released from the burner was far too overbearing. With the exception of himself, who had the assistance of the Unyielding Golden Skeleton, Yang Kai estimated that anyone under the Immortal Ascension Boundary would be unable to resist its effects.
If one of the maids in the house were to walk in and accidently sniffed this scent, the result would likely be their immediate death.
Finished with the clean up, Yang Kai walked towards the door and stepped out.
Having been in retreat for a few days now, the people who Chen Xue Shu had mentioned should have already arrived. As the mansion’s master, naturally he should show up to welcome these old friends.
As he made his way through the winding corridors, halfway to the main hall, Yang Kai suddenly saw Lan Chu Die and Luo Xiao Man talking.
Seeing these two girls sitting together and chatting happily was an eye-catching sight. Both of them shared a common feature, their towering peaks which hid deep valleys that seemed to suck in other’s vision.
The two of them obviously had a number of common topics to discuss…
“Senior Sister Lan, Luo girl!” Yang Kai called out to them casually.
Lan Chu Die immediately glanced over towards him and smiled somewhat happily while Luo Xiao Man nearly jumped out of her seat, her face going pale white as her eyes darted back and forth.
“Are you really so scared of me?” Yang Kai smiled and stared at Luo Xiao Man with interest. The latter’s eyes flashed as she searched for a place to hide, but there was no such place nearby, eventually only able to turn to Lan Chu Die and silently pray for help.
“Junior Brother, don’t bully her.” Lan Chu Die glanced over at Yang Kai before suddenly wearing a strange expression, taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping his face, smiling as she said, “Your face is a bit messy. Junior Brother, you should have a good wash, if you appear before people looking like this it will be bad for your reputation.”
Seeing her act so intimately, Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly before wearing a meaningful grin, “Senior Sister Lan is too thoughtful, I will pay more attention from now on.”
Finished, he turned and laughed lightly towards Luo Xiao Man, “Tell me, why are you so afraid of me? I don’t remember doing anything traumatizing to you.”
Luo Xiao Man curled up slightly, her long eyelashes fluttering as she hung her head low and whispered, “I don’t know… anyway, I’m afraid of you.”
“How afraid?” Yang Kai took a step forward.
Luo Xiao Man screamed in panic, “Don’t come any closer!”
Yang Kai was dumbstruck, not daring to take another step forward for fear this timid girl would cry.
“Forget about it, you two carry on,” Feeling slightly awkward, Yang Kai decided to leave well enough alone.
Just as Yang Kai had anticipated, the people from Reflecting Moon Sect had already arrived, not only that, but the several Sects mentioned by Chen Xue Shu had also come.
All of them had already been on their way and after they received word from Chen Xue Shu they quickened their pace.
Under the arrangements of Qiu Yi Meng, each of these forces had been assigned their own courtyard to settle down in.
When they learned that Yang Kai had exited his retreat, the various youths all hurried to the main hall to meet him.
Feng Qian Hen of Water Moon Hall, Zuo Fang of Pure Heart Palace, Han Xiao Qi, Ye Han, Liu Qing Ru, and Hua Ruo Yin of Ten Thousand Flower Palace, each of them on their own was a leader amongst the younger generation. Along with Chen Xue Shu and Su Xiao Yu, almost all of the friends Yang Kai had met in the Isolated World had gathered.
After not meeting each other for quite some time, as leading figures in their respective Sects each of them had grown significantly, their cultivations all having increased dramatically, but upon discovering the progress of Yang Kai, all of these youths hailed as geniuses by those around them could only let out a sigh, thinking they would never have a chance to catch up with him in their lifetimes.
When they had first met, all of them had been at least a Great Realm above Yang Kai, but now, he had already surpassed them.
What’s more, Yang Kai’s True Element Boundary cultivation couldn’t be compared with a normal True Element Boundary cultivation. As more time passed, the gap between all of them would only continue to grow larger.
A constant stream of greetings resounded as the hall was filled with excitement.
“Unfortunately Ye Qing Si and Zhou Ba’s Asura Sect is in the Endless Sea Islands while Zi Mo’s Sen Luo Temple is in a different country, or else they definitely would have come.” Chen Xue Shu sighed.
At these words, everyone couldn’t help revealing a hint of reminiscence about the events all those years ago. All of them had experienced life and death together in that Isolated World so naturally they had forged a deep friendship.
“There’ll be a chance to see them in the future,” Yang Kai smiled and suddenly turned to look at Zuo Fang, “How is Li Xin Yuan doing now?”
Originally, in that Isolated World, there were two disciples from Pure Heart Palace that had survived, one was Zuo Fang, the other was Li Xin Yuan, but the latter had bad luck and had his dantian damaged by a Tian Lang Dynasty cultivator’s Soul Controlling Insect.
Hearing Yang Kai ask about him, everyone became silent as they all glanced over at Zuo Fang.
With all the eyes in the hall focused on him, Zuo Fang scratched his head awkwardly and smiled bitterly, “Since we returned from that Isolated World, Senior Brother Li has maintained an optimistic smile on the surface, but as to the depths of the pain he is concealing in his heart, only he knows. My master also went to Medicine King’s Valley to seek for a treatment and discovered that there is a type of pill called the Heaven Mending Pill that could possible repair his broken dantian, but the spirit herbs required to concoct it are rare and of a very high grade, on top of that, very few Alchemists are capable of refining it. Master has been collecting materials for some time now but with the recent attack on Medicine King’s Valley, they are so busy rebuilding that they rarely accept requests from outside cultivators to perform Alchemy so all we can do for now is wait.”
“Good, since there is a pill that can mend his dantian, then the rest is easy.” Yang Kai nodded happily, “I’ll help you find someone to refine it.”
“Brother Yang knows someone capable of refining such a pill?” Zuo Fang was stunned, then overjoyed as he immediately remembered, the person in front of him now was not the Yang Kai he had met in that Isolated World but one of the Yang Family’s Young Lords!
“En, I know someone, they should arrive in a few days.” Yang Kai smiled as the image of a gentle and quiet face appeared in his mind.
Qiu Yi Meng suddenly interjected with a grin, “Yang Kai, do you know how many forces you have supporting you now?”
“Shouldn’t be less than ten, right?” Yang Kai glanced over at her.
Qiu Yi Meng wore a light expression as she began listing, “Qiu Family, Huo Family, Xiang Family, Dong Family, Purple Fern Valley, Reflecting Moon Sect, Pure Heart Palace, Soaring Feather Pavilion, Ten Thousand Flower Palace, nine in total that you know of.”
“Not bad,” Yang Kai nodded in agreement, although he had been retreat these days, but this issue was something that had still been on his mind, “Why, what’s wrong?”
“There are others you don’t know about too.” Qiu Yi Meng grinned meaningfully.
“Others I don’t know about came to support me?” Yang Kai said with surprise, chuckling as he commented, “Interesting. Talk to me about it, who are these others?”
“I was just about to inform you, Tian Yuan City also sent some manpower and supplies.”
“Tian Yuan City?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Qiu Yi Meng shook her head helplessly, “Don’t you even remember those you’ve blackmailed?”
“The first-class force nearby the Lan River?” After this prompt Yang Kai suddenly recalled, on the way back to the Central Capital, he had been attacked, but it was not only the Lu Family he implicated, but Tian Yuan City as well.
However, he didn’t come out and directly demand anything of Tian Yuan City, nor did he send any formal letters to them. It seems that the person in charge of Tian Yuan City’s thoughts were quite sharp and had decided to send him some people and materials without any additional prompting.
“En,” Qiu Yi Meng nodded. “When they arrived I checked them out and agreed to them joining. The young man who served as the group’s leader is the son of Tian Yuan City’s City Lord, his temperament is quite gentle, so over the past two days he and his subordinates have behaved honestly.”
“As long as he isn’t as blind as Lu Song then everything is alright.” Yang Kai didn’t pay much attention to this matter, casually waving, “You can decide such things by yourself, if you think they’ll be useful let them stay, if not, send them away.”
Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes shined slightly, secretly feeling happy in her heart that Yang Kai was passing such responsibilities on to her. [Fortunately I followed my instincts and temporarily separated from the Qiu Family to help him, otherwise if I had gone to support Yang Shen, at most I would only be treated as an ally.]
“However, these people from Tian Yuan City have a reason for coming; if someone else shows up randomly that doesn’t know me, don’t accept them.” Yang Kai emphasised once again.
“En, I know.” Qiu Yi Meng replied happily.
“In addition to the Tian Yuan City group, is there anyone else here I don’t know about?” Yang Kai asked again.
Qiu Yi Meng’s expression became slightly dignified as she quickly replied, “A group from the Duan Mu Family, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”
“The Duan Mu Family?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking for a moment, “The name seems familiar but I can’t remember where I heard it. What kind of relationship does this family have with me that they actually want to support me?”
“This Duan Mu Family is your Third Brother Yang Tie’s Mother’s family! If I say that much, you should understand, right?” Qiu Yi Meng said with a grin.
“My Third Brother?” Yang Kai was taken aback.
“The Duan Mu Family only has a few people, five in total, but… all of them are Immortal Ascension masters, one of them at the Eighth Stage, one at the Seventh Stage, one at the Sixth Stage, and two at the Fifth Stage!”
“The five who survived that night?” Yang Kai’s brow moved slightly. That night’s battle could only be described as devastating for the Duan Mu Family’s forces. Of the thirty to forty people that had been sent, only five of them had managed to live through the night; however, those being able to survive in that chaotic melee showed that these five were obviously not ordinary masters.
At that time, Yang Kang and Yang Ying had only given thought to chasing down Yang Kai so they didn’t have time to deal with these five, otherwise, with how the Inheritance War worked, they would have tried to convince them to join their camp.
But even if his two brothers had tried, it would likely be a futile effort; after all, so many people from the Duan Mu Family had died at their hands.
“En, those five.” Qiu Yi Meng stared deeply at Yang Kai, licking her luscious red lips in a charming manner, “You tell me honestly, when you let your Third Brother go that night, did you already have this idea in mind?”
Seeing her staring at him, Yang Kai simply shook his head, “You think too highly of me, I’m not that sinister. I let my Third Brother go because I felt like it; I didn’t have any other plans at the time.”
Hearing this, Qiu Yi Meng couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief as she gently patted her chest, “Thank goodness you aren’t crafty to that extent. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have any confidence left to face you in the future.”
Listening to the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady speak so humbly, everyone in the hall felt slightly unnerved, apparently only now gaining some insight into how much pressure Yang Kai brought to the famous Qiu Yi Meng.
“Well, no matter what, your little move has yielded some unexpected benefits.” Qiu Yi Meng grinned, “These five coming to offer their services to you is probably Yang Tie’s doing.”
Yang Kai nodded silently, he hadn’t anticipated that his Third Brother would show this kind of reciprocation, but that didn’t stop him from smiling happily.
“All together, you have eleven forces currently supporting you!” Qiu Yi Meng’s voice contained some slight excitement; one had to know that not many things could make this Young Lady Qiu excited.
Of these eleven, two of them were super forces! As for the remaining nine, with the exception of Reflecting Moon Sect which was a second-class force, all the others were first-class!
From less than a week ago until today, Yang Kai’s position had changed from no on being willing to support him because they thought he had no chance of victory, 90% of people actually believing he would be eliminated on the first night, to now have eleven supporting forces, the development and gathering speed of Yang Kai mansion could only be described as astonishing.
This level of connections and personal charm was second to none among the Yang Family’s Young Lords!
Qiu Yi Meng felt like victory was all but within their grasp!
Steadying herself, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady continued in a dignified tone, “Right now you have more power than any of your brothers, according to the information I have gathered, only your Second Brother, Yang Zhao, has twenty forces supporting him, but many of these are second and third-class Sects, it is only the number which is large but in terms of quality they are significantly worse than yours; however, as time passes, your current advantage will only become smaller, there’s even the possibility that in time one or more of your brothers will exceed you if you don’t pay attention, you should mentally prepared.”
“I know.” Yang Kai said before smiling confidently, “That time isn’t here yet.”
Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes flashed before she let out a light snorted, “Another day, you’ll have to have a nice long conversation with me, otherwise I won’t know how many hidden helpers you have that haven’t arrived yet.”
Everyone present saw the strange look in Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes which to contain great hidden meaning and couldn’t help feeling stunned, all of them seemingly thinking they had just learned a shocking secret.
Ye Han of Ten Thousand Flower Palace immediately let out a burst of laughter, “Young Lady Qiu, anyone who wants to subdue Yang Kai is in for a hard time.”
“He doesn’t even place me in his eyes,” Qiu Yi Meng replied in a half-hearted manner while quietly observing Yang Kai’s reaction.
Yang Kai smiled wickedly, “I’ll come to your room tonight, we can have a nice chat then.”
Seeing this grin, Qiu Yi Meng’s beautiful face couldn’t help blushing slightly.
“Hmph, seems like he hasn’t changed at all!” Han Xiao Qi spat disdainfully. In that Isolated World, with the exception of Su Xiao Yu, all of the girls had been taken advantage of by Yang Kai. Such a vivid experience, how could Han Xiao Qi forget?
Perhaps because she was the big Senior Sister, Han Xiao Qi’s ddemeanourwas chilly, while Ye Han’s was cute, Liu Qing Ru was charming, and Hua Ruo Yin was reserved.
Glancing over at Han Xiao Qi, Yang Kai seemed to see a little of Su Yan’s shadow in her, causing the sharpness in his eyes to soften inadvertently.
Both of them were the big Senior Sisters in their respective Sects and their personalities had some similarities, but Su Yan’s temperament was colder than Han Xiao Qi’s. Although she would show this coldness to outsiders, in front of Yang Kai her icy exterior would melt like snow in the early spring.
Han Xiao Qi blushed slightly under Yang Kai’s burning hot eyes, unable to endure any longer she quietly muttered, “I just told the truth, staring at me like that won’t change anything.”
Qiu Yi Meng also couldn’t help snorting as she secretly ground her teeth, thinking to herself that all men weren’t good things, whenever they saw a beauty they would gawk at her without restraint.
The tender feelings he was feeling in his heart were obvious to anyone who saw Yang Kai’s expression. No one on the scene was a child so how could they not understand?
“Yang Kai? You don’t have to be so straightforward.” Zuo Fang snorted, “Although Senior Sister Han is beautiful enough to make all of us want to see more, but at most you should only sneak a peek, why are you acting so rampant?”
Already somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by Yang Kai, Han Xiao Qi glared towards Zuo Fang when he said these words and retorted, “You’re also nothing but a rogue, just like him!”
Zuo Fang just laughed heartily in response.
Yang Kai didn’t answer, nor did he try to explain, the look in his eyes gradually converged, returning to their original calm state before he suddenly turned his sight towards the outside of the hall.
A hurried sound of footsteps rang out.
Dong Qing Han rushed in a moment later, a hint of anxiousness on his face. After he entered the hall, he didn’t even greet the others before to others before calling out, “Yang Kai, something’s happened, you need to take some people to check out the situation.”
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked, wrinkling his brow.
Everyone else in the hall also wore dignified looks. They had all come here to support Yang Kai in the Inheritance War, so when a sudden situation arose, naturally they had to be ready to fight.
“Qing Yan has arrived in War City but she was stopped and surrounded!”
“Have they arrived already?” Yang Kai wore a shocked expression before a look of joy spread across his face, not delaying for an instant before jumping up and shouting, “Ying Jiu, follow me!”
No matter what, going out in broad daylight without a Blood Warrior to guard him would be dangerous.
“No no, you should take at least half of us with you as well, you don’t understand how serious the situation is over there.” Dong Qing Han hurriedly said, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, apparently when he received the news, it had caused him no small panic.
Yang Kai looked at him blankly for a moment but didn’t ask any question, instead just nodding before issuing an order, “Then those from the Huo Family, Xiang Family, Dong Family, and Duan Mu Family come with me, Qiu Yi Meng, you take command in my absence.”
“En.” The Qiu Family’s First Young Lady readily acknowledged.
“What about us?” Han Xiao Qi asked.
“All of you have just arrived recently and should rest, this time things shouldn’t develop into a big deal.”
After saying so, Yang Kai and Dong Qing Han rushed out. As they dashed through the halls, Dong Qing Han blew a loud whistle and soon after the rustling of clothes and clattering of footsteps began echoing throughout the mansion.
By the time Yang Kai arrived in front of the main entrance, Huo Xing Chen and Xiang Tian Xiao had assembled a group of people and were waiting outside. Five of the Immortal Ascensions masters upon seeing Yang Kai stood upright and respectfully cupped their fists, “Greetings Young Lord Kai!”
“En, I’ll be troubling you.” Yang Kai nodded lightly to the five masters from the Duan Mu Family.
“Yang Kai, what’s going on?” Huo Xing Chen asked curiously; this was the first time Yang Kai had convened people to take the initiative, he was inevitably curious.
“I don’t know much, but I’ll explain what I can on the way.” Yang Kai responded hastily before dashing out.
The group of people quickly followed behind.
“Why did they stop Qing Yan?” Yang Kai asked curiously. Although she was Xiao Fu Sheng’s disciple, the time she had spend studying the Alchemic Way was still short. As of now if she could refine Earth Grade Pills it would already be quite an accomplishment, but with Xiao Fu Sheng’s cultivation plan, it was entirely possible that Dong Qing Yan hadn’t even really started learning Alchemy.
Such an Alchemist didn’t seem worthy of being stopped.
Dong Qing Han couldn’t help laughing bitterly, “If it was just Qing Yan I’m afraid no one would pay attention to her, but do you know how many people she brought with her?”
“Thirty people!” Dong Qing Han said in a heavy tone, “There are thirty full-fledged Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley, half of which are Heaven Grade Alchemists while one of them is even Mysterious Grade.”
“What?” Yang Kai’s was shocked by this news, even the normally frivolous Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help his jaw from dropping.
“How can people from Medicine King’s Valley come to participate in the Inheritance War?” The Huo Family Young Lord almost thought he had heard wrong, still unable to believe his ears.
Dong Qing Han shook his head, “I don’t know the specific situation, and you’ll have to ask Yang Kai, they seem to have come for him after all.”
As he spoke, he turned to stare at Yang Kai curiously; obviously he had some speculations in his heart.
Huo Xing Chen was dumbstruck for a moment before loudly calling out, “Yang Kai, how the hell did you convince so many Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley to come here? That group of people all have eyes higher above their heads than even this Young Lord! Even if it is our Elders they don’t place them in their sight! Since when did you have so much face!?”
Yang Ka’s brow furrowed, ignoring Huo Xing Chen’s questioning as he tried to hold down the anxiety and anticipation in his heart.
[Since Dong Qing Yan has come, that means Little Senior Sister is definitely here as well!]
In War City, if his Little Senior Sister was wronged somehow, even if it was by his own brothers…
As such negative thoughts circulated throughout his head, Yang Kai’s eyes grew colder and colder while his True Qi fluctuated madly.
Dong Qing Han and Huo Xing Chen, who were following close beside Yang Kai, couldn’t help but trembling lightly, terrified as they glanced over to see an unfamiliar image of Yang Kai. His whole aura had suddenly become sharp and violent, there was even a faint bloody sensation lingering around him suffused with a killing intent so potent that they instinctively began putting some distance between themselves and him.
A moment later, Yang Kai suddenly stopped, his eyes flashing brilliantly as he turned to look at Xiang Tian Xiao and said, “Second Young Lord, I have a task for you.”
Xiang Tian Xiao said nothing, just staring at Yang Kai, waiting for him to continue.
Beckoning him over, Yang Kai whispered a few words in Xiang Tian Xiao’s ear before nodding slightly to this Second Young Lord.
Yang Kai then turned to the five Duan Mu Family Immortal Ascension masters and cupped his fists, “Several Seniors please accompany Young Master Xiang back, as for the specific plan of action, ask Qiu Yi Meng to make the appropriate arrangements.”
The five Duan Mu Family masters quickly nodded.
Xiang Tian Xiao then immediately led his own people and the Duan Mu Family members back the way they had come.
“What are you planning?” Huo Xing Chen asked.
Yang Kai frowned and replied seriously “I didn’t know the whole situation before hand, but now that I do, I have to make some arrangements, otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to bring all of them back!”
“Would they dare take action against Medicine King’s Valley’s disciples?” Huo Xing Chen’s eyes narrowed.
“In unusual times, it’s better to be cautious!” Yang Kai took a deep breath and calmly said, “If I was in my brother’s places, I would rather offend Medicine King’s Valley now rather than let such a large group of Alchemists join my enemy. Obviously they won’t kill them, but they’ll certainly at least find an excuse to capture them.”
Listening to his argument, Dong Qing Han and Huo Xing Chen nodded lightly. As long as they didn’t kill people, it means they hadn’t torn all face with Medicine King’s Valley, as long as they prepared an appropriate amount of gifts afterwards they could still settle things peacefully.
War City’s central square.
A group of Medicine King’s Valley Alchemists dressed in all white stood proudly with Dong Qing Yan and Xia Ning Chang standing side by side with Aunt Xiang and Aunt Lan.
This group of people was surrounded on all sides by a large number of people, and as time passed, more Yang Family Young Lords continued to lead large numbers of masters over.
Even though they were surrounded, the group of Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley still wore arrogant and aloof expressions, all of their eyes flashing obvious traces of disdain and contempt; Aunt Xiang and Aunt Lan remained calm and composed.
Only Dong Qing Yan grit her teeth with indignation while Xia Ning Chang showed signs of worry and anxiety, her eyes unconsciously glancing northwest from time to time.
It was said that her Junior Brother’s compound was located in that direction.
On the other hand, the waves of people surrounding the Medicine King’s Valley group didn’t show the least bit of disrespect, on the contrary they all did their best to put on flattering smiles.
Yang Zhao, Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying all occupied a corner of the square.
With the exception of Yang Kang whose face showed some traces of depression, the other three brothers all glanced around at each other vigilantly.
Yang Kang was really depressed. When the Medicine King’s Valley’s group arrived in War City, they had entered from the entrance closest to his mansion, and although someone had immediately reported to him about these thirty white robed Alchemists, it was already too late to stop word from spreading.
Although he had managed to successfully intercept this group, news of their arrival still spread rapidly, leading to Yang Zhao, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying appearing here.
Right now, all of the Yang Family Young Lords were frantically hiring Alchemists and Artifact Refiners so it was inevitable that such a group of people appearing in War City would set off a storm.
What made Yang Kang truly want to spit blood was that this group of Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley were incomparable to the Alchemists from any other force.
Not to mention, the leader of the Medicine King’s Valley group was none other than Qin Ze!
Although Qin Ze was already in his forties, and couldn’t be considered a member of the younger generation, he still bore the title of Medicine King’s Valley Young Valley Lord and was widely respected all over the world.
Qin Ze was also famous throughout the Alchemy world, his aptitude was excellent and it was said that he may even reach the same height as Xiao Fu Sheng in time.
It was also rumoured that Qin Ze had recently promoted to Mysterious Grade Low-Rank Alchemist and had been named an Elder of Medicine King’s Valley, now, it seemed such rumours were true.
The four-petal flower embroidered on his chest was the most conclusive evidence.
Glancing around at the rest of this group, half of them were Heaven Grade Alchemists while the rest were Earth Grade Top-Rank.
Seeing this lineup, all of the Yang Family Young Lords were dazzled and jealous.
If such a group of Alchemists could be drawn into their own camp, how many pills could they refine? How many of their people could be supplied with these pills?
The four Young Lords silently pondered to themselves and were shocked to discover that as long as they could continue to supply these Alchemists with materials, within three months, the strength of all the personnel they had could have a substantial increase.
In other words, whoever could win over this group would have a considerable advantage in the Inheritance War, one which would only increase with time.
For a while, the four Yang Family Young Lords, no matter who they were, had their eyes flash brilliantly and their breath heat up.
The temptation these thirty Alchemists brought to them was no less than if they had been thirty naked beauties begging for their affection.
The only thing which was slightly troubling was their arrogant demeanor.
However, Alchemists who came from Medicine King’s Valley were all like this. They placed no one in their eyes and were extremely arrogant, none of them would show any respect to these four Young Lords, on the contrary, they would expect them to show deference to them instead.
“Senior Brother Qin!” Dong Qing Yan complained in the depressed voice, “This is why I said we should disguise ourselves before we entered the city. Why didn’t you listen to my advice? Now that we’ve been surrounded by these monkeys, what do we do?”
“There’s no problem.” Qin Ze waved his hands indifferently, “They wouldn’t dare to attack my Medicine King’s Valley’s disciples, I’ll just send them away.”
After saying so, Qin Ze swept his eyes over the crowd indifferently before coldly shouting, “Four Young Lords, surrounding this Qin and my fellow disciples, are you planning to start a quarrel with my Medicine King’s Valley?”
Although his attitude was insufferably arrogant, these words still deeply troubled the Yang Family Young Lords, all of them quickly waving their hands and refuting, “Senior Qin must be kidding, we wouldn’t dare.”
Qin Ze coldly snorted, “First it was the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land invading my Medicine King’s Valley, burning our homes and slaughtering our fellow brothers and sister, now you Yang Family children don’t even treat us seriously! Good good! Your Yang Family certainly has the courage the Central Capital’s first powerhouse should have!”
All four of the Young Lords couldn’t help shrinking their necks, unable to answer.
“Don’t say you four juniors, even if Yang Ying Hao saw this Qin he wouldn’t dare show such disrespect!” Qin Ze didn’t hold back in the slightest as he loudly scolded.
Even though Yang Kang and the others were unhappy about being demeaned so publically, they didn’t dare to show any dissatisfaction on their faces, instead just giving it their all to maintain their ingratiating smiles.
These four Yang Family Young Lord had not only blocked this group of Medicine King’s Valley Alchemists but also wanted to recruit them into their own camp as helpers, how could they dare offend them any further?
So they did their best to lower their stances and speak in a respectful tone, even if Qin Ze ridiculed them mercilessly they didn’t make any attempt to refute.
Not arguing but also not giving in, just smiling faintly as they blocked the square, it was a clear show of their unwillingness to simply give up.
After Yang Zhao let Qin Ze vent, he wore an even bigger smile and respectfully said, “Senior Qin, you must have travelled far to reach here. If you are not in a hurry, why not come to my house?”
As soon as they heard him say this, Yang Zhao, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying all also rushed to send out invitations in the most sincere and humble tone they could, all of them expressing their earnest desire for Qin Ze to visit their mansions to rest and drink tea.
Qin Ze coldly snorted and rejected, “No. He who does not work does not deserve to eat. Make way, we have to continue on our way.”
Yang Zhao and others are all remained where they were, as if they were nailed in place, their expressions gradually becoming embarrassed. The people from Medicine King’s Valley were harder to cope with than average Immortal Ascension Boundary masters. They couldn’t fight with them and trying to convince them was akin to banging one’s head against a wall.
What made Yang Zhao more concerned though was why this group of Alchemists would appear in War City. Medicine King’s Valley had never participated in the Inheritance War before, but now they had suddenly sent thirty people here; Yang Zhao would never believe there was no deeper meaning to this action.
The only strategy he could think of to recruit these Alchemists was to somehow arouse their interest, in that way, they would take the initiative to join him on their own.
But what could he say to make them interested?
Thinking quickly, Yang Zhao eyes flashed slightly as he continued his attempts, “Senior Qin, this Junior has a matter he wishes to consult with you about, I wonder if Senior would be willing to dispel this one’s doubts?”
Qin Ze was annoyed in his heart and didn’t try to hide the anger on his face, angrily roaring, “All of you have blocked our way and won’t let us proceed, what does it matter if I am willing or not?”
Yang Zhao knew that Qin Ze was upset and didn’t continue to stimulate him, quickly getting to the point, “When this Junior was out for life experience these past few years, one time I strayed into the mountains and in the middle of the night heard the sounds of a baby crying. Curious, I searched nearby and found a very strange Spirit Herb what had a glowing seven coloured flower in the shape of a baby’s face…”
Qin Ze’s expression was originally quite ugly, but when Yang Zhao began talking about this Spirit Flower a hint of excitement emerged on his face and his displeasure noticeably decreased.
“And then?” Qin Ze hurriedly asked, wondering what the final ending of this seven coloured flowers was.
Seeing that Yang Zhao succeeded in attracting the interest of Qin Ze with the topic of a rare spirit medicine, the other Yang Family Young Lords all couldn’t help feeling annoyed. They hated their Second Brother’s quick wit that had allowed him to handle these arrogant Medicine King’s Valley Alchemists that they couldn’t. All of them then wracked their brains to see if they had any similar experiences these past years.
“That Heaven and Earth Treasure had already opened its consciousness, so when Junior tried to reach out and pick it, it hurriedly escaped.”
“Idiot!” Qin Ze cursed.
Yang Zhao didn’t take offence to this comment, instead just smiling and continuing, “True, this Junior indeed acted rashly at that time and inadvertently caused it to flee.”
“What was the final result, did you managed to collect that Spirit Flower?”
Yang Zhao smiled widely and nodded, “Fortunately, Junior was fast enough, managed to catch up with it, and successfully harvested it. Later, after returning to my Sect, I researched thoroughly and discovered that what I had obtained was a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Seven Coloured Spirit Baby Flower, and at the suggestion of one of the Sect’s Alchemist, contained it within a Spirit Array that provided it with World Energy and planted it in sandstone. From then till now it has survived but recently it has shown signs of withering and I haven’t been able to figure out why.”
“Idiots! Fools, every one of you!” Qin Ze violently roared as if his wife had been stolen by another man, angrily shouting, “Who told you that the Seven Coloured Spirit Baby Flower should be planted in sandstone!?”
“Juniors hopes Senior Qin can give this one some pointers.” Yang Zhao quickly asked for advice.
Qin Ze calmed his anger and gradually restored his arrogant and aloof expression before explaining, “The Seven Coloured Spirit Baby Flower when mature will emit a cry similar to that of a newborn baby. If a cultivator listens to this sound for many years they will obtain some benefits in the growth of their Divine Sense. This Spirit Flower is also the primary ingredient for a Mysterious Grade Soul nourishing pill.”
“What senior says is true, but this Spirit Flower’s grade is so high, in addition to Grandmaster Xiao, I’m afraid that no one else would dare use it to refine a pill, so Junior has been raising it all this time instead.” Yang Zhao quickly noted.
“Who says no one can refine it besides Grandmaster Xiao?” Qin Ze spat, showing a face to seemed disdain Yang Zhao’s ignorance, but he didn’t explain any further, just continuing, “However, this Spirit Flower is attracted to the cold, raising it in sandstone and providing it with energy for a while won’t matter, but after a long time, its medicinal efficacy will begin to fade and it will naturally show signs of withering. Your Yang Family is wealthy enough, you should have no problem acquiring some ice attribute crystals to transplant it to. The Alchemist who told you to plant it in sandstone was nothing but an ignorant fool, it’s insulting that he dares call himself an Alchemist!”
“I see, Junior thanks Senior Qin for dispelling his doubts!” Yang Zhao showed a look of epiphany.
Qin Ze nodded and stated proudly, “It’s not too late to act now, if you had waited another half a year that Spirit Flower would have lost all value.”
“Yes yes, when Junior returns to his mansion he will follow Senior Qin’s instructions immediately.” Saying so, he smiled warmly and once again made an attempt, “However, Junior is ignorant in the ways of Alchemy, if Senior finds it convenient…”
Qin Ze sneered and interrupted here, “Don’t bother, even if you were to proclaim that the Heaven’s themselves were falling, this Qin will not go with you.”
Yang Zhao’s smile cramped up, never having expected Qin Ze to refuse him so fervently. Normally, whenever these Alchemist types heard about a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemy material, they wouldn’t rest until they had at least laid eyes upon it.
But now, why were things so different?
Seeing Qin Ze refuse Yang Zhao, the other Yang Family Young Lords made no attempt to conceal their happiness, but immediately after furrowed their brows, this Qin Ze seemed like he would not be moved no matter what enticement they put forward so the situation had become quite tricky.
As the four of them pondered over what to do next, a new group of people arrived.
The eyes of the four brothers immediately shrank slightly because the person who came was none other than Yang Wei.
Since the beginning of the Inheritance War, Yang Wei had not made any movements, but obviously when this group of Medicine King’s Valley alchemist had suddenly appeared in War City today he had been alarmed.
With regards to their Eldest Brother, all of them held a little awe, secretly raising their guard as they watched Yang Wei step forward.
“Junior Yang Wei greets Senior.” When he came up to Qin Ze and the others, Yang Wei greeted indifferently.
“En.” Qin Ze nodded lightly, his attitude neither hot nor cold.
“Junior has a request and hopes Senior Qin can answer it.”
Qin Ze frowned, looking Yang Wei over before faintly saying, “As long as you don’t want me to perform Alchemy for you, anything else can be discussed.”
Yang Wei nodded, “I want Senior Qin to help me perform Alchemy!”
When this statement came out, everyone was secretly startled. All of them who had come here to block this group from Medicine King’s Valley did so for this exact purpose, but none of them had dared say so outright, instead choosing to observe the situation and use other means to convince these Alchemists to come with them; never had they expected that the last to come, Yang Wei, would be so forthright.
In an instant, everyone was a little nervous about what decision Qin Ze would make.
If Qin Ze were to agree, all four of them would probably cough up blood.
Surprisingly though, Qin Ze didn’t get angry but instead looked at Yang Wei with a smile, “The Yang Family’s Eldest Brother, good, I appreciate your manner, but this Qin did not come to War City this time to assist you.”
Yang Wei didn’t show any surprise on his face, only nodding firmly, cupping his fists respectfully and saying, “I have disturbed Senior.”
After that, Yang Wei turned around and left without the slightest hesitation, apparently uninterested in swimming in this muddy water.
On the other hand, Yang Zhao felt he had just heard some extraordinary meanings from the words of Qin Ze, hesitantly asking, “Senior Qin , who are you here in War City to assist?”
“We are here to help no one, we’re only here to study the Alchemic Way.” Qin Ze coldly snorted, not willing to say anything further.
Yang Zhao was startled, study the Alchemic Way?
Who could possibly have the qualifications to instruct Medicine King’s Valley’s Alchemists in the Alchemic Way? In particular, these words were spoken from Qin Ze’s mouth; one had to remember that Qin Ze was already one of this worlds only Mysterious Grade Alchemists.
This reason was a bit too far-fetched.
Considering all this, Yang Zhao’s expression slowly became solemn.
Of the Yang Family Young Lords who were still participating in the Inheritance War, five of them had already appeared but Qin Ze had shown no interested in them, so there were only two possibilities left.
Yang Quan was impossible.
Therefore…
Yang Zhao’s expression suddenly became horrified, this thought had only just appeared in his head when he heard a cold snort in the distance and a large number of people appeared.
Yang Kai took the lead and strode into the open space between the surrounding Yang Family Young Lords and the Medicine King’s Valley group, walking straight up to the white robed Alchemists. Huo Xing Chen followed behind with a chuckle, gently fanning himself with his folding fan as he cheerfully greeted the other Yang Family Young Lords present as if they were all long separated friends once again reuniting.
There was no Blood Warrior beside Yang Kai but everyone, as long as their strength had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage, could still clearly feel a pair of eyes in the darkness, staring at their movements.
Ying Jiu!
This powerful Blood Warrior was like a ghost, and none of them knew where he was lurking, once someone dared try to move against Yang Kai, he would ruthlessly be killed.
The Blood Warriors guarding the other Young Lords immediately reported this information.
“Everyone has arrived.” Yang Kang’s displayed a disgruntled expression. He had been the closest to this group of Alchemists, and if he had only acted fast enough, could have been the only one to have an opportunity to recruit them. But now, such thoughts were useless, he knew that by now, everyone throughout War City knew about these Medicine King’s Valley people arriving.
Inside the group of Alchemists, a pair of bright beautiful eyes suddenly lit up as they caught sight of Yang Kai’s figure, the owner’s heart suddenly filling with joy and excitement.
When Yang Kai’s eyes met this gaze, the cold murderous intent in them immediately disappeared and was replaced by tender warmth, the corners of his mouth rising slightly, revealing a happy smile.
Noticing Yang Kai staring back at her, Xia Ning Chang suddenly became embarrassed. Obviously, she had wanted to see how her Junior Brother had been doing recently. Now that they had met and she confirmed that he was fine, she couldn’t help averting her eyes with her cheeks blushing furiously, her heartbeat racing.
Xia Ning Chang’s sudden bout of shyness gave her an all new kind of appeal. Although she was still wearing her veil and no one could see her true appearance, no one who saw her in that instant doubted that she was an extraordinary beauty!
The pure innocent aura she gave off only highlighted her attractiveness. Because of her veil, she was normally not too eye catching, but right now, this thin layer of mystery not only detracted from her allure, but enhanced it instead.
Everyone desperately wanted to know: what kind of peerless face was hidden under this veil?
This brief exchange between Yang Kai and this veiled girl was extremely obvious and was not overlooked by the other Yang Family Young Lords, all of their expressions becoming ugly as a result.
Unlike them, their Ninth Brother seemed to have some connection with this woman. This was what being closest to this group really meant.
“Junior Brother Yang!” Qin Ze, who had always been showing an aloof and arrogant demeanor suddenly called out to Yang Kai with a smile and became very intimate. Also, the way he addressed him elicited a great many confused and pensive expressions from the other Yang Family Young Lords.
“Senior Brother Qin!” Yang Kai smiled back and nodded before turning his eyes to the two beautiful women close by, “Aunt Xiang, Aunt Lan.”
The two beautiful women responded with a warm smile of their own.
“Treasurer Meng!”
Meng Wu Ya nodded gruffly.
Witnessing the scene of Yang Kai greeting this group of people, Yang Zhao’s eyes shrank sharply.
It wasn’t until now that he discovered how lofty the identities of these two beautiful women were. If he recalled correctly, these two should be the two maidservants who lived on Hidden Cloud Peak and attended to all of Grandmaster Xiao Fu Sheng’s daily needs!
For several dozen years they had stayed on Hidden Cloud Peak, never once going down the mountain, yet today they had come to War City!
Rumor had it that these two beautiful women were only ordinary people without any cultivation, but no one would dare be disrespectful to them because they had spent their best years in obscurity to care for Xiao Fu Sheng on Hidden Cloud Peak. Without their years of dedicated service, there very well may not have been today’s Grandmaster Xiao!
In the eyes of Xiao Fu Sheng, these two should be no different from family!
How could such people come to War City? What was Xiao Fu Sheng’s meaning in sending them? Why would Xiao Fu Sheng do this?
Quickly considering all this, Yang Zhao couldn’t help feeling shocked, turning his sight towards Yang Kai, eyes filled with jealousy.
Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying also all noticed this subtle atmosphere. The people from Medicine King’s Valley were all so friendly with Yang Kai, they had obviously come here for him. If they were from any other force, they could take the initiative to offend them, even using some coercion to bring them to their compounds or directly chase them out of War City. However, against Medicine King’s Valley, they didn’t dare act rashly, all of them turning their eyes to Yang Zhao, waiting to see how he would act.
Yang Zhao understood how to act very well; even if these people were from Medicine King’s Valley, even if they couldn’t be offended, this time they must be, otherwise the situation would only become more and more troublesome.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Zhao once again spoke, “Senior Qin, Medicine King’s Valley has never participated in the Inheritance War before, why do you want to break this tradition now? Junior hopes Senior Qin can provide an explanation!”
Hearing this, a hint of impatient resurfaced on Qin Ze’s face as he coldly shot back, “Second Young Lord, this Qin has just said, this time, our reason for coming here is to study the Alchemic Way, not to participate in any nonsense Inheritance War, whether you Yang Family people want to beat or kill each other isn’t worth a fart to my Medicine King’s Valley.”
Yang Zhao smiled slightly at this response and said in a calm voice, “Since you have come here to study the Alchemic Way, then I would like to request Senior Qin come to my mansion to do so. This Young Lord will supply any and all the necessary materials, even that Seven Coloured Spirit Baby Flower I mentioned previously can be gifted to Senior Qin.”
Qin Ze’s brow wrinkled as an extremely dissatisfied expression appeared on his face, “Nonsense, why should we go to your house? What powerful Alchemy Grandmaster do you have that my Medicine King’s Valley’s disciples can learn from?”
“There is no such Grandmaster in my mansion, but is there one in my Ninth Brother’s house?” Yang Zhao’s tone was gradually getting louder and firmer. Obviously, he understood by now that there was no way he could convince this group of arrogant Alchemists with words. Since the gentle approach was useless, he could only use force!
As he was making one last attempt, Yang Zhao even squinted at the other Yang Family Young Lords, silently signaling all of them to prepare themselves.
“There is!” Unexpectedly, Qin Ze responded affirmatively.
Yang Zhao smiled wryly and shook his head, thinking that the excuses of this Medicine King’s Valley group were too ridiculous.
His Ninth Brother hadn’t recruited any Alchemists these past few days, and even if he had done so secretly, no Alchemist was qualified to teach this group from Medicine King’s Valley.
The look in Yang Zhao’s eyes slowly became cold as he shook his head and declared, “Since Senior Qin is determined to continue this course of action, Junior has nothing left to say. The reason why Medicine King’s Valley is admired is not only because it is the gathering place of this world’s elite Alchemists, but also because for thousands of years, Medicine King’s Valley has remained neutral. Since Senior Qin insists on breaking this ancient and honoured tradition, then this Junior has no choice but to act disrespectfully!”
Qin Ze was shocked and he cried out, “What do you plan to do?”
“Junior is helpless in this matter, so I must ask Senior’s forgiveness! But please rest assured Senior Qin, I and my younger brothers will certainly act with appropriate discretion. Neither you nor your fellow disciples will be harmed in any way.” Yang Zhao’s expression was indifferent. He had spoken everything aloud, providing a righteous reason for his next course of action so that when this matter spread out, the world would not solely blame him.
As he spoke these last words, Yang Zhao signaled to a group of masters behind him and took a step forward.
At the same time, Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying had also issued orders. The three of them didn’t have the same courage as Yang Zhao, and were reluctant to offend Medicine King’s Valley, but given no other choice and with someone leading the way, they could only temporarily join forces with Yang Zhao to put pressure on Qin Ze and his group while secretly praying that this group of Alchemists would yield to intimidation. The best result for everyone would be if all of them could take a step back and resolve the situation peacefully.
The atmosphere around the square abruptly became tense.
The spectators which had gotten wind of the arrival of these Alchemists and gathered all gasped, shocked by the boldness of these Yang Family Young Lords.
Although Medicine King’s Valley had taken significant loses when it was attacked by the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land with even the Pill Saint’s Portrait being destroyed, it was still Medicine King’s Valley. This title of theirs’ held weight that had not decreased in the slightest.
No one in this world had ever dared to offend people from Medicine King’s Valley, but today, someone had set a new precedent!
“Treating me as though I do not exist?” Yang Kai, who had been watching with cold eyes until this moment, sneered as he once again gave off murderous intent, “Those who want to move against my allies will have to pass through me first!”
Yang Zhao shook his head slowly, “Ninth Brother, although I admit that your forces aren’t weak now, but if you think with only the few people you’ve brought you can keep this group of people to yourself under the joint efforts of your older brothers, isn’t that a bit naive? Be careful you don’t lose your rice trying to steal a chicken.”
Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying also immediately glared at Yang Kai, their expressions filled with malicious intent.
They had to give some face to Medicine King’s Valley, but when it came to Yang Kai they all couldn’t wait to beat him down.
“Second Brother can try if he likes!” Yang Kai said calmly.
Yang Zhao’s face became dignified as he swept his eyes over the people Yang Kai had brought with him.
From what he could see, there were only two forces present, one was the Huo Family’s people, two of which were Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters whose real strength wouldn’t be worse than average Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage masters, while the other was the Dong Family who also had two Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage masters. Besides these high level experts, there were several other mid and low level Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators along with a number of people at the True Element Boundary.
Also, Ying Jiu was hiding somewhere nearby.
Although this lineup wasn’t weak, it was obviously at an absolute disadvantage against the joint forces of the four of them, so why was his Ninth Brother still so calm?
After the first night’s events, Yang Zhao realized that Yang Kai was not easy to handle. His youngest brother was not only clever and sinister, he would often make bold and unthinkable actions which made him even harder to predict.
One thing was certain though, he wouldn’t have brought so few people here just to seek death, he had definitely made other preparations!
The question was, what was he plotting? According to the information Yang Zhao had collected, eleven forces had arrived in recent days to support his Ninth Brother. So if only two of them were here, where were the remaining nine?
Thinking of this, Yang Zhao expression cramped, quickly glancing over at Yang Kai only to discover his littlest brother grinning deviously back at him.
Not daring to hesitate any longer, Yang Zhao loudly declared, “Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, let us join hands and teach Ninth Brother a lesson today about how to respect his elders!”
“Agreed, Second Brother!” The three nodded together.
Instantly, numerous Martial Skills and artifacts flew from all directions towards Yang Kai and his allies.
With the four brothers teaming up to deal with Yang Kai, the people from the Dong Family and Huo Family suddenly fell into a difficult situation.
All of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters summoned their defensive artifacts out and pushed their True Qi to the limit yet they still failed to completely block this wave of attacks.
Huo Xing Chen, Dong Qing Han, and Yang Kai all also had a difficult time finding a safe place in this violent storm.
Seeing Yang Kai steadily losing ground, Yang Kang excitedly grinned, as if he could already picture the scene of Yang Kai being defeated today.
Yang Zhao, however, knew better: As long as Ying Jiu was still lurking in the shadows, it was basically impossible for Yang Kai to be eliminated here and now unless two or three of their Blood Warriors collaborated. Unfortunately, such cooperation was all but impossible because it would expose them to danger.
“Grab them!” Yang Zhao shouted, swiftly switching targets from Yang Kai’s group to the Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley.
When Yang Zhao gave this command, many of the masters in his group rushed towards the Medicine King’s Valley group.
Medicine King’s Valley’s disciples, aside from their exceptional Alchemy abilities, were never good at fighting, so in the eyes of this group of strong masters, this group of Alchemists were no better than lambs waiting to be caught.
Of course, since they had to act with discretion in order to not injure these Alchemists, most of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters simply flew towards them, stretching out their hands in order to capture people.
Seeing all this, Qin Ze remained still, his expression cold and indifferent, apparently not worried about whether he or his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters would be taken away; In fact, all thirty of these white robed Alchemists maintained a calm and aloof manner.
Yang Zhao suddenly felt a little uneasy.
These Alchemists, even if they were insufferably arrogant, should still have had an instinctual reaction to this coming crisis, at least showing some panic on their faces, yet their reaction showed they weren’t worried in the slightest.
But why?
Just as Yang Zhao’s masters were about to reach the Alchemist, the gemstone on Xia Ning Chang’s forehead suddenly shone brightly and a pale blue semi-circular light curtain spread out from it and surrounded the Medicine King’s Valley disciples.
Many of the approaching masters couldn’t react in time and hit this light curtain head on, feeling an amazing elastic reaction which quickly forced them back,.
“Seems they have something to rely on!” Yang Zhao knew that this group from Medicine King’s Valley wouldn’t be so easily captured, so when he saw this strange light curtain suddenly appear he wasn’t surprised, simply steeling himself as she shouted, “destroy it!”
If this group of Alchemists thought they could simply rely on a good defensive artifact to block all of these masters, they were obviously mistaken.
This defensive artifact truly was impressive, but the cultivators on his side were not only numerous, they were also elites of their respective forces.
A brilliant display of Martial Skills and artifacts once again blossomed and the light curtain Xia Ning Chang had put up immediately began wavering under the strain.
However, the expressions on all the Medicine King’s Valley disciples still didn’t show any concern.
Yang Zhao’s expression became profound as he continued to observe the reactions of the Medicine King’s Valley group, the uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense rather than dissipating, the idea of giving up and leaving this place as quickly as possible surfacing in his thoughts.
Just as the light curtain filled with cracks and was on the verge of breaking, a dazzling scattering of lights, like the stars in the night sky, suddenly filled the air. This array of lights let out a piercing radiance before it suddenly flashed and sent out a myriad of lightning fast glowing blades.
These blades were composed entirely of True Qi and shone so brilliantly they were all but blinding, each of them emitting a terrifying aura.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
All of these blades had incredible force behind them and pierced straight towards the surrounding masters like a shower of falling stars.
Like invincible swords, they sliced through the air with unstoppable momentum!
The faces of the surrounding Immortal Ascension masters changed drastically as they all desperately tried to dodge this sudden and unexpected barrage of attacks.
*Hong hong hong…*
All of the True Qi blades were either blocked or avoided by the joint efforts of all the masters present, but when the power contained within each blade erupted it forced everyone to retreat, even causing some of the lower strength Immortal Ascension Boundary masters to pale and spit blood on the spot.
Only those at or above the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage remained completely unharmed!
Yang Zhao’s gaze immediately swept over the Medicine King’s Valley group, quickly fixing on the only old man amongst them.
He couldn’t identify this old man’s origins, and he hadn’t seen him take action, but Yang Zhao still instinctively stared at him for some reason. Yang Zhao couldn’t help thinking that this trick was somehow related to him.
Also, as he stared at this old man who seemed harmless to humans and animals, Yang Zhao felt a strange and inexplicable pressure.
One move. Just one move that he hadn’t even put all his effort into, had forced back more than seven Immortal Ascension Boundary masters; just how strong was this old man?
Could he be an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator? Since when did Medicine King’s Valley have this kind of hidden master?
The repulsed powerhouses all glanced at each other with ghastly expressions, none of them certain who or what had just attacked them.
Everyone was bewildered as they secretly speculated.
However, before any of them could discover the truth, the glowing starry sky suddenly converged, shrinking down into a dazzling ring the size of a palm before landing in the veiled woman’s hand.
“An artifact!” Yang Zhao’s eyes flashed as he showed an incredulous expression.
He had thought that there was a peerless master amongst the Medicine King’s Valley group, but never had he expected that the previous attack was actually sent out from an artifact.
Only an artifact above the Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank could display such power!
Staring at the veiled young woman, Yang Zhao couldn’t help feeling a sense of defeat.
He was a Yang Family Yong Lord, the second oldest of his generation, but even he didn’t possess such rich heritage. Who exactly was this young woman?
The two artifacts she had used just now were both extraordinary, and who could say if she didn’t have any more artifacts on her?
Yang Zhao’s eyes filled with a mix of hesitation and unwillingness, but after a brief moment of indecision, her grit his teeth and quietly whispered to his guardian Blood Warrior and Ye Xin Rou, “Let’s go!”
“Go?” Ye Xin Rou’s attention had also been focused on Xia Ning Chang, silently comparing herself to this young woman she still didn’t even know the name of when she suddenly heard Yang Zhao’s command and couldn’t help muttering in confusion.
But before she could fully collect herself, Yang Zhao and his accompanying Blood Warrior had already begun silently retreating.
Ye Xin Rou hurriedly caught up with his pace and asked curiously, “Second Young Lord, why did you give up so easily? This isn’t like your usual style.”
Yang Zhao hadn’t answered yet when all of a sudden a person raced towards him from the direction he was moving, anxiously calling out, “Second Young Lord, there’s big movement from Yang Kai’s house. Nine of his allies have set out in full force, it seems that only Qu Gao Yi was left behind to guard his flag.”
“I know,” Yang Zhao muttered, his pace speeding up significantly as a bitter smile emerged on his face, “Ninth Brother really has some guts to leave only one Blood Warrior behind to guard his mansion! This time ‘round, he’s won!”
Ye Xin Rou’s beautiful face suddenly changed, immediately understanding why Yang Zhao had so decisively decided to leave. He wasn’t concerned about succeeding. With four Yang Family Young Lords collaborating, even if Yang Kai showed incredible strength, it was still impossible for him to hold on to that group of Alchemist.
If things had continued the way they were progressing, he definitely could have taken away at least some of the Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley.
However, that would still take some time. During that time, where would the nine forces which had set out from Yang Kai’s mansion go?
If they were to patronize Yang Zhao’s mansion, could the people he left behind protect his flag?
By playing such a hand, Yang Kai could easily resolve his current crisis. Yang Zhao had no choice but to retreat. Not only Yang Zhao, but Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying also had to quickly return to their compounds to strengthen their defense!
None of them could be sure whether these nine forces would visit their base or not.
None of them could afford to underestimate the power of these nine forces.
What’s more, that veiled woman actually had a pair of artifacts of Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank or possibly higher. Her identity was definitely extraordinary. Yang Zhao didn’t dare move against her until he understood her true identity.
Almost at the same time Yang Zhao learned of this news, Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying also received word from their respective camps, causing quite a stir amongst them as they gazed over at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned back at them tauntingly while he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“Where is Second Brother?” Yang Kang’s gaze swept over the crowd but didn’t find any trace of Yang Zhao or his forces. Seeing this, his face cramped up before his eyes became cold. Having been abandoned by his Second Brother without a word, he inevitably felt a bit resentful in his heart.
“Ninth Brother’s strategy is impressive! Today’s business ends here, next time we meet, your Fifth Brother will definitely return the favour!” Yang Kang coldly snorted, waving his hand to signal his people to fall backs.
“I will remember Ninth Brother’s lesson!” Yang Shen muttered angrily before he too quickly retreated.
The next moment, Yang Ying’s people also scattered like birds and beasts. The originally chaotic battle instantly subsided and those who were excitedly spectating were immediately thrown into confusion. They didn’t understand why the four Yang Family Young Lords has suddenly chosen to retreat when they clearly had absolute superiority.
Not only were the battle’s spectators confused, the people from Medicine King’s Valley also didn’t understand, only Meng Wu Ya directed a thoughtful look towards Yang Kai, realizing that this little brat had grown a lot over the past few years. Whether it was his strength or wit, they both seemed to have increased substantially.
Yang Kai made no attempt to stop his four brothers from leaving. He hadn’t brought a lot of people with him, so he was in no position to pick a fight. Also, Meng Wu Ya didn’t seem to have any intention to act, so Yang Kai would naturally not go provoking trouble.
“I’ve let Senior Brother Qin experience something unpleasant.” Yang Kai walked up to the Medicine King’s Valley group and bowed with cupped fists.
“It’s nothing.” Qin Ze waved his hand. “None of us suffered any harm.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly before turning his eyes to Xia Ning Chang and with a straight face uttering some amazing words, “Little Senior Sister, I’ve missed you!”
These words were simple and sincere, with no exaggeration whatsoever, as if they had come straight from his heart.
Xia Ning Chang stared back at him timidly, the gentle calm in her elegant eyes immediately being replaced with surprise and embarrassment, not daring to respond, only capable of fluttering her long eyelashes.
“Hey, you dare flirt with this old master’s treasured discipline right in front of my face?” Meng Wu Ya loudly interjected, a number of blue veins visibly throbbing on his forehead as his expression filled with dissatisfaction. Although he knew that Yang Kai’s future was limitless, seeing his treasured apprentice who he loved like his own daughter respond so strongly to Yang Kai’s cheap words still made him feel depressed.
“Did cousin also miss me?” Dong Qing Yan jumped out and asked with a smile.
“Nope.” Yang Kai shook his head without hesitation.
Dong Qing Yan’s mouth twitched for a moment before she glared back at Yang Kai spitefully. “Stupid cousin, smelly cousin, I hate you to death!”
Yang Kai paid no attention to his rambunctious cousin and instead turned to his allies and said, “Let’s head back first.”
His four brothers had all rushed back to their bases to reinforce their defences, but Yang Kai also had to quickly return to his compound as only Qu Gao Yi remained there to guard his flag.
This group from Medicine King’s Valley was essentially here to follow Xia Ning Chang so they naturally had no objections, allowing Yang Kai to take the lead as they followed him back to his compound.
Staring at the head of the crowd and seeing Xia Ning Chang and Yang Kai talking and laughing together so intimately, Lan Chu Die couldn’t help revealing a bitter smile.
She used to have a good relationship with this Junior Brother of hers as well.
But back then, she hadn’t held on to him tightly, even choosing to abandon him when he was facing difficulties.
And before she could turn her head again, she no longer had such an opportunity.
After leaving High Heaven Pavilion and joining the Dong Family, Lan Chu Die no longer thought about the time she had spent in High Heaven Pavilion, but when word of the Yang Family Inheritance War began spreading, she once again heard the name Yang Kai.
Only at that moment did she realize just how precious the piece of jade she chose to abandon had been!
Thinking back, she found it laughable that she thought it to be no more than a speck of dust at the time.
“Lan girl.” Dong Qing Han, who was by her side, suddenly spoke to her in a low voice, “My cousin may be a young man, but after spending so many hard years outside on his own, his mentality is far more mature than his age would suggest. Coupled with his background and great personal strength, his demeanor has become quite rigid, particularly when it comes to gratitude and grudges. But if you show him enough sincerity, I think you shouldn’t have a problem improving your relationship. After all, he’s still only human.”
When Dong Qing Han’s words reached her ear, Lan Chu Die’s beautiful face froze for a moment before she turned and smiled at him, “Why did Young Master mention that?”
Dong Qing Han just shrugged, “I just spoke randomly.”
Saying so, he then turned to talk with Dong Qing Yan beside him as if he really had just been speaking casually.
Lan Chu Die opened her mouth wanting to discuss Yang Kai with Dong Qing Han some more, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Looking back at the figure in front of her, Lan Chu Die slowly shook her head, knowing that she wouldn’t be given such a good opportunity again in this life, no matter what she did.
After half an hour, everyone returned to Yang Kai’s compound.
The grounds were quiet and there was no sign of anyone around. Besides Qu Gao Yi who was standing guard near the flag and the ordinary maidservants, everyone else had been brought out by Qiu Yi Meng.
Yang Kai quickly got to work handling the Medicine King’s Valley disciples. Ushering them into the hall and having people serve tea, he was so busy he didn’t even have time to chat with his Little Senior Sister.
The people from Medicine King’s Valley didn’t put on airs or act aloof. Coupled with the fact that Yang Kai wasn’t an outsider to them, the atmosphere was naturally harmonious.
After another hour or so, Qiu Yi Meng led a large crowd of people back. She had taken these nine forces out for a walk around War City and didn’t actually initiate any kind of attack. Her job was simply to provide a deterrent to the other Yang Family Young Lords.
When they returned, Yang Kai quickly introduced these various powers to Qin Ze one by one and Qin Ze responded with a simple nod of acknowledgement, not saying much.
The arrogance of Alchemists was apparent. In fact, even this offhanded nod was a result of giving Yang Kai face; under normal circumstances, Qin Ze would normally not even be willing to meet with these people.
Qiu Yi Meng quickly set about arranging a proper residence for this group from Medicine King’s Valley. Unlike his attitude towards the others, Qin Ze gave the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady quite a bit of face, saying a few words of praise and touting the good fortune of the Qiu Family to have such a competent successor, to which Qiu Yi Meng replied with a tittering of laughter.
Soon, all the arrangements had been completed.
While Qiu Yi Meng was busy, Yang Kai wasn’t slacking off. This time he had been forced to make a big splash, disrupting some of his originally plans to lay low. Right now, he had to set about strengthening his mansion’s defences in case his brothers decided to not let things go and join forces to pay him a visit tonight.
Bustling about, Yang Kai wasn’t done until just before evening set in.
Just as he was about to go get some rest though, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady abruptly stopped him in one of the dark hallways.
“Something you want to ask?” Yang Kai looked at the beauty in the darkness and asked curiously.
“En, I wanted to ask what you were planning to do next, and why you seemed so anxious.” Qiu Yi Meng slowly walked closer, her pretty eyes looking Yang Kai up and down.
“None of your business.”
Qiu Yi Meng snorted lightly, her tone becoming somewhat strange, “Even if you don’t say anything, I know. You’re going to find your Little Senior Sister aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Yang Kai admitted calmly.
“I’ve long since seen that your relationship isn’t normal.” Qiu Yi Meng spat somewhat disdainfully, bitterly muttering, “Is she from your Sect?”
“Yes, she’s also from High Heaven Pavilion.”
“But why does it seem Qin Ze is so respectful to her, even more so than he is towards you. She’s still so young, what makes her so special?” Qiu Yi Meng looked confused, while she had been arranging the group of people from Medicine King’s Valley, she had overheard a conversation between Qin Ze and Xia Ning Chang. From the way they spoke, it was closer to a report from a junior and one of his elders rather than a conversation between fellow disciples which she found quite unusual.
“There are indeed some reasons for it, just wait a few days and you’ll understand.” Yang Kai didn’t bother to explain.
“These people should be one of the boosts you had anticipated, right?”
“En, but I never expected so many of them would come.”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled impishly, “Thirty Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley, one of whom is Mysterious Grade. Yang Kai, you’ve really struck it rich. If this news were to be passed out, there will definitely be many people clamouring to join you.”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head in response, “While there are benefits, there are also disadvantages. You should understand this point.”
Qiu Yi Meng nodded in agreement , “You didn’t want to be the one tree sticking out from the forest, but now you’ve already drawn in such a big wind. What do you plan to do from now on? Do you still want to maintain a low profile?”
“Why not?” Yang Kai grinned. “Beauty, you seem to only see the sensational effects of this group from Medicine King’s Valley and fail to calculate how much their presence has actually increased my current fighting strength. Them coming here for me really made my brothers jealous, but don’t forget, this group of people don’t have strong cultivations or combat strength. When my brothers calm down and think about things, they won’t take this incident too seriously.”
Qiu Yi Meng paused for a moment before sighing, “En, it seems I was a little too excited by their arrival and neglected this point.”
Even with the addition of these Alchemists, in order for them to provide Yang Kai any noticeable help it would take at least three months, and that was only under the condition they were provided a massive supply of materials.
Three months, it was enough time for many things to happen.
What’s more, the other Yang Family Young Lords also had Alchemists supporting them, the only difference was their overall quality was lower than the ones who had come from Medicine King’s Valley.
If Qiu Yi Meng calculated correctly, this group from Medicine King’s Valley would take at least three months to improve the strength of Yang Kai’s forces while it would take at least six months or so to open any kind of gap with the cultivators of his brothers’ allies.
The events of today could only be chalked up to the Yang Family Young Lords being shocked by the arrival of Alchemists from Medicine King’s Valley, causing them to temporarily make a big deal out of nothing.
Qiu Yi Meng sunk into contemplation for a moment before whispering, “In other words, they’ll come to the conclusion that these people from Medicine King’s Valley aren’t much of a threat to them, at least in the short term.”
However, as time passed, the role these Medicine King’s Valley Alchemists could play would only become bigger.
“That depends on if they can figure that out.” Yang Kai grinned, his two rows teeth appearing quite stark in the darkness, causing Qiu Yi Meng to pause.
Furrowing her brow slightly, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly giggled, “I found that your attitude towards me has been a little different these days, at least you’re not as cold as before.”
“Ah…” Yang Kai was also taken aback.
But thinking about it, his attitude really had changed. Previously he felt Qiu Yi Meng was too cunning and calculating so he instinctively wanted to avoid getting close to her, but when the Inheritance War began in earnest and Qiu Yi Meng had taken the extraordinary step of separating herself from the Qiu Family to join his camp, he probably unconsciously began to approve of her.
“Have you finally taken notice of my charms? Did you start to fall for me?” Qiu Yi Meng chuckled as she made a teasing look.
Yang Kai stared at her for a moment before his mouth slowly curled into a meaningful smile, saying nothing but instead slowly approaching her. Noticing this sudden change, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady’s pretty smiling face suddenly changed colour, glancing around somewhat frantically only to discover that there was not another soul in sight, then hurriedly trying to fall back. Unfortunately, she ran into a wall.
The next moment, she felt a hot breath brush past her cheek as Yang Kai drew even closer to her, stretching out his arm to the wall to block her escape while his other hand landed on her shoulder.
By now, the distance between the two of them was less than a few finger widths and the aggressive air Yang Kai was putting out made Qiu Yi Meng feel a little frightened. She immediately felt that she had made a mistake choosing this place to stop him in order to chat and then making such a provocative statement.
“What are you doing?” Qiu Yi Meng’s breath couldn’t help speed up as her eyes flashed, “Twenty meters to the left, some of Xiang Tian Xiao’s people are lying in ambush, one hundred meters to the right is the hiding place of two masters from the Huo Family, on the roof less than thirty meters in front of us there are three people from the Duan Mu Family, I’m warning you not to mess around!”
“Haha!” Yang Kai smirked, “What are you afraid of? We’re all allies here, I’m just getting closer to you.”
“You don’t need to be so close… can’t you back up a bit?” Qiu Yi Meng had never been so anxious before. Unable to look back at Yang Kai’s aggression filled eyes, her body squirming uncomfortably against the wall, desperately looking for a way to escape.
“I can still go closer, do you want to try?” Yang Kai smiled wickedly, intimately whispering to her.
The Qiu Family First Young Lady finally managed to raise her eyes and glared back at her attacker, immediately feeling a bitter taste in her mouth when she noticed a sly and smug look in Yang Kai’s eyes.
Gritting her teeth, she suddenly smiled brilliantly and stretched out her hands, gently wrapping her soft arms around Yang Kai’s neck and softly whispering, “En, show me. I’d love to see what face you have to see your Little Senior Sister with after.”
As she spoke, Qiu Yi Meng gently lifted herself up, pressing her warm, soft peaks against Yang Kai’s firm chest.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he immediately reached out and pinched Qiu Yi Meng’s cheeks, laughing for a moment before letting her go.
“It’s alright to play around, but don’t take things seriously with me, my heart can’t handle it.” As his voice gradually drifted away, by the time Qiu Yi Meng recovered from her shock, she realized Yang Kai had already disappeared.
“Animal!” Qiu Yi Meng cursed under her breath, reaching out and rubbing her face which was still aching.
That stinky man didn’t know how to show tenderness, he didn’t hold back at all.
After muttering to herself about how she had been wronged for a while, Qiu Yi Meng stared at the place where Yang Kai disappeared, a slight feeling of loss coming over her. It was undeniable that he was by far the best and most outstanding man she had ever met, probably the greatest one in the entire world.
Such a man was more than worthy enough of her affection, and she indeed had some good feelings for him.
But… Qiu Yi Meng didn’t dare have such thoughts about him. It was because this type of man could not be bound to her.
Compared to being with him, Qiu Yi Meng was currently more interested in seeing just how far he could go, if he could one day stand high enough to overlook all mortal beings!
Maybe on that day, she could truly abandon everything and follow him, but definitely not now!
Xia Ning Chang’s door was closed and the veiled girl sat at her table with her head resting on her hands as she watched the lights gently flicker, her mood also experiencing similar undulations.
Yang Kai’s words during the day were still ringing in her ears. Every time she thought of them, Xia Ning Chang’s heart filled with sweetness and her delicate face would show a innocent happy smile, although no one was there to see it.
Yang Kai had never professed such words so plainly to her before.
Thinking about just what these simple words implied, Xia Ning Chang’s cheeks grew even redder, causing her to unconsciously cover her face as if she were embarrassed to be seen right now.
The time she had spent together with her Junior Brother in High Heaven Pavilion were the happiest days of her life, unfortunately they had not lasted long.
Suddenly, her door was opened then closed again a moment later as a person rushed into her room. Xia Ning Chang immediately woke from her dazed state and only had time to let out a small cry of panic, before she was swept up in a strong pair of arms and carried to her bed.
The True Qi and Divine Sense she had quickly gathered to defend herself were dispersed in the next instant. Although it was a little dark and she hadn’t clearly seen who the intruder was, upon catching a whiff of that familiar scent, Xia Ning Chang immediately knew who had come to visit her.
In the dim flickering light, Xia Ning Chang sat on Yang Kai’s lap and nestled herself in his arms, shyly stealing glances at her Junior Brother before quickly averting her gaze.
Her delicate earlobes immediately became bright red, making her seem all the more adorable.
Yang Kai stared at her with an affectionate smile, seemingly wanting to sear her image into his mind.
The pair remained this way for quite some time, the world around them seemingly completely silent.
This simple act of contact had already swept away all the loneliness and longing they had for one another, only leaving behind a sense of innocent happiness.
Xia Ning Chang had never felt so satisfied in her entire life. Although in the past, when Yang Kai looked at her, she had felt his affection, it had never been as straightforward as it was now.
[In his heart, there’s still a place for me…]
The young girl secretly thought to herself, a joyful smile blossoming on her tender face as she shrank her petite body further into Yang Kai’s arms.
At that moment, an invisible Divine Sense suddenly engulfed the pair and a Spiritual Energy pulse carrying a message was directly transmitted to Yang Kai’s mind.
“Smelly brat! This old master is next door! Don’t force me to butcher you right now!”
Upon receiving this message, Yang Kai smiled and sent a thread of his own Divine Sense into the next room, “Treasurer Meng, peeping on your own treasured apprentice isn’t something a respectable Senior should do. You should have some self-respect!”
When this message was passed, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the Divine Sense which belonged to Meng Wu Ya shook greatly for a moment, seemingly unable to remain calm. At that moment, a burst of strange mutterings rang out from next door.
“Master, what happened?” Xia Ning Chang quickly asked.
“Don’t worry, he’s probably just having a bad dream.”
Xia Ning Chang smiled helplessly, apparently aware that Yang Kai was spouting nonsense.
With Yang Kai all but exposing him, Meng Wu Ya didn’t bother trying to conceal himself anymore, instead just blatantly calling out, “Brat, when you’re done come over and see me. I have some things to ask you.”
“Good, I also have something to discuss with you.” Yang Kai nodded gently.
With that said, Meng Wu Ya’s Divine Sense slowly withdrew and no longer surveyed the pair.
Inside the room, Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang both looked at each other and broke into smiles. They could finally feel at ease. Although both of them knew that Meng Wu Ya had no ill intent, being stared at so closely by such a powerful master’s Divine Sense was always a bit uncomfortable.
Holding his Little Senior Sister in his arms, Yang Kai took no uncouth actions, just enjoying this warm moment they were sharing.
Xia Ning Chang was soft, so much so that it seemed like there was not a bone in her body, and the gentle scent which lingered about her was clean and refreshing.
“Little Senior Sister is amazing, you’ve already reached the Immortal Ascension First Stage.” Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh. When he had left Hidden Cloud Peak last time, Xia Ning Chang had been a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator, but now she had already broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. Such cultivation pace was not lower than his own.
“It’s all thanks to Junior Brother. What exactly was that liquid you left me? After I began taking a drop of it each day, my cultivation speed became much faster than before. All this time I have been discussing Alchemy with Grandmaster Xiao and studying the two Spirit Arrays you gave us rather than focusing on cultivating.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help revealing a look of surprise.
If Xia Ning Chang had enhanced her cultivation to such an extent so quickly without actually trying to, what realm would she have achieved if she were to?
This Little Senior Sister of his really emphasized how Heaven defying her unique physique was.
“That thing is called Myriad Drug Liquid, it can help cleanse one’s body and improve their physique. Do you need more? I still have lots.”
Xia Ning Chang nodded, “I still have some. I only take one drop a day, master also tried taking it but it seems to be useless in solving his injury.”
“Is Treasurer Meng injured?” Yang Kai was shocked. “How was he hurt?”
Little Senior Sister scratched her cheek, her brow wrinkling slightly as she whispered, “I don’t know. Master never told me the whole story. I only know that he was hurt and needs me cultivate assiduously in order to help him.”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn.
A powerful master like Meng Wu Ya was actually injured. Yang Kai had witnessed first-hand his terrible strength. In terms of combat ability, he was far stronger than an average Immortal Ascension Boundary master, and perhaps only those at the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary could defeat him.
Also, from his appearance, where was there any sign of injury? Maybe it was some old injury that had never healed properly?
But if it was just some kind of dark injury, the Myriad Drug Milk should work! Yang Kai’s thoughts turned and quickly decided that the next time he saw Meng Wu Ya he would ask.
Treasurer Meng had made no effort to hide his disapproval of Yang Kai being close to Xia Ning Chang, but that was simply a result of him caring for his treasured apprentice. In fact, Treasurer Meng had also taken great care of him, especially during his early time in High Heaven Pavilion; this was something that Yang Kai hadn’t forgotten.
“Junior Brother, have you heard any news about Su Yan?” Xia Ning Chang suddenly asked.
Yang Kai’s face couldn’t help sinking slightly as he shook his head, “I’ve sent out people to inquire but I’ve yet to hear back from them. I still don’t even know where she and the others from High Heaven Pavilion have gone.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be safe.” Xia Ning Chang whispered softly, stretching out her small hand and boldly stroking Yang Kai’s hair to comfort him. “If she hears you are here, she will definitely come to find you.”
“I hope so.” Yang Kai took a deep breath and calmed down, casually changing the subject, “What was that artifact that Little Senior Sister used during earlier today? It actually forced so many Immortal Ascension Boundary masters back.”
Xia Ning Chang smiled and turned her finger slightly, summoning out the star shaped ring that had appeared during the day once more, “This is something master gave me after I broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, the Gathering Star Ring. According to master, it’s a Mysterious Grade Mid -Rank artifact which can store three of Master’s Martial Skill strikes, I only need to stimulate it with a little of my True Qi and Divine Sense in order to activate it.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shocked, a trace of envy even surfacing in his eyes.
He had been wondering how Xia Ning Chang, even with her special constitution and Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage cultivation, could display such phenomenal strength. Even if she was using a Mysterious Grade artifact, it shouldn’t have been possible.
After all, no matter how powerful the artifact, in the end it still needed the cultivator to provide True Qi and Spiritual Energy.
But after listening to her explanation just now, everything suddenly made sense.
The strike he had witnessed was exactly the same as a Meng Wu Ya’s full powered strike, how could cultivators at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage possible resist?
“ Treasurer Meng’s heritage is immeasurable.” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly, in his mind considering whether he should try to ‘borrow’ a few Mysterious Grade artifacts from Meng Wu Ya.
However, with Meng Wu Ya’s personality, this would be quite difficult. If he had any treasures he would always give them Xia Ning Chang, as for others, even Yang Kai, it was basically a fools dream trying to gaining any advantages from him.
“Well, enough about that,” Yang Kai quickly collected his thoughts and said, “Little Senior Sister, since you have come, you’ll certainly be busy from now on. I’ll turn over everything related to Alchemy to you; I need to improve the strength of my people as soon as possible.”
“En, if it’s about alchemy you can leave it to me,” Xia Ning Chang’s eyes curved into crescent shapes, “I worked hard to improve my Alchemy so I could help you.”
“You simply being here is a big help to me, but don’t work too hard; otherwise Treasurer Meng will never let me hear the end of it.” Yang Kai smiled and said quickly, “Little Senior Sister, relax your Knowledge Sea’s defence.”
“Hm?” Xia Ning Chang looked at Yang Kai curiously, wondering why he would suddenly make such a strange request.
“I have some things about Alchemy to teach you.”
Xia Ning Chang’s eyes suddenly lit up, “Is it something related to those two Spirit Arrays?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Xia Ning Chang immediately let go of her Soul’s defence and in the next moment she felt a huge and shocking Spiritual Energy invaded her Knowledge Sea.
This foreign Divine Sense was huge and aggressive. It seemed to have a sharp edge to it and also contained some sinister and evil attributes. Fortunately, this Divine Sense didn’t carry any malicious intent towards her but it still frightened Xia Ning Chang at first.
Inside her Knowledge Sea, Xia Ning Chang’s Divine Sense condenses into a spiritual clone and tentatively called out, “Junior Brother?”
“En.” Yang Kai also condensed into an image of himself and nodded.
“How did you…” Xia Ning Chang stared dumbfounded at this phantom which was clearly condensed of even more powerful Spiritual Energy than her own, unable to stop herself from wondering how Yang Kai could have such a powerful Divine Sense even though he was only a True Element Boundary Eighth Stage cultivator.
“Even I can’t fully explain it, but it’s not a bad thing.” Yang Kai grinned as he slowly swept his eyes around. He found that the feel of his Little Senior Sister Knowledge Sea was just like her personality, pure and innocent.
Below him was an endless sea that was formed from a myriad of Divine Sense threads. When a cultivator reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary, they would open up their Soul’s Knowledge Sea and along with the increase in their strength and Spiritual Energy, this sea would grow larger and larger while the energy contained within it would become stronger and stronger.
Yang Kai had once entered Shan Qing Luo’s Knowledge Sea; compared with Xia Ning Chang’s Knowledge Sea, there were some obvious differences.
The Beguiling Demon Queen, Shan Qing Luo’s Knowledge Sea was suffused with a fascinating temptation, but inside his Little Senior Sister’s Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai only felt a kind of harmonious tranquility.
It seemed as though Xia Ning Chang’s Knowledge Sea could purify the evil within people’s hearts.
Above this peaceful Knowledge Sea, two figures stood facing each other.
“I’m still not familiar with how to use my Divine Sense right now so I can only explain to you what I know. Take down what you can and if there is something you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask.” Yang Kai sighed helplessly.
When it came to utilizing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai only knew how to use his Soul Skills. If he were more skilled at handling it, he could copy the knowledge in his mind and form a package with his Divine Sense before directly delivering it to his Little Senior Sister, there would be no need to go through the trouble of explaining things.
Xia Ning Chang nodded lightly in response.
And so, Yang Kai began speaking to Xia Ning Chang about the True Alchemic Way.
To this day, Yang Kai had still only extracted a very small part of the knowledge contained in the True Alchemic Way, but this small part still included a variety of magical Spirit Arrays and the experiences of many Alchemy Grandmasters.
These things were worthless to the average person and even to ordinary Alchemists as they were too profound and mysterious. But for an Alchemist of Xia Ning Chang’s talent, they were simply peerless treasures.
With this knowledge, Yang Kai believed that his Little Senior Sister could achieve even greater results in her Alchemy with far less effort, even comprehensively increasing her skills a few times over.
As time passed and the sun and moon rose and set inside this tranquil Knowledge Sea, two illusory figures stood face to face, one person lecturing, one person listening. The atmosphere was peaceful but serious.
Xia Ning Chang’s comprehension ability was extraordinary. There were many pieces of information Yang Kai had obtained from The True Alchemic Way that he still didn’t understand, but after explaining it to Xia Ning Chang and discussing with her, he too gained a lot of benefits.
Gradually, the scene changed from one person imparting knowledge to another to two people expressing their opinions and exploring the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way.