Every wrong had its justice, every debt its collector, the man who had cheated him had already died so Yang Kai hadn’t really planned on holding these two women accountable. He had just wanted to give them a bit of trouble for the role they had played. On top of that, Yang Kai really did need someone to acquire information from.
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Ji Meng was overjoyed and exclaimed, “Really?”
Yang Kai nodded, “But I have conditions!”
“What conditions?” Ji Meng asked hurriedly, with their lives hanging in the balance, she decided that no matter how excessive this man’s requests were, she would agree to them, as long as Zhu Ying Yue wasn’t hurt.
“Shouldn’t you replay a life-saving grace with your body?” Yang Kai touched his chin and smiled evilly.
Ji Meng’s expression suddenly became cold; although she had been mentally prepared for this, she hadn’t expected this young man to really make such shameless demands!
Although she was infuriated in her heart, she didn’t dare show it on her face, blocking a strike from the Ice Crystal Wolf before shouting out, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me, but… don’t get any ideas about Ying Yue!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stared at her in surprise. He had only said those words in jest and had no real intentions towards these two women, from the conversation they had during this second meeting, he could tell that these two weren’t really malicious or treacherous in nature, saving them wasn’t an issue.
“Are you going to help us or not? If you don’t take action soon when we die you won’t be able to get anything!” Ji Meng had finally been driven beyond the limits of her forbearance, and so too had the Ice Crystal Wolf apparently, its attacks becoming more and more fierce, to the point where she and Zhu Ying Yue weren’t able to resist at all. If Yang Kai continued to idle any longer, the two of them would definitely be defeated.
“Very well,” Yang Kai shook his head before his figure flickered and disappeared from the sky.
The huge Monster Beast rapidly closed in, it’s fangs fully bared as a foul smell burst from its mouth. Seeing it approach, Zhu Ying Yue screamed in terror as tears poured down her face.
But before she knew what was happening, her body suddenly became light, and in the next moment, she found herself slung over someone’s shoulder and the surrounding scenery quickly receding behind her. Everything happened too quickly and she couldn’t help shutting her eyes in fear.
Ji Meng also had a similar encounter. Before she could respond, she too was grabbed by Yang Kai and taken away.
Obviously not having anticipated such a development, the Ice Crystal Wolf was temporarily dumbstruck before it roared angrily and hastily chased after the trio, but the distance between them was slowly opening. Seeing this, Ji Meng still didn’t feel relieved and constantly urged, “Faster! It’s still trying to catch up!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted in response, “Easy for you to say, this is already my fastest speed.”
Ji Meng decisively shut her mouth and simply stared at the Ice Crystal Wolf and only after seeing it slowly fall further and further behind, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After a while, the Ice Crystal Wolf finally stopped chasing them, stopping in place and howling towards the sky, its voice filled with unwillingness and anger.
Somewhere in Snow Mountain Range, Yang Kai stood calmly as he stared towards the two raggedly dressed women bustle about.
They seemed to have a lot of experience living in this snowy environment and quickly dug out a subterranean hollow. The interior was spacious while the outside was hardened and sturdy.
A short time later, a fully formed snow cave appeared.
Ji Meng glanced over towards Yang Kai vigilantly and said in a somewhat weak voice, “We have to change our clothes and apply some healing medicine to our wounds. You should not come in until we’re done, if you peek, I’ll dig your eyes out!”
“Hey, you’re already my women now, what’s wrong with me taking a peek or two?” Yang Kai teased.
“You…” Ji Meng was so angry that the sound of her teeth gnashing was audible, eventually shouting out, “If it’s just me I don’t mind, but Ying Yue is off limits!”
Saying so, the two women ducked into the snow cave and soon after, the sound of rustling clothes could be heard. Apparently, they had removed all of their bloodstained robes.
Yang Kai stared blankly and suddenly felt that this woman had actually meant what she had just said.
Was she really willing to offer up her body just like that? Yang Kai’s face went black, thinking to himself that if he got tangled up with her, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
Now he was in a bit of an embarrassing situation, who told him to have such a cheap mouth and propose such conditions? Now it seemed he had caught himself in his own trap.
After roughly half an hour, Ji Meng’s voice called out, “You can come in now.”
Yang Kai smiled wryly before jumping into the snow cave.
The inside was really quite spacious and was neither chilly nor damp, on the contrary, in the contrast of the outside environment, this snow cave actually gave off a warm, cosy feeling.
The two women had processed their wounds already and donned clean dresses, allowing Yang Kai to secretly nod.
The first time he had encountered them, Qi Chao had intentionally blocked his view, so Yang Kai didn’t really notice what they looked like, and during their second meeting, the two women were dishevelled and covered in blood so their true appearances were completely masked.
But looking at them now, the taller one had an outstanding figure and an elegant look, while the shorter one had a delicate face and a cute, innocent air about her.
Of course, right now, the taller woman was glaring towards Yang Kai with smouldering anger, seemingly wanting nothing more than to eat his meat and drink his blood, her teeth grinding heavily. Meanwhile, the little girl was currently shrunk behind her Senior Sister, only daring to peek out once in a while, appearing quite weak and helpless.
“Well, for the time being, hello,” Yang Kai offered this strange greeting before sitting down cross-legged across from them.
“I thought you were some kind of powerful master, but facing that Ice Crystal Wolf all you were capable of was fleeing,” Ji Meng said with a sneer.
Before, when she noticed how calm Yang Kai was acting, not showing the slightest fear in front of a Seventh-Order Monster Beast and even having the mind to toy with her, Ji Meng had mistakenly thought that this guy was capable of defeating it, so this outcome had inevitably disappointed her.
It turns out this young man was just a little bit faster and didn’t actually have the courage to fight with the Ice Crystal Wolf.
“My ability to run away is what saved you,” Yang Kai didn’t care about her little display.
Facing unfamiliar outsiders, especially ones who had tricked him once before, he was not willing to show all of his strength.
A Seventh-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a Transcendent Realm powerhouse, if he killed it in front of these two women, the full extent of his combat strength would likely be exposed.
Yang Kai was not willing to show them all of his cards until he had a better idea about their identities and dispositions.
“…Fair enough. Thank you for saving us,” Ji Meng suddenly relented, her expression quite sincere, gently urging Zhu Ying Yue behind her forward.
Zhu Ying Yue was apparently still in a state of shock and she noticeably trembled upon being pushed forward, but quickly understanding Ji Meng’s intentions, she somehow managed to whisper with a blushed face, “Thank you.”
“It was just a slight effort, no need to be too polite,” Yang Kai’s mood became significantly better upon seeing their frankness.
“In addition, we apologize to you about the previous incident,” Ji Meng bit her thin red lips a look of guilt surfacing on her face, “When Qi Chao lied to you, we wanted to remind you, but we didn’t know who you were, what your intentions for entering the Snow Mountain Range were, or what your strength was, so…”
“It’s all in the past, when one goes out, having a heart of vigilance is a necessity,” Yang Kai laughed, “In any case, that guy is dead so this matter should end here.”
Ji Meng gently nodded, suddenly discovering that this youth was actually quite easy to speak to and not as cold and ruthless as he had first appeared.
“We are the disciples of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, my name is Ji Meng and she’s Zhu Ying Yue, what about you?” Ji Meng introduced herself and then turned to ask Yang Kai.
Yang Kai casually reported his name.
“What Sect do you come from?” Ji Meng asked curiously.
“I have no Sect, I’m just a lone wanderer.”
“No Sect?” Ji Meng was a little surprised, “Seeing your methods, you don’t seem like someone who isn’t from a great force. You’re not strongest I’ve ever seen, but you’re still quite good.”
Being able to calmly rescue two people from an Ice Crystal Wolf, Ji Meng was certain that Qi Chao couldn’t do that if Yang Kai really was a lone cultivator who had never received any teaching or guidance, how could he be so powerful?
“How come you lost your way in the Snow Mountain Range, where were you headed?” Ji Meng continued to ask, seemingly wanting to know more about Yang Kai.
“I accidentally entered this place and became lost, as to where I was headed… I haven’t decided that yet. Do you have any recommendations?” Yang Kai said thoughtlessly.
“En,” Ji Meng nodded and explained, “This ten thousand kilometer Snow Mountain Range isn’t considered the territory of any one force, but because there are only two or three large forces nearby, my Bright Thunder Spirit Religion being one of them, it’s almost as if this region belongs to my Spirit Religion. Many disciplines from my Sect enter the Snow Mountain Range to look for opportunities like rare herbs or other valuables. If you don’t have any specific destination, you might as well come with us for the time being.”
Yang Kai glanced between the two women and immediately understood that Ji Meng’s invitation was not because she had a good impression of him or because she wanted to fulfil their previous agreement, but because they were currently injured and needed someone to help protect them.
“Sure!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Many thanks!” Ji Meng’s shoulders relaxed, a bright smile appearing on her face.
Over the next few days, the trio slowly explored their surroundings.
The Snow Mountain Range was vast and stretched in all directions; with the two women being injured, the groups’ speed was naturally not quick. Also, while they walked, the trio would occasionally come across some spirit herbs buried deep beneath the snow which further delayed them.
Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry though. Having someone lead the way was always much faster than him walking about aimlessly.
After five days of such wandering, the group finally left the more dangerous region of the Snow Mountain Range.
As they were walking, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and turned his eyes towards a spot in the distance, a moment later saying to Ji Meng, “There are people who seem to be from your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion over there.”
“Really?” Ji Meng was very surprised and also turned towards the direction Yang Kai was looking but was unable to see anything.
“En, their clothes are similar to the ones you were wearing when we first met, pure golden yellow in colour.”
“They’re definitely from my Spirit Religion then,” Ji Meng clenched Zhu Ying Yue’s hand, her nerves which had been quite strained these past few days finally relaxing while Zhu Ying Yue also smiled.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly and asked, “Is it going to be a problem if they find an outsider like me in this area of the Snow Mountain Range?”
Ji Meng was slightly startled but quickly replied, “It shouldn’t matter. As long as we say you’re together with us there won’t be any problems.”
“That won’t be necessary; perhaps we’ll meet again if there’s a chance.” Saying so, Yang Kai turned around and quickly flew off.
Ji Meng didn’t even have time to react before he disappeared into the distance.
“Ah…” Zhu Ying Yue looked towards the spot on the horizon Yang Kai disappeared over and said in a somewhat lost tone, “How could he just leave like that?”
Ji Meng’s expression was also somewhat complex as she thought back on the past few days they had been together, suddenly gritting her teeth and grumbling, “That bastard, turns out he was just messing with me this whole time! Hmph, causing me to worry for so long while he secretly laughed at me!”
“He was deceiving you, how?”
“He said that he wanted me to repay him with my body, and I really thought…” Ji Meng blushed bright red, only now realizing Yang Kai had just been joking with her.
If Yang Kai had really had such intentions, how would he have just left so easily?
“He’s a good person,” Zhu Ying Yue smiled mischievously, “Is Senior Sister Ji tempted now? If you chase after him quickly you can still catch up.”
“Stop speaking nonsense!” Ji Meng pouted.
However, in her mind, she also felt like Yang Kai wasn’t so bad. After getting along with him for a few days, Ji Meng found that he wasn’t really as hateful as he had first appeared to be.
At the edge of Snow Mountain sat Grand Boulder City.
This was the only major city within a few thousand kilometers, with so many cultivators passing through it they seemed like flowing water, the various businesses and stalls reaping large amounts of profit.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion wasn’t the only Sect near Snow Mountain Range. There were two or three other Sects that resided in the nearby area, so Grand Boulder City had become a natural transit point for these forces where exchanges between their disciples and Elders could take place, making it a veritable commercial and social hub.
Cultivation was not simply about dedicated self-torture in a secluded retreat, supplementary aids were also a necessity.
Pills and artifacts belonged to the category of supplementary aids and provided an indispensable boost both during combat and cultivation. Since there was a need to acquire or sell such things, a transaction market naturally came about.
After separating from Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue, Yang Kai took four days to arrive at Grand Boulder City.
Yang Kai showed a happy smile when he saw the flowing crowds as he had spent quite a lot of time wandering alone by now.
It’s not that he was specifically looking for someone to talk to, but that staying in the Snow Mountain Range, with no one and nothing around for tens of thousands of kilometers had made him feel somewhat gloomy.
At the gates of the city, there were several cultivators wearing guard uniforms, performing checks on the passing pedestrians. When it was Yang Kai’s turn, having learned from the people who had entered before him, he quickly stuffed a Crystal Stone into the guard’s hand.
Quickly collecting the Crystal Stone without exposing himself, the guard faintly nodded to Yang Kai and motioned him inside.
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai smiled and strolled into Grand Boulder City.
It wasn’t just cultivators from the local forces that patronized Grand Boulder City, but also those from far off lands. Snow Mountain Range produced a great deal of Ice Attribute spirit grasses and spirit medicines, so any cultivators in need of such items would come here seeking them. As such, many people would pass through here in order to acquire special local merchandise.
Grand Boulder City welcomed all visitors, but if you didn’t want to answer too many questions, you’d have to pay some Crystal Stones. This was also one of the ways Grand Boulder City made money, unofficially that is.
The various shops in the city were the real breadwinners of Grand Boulder City though.
The owners of these shops were mainly disciples of the several nearby Sects, and few outsiders managed to take roots here in Grand Boulder City.
Yang Kai strolled through the streets at a brisk pace; purchasing a number of herbs he needed as he passed through.
Although he had left most of his Crystal Stones to Ancient Demon Clan before leaving the Mysterious Small World, he still had quite a lot on him, at least enough for him to be considered quite a wealthy individual considering his cultivation realm.
Yang Kai also paid especially close attention to the materials needed to refine the Saint Grade pill the Ancient Demon Clan required.
Before leaving, Li Rong had told him this information, but what Yang Kai hadn’t expected was that the pill they needed was actually a Saint Grade Top-Rank pill.
Currently, he could barely refine Spirit Grade Low-Rank pills, so there was still a massive gap for him to cross before he could refine Saint Grade Top-Rank pills.
Along the way, having swept through a dozen or so shops, Yang Kai managed to haul in a decent harvest, piling up all kinds of herbs inside his Black Book Space.
When he came to a particularly large-scale shop, Yang Kai spent a lot of Crystal Stones to purchase many of the materials he needed.
“Little brother doesn’t look familiar, are you perhaps buying so many herbs to perform Alchemy yourself?” The grey-haired shopkeeper with an Immortal Ascension Eighth Stage cultivation sized up Yang Kai with great interest, stroking his beard gently as he asked.
“Old shopkeep, are you here to do business or inquire about news?” Yang Kai stared at him and asked with a smile.
The other party suddenly saying such words had inevitably made him a little vigilant, but in Grand Boulder City, law and order was relatively well maintained, so there wouldn’t be any disputes suddenly breaking out. Even if there was some kind of friction between cultivators, the dispute would generally be resolved outside the city.
As such, Yang Kai wasn’t the slightest bit worried.
“I was simply asking. If little brother doesn’t want to answer, you don’t have to,” The shop owner replied somewhat awkwardly, seemingly cognisant of Yang Kai’s vigilance. Not wanting him to misunderstand, he quickly continued, “But if little brother is an Alchemist, you can buy herbs here at a discount.”
“Discount? Why can I get a discount?” Yang Kai heard the words and became somewhat interested.
He had never heard at any of the other stores that Alchemist could receive a special discount.
Before the shopkeeper could answer, a nearby cultivator who was picking out herbs suddenly spoke up, “Because this shop was opened by the Alchemist Guild. As long the one purchasing things is an Alchemist, they can receive all kinds of preferential treatment. You didn’t know?”
As he spoke, he walked over and handed his chosen herbs to the shop keeper along with a Jade Token.
When Yang Kai snuck a peek at this Jade Token, he saw the word ‘Pill’ (丹) clearly engraved on it.
The shopkeeper took a look at the herbs and calculated the sale price before picking up the Jade Token and pouring a thread of True Qi into it. The Jade Token lit up and the shop keeper nodded slightly, “Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, according to the rules of the guild, you can receive a 20% discount.”
The man paid the required Crystal Stones to the shopkeeper and concluded the transaction.
After buying his herbs, the man left without looking back.
Yang Kai was dumbstruck.
“The Alchemist Guild is a force established by the world’s Alchemists. Only Alchemists are eligible to join but as long as one is a member of the guild, they will receive preferential treatment in any store owned or operated by the guild. On top of that, the guild’s stores are spread all over the world, so one can receive support from them in most major cities,” The shopkeeper explained with a smile.
“How did you know I was an Alchemist?” Yang Kai asked. The shopkeeper obviously knew he was intending on refining pills himself or he would not have asked such a question.
Now Yang Kai was somewhat curious, wondering how this Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage old man had seen through his status.
“Alchemists are unlike general cultivators. I’ve been tending this store for many years now and have seen plenty of Alchemists come and go. As such, I’ve developed a keen sense for this kind of thing,” The shopkeeper slowly shook his head, appearing a bit inscrutable. “Little brother is quite young, but from the herbs you’ve chosen so far, you should at least be a Mysterious Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, yes?”
Yang Kai neither confirmed nor denied this guess.
The old shopkeeper nodded in appreciation, “This old master has been studying Alchemy for many years but is still just a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist. I really envy you.”
How far one could go in the Alchemic Way had a lot to do with natural aptitude.
“Grand Boulder City has a branch of the guild. If you want to buy herbs at a discount in the future, you should go there and get a Jade Token. Not only will you save Crystal Stones, but you’ll also be safer when you travel. Alchemists are highly valued everywhere, so as long as you can prove your status basically no one will find trouble with you,” The old shopkeeper said with a smile.
“Many thanks for your advice.” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“You’re welcome.”
Outside the shop, Yang Kai became lost in thought.
The old shopkeeper’s words had undeniable interested him, buying herbs at a discounted price was quite attractive. Although he had a lot of Crystal Stones right now, even if he had enough to pile into a mountain, there would always come a day when he would exhaust his supply. Saving a little here and there would allow him to continue his studies that much longer.
However, what he was most concerned with was the influence the Alchemist Guild possessed, something that far exceeded any other force.
He had come to Tong Xuan Realm in order to find Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister.
However, this world was incredibly vast and he had little hope of finding them on his own.
It wasn’t like back in the Central Capital, where he had a large number of allies and subordinates who he could issue orders to in order to expedite the process.
Here, he could only rely on himself.
When Shui Ling and Yun Xuan invited him to join Water Spirit Temple or Bold Independent Union, Yang Kai had directly turned down their kindness.
At the time, Yang Kai had wanted to rely on his own strength to find Su Yan.
But now he realized that idea was somewhat impractical.
Using his identity as an Alchemist, couldn’t he find a force to join and then get that force to help him in his search?
Inside an inn, Yang Kai thought over the issue for a long time before eventually deciding to go to the Alchemist Guild to get a Jade Token. In any case, possessing this Jade Token would save him a lot of trouble in the future so regardless of anything else Yang Kai wanted to acquire one
Asking around Grand Boulder City, Yang Kai quickly found the location of the Alchemist Guild branch.
Standing in front of a magnificent Alchemist Guild building, it took a while before Yang Kai managed to come to his senses, shaking his head wryly.
Although he had long known that Alchemists were a group of super-wealthy people, Yang Kai hadn’t expected them to be rich to this extent.
The Alchemist Guild’s building, even just its exterior, was quite different from the other buildings in Grand Boulder City. One could literally see an aura of wealth radiating from it.
On the outside of the building, various images of ancient beasts were carved out of rare ores and infused with subtle energy fluctuations; obviously, these engravings comprised a powerful Spirit Array.
If someone dared to have any malicious intentions towards this building, they would undoubtedly suffer a big loss.
Glancing towards the interior, Yang Kai saw that the floors were all covered in thick red carpets and the walls were inlaid with various gemstones that glittered brilliantly.
The Alchemists who occasionally entered and exited all had faces filled with pride and arrogance as if they couldn’t wait for people to look up to and venerate them.
A top-rank Alchemist not only possessed incredibly wealth but also had a venerable status, this wasn’t just idle talk but an actual fact.
In the Central Capital, Alchemists and Artifact Refiners all had noble identities, and in Tong Xuan Realm, this status was only magnified not diminished.
“Little brat, what are you doing sneaking around here?” An angry voice suddenly rang out as a man glared at Yang Kai and questioned, “Which force do you belong to? Don’t you know where this is?”
“Hello,” Yang Kai’s expression remained unperturbed as he calmly explained, “I’m actually here to acquire a Jade Token.”
“Acquire a Jade Token… Are you an Alchemist?” Hearing these words, the big man glanced over Yang Kai and scanned him with his Divine Sense, soon nodding his head slightly, “En, good, the True Qi in your body has a strong Yang Attribute, but you seem a bit too young, did you just start practising Alchemy?”
“Haha, I indeed haven’t been learning for that long,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Good, come in,” The big man waved his hand and walked inward, motioning Yang Kai to keep up.
Along the way, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed. Just from glancing around at the outside of the building he knew that the Alchemist Guild was quite rich, but upon entering and really seeing the interior he knew this place was far wealthier than he had initially anticipated.
After learning that Yang Kai was also an Alchemist, the big man’s contempt for him decreased significantly and began to converse with him in an easy-going manner, “Since you want to be certified as a member of the Alchemist Guild, you must first pass our test. After doing so, you can receive a Jade Token that corresponds to your rank, but keep in mind that once you become a formal member of the guild, you must not take any action that could be deemed harmful to our Human Race. If you dare perform Alchemy for the Demon Race or Monster Race, don’t blame the guild for tidying you up.”
“*Cough*, of course, of course,” Yang Kai hurriedly nodded.
Silavin: 9 Chapters this week 😀
There was an email directed to me about the comments – those within the ( ) and I posted a feedback post on Discord.
Well, the result ended up with quite a landslide: 3 – 49 (3 being changed to post two separate versions and 49 being no change).
Anyways, I would like to hear the thoughts of you guys.
The big man had clearly just been warning him casually but unexpectedly he had actually hit the mark.
Yang Kai studying the Alchemic Way was mainly in order to perform Alchemy for the Demon Race. Moreover, it was specifically to help the Ancient Demon Clan, the servants of the Great Demon God who reigned supreme thousands of years ago!
Inside the Alchemist Guild, a light medicinal fragrance could be smelt everywhere. From time to time, Yang Kai could also feel a surge of hot Qi coming from different wings of the building, obviously there were Alchemists here practicing Alchemy at this very moment.
Following behind the big man, Yang Kai eventually arrived at a relatively remote room, “Wait here, someone will come to see you after a while.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly and sat down on a nearby chair.
This room wasn’t big and there wasn’t much furniture inside, it seemed almost like an empty storage room.
After waiting for two hours or so, Yang Kai was beginning to feel somewhat impatient when he suddenly heard a set of approaching footsteps.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and a young woman with a somewhat disgruntled look upon her face walked in. Turning to look at Yang Kai, she bluntly asked, “Are you the one who wants to join the guild?”
Yang Kai nodded, stood up, and asked, “Is it possible to start the test now?”
“How long have you been studying Alchemy?” The woman’s brow wrinkled, seemingly a little unhappy as she muttered.
“Not too long, as for exactly how long, I’m not certain.”
If it was about how long he had actually been practicing Alchemy, then the answer would be about a year and a half, but if he counted the time he spent studying the fundamentals, then it would be a bit longer. From the time he acquired the True Alchemic Way until now, about four or five years had passed, but during that time he would only study the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way on and off.
So when this young woman asked this, Yang Kai didn’t know how to answer.
“Trying to act all mysterious!” The young woman coldly snorted, apparently dissatisfied that Yang Kai had not given her a straight answer. Touching the Universe Bag at her waist, she fumbled around for a moment before pulling out an herb and handing it over to Yang Kai, bluntly explaining, “This is a stalk of Cold Star Grass a Heaven Grade Low-Rank material. Purify it into medicinal liquid for me.”
Yang Kai reached out and accepted this stalk of grass from her blankly and couldn’t help asking, “Purify it just like that?”
The young woman sneered, “If you can’t even do this much, then don’t even dream about joining the guild. Do you think just anyone is eligible to join? Only Alchemists above Heaven Grade are qualified to receive Jade Tokens. Quickly now, I’m also in a hurry.”
Saying so, she began muttering under her breath, “Master is really too much. Such a young kid, why didn’t he just drive him out, wasting my precious time!”
When Yang Kai listened to her quietly complaining, he couldn’t help but laugh.
He understood that this young woman was unhappy because his arrival had cut into the time she had to study Alchemy.
When an Alchemist was performing Alchemy, the most taboo thing was to disturb them, so this young woman being in a foul mood was something Yang Kai could understand.
However, her words and demeanor clearly indicated she was looking down on him, which made Yang Kai feel somewhat helpless.
It was likely she really thought he had just begun studying the Alchemic Way.
Thinking so, Yang Kai began circulating his True Qi, wrapping up and slowly infiltrating it into the Cold Star Grass.
Soon, a faint fragrance began filling the air and the young woman finally reigned in the contemptuous look on her face, focusing her attention on Yang Kai’s movements.
The Cold Star Grass appeared as if it was melting and quickly transformed into a liquid suspended above Yang Kai’s palm, all the impurities evaporating under the effect of his True Qi.
As time passed, the Heaven Grade Low-Rank Cold Star Grass was transformed into a pure medicinal liquid with a light green hue.
With Yang Kai’s current level of skill, purifying a Heaven Grade herb into medicinal liquid was as easy as flipping his palm. Even without a pill furnace or any supplementary Spirit Arrays he could completely remove all traces of impurities.
After roughly the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, the medicinal liquid was completely formed. When the young woman released her Divine Sense and examined it, her pretty face quickly showed a look of surprise as she turned to stare at Yang Kai with amazement.
“Is this alright?” Yang Kai asked.
He could have further purified this medicinal liquid, but he had not done so intentionally as he thought this level should be able to meet this young woman’s requirements.
“Let me ask you, what grade of pill are you capable of refining?” The young woman looked at Yang Kai seriously, only not discovering that she had apparently underestimating the ability of this little brat.
“Spirit Grade.”
“What!?” The woman yelped as she gawked towards Yang Kai incredulously.
“Spirit Grade Low-Rank, and I sometimes still fail,” Yang Kai added hastily, not daring to over-inflate his skill lest he attract unwanted attention. Unfortunately for him, Spirit Grade Low-Rank still seemed to be beyond this young woman’s ability to accept.
“Impossible! You only look about twenty years old, how can you already refine Spirit Grade pills?”
“I can demonstrate for you,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
The young woman stared at him deeply, seemingly wanting to see if he was just idly boasting, a moment later saying seriously, “You come with me. If you really have such ability, it’s no longer within my ability to assess you.”
She was just a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, how was she supposed to evaluate a Spirit Grade Alchemist?
Inside another room, the big man who had first greeted Yang Kai was staring at an ancient Alchemy book with a serious expression, engrossed in studying an old Spirit Array, a pensive look upon his face.
When his door was suddenly knocked, the big man lifted his head and indifferently called out, “What is it?”
“Master,” The young woman softly shouted, “It’s about the young man who wanted to join the guild.”
“Oh? Did he pass the test?” The big man asked.
“Well… not exactly…”
“No? Then don’t bother me, go attend to your own Alchemy studies.”
Hearing this off-handed remark, the young woman suddenly ground her teeth and proceeded to violently kick open the door, leaving Yang Kai somewhat stunned.
Seeing his young female disciple rudely burst into his room, the big man angrily slammed his fist on the table in front of him, “How improper! Actually ignoring the orders of your master, do you still put your master in your eyes?”
The young woman grumbled in annoyance, holding her arms akimbo as she shouted, “Master, didn’t you say this guy had just begun studying Alchemy?”
“That’s right, what’s the problem?”
“Then why can he refine Spirit Grade pills? My using a Heaven Grade Low-Rank Cold Star Grass to test him made me lose a lot of face!”
“Ah?” The big man was dumbstruck, standing up from his chair quickly, “He can refine Spirit Grade pills? Impossible! Little girl, you dare lie to me!?”
“I’ve brought the person in question here, whether he has such ability, you can verify it yourself,” The woman beckoned to Yang Kai, the latter letting out a sigh and bracing himself.
The big man stared at Yang Kai with a dignified expression and asked, “You claim you’re able to refine Spirit Grade pills?”
Yang Kai nodded sternly.
The look on the big man’s face became somewhat gloomy, “Boy, you understand that this is the Alchemist Guild? No matter which force you come from, if you dare spout nonsense here you won’t be leaving alive!”
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead and felt a headache coming on. All he wanted was to get a Jade Token, never had he expected the process would be so convoluted and tiresome.
“Forget it, I don’t need that Jade Token anyways, I apologize for bothering you. I’ll see myself out.”
“You dare!” The big man roared, his voice echoing throughout the nearby halls, sneering hard as he said, “You think the Alchemist Guild is a place you can casually come and go as you please? Trying to back out now just because you’re afraid of being exposed is impossible! I will prepare the materials for you and see how you refine Spirit Grade pills. If you are unable to satisfy me, heh heh…”
“I also want to see if you have such skill,” The young woman also sized up Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, and helplessly nodded.
“Mi Na, take out your Spirit Grade materials,” The big man fixed his eyes on Yang Kai as he issued an order to the young woman.
The young woman nodded gently and searched through her Universe Bag, a moment later withdrawing a pile of Spirit Grade materials and placing them gently onto a nearby table.
The big man also stretched out his hand and summoned a pill furnace roughly the size of his head onto his palm, turning to look at Yang Kai and saying, “This is my personal pill furnace, I spent eight years collecting the materials for it before commissioning a Saint Grade Artifact Refiner to forge it. It is capable of greatly increasing the chance of successfully forming a pill, so don’t even think of claiming I am trying to make things difficult for you. If you can’t manage to refine a Spirit Grade pill even with this pill furnace, I’ll make sure your head flies from your body!”
Having issues this ultimatum, the big man threw the pill furnace over.
Yang Kai reached out and grabbed it, sweeping his Divine Sense over it and nodding slightly.
The quality of this pill furnace was indeed very good, beyond that of any ordinary furnace he had seen before, and the Spirit Array engraved inside it also had the effect of enhancing the chance of successful pill formation. However, Yang Kai was keenly aware that the Spirit Array inside it was not complete and wasn’t capable of displaying its full effect.
“Here are five sets of Spirit Grade materials, you must succeed three times in order to pass my test, if you can’t, heh!” The big man sneered, waving his hand as he said, “You may start. I will be observing you closely so don’t think about trying to pull some kind of clever trick.”
Now that things had gotten to this point, it was impossible for Yang Kai to back out; setting down the pill furnace on the table, he began to carefully check the five sets of materials.
After a moment, his brow wrinkled and rearranged the position of a number of herbs.
The big man and the young woman both couldn’t help looking at him suspiciously, not understanding why he seemed so self-confident still. The materials had already been laid out in the optimum configuration so why had he changed their positions?
Not saying anything, the two simply stood there and quietly watched.
After a brief silence, Yang Kai began moving, adding one herb after another to the pill furnace in a methodical way, pouring his True Qi into the furnace to refine them into medicinal liquid, paying careful attention to use the right amount of heat and the proper timing.
Seeing this, the big man and the young woman’s expression brightened.
Just this series of preliminary actions allowed them to realize that this young man really had some skill and was not idly boasting. His steady technique and calm demeanor were clearly built upon a large amount of experience.
Soon, all the medicinal herbs were added to the pill furnace, and under Yang Kai’s precise control, a light medicinal fragrance gently wafted out.
The big man and the young woman’s eyes stared at Yang Kai without blinking, their expressions gradually becoming solemn, without a hint of their prior suspicion or contempt.
After about the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai reached out and patted the pill furnace and a round, golden yellow pill leapt from it. The big man reached out swiftly and drew the pill into his palm.
After carefully inspecting it, his eyes bulged as he muttered under his breath, “It really is a Spirit Grade pill.”
“Is this little brat really so fierce?” Mi Na was also dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected Yang Kai could really refine Spirit Grade pills. Even though it was just a Spirit Grade Low-Rank pill, it was still beyond her current ability.
“The medicinal properties are well preserved and none of the herbs’ medicinal essences were wasted. It’s only a step away from giving birth to Pill Veins, a pity,” The big man pined, as if he was somewhat regretful.
A Pill that developed Pill Veins had twice the medicinal efficacy as one that did not. Even if it was the big man who was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, he could only occasionally refine a single pill that possessed Pill Veins, and that was only under extremely good conditions while he was particularly lucky.
As for the legendary Pill Cloud, he had never even seen such a thing.
Holding this pill, the big man was rendered speechless for quite a long time.
After an hour or so had passed, Yang Kai had finished his Alchemy.
Out of the five sets of ingredients, a total of four pills had been successfully refined, but the last attempt had been a failure, something Yang Kai did deliberately.
By now, both the big man and the young woman were staring dumbfounded at Yang Kai, shocked beyond words.
“Master, did this guy use some kind of face rejuvenating technique? How else could he appear only twenty years old?”
“Unlikely. This should be his real age, yet how can he be so fierce?” Saying so, he turned to stare at the young woman, his expression a somewhat forlorn look upon his face.
“Master, why are you staring at me like that? I’ve been working very hard.” Mi Na felt aggrieved.
Her Alchemy aptitude was also quite outstanding, and she had acquired quite a bit of fame in the surrounding thousand kilometer range. All of the nearby forces were trying to invite her to be an Honoured Guest. Because of her talent, Mi Na had always been a bit conceited, but her pride had been thoroughly broken by the four Saint Grade pills lying in front of her.
While this master and disciple pair whispered to one another, Yang Kai did not deliberately eavesdrop, waiting until they seemed to have finished before asking, “Have I passed this test?”
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, the big man came back to his senses and let out a big laugh, smiling sincerely as he nodded, “Indeed, completely passed.”
“Then my Jade Token…”
“Rest assured, we will definitely issue you your Jade Token will, but before that, there’s someone you should meet. Wait a moment, I’ll call him now!” Saying so, the big man dashed out.
Now, inside the room, there was only Yang Kai and the young woman left.
Yang Kai was once again speechless.
“You’re really impressive!” The young woman said in heartfelt admiration, extending her hand without any of her previous contempt and solemnly said, “Let me re-introduce myself, my name is Mi Na, Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist and a member of Grand Boulder City’s Alchemist Guild branch.”
“Yang Kai,” Yang Kai laughed and gently shook her hand.
“Where do you come from?” Mi Na asked curiously.
“The west.”
Mi Na stared at him and pursed her lips, saying with a smile, “You’re quite vigilant aren’t you? Forget it, just pretend I didn’t ask.”
West of here was the Snow Mountain Range, Yang Kai saying he came from the west was obviously an arbitrary answer.
“Right, why did you change the configuration of those materials?”
“Wasn’t that part of the test?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Mi Na slowly shook her head, “They were arranged in what I thought was the best possible configuration, but after you changed it, it seemed that the refining process became smoother. Who taught you that?”
“It was just intuition…” Yang Kai replied somewhat nervously. He hadn’t thought much about it at the time and had just assumed that they had deliberately misplaced some of the herbs to examine his skill, but apparently that was not the case.
“Why did you arrange it like that? That pill recipe was taught to me by my master. Does that mean my master’s pill recipe was mistaken?” Mi Na knit her brows.
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment but decided not to conceal anything, carefully explaining why he had made those changes. Mi Na listened to him with sparkling eyes, suddenly feeling like she had greatly benefited.
The two of them soon entered into a discussion about the pill recipe in question. Meanwhile, outside the room, the big man and another old man lingered and listened. The more they listened though, the more surprised they became.
They had believed that pill recipe had been fully optimized, but after listening to and adopting the changes Yang Kai proposed, they discovered that it was indeed much better than the original one.
At the very least, if you they used Yang Kai’s method to refine that pill, it was possible to reduce the possibility of failure and increase the quality slightly while more fully utilizing the medicinal efficacies of the herbs.
“Where did you find this boy?” The old man asked as he stroked his beard, looking at the big man.
“He came here on his own,” The big man shrugged his shoulders, “Have we picked up a treasure?”
Not bothering to answer, the old man simply pushed the door open and walked in.
Upon hearing the movement of the door, Yang Kai quickly glanced over and saw the big man from earlier, as well as another sage-like old man enter.
Mi Na quickly introduced them to Yang Kai, “This is Old Man Du, Old Man Du is the manager of this branch and a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help drawing a quick breath and hastily paying his respects.
Du Wan smiled and nodded, “Little friend does not need to be so polite, everyone here will be one family from now on.”
“This is my master, you’ve already met him, he’s a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist.”
Ye Xiong grinned towards Yang Kai.
“Please sit down,” Old Man Du gestured.
After taking their seats, from who knows where, Mi Na pulled out a few cups of fragrantly scented tea and offered them to everyone. After taking a sip, Old Man Du smiled warmly and said, “I am already aware of why little friend has visited our Alchemist Guild branch today. Already capable of refining Spirit Grade pills, you are certainly eligible to have your own Jade Token. This old master will later officially send you a Jade Token on behalf of the Alchemist Guild.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded.
“May this old master ask, which great master did you study under?”
As he asked this question, Du Wan’s gaze towards Yang Kai became brilliant.
When he had listened to Ye Xiong’s report earlier, Du Wan had just faintly felt that this young man was not simple, but after listening to many of his unique insights and opinions from the other side of the door, Du Wan suddenly realized just how extraordinary Yang Kai was.
Such insights were things even he was unclear about, so how could a mere boy understand them?
The only possibility was that someone of incredible skill had taught it to him.
Du Wan very much wanted to know which powerful master could teach such an outstanding disciple.
At such a young age, reaching the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary and also becoming a Spirit Grade Alchemist, his background must be incredible and his teacher was no doubt an earth-shaking figure.
Although Old Man Du was a Saint Grade Alchemist and had an honoured status, there were still some famous Alchemist who surpassed him, not to mention the old monsters who hid in the mountains and forests all year round. These old monsters may not show up for hundreds of years but once they did, each of them had exceedingly profound methods and divine abilities that were capable of thoroughly astounding people.
Moreover, these old monsters were normally the type who would aggressively hide shortcomings and would send their disciples out from their places of seclusion at some point in order to gain life experience. These successors would often stir up a great storm within a few years of their appearance and become famous throughout the entire realm.
The young man in front of him called Yang Kai, in this respect, was quite suspicious.
He was already a Spirit Grade Alchemist, but there was no record of him in the Alchemist Guild, he didn’t even have his own Jade Token. This clearly meant he had only recently emerged from some very remote region.
When Old Man Du looked at Yang Kai, he could almost see the great monster hiding behind him, so naturally he would discretely try to inquire about Yang Kai’s true identity.
Ye Xiong and Mi Na also stared at him fixedly, apparently very interested in this topic.
“My master?” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “I don’t have a teacher, no one has formally taught me.”
“No master… hehe,” Old Man Du smiled lightly and didn’t mind. If he was able to dig up his background that easily, it would be strange. Instead, Yang Kai saying this just reinforced Old Man Du’s previous guess that the former had some kind of extraordinary backer.
However, these kind of silver lined words were a bit too naive.
Young people really didn’t know how to hide themselves.
These kinds of mysterious successors would not always openly announce their Master’s name or the Sect they belonged to when they went out for life experience. However, if one could establish a good relationship with such a person, it would be akin to establishing a connection with their formidable background as well, which would be hugely beneficial.
A hundred years ago, there was once a small force that had befriended such a mysterious successor. Ten years later, this force became enemies with another more powerful force and was madly suppressed, suffering heavy casualties, but overnight, that hostile forces was completely destroyed and disappeared entirely from Tong Xuan Realm.
Old Man Du was a Saint Grade Alchemist, so no one would seek trouble with him and he had no great personal enemies; he naturally didn’t want to rely on the power of outsiders to protect himself. What he valued was the master who had taught Yang Kai Alchemy. Such a person must be amongst the most powerful Alchemists in the world.
Old Man Du had been stuck at the Saint Grade Low-Rank for many years and his bottleneck showed no signs of loosening, but if he could get the direction of a powerful master, he might be able to gain some kind of enlightenment that would allow him to break through and become a Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
“Where is little friend planning to settle down?” Old Man Du kindly inquired.
“I don’t know, I was planning to stay in Grand Boulder City for the time being,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I just came out from a very remote place and am not familiar with the world. I’m not afraid to admit to Old Man Du that before recently I didn’t even know the names of the great forces in this region and I had not even heard of the Alchemist Guild before today.”
Du Wan’s old eyes flashed brilliantly as he smiled and nodded, “Good good good, there’s nothing for you to feel embarrassed about. As long as little friend is still in Grand Boulder City, you can come to this old master to ask about anything you don’t understand. This old man will certainly answer your doubts.”
Yang Kai expression became slightly strange, not understanding why this Saint Grade Alchemist was so good to him.
“Old Man Du, can you let him live here in the Alchemist Guild?” Mi Na suddenly proposed.
Old Man Du said with a smile, “That depends on whether he wants to or not.”
“I can live here?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Mi Na quickly explained, “As long as you are an Alchemist, you can live here. The entire Grand Boulder City Alchemist Guild branch basically only has the three of us living here. Everyone else has hired themselves to one of the nearby forces and there will only be some Alchemist from other regions stopping over here to rest. Therefore, this place is relatively clean and quite, if you don’t have any particular destination, you might as well just stay here for now, en, if you stay here we can also compare notes on Alchemy techniques so all of us can benefit, how about it?”
Mi Na obviously hoped that Yang Kai would stay. The brief conversation the two just had already allowed her to benefit greatly, naturally she wanted to compare notes with him again.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance for your hospitality.” Facing such a warm offer and seeing Mi Na’s look filled with expectation, it was difficult for Yang Kai to turn them down. On top of that, he also felt that Old Man Du and Ye Xiong didn’t have any malicious intentions.
“Little friend, you are too polite,” Old Man Du smiled.
“However, I probably won’t be staying here for too long,” Yang Kai added.
“Whatever little friend likes, no need to feel constrained,” Du Wan said, next pulling out a Jade Token and handing it over to Yang Kai, “This is the identify token of my Alchemist Guild. With this, you can enjoy special benefits in any shop operated by the guild and if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, showing this Jade Token will normally allow you to turn danger into safety.”
“Many thanks, Old Man Du,” Yang Kai accepted the Jade Token and poured in his True Qi with a happy expression. Inside this Jade Token were some mysterious energy markings that allowed a person to easily identify who its owner was and what grade of Alchemist they were.
Five hundred kilometers away from Grand Boulder City, at the very edge of the Snow Mountain Range, there was a beautiful temperate landscape that seemed to be in a perpetual state of spring. In the midst of this landscape was a great valley that was dotted with a large number of buildings stood. From time to time, powerful cultivators would fly in and out.
This place was the foundation of a great force.
At this moment, in a secluded secret room, an old man who normally sat in meditative retreat year to year suddenly opened his eyes, a brilliant spark flashing across them. A curious expression surfaced on his face as he turned his gaze in the direction of Grand Boulder City and stared.
Just now, he had felt a vague energy fluctuation coming from that direction that was somewhat familiar.
After thinking about it for a moment, the old man formed a series of profound hand seals and gathered his energy at his fingertips.
A moment later, the old man reached out and stroked the air in front of him. A series of ripples appeared as the void seemed to split and at the center of this distortion a vague figure emerged.
The old man stared at this figure suspiciously, his expression becoming more and more puzzled. Silently recording the general characteristics of this figure, he was about to push his strength slightly more to get a clearer view when the void trembled slightly and the figure he was observing suddenly turned its head towards him, a look of vigilance and doubt appearing on its face.
“Such strong vigilance!” The old man was surprised.
The old man could tell the age and cultivation of this individual were not very high and yet even though he had used a powerful divine ability to spy on the latter from a few hundred kilometers away, he had actually still been noticed.
The next moment, the ripples in the air settled and the figure disappeared.
“Interesting,” The old man grinned, calmly calling out, “Cang Yan.”
The door to this secluded room was soon pushed open and a man with a reserved aura walked in, respectfully asking, “What is ancestor’s command?”
“Go to Grand Boulder City and invite this person to see me!” The old man reached out his finger and shot a thread of Divine Sense into Cang Yan’s mind, showing him a fuzzy figure.
“Yes, ancestor,” Cang Yan nodded solemnly.
“Good, treat him politely,” The old man purposefully reminded.
Cang Yan’s expression became a bit strange but he did not ask anything more, turning around leaving to prepare for his trip to Grand Boulder City.
Alchemist Guild.
Mi Na, who was consulting Yang Kai about the Alchemic Way, suddenly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he stared at a certain place in the air. Just now, he had faintly sensed that someone was spying on him and could not help shiver slightly.
However, when he tried to investigate, he found nothing.
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai shook his head, though still puzzled in his heart. With the current strength of his Divine Sense, even if the one trying to spy on him was a Transcendent, he would still be able to trace them. Only if a Saint Realm master was secretly observing him would he not be able to find them, but why would such a master be staring at him?
Since he came to Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had not contracted any enmity with anyone besides the Charm Monster, but she was already dead.
“Oh,” Mi Na stopped asking about it and continued her discussion about Alchemy with Yang Kai instead. Yang Kai also didn’t try to hide his ability by remaining silent and answered her questions as best he could.
Of course, he did not speak about some of the more profound secrets of the True Alchemic Way.
The True Alchemic Way was very likely a legacy left behind by the Great Demon God, revealing too much about it would only bring harm to himself.
After having stayed in the Alchemist Guild for more than half a month, whether it was Old Man Du, Ye Xiong, or Mi Na, all of them treated him like family, which warmed Yang Kai’s wayward heart.
However, Yang Kai noticed that, Mi Na aside, both Old Man Du and Ye Xiong often treated him a bit too casually, not having the attitude or demeanor a senior should have towards a member of the younger generation, making him feel out of place.
These days, Yang Kai had also been immersed in Alchemy, and the materials he had purchased were being rapidly consumed.
Before, in Demon God Citadel, Li Rong had provided all of the herbs he had used, so Yang Kai didn’t feel anything about it, but now that he was preparing his own materials for Alchemy, he suddenly realized just how astonishing this consumption was.
Even though he had a lot of Crystal Stones on hand, at the rate he was spending them it would not be long before he ran out.
However, in order to continue improving his skill in Alchemy, he had to constantly keep practicing.
“Mi Na, how do you ensure that you have enough materials to practice Alchemy?”
“Who asked you to be such a freak?” Mi Na rolled her eyes, “You’re rate of Alchemy is simply too fast. When my master refines Spirit Grade pills, he normally spends at least half a day, so at most he can refine two per day.”
Yang Kai was stunned.
“But I digress; the pills we refine can be sold for Crystal Stones which we can then be used to buy materials to continue practicing Alchemy.”
A light suddenly went off in Yang Kai’s head. The whole time he had been practicing Alchemy, he had never once sold his own pills, so he had completely forgotten about this option.
Because until now, Yang Kai had never had to worry about maintaining his own finances, he had never thought about how to make money.
Most of the pills he had on him now were Spirit Grade and whether it was in terms of quality or grade, they were well aligned with the needs of most cultivators, so he would certainly have no trouble selling them.
Under the leadership of Mi Na, Yang Kai came to the shop operated by the Alchemist Guild. The old shopkeeper who he had previous met gave Yang Kai a favourable price and the Crystal Stones he had spent before were not only fully recovered but he also made a significant profit.
After purchasing enough materials, Yang Kai returned to Alchemist Guild again.
Time flew by and another month passed.
After confirming that the people from the Alchemist Guild really had no malicious intentions towards him, Yang Kai decided to have a chat with Old Man Du.
Yang Kai didn’t plan on studying Alchemy in Alchemist Guild for a lifetime. His goal in approaching them was to obtain the distinguished identity of Alchemist in order to help him realize his goal of finding Su Yan and his Little Senior Sister.
“Little friend is looking for someone?” Old Man Du was surprised to hear Yang Kai’s words.
“En, my two Senior Sisters and my Martial Uncle,” Yang Kai nodded, not daring to reveal any news about Old Demon. Meng Wu Ya was Xia Ning Chang’s master so he could naturally be counted as his Martial Uncle.
Old Man Du eyes flashed as he suddenly thought that along with Yang Kai there were actually three successors to the latter’s great Alchemy Master, and obviously the identity of these two women was not simple as there was even an Elder accompanying them. On top of that, this Elder was likely even more accomplished than Yang Kai.
“If little friend wants to find someone, the guild can provide you with some help. This old man will send a letter to the other branches of the guild, if there is any news, I’ll be sure to inform little friend as soon as I receive it. However, the guild has many matters to attend to so the old man can only guarantee that the other branches will keep any eyes out for your Senior Sisters and Martial Uncle. If little friend really wants to find them, it would probably be best to find your own solution.”
“Many thanks, Senior, even that will be a great help,” Yang Kai replied sincerely.
Old Man Du hesitated for a moment, mulling over something for a while before finally proposing, “If little friend wishes to take a more active approach, this old man suggests relying on one of the nearby forces to help find them. As a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, I don’t believe any Sect would refuse your, wherever you go you would be courteously received as a guest.”
“I also had this idea, but I am not familiar with the nearby forces and don’t know which one I should choose. I hope Senior can offer me some guidance!”
Yang Kai really wasn’t familiar with any of the nearby Sects so if he were to hire himself to one that had unscrupulous intentions, it would be difficult for him to later withdraw safely. If he wasn’t forced to by the situation, Yang Kai would not even have considered such an idea.
“I see,” Old Man Du nodded slightly, “Of the nearby forces, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Soaring Heaven Sect, Ancient Moon Cave, and Luo Sheng Sect are those with the greatest influence and strength. If you want to hire yourself to a force, you should pick from one of these four; however, I don’t suggest looking for Luo Sheng Sect, those people aren’t easy to get along with. As for the remaining three… En, this old man has some slight friendship with each of them, if you want to choose from among them, it really is a bit difficult for me to recommend one.”
“Can I choose any of these three forces?” Yang Kai asked spiritedly.
“These three Sects’ reputations are all quite good. Give this old man a few days to think about it before giving you an answer, alright?”
“Then I shall have to trouble you Old Man Du.”
“Little friend is too polite.”
The next few days passed by uneventfully, Yang Kai still practiced Alchemy every day and Mi Na would often come to him for advice.
One day, Old Man Du suddenly summoned him so Yang Kai put down what he was working on and went to the former’s room.
Yang Kai thought that Old Man Du had come to a decision about which of the local Sects he should look for but when he opened the door, Yang Kai found that there was actually an unfamiliar face present as well.
This man’s aura was restrained and a strong light could be seen in the depths of his eyes. When Yang Kai entered the room, this man immediately stared towards him with a look of intense interest.
A Transcendent Realm master! Yang Kai immediately thought, and judging from the faint pressure he felt he estimated that this man was at least a Second Order Transcendent.
“Old Man Du,” Yang Kai greeted.
“Little friend Yang, please sit,” Old Man Du smiled.
“This is the new member of the Alchemist Guild?” The man swept his eyes over Yang Kai curiously and asked.
“En, he is a Spirit Grade Alchemist with excellent aptitude,” Old Man Du answered seriously.
“Spirit Grade?” The man’s face changed abruptly, now staring at Yang Kai with some disbelief.
“This old master wouldn’t lie.”
“Naturally I trust Old Man Du,” The man replied hurriedly.
“Little friend, let me introduce you, this is Elder Duan Hai of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.”
Yang Kai nodded politely, offering his greetings.
“This old master has some friendship with Elder Duan, and I don’t know where Elder Duan heard the news but he recently learned about you staying in the guild and quickly came here today to invite you to go to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to serve as an Honoured Guest.”
Duan Hai smiled and said, “I haven’t been monitoring your Alchemist Guild or anything, it was just that when my Junior Brother came to Grand Boulder City the other day he happened to see Mi Na and this friend enter the guild together. My Junior Brother knew that Old Man Du and I share some friendship so he quickly pushed me to act, lest we move too slowly and allow him to be won over by someone else.”
Old Man Du let out a light chuckle.
Since Yang Kai first entered the Alchemist Guild, he had really only gone out once. It quite unexpected that this one outing allowed him to be discovered by someone interested in recruiting him. This could only be said to be a coincidence.
“Would this friend be willing to come to my Spirit Religion?” Duan Hai showed an expectant look to Yang Kai and asked. A Spirit Grade Alchemist was already a valuable asset, but what was especially noteworthy was that this person was very young so obviously his aptitude was extraordinary. If Duan Hai could truly recruit him into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, in time it might be possible to cultivate him into a top Saint Grade Alchemist. This level of Alchemist had never once appeared in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion before.
This was a long-term investment.
But Duan Hai had such vision and boldness!
“If this friend is willing to come to my Spirit Religion and serve as an Honoured Guest, my Spirit Religion will offer very generous conditions,” Duan Hai said sincerely. Although he was a Transcendent Realm master and at least a generation older than Yang Kai, he still didn’t hesitate to affectionately call him friend.
“Brother Duan might as well explain what kind of treatment he is prepared to offer so that little friend Yang can make his own decision,” Old Man Du knew that Yang Kai was ignorant about these matters so he purposefully made this remark to assist him.
Duan Hai wore a forced smile and replied, “Old Man Du, since he is your person, of course I will not mistreat him.”
Staring towards Yang Kai seriously, Duan Hai continued, “My Spirit Religion will provide you with all the necessary spirit herbs. Any pill you refine, you can take 20% of its value as a reward, and that is, if the value of a pill you refine is worth one hundred Crystal Stone, my Spirit Religion will give you twenty Crystal Stones as payment.”
Old Man Du expression changed slightly and quickly nodded.
Yang Kai, who was observing closely, noticed this and realized that such treatment was probably quite good.
“That is only the most basic condition. My Spirit Religion will provide you with the most comfortable Alchemy environment and will do its best to meet any of your other needs. As long as it does not harm my Spirit Religion benefits, anything can be negotiated. How about it?”
When Duan Hai finished, he turned his eyes towards Yang Kai expectantly and waited for his reply.
To be honest, the conditions he proposed were already quite generous, and the payment of 20% was far greater than what would normally be offered. Even if it was a Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemist being hired as an Honoured Guest, they would not receive such a percentage.
If Yang Kai had any other requirements, he could also discuss it with him.
Yang Kai brow rose slightly and thought about it for a while before turning to Old Man Du and soliciting his opinion, “What does Senior think?”
“The conditions are quite good,” Old Man Du told the truth, “But whether you agree or not, everything depends on your own wishes.”
“Since it is a friend of Old Man Du… there should be no problem,” Yang Kai grinned. He had already been thinking about hiring himself to a force and with the recommendation of Old Man Du he could feel at least a bit more relieved.
Duan Hai was overjoyed as a big smile appeared on his face, “Friend is really easy to speak with.”
“However, the conditions have to be changed,” Yang Kai shifted the conversation.
“Please,” Duan Hai said respectfully.
“20% of the sale price… I don’t need, I’ll only take 10%!” Yang Kai raised a finger.
Duan Hai and Old Man Du were both stunned, but neither of them interrupted, waiting for the follow up. Yang Kai taking the initiative to give up some of his benefits obviously meant he had something else he wanted to ask for.
“In exchange, I hope that your Spirit Religion will help with a matter. Rest assured this matter will not bring any harm to you.”
“What matter?” Duan Hai asked.
“When the time is right, I will naturally inform you. Also, I hope Bright Thunder Spirit Religion will not limit my freedom in any way. If I wish to leave, I hope I will not encounter any obstacles.”
“Of course,” Duan Hai nodded quickly, “My Bright Thunder Spirit Religion already has a number of Honoured Guests. Whether these Honoured Guests wish to stay or go is completely up to them, my Spirit Religion never interferes.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Yang Kai laughed.
Duan Hai immediately showed a joyful look, “Then, is it settled?”
Yang Kai nodded firmly.
Old Man Du smiled and said, “Congratulations Brother Duan. In fact, this old master very much doesn’t want to let this little friend leave, but little friend has his own ideas so this old master can only reluctantly see him off.”
Duan Hai quickly proposed with deep meaning, “Old Man Du, if you’d like, why not come to my Spirit Religion as an Honoured Guest as well?”
“Don’t you think your appetite is a bit too big?” Old Man Du laughed, “You even want to hire this old master?”
“A Saint Grade Alchemist, which force wouldn’t want to hire one?”
“I’m afraid you can’t afford the price,” Old Man Du smiled lightly.
Duan Hai’s smiled bitterly, “Fair enough.”
Shaking his head slightly, he quickly turned to Yang Kai and asked, “When would it be convenient for this friend to leave?”
“I can depart at any time.”
“How about now?” Duan Hai obviously didn’t want to wait, causing Yang Kai to smile somewhat dumbly and nod.
“Good, important matters should not be delayed, let us be off,” Duan Hai said, quickly standing up.
“En, give me a moment to say goodbye to a friend,” Yang Kai said, also getting up and walking out to find Mi Na. The two of them had gotten along well these past few months so naturally he had to tell her before he left, otherwise he would appear too unfeeling.
Inside the room, Duan Hai and Old Man Du sat quietly.
Suddenly, Old Man Du said in a low voice, “Duan Hai, don’t say later that this old master didn’t remind you, this little friend should not be an ordinary person. While he resides in your Spirit Religion, don’t mistreat him.”
Duan Hai was stunned to hear such a comment and hurriedly asked, “What does Old Man Du mean?”
Du Wan just slowly shook his head though and said nothing more, leaving Duan Hai confused.
A moment later, Yang Kai returned after bidding farewell to Mi Na; he had no need to pack anything as all his belongings were in still in the Black Book Space. As Duan Hai led him out of the Alchemist Guild, Mi Na reluctantly waved goodbye to Yang Kai. After spending a lot of time with him, her Alchemy technique had improved at a pace far greater than when her Master taught her, so naturally she was reluctant to see him go.
Duan Hai waved his hand and wrapped Yang Kai in his True Qi before the two quickly took off and flew away from Grand Boulder City.
Along the way, Duan Hai’s attitude towards Yang Kai was very cordial, kindly explaining to him the various features and strengths of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
In order to make Yang Kai feel a sense of belonging quickly, Duan Hai naturally spared no effort to praise Bright Thunder Spirit Religion and from his words, Yang Kai learned quite a bit about this force.
Near the Snow Mountain Range, there were more than a thousand large and small peaks, and Bright Thunder Spirit Religion occupied one section of them.
After about an hour’s flight, the two came to the site of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
Landing atop one of the bigger mountain peaks, the air felt a bit chilly but overall the area was green and lush, with a rich World Aura circulating. From the base to halfway up the mountain was a vast field of herbs that filled the air with a strong medicinal fragrance while from halfway up to the top there were a number of simple residences.
Duan Hai quickly said, “This place used to be the residence of an Alchemist Honoured Guest of my Spirit Religion, but he resigned as an Honored Guest a few months ago, so right now this place is unoccupied. How is it? Would Honored Guest Yang like to live here? If you feel that this place is too simple, I can arrange for accommodations elsewhere in my Spirit Religion where the atmosphere is livelier.”
“No need, here is good,” Yang Kai nodded, quite satisfied with the location. He wasn’t interested in socializing and having many people around would only be distracting, so being further from the crowd was more relaxing to him.
Hearing this, Duan Hai smiled and nodded, “Honoured Guest Yang really is focused on studying the Alchemic Way, I also originally thought you would prefer to live in a more populated place.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai stared at him curiously.
“Generally, our Honoured Guests prefer to live where the crowd gathers as they are chasing wealth, power, and fame. These kinds of people, my Spirit Religion has never been too concerned about, but someone like Honored Guest Yang who wholeheartedly strives to improve himself will certainly have great achievements in the future and will inevitably be paid attention to by our Spirit Religion,” Duan Hai said with a smile, “Right, this is an Honored Guest’s token. Please bring it with you at all times. As long as you have this token, you can walk freely in my Spirit Religion, with the exception of a few forbidden areas that is.”
Saying so, he handed a dark coloured token over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai accepted it and looked it over briefly before storing it away.
“I will send someone to assist you later. If you have any needs, you can inform me through them or allow them to handle it for your directly.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly.
“Honoured Guest Yang, if this is nothing else, this one will take his leave first,” Duan Hai asked Yang Kai politely.
“For now, I have nothing else to ask.”
Duan Hai nodded slightly before activating his movement skill and quickly departing.
After Duan Hai left, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and explored the surrounding area.
This mountain peak was not too high, but also not too short, about two thousand meters in total. Standing at the top of the peak, surrounded by white clouds, it was just like floating in a fairyland.
[This place really isn’t bad,] Yang Kai thought to himself with a smile on his face.
According to Duan Hai’s words, from now on, before he resigned as an Honoured Guest, this mountain would belong to him. Of course, the spirit grass and spirit medicines on the mountain were the property of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
Yang Kai first walked around the mountain, examining the expansive herb garden, soon discovering that these herbs were all healthy and growing prosperously and didn’t need him to personally tend to them. Obviously there were other people responsible for their care.
Atop the mountain peak, there was a rich and pure World Aura that was very suitable for cultivation.
After checking out his own peak, Yang Kai began wandering around the nearby mountains.
Among the nearby peaks lived a number of Honoured Guests of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, each of them an Alchemist, so they had many common topics of discussion. After learning that Yang Kai was actually a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, those Honored Guests were quite surprised, many of them even showing him looks of awe and respect.
Yang Kai also learned a lot about Bright Thunder Spirit Religion from his chats with them.
In general, this Sect was a decent one. Just as Duan Hai had told him before, the treatment of Honoured Guests here was generous. If an Honoured Guest wanted to leave, they would not try to strong arm them into staying and instead see them off courteously.
Moreover, every Honoured Guest would be assigned a dedicated helper, and those helpers, without exception, were all young, beautiful women.
As they spent most of their time in secluded study, these Alchemists naturally had need of such distractions to help them relieve their stress. These helpers were sent by Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to assist these Alchemists and to meet any ‘other’ requirements they might have.
These helpers also willingly accepted this task and could even be said that there was fierce competition within Bright Thunder Spirit Religion to become a dedicated servant of an Honoured Guest.
After all, Alchemists had distinguished identities, so gaining the favour of or even becoming married to an Alchemist was naturally something these young beauties hoped for. At the very least, these mountain peaks were amongst the best places to cultivate in the Sect. In the more crowded regions, with so many people gathered together, the World Energy was obviously less abundant whereas here it was the exact opposite. As long as one cultivated here, their strength would improve rapidly, and by being close to an Alchemist, one could also not be lacking useful pills as well.
This abundance of benefits naturally aroused people’s interest.
Yang Kai spent two or three days touring around his new residence and had visited with a lot of his peers, mixing in with them fairly well. He also obtained a much better understanding of how Bright Thunder Spirit Religion operated and just how grand and wealthy a force it really was.
The forces back in the Central Capital were really incomparable to it. Not only was there a massive gap in terms of the pure cultivation realm of the masters here, whether it was the concentration of World Energy, material wealth, Secret Arts, or Martial Skills, this minor Sect from Tong Xuan Realm was far ahead of the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families by multiple grades.
Recognizing this gap, Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a bit listless.
Three days later, Yang Kai finally returned to his new home.
When he came to his peak though, his expression changed slightly because he realized that a new aura had appeared in one of the previously empty houses.
[Has the helper Duan Hai said would come arrived already?]
After a closer look, Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help becoming awkward because he found that this newcomer’s life aura was familiar to him.
Only thinking about it for a moment, he quickly made his decision, walked to the house, and pushed open the door.
A slight yelp was heard as the one who was meditating in the house was obviously startled, quickly jumping up and turning towards the door with a look of vigilance, but upon seeing Yang Kai’s face, she was dumbfounded and called out involuntarily, “Why are you here?”
“We meet again,” Yang Kai smiled back at her.
Never had he anticipated that the assistant Duan Hai would send him was actually the woman he met in the Snow Mountain Range, Ji Meng.
The golden robes she wore couldn’t hide her attractive figure, the magnificent height of her chest, or her long, shapely legs. Her ponytail of soft, supple, black hair flowed down behind her, stretching all the way to her thin waist and round hips, giving her a youthful and radiant look.
Ji Meng stared at Yang Kai with a surprised look, seemingly never having expected to see this person again.
All of a sudden, her look changed as her eyes darted about wildly, hurriedly asking, “How come you’re here? This isn’t a place you can just casually show up!”
“Huh?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Ji Meng acted swiftly, rushing over to his side and pulling on Yang Kai’s clothes, “You aren’t one of my Spirit Religion’s disciple, and this peak is reserved for one of my Spirit Religion’s Honored Guests. You need to leave quickly, if he sees you here, I’m afraid it won’t be good for you.”
“An Honoured Guest?” Yang Kai revealed a weird smile, “What kind of Honoured Guest?”
Seeing Ji Meng like this, Yang Kai realized that she knew nothing about his identity or arrival and had only been told to wait here for the new ‘Honoured Guest’.
“Apparently he’s a Spirit Grade Alchemist, and his background seems to be quite profound. Elder Duan ordered me to attend to him,” As she spoke, Ji Meng noticed that Yang Kai still hadn’t moved and didn’t show any signs of leaving, so she inevitably became anxious and shouted, “What are you still standing around for, do you want to die?”
“Is it really that serious?” Yang Kai smiled even more interestedly.
“It’s very serious! Entering the residence of my Spirit Religion’s Honoured Guest, any Spirit Religion disciple can immediately put you to death! What are the disciples guarding the mountain doing? How could they have let you in in the first place?”
“Then why aren’t you attacking me?”
“Why should I attack you? You’re so strange! In any case, you need to go, quickly, before he comes back, if he sees you there, it will be troublesome.”
Saying so, she actively walked over and began pushing Yang Kai towards the door, her face filled with worry.
“You being so anxious to drive me away, is if because you’re afraid that Honoured Guest will have some kind of misunderstanding seeing us together? Are you sure that person’s a man?” Yang Kai asked teasingly.
Ji Meng’s face went red as she quickly shot back, “What does it matter to you, are you so bored you have to meddle in my affairs?”
“I was just asking casually,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and chuckled, “I heard that the assists your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion send to serve Honoured Guests have to meet all the requirements of those Honoured Guest, and there’s a good possibility of becoming intimate and even getting married in the end. Aren’t you worried that this Honoured Guest is some bald old man?”
Ji Meng’s tender body couldn’t help trembling, a bit of panic flashing across her eyes as she shook her head, “No, Elder Duan said that this person isn’t old, or else I would not have agreed to come here in the first place. Although I don’t know what kind of person he is, but I at least know he’s not some old man. You’re really hateful, why are you slandering others for no reason?”
Yang Kai stared at her deeply before nodding slightly.
“What was that for?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Fine, whatever, just leave. Don’t force me to take action against you!” Ji Meng grumbled; Yang Kai pestering her endlessly was really beginning to annoy her, so her tone became somewhat impatient.
“Good good, I’ll stop here, for now,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, losing interest in continuing to tease her, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the token Duan Hai had given him before he had left and handing it to Ji Meng, “Do you recognize this? It seems Duan Hai really didn’t tell you much.”
“An Honoured Guest’s token?” Ji Meng couldn’t help covering her mouth as she stared at Yang Kai in amazement, “How come you…”
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes flashed a complicated light as she wore an expression of disbelief and shouted, “You couldn’t be the new Honoured Guest, could you?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, casually taking back the token.
Ji Meng was dumbstruck; she had been waiting here for two whole days, constantly wondering what kind of person this new Honored Guest was, and how much older than her he would be, but never had she dreamed it would be Yang Kai. Forget about how much of an old man he was, Yang Kai was actually even younger than her!
“Greetings, Honoured Guest!” Ji Meng’s hastily adjusted her face and respectfully welcomed him.
“No need to act so polite,” Yang Kai shook his head, seeing Ji Meng suddenly become so respectful after learning his identity made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were the one Elder Duan mentioned… I thought you had secretly snuck in, I really didn’t know…” Ji Meng hurriedly tried to explain.
“No need to explain,” Yang Kai glanced at her and smiled before turning around a walking inside.
Back in the outer room, Ji Meng stared blankly, desperately wanting to cry but unable to shed any tears. She had hoped to leave a good first impression on the new Honored Guest, but little had she thought that not only was that impossible, she actually had a terrible relationship with him in the first place.
Thinking about how she had just inadvertently revealed her true intentions here, Ji Meng was filled with regret, wondering what he thought of her now, afraid he saw her as a cheap woman who would resort to any means to gain benefits.
…..
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion headquarters.
Inside one of the side halls, Duan Hai, who had just sat down, had not had time to settle in before he heard someone hurriedly walk in.
Duan Hai looked up and laughed, calling out, “Junior Brother Xu!”
“Senior Brother Duan, how did the matter I told you about go?” Xu Qi quickly asked, an obvious hint of anxiety in his voice.
Duan Hai smiled happily, “Doesn’t Junior Brother usually not pay much attention to our Spirit Religion’s matters? How come this time you seem so anxious? However, this time you really gave me some good news and thankfully I did not fail in my mission and successfully brought that person over.”
“Really?” Xu Qi exclaimed joyfully.
“Naturally, he has already arrived in my Spirit Religion three days ago. Right now he should be settling in on one of the mountains reserved for Honoured Guests. I have also sent a female disciple with excellent looks and aptitude to serve him, so I believe it won’t be too long before he develops as sense of attachment to this place,” Duan Hai said, standing up and walking over to a nearby table, pouring a cup of tea for Xu Qi and thanking him, “Junior Brother, this time, thanks to you, my Spirit Religion has managed to win over an excellent seedling. He will definitely have great use in the future, I’ll be certain to report this merit to the Religion Master who I’m sure will reward you handsomely.”
Xu Qi expression became slightly strange hearing these words, not showing any signs of happiness, causing Duan Hai to be slightly confused, “What? Is something wrong?”
“Senior Brother Duan, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t request you personally invite that youth here because of his Alchemist identity.”
“Really? Then why?”
Xu Qi quietly released his Divine Sense and after sweeping the surrounding area to insure they were alone, motioned for Duan Hai to come closer.
Seeing him act so cautiously, Duan Hai couldn’t help becoming slight serious as well, quickly realizing there was more to this situation than meets the eye, leaning in close to listen.
“Because of the Coffin Carrying Man!”
Duan Hai’s trembled slightly before he turned a blank stare to Xu Qi.
After a long time, he lowered his voice as well and asked, “What do you mean? What does he have to do with the Coffin Carrying Man?”
“I don’t know if Senior Brother remembers the last time I went out I accidentally encountered the Coffin Carrying Man?”
“Of course I remember.”
“I followed the Coffin Carrying Man along with several others and eventually came to Raging Flame City in Bold Independent Union’s territory. There, the Coffin Carrying Man stopped; as for what happened afterwards, Senior Brother should have heard.”
“If I recall correctly, the Coffin Carrying Man captured a disciple of Bold Independent Union and then disappeared.”
“In fact, he wasn’t a disciple of Bold Independent Union. Afterwards, we found out that this person’s origins were unclear and that he just had some small friendship with two female disciples of Bold Independent Union. However, the important point is the one who was taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man, is that new Honored Guest Senior Brother Duan just brought back!”
“What?!” Duan Hai complexion changed greatly, “Is it really him? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Xu Qi shook his head, “To be honest, I also thought I was mistaken. When I saw him in Grand Boulder City that day, I could hardly believe my eyes, but after observing him for a while I am 100% certain that he was the one taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man.”
“How is that possible?”
Everyone thought that those seized by the Coffin Carrying Man would only have one end, death, but rather than dying, Yang Kai had now appeared in perfect condition, naturally drawing Xu Qi’s attention.
“Senior Brother, you also know what the Coffin Carrying Man means. There are rumors that the Coffin Carrying Man guards a shocking treasure that can bring a force enough wealth and treasure to allow it to grow into a true behemoth. Since this person can survive after having been caught by the Coffin Carrying Man, perhaps he knows something about that treasure. At the very least, he’ll know the location of the Coffin Carrying Man’s hiding place. If my Spirit Religion can successfully obtain that treasure, we can sweep away the Soaring Heaven Sect, Luo Sheng Sect, and Ancient Moon Heaven’s Cave and eventually rise to a dominate position in this world!”
“That’s only a legend though…” Duan Hai slowly shook his head.
“But it’s worth a try.”
“He’s a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist though!”
“What? Seriously?” This time it was Xu Qi’s turn to be shocked.
“En, and Old Man Du of Grand Boulder City is very attentive towards him. Before he left with me, Old Man Du intentionally reminded me to not be negligent towards him, saying that his origins may be extraordinary!”
“Even Old Man Du appraised him so?” Xu Qi was stunned, “But according to the information we dug up more than a year ago, although his origins weren’t clear, they shouldn’t have been anything important.”
“Because his origins are unclear, they are worth paying attention to!” Duan Hai said solemnly.
Xu Qi also seemed to have been splashed with cold water at that moment, the eagerness in his expression converging rapidly. When he thought back about the information he was able to collect about Yang Kai before, he also suddenly discovered several questionable points.
“I’ll let Senior Brother decide what we should do next. Whether we vigorously cultivate him into one of our Spirit Religion’s future pillars or stake everything on a single roll of the dice, Junior Brother will listen to you,” Xu Qi no longer persuaded, but instead handed over the decision to Duan Hai.
Such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist was truly a rare talent, and after just managing to invite him here, if they were to offend him, it would be a great loss for their Spirit Religion.
Duan Hai nodded slightly and waved.
Xu Qi nodded, got up, and walked out.
After Xu Qi left, Duan Hai closed his eyes and sunk into contemplation, his brow knit tightly and his expression somewhat hesitant.
The legends about the Coffin Carrying Man had circulated throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm for countless years, and there were countless rumors about him. However, many masters believed that at the very least, the Coffin Carrying Man hid some kind of shocking secret in the blood red coffin he carried that was worthy of their attention.
If that wasn’t so, how could so many Transcendent Realm masters waste so much time trailing the Coffin Carrying Man just for the chance to spy on this mystery?
It had been almost a month since Yang Kai came to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, and he had gradually begun to adapt to life here.
When Ji Meng came last time, she brought many herbs to Yang Kai from Duan Hai, which the former then used to refine pills each day. Of course, Yang Kai didn’t dare refine too many so as not to draw any unnecessary attention, maintaining a pace more in line with an ordinary Alchemist, two or three Spirit Grade pills per day.
The rest of the time he spent on cultivation or digesting the mysteries of the True Alchemic Way.
After spending a month getting along, Yang Kai noticed that Ji Meng was becoming more and more cautious around him, always wearing a hesitant and nearly fearful look on her face, far from the casual and unfettered appearance she had in the Snow Mountain Range.
In fact, most of the time she just shut herself in one of the other rooms and would only come to see Yang Kai when absolutely necessary.
Yang Kai was busy with his own affairs so he normally didn’t pay any attention to her either which resulted in Ji Meng feeling even more awkward. Sometimes she wanted to go to Yang Kai to talk and improve their relationship, but she just couldn’t bring herself to act so boldly.
On the first day of the new month, while Yang Kai was meditating, there was a knock at his door.
“Come in.”
Ji Meng pushed open the door and stood in the entryway, bowing politely, “Honoured Guest.”
“Do you need something?” Yang Kai smiled as he glanced over at her.
“Today is the day for this month’s pill collection, I need to deliver the pills that you have refined during this past month to the Spirit Religion’s headquarters,” Ji Meng answered softly, this was one of the tasks Duan Hai had sent her here to complete. Every month, the Alchemist Honoured Guest’s helpers would collect the pills they had refined during this time and then send them to Duan Hai for use within the Spirit Religion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and took out the pills he had refined this past month and tossed them over to Ji Meng.
Ji Meng accepted them and thanked before gently biting her lip, as if hesitant to say something she had on her mind.
Yang Kai saw this and casually remarked, “I heard from the other Alchemist that as long as they give permission, their assistants can take a few pills from themselves, is that really the case?”
Ji Meng nodded lightly.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and nodded, “Then take five pills and make use of them yourself.”
Although the materials used for Alchemy here were all provided by Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, it was not uncommon for Alchemists to fail in refining pills now and again, thus wasting some of the raw ingredients.
As such, how many pills an Alchemist refined each month was really only known by the Alchemist themselves and their assistant.
As a result, before delivering each months pills to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, it was possible to play some small tricks like this, as long as it was within the realm of what the Spirit Religion deemed reasonable, these Alchemist Honoured Guests could choose to retain a small number of pills to help their assistants cultivate. This not only benefited their assistants but also improved the latter’s impression of the former, encouraging them to be more attentive in their duties.
This was an open secret and Duan Hai was also clear about it but he never made any attempts to interfere.
Because the small portions of pills privately retained by these Alchemists were ultimately used on disciples of the Spirit Religion and the aptitude of the women sent to serve these Alchemists was generally good, Duan Hai even hoped that this practice would take place, allowing these seedlings to quickly grow into pillars of the Sect.
Yang Kai had learned about this when he had chatted with the other Alchemist a month ago.
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Ji Meng couldn’t help feeling overjoyed and quickly thanked him, “Many thanks, Honoured Guest, I will make good use of these five pills.”
She was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivator, so these five Spirit Grade pills could bring her immense benefits.
Yang Kai said no more on the subject, simply informing Ji Meng about how many pills he had refined this month as well as their grades and usages before sending her to deliver them to Duan Hai.
Ji Meng bowed gratefully once more before quickly leaving the mountain.
Back in the Spirit Religion’s headquarters, Ji Meng reported the number and grade of the pills Yang Kai had refined and handed them over to Duan Hai, the latter nodding in approval.
But when Ji Meng was about to take her leave, Duan Hai called out to her.
“Is there anything else, Elder Duan?” Ji Meng asked.
“What do you think of him?” Duan Hai suddenly asked a question that made Ji Meng pause.
“He’s alright, though he is somewhat taciturn and doesn’t like to communicate with others, I’ve stayed by his side for a month now but he hasn’t said more than ten words to me.”
“You haven’t even spoken with him?” Duan Hai was amazed, “Then towards you has he…?”
Ji Meng’s face went bright red but shook her head lightly.
Duan Hai’s brow wrinkled and grumbled somewhat unhappily, “You should be clear about the purpose of sending you to serve him. These Honoured Guests are the roots of my Spirit Religion’s ability to grow and develop; however, they are still just Honoured Guests and can leave at any time. You must firmly grab hold of him and allow him to willingly join my Spirit Religion and if possible, officially become one of our disciples!”
“Disciple understands,” Ji Meng bowed deeply.
“Can you complete this task? If you can’t, I can always send someone else, my Spirit Religion doesn’t lack beautiful woman.”
“Disciple will not fail Elder’s expectations,” Ji Meng clenched her teeth and replied.
“Good, go back. I look forward to your performance,” Duan Hai waved.
With a heavy heart, Ji Meng departed. After she left, Duan Hai shook his head and turned his eyes to Xu Qi, who had been listening to the conversation, “Junior Brother, it seems that this person really does not intend to settle down in my Spirit Religion. When I brought him here, he had even indicated as such. Otherwise, a young man like him wouldn’t possibly be so indifferent to a beauty’s temptations.”
“This just shows he has his own insistences and goals, this kind of person is always steadfast and assertive and is not easy to control,” Xu Qi also sighed.
“But he also mentioned that when the time was right he would need our Spirit Religion to help him with a matter. I just wonder what it is he wants to ask of us…” Duan Hai was puzzled.
“How does Senior Brother plan to proceed then?”
“Go back and check again, send some people to Bold Independent Union to carefully investigate his background. Such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist… I really can’t bring myself to decide!”
Xu Qi nodded in agreement, if it was at all possible, they wanted to avoid offending Yang Kai and would prefer to be on good terms with him.
After Ji Meng returned, Yang Kai clearly noticed that she was somewhat depressed and had a lot on her mind.
However, Yang Kai didn’t ask anything, it was normal for a woman to have some issues she worried about, and asking her about it would only drag him into her affairs, giving him unwanted trouble.
Although the relationship between Old Man Du and Duan Hai gave him some degree of comfort, Yang Kai would not be stupid enough to wholeheartedly believe in Duan Hai. During his time here, he had also quietly been investigating Bright Thunder Spirit Religion in order to determine if they were trustworthy enough to ask for help in his search for Su Yan and Little Senior Sister’s whereabouts.
If things didn’t work out here, Yang Kai would not hesitate to leave.
He definitely couldn’t go back to Bold Independent Union; too many people had seen him being taken about by Coffin Slave Senior, if he was to really appear in Bold Independent Union’s territory, he would definitely draw unwanted attention.
Sudden, a sharp pain in his shoulder blades erupted and the hidden power of wind and thunder rampaged wildly. Yang Kai was woken from his meditation by this pain but before he even opened his eyes, an intoxicating fragrance wafted past his nose.
Opening his eyes, he was stunned to see Ji Meng standing at the edge of his bed, faintly gazing towards him, her beautiful pair of eyes flashing a complicated light.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai asked.
Ji Meng’s face was dyed slightly pink and she seemed a little flustered, but she quickly calmed down, grit her teeth and slowly leaned over, sitting her well rounded bottom onto the edge of bed as she squeezed out a reluctant smile and whispered, “Are you not tempted at all?”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai stared back at her strangely.
“What do you think?” Ji Meng stared at him with a sullen yet charming look, boldly reaching out and taking hold of Yang Kai’s hand, bringing it to her milk-white bosom.
“Are you serious?” Yang Kai felt an amazing fullness along with an incredible elasticity and couldn’t help feeling slightly dazed.
He had not expected Ji Meng would suddenly act so boldly.
On the palm of his hand, amidst the sea of tenderness a small hard bulge also slowly appeared.
Ji Meng’s breathing became somewhat heavy and her cheeks went from light pink to bright red as her eyes unconsciously drifted towards Yang Kai’s lower body, her little hand trembling slightly as it reached out. Exhaling a fragrant breathe she whispered, “All the disciples sent to serve as assistants to Honored Guests are prepared for this, so you Honored Guests can do with us as you please.”
Yang Kai pinched her small hand and frowned slightly, “Is this your own intention or Duan Hai’s order?”
“Does that matter?”
“Ji Meng, this isn’t who you are, why embarrass yourself like this?”
Ji Meng stared at him dumbly before clenching her jaw and shooting back, “Even in this situation you’re so indifferent, are you really a man?”
Yang Kai smiled casually, “Whether or not I’m a man, do I have any reason to prove it to you?”
“Last time in the Snow Mountain Range you said if we survived you’d prove it to me,” Ji Meng leaned in further, the womanly scent from her body lightly floating about, stimulating one’s primal desires.
“I don’t like women who act so coquettish, but if you want to play with me, I can satisfy you,” Yang Kai grinned slyly.
“Then let’s play!” Ji Meng stared at Yang Kai bitterly.
Yang Kai’s smile became even wickeder as he reached out and pulled Ji Meng over, tossing her over onto the bed and climbing on top of her, his big hand covering her proud peak suddenly exerting more pressure.
“What are you doing?” Ji Meng was shocked. A moment ago, this bastard had been completely indifferent to her yet now he was acting like such a beast, it really was too much for her to adapt to.
“What you want,” Yang Kai laughed villainously.
“Then you have to promise me one thing first!” Ji Meng said hurriedly, being massaged by Yang Kai so suddenly, her pupils became slightly blurry as she called out to him temptingly, her body temperature rising as a healthy pink glow dyed her pure white skin.
“What?”
“After you take me, you have to join my Spirit Religion and become my Spirit Religion’s disciple!”
“And if I say no?”
“Then we will wait until you are able to make that decision. By that time, you can call on me whenever you want. You can do whatever you want as well.”
Listening to her bargain back and forth with him, Yang Kai’s enthusiasm suddenly plummeted and a frown appeared on his face, lifting himself up and pushing her away, faintly saying, “It’s late, you should go back and rest.”
Ji Meng stared at him with a look of disappointment and resentment.
She realized that she had been too anxious.
A mix of complicated emotions stirring inside her, Ji Meng got up and quickly arranged her messy clothes before slowly leaving.
After she left, Yang Kai smiled lightly, thinking that after she had suffered such a loss, this woman wouldn’t act so arrogantly in front of him anymore.
Regarding Ji Meng, Yang Kai actually had a decent impression of her, feeling like she was relatively frank and upright, unafraid to speak her mind, but now it seemed like it was not suitable for him to have too deep a connection with her so as not to be entangled by her in the future.
Time passed by and Yang Kai had now been in Bright Thunder Spirit Religion for two months. These two months were neither long nor short but Yang Kai had still yet to determine whether he should entrust Bright Thunder Spirit Religion with the task of finding his Senior Sisters.
Throughout his investigations though, he discovered that Bright Thunder Spirit Religion had participated in a number of shady activities so he was somewhat less inclined to believe in them.
After handing over the pills he had refined this month to Ji Meng, Yang Kai was surprised when she returned soon after with a message, “Elder Duan wants you to see him in the Sect’s headquarters.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly, “What for?”
“Elder Duan didn’t say,” Ji Meng shook her head, “He just told me to ask you to see him as soon as possible. Apparently he had something important to consult you about.”
“En, alright,” Yang Kai nodded. Duan Hai had never met with him ever since bringing him here, but as the Great Elder of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, he definitely had a lot of things to attend to, so Yang Kai hadn’t cared.
“Can we leave now?” Ji Meng asked.
“Might as well,” Yang Kai didn’t have any reason not to go so he simply nodded and flew off together with Ji Meng in the direction of the Sect’s Main Hall.
This was the first time Yang Kai had visited Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s headquarters, so he was unfamiliar with the route. Naturally, he needed Ji Meng to lead the way. After flying for a while, the pair eventually arrived above a bustling area.
Looking down from the sky, there was a group of buildings below with a large number of cultivators wearing golden yellow robes walking to and fro, many of them were also flying, seemingly in a rush.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion’s core region seemed to be teeming with activity with countless cultivators and masters emerging one after another.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai couldn’t help offering some silent praise in his heart.
Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was by no means a big force in Tong Xuan Realm. It couldn’t even be considered top notch within the local region, that honour belonged solely to Soaring Heaven Sect, which was helmed by a powerful Saint Realm master. Luo Sheng Sect and Ancient Moon Heaven’s Cave were also considered stronger than it as well.
Amongst the four big forces in the Snow Mountain Range region, Bright Thunder Spirit Religion was actually the bottom most existence; however, it’s heritage was still quite good, at least several times more outstanding than any force from the world Yang Kai came from.
As Ji Meng landed directly in front of a magnificent building, Yang Kai took out his Honoured Guest token and showed it, causing the disciples on guard duty to hurriedly cup their fists and bow respectfully. Seemingly never having seen such a young Honoured Guest before, Yang Kai was drawing frequent surprised glances from the surrounding crowd.
“You should be able to find your way from here, Elder Duan is waiting inside you there,” Ji Meng gestured.
“You’re not coming too?”
“I’m not qualified to go in,” Ji Meng stammered slightly.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Then wait her a moment for me, we’ll go back together.”
“Good,” Ji Meng said happily.
Walking up the stairs and into the building, after a while, Yang Kai eventually came to a large hall with its doors wide open, so he calmly walked in.
Duan Hai was waiting inside, and seeing Yang Kai arrive, he quickly smiled and stood up.
“Elder Duan,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“Honoured Guest Yang, it’s been two months since I last had a chance to speak with you. Have you been well recently?”
“Well enough.”
“Has my Spirit Religion’s disciple not been serving you appropriately? If Honoured Guest Yang is not satisfied with her, I can send you a replacement. I will certainly satisfy any need you have.”
“No need, Ji Meng is just fine,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“As you wish,” Duan Hai smiled and asked Yang Kai to sit down. A disciple quickly offered tea and after enjoying it for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “I wonder what instructions Elder Duan has to summon me so suddenly?”
“This one wouldn’t dare!” Duan Hai quickly waved his hand and wore a modest look, “I have no specific reason for summoning Honoured Guest Yang this time, it’s just that every Honoured Guest that comes to my Spirit Religion is precious and spending some time becoming acquainted with them is something I should do.”
Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent, knowing that Duan Hai was simply looking to build some kind of relationship with him in order to further rope him into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion as all major forces would use this routine.
“I heard once that Honoured Guest Yang doesn’t intend on staying long in my Spirit Religion. Could it be that Honoured Guest Yang has some important matter he needs to attend to?” Duan Hai asked with a smile, “If that is so, Honoured Guest Yang need not be polite, just say the word and my Spirit Religion will do it’s best to assist you.”
“When the time is right I certainly won’t be polite,” Yang Kai replied lightly.
“En, good,” Duan Hai gently nodded, “Right, Honoured Guest Yang had once said on more than one occasion that when the time is right you would ask my Spirit Religion for a favor, dare I ask when that time might be?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
“I understand,” Duan Hai laughed frankly, “It looks like Honoured Guest Yang does not have much attachment to my Spirit Religion and possibly even holds some distrust towards us.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he stared deeply towards Duan Hai. He couldn’t help raising his vigilance after Duan Hai’s spoke such meaningful words.
“If it were possible, this Duan truly hoped that Honoured Guest Yang would join my Spirit Religion and become one of our core disciples,” Duan Hai expression suddenly sank , his tone becoming solemn, “But it appears Honored Guest Yang has no such intentions, so this Duan must use some other means to inquire about your secrets!”
Saying so, Duan Hai tapped his foot gently on the floor.
Suddenly, with Yang Kai as the center, a series of Spirit Array lines lit up and spread out. These Spirit Array lines quickly contracted and sunk into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai complexion went pale as he hurriedly tried to circulate his True Qi.
But the moment his True Qi began revolving, a sharp pain came from his meridians, like there were hundreds of millions of ants biting them, causing him to shudder violently and the strength he had just gathered to instantly collapse.
“Elder Duan, what’s the meaning of this?” Yang Kai didn’t panic and simply stared coldly towards Duan Hai while carefully examining his own situation.
Duna Hai simply shook his head in disappointedly, a look of hesitation surface on his face as he coldly replied, “My apologies, Honored Guest Yang. In truth, this Duan actually would have preferred not to do this. Being able to attract such a young Spirit Grade Alchemist is definitely a huge good fortune for my Spirit Religion, but unfortunately you have no intention of joining my Spirit Religion, thus even if I was to try even harder to convince you, the chances of winning you over are too slim.”
“Hahaha,” Yang Kai laughed, “Elder Duan, have I done anything to harm your Bright Thunder Spirit Religion?”
“You truly haven’t, but as I said, this Duan is also helpless,” Duan Hai shook his head heavily.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed. Although he didn’t understand the reason for it, the fact that Duan Hai had set a trap for him was a fact.
The reason he had come to Bright Thunder Spirit Religion in the first place was entirely because of Old Man Du, so did this matter have anything to do with the latter?
Thinking about it, Yang Kai turned his attention to the screen behind Duan Hai and said coldly, “Can this friend also come out and talk? Hiding yourself now doesn’t have any further meaning.”
Yang Kai faintly felt that Duan Hai’s suddenly change in attitude towards him had a lot to do with the person hidden behind the screen.
Hearing this, Xu Qi was shocked, he hadn’t expected Yang Kai’s senses to be so sharp, but now that things had reached this point, he simply decided to show himself.
After seeing Xu Qi’s face, Yang Kai suddenly understood.
This person, he had seen him before.
Outside Raging Flame City in Bold Independent Union’s territory, this man had been amongst the crowd of masters following the Coffin Carrying Man.
No wonder he felt the name Bright Thunder Spirit Religion sounded familiar, it turns out he had heard about it previously from Yun Xuan.
At this moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt enlightened.
The root of everything was the Coffin Carrying Man incident.
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. Tong Xuan Realm was so vast, he hadn’t expected that the moment he came out of the Mysterious Small World someone would already have their eyes on him.
At Raging Flame City, there were only a few people who had witnessed the scene of him being taken away by the Coffin Carrying Man, who would have thought one of them would show up today?
Even if Yang Kai was more vigilant, this kind of coincidence couldn’t have been avoided.
“En, Honored Guest Yang understanding is for the best, you should also know that you are currently under the affects of my Sect’s unique sealing technique. Don’t try to break free, the more you use your True Qi, the more pain you’ll have to endure,” Duan Hai stared at Yang Kai somewhat regretfully, “This Duan does not want to embarrass you any further, as long as you cooperate with us, I promise we won’t harm you!”
Yang Kai sneered, “Elder Duan, taking such actions, aren’t you worried Old Man Du will investigate and hold you responsible?”
Duan Hai shook his head, “Although Old Man Du is optimistic about you, if he inquires about you, I can offer him any number of explanations. Honoured Guest Yang need not worry himself over such issues.”
Yang Kai felt his heart unclench slightly, knowing that Old Man Du should have no knowledge of this matter.
If even Old Man Du had been involved in this plot against him, Yang Kai could only admit that he was too stupid.
Sensing Duan Hai and Xu Qi’s cultivations, Yang Kai chose to hold down his temper and endure for now.
Both of these two were Second Order Transcendents, so even if he were to exert his full strength, it would still be impossible for him to escape from here. What’s more, Yang Kai knew he was currently in the very heart of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, so there were no doubt, countless other masters, nearby. With his True Qi sealed right now, rashly taking action would only make the situation worse.
“Can I ask, why did Elder Duan wait until today to act against me? You could have done this the moment your brought me here,” Yang Kai asked, trying to stall for time while he searched for some way to escape.
Duan Hai reluctantly shook his head, “It is just as this Duan had said, I am very optimistic about your future and would have preferred not to take such actions. Old Man Du also told me that you have a strong background, but after two months of dedicated persuasion and observation, I concluded that you will leave here sooner or later and that unlike what Old Man Du said, you are just a little brat from some remote backwater.”
“So Elder Duan no longer had any scruples?” Yang Kai sneered sarcastically.
Duan Hai neither agreed nor disagreed, “Honored Guest Yang, I won’t speak anymore nonsense with you. The reason why I did this is just because I want to know the secrets of the Coffin Carrying Man. What happened to you after he seized you? How did you escape from his clutches? Where was he hiding when you finally managed to flee from him? If Honoured Guest Yang can tell me these things, I promise to let you go.”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai laughed and flatly said, silencing the witness to the crime was even Yang Kai would do in this situation, naturally it was impossible for him to believe Duan Hai’s ‘promise’. Since Duan Hai dared to do this, he would make sure to clean up all lose ends. As long as Yang Kai kept his mouth shut, these two wouldn’t act rashly and he could buy himself some more time, but the moment he told them what they wanted to know he would definitely die.
“Senior Brother, there’s no need to pointlessly bargain with him, a little Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary brat, just let me use my Soul Searching technique to directly dig up the secrets in his Knowledge Sea,” Xu Qi came over and said coldly.
Duan Hai let out a faint sigh, “Honored Guest Yang, as you can see, my Junior Brother is not as good-natured or patient as I am. If you don’t want to become an idiot because of his Soul Searching technique, you should simply cooperate with me and save yourself some pain.”
The two men played out this carrot and stick farce to a tee, trying to use a combination of threats and enticement to break down Yang Kai’s psychological defenses so he would obediently tell them what they wanted to know.
Although the act of searching another’s Soul could allow one to spy on some of their memories, it was not a comprehensive technique, so Duan Hai and Xu Qi did not want to use this method to deal with Yang Kai if they could avoid it.
They needed Yang Kai to take the initiative to cooperate. Moreover, in their view, Yang Kai had come from some remote backcountry and was quite young, so his will certainly wouldn’t be too strong.
However, after actually trying to implement their plan, they quickly discovered that Yang Kai was a difficult bone to gnaw, completely intractable and unwilling to compromise in the slightest. No matter what threat or enticement they offered, Yang Kai refused to say a word about the Coffin Carrying Man’s secrets.
For Duan Hai’s part, he was actually being quite truthful; he really wasn’t willing to offend such a promising young Alchemist. Initially, he had wholeheartedly wanted to absorb Yang Kai into Bright Thunder Spirit Religion.
As long Yang Kai officially joined the Sect, Duan Hai would have plenty of opportunities to inquire about these secrets from him.
But after fully understanding that Yang Kai had no such intentions, Duan Hai immediately decided to seize the initiative.
In any case, Yang Kai would leave sooner or later and may never be of any use to his Spirit Religion, so there was not much harm in offending him.
“Why are you looking for the Coffin Carrying Man in the first place? What kind of benefits are you hoping to obtain from him?” Yang Kai stared at Duan Hai and asked.
Duan Hai frowned but only hesitated for a moment before replying, “It is said that the Coffin Carrying Man guards a terrifying secret, and whoever can grasp that secret can control tremendous power.”
Yang Kai chuckled, there would be no wind in the house without a hole in the wall, Duan Hai obviously knew next to nothing about what kind of secret the Coffin Carrying Man was guarding, but in a certain sense, his words weren’t wrong.
The Ancient Demon Clan was indeed a tremendous force, but this clan was not something just anyone could control.
“Honoured Guest Yang, if you know something, could you disclose it to us?” Duan Hai stared at him with a burning gaze.
In response though, Yang Kai once again just shook his head, “You’re asking the wrong person, I really don’t know anything.”
“Senior Brother!” Xu Qi apparently had really run out of patience, calling out angrily as he shot a meaningful look towards Duan Hai.
Duan Hai nodded slightly and said in a heavy tone, “Honoured Guest Yang, pardon our offence.”
Xu Qi grinned fiendishly and walked over, muttering in a cold tone, “Since you refuse a toast then you must drink a forfeit, once this old master’s Soul Searching technique is applied, it’s quite possible your Soul will be destroyed and you will turn into an idiot! Pray your luck isn’t so bad.”
Yang Kai showed a look of panic on his face at just the right moment, causing Xu Qi’s expression to become became more and more self-satisfied.
Stepping in front of Yang Kai, Xu Qi stretched out his hand and placed it on top of Yang Kai’s head, his Second Order Transcendent Spiritual Energy gushing out.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s look changed.
Yang Kai had thought this would be an opportunity. Although his True Qi was sealed and he was no match for Xu Qi in terms of cultivation, if it was a contest of Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai was confident he wouldn’t be inferior to anyone.
As long as Xu Qi’s Soul dared to break into his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai could instantly make him pay with his life. Great Demon God’s Demon Eye of Annihilation couldn’t be resisted by Saint Realm masters much less Xu Qi who was merely a Second Order Transcendent.
Once he killed Xu Qi and then used his Demon God Transformation, there was a chance he could break through the seal that was binding him. Then with only Duan Hai, a Second Order Transcendent, blocking him, Yang Kai was confident he could escape.
But when Xu Qi started, Yang Kai found that his opponent’s Soul did not intrude into his Knowledge Sea and instead, Xu Qi’s Spiritual Energy intertwined with the surrounding Spirit Array and formed an invisible vortex that created a huge suction force which was directly trying to pull his Soul out of his Knowledge Sea.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, the scene was turbulent, waves rolled and everything became extremely unsettled.
An unspeakable pain erupted and Yang Kai’s expression immediately twisted, blue veins on his forehead popping up as teeth ground fiercely.
Pain inflicted on one’s soul was more than a hundred times stronger than the pain inflicted on one’s flesh.
“Hm?” Xu Qi was also slightly surprised, sneering dismissively, “Don’t bother trying to resist, the more you resist, the more you’ll suffer, just let go of your Knowledge Sea’s defences and let me extract your memories, that way you won’t have to endure this kind of pain.”
Contained within his words, there seemed to be an invisible force that was trying to break down Yang Kai’s will and force him to obey.
Perceiving this, Yang Kai became even more vigilant.
“Foolish stubbornness!” Xu Qi became angered and increased the output of his Spiritual Energy, causing the suction force to grow even stronger.
Although Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was comparable to a Transcendent’s, there was still a gap between him and Xu Qi, and there was also Duan Hai staring at him from close by, so even if Yang Kai continued to resist with all his might, he would eventually lose.
Quickly considering all this, Yang Kai gave up resisting and instead actively sent out his Spiritual Energy, changing it into an invisible attack that shot towards Xu Qi.
Seeing this, Xu Qi laughed contemptuously, “Don’t be so presumptuous!”
“Junior Brother, be careful!” Duan Hai’s face suddenly changed as he cried out. At that moment, he noticed a blazing hot aura filling the air. This heat gave him a terrifying sense of crisis, forcing him to hurriedly retreat and open up some distance between him and Yang Kai.
*Hu…*
A bolt of scalding hot energy shot through the void and Xu Qi’s smug expression instantly stiffened, his face contorting in pain as he gripped his head and screamed pitifully.
“Conflagrated Divine Sense?” Duan Hai’s eyes went round as he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief.
The shrieks of pain only lasted for a moment before Xu Qi again composed himself.
A moment ago, he had been caught off guard and was thus wounded by Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Divine Sense; fortunately for him, his Spiritual Energy was stronger than Yang Kai’s, otherwise his life would have been in danger.
Even so, Xu Qi was still covered in cold sweat.
He had nearly brought about his own destruction!
“Honoured Guest Yang, do you actually have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Duan Hai’s expression became incomparably complex as he stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai remained indifferent, a look of hatred and hostility filling his eyes as he glared at the two men before him, not saying a word.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Duan Hai face was filled with grief and annoyance, “If you had said you possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, I would never… bah…”
Grumbling so, he slowly shook his head and sighed.
If he had known that Yang Kai was an Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Duan Hai absolutely would not have offended him so easily simply to seek the secrets of the Coffin Carrying Man from his mouth.
After all, these secrets were all just rumors and legends. Whether the Coffin Carrying Man truly guarded some amazing treasure only the Heavens knew, Duan Hai was also just gambling.
On the other hand, a talented Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was an immense, tangible asset!
The world’s greatest living Alchemist, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, had only achieved his current fame thanks to his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Whether it was amongst Humans, Demons, or Monsters, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep held supreme prestige; anyone who met him treated him with the utmost respect and courtesy.
If they had known Yang Kai also possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea like The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, Duan Hai would have exhausted every possible means to win him over, using whatever method at his disposal to let him join Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, even if he had to directly hand over the position of Great Elder, Duan Hai would have readily agreed.
What an Alchemist with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea represented, every master in Tong Xuan Realm knew.
At this moment, Duan Hai was filled with regret and frustration.
“Senior Brother, what’s done has been done, trying to settle things peacefully with him now is unrealistic,” Xu Qi stared at Yang Kai angrily. He had just eaten a small loss and did not dare to use his Soul Searching technique again, a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was not something he could easily touch.
Duan Hai stared at Xu Qi coldly, a strong desire to slap his Junior Brother to death welling up inside him!
Back then, when he had successfully invited Yang Kai to be an Honoured Guest of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Duan Hai had been in an exceptionally good mood, thinking to himself that Yang Kai had a bright future ahead of him and feeling determined to cultivate him well. It was only because of Xu Qi’s incitement and persuasion that he had taken such rash actions for some uncertain profits.
Now that things had reached this point, there really was no possibility of resolving their grievances peacefully.
“I didn’t know he had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” Xu Qi’s expression also slowly became depressed, “If I had known…”
“There’s no need to say any more,” Duan Hai shook his head and turned his attention back to Yang Kai, “Honoured Guest Yang, you won’t forgive our actions today, will you?”
“Let me go and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened, how about it?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a mocking arc.
Duan Hai slowly shook his head and stretched out his hand, sending out a few strands of True Qi that transformed into ropes that bound Yang Kai, solemnly saying, “Then pardon our offence once more.”
Inside a dungeon cell, Yang Kai sat imprisoned.
This dungeon was construction from a special type of ore that had a mysterious energy flowing through it while the walls were covered in exquisite runes that flickered every now and then.
This cell was strong enough to hold Transcendent Realm masters, so Duan Hai and Xu Qi weren’t worried about Yang Kai suddenly escaping.
Yang Kai tried several times to break through the seal that was restricting his True Qi, but each attempt ended in failure; using his True Qi was so painful it was simply unbearable.
Although his situation was bleak, Yang Kai did not become flustered.
He had experienced worse situations than this before and had even had several bushes with death, but every time he managed to find an opportunity to save himself and had grown stronger after overcoming such adversities.
A chance to survive would eventually present itself; Yang Kai firmly believed this and only had to wait for that opportunity to arise.
Moreover, Duan Hai and Xu Qi did not want to kill him. After learning that Yang Kai had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, their attitude towards him also changed subtly.
Perhaps they now didn’t know what they should do with him, they were reluctant to kill him, but keeping him alive was also a big problem.
For a few days, Yang Kai lived in this dark dungeon, unable to see the sun or moon.
On this day, with a heavy sound, the door to the dungeon was opened, and a light shone in. Yang Kai blinked and stared towards the door, his expression suddenly becoming confused.
A tall, beautiful figure walked in slowly from the outside and approached his cell, her beautiful eyes staring towards Yang Kai with a complicated look.
Ji Meng!
After a long silence, Ji Meng squatted down and put down some things she had been carrying with her, softly saying, “I brought you some food. Although these things may not be necessary, I prepared them attentively so their flavour should be quite good.”
“Did Duan Hai tell you about my matters?” Yang Kai stared at her curiously, an unreadable smile adorning his face.
“En,” Ji Meng nodded.
“What does he want you to do?”
“Persuade you!” Ji Meng replied in a low voice, “In Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, only I am somewhat familiar with you, so only I could come.”
“Then what do you plan on doing?”
“Persuade you!”
“Good, since you’ve come personally, I suppose I can only choose to compromise, go tell Duan Hai that I agree to join Bright Thunder Spirit Religion,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Of course, Ji Meng just shook her head lightly, “Your words are so cheap that only three year old children would believe them. If you can’t fool me then obviously Elder Duan won’t believe them.”
That’s also the reason why there are a few comments down below before the actual date posted.
The chapters were all set to private and I was a little too busy with my Great Grandma’s birthday. (She’s 82 and my grandma is 59 – in case you are wondering.)