When she heard Yang Kai make such a request to Zi Mo, Shui Ling couldn’t help feeling a bit excited.
Zi Mo grit her teeth and grumbled, “You bastard, I knew you weren’t kind enough to come here just to find me. Turns out you had another purpose all along.”
Yang Kai laughed sheepishly.
Zi Mo scowled at him badly before letting out a sigh, “The Abandoned Earth hasn’t been peaceful recently.”
“Oh? What happened?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Since long ago, the masters of Tian Lang Dynasty recognized that there were incredible secrets hidden inside the Abandoned Earth, so sometimes people would take the risk of entering it in order to seek out these mysteries. A short time ago, a lot of forces teamed up in order to launch and exploration of the Abandoned Earth, if you go there now and are discovered, even with your current strength, I’m afraid you won’t have a good end.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, since I dare to enter there, I will not be afraid of those people.”
Zi Mo groaned under her breath, “Your tone is still so wild.”
Hesitating for a moment, Zi Mo finally said, “You wait here for a bit, I need to consult with my Master. If Master allows me to go out, I’ll take you where you want to go. If I can’t get permission to leave though…. I’ll give you directions and you can go there yourself, the Abandoned Earth isn’t that difficult to find.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Saying so, Zi Mo disappeared into the cave network again.
The two girls who they had originally met on the road still stood around curiously looking at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, who was now gnawing away at the red fruit in her hand happily. On the other hand, Yang Kai had gone silent again, basically ignoring their slightly rude stares.
Half an hour after, Zi Mo came back and said, “Master said that since you have a life-saving grace with me, this time he’ll allow me to help you, follow me.”
Yang Kai smiled, stood up, and along with Shui Ling, walked out with Zi Mo.
A short time later, the trio reached the large boulder again and after Zi Mo removed it, they exited the mountainside.
However, just after they stepped out, Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he turned his gaze towards a spot in the distance.
Zi Mo also frowned and stared in the same direction.
From the direction they were staring, a group of people quickly appeared, with a young man at their head, a mocking grin plastered all over his face.
The young man had an Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage cultivation, so it was obvious his aptitude was quite good. As for the people around him, most of them were also Immortal Ascension cultivators, numbering only a dozen or so in total.
This group of people flew forward and immediately blocked the trio’s path, sneering deviously the whole time.
After seeing the outfits of Shui Ling and Yang Kai, this group of people couldn’t help knitting their brows, especially when they noticed Shui Ling’s unusual pale blue hair. The leading young man showed a strong interest in her and kept sweeping his gaze wantonly over Shui Ling, from time to time an obscene light flickering across the depths of his eyes.
Shui Ling’s face and figure were both quite outstanding, and coupled with her hair that seemed to shimmer like water, it was only natural she became the focus of much unwanted attention.
“Xing Bao, what are you doing here?” Zi Mo immediately stepped forward and coldly asked the youth, her beautiful face now filled with loathing.
The young man named Xing Bao smiled back smugly and replied, “Junior Sister Zi’s question is quite interesting. This place is within the territory of my Sen Luo Temple, so why can I not be here? Oh right, Junior Sister Zi is no longer recognized as a disciple of Sen Luo Temple, perhaps I should call just call you Zi Mo now!”
As he spoke these words, the arrogance on his face only became thicker.
The group of people behind him also wore disdainful expression, clearly taking great pleasure in other’s misfortune.
Zi Mo’s tender body slightly trembled before she coldly snorted and shot back, “My Imperial Insect Faction has only temporarily withdrawn from Sen Luo Temple and has not formally separated from the Sect.”
“What? Zi Mo, do you still not know that Lord Sect Master has ordered the expulsion of your Imperial Insect Faction from Sen Luo Temple? If that wasn’t the case do you think that half dead old Master of yours would be able to bring all of you wastes out with him alive? Whatever the case, since you now know you’re not disciples of my Sen Luo Temple, you should know you can’t stay within our territory any more. Hurry up and get the hell out, if you dare linger here any longer, even if you want to leave, you won’t be able to.”
Zi Mo’s face changed from red to blue, “Are you really so ruthless?”
“Hah, ruthless, why shouldn’t I be?” Xing Bao coldly snorted, suddenly breaking out into a sinister laugh as he continued, “Well, it’s not like there isn’t any room for negotiation, as long as you can persuade your Master to submit to my father, you can still return to Sen Luo Temple.”
“Never,” Zi Mo sneered, “You want my master to crawl back and submit to your father? In your dreams.”
Xing Bao slowly shook his head, “Since you insist on being stubborn, you’ll have to pay the appropriate price.”
Saying so, Xing Bao waved his hand and said, “Capture these two Great Han Dynasty cultivators, let Zi Mo have a look at what fate awaits those who dare to offend us!”
Immediately after Xing Bao issued these orders, the people behind him quickly moved forward, snickering as they flew towards Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
For certain reasons, Xing Bao was not willing to directly deal with Zi Mo, but Yang Kai and Shui Ling were clearly cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty, so he naturally had no scruples about handling them.
Yang Kai simply sighed and shook his head.
He had already realized that something was afoot in Sen Luo Temple but he had intentionally not asked Zi Mo about what was happening because he was afraid of getting involved and delaying his departure, but now it seemed trouble had come looking for him instead.
Shui Ling glanced over at him silently, seemingly asking for instructions.
Yang Kai turned his eyes towards the sky, indicating he didn’t care what happened next.
Seeing his indifferent attitude, Shui Ling snorted lightly and pointed her palm at her would-be attackers, sending out a small ball of water towards each of them.
These balls of water were only about the size of a palm, but when they hit the approaching cultivator’s bodies, they immediately expanded and engulfed their targets, completely submerging them in a watery prison.
The formerly menacing Sen Luo Temple cultivators instantly transformed into miserable drowning curs, struggling violently in an attempt to escape from these water balls yet completely incapable of resisting.
Shui Ling reached out once more and instantly trapped Xing Bao inside a water ball as well.
A dozen or so cultivators had been trapped inside Shui Ling’s floating water balls and no matter how fiercely they struggled or how hard they pushed their True Qi, they were all incapable of freeing themselves, stunning and terrifying all of them.
Zi Mo was also dumbstruck by this scene, never having expected that the pretty young girl with shimmering blue hair was actually such a powerful master.
On top of that, the methods Shui Ling used were something Zi Mo had never heard of before, much less seen.
“Bitch, let me go this instant!” Xing Bao shouted as he struggled, squirming around awkwardly, constantly making threats towards Shui Ling, “If you dare to hurt me, you’ll die a miserable death!”
“Ridiculous!” Shui Ling spat disdainfully, but after all, this was someone else’s site so she wasn’t planning on taking things too far, only intending on giving them a harsh lesson.
However, Xing Bao not only did not appreciate this mercy but instead became even more rampant and arrogant. Seeing that Shui Ling wasn’t showing any killing intent, he quickly calmed down and wantonly shouted, “I’ll remember you, you slut! When I get out of here, I’ll definitely let me my father capture you for me and then I’ll discipline you well! My father is the Sect Master of Sen Luo Temple, just you wait, I’ll make sure you suffer miserably, hahahaha!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help gawking, staring towards Xing Bao like he was some kind of fool as he whispered to Zi Mo, “What’s wrong with him? Is he messed up in the head or something?”
Zi Mo didn’t respond and instead was focusing her attention on Shui Ling.
Thanks to Xing Bao’s rampant words, Shui Ling had been thoroughly enraged, her eyes becoming cold as she gripped her hand, causing the dozen or so water balls to rapidly contract.
“Don’t!” Zi Mo cried out in shock.
*Peng peng peng peng…*
The sound of bursting bubbles resounded one after another, as a dozen bloody flowers suddenly blossomed mid-air.
Not even their skeletons were saved as these dozen people were transformed into minced meat and blood.
Zi Mo’s tender body trembled.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai came to his senses and angrily shouted towards Shui Ling, not having anticipated her to act so ruthlessly.
Shui Ling shot back in a wronged tone, “They insulted me, so I killed them.”
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead and suddenly felt a great headache.
“What?” Shui Ling stared at Yang Kai in confusion, “What’s the big deal with killing a few pieces of trash? You’ve killed so many people already, don’t tell me you’re still not using to seeing people die?”
“Killing these wastes isn’t the problem, the problem is killing them here in someone else’s territory,” Yang Kai sighed, “Seems things are about to become troublesome.”
“Troublesome indeed,” Zi Mo stared speechlessly at Yang Kai, thinking to herself she really couldn’t have any connection with this man again. This bastard had only just arrived in Tian Lang Dynasty yet he had already provoked so much trouble.
Letting out a sigh, Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “What’s done is done, they’re already dead and won’t suddenly resurrect even if we want them to.”
A figure suddenly appeared nearby, his eyes staring coldly at the scene below before turning towards Yang Kai, “Little friend, do you think this old master can use those words to smother the anger of Sen Luo Temple?”
“Probably not.” Yang Kai smiled calmly.
“Master!” Zi Mo shouted, “I’m sorry, I didn’t react in time…”
The old man floating nearby simply raised his hand to stop her and shook his head, “It’s not your fault, they’re the ones who killed them.”
Saying so, a crushing pressure filled with killing intent descended towards Yang Kai and Shui Ling
However, Yang Kai just casually stepped forward and stared back at this old man fearlessly, “What does Senior intent to do here?”
“This old master intends on capturing you two and then bringing you to Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master to face punishment, lest my Imperial Insect Faction be implicated by your reckless actions,” The old man replied flatly.
“Master!” Zi Mo exclaimed, but the moment she opened her mouth, the old man waved his hand and bound Zi Mo in place with his True Qi, apparently not wanting her to interject.
Zi Mo was incredibly anxious and was desperately trying to signal Yang Kai to quickly flee this place.
Her Master was a genuine Transcendent Realm powerhouse, in Zi Mo’s mind there was no way the Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage Yang Kai could hope to resist him.
But after listening to the old man’s declaration, Yang Kai still remained calm, simply nodding once, “Senior doing so is only natural, but if Senior thinks capturing us will be easy, this Junior will have to disappoint you.”
Yang Kai’s expression was completely carefree, as if he didn’t know how to write the word ‘death’.
The old man stared at Yang Kai deeply, not sure why this weak little brat still seemed so calm even now, suddenly bursting into laughter a moment later, “Interesting. Truly interesting, are all cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty as rampant as you?”
“Not all of us,” Yang Kai replied, his brow wrinkling slightly, the old man suddenly withdrawing his killing intent made him feel somewhat puzzled.
The old man nodded and continued, “Good, since you killed those brats, this old master really should capture you here and now, but this old master suddenly doesn’t feel like doing so. Since little friend acts so crazily, you should have some impressive hidden methods. This old master wants to see how you escape the pursuit of Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master.”
Having said so, the old man waved his hand again and freed Zi Mo, calmly saying, “Zi Mo, lead them to the Abandoned Earth, then make sure they know to never comes to my Sen Luo Temple in the future.”
Apparently finished with what he wanted to say, the old man’s figure flickered and disappeared.
Zi Mo quickly bowed towards the hidden cave in the mountainside, “Many thanks, Master.”
Zi Mo hurriedly led Yang Kai and Shui Ling out of the jungle and then rushed towards the Abandoned Earth, seemingly afraid that her master would change his mind.
Half a day later, her speed gradually eased up, gently gasping, she turned to look at Yang Kai and Shui Ling helplessly, “You two… haa…”
“Your master is quite interesting,” Yang Kai commented.
“Master isn’t someone who doesn’t distinguish between right and wrong. He is also quite grateful to you for killing those people, so he decided to let you go.”
“Grateful?” Yang Kai shook his head, “I doubt that, as to why he let us go, he seems to have his own considerations.”
“Considerations?” Zi Mo asked suspiciously.
Yang Kai smiled slightly before swiping the back of his hand lightly, opening a small cut out of which blood oozed. Staring for a moment, Yang Kai swiftly pinched a small object that seemed to be crawling out of the wound.
“A Tracing Insect?” Zi Mo’s expression changed greatly, turning her gaze back to Yang Kai and asking, “Did master plant it on you?”
“What do you think?” Yang Kai asked with a sly expression on his face.
Zi Mo immediately felt embarrassed. Secretly planting a Tracing Insect on Yang Kai, only her master could accomplish something like that. Moreover, the grade of this insect wasn’t low; at first glance it was obvious it belonged to her master.
“Don’t worry about it, your master doing this really indicates he didn’t want to kill us; after all, we took some revenge for your Imperial Insect Faction and I also saved your life once. He probably did this so he can have an excuse to calm your Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master’s anger.” Yang Kai analyzed, as if seeing through all of Zi Mo’s master’s thoughts, quickly returning the Tracing Insect to his body.
“You…” Zi Mo was dumbfounded, “Why did you put it back?”
“If I kill it, how would your master explain himself to Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai smiled, “If I haven’t guessed wrong, this little bug can be used to locate my position, yes?”
“En, Tracing Insects come in male, female pairs. Right now, the female has been planted on you so as long as one has the corresponding male, they can easily seek you out,” Zi Mo nodded lightly.
“This things male partner must be in the hands of Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master by now.”
Yang Kai’s clear understanding of the situation caused Zi Mo to nod in admiration.
“You’re not worried?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai shook his head, “If he dares to come, I’ll make sure he never goes back.”
“You’re as crazy as ever.”
“Enough about that. What’s going on with Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai finally couldn’t help but ask.
Yang Kai had intentionally acted ignorant before because he was worried about getting caught up in some unforeseen trouble, but now that he was already involved, naturally he wanted some more information.
Zi Mo gently breathed a sigh of relief, “Sen Luo Temple is the only Super Force in Tian Lang Dynasty, but within the Temple itself there are five different factions and our Imperial Insect Faction is the smallest and weakest of those factions. Every ten years, one person from each of the five major factions will be elected to compete for the position of Sect Master. The current Sect Master is the father of that bastard Xing Bao. Meanwhile, Xing Zong, the current Sect Master is a competent leader and a strong master, but his thirst for authority and power is too strong, so with the end of his term approached, he used some means to win the support of the other four factions. However, my master was not willing to compromise and insisted on following the teachings of our ancestors. As a result, our Imperial Insect Faction was thoroughly suppressed by Xing Zong and over the past year or so we’ve steadily been pushed out of Sen Luo Temple and forced to live in that mountain’s jungle.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, now having at least a basic understanding of Sen Luo Temple’s situation.
There were only a hundred or so people in the Imperial Insect Faction, so although there was a Transcendent Realm master leading them, facing the suppression of all of Sen Luo Temple’s other factions, it was obviously impossible for them to resist, leading to their exile from the Sect.
“Although we have temporarily left Sen Luo Temple and have done our best to distance ourselves from the Sect’s internal disputes, they still aren’t willing to let us live in peace. Xing Bao often brings people to trouble us or apply pressure, trying to force us to compromise and submit to his father’s authority, but so far Master has stubbornly refused.”
“No wonder when I first arrived you said those words to me.” Yang Kai smiled.
Zi Mo smiled faintly, “I didn’t know it was you; after all, it’s been so many years since we separated, how was I to know you were even still alive?”
Suddenly letting out a sigh, Zi Mo grumbled, “Well, the situation is like that.”
Yang Kai nodded silently. If Zi Mo had been a cultivator from the Great Han Dynasty, he could easily invite her to go to the Central Capital, but since she belonged to Tian Lang Dynasty, it wasn’t convenient for Yang Kai to interfere too much, even if Zi Mo was willing to move to the Central Capital, her master definitely would not be.
Judging from his uncompromising attitude towards Xing Zong, that old man obviously had a stubborn personality; such people were generally not willing to leave their homelands behind.
Yang Kai was unwilling to intervene in another Sect’s matters, but if they decided to find trouble with him, he would respond in kind.
At the same time, above a lush jungle fifty kilometers outside Sen Luo Temple.
A tall man with a stern face who appeared to be in his forties suddenly flew over.
Staring down at several piles of minced meat and dried blood, the stern faced man’s breath became ragged as a violent True Qi began surging from his body, turning towards a nearby mountain and roaring angrily, “Liu Yun, get out here!”
“Sect Master, I’ve been waiting for you,” Zi Mo’s Master appeared and calmly greeted.
“Who killed Xing Bao?” Xing Zong furiously interrogated, his aura fluctuating wildly as he was on the verge of erupting, staring at Liu Yun with an expression that seemed to say ‘if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer I’ll kill you where you stand’.
“It was two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty.”
“Cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty?” Xing Zong fumed, “Why would cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty appear here? Are you saying you colluded with outsiders to attack my son?”
“Sect Master must be joking, if I wanted to act against your son, Xing Bao would have been dead many times over by now, it is only because of Sect Master’s face that this old master tolerated his arrogance,” Liu Yun coldly snorted, clearly not afraid of Xing Zong’s threatening posture.
In response to these ruthless words, Xing Zong’s anger slightly abated, but he still refused to let the issue drop, “What exactly happened?”
Liu Yun’s tone also became more temperate as he narrated the course of events, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, “This old master didn’t expect the two of them to kill so decisively, by the time I realized it was already too late.”
“Where are they now?” Xing Zong asked, “Did you capture them already and were just waiting for me to arrive?”
Liu Yun slowly shook his head, “They’ve fled.”
Xing Zong’s aura became dangerous once more, “With you here, they still managed to escape? Could it be you just stood by and watched them leave?”
“You could say that; after all, I have no enmity with them, so why would I attack them for no reason?” Liu Yun calmly retorted.
Hearing this, Xing Zong’s anger fully erupted, a thick killing intent burst forth from his body as he coldly shouted, “If you don’t give me an explanation right now, I’ll personally exterminate your Imperial Insect Faction.”
To this naked threat, Liu Yun simply sneered, “This old master just thought that seeking revenge for the death of one’s child should be solved by Sect Master himself. Therefore, this old master decided to take a step back so as not to interfere in this important affair.”
Saying so, he took out a small insect and held it up, “Sect Master should know what this is, correct?”
“A Tracing Insect?” Xing Zong’s eyes flashed brilliantly.
“Indeed,” Liu Yun nodded gently, “This male Tracing Insect’s female partner has been planted on the person who killed Xing Bao. As long as Sect Master has this, it should be easy for him to track down the murderer.”
“Give it to me,” Xing Zong hastily put his hand out.
However, Liu Yun shook his head once more, “It’s not impossible for this old master to hand this Tracing Insect over to Sect Master, but I have some conditions.”
“You dare discuss conditions with me?” Xing Zong grinned fiercely, “You think that without that Tracing Insect I can’t find those two? Laughable, as long as they’re still in Tian Lang Dynasty, I will find them eventually!”
“If Sect Master knew where those two were going, you may not be so confidant,” Liu Yun sneered.
Xing Zong’s brow furrowed for a moment before he asked, “Where did they go?”
“The Abandoned Earth!”
Xing Zong’s expression immediately became ugly. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he asked, “Your conditions, let’s hear them!”
The Abandoned Earth, even if it was Xing Zong, he couldn’t guarantee that he could find one or two people inside that Forbidden Zone. The energy inside that place was far too chaotic and dangerous, without some kind of reliable guidance, it was even possible that he could lose his way and never be able to leave.
“The Imperial Insect Faction returns to Sen Luo Temple, and the ten year tradition of electing a new Sect Master is restored according to our ancestral teachings! If Sect Master refuses, this old master will immediately crush this insect!”
“You dare!” Xing Zong roared as he flew into a rage.
Liu Yun sneered dismissively, gathering his True Qi into his palm, calmly waiting, exhibiting a completely uncompromising stance towards Xing Zong.
After rampaging for a moment, Xing Zong grit his teeth and nodded, “Good, I swear to you, as long as I can take revenge for my son’s murder, I will fulfill all of your conditions.”
“I hope Sect Master will honour his words!” Liu Yun said coldly. Although he did not have much faith in Xing Zong, right now this was the best he could hope for, so he decisively tossed the male Tracing Insect over.
Reaching out and grabbing the Tracing Insect, Xing Zong coldly snorted before turning and flying towards the Abandoned Earth.
…………
Two days later, at the periphery of the Abandoned Earth, Yang Kai’s trio came to a stop.
Looking at the barren wasteland that stretched out before them, completely devoid of all life, Yang Kai and Shui Ling were both somewhat amazed.
The aura surrounding this place was extremely odd, giving them a truly ominous feeling, no wonder it had become Tian Lang Dynasty’s most dangerous Forbidden Zone.
“We’re here,” Zi Mo said with a tinge of panic apparent in her voice, apparently quite unwilling to go any further.
“Thank you,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, over the past two days, Zi Mo had told Yang Kai everything she knew about the Abandoned Earth in the hopes that it would at least somewhat useful to him.
“Do you really want to go in?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai anxiously, wondering just what he was going to do in the Abandoned Earth.
“I have to.”
“Then I’ll wait here for you to come out,” Zi Mo sighed and no longer tried to dissuade him.
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, “After we go in, I’m afraid we won’t see each other for a very long time; at the very least, I don’t plan on ever coming out from this place again. You should return to Sen Luo Temple.”
Zi Mo was dumbstruck.
“Go back and tell your master, if he dares plot against me again, even if he is your master, I’ll still kill him!” Yang Kai grinned fiercely, his face filled with an evil light, laughing recklessly as he led Shui Ling into the Abandoned Earth.
Zi Mo stood silently for a moment before quickly coming to her senses, shouting out, “Yang Kai, be careful. Don’t you dare die.”
Yang Kai didn’t look back, just waving his hand casually as he continued forward.
Soon, both his and Shui Ling’s figure disappeared from Zi Mo’s view.
Seeing him vanish, Zi Mo suddenly felt an odd sense of loss.
In truth, her friendship with Yang Kai wasn’t too deep; it was just that when she was together with him in that Isolated World, his various performances and achievements had left a deep impression on her. This time, when they reunited after all these years, the shock Yang Kai brought here was even greater.
Unknowingly, this bastard of a man had actually become an Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage master.
Perhaps because he was the most outstanding man she had ever met, Yang Kai’s departure had made her feel a little regretful.
A place with no life, where not even grass grows. An endless wasteland where dust and gravel swirl randomly and one care barely see ten meters in front of their face.
This was the Abandoned Earth!
Upon stepping into this place, Yang Kai couldn’t help becoming more vigilant. According to Zi Mo, the flow of energy in the Abandoned Earth was chaotic and disaster could strike at any moment. If someone was even a little careless, even their bones might not remain.
Moreover, due to this chaotic energy, it was very difficult to maintain a sense of direction, so it was easy to become lost. Every year, a large number of powerful masters would come here seeking opportunities, but most of them would never return.
How did the Abandoned Earth form? Zi Mo didn’t know too much, only that this place had suddenly appeared some two hundred years ago.
The region where the Abandoned Earth now stood on had not always been this desolate. Although it wasn’t a rich vibrant land, at the very least, there were flowers and trees and traces of human activities.
The appearance of the Abandoned Earth more than two hundred years ago had created a big stir and to this day was one of the greatest mysteries in Tian Lang Dynasty.
But while Zi Mo didn’t know the origins of the Abandoned Earth, Yang Kai did.
Tian Lang Dynasty’s most famous Forbidden Zone was actually created by Meng Wu Ya.
Treasurer Meng had passed Yang Kai a message at the last moment before the void corridor to Tong Xuan Continent collapsed.
In that Divine Sense message, he had told Yang Kai a route to take to get to Tong Xuan Continent; it was because of this message from Meng Wu Ya that Yang Kai had come here.
If it weren’t for Meng Wu Ya, Yang Kai would never have known that there was a hidden void corner in this Abandoned Earth. If he could find it, he could travel to the other world.
When Meng Wu Ya first arrived in this world from Tong Xuan Continent, he had used the void corridor where the Abandoned Earth was now located, and in order to protect this passage, he had used a profound technique to create a protective array here, turning this place into a kind of Forbidden Zone.
Over time, feeding on the surrounding World Energy, this array became more and more dangerous and eventually grew beyond the scope that Meng Wu Ya could control, gradually growing to its current size and scope.
Two hundred years ago, Meng Wu Ya had come to this world through this void corridor, so just how old is Treasurer Meng? Yang Kai recalled the content of the message he had received and couldn’t help wondering.
Treasurer Meng was really mysterious. Every time Yang Kai thought he had figured Meng Wu Ya out, he would quickly realize that he actually understood nothing about him. Yang Kai even faintly thought that Meng Wu Ya’s current Third Order Transcendent Realm cultivation was not his full strength.
[That old fox!] Yang Kai grumbled to himself as he shook his head.
Shui Ling followed Yang Kai’s footsteps closely; although she was already a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, this place still gave her a rather insecure feeling. She did not dare stray too far from Yang Kai for fear of them being separated.
Walking only a short distance, Yang Kai suddenly paused, closed his eyes and listened carefully, a moment later his expression becoming solemn as he grabbed Shui Ling and pulled her forward rapidly.
After only rushing out several dozen meters, a terrifying wind howled behind them.
Shui Ling turned around instinctively to look and immediately went pale; in the place where the pair had just been standing now stood a great tornado that stretched high in to the sky, fierce blades of wind that contained a terrifying energy constantly flying out from it, digging up the surrounding earth.
“Follow me closely,” Yang Kai said, “The energy here is too chaotic, if we’re not careful we may die here.”
Shui Ling’s beautiful face, which was now drained of all colour, nodded repeatedly, and asked somewhat nervously, “This place is so dangerous and there are no Precious Treasure, so why did that Zi Mo girl say a lot of masters from Tian Lang Dynasty still come here seeking opportunities?”
“Because these chaotic energy flows are actually a portrayal of a profound Martial Skill,” Yang Kai explained casually.
“These things are the result of a Martial Skill?” Shui Ling was stunned.
“En, many years ago, in order to protect the secret of this place, someone released a lot of high-end Martial Skills in this area and then, through some special methods, preserved their destructive power. Although as time passed, the form of these Martial Skills dissipated and the energy become chaotic, they still contain wisps of that master’s comprehension of the Martial Dao. If someone is able to comprehend part of those sensibilities from these chaotic energies, they might be able to piece together some profound Martial Skills, so… do you think those masters won’t be tempted?”
“What master possesses such skill?” Shui Ling was dumbstruck, “It shouldn’t be possible to preserve the destructive power of Martial Skills for so long.”
“Nothing is impossible. Also, you’ve already met that person.” Yang Kai smiled.
“Who?” Shui Ling was now even more confused.
Yang Kai didn’t answer despite Shui Ling’s multiple inquiries, so after a while she couldn’t help snorting disdainfully, “You’re really just lying to me. How could someone from the Great Han Dynasty understand the secrets of this place when that Zi Mo who has lived here all her life doesn’t?”
However, apart from this explanation, Shui Ling couldn’t think of any benefit in this place that would be attractive enough for the masters of Tian Lang Dynasty to risk their lives here.
As Yang Kai and Shui Ling proceeded, the two would encounter violent energy storms almost every hour. These storms would release potent bursts of energy that was composed of multiple chaotic attributes, making them particularly difficult to block .
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s senses were outstanding and he was always able to notice some abnormalities at the most critical times and lead Shui Ling away from danger.
After two or three days walking inward, Shui Ling’s beautiful face was matted with dust and dirt and her shimmering light blue hair was dishevelled and caked with mud.
The deeper the pair went, the more dangers they encountered and the more frequent the chaotic energy storms occurred. By this point, Shui Ling had become quite helpless so even though she didn’t know what Yang Kai’s ultimate goal was, she didn’t become anxious and just docilely followed behind him.
She knew that Yang Kai would surely lead her home.
At the same time, in a different location inside the Abandoned Earth.
More than a dozen Immortal Ascension Boundary masters were following a glowing ball of light. This ball of light wreaked havoc wherever it flew and contained a formidable power.
These dozen or so Immortal Ascension Boundary masters shouted and yelled to each other while under the leadership of one person, scattered around and tried to spy on the mysteries of this light sphere.
After much effort, just as they were on the verge of success, a figure suddenly came from a distance. This newcomer’s aura was violent and dangerous and quickly arrived in front of them.
The earth trembled when he landed.
“Who are you?” The leader angrily questioned.
“Xing Zong!” The person who came announced his name in a low voice, and although he was doing his best to suppress the anger of his heart, anyone who heard him could tell he was not happy.
“Xing Zong?” Hearing this name, the leader of this group’s face changed dramatically and he quickly stepped forward. After seeing Xing Zong’s face and confirming his identity, the leader immediately became respectful. He cupped his fists and greeted, “So it is Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master.”
Sen Luo Temple was the only Super Force in Tian Lang Dynasty, so its status was completely unmatched.
Although the people gathered here now all had not small prestige in Tian Lang Dynasty, facing Xing Zong they still couldn’t help becoming respectful, all of them offering polite greetings.
Xing Zong simply nodded lightly.
The leader of this group wore a big smile on his face as he cautiously asked, “Did Sect Master Xing come to the Abandoned Earth in search of opportunities as well?”
In response, Xing Zong coldly snorted, “I don’t have so much free time.”
“Then for what reason has Sect Master Xing come here today?” The leader asked, slightly puzzled.
The Abandoned Earth was not a hospitable place, and since Xing Zong wasn’t here seeking inspiration, why had he suddenly decided to come here?
“My son was killed by two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty, since you arrived here, have any of you seen a pair of foreigners?”
Hearing this, the leader’s expression changed to one of astonishment, “Young Sect Master was killed by cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty?”
The other masters gathered here also became indignant.
The reputation of Sen Luo Temple in Tian Lang Dynasty wasn’t very good, but the son of its Sect Master being killed by two Great Han Dynasty cultivators naturally aroused some ire.
No matter what contradictions cultivators had, when facing foreign enemies, they would feel a common enmity.
“None of us have seen such a pair, but since they dared come to this place, they definitely have some skill,” The leader muttered.
How could someone without any skill or strength dare enter the Abandoned Earth, what difference was that from seeking death?
“Sect Master Xing, do you have need of our assistance?”
Thinking for a moment, Xing Zong nodded and said, “Good, I have a method of that can trace their approximate location, so it is only a matter of time before I find them. All of you follow me and if they try to escape, help me block them.”
“It is our honour to be of service to Sect Master Xing,” The leader yelled, casting aside any thought of the light sphere he had been studying for so long and immediately ordering his men to follow Xing Zong.
Selling Xing Zong a favour at this time by helping with some minor matters would definitely have advantages in the future.
Not long after, this group met another batch of Tian Lang Dynasty cultivators. This group was quite small, only numbering five in total, but after hearing Xing Zong’s purpose for coming here, they immediately expressed their willingness to cooperate.
All together, a Transcendent Realm and more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters began closing in on Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
With the Tracing Insect leading the way, Xing Zong wasn’t worried about whether he could find Yang Kai or not.
The special link between the male and female Tracing Insects was valid even in this chaotic environment.
Yang Kai and Shui Ling were still walking deeper into the Abandoned Earth, proceeding neither quickly nor slowly. Both were not aware of the great danger those pursers behind them posed.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the pair arrived in front of a region that was perfectly calm with a dark curtain surrounding it. Seeing this, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, a touch of joy surfacing on his face.
The message that Treasurer Meng had sent him had been too hasty so although there was some guidance in it, Yang Kai was afraid he would lose his way in the Abandoned Earth, but now seeing this island of calm in the storm he was finally able to relax.
They had arrived!
Inside this calm region was the void corridor that led to Tong Xuan Continent.
“Yang Kai, this place gives me a bad feeling,” Shui Ling muttered, her tender body shivering as she stared forward. Right now, she felt a profound chill brushing past her face and so long as she dared to step forward, she would die a gruesome death.
“Danger isn’t just in front of us,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, turning around and staring at the region behind them.
There, a number of vague figures could be seen. The two sides were separated by only a hundred meters or so but these people were all standing still, as if they didn’t dare to approach this place.
Shui Ling cried out in shock, never having expected to meet people here at this critical time, and from the auras these people were giving off, it was obvious they did not have friendly intentions.
A hundred meters behind Yang Kai and Shui Ling stood more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters along with Xing Zong, each of them staring forward with solemn expressions, a tinge of fear flashing across the depths of their eyes.
“Sect Master Xing, the Abandoned Earth’s absolute death zone is in front of us, do you really want to go in?” The former Great Han Dynasty asked in horror.
This so called absolute death zone was a place that no one, no matter who they were, had ever come out of alive.
Not even Transcendent Realm masters could survive here!
Once, when a powerful Transcendent from Tian Lang Dynasty attempted to unravel the mysteries of the Abandoned Earth, he had inadvertently strayed into this area and had died. When this news spread, it had shocked all of Tian Lang Dynasty. From then on, one hundred meter area in front of Xing Zong and the other Immortal Ascension masters had become known as the absolute death zone.
Anyone who came to the Abandoned Earth would take care to stay as far away from this place as possible.
None of them had expected that the two Great Han Dynasty cultivators they were chasing had actually ran here, causing all of them to become somewhat hesitant.
Even Xing Zong was slightly anxious, learning from his predecessor’s mistakes and not underestimating this place.
But after hesitating for a moment, Xing Zong steeled his will, “What is there to fear? Aren’t those two safe and sound right now? It seems that those old rumors aren’t true. If you don’t have the guts to go any further, then just stand back and watch. I can easily take care of those two trivial Great Han Dynasty cultivators myself.”
Xing Zong had brought these twenty or so people along with him out of an abundance of caution. Although he was a Transcendent, and killing these two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty would be as easy as flipping his hand, but inside the Abandoned Earth, not everything could be measured by common sense, having a few extra helpers around in this place wasn’t a bad idea.
Having made up his mind though, Xing Zong strode forward, anger and hatred reappearing on his face as he closed in on his targets.
The other twenty or so masters exchanged a few nervous glances before reluctantly following.
The hundred meter gap was quickly crossed.
When Xing Zong arrived in front of Yang Kai and Shui Ling and saw their faces, he couldn’t help feeling surprised.
He had never expected that the two Great Han Dynasty cultivators he had been chasing were so young.
Noticing the presence of a group behind them, Yang Kai casually placed his hand on the back of his nape and removed the Tracing Insect, burning it to ashes.
“I take it you’re Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master?” Yang Kai glanced over at Xing Zong casually and asked in a carefree tone.
Xing Zong coldly snorted, his face twitching slightly as his eyes became slightly bloodshot, “Since you can recognize my identity, you should be the one who killed my son, yes?”
However, Yang Kai just smiled and shook his head, “Nope, she’s the one who killed him.”
Saying so, Yang Kai calmly pointed his finger towards Shui Ling. In response, Shui Ling put on the timid expression of one who dared commit a wrong but dared not accept responsibility, quickly hiding herself behind Yang Kai.
She didn’t know why Yang Kai was so calm facing a Transcendent Realm master, but understanding his personality Shui Ling realized that Yang Kai must have something to rely on so she didn’t hesitate to push all the trouble onto him.
Xing Zong’s eyes narrowed, turning a fierce glare towards Shui Ling as he angrily spat, “It doesn’t matter which of you did the deed, both of you will have to pay the price!”
Yang Kai cocked his head to the side and stared at Xing Zong for a moment before chuckling and asking, “And why kind of price does Sect Master Xing wants us to pay?”
“For murdering my son you must pay with your lives! Only your blood and souls can comfort my son’s spirit in heaven!”
“Can we not sit down and discuss this?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, “To be honest, although your son’s behaviour was repugnant, I didn’t have any desire to kill him, but my companion here has something of a short temper, so when your son sexually harassed her she struck him down in a single blow. All of this was his fault. If you considered it seriously.”
“Scoundrels!” Xing Zong roared, interrupting Yang Kai’s casual explanation, “Just because he harassed her a bit she had to take his life?”
“If I didn’t kill him there, it wouldn’t have ended with a little harassment. About your son’s character, you should be the most clear,” Shui Ling poked her head out from behind Yang Kai and shot back indignantly.
Xing Zong took a deep breath and quickly glanced over Shui Ling and quickly noticed that beneath all the dirt and dust her features and style were indeed quite astounding, immediately understanding what Xing Bao had been up to.
“What you’re saying is, my son was the one to commit the first wrong?”
“En,” Shui Ling nodded.
“Good, then I’ll give you a chance to choose, choose how you want to die!”
The group of masters behind Xing Zong snickered as they stared at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, secretly shaking their heads, thinking that these two Great Han Dynasty cultivators really had eyes but failed to see. Filling the son of Sect Master Xing, they had sealed their own fate.
“It seems like there’s no room to negotiate then,” Yang Kai shook his head helplessly, “I only intended on passing through Tian Lang Dynasty and did not want to have any conflict with you Tian Lang Dynasty people, nor did I want to kill people needlessly.”
“You’re still thinking about killing people?” Listening to Yang Kai’s words, Xing Zong couldn’t help staring at him as if he was some kind of fool, coldly snorting, “You don’t have to worry about such things anymore, soon, you’ll be nothing but a corpse, you’ll never kill anyone ever again.”
In response, Yang Kai simply grinned and suddenly summoned his gigantic Bone Shield. The Bone Shield was now several times larger than him and the sharp spurs around its edge were no more akin to large spears, the great beast maw on its face pulsing with a horrific energy.
“Bye~” Yang Kai lifted the Bone Shield up and pounded it down towards the Tian Lang Dynasty cultivators.
Xing Zong and the more than twenty Immortal Ascension Boundary masters suddenly felt a sense of terror wash over them.
As soon as this thought flickered across their minds, a terrifying energy seemingly capable of shattering the Heavens and destroying the Earth surged towards them.
A beam of light visible to the naked eye shot from the beast mouth on the Bone Shield’s face, bringing with it the power of the void, carving out a hundred meter swath in the Abandoned Earth.
In this hundred meter region, everything was instantly vaporized by the unstoppable power of the void.
He Immortal Ascension Boundary masters from Tian Lang Dynasty didn’t even have time to react before they were reduced to dust.
Only Xing Zong, with his Transcendent strength, managed to resist for a moment, but even he was only able to let out an unwilling scream before being annihilated.
Shui Ling was stunned.
Although she knew that Yang Kai had something up his sleeve which allowed him to act so calmly, she hadn’t expected his trump card to be so ferocious.
As a result, by the time she recovered from her shock, all of their enemies were dead, including the Transcendent Realm powerhouse.
Shui Ling had never thought a Transcendent Realm master could be so frail and vulnerable.
A number of Spiritual Energy remnants were silently drawn into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea in the next instant.
Furthermore, the huge Bone Shield also shrank down to its original size after expending all of its stored energy.
*Kacha…*
A large number of cracks immediately appeared all over the Bone Shield, causing Yang Kai’s brow to wrinkle; letting out a sigh he quickly stored it away.
The Bone Shield had suffered a great deal of damage the last time he had used it to protect himself when the Void Corridor beneath the Central Capital had collapsed, and after using it in such a condition, it had only become further damaged.
If he couldn’t find an Artifact Refining Grandmaster to fix it, he probably wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.
The chaotic energy in the surroundings also underwent some subtle changes. It seemed like the previous attack Yang Kai had unleashed had disrupted the flow of energy in this region of the Abandoned Earth, causing them to become even more unstable and dangerous. Noticing this, Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s expression both became dignified.
Glancing around, the pair saw signs that the chaotic energy here was on the verge of exploding.
“Stick close,” Yang Kai did not hesitate, quickly turning around and rushing forward, Shui Ling following right behind him.
Charging towards the dark curtain, Yang Kai sent out waves of True Qi towards it in a special pattern.
This pattern was something Meng Wu Ya had passed to Yang Kai in his final message and was the key to breaking through the last barrier in this place in order to arrive at the location of the Void Corridor.
If one didn’t have this method and rushed into this dark curtain, they would immediately be killed by the remaining destructive energies left behind by Meng Wu Ya.
Sure enough, although the energy in this place still swirled about chaotically, when Yang Kai approached, he did not encounter any resistance.
Passing through a sea of flame and ice, a wall of lightning, and various other mysterious energies, Yang Kai finally arrived in front of a great stone wall with Shui Ling.
Having reached his destination, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and furiously poured his True Qi into the stone wall.
The stone deformed in the next instant and the familiar energies of the void began pulsing from it.
“The way home!” Shui Ling’s eyes flashed brilliantly as she called out in an excited tone.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai grabbed Shui Ling and flung her into the Void Corridor, jumping after her in the next moment.
Inside the corridor it was pitch black, everywhere one looked there was only a vast emptiness as if nothing existed in this place, no sun, no moon, no sky, no earth.
The feeling of emptiness that surrounded them caused even the usual calm Yang Kai to feel somewhat anxious.
In the next instant, a small hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed hold of Yang Kai’s hand, naturally it was Shui Ling!
She was also nervous and afraid and unconsciously sought some sense of security from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai squeezed her hand gently, offering what little comfort he could.
This time the Void Corridor had a very different feeling than in the past. The last time Yang Kai used a Void Corridor it had only been to travel across a large part of the Great Han Dynasty so the distance hadn’t been too great, but now he was actually crossing worlds.
If Yang Kai had to describe it, it was as if he was falling through a never ending expanse.
After an unknown amount of time, Yang Kai suddenly saw a glimmer of light in front of his eyes and the darkness surrounding him quickly disappeared. Replacing it was a vast blue sky, and a fresh scent of earth soon filled his nostrils.
*Pa pa…*
Two splashes rang out as Yang Kai and Shui Ling hit what seemed to be a marshy ground.
Quickly recovering, the two stood up and looked around.
The pair found themselves in the middle of a muddy swamp surrounded by a forest of short trees with many small beasts scurrying back and forth nearby, probably disturbed by their sudden arrival.
There didn’t seem to be any danger nearby, but Yang Kai’s expression was still somewhat solemn.
It was because the World Energy here was extremely rich, even more so than the Central Capital after the Earth Vein had detonated. In this place, the millions of pores on his skin all automatically opened and his True Yang Secret Art circulated furiously, drawing in this rich World Energy at a breathtaking pace.
“Haha!” Shui Ling burst into joyous laughter, “I’m back, I’m back, I’m finally back!”
“This is the Tong Xuan Realm?” Yang Kai turned to her and asked.
Shui Ling was so excited that even though she was covered from head to toe with mud and her light blue hair was completely dishevelled, she didn’t seem to care, or even notice. Instead, she rushed over to Yang Kai and hugged him so tightly he nearly choked from the force, “Thank you, thank you for bringing me home!”
Yang Kai’s heart sped up and all kinds of thoughts flashed across his mind, turning his head to look up at the blue sky, a big smile slowly forming on his lips.
[Tong Xuan Realm, I’m finally here!]
This was the sky that Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister were staring up at, this was the same land that they stood on now.
This was the place where Treasurer Meng and Old Demon had come from.
As long as they were here, he would eventually be able to find them!
Yang Kai took a deep breath and slowly tried to regain his composure.
In the swamp, Shui Ling completely let loose, not minding her sloppy appearance, simply celebrating and dancing around joyfully.
Infected by her jubilance, Yang Kai’s mood also gradually became bright.
As he let go of all of his tension, Yang Kai began to feel like something was off because his body had never before felt so unrestrained, as if a layer of shackles that had been weighing him down had suddenly been lifted.
His True Yang Secret Art circulated faster and faster and the True Qi in his meridians flowed much more smoothly than before.
“Shui Ling…” Yang Kai called out, his brow furrowed slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Shui Ling stopped her revelry for a moment and stared at him curiously.
“I have to break through.”
Shui Ling covered her mouth in shock and asked, “Right now?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, immediately sitting down and closing his eyes.
Thinking about it for a moment, Shui Ling suddenly understood, “That’s right, in your former world there was a layer a shackles that seemed to fetter the development of all cultivators, but after arriving here on the Tong Xuan Continent, those shackles vanished, creating an opportunity for you to break through, it’s just…”
Taking a glance around, Shui Ling frowned slightly, the two of them didn’t even know where they were right now so to break through in such an environment was not ideal. If Yang Kai’s breakthrough was to be disturbed by a powerful Monster Beast or some other hidden danger, the consequences would be serious.
“Can you suppress it?” Shui Ling proposed.
Yang Kai struggled to open his eyes, and with a single glance said all he needed to say. Closing his eyes again he quickly calmed himself and focused on his breakthrough.
“Forget I asked.” Shui Ling sighed helplessly. Sudden breakthroughs like this were great strokes of fortune that could not be asked for, so intentionally trying to suppress one was quite unreasonable.
Now that things had gotten to this point, all Shui Ling could do was spread out her Divine Sense to scan the local region and probe for any signs of danger.
During her investigation, Shui Ling found nothing within a radius of ten kilometers that could pose a threat to them and subsequently relaxed, waiting quietly while Yang Kai completed his breakthrough, observing the surrounding territory in an effort to determined where they were.
More than a dozen kilometers away from Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s position, a small group of people were quietly lurking behind some tall grass.
There were only eight people in this group, but all of them were Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators, the leader a beautiful young woman with a plentiful chest and excellent style. She wore a tight fitting light blue dress that had a long slit down her skirt, revealing her slender jade white thigh.
This style of clothing provided excellent flexibility while not limiting her range of motion, but any time, whenever she made any big or rapid movements, her wondrous legs would become fully exposed.
The beautiful spring scenery made the males of her group breathe a little harder and their mouths go dry. Those of these men that crouched behind her would unconsciously stare at her snow white skin that was exposed to the air as well as her shapely hips and well-rounded bottom. The natural seductive power of her body and her current posture that further emphasized her abundant capital caused blood to rush to many of their heads.
However, due to the status of this woman, all of these men only dared to secretly steal glances at her, none of them having the courage to get up to any kind if misconduct.
This young woman in front seemed to not care about these nervous gazes behind her; not only did she not try to awkwardly hide herself but she was even able to maintain a calm smile.
“All of you are breathing too heavily, keep it down. If that thing is startled by you and runs away, I’ll hold all of you accountable,” Suddenly, the young woman faintly warned.
The men assembled behind her all awkwardly cringed before nodding lightly, consciously turning their eyes away from her beautiful figure.
“Do all of you know what our goal is this time?” The young woman asked softly.
This time all of them nodded firmly.
“Good,” The young woman expressed her satisfaction and smiled, “This Scarlet Blood Orchid is a World Spirit Treasure, so it already has a certain amount of sentience, don’t underestimate it. According to the information I gathered, this Scarlet Blood Orchid already has seven leaves, which would make it at least a thousand years old. It is incredibly valuable, and as long as we can obtain it, everyone will naturally obtain many benefits.”
One of them men behind her with a big bushy beard grinned, “Young Lady, if we succeed here, what kind of reward can we get?”
“Twenty Crystal Stones per person,” The young woman replied.
Hearing this, everyone’s breathing became heavy again; it seemed like twenty Crystal Stones was a huge amount for them.
In an instant, everyone’s fighting spirit had risen to a new height, the beautiful young woman’s figure no longer clouding their eyes as all of them held their breaths and completely focused their attention on the task at hand as they waited for the Scarlet Blood Orchid to make an appearance.
“Soon,” The young woman whispered, “Every month, it will surface here for a time to absorb some sunshine and today is the day it’s scheduled to appear. It won’t be long until we achieve our goal.”
“Don’t worry, Young Lady. The barriers and traps we set are more than enough to capture it, as long as it dares to appear, it won’t be able to escape.” The man with the big beard confidently said, chuckling under his breath.
“Very good, the Young Master of Langya Sacred Ground is currently wounded and is in desperate need of this Scarlet Blood Orchid to recover from his injuries. You should also be aware of the benefits our Bold Independent Union will obtain if we can forge a relationship with Langya Sacred Ground,” The young woman gently breathed, her plentiful chest trembling slightly, drawing eyes once more.
Everyone present nodded again.
The Bold Independent Union’s strength wasn’t bad, but without a true powerhouse assuming command, it was still disparaged by many forces in the nearby region, while Langya Sacred Ground was a true great force. If they could forge a strong relationship with Langya Sacred Ground this time, it would be quite beneficial to Bold Independent Union’s development.
“It’s here!” In the next moment, one person quickly called out.
Everyone in the group looked up towards the water in front of them anxiously.
There, in the middle of the swamp, amidst the murky muddy water was a faint red glow and as time passed, the red glow became brighter and clearer.
Gradually, a blood red seven leaved orchid began emerging from the swamp, the lines on its surface which resembled meridians giving off a soft glow.
Everyone’s breathing became rapid as they stared at this thousand year old Scarlet Blood Orchid, each of their hearts pounding fiercely, threatening to make unwanted noise, fortunately all of them hurriedly calmed themselves.
A moment later, the Scarlet Blood Orchid gradually exposed itself completely.
Although it was a plant, since it was a World Spirit Treasure, it had its own consciousness and sentience so it was able to detect danger and was capable of taking actions to protect itself.
“Young Lady…” The big bearded man couldn’t control himself and called out.
“Wait!” The young woman quickly said, “It’s quite crafty, showing itself like this is still just to probe.”
Sure enough, as soon as the young woman said so, the Scarlet Blood Orchid rapidly sank into the mud and disappeared.
A short while later, it still had not resurfaced, causing everyone to feel slightly anxious, worrying about whether their whereabouts had been exposed causing the Scarlet Blood Orchid to withdraw.
Only the young woman still wore a confident expression.
After almost half an hour, the red light re-appeared beneath the murky water’s surface and soon the Scarlet Blood Orchid showed itself for a second time.
This time, it had completely emerged from the water and quickly arrived at a nearby patch of grass, taking root and exposing its seven leaves completely to the sun.
“Now!” The young woman shouted.
This was no doubt their best opportunity as the Scarlet Blood Orchid was now in its most relaxed state.
As soon as the bearded man heard the order, his hands quickly moved, forming a series of seals in order to activate the traps they had set.
But before these traps and barriers could activate, more than a dozen kilometers away, a powerful burst of energy erupted. Sensing the arrival of this intense energy fluctuation, everyone’s face couldn’t help sinking.
The young woman didn’t hesitate, her lithe body suddenly transforming into a stream of light as she shot out towards the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
Unfortunately, she was still too late. When it noticed this energy fluctuation, the Scarlet Blood Orchid immediately leapt into the swamp and disappeared, causing the young woman’s hand to grab nothing but air, her pretty face cramping up as she stood there with her rage soaring to the heavens.
The other members of her group slowly walked over, all of them showing aggrieved looks.
Twenty Crystal Stones had just disappeared in front of them, obviously none of them was in a good mood.
“How come there are other people here?” The young woman angrily shouted, turning to glare the bearded man, “Didn’t you say that everyone within a fifty kilometer radius had been dispersed?”
In order to obtain the Scarlet Blood Orchid this time, their Bold Independent Union had begun making preparations any entire month ago and had designated everywhere within fifty kilometers of here a forbidden zone, not allowing anyone to set foot in this region.
Before this action, their group had also performed an intense search of the area and had not found any outsiders, but now, this energy fluctuation was clearly a sign that someone had just had a breakthrough.
The bearded man blushed and opened his mouth timidly, “We really didn’t discover anyone within fifty kilometers of this place during our morning search.”
“So how did this happen?” The young woman roared, “We already promised Langya Sacred Ground that we would deliver them the Scarlet Blood Orchid within half a month, now what are we going to do?”
The bearded man was dumbstruck for a moment before hesitantly saying, “We can try again…”
“Try again?” The young woman sneered, “The Scarlet Blood Orchid is thoroughly frightened and has already sunk into the swamp. We’ll be lucky if it appears again half a year from now, how are we supposed to try again? Do you want to go down and look for it on your own?”
All of them were hit with a stream of harsh rebukes but none of them dared to raise any objections, their faces all just becoming uglier.
The young woman panted for breath in between her angry outbursts, obviously incredibly mad.
Victory was within her sight yet this sudden unexpected event had caused all of her plans to fail, naturally the young woman was thoroughly enraged.
Standing there for a moment to regain her composure, the young woman soon turned towards the direction the energy fluctuations had originated from and scowled, “Come with me, I want to see just who it was that spoiled my good deed !”
“If we find that bastard I’ll definitely kill him!” The bearded man quickly expressed his anger.
The young woman shot an angry glare at him, immediately shutting him up.
More than a dozen kilometers away, Yang Kai gently clenched his fists and wore a satisfied look on his face.
Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage; after just arriving in this world and breaking free of the shackles that had bound him previously, he had managed to break through a Minor Realm and simultaneously absorbed all of the Spiritual Energy remnants in his Knowledge Sea, he had obtain a lot of benefits in a very short time.
“Congratulations,” Shui Ling walked over from afar and smiled, offering her sincere congratulations.
Yang Kai faintly shook his head, Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, such a cultivation on the other side was not bad, but after learning about Tong Xuan Realm and understanding the mysteries of the Transcendent and Saint Realms, Yang Kai didn’t dare think too much of himself.
Such cultivation was still somewhat weak when compared to a Transcendent Realm master.
It seemed like it was necessary for him to raise his strength as soon as possible in order to survive in this vast and magnificent world as well as enable himself to find Su Yan and Little Senior Sister.
Without enough strength, he wouldn’t even be able to protect himself much less others.
“Did you manage to figure out where we are?” Yang Kai asked.
When Yang Kai was in the midst of his breakthrough, Shui Ling had gone to explore the surrounding region, hoping to discover their current location.
In response to his question, Shui Ling shook her head, “Although this swamp has some distinct features, there are too many places like it in Tong Xuan Continent. I don’t know exactly where we are but we should at least be in the Human Territory.”
“Human Territory?” Hearing this unfamiliar term, Yang Kai couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh, that’s right, I forget to tell you that in the Tong Xuan Realm, not only is there the Human Race, but there is also the Demon Race and the Monster Race. These two other races are very strong and are capable of standing as equals with our Human Race. The region controlled by the Human Race is generally referred to as the Human Territory, the region occupied by the Demon Race is known as the Demon Land, and the Monster Race has its roots in the Monster Domain. There’s also a neutral zone that sits at the intersection of these three major regions and there are also some other minor races scattered about. You can learn about them later.” Shui Ling casually explained, not going into too much depth; after all, this information was just common knowledge here, as long as Yang Kai continued to live here, he would gradually learn what he needed to know.
Yang Kai on the other hand was stunned.
Shui Ling smiled and continued, “You remember that Seventh-Order Monster Beast spider over there, right? If that spider managed to assume to a complete human form, she would then become part of the Monster Race, but that would require the assistance of the Beast Transformation Pond. The Beast Transformation Pond is a supreme treasure of the Monster Race. Well, there’s no need to worry too much about it, you’ll see many things you hadn’t ever heard or even dreamed of after staying here for a while.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “It seems I’m really quite ignorant.”
Suddenly remembering something, Yang Kai asked, “Demon General Meng Ge, have you heard that name before?”
Hearing this, Shui Ling turned an aghast look to Yang Kai, “How do you know about him?”
“He really exists?” Yang Kai was amazed. He had just asked casually, but seeing Shui Ling’s reaction, it seemed that this Demon General Meng Ge really was a character from Tong Xuan Continent, and a particular bad person at that.
When Yang Kai delved into the Evil Cavern in the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land for life experience, he had encountered a great whirlpool of Demonic energy, and from that whirlpool, a giant egg was produced. Later, four powerful Demon Path cultivators came to investigate this disturbance and had encountered the newly hatched Demon General Meng Ge, who had proceeded to instantly kill two of them and causing the other two heavy losses, suffering deep wounds in the process.
Finally, Yang Kai had used the Devil Sealing Chain on the severely weakened Demon General and somehow managed to kill him. At the end of his life though, Demon General Meng Ge told Yang Kai that the entity in front of him was only a Soul Clone and that his true body would remember Yang Kai’s aura.
Yang Kai had never managed to figure out who this Demon General Meng Ge was, but when he heard Shui Ling mention the Demon Race and Monster Race, he had suddenly thought of it.
“He’s not a member of the Human Race, but rather a powerful master from the Demon Race!” Shui Ling stared at Yang Kai with a somewhat panic stricken expression, smiling bitterly, “You’re really quite strange, how is it that you know Devil General Meng Ge’s name even though you’ve never left that world before?”
Yang Kai simply explained the chain of events that took place in the Evil Cavern all those years ago.
Hearing this story, Shui Ling’s face went pale, staring at Yang Kai quite sympathetically, “You actually destroyed his Soul Clone… From now on, you absolutely must avoid him; he is one of the Demon Race’s true masters, not someone you can afford to face.”
“Just how powerful is he?” Yang Kai asked hesitantly.
“From what you said, that Soul Clone of his most likely wasn’t yet a Transcendent, but his true body has a Saint Realm cultivation. As for what order Saint he is, I’m not certain, but many masters from the Human Territory fear him.”
Yang Kai took a deep breath and let out a sigh. He hadn’t expected that he had offended such a powerful figure, nodding lightly, “I understand.”
Just as he finished speaking, Yang Kai’s face suddenly became cold as he quickly turned his eyes to the side.
Shui Ling also frowned, directing her gaze in the same direction.
Over there, a group of Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator’s auras were rapidly closing in on them, and although they seemed to be trying to conceal themselves, they obviously couldn’t hide from Yang Kai’s perception.
And inferring from their actions, it was clear this group of newcomers was aiming for them.
“Seems we’ll have an opportunity to figure out where we are,” Yang Kai grinned to Shui Ling, the latter smiling back calmly.
Shui Ling found that after following Yang Kai around for so long, she had become much more bold and courageous. If she had encountered this kind of situation in the past, she would definitely have already fled, afraid of getting into any kind of trouble.
A moment later, the figures of eight people appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes. The one who appeared to be their leader was a young woman with a mature air about her with a full chest, rounded hips, and slender legs. She wore a light blue tight fitting dress with a long slit down the side that perfectly accentuated her beautiful figure.
Seeing her, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed an appreciative light.
After coming to Tong Xuan Realm, the first stranger he met was actually a beautiful young woman, it was quite unexpected.
However, the young woman’s expression was gloomy, seemingly quite unhappy.
The seven people behind her also had cold auras, and upon seeing Yang Kai and Shui Ling, they immediately took an aggressive stance.
The bad attitude of this group of people caused Yang Kai to feel somewhat puzzled; he had no idea when or how he had offended them.
But having faith in his strength, he simply chose to remain silent and wait.
The young woman who led this group quickly approached to within ten meters of Yang Kai and swept her eyes over him and Shui Ling coldly, a look of annoyance filling her face.
“Who are you and why are you here?” The young woman coldly interrogated.
“We’re just travelers who were passing by,” Yang Kai replied casually, “We accidentally strayed into this swamp and lost our way, could you tell us where we are right now?”
“You want to know where this is?” The young woman became even angrier as she shouted, “You dare to ask me where this place is?”
“En, because we really can’t find our way out,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders calmly. Back in Tian Lang Dynasty, he and Shui Ling had traversed the Abandoned Earth for quite some time before entering the Void Corridor and being spat out into the middle of this swamp, so right now they really did look two lost, weary, and travel-worn travellers.
“If it’s convenient, would you mind telling us?” Yang Kai smiled benignly, continuing to ask, assuming the posture of someone harmless to humans and animals alike.
“Convenient, why would it not be convenient?” The young woman sneered and waved, “Ji Hong, grab these two, since we couldn’t obtain the Scarlet Blood Orchid, we’ll take them back instead!”
“Yes, Young Lady!” The bearded man shouted, leading the others in their group forward immediately.
“Wait!” Yang Kai raised his hand, although he also saw the hostility in the eyes of these people, since he had just arrived here Yang Kai wasn’t willing to stir up trouble easily. Everyone in this group had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary and was obviously acting together, so it was quite likely they belonged to some local force. Killing them wouldn’t be difficult, but dealing with the fallout would be troublesome.
Moreover, the young woman’s words had confused Yang Kai.
Being targeted for no apparent reason, Yang Kai felt like they were deliberately making trouble.
“What’s a Scarlet Blood Orchid?” Yang Kai asked.
“The World Spirit Treasure?” Shui Ling guessed, apparently familiar with the term.
“That’s right, a World Spirit Treasure, a seven leafed Scarlet Blood Orchid!” The young woman coldly acknowledged.
“What does that have to do with us? We haven’t seen any World Spirit Treasure,” Yang Kai argued back, wondering if these people thought they had stolen their treasure.
“You haven’t seen it? Haha…” The young woman smiled, suddenly thinking that capturing these two without explaining was a bit rash, patiently asking, “Just now, was it one of you who broke through?”
“Yes, what of it?” Yang Kai asked back, the young woman in front of him was indeed a beauty but her words and actions were all over the place and she wouldn’t get to the point so he was beginning to become annoyed.
The noise he had made during his breakthrough was too loud, so Yang Kai didn’t bother trying to deny it.
“Good! Because of the disturbance caused by your breakthrough, you frightened off the Scarlet Blood Orchid and wasted all the arrangements we spent the last month putting together, so you tell me, do you still think this has nothing to do with you!?”
“Uh…” Yang Kai was stunned as he turned to look at Shui Ling, both of them showing helpless expressions.
Connecting all of this young woman’s words together, Yang Kai quickly understood what was going on.
He had also seen World Spirit Treasures before, such as the Yin-Yang Monster Ginseng and the Nine Yin Yuan Condensing Dew. These special treasures all have their own consciousness’ and knew how to seek opportunities and avoid danger, so the energy fluctuations from his break through a moment ago really might have startled the Scarlet Blood Orchid and caused it to flee.
After unravelling the whole story, Yang Kai’s stomach full of grievances disappeared and was immediately replaced by a sense of awkwardness.
“I apologize; we didn’t know you were attempting to capture a World Spirit Treasure, if we had known… ahem…” Yang Kai said helplessly.
In truth, even if he had known, this sudden breakthrough was not something he could have suppressed.
Although all of this was unintentional, and Yang Kai did feel some regret and responsibility, it could only be said that these people’s luck was just too bad.
“Your apology is useless to us,” The young woman sneered, “We had an extremely important use for that Scarlet Blood Orchid, do you think all of this can be resolved with just a few words?”
“Then what do you want?” The apologetic tone in Yang Kai’s voice quickly faded, and a dismissive sneer crept onto his face.
If this group was willing to be reasonable, Yang Kai had no problem compensating them for their loss, but the aggressive attitude of this young woman made Yang Kai feel quite disgruntled so he stopped acting humble.
If it really came down to a fight, Yang Kai was confident he could kill all of these people within ten breaths.
It was now up to them to show some restraint.
Yang Kai’s sudden change in attitude caused the young woman to be stunned as she quickly shot back, “What? You want to pick a fight with my Bold Independent Union in our own territory?”
“Bold Independent Union?” Shui Ling smiled suddenly, “It turns out that you are disciples of Bold Independent Union. That would make this place Western Lake Marsh, correct?”
“Indeed,” The young woman nodded and looked suspiciously towards Shui Ling, “It seems you’re not totally ignorant, just who are you?”
Shui Ling’s smile grew bigger as she calmly replied, “I’m from Water Spirit Temple.”
Hearing this, the faces of the young woman and seven people behind her all changed greatly as the stared towards Shui Ling.
Seeing this change, Yang Kai secretly thought that Water Spirit Temple’s strength and reputation wasn’t as weak as Shui Ling had originally told him.
Shui Ling had previously disclosed a lot of information to Yang Kai including how different Sects were classified here and had even frankly admitted Water Spirit Temple was just barely a first-class force because they had a single Saint Realm master protecting their Sect.
Her modesty had made Yang Kai think Water Spirit Temple wasn’t very strong.
But now, seeing the big dramatic transformation in attitude of these Bold Independent Union disciples, Yang Kai realized that the force Shui Ling belonged to wasn’t weak.
At the very least, when the young woman leader heard the name Water Spirit Temple, her expression became dignified and she restrained much of her initial hostility while even a hint of dread flashed across her eyes.
Staring at Shui Ling hesitantly for a moment, the young woman and her group took a few steps back and began whispering to each other.
Yang Kai had no intention or interest in spying on what they were discussing so he just stood in place and waited quietly.
Shui Ling’s expression also completely relaxed. Before figuring out where they were, she hadn’t dared to reveal her identity, but now knowing they were in Bold Independent Union’s territory, she had no more scruples.
Water Spirit Temple was not too far from Bold Independent Union, only about half a month’s journey, so the two forces would occasionally engage in trade and had some small friendship.
The group from Bold Independent Union whispered back and forth while occasionally glancing over at Yang Kai and Shui Ling, seemingly trying to determine the validity of Shui Lin’s statement.
After a brief discussion, the young woman let out a sigh and called towards Shui Ling, “Miss, since you say you’re a disciple of Water Spirit Temple, would you mind showing us some identification?”
“Sure,” Shui Ling smiled and took out a blue Jade Token and casually threw it to the young woman.
The young woman caught it and after a quick examination, wore an even more solemn expression, nodding her head as she said, “This Jade Token does contain a trace of Water Qi and should have been carved by a master who cultivates the Water Attribute, but I’m sorry, I’ve never seen this kind of Jade Token before, so I cannot definitively determine you are a Water Spirit Temple disciple.”
Saying so, she threw the Jade Token back and the last trace of hostility on her face disappeared, only leaving behind a look of helplessness.
After a moment of hesitation, the young woman continued, “So, if it is convenient, can the two of you come to my Bold Independent Union for a while? If we can confirm that you are indeed a disciples of Water Spirit Temple, we will no longer investigate what happened here today, but if you’re not… You understand.”
The young women’s words were neither angry nor depressed, neither arrogant nor servile, fully demonstrating her adaptability and ability as a leader.
“Good,” Shui Ling smiled, not trying to refuse.
In any case, her identity was real, as long as Bold Independent Union inquired slightly, they would soon be able to confirm this.
“Yang Kai, what do you think?” Shui Ling also consulted Yang Kai; after all, she knew Yang Kai was someone who only ate soft food but refused hard food. These people clearly wanted to detain them, if that angered him and he was unwilling to cooperate, then their only option would be to fight.
But Yang Kai this time just shrugged his shoulders, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t know where to go from here anyway.”
Shui Ling couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The young woman nodded and waved, “Then it’s settled!”
Saying so, she turned around and led the way, Yang Kai and Shui Ling following close behind, and the other seven Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators bringing up the rear.
Their formation clearly showed they were still wary of Yang Kai and Shui Ling’s identities and motives.
As they walked through the marsh, the young woman also intentionally or unintentionally asked Shui Ling some questions, all of which Shui Ling care-freely responded to, making no attempt to hide anything.
And the more the two talked, the more the young women felt Shui Ling wasn’t lying.
“Right, you mentioned a Scarlet Blood Orchid, right? What’s all that about?” Shui Ling asked casually.
The young woman wore a forced smile but did not avoid the topic, briefly explaining what had just happened.
As she listened to their story, Shui Ling turned to Yang Kai stuck out her tongue playfully.
Yang Kai wore an innocent expression; he too didn’t know what importance the Scarlet Blood Orchid had to these people.
“After fleeing this time, it will be at least half a year before it shows itself again and it is quite likely it will leave this area of the swamp altogether. Finding it again will be quite difficult,” The young woman sighed.
“Why is that Scarlet Blood Orchid so important to you?”
“The orchid isn’t something our Bold Independent Union has great need of, but it is essential for the Young Master of Langya Sacred Ground. We promised to hand over that Scarlet Blood Orchid to Langya Sacred Ground half a month from now, but since we’ve lost our only opportunity to obtain it, I don’t know how we’re going to explain ourselves to them.”
“Langya Sacred Ground’s Young Master? Mu Hui? Was he injured?” Shui Ling was surprised.
“Does Young Miss know Young Master Mu?”
“En, we’ve met before,” Shui Ling nodded.
The young woman’s eyes flashed as she let out a laugh, her attitude becoming noticeably warmer, “It looks like young miss really is a disciple from Water Spirit Temple.”
“Naturally, our Water Spirit Temple and Langya Sacred Ground are close friends. Seeing how Mu Hui is the one who needs that Scarlet Blood Orchid, maybe I can help you.”
“Hm?” The young woman paused, directing a puzzled look towards Shui Ling.
“You said the Scarlet Blood Orchid dove into the depths of the swamp, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Take me to where it disappeared and I’ll see if I can find it again.”
The group of people from Bold Independent Union stared blankly at Shui Ling. After a moment silence, the young woman smiled and shook her head, “Your offer is quite kind, but the swamp there is very muddy and over a thousand meters deep, even if you are a Water Attribute cultivator, it is impossible to find that orchid in such an environment. I know that everyone from Water Spirit Temple majors in Water Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills, but…”
“I’m not just skilled in Water Attribute techniques,” Shui Ling smiled confidently.
Shui Ling possessed the Water Spirit Body, a genuine special constitution, so in a place like this with lots of water, all of her abilities would be enhanced ten or twenty percent.
The young woman thought about it for a while before finally agreeing, turning in a different direction and waving, “This way.”
At this point, she decided to let Shui Ling give it a try. It didn’t matter if she was unsuccessful, but if she somehow managed to succeed, Bold Independent Union would be able to fulfill its commitment to Langya Sacred Ground.
A short time later, the group of people arrived at the place where the Scarlet Blood Orchid had disappeared. Around the area, Yang Kai detected several barriers and traps and confirmed that these people had not been lying. They had indeed been waiting here to capture the Scarlet Blood Orchid, but at the last minute had fallen short.
“There,” The young woman pointed to the swamp in front of them.
Yang Kai quietly released his Divine Sense and attempted to prove the depths below, but he was unable to discover anything.
“I’ll go down and have a look,” Shui Ling said, diving into the murky water and disappearing.
The young woman and the others from Bold Independent Union glanced over at Yang Kai once before no longer paying any attention to him, instead just anxiously waiting.
After the time it would take for a stick of incense to burn, bubbles began forming on the swamp’s surface, raising everyone’s tension even further.
*Hua…*
Shui Ling jumped out of the swamp. Her clothes weren’t the slightest bit wet, but her face somewhat pale and her lips were purple, trembling as if she had just experienced a deep chill.
The group from Bold Independent Union looked to her with anticipation.
Unfortunately, Shui Ling shook her head.
Seeing this, all of them revealed a look of disappointment.
“What happened down there?” Yang Kai asked in concern. Shui Ling currently looked like she had just emerged from a thousand year old glacier and was obviously chilled to the bone, traces of Cold Qi and frost wafting from her body.
“I’ll explain later,” Shui Ling quickly circulated her Secret Art to dispel the Cold Qi in her body.
A little while later, after Shui Ling had recovered somewhat, she let out a long breath and said, “Although I couldn’t bring it back, I did find where it was hiding.”
“You found it?” The young woman’s eyes lit up as she called out in surprise.
“En, but by myself, I have no way of obtaining it.”
“Why?” The young woman asked urgently.
“Because it’s hiding beneath a layer of Ice Flame Star Sand.”
“Ice Flame Star Sand?” Everyone from Bold Independent Union exclaimed, a greedy light flashing across their eyes.
“What’s that?” Yang Kai asked; seeing everyone’s reaction he immediately knew this Ice Flame Star Sand was some kind of precious treasure.
“A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Artifact Refining material. It has an extremely low natural temperature and is a greatly sought after by many Transcendent Realm masters, even some Saints use it when refining their artifacts,” Shui Ling explained lightly.
The expression of the Bold Independent Union group lifted greatly.
“So it’s hiding beneath a piece of Ice Flame Star Sand,” The young woman nodded repeatedly, “Although I know the places where World Spirit Treasures are born normally have some precious materials nearby, I didn’t expect it to be this.”
“It’s more likely that the Ice Flame Star Sand contributed to the birth of Scarlet Blood Orchid,” Shui Ling smiled, “But regardless, the ice that’s formed down below is very thick, I can’t break it.”
“I’ll help you!” A chubby man from Bold Independent Union immediately came stepped towards Shui Ling and summoned a ball of flame onto his palm, proudly declaring, “I cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, perfect for melting through ice.”
But in response, Shui Ling shook her head, “No, your strength is too low.”
“I’m an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivator!” The chubby man said, clearly a little dissatisfied.
But Shui Ling still just shook her head, “I have a helper in mind already, there’s no need for you to come up. Yang Kai, come with me, of the people here, I’m afraid only you can break open that layer of ice!”
The chubby man squinted towards Yang Kai and suddenly became angry, “You say I’m not good enough, but instead want to take this Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage kid instead?”
“Since I’ve said he can help, naturally he is capable. Or do you not want that Scarlet Blood Orchid? Right now I’m helping you for free you know.”
The man suddenly closed his mouth.
The young woman quickly laughed and said, “There’s no need to quarrel, we’ll leave it up to you.”
Although the Ice Flame Star Sand was valuable, Bold Independent Union’s current priority was the Scarlet Blood Orchid so the young women naturally didn’t want to make Shui Ling unhappy.
Shui Ling nodded and before even asking for his approval, pulled Yang Kai into the swamp.
After they disappeared, Ji Hong, the bearded man in the Bold Independent Union party, suddenly realized something and cursed, “Shit, Young Lady, you don’t think those two would take this opportunity to escape do you?”
Hearing this, the young woman’s beautiful face suddenly went pale, thinking such a scenario was possible.
In truth, there was no reason for this pair of strangers to help them, and facing the temptation of a World Spirit Treasure and a Spirit Grade Top-Rank material, it wasn’t impossible for them to simply rob them and disappear.
“They shouldn’t,” They young women replied somewhat faintly.
“Then why did she insist on bringing that youth with her even though he’s so weak? Clearly she wanted to create an opportunity for the two of them to snatch those treasures and then escape.”
Thinking this was a reasonable hypothesis, the entire Bold Independent Union group was filled with indignation and anger.
The young woman’s face became uglier and uglier and she felt an impulse to dive after them in order to confirm their suspicions, but no one among her group had cultivated a Water Attribute Secret Art so it was impossible for them to dive to the bottom of this swamp.
Sending out her Divine Sense, she also was unable to detect either of the pair’s auras.
At this moment, the young woman suddenly felt a bit depressed.
The swamp’s water was so murky that no sunlight could penetrate into its depths.
As they descended, Shui Ling used her water manipulation abilities to create a clear bubble of air around them so Yang Kai didn’t feel smothered or breathless.
Using their Divine Senses, they could easily examine their surroundings.
Sinking down for quite some time, Yang Kai realized that the young woman from Bold Independent Union wasn’t mistaken, this swamp really was more than a thousand meters deep.
Only someone like Shui Ling who possessed the Water Spirit Body could freely access this place, anyone else, even if they cultivated a Water Attribute Secret Art, would probably suffer a massive drop in mobility.
After reaching a certain depth, Yang Kai began to feel the surrounding temperature drop and the further they went the colder it became.
It wasn’t long before Shui Ling couldn’t bear it and her teeth began chattering. Seeing this, Yang Kai quickly released some of his True Yang Yuan Qi and immediately dispelled the surrounding chill.
“I was right to bring you along,” Shui Ling chuckled, Yang Kai’s control over his True Qi had reached a very profound level. If she had instead brought along the self-recommended man from Bold Independent Union, Shui Ling was quite certain him releasing his Flame Attribute True Qi would conflict with her water manipulation technique.
Yang Kai, on the other hand was different, he could easily dispel the Cold Qi around them while not damaging the bubble she had created to protect them.
Below them, through the murky water, a glimmer of light came into sight, like a cluster of white flames that swayed in the wind.
However, there was still a fair distance between them and the source of this illumination and a thick ice barrier was blocking their way, making it difficult for Yang Kai to get a clear picture of what was glowing.
“The flickering white flames are the grains of Ice Flame Star Sand; the Scarlet Blood Orchid is hiding further beneath them,” Shui Ling explained, “This ice is a couple dozen meters thick, can you break it open quietly?”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “I can try.”
Saying so, Yang Kai exited Shui Ling’s air bubble.
After leaping out of the bubble, Yang Kai suddenly felt stiff, like a great mountain was pressing down on him, causing his bones to creak.
Without the protection of Shui Ling barrier, Yang Kai had to resist the surrounding water pressure all on his own.
“If it’s too difficult you don’t have to force yourself,” Shui Ling urged.
Yang Kai nodded once before closing his eyes. After taking a moment to adapt to the huge water pressure, he slowly began.
From the palm of his hand, True Yang Yuan Qi burst out and like a sharp blade, it sliced deep into the ice layer in front of him, melting it away at a rapid pace.
As he pushed his True Qi fiercely, Yang Kai bore through the thick ice like as easily as smashing a piece of rotten wood.
Shui Ling brought her bubble and quickly followed behind Yang Kai.
In this way, Yang Kai managed to bore through the several dozen meter thick ice layer in less time than it would take to boil a cup of tea.
The pair soon arrived at the location of the Ice Flame Star Sand.
“You collect the star sand while I go deal with the Scarlet Blood Orchid!” Shui Ling said excitedly, darting away towards the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
A mysterious force soon created a large barrier around the surrounding water, keeping the Scarlet Blood Orchid from running away.
Yang Kai glanced around once at Shui Ling’s methods before turning his attention back to the white flame-like grains, casually digging them out and stuffing them into his Black Book space.
Although these things appeared like flames, they were actually solid grains of star sand. They were quite different from ordinary sand however, each grain like a beautiful gem that gave off a cold, biting aura.
Even the inexperienced Yang Kai could tell this was a valuable treasure.
Having just arrived in Tong Xuan Realm and encountering such an opportunities, it was a good sign.
There were only about a hundred grains of Ice Flame Star Sand but Yang Kai was in no rush, taking his time to collect all of them. After a while, Shui Ling came over, a joyful look upon her face as she held the seven-leafed World Spirit Treasure in her hand and beckoned towards Yang Kai.
With her ability to control water, in this environment, the Scarlet Blood Orchid obviously couldn’t escape from her grasp.
Having finished his work as well, Yang Kai smiled and rejoined her inside the bubble.
“Let’s go up, that group should be pretty anxious by now,” Shui Ling grinned, clearly guessing what the group from Bold Independent Union must be thinking.
Above the swamp, the group of people from Bold Independent Union all had ugly expression as they continued to wait quietly.
The bearded man suddenly let out cold snort and said, “It’s been almost an hour yet those two haven’t come up yet, they must have ran.”
“They better not let me see them again or I swear I’ll chop their corpses into ten thousand pieces!”
However, the young woman scolded her companions lightly, “Don’t make such irresponsible comments, that girl should indeed be a disciple of Water Spirit Temple, and her identity is definitely not low.”
“What makes you say that, Young Lady?”
“She has a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivation. Besides a disciple with extraordinary status from a powerful Sect like Water Spirit Temple, who else could have such great strength at such a young age? Someone of such high status shouldn’t lie to us…” Though she said so, the young woman’s voice grew quieter as she spoke, seemingly trying to convince herself to trust Shui Ling with this explanation.
“Even she has such an identity, both the Scarlet Blood Orchid and Ice Flame Star Sand are rare treasures. It’s difficult to guarantee they won’t covet them for themselves.”
“If this is the case, then we can only accept that our loss is deserved!” The young woman sighed, “All of this is a result of us not having enough ability.”
“Ha…” Everyone sighed.
In this world, those who have the ability can obtain good things while those who don’t are only capable of watching from afar. This kind of situation was not uncommon, quite often a person would discover some treasure only to have someone stronger swoop in and snatch it from them. When this happened, the original finder could do nothing but glare hatefully.
“Look, there’s movement!” As they were sighing, the bearded man suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the swamp in front of them.
From beneath the surface, some ripples of energy slowly emerged.
Seeing this, the group from Bold Independent Union immediately sighed with relief while the young woman felt a great weight lift off her shoulders.
A moment later, a giant bubble of water broke through the surface and Yang Kai and Shui Ling emerged.
Shui Ling quickly flew over and landed in front of the group, “You should have brought a special container for this World Spirit Treasure, yes?”
“En!” The young woman nodded quickly, opened a small bag tied to her waist and removing a white jade box engraved with a number of Spirit Array lines.
Yang Kai secretly noted that the small bag on the young woman’s waist was actually a Universe Bag.
Seeing this, Shui Ling nodded slightly, “It seems you came fully prepared.”
Saying so, she casually handed over the Scarlet Blood Orchid.
The young woman’s expression became slightly awkward for a moment before happily reaching out and accepting it, “Thank you!”
Her manner was sincere, with not the slightest false pretense.
Placing the Scarlet Blood Orchid in the jade box, the young woman activated the Spirit Array and firmly secured the World Spirit Treasure.
“What about that Ice Flame Star Sand?” The bearded man couldn’t help asking.
“Ji Hong!” The young woman’s expression became cold as she angrily shouted.
“Haha, I’m just asking!” Ji Hong scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he smiled towards Yang Kai, “Fellow Brother shouldn’t mind me, I’m just naturally curious. It you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to, whether you obtained it or not, it was yours in the first place.”
Yang Kai smiled and suddenly found that this big man was actually somewhat interesting, although he was saying to not worry about it, he was still indirectly inquiring about the Ice Flame Star Sand.
“It’s fine, we indeed managed to obtain it,” Yang Kai frankly admitted.
“Brother has such good luck, I’m so jealous!” Ji Hong grinned, also not concealing his thoughts.
Watching this exchange, the young woman could only shake her head and turn to Shui Ling, “For Young Miss’ assistance, my Bold Independent Union is very grateful. En, according to union’s rules, each of us can receive twenty Crystal Stones as a reward for completing this mission while as the captain of this team I can obtain fifty, would you accept eighty percent of that as a token of our thanks?”
With a total of eight people, seven of whom could obtain twenty Crystal Stones while the young woman obtained fifty, the total reward for this mission was one hundred and ninety, so eighty percent would come out to one hundred and fifty-two Crystal Stones.
The young woman suddenly offering such a generous thank-you gift caused the rest of her team members’ faces to sink.
But after thinking about it, without Shui Ling and Yang Kai choosing to assist them, they wouldn’t be able to obtain anything for this mission and would likely be punished instead, so their moods quickly balanced out.
Shui Ling smiled and pointed to Yang Kai, “Give it to him, I don’t need Crystal Stones.”
Yang Kai didn’t ask much, although he didn’t know what these Crystal Stone were or how much value they represented, from the expressions of these people he could tell that these Crystal Stone should be a good thing.
“Alright,” The young woman smiled, “In addition, if the two are willing to sell us that Ice Flame Star Sand, I can guarantee you both a satisfactory price.”
“Hehe…” Shui Ling giggled, “A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Artifact Refining material, we don’t plan to sell it. Keeping it for ourselves will be more useful.”
“This…” The young woman was slightly disappointed, but she was not reluctant, soon nodding, “Let’s not discuss this for now, you can take your time to consider my offer, if you change your minds feel free to seek me out. This place is only three days away from our Bold Independent Union’s headquarters, Bold Independent City, would you care to accompany us there so we may offer you our hospitality?”
After this incident was resolved, the young woman no longer showed any hostility and instead began trying to forge a relationship with the two.
Shui Ling glanced over at Yang Kai and seeing him nod gently, decided to accept.
Shui Ling nodded, “Good, we were just looking for a place to rest.”
“Please!” The young woman said, glancing at Yang Kai intentionally or unintentionally as if she was re-examining him.
The quick exchange between Shui Ling and Yang Kai just now had not escaped her eyes.
This, however, only raised more doubts in her mind; Shui Ling seemed to be a very high-ranking member of Water Spirit Temple, so why did it seem like she was following this youth’s lead? Whenever a decision had to be made she would always solicit his opinion before making a choice.
Just what kind of background did this youth have to actually make a high-ranking disciple of Water Spirit Temple pay such attention to him?
The young woman was puzzled and couldn’t help feeling curious about Yang Kai.
As they traveled, the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.
The young woman deliberately made a few attempts to probe Yang Kai’s identity in casual conversation but Yang Kai never let anything slip, causing her some grief.
Through their conversations, Yang Kai and Shui Ling also learned that this young woman’s name was Yun Xuan and she was a team leader of one of Bold Independent Union’s external units.
The members of this team were the seven people accompanying her.
Bold Independent Union was a little different from other forces in that it had semi-permanent teams that were responsible for seeking, gathering, and transporting materials and finished products. These teams would travel all year round outside of Bold Independent Union’s headquarters looking for various business opportunities and in return, Bold Independent Union provided them with resources and a safe environment to cultivate in.
As a result of Bold Independent Union’s unique hierarchy, its name had spread quite far and was well known amongst common cultivators, many of whom wanted to join Bold Independent Union to take advantage of its less rigid system.
It was also for this reason that while the number of Bold Independent Union’s disciples was quite large, the number of masters it had was low. Compared with other local forces, Bold Independent Union was considered weak.
Yun Xuan reacted as she did when she heard that Shui Ling was a Water Spirit Temple disciple for this reason. Well aware of the status of the Water Spirit Temple, Yun Xuan was not willing to offend Shui Ling.
However, now that they had acquired the Scarlet Blood Orchid, and their task had been completed smoothly, whether Shui Ling was a true disciple of Water Spirit Temple didn’t matter as much anymore.
After two days, the group of ten left the swamp.
One day later, a huge city surrounded by a vast forest appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes; Bold Independent City, headquarters of Bold Independent Union.
This short three day trip had allowed Yang Kai to truly understand how rich the ambient World Energy of Tong Xuan Realm was. Along with the dialogue exchanged amongst this group of people, he also came to realize just how rich and vast this land was; many resources he had never heard of were often mentioned, along with many famous masters.
Yang Kai’s horizons were broadened greatly, and even his state of mind underwent some subtle changes.
At the gate of Bold Independent City, a number of cultivators who appeared to be guards were checking the passing pedestrians, staring at them vigilantly but not making any attempt to stop anyone.
Under the leadership of Yun Xuan, Yang Kai’s group of people easily entered the city.
The bustling atmosphere was obvious even before they entered the gates as cultivators shuttled back and forth just like an endless stream.
Yun Xuan proudly smiled and explained, “Because our Bold Independent Union mainly deals in cultivation resources, our headquarters is always very lively. Many people come here in order to purchase various Alchemy or Artifact Refining materials. In this realm, with the exception of the Merchant Union’s headquarters, Merchant City, our Bold Independent City has the widest selection of goods. Of course, Merchant Union has connections and dealings with all three major races, so that’s not something we can match, hehe.”
“All three major races?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“En, Merchant Union’s Merchant City is located in neutral territory which allows them to smoothly conduct business with the Demon Race, Monster Race, and Human Race. Didn’t you know?” Yun Xuan’s beautiful face wore a stunned look as she stared at Yang Kai.
“I rarely come out and walk around so my knowledge of the world is somewhat lacking,” Yang Kai replied calmly and casually.
Yun Xuan nodded lightly and didn’t ask any more; not wanting to annoy Yang Kai. These past three days she noticed that while Yang Kai was not very talkative, he showed exceptionally strong curiosity and interest in even some commonly understood things, this was clearly the performance of someone lacking worldly experience.
However, his mind was also very sharp and his thoughts were quite profound. Anything he wasn’t clear about would quickly be understood after making his own observations and asking a few questions. This only further confused Yun Xuan, making her wonder whether he was a little countryside brat who had never seen the world or an old soul who had traveled many lands and seen many storms.
In summary, whenever Yun Xuan faced him, she felt an inexplicably pressure and bewilderment.
“If the two of you have no objections, why not stay at our team’s lodging while you’re in the city? We purchased our own house inside the city and although it’s not much, it’s certainly better than staying at an inn,” Yun Xuan sent out an invitation.
“Sure,” Shui Ling readily accepted, she couldn’t wait to find a place to clean herself up, she hadn’t had an opportunity to wash her body properly during these past few days of traveling.
“Ji Hong, show them the way,” Yun Xuan lightly said.
The bearded man nodded, “Leave it to me.”
“Please go on ahead, we have to go make a report to the Union and hand over the Scarlet Blood Orchid. When we’re finished, we’ll come join you.”
Yang Kai nodded and then followed the bearded man along with Shui Ling as he walked off into the city.
A short time later, the trio came to a small house that Ji Hong enthusiastically introduced. Upon stepping into the yard, he quickly summoned a few servants and told them to prepare a hot bath and arrange rooms for Yang Kai and Shui Ling.
The house itself was quite simple and although it was located in the city’s downtown area, since it came with a security barrier, once they were inside the bustling noise from the street was greatly reduced.
Yang Kai, who had spent many years in a small rotting cabin and then camping in caves and forests, didn’t feel any sense of discomfort in this place.
In the evening, a maid came and called him, saying that dinner had been prepared.
Exiting his room, Yang Kai immediately met Shui Ling who had now restored her beautiful appearance.
The two met eyes, let out a light laugh, then set out for the dining hall together.
At this simple evening banquet, Yun Xuan and her small team were very hospitable and repeatedly proposed toasts. Shui Ling said that she didn’t drink but Yang Kai did not decline, eagerly tasting all of the exotic and foreign food and wine this new world had to offer.
Yun Xuan also handed over the previously agreed upon 152 pieces of Crystal Stone to Yang Kai, giggling happily as she joked, “Be sure to save it, don’t go blowing it all at once. There are many places in Bold Independent City that are difficult to resist for youths like you, hehe…”
As she spoke, her mood was light and playful, probably because of the alcohols, her tone no longer as rigid and her face blushing a faint shade of red, making her all the more attractive.
The bearded man saw Yun Xuan’s appearance and immediately cast Yang Kai aside while trying to get Yun Xuan even drunker, clearly holding some ulterior motives.
Yun Xuan, however, didn’t refuse, and continued drinking happily, causing Yang Kai to be stunned.
After passing half the night in this lively manner, Yang Kai and Shui Ling both took their leave while the people from Bold Independent Union persisted, but it wasn’t long before the last of them, Ji Hong, collapsed, all of them having been cleanly out drunk by Yun Xuan.
Back in his own room, Yang Kai took out a Crystal Stone from the Black Book space and carefully examined it.
He quickly discovered that this Crystal Stones contained a very pure World Energy that could easily be absorbed and refined into True Qi by cultivators.
Although he had already quietly asked Shui Ling about the function and worth of these Crystal Stones, Yang Kai only now realized just how precious they really were.
If they had these stones back in the lower realm, the cultivators back there would have been able to improve their cultivations at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, there was no such convenient resource there.
Crystal Stones were Tong Xuan Realm’s hard currency and were useful for cultivation, Alchemy, and Artifact Refining, almost all goods and services were priced in Crystal Stones.
Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in admiration, never having expected that such a magical thing could exist in this world.
Since coming to Tong Xuan Realm, he had truly stepped into a different world, everything around him so strange, fresh, and new.
Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and confirmed who his visitor was, then quickly opened the door, allowing a moonlight bathed Shui Ling to enter.
“What’s up?” Yang Kai asked.
“Nothing. I just can’t sleep so I decided to come over and talk with you,” Shui Ling sat down on a nearby chair and casually poured herself a cup of tea.
“I noticed you went out earlier today for a while. Did you manage to contact your family?”
“You noticed?” Shui Ling asked him, slightly surprised.
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Good, I did get in touch with my family. My Water Spirit Temple has a presence in Bold Independent City, so I went there and let them know about where I’ve been and what happened to me these past two years. About half a month from now someone will arrive from the main Sect to pick me up and escort me back.”
“Just who are you in Water Spirit Temple? From what I’ve gathered, your status shouldn’t be low.”
“Hehe, I’m the daughter of Water Spirit Temple’s current Sect Master.”
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow and smiled, “So you’re the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple.”
Shui Ling smiled teasingly, “So what if I’m a Little Princess? Wasn’t I still bullied all that time in your mansion? You were ordering me around as and when you like!”
Yang Kai smiled and asked, “Are you going to look for revenge now?”
“I’m not that bored,” Shui Ling waved her hand casually, Yang Kai leading her back home was something she was extremely grateful for, and how could she still be worried about some petty revenge?
“However, I do have a request I hope you can listen to,” Shui Ling’s expression suddenly became serious.
“Oh?”
“Can you join my Water Spirit Temple?” Shui Ling went straight to the point.
Yang Kai stared back at her strangely, his brow furrowing slightly, “Why do you want me to join?”
“Because I’ve seen you create many miracles and I believe that with your skill and aptitude, your future achievements in Tong Xuan Realm will be great. Therefore, I hope you can join my Water Spirit Temple. As long as you agree, I can promise you the best cultivation environment and resources so you can quickly increase your strength. You’re also eager to find your friends, right? With my Water Spirit Temple’s help, finding them will be much easier.”
“Your offer is really quite generous,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
“You’re worthy of such an offer, and you shouldn’t doubt I have the ability to fulfill them either.”
“I believe you,” Yang Kai nodded. Since Shui Ling was the Little Princess of Water Spirit Temple, she really had such ability.
“Then do you agree or not?” Shui Ling asked eagerly.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai shook his head and decisively said, “Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but you lived and worked beside me for so long in the Central Capital, so you should understand my personality.”
“Of course I understand, and I can promise you that we won’t place any limitations on you, as long as you agree to join Water Spirit Temple, you’ll be free to do whatever you want.”
“Joining Water Spirit Temple is itself the biggest limitation,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Sure enough…” Shui Ling sighed faintly, although she knew there was at least an eighty percent change he would reject her, she still couldn’t help trying to lobby him, hoping that after Yang Kai had drank so much wine, he would agree in a drunken stupor.
However, ever after all that alcohol, he seemed to be as alert as ever.
“Forget it, I won’t force you, but if you are ever willing to come to Water Spirit Temple, just tell me.”
Yang Kai neither accepted nor rejected her final offer.
After a peaceful night’s rest, Yun Xuan took the initiative to come over in the morning and offered to take Yang Kai and Shui Ling on a tour of Bold Independent City.
Yang Kai also wanted to observe the customs and culture of this new world so he naturally accepted.
Looking at her relaxed demeanor and healthy complexion, Yang Kai suddenly had a clear understanding of this young woman’s incredible alcohol tolerance.
According to the house’s servants, after taking down all the other members of her team last night, Yun Xuan drank a few more jugs of wine before calmly returning to her room to sleep.
Such alcohol capacity was quite shocking to Yang Kai, causing him to raise his opinion of her somewhat.
Bold Independent City was not small; although it wasn’t as big as the Central Capital in terms of area, compared to any other city from that world, it was a colossus.
From time to time, in the sky up above, some strange Monster Beasts would fly by, cultivators riding on their backs. In addition to using Monster Beasts as flying mounts though, there were also some who used artifacts specially designed for transportation. Each of these flying artifacts was beautiful crafted and very eye catching.
Yun Xuan explained that anyone who dared to fly over Bold Independent City possessed great strength or status, while unimportant people like them could only walk along the streets.
Apparently, the difference in class and status were present no matter what realm one found themselves in.
Bold Independent City was really bustling, and as Yang Kai observed the crowds and the individual cultivation realms of these people, he couldn’t help feeling slightly shocked.
It seemed like in Tong Xuan Realm, Immortal Ascension cultivators were a common sight. Over sixty percent of the cultivators Yang Kai spotted wandering Bold Independent City’s streets had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary while he could even occasionally encounter some Transcendent Realm masters.
In his former realm, Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators were considered masters and in some places those at the True Element Boundary were treated like kings, but here, the Immortal Ascension Boundary was nothing.
Yun Xuan soon brought them to a large building. Yang Kai noticed that the flow of traffic here was even heavier than other places. Cultivators were entering and exiting rapidly and most of them wearing expressions of joy, tension, or expectation. This mix of happiness and anxiety confused Yang Kai somewhat, causing him to wonder what exactly this place was.
Inside a grand hall, there were a number of paths that lead to smaller side rooms, outside of which were long lines of cultivators.
Yun Xuan led the Yang Kai and Shui Ling towards one of the innermost rooms.
Inside this room, the floor was covered in a thick carpet and there were many lifelike carvings and sculptures adorning the walls. In the middle of the room was a small Incense Burner that emitted a pleasant fragrance obviously made from precious herbs which added to the warm atmosphere.
Behind a desk at the back, a slightly fat old man sat on a large wooden armchair, indifferently staring at a Peak Immortal Ascension cultivator in front of him, a slight look of impatience apparent on his face.
When Yang Kai followed Yun Xuan into the room, he overheard the old man say to the cultivator in front of him, “Without a sky poison feather, this old master can’t fix this artifact for you. On top of that, you’re not a disciple of my Bold Independent Union so the cost is automatically twenty percent higher. You don’t have appropriate materials and you aren’t offering enough compensation, yet you still dare ask for this old master’s services? Just who do you think this old master is!?”
Saying so, the old man casually shooed the man in front of him away, “Get out, when you find the right materials and collect enough of a reward, then you can come find this old master, otherwise you can go ask some other Artifact Refiner, the cost they charge won’t be as high as this old master.”
“Grandmaster…” The cultivator still wanted to beg, but after seeing the old man’s cold glare, he quickly swallowed down the rest of his words, shook his head and helplessly turned and left.
When this customer passed through the doorway and let out a heavy sigh, Yang Kai caught a glimpse of an artifact in his hands and remembering what the old man in the back had just said, Yang Kai suddenly understood what was going on here.
The old man sitting inside also quickly noticed Yun Xuan outside and couldn’t help smiling brightly, beckoning her over, “Yun girl, come in, come in.”
Yun Xuan showed a faint smile and walked inside, politely calling out, “Grandmaster Ma.”
The old man’s smile became even brighter upon hearing Yun Xuan call him so, none of the impatience and arrogance he had shown his previous client remaining on his face, instead becoming warm and friendly. This made Yang Kai quite surprised, and also caused him to wonder what kind of charm Yun Xuan had that could make this old man’s attitude undergo such a big transformation.
Even if she was a disciple of Bold Independent Union, that alone couldn’t explain the old man’s dramatic change.
Moreover, the look on this old man’s face was genuinely warm, like that of an elder meeting his treasured granddaughter.
“What artifact did you damage this time?” Grandmaster Ma smiled and shook his head, “Let me see it.”
Yun Xuan spat out her tongue adorably like a child as she turned her palm up and summoned a flash of light into her hand. Yang Kai quickly noted that what Yun Xuan summoned was a spear-like artifact, which was fairly high grade.
However, this spear’s body had some cracks on it at the moment and the spear head had a few spots dotted atop it, like it had been corroded by something.
“Seems the battle you had was not simple,” Grandmaster Ma’s expression sank slightly as he turned to look at Yun Xuan thoughtfully, sighing a moment later, “Ha… Silly girl, why are you acting so recklessly?”
Yun Xuan chuckled lightly, “I just wasn’t careful enough and accidentally allowed this to happen.”
“Why you, this old man really doesn’t know what to say to you.”
“Oh stop treating me like a child!” Yun Xuan spoke, acting like a spoiled child, taking out some materials and Crystal Stones and handing them to Grandmaster Ma, “These are the materials and reward for the repair.”
“There’s no need for any reward,” Grandmaster Ma shook his head.
“I’m also a Common Disciple in the Union, how can I so blatantly break the rules?”
“Since I said there’s no need, then there’s no need. Or what, are you looking down on this old master?” Grandmaster Ma said with a stern face, pretending to be angry.
Yun Xuan stuck out her tongue again and eventually took back her Crystal Stones.
“Come back for it in three days, this time this old master will refine it to the point you won’t be able to damage it again!” Grandmaster Ma declared confidently.
“Thank you, Grandmaster Ma.” Yun Xuan said happily.
“Does Grandmaster repair artifacts?” Yang Kai, who had been silently watching until now, finally asked.
The clothes Grandmaster Ma wore were tasteful and embroidered on his chest was a set of special symbols. Although Yang Kai didn’t know what these symbols represented exactly, it was clear to him that it was some kind of rank insignia for Artifact Refiners.
It was similar to the symbols he had seen Alchemist’s wear on their chests.
Hearing this, Grandmaster Ma turned a dumbfounded look towards Yang Kai and asked, “This old master has studied Artifact Refining for decades now, naturally I can repair artifacts. Are you a new member of Yun Xuan’s team?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Yun Xuan quickly explained, “Grandmaster, this is… um, a friend of mine, he’s not a member of my team.”
Grandmaster Ma smiled lightly, “Your friend seems a bit friendless and unlearned. Even after entering the unions Artifact Hall he’s still wondering what we do here.”
“He recently arrived here from a remote region, so he hasn’t quite adapted to the surroundings yet,” Yun Xuan said before quietly turning to Yang Kai and explaining to him, “This is the Artifact Hall of our Bold Independent Union, inside here there are a number of skilled Artifact Refiners, but Grandmaster Ma is the best. No matter what kind of artifact it is, if you bring it to him, he can repair it.”
Saying so, Yun Xuan suddenly understood, “Do you have an artifact that needs to be repaired?”
Yang Kai nodded and took out the Bone Shield.
The entire Bone Shield had suffered great damage when it had protected Yang Kai from the force of the void when the Void Corridor beneath the Central Capital collapsed, and had then further been damaged when he used it to create a large explosion in the Abandoned Earth.
Yang Kai had wanted to find a chance to repair it but he hadn’t expected Yun Xuan to bring him to the place he was looking for all of a sudden. This was like someone sending him a pillow just as he wanted to take a nap.
Grandmaster Ma reached out and took the Bone Shield, gently stroking it a few times before releasing his True Qi to investigate its internal structure, his face quickly filling with annoyance, “Which bastard refined this artifact?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.”
“Incompetent, too incompetent. Although the materials used in this artifact aren’t very expensive, the end product still shouldn’t be such a low-grade artifact!”
Yang Kai smiled helplessly. Mysterious Grade Low-Rank, in his previous Realm, it was already a rare and precious treasure, but here, Grandmaster Ma had all but called it trash.
“The technique used to craft this shield is so juvenile; the Artifact Refiner who refined this artifact should be dragged out and put to death!” Grandmaster Ma shouted in annoyance.
Yun Xuan quietly whispered, “Grandmaster has very strict standards for Artifact Refining.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. He also saw that this Grandmaster Ma should be obsessed with Artifact Refining so he would not only be strict with himself, but also with others of his profession.
After ranting on for a while, Grandmaster Ma looked up at Yang Kai and sighed, “Yun Xuan said that you came out from some remote place, and sure enough, only in those backwater regions would they use such inferior methods to refine artifacts, some of the techniques that were used to forge this artifact were eliminated over a thousand years ago.”
“Can Grandmaster still repair this artifact?” Yang Kai asked.
“As long as you have appropriate materials, I can fix it!” Grandmaster Ma declared confidently, “What materials do you have on you?”
“Uh…” Yang Kai thought about it for a moment and soon realized that the only thing of value he had on him was the Ice Flame Star Sand he had acquired a few days ago, quickly taking it out, “Will this work?”
“Spirit Grade Top-Rank Ice Flame Star Sand?” Grandmaster Ma’s face suddenly lit up as he stared at the ice blue flickering grain of flame resting atop Yang Kai’s hand.
After this grain of Star Sand was taken out, the temperature in the entire room rapidly dropped, causing both Yun Xuan and Shui Ling to shiver.
Aware of their distress, Yang Kai quickly pushed his True Qi and wrapped it around the Ice Flame Star Sand to contain the chill.
Seeing this, Grandmaster Ma secretly nodded to himself, thinking: [This little brat’s True Qi is pure and his control is quite good. Although his methods are a little dull, he definitely has enough raw skill.]
“This Ice Flame Star Sand can indeed be used to repair your artifact.” Grandmaster Ma calmed himself before asking. Although a Spirit Grade Top-Rank material was very expensive, as the best Artifact Refiner in Bold Independent Unions Artifact Hall he had seen many such treasures before so he naturally wouldn’t lose his composure.
“However, using a Spirit Grade Top-Rank to repair a Mysterious Grade Low-Rank artifact, you should be able to understand. Using this Ice Flame Star Sand on this Bone Shield…” Grandmaster Ma’s mouth slightly twitched, “It’s too much of a waste.”
“As long as the Bone Shield can be repaired it’s fine,” Yang Kai insisted.
“Do you really want to do this?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Grandmaster Ma wrinkled his brow slightly but no longer tried to persuaded him; in any case, the artifact and materials belonged to Yang Kai, so how he wanted to use them was his business. Letting out a sigh, Grandmaster Ma continued, “Good, since you insist, this old master will accept your request, but if you want to fully repair this artifact, just this Ice Flame Star Sand isn’t enough, you’ll need some other supplementary materials.”
“What kind of materials?” Yang Kai asked.
“Black Fog Iron or Sky Cicada Jade, either of these two materials would work. If you find the former, I can help you upgrade this Bone Shield into a Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank artifact, if it’s the latter, I can help you promote it to Mysterious Grade Top-Rank or even Spirit Grade, it all depends on what you can afford,” Grandmaster Ma said proudly.
“Black Fog Iron, Sky Cicada Jade?” Yang Kai muttered these two names.
“One is a Mysterious Grade material while the other is Spirit Grade.” Shui Ling explained quickly.
“Where can I find these two materials?”
“That’s your problem,” Grandmaster Ma snorted, seemingly a little unhappy with Yang Kai’s wasteful manner, “But as long as you have enough Crystal Stones, you can buy anything in Bold Independent City, not to mention Black Fog Iron and Sky Cicada Jade aren’t particularly precious so the local shops should have some in stock.”
“Uh, then, how many Crystal Stones would it cost to buy one of these two materials?” Yang Kai asked Shui Ling.
Shui Ling smiled lightly, “With your net worth, you probably can’t afford them.”