“Of course!” The old man surnamed Chang’s face was a dark shade of blue but he still managed to smile and nod; even though he knew he was being conned by Du Wan, in front of a promising young Junior, he would lose too much face if he were to say no, “This Chang has always been the epitome of generosity.”
As he somehow managed to form these words, his mouth twitched violently and his fiery gaze made it abundantly clear he couldn’t wait to beat Du Wan to a pulp.
“Then I’ll take these two things,” Yang Kai calmly took out two herbs from the Universe Bag.
The old man surnamed Chang’s face suddenly loosened, quickly snatching back his Universe Bag from Yang Kai and nodding, “Take it, take it!”
Seeing him like this, it was obvious that the things taken by Yang Kai weren’t particularly precious to him, thus he was able to relax.
Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t reach out for a mile after taking an inch; this time, he had really picked up a huge bargain, being able to obtain two Saint Grade materials from this Universe Bag already made him more than satisfied.
With these two Saint Grade herbs as the primary materials, Yang Kai could later refine two Saint Pills.
After processing the first Universe Bag, Yang Kai moved on to the second one and after he swept the contents with his Divine Sense, his eyes couldn’t help lighting up.
He found an ingredient he urgently needed inside this Universe Bag, a stalk of Congealed Dew Grass!
From the items on the recipe Li Rong gave him, the Congealed Dew Grass was a must have. The environment this herb grew in was extremely demanding and although it may exist somewhere in Tong Xuan Realm, it was still incredibly rare.
What’s more, the Congealed Dew Grass in this Universe Bag had reached absolute perfection in terms of shape and age.
Yang Kai unceremoniously accepted this stalk of Congealed Dew Grass as well as another Saint Grade from the Universe Bag.
The third and fourth Universe Bags didn’t have anything of particular interest to Yang Kai so he simply picked two Saint Grade herbs from both at random.
Finally arriving at the last Universe Bag, Yang Kai carefully began looking through it.
A moment later, he couldn’t help revealing a somewhat disappointed look because he did not find any of the ingredients he was looking for and was preparing to casually pick something when his expression suddenly changed and his focus was drawn to a particular item inside the Universe Bag.
After examining this item for a while, a faint smile appeared on his face as he muttered, “It really is the same.”
As he muttered, he took out two items.
Everyone who saw what Yang Kai pulled out though couldn’t help revealing a strange look, because although one of the items was a Saint Grade herb of similar value to the ones he had taken before, the other was actually a small round dark stone.
“What is this?” Du Wan’s swept his eyes over the stone and asked curiously.
The other members of the older generation gathered around also examined this tone and shook their heads.
Apparently, none of them recognized what this round black stone was.
The owner of the Universe Bag also shook his head slowly and said, “Don’t look at me, I don’t know either. When I first found it, I just thought it was quite strange and placed it in my Universe Bag. After so many years though I haven’t been able to identify it or understand what it is for. Does little friend Yang happen to know what it is?”
Asking so, he turned his eyes to Yang Kai.
“I also don’t know, I just thought it was unusual so I chose it.”
“Good, then you can take it away, in any case, I have no idea what kind of material it is so it’s pointless to hold on to it,” The owner of the Universe Bag said generously.
“Many thanks, Senior,” Yang Kai smiled and stored the dark round stone into his Black Book space.
With the gambling debts having been settled, Yang Kai asked to be excused and then jumped off the high platform.
The old fogies still wanted to try persuading him some more, but before they could open their mouths Yang Kai had already made his escape, so they could do nothing but sigh.
“Du Wan, you must not let him go astray. It is rare such a good seedling appeared; he will definitely achieve great things in the Alchemic Way. None of us wants to see him ruin his own promising future.”
“En, Du Wan, you have to persuade him after going back. If you can’t, I’ll come to snatch him and bring him back to my Three River City.”
“This old man will do his best,” Du Wan smiled bitterly, somewhat unable to understand in his heart why Yang Kai was so obsessed with the Martial Dao. In this world, eighty percent of the people studied Martial Dao and could be called cultivators.
But among them, Alchemists were rare. There might not necessarily be one qualified Alchemist among 10,000 cultivators, and those who had good aptitude in Alchemy were even scarcer.
Alchemists with both excellent aptitude and high skill were admired existences wherever they went goes. It was simply impossible for this little brat to not understand the gap between ordinary cultivators and Alchemists yet he still insisted on pursuing the Martial Dao instead.
…..
After meeting up with Fei Yu, Yang Kai and his Martial Aunt immediately returned to the inn to share with Cang Yan and the others the results of their discussion with Di Yao.
Having listened to what they had to say, Cang Yan nodded slightly, “If that is the case, our chances would undoubtedly be much higher. That kid is a VIP guest of Ao Gu’s, so the City Lord will definitely not be stingy with him. At that time, the bodyguards he will have accompanying him will include at least one or two Third Order Transcendents, and that is only a conservative estimate.”
“Martial Uncle, how long will it be until the Thousand Year Demon Flower blooms?”
“Specifically how long, I don’t know, but according to the ancient records I’ve seen, there will be a Heavenly Manifestation before the Thousand Year Demon Flower blossoms, so we’ll know when it is time.”
“Now there are many people gathered around the mountain waiting for the Thousand Year Demon Flower to blossom, some of them are even camped out on Ascending Heaven Cliff, but the closer one stays to the target, the more dangerous it is, so there’s no need for us to worry,” Li Wan smiled confidently, “Little Martial Nephew, you have a good rest, for now, when the time comes, we’ll be sure to escort you there.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Returning to his room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and took out the two dark round stones from inside his Black Book space.
“Hey, isn’t that the stone you obtained last time from that ancient cave mansion?” Fei Yu asked curiously, “How come there’s an extra one now?”
“I just obtained the second one from an Alchemist Senior’s Universe Bag,” Yang Kai explained, he had specifically chosen the dark round stone for this reason, “Martial Aunt, do you have any idea what these things could be used for?”
“I honestly don’t know, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen this kind of thing,” Fei Yu shook her head.
“How odd,” Yang Kai was also quite puzzled. Even a powerful Alchemist Senior couldn’t even recognize what material this stone was and had not been able to inquire about its use or identity for several decades.
Yang Kai instinctively felt that these two dark round stones were not simple.
Circulating his True Qi to probe them, releasing his Divine Sense to examine them, Yang Kai tried multiple methods but discovered nothing in the end.
After half a day, Yang Kai reluctantly gave up and stored them away again.
Over the following days, Yang Kai entered a kind of secluded retreat inside the inn, always maintaining his peak condition in order to cope with the upcoming battle.
His Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt were also making their own preparations.
One morning, while Yang Kai was meditating, he suddenly opened his eyes as he felt a strange change in the World Energy around him.
It felt like some invisible force was drawing it in, gathering it in one specific direction.
Before he could even figure out what was happening, the situation became heated.
Even though he was indoors, Yang Kai felt a sudden gust of wind blowing and all the doors and windows began to creak.
Fei Yu also opened her beautiful eyes hastily and muttered, “This is…”
As she spoke, a light flickered across her eyes as she leapt towards the window and stared off into the distance, excitedly calling out, “The Thousand Year Demon Flower is about to bloom!”
Yang Kai’s spirit shook.
From the next room over, the sound of rustling clothes sounded. Apparently, Cang Yan and the others had already set out. Yang Kai and Fei Yu exchanged a single glance before the two of them also jumped out the window and flew off.
At the same time, all of Floating Clouds City began boiling up as countless cultivators rushed into the streets from all directions and stared towards the tall mountain in the distance.
“There’s movement from the Thousand Year Demon Flower!” Someone shouted.
This sentence set off everyone’s excitement.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and stared at the tall mountain peak, only to see, high up in the sky, a five coloured burst of light shining atop the clouds. World Energy continuously gathered towards the five coloured light while all of Floating Clouds City erupted into activity.
“Let’s go!” Cang Yan called out before transforming into a streak of light and speeding towards the mountain.
The crowd quickly followed behind.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
Countless people all began rushing out.
Yang Kai realized just how high the difficulty of this competition would be in an instant, there were Transcendent Realm masters everywhere he looked. Although only a few of them were Third Order, the total number of competitors was still far greater than what Cang Yan had previously estimated.
The Transcendents who just rushed out of Floating Clouds City already totalled more than four hundred, and that wasn’t even counting the ones who had camped out on the mountain in advance.
Even a conservative estimate right now would place the number of Transcendents involved in this event at over five hundred.
Such a terrifying number made Yang Kai’s scalp feel somewhat numb.
Above the City Lord’s Mansion, Ao Gu, Zhou Liang, and Jin Jiao stood tall, staring at the movement atop the distant mountain peak, each of them wore dignified expressions.
“Grandmaster seems to have gone as well,” Jin Jiao caught sight of a certain figure leaving the City Lord’s Mansion and commented.
“Hm? Isn’t Grandmaster a Saint Realm master? In the past, the Thousand Year Demon Flower failed to bloom because of the presence of a Saint,” Zhou Liang was shocked.
“You don’t have to worry about it. Grandmaster seems to have taken some kind of pill to temporarily suppress his cultivation,” Ao Gu said faintly, “After all, the last time the Thousand Year Demon Flower bloomed, he was the one who condensed its medicinal liquid. Obviously, he knows more about it than anyone else.”
Hearing this, Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao both breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had only recently met Grandmaster and done him some small favours, they had already gained unimaginable benefits from him.
The Saint Pill the Grandmaster had refined for them had allowed both their physiques and Souls to grow substantially. Although the cultivation of the three Saints had not improved, all of them realized they had grown noticeably stronger.
Grandmaster arriving in Floating Clouds City was really an unexpected blessing for them.
In order to repay Grandmaster’s kindness, Ao Gu and the two Vice City Lords had spared no effort to ensure the safety of his disciple, dispatching the strongest guards from the City Lord’s Mansion to serve as his escorts.
From the Three Clans, a total of six Transcendents were deployed, two of which were Third Order while the others were all Second Order, it was a considerably luxurious lineup.
Ao Gu and the two Vice City Lords were originally preparing to snatch the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower. Although the three of them no longer needed it, each of them had friends and relatives who could make sure of it.
But since Grandmaster arrived, the three of them felt somewhat embarrassed to ask for even more benefits.
Floating Clouds City’s Transcendent Realm masters all flew forward as swift as the wind, rushing to be the first to reach the peak of the mountain.
A grand battle had also already erupted at the foot of the mountain.
No one wanted to let someone else go first and everyone around was an enemy, so it was only natural that some hot-blooded individuals would think of eliminating their competition first. A little friction between individuals triggered small-scale battles which then expand and affected others, causing more and more masters to quickly join in.
Under the protection of Cang Yan and the others, Yang Kai was able to safely rush into the chaotic battlefield.
A team with four Third Order Transcendents was still a very powerful force in this situation and everyone in their surroundings seemed to realize Cang Yan and the others weren’t easy to deal with, so most tried to avoid provoking them for no reason.
Screams rang out one after another. In this kind of large-scale melee, naturally there were injuries and deaths; blood and broken limbs were scattered about miserably.
The distance of several dozen kilometers to the mountain’s base was crossed by Yang Kai’s group in less than half the time it would take to burn a stick of incense.
When they arrived here, Yang Kai and the others paused and watched as others continued rushing towards Ascending Heaven Cliff.
Cang Yan turned around and asked in a deep voice, “Little Martial Nephew, is that person who agreed to collaborate with you not here?”
“Not yet,” Yang Kai shook his head as he could not spot Di Yao.
“Should we continue heading up?” Li Wan asked slightly anxiously.
“Let’s wait a moment,” Cang Yan’s brow wrinkled, “If Little Martial Nephew’s inference is not wrong, then that boy must know some secrets that others don’t. If we act together with him, it will definitely be to our advantage.”
The first ones to rush up the mountain would not necessarily be the ones to laugh in the end, the mountain had plenty of potential dangers so whether they could reach the summit of Ascending Heaven Cliff was still unknown.
Standing in the same place and waiting quietly, Yang Kai and his group saw some other teams consisting of two or three masters excitedly rush up the mountain from time to time.
After the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, Di Yao’s voice suddenly called out, “Brother Yang!”
“Over here!” Yang Kai quickly waved his hand as he turned around and saw the lineup the other side had brought, his eyes immediately flashing brilliantly.
He discovered at this moment that he had still been underestimating Di Yao’s ability as a whole seven masters were accompanying him.
Six of these masters belonged to the Three Clans and each of them was either a Second or Third Order Transcendent while the last one was somewhat a mystery; Yang Kai couldn’t spy on his cultivation and the other party’s face was also concealed by a cloak. It seemed this individual was not willing to expose his true face.
However, from the small bit of skin he exposed, it was easy to tell that this person was an old man.
After staring at this old man for a moment, Yang Kai’s expression changed as he faintly guessed something, but he did not take the initiative to ask.
The masters from the City Lord’s Mansion and the four Soaring Heaven Sect Protectors stared at each other, both sides seem quite satisfied with the other’s strength, suddenly wearing happy expression as they felt the opposite party would not drag them down.
“This event is of great importance, so I hope everyone here can cooperate sincerely to insure we are all satisfied in the end. I want to remain friends with Brother Yang when this is all over after all,” Di Yao said with a smile.
The six masters he brought all nodded firmly, “Young Master Di can rest assured.”
Cang Yan also nodded, “Little brother is too polite, but despite that, I must take this opportunity to confirm, the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid, do you truly not need it?”
“Indeed, I have already explained this to Brother Yang,” Di Yao confirmed.
“Good, then there should not be any issues,” Cang Yan said in a satisfied tone, “Since that is settled, let’s go.”
“There’s no rush,” Di Yao smiled and shook his head, “Wait a moment, it’s not time yet.”
“Wait a moment?” Cang Yan’s brow wrinkled, although he also knew that this kind of opportunity could not be obtained simply by rushing forward, now that the Heavenly Manifestation had emerged, it was certain the Thousand Year Demon Flower was about to bloom, with so many people rushing forward, if they were to delay too long, forget about eating meat, there wouldn’t even be soup left for them to drink.
“It’s still too early, all of this is just a precursor to the Heavenly Manifestation. When the real Heavenly Manifestation emerges, it won’t be too late for us to go up,” Di Yao didn’t explain too much as he replied with a relaxed look, not showing any signs of tension at all.
Cang Yan and the others were puzzled and couldn’t help but ask, “Little brother, it’s not that we don’t believe you, but we’re somewhat curious, how much do you know about the Thousand Year Demon Flower?”
“En, well, more than any of you at least, heh heh,” Di Yao grinned confidently.
As they were talking, Yang Kai couldn’t help glancing suspiciously over at the old man who had covered his face with a cloak. He instinctually thought this person was Di Yao’s mysterious Master!
Di Yao knowing so much about the Thousand Year Demon Flower was definitely because of this old man.
The old man also seemed to be aware of Yang Kai’s gaze and the corners of his mouth slightly rose as he said, “Is this little brother the one who won the final victory in the Alchemy contest the other day?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“En, the younger generation is filled with talent,” The old man commended lightly.
Cang Yan and the others also glanced over at this old man suspiciously, somewhat unable to understand what this person’s background or status was that allowed him to have such a big tone.
“Yang Kai!” Suddenly, a sweet sounding voice called out. Yang Kai turned around to state at the source and sure enough, he saw Mi Na and Old Man Du both approaching. Before they had even arrived, the little girl was exchanging enthusiastic greetings.
But when they arrived in front of one another, Yang Kai couldn’t help staring at her solemnly and asking, “How come you’re here?”
Old Man Du let out a helpless sigh and explained, “This little girl really can’t sit still and insisted on coming to take a look at the excitement, so this old master had no choice but to come with her.”
“You’re deliberately causing trouble!” Yang Kai reproved her seriously.
Mi Na couldn’t help spitting out her tongue and replying coyly, “I just came to watch, I won’t be going up so there shouldn’t be any danger.”
“All the same, be extra careful,” Yang Kai sighed.
Mi Na glanced all around and smiled happily as she commented, “If you don’t go up, you’ll probably not be able to obtain a spot.”
“We’re waiting,” Yang Kai replied casually.
“Waiting for what?”
“For when the real Heavenly Manifestation appears.”
“The real Heavenly Manifestation?” Du Wan also wore a blank expression, even he knew very little about the Thousand Year Demon Flower. But after mulling over these words, his eyes suddenly stared at the old man in the cloak pensively and after hesitating for a moment, he nervously asked, “May I ask your Excellency’s honoured name?”
His tone of voice clearly conveyed a sense of tension.
Yang Kai’s eyes also couldn’t help but flash.
“Ho ho, the name of this old master is not worth mentioning,” The old man said with a chuckle.
Du Wan’s body shook as if he had been struck by lightning, his eyes going wide as he stared at this old man incredulously as he muttered, “You… you are…”
“Shh…” Di Yao quickly raised his finger to his mouth.
Du Wan, however, was too excited, as if he was a devout believer who had met his spiritual leader, in the next instant bowing deeply as he shouted, “Disciple Du Wan, humbly greets Grandmaster!”
Yang Kai, Cang Yan, and everyone else all froze on the spot, completely dumbstruck.
Du Wan was the head manager of the Grand Boulder City’s Alchemist Guild branch, a figure famous throughout the entire realm. Saint Grade Alchemists were incredibly rare, so someone of Du Wan’s status would be regarded as an honoured guest wherever he went, others would treat him with reverence and respect but now, this famous Saint Grade Alchemist, had actually not hesitated to bow down before this old man and even claimed to be his disciple.
This was all simply too shocking.
Everyone was stunned silent, even the six Transcendent Realm masters that Di Yao brought with him were completely ignorant, they had only been ordered to come here and didn’t know much about Di Yao or the identity of this old man.
The old man suddenly smiled wryly, “There’s no need for you to do this, haven’t you seen this old master hiding his face so as to avoid attracting too much attention?”
As if he had awoken from a dream, Du Wan stood up straight, sweat pouring down his forehead as he harshly blamed himself, “Disciple has been negligent in his conduct and hopes Grandmaster will not take offence.”
“It’s fine,” The old man waved his hand lightly and chuckled, “How did you recognize me?”
“Does Grandmaster not remember?” Du Wan said with excitement, “When disciple was young, he had received some guidance from Grandmaster, and although it was only a short ten days, disciple has always remembered Grandmaster’s teachings and voice.”
“So that’s how it is,” The old man gently nodded.
Cang Yan’s face also suddenly changed as he cried out in a voice much higher pitched than normal, “So it’s him!”
Listening to Du Wan’s words, Cang Yan immediately guessed who this venerated old man really was, he also understands why Ao Gu had to take such good care of Di Yao, even sending six Transcendent Realm masters to escort him to Ascending Heaven Cliff.
It turns out Di Yao’s Master was a true top-tier character!
Only such a person could teach a disciple like Di Yao. At this moment, Cang Yan understood everything.
“Who is he?” Fei Yu whispered as Li Wan and Fei Jian also looked at him curiously.
Cang Yan glanced over at the old man and saw that he didn’t intend on stopping him so he moved his lips silently.
Understanding these silent words, Fei Yu, Li Wan, and Fei Jian were all dumbstruck once more.
Yang Kai also read Cang Yan’s lips and couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep!
The Grandmaster Alchemist who had earned the respect of Human, Demon, and Monster Race alike, and, like Yang Kai, a possessor of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
Cang Yan recognized his identity because Du Wan had once mentioned to him a long time ago he had studied under the Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep for ten days when he had begun his Alchemy career.
When Du Wan mentioned this just now, Cang Yan had naturally pieced things together.
Cang Yan couldn’t help feeling excited, in fact, everyone here was so.
After all, the legendary Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep was in front of him. Cang Yan and the others unconsciously converged their strength and momentum and became respectful, their eyes filling with a look of worship.
Yang Kai also secretly examined this legendary figure, his mood somewhat turbulent.
There were very few people with the Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, and even fewer of those were high level Alchemist. In this world, it was likely that he and the Grandmaster in front of him were such cases.
This commonality made Yang Kai want to hear from this old man about the secrets of the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai’s current use of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was still somewhat rough, but this Grandmaster was different. The latter had lived for countless years and whether it was in terms of experience or knowledge he had countless times more than Yang Kai. If Yang Kai would gain a massive amount of benefits if he could discuss this with him.
However, Yang Kai was still somewhat uncertain about whether he should disclose the secret of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
While he was debating this idea in his head though, the Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep suddenly laughed, “Since you have all recognized me, this old master won’t bother with these cheap tricks.”
Saying so, he lifted the hood from his cloak and revealed his face.
“Grandmaster, disciple has long wished to see Grandmaster again, to listen to Grandmaster’s teachings face to face, and now, finally…” Du Wan was so excited that he was actually sobbing between his words.
“When this matter comes to an end, we will have some time to talk. You having your current achievements greatly pleases this old master. This old master taught you for only ten days, and you being able to reach this step is all thanks to your own skill and efforts,” The Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep said lightly.
Du Wan was extremely flattered and continuously thanked him.
“Don’t call me Grandmaster, if people were to hear it things would only become more complicated. En, this old master’s real name is Li Rui, you call me Old Man Li.”
“Yes,” Du Wan respectfully responded.
“Who is this Senior, why does Old Man Du call himself a disciple?” Mi Na was still unaware of the situation and whispered to Yang Kai.
“You should ask Old Man Du some other time,” Yang Kai replied quietly.
“Hmph, acting all mysterious,” Mi Na spat disdainfully.
Given her personality, if she had encountered such a situation before, she would definitely have come right out and said, “Hey old man, who are you?”
But when she saw how Old Man Du was acting, Mi Na didn’t dare speak too rashly.
She was blunt but not an idiot.
Before the group of people had recovered from the excitement, Yang Kai looked over at the Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep and asked, “Old Man Li, Brother Di knowing so much about the Thousand Year Demon Flower, were you the one who told him?”
“Indeed,” Old Man Li nodded lightly as he glanced over at Yang Kai and smiled, “Little friend, I feel from you an aura somewhat similar to my own, after the conclusion of this event, would you care to speak of few words with me? If you don’t mind, I believe there are many things I can help you to understand.”
Cang Yan and the others’ eyes all brightened as they silently signalled to Yang Kai to accept.
Yang Kai was a promising young Alchemist and the other side was the world’s foremost Alchemy Grandmaster. No matter who it was, they would leap at the chance to listen to the Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep’s teachings. Such a great opportunity suddenly appearing in front of their Little Martial Nephew, how could they not encourage him to agree?
Yang Kai couldn’t help smiling wryly. He had just been agonizing over whether to disclose the secret of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea to Old Man Li, but now it seems the other party had been aware of this secret all along.
Now, with no need to hide anything, and given the fact that Yang Kai felt no maliciousness intent from this powerful old master, he quickly nodded, “I’d like nothing more!”
“Good good good,” Old Man Li nodded with a big smile.
“Master, let’s talk about this Thousand Year Demon Flower with Brother Yang and the others, they all must be quite confused right now while hoping you can dispel their doubts,” Di Yao suggested.
Everyone turned their attention to Old Man Li upon hearing these words.
Old Man Li drew a light breath before nodding, “Good, making Di Yao wait here was indeed this old master’s intent, because the Heavenly Manifestation really has not yet appeared. The Thousand Year Demon Flower is currently in the process of opening and it will be around another half a day before it truly blossoms, it won’t be too late to ascend the mountain then. All there is up there now is a chaotic battlefield; going now has only detriments and no benefit.”
“A thousand years ago, when the Demon Flower last bloomed, it was Master who condensed its medicinal liquid, so in regards to it, he definitely knows more than anyone else,” Di Yao added.
Cang Yan and others were once again shocked.
This piece of news was something they had never heard of before.
A thousand of years ago, the Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep certainly did not have the same aloof status and worldwide fame as he did today. At the time, he was also just a young man like Yang Kai and Di Yao.
As time passed, he had gradually earned his reputation until finally, the name Old Man Of Heaven’s Keep had been etched into Tong Xuan Realm’s history.
As for his early exploits, most of them had basically been forgotten by the world.
Old Man Li smiled and slowly continued, “The Thousand Year Demon Flower is said to originate from the Starry Sky. Legend has it that many years ago, a seed fell from the Heavens onto Ascending Heaven Cliff and the Thousand Year Demon Flower came into being, its medicinal liquid is able to greatly enhance one’s chance of breaking through to the Saint Realm, so every thousand years, there is an epic struggle for it in which many masters lose their lives.”
“Many masters have attempted to monopolize this Thousand Year Demon Flower over the years, but no matter how many people searched for its whereabouts, before the time came, none of them ever found a trace of it. Ascending Heaven Cliff, once reached a height of ten thousand meters, but now it is only eight thousand because many have tried to smash open its summit in order to find the Thousand Year Demon Flower.”
Everyone listened carefully, as if afraid they would miss something, their demeanours all extremely focused.
“Why couldn’t they find it? I have always been very curious about this; since the Demon Flower is so important, why has no one ever successfully taken it from Ascending Heaven Cliff?” Mi Na asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“Because the Thousand Year Demon Flower is not there!” Old Man Li glanced at her and smiled, “What you see, is not the real Thousand Year Demon Flower!”
“Not the real thing?” The crowd was stunned.
“En, it is indeed a rare treasure of heaven and earth and contains extremely mysterious energy. After waiting for a while, when you see it, you will naturally understand what this old master means,” Old Man Li seemed to have no intention of hiding anything, freely explaining all he knew, “Also, it is quite sensitive, once it detects the aura of a Saint Realm master, it absolutely will not blossom. Long ago, many Saints tried to obtain the Thousand Year Demon Flower during its scheduled blossoming, but each time the Demon Flower failed to bloom, that is why in recent times no Saint has participated in this event.”
“Old Man Li, what should we do after this wait?” Cang Yan asked quickly.
“Escort these two youngsters until they enter the flower, after that, everything will be up to their own abilities. There’s nothing more you can do to help them.”
Hearing this, Cang Yan couldn’t help feeling confused.
Old Man Li laughed and said, “Saying anything more now won’t make it any clearer, when the time comes, you will understand.”
Cang Yan and the others nodded slightly and no longer asked.
While they were speaking, the violent battle up ahead continued. It was as if the entire mountain had become a battlefield with various Transcendent Realm masters escorting their Alchemists to the summit all while competing against their surrounding rivals.
Gradually though, the fight calmed down. It seemed as though everyone had noticed that something was not right with the Thousand Year Demon Flower and had ceased their battle for now.
Half a day later, the five coloured rays atop the mountain peak burst and in the sky, a beautiful flower bud appeared.
This flower bud was so massive that even those back in Floating Clouds City, several dozen kilometres away, could clearly see it suspended mid-air above the summit of Ascending Heaven Cliff.
Everyone also saw that this flower bud had no physical form and was instead purely composed of energy; it was extremely mysterious.
When this flower bud manifested, the World Energy within a few hundred kilometres immediately began madly flooding towards it.
The streams of converging World energy were visible to the naked eye and were constantly pouring into the flower bud, disappearing in the next instant.
At the same time, atop the mountain, the masters who had survived the previous war all rushed towards the flower bud.
Several dozen teams comprised of hundreds of Transcendents all exerted their full strength in an attempt to claim this prize.
The battle that had just calmed down broke out once again, and this time, it was even bloodier and crueller than before.
Masters continuously fell as Martial Skill and artifacts flashed across the sky, shredding both bodies and Souls. Even the Alchemists who were being protected by these masters were not spared in this chaotic melee.
In a flash, several teams were completely annihilated, leaving no survivors behind.
Everyone couldn’t help wearing dignified expressions as they suddenly realized just how intense this competition would be.
“Old Man Li…” Cang Yan asked once again, his face quite tense.
“There’s no rush!” Old Man Li slowly shook his head, his expression remaining as calm as ever.
Cang Yan took a deep breath and steadied his mood, waiting quietly for the moment to come.
A short time later, one team managed to rush over to the flower bud, but this team did not even have time to rejoice before they were submerged in attacks by the crowd that followed.
In the vicinity of the flower bud, countless people fought a bloody battle.
There were also some cunning people who avoided this whirlpool of death and were trying to find ways to condense the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid, but no matter what they tried, they failed to achieve anything. Helpless, they could only turn towards the flower bud and join the fray.
This battle over the Thousand Year Demon Flower had greatly damaged the strength of several dozen forces and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Transcendents.
After another hour or so, the World Energy in the air gradually became thinner, apparently, it had all been absorbed into the flower bud of the Thousand Year Demon Flower and reached a saturation point. The flower bud which had been closed the whole time also began showing signs of blooming.
“It’s time,” Old Man Li said lightly.
“Let’s go!” Cang Yan shouted, and with Yang Kai and Di Yao in the middle, their team set out, each of them using their movement skills to quickly rush towards the bud.
Their group of twelve, with the exception of Yang Kai and Di Yao, were all Transcendents, six Third Orders and four Second Orders, whether it was in terms of number or strength, they were amongst the most formidable teams on the mountain.
However, Cang Yan and the others still dared not relax, tightly surrounding Yang Kai and Di Yao to ensure not the slightest harm came to them.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the huge flower buds ahead and gradually, the closed petals began expanding outwards, blossoming faster and faster. Cang Yan and the others had only made it halfway up the mountain yet the Thousand Year Demon Flower had almost fully bloomed.
Suddenly, a multi-coloured light burst out and an inexplicable energy fluctuation pulsed across the sky. Under the influence of this strange energy, everyone couldn’t help suddenly calming down.
The remaining masters also stayed their hands, each of them directing all of their attention towards the now open petals of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, each of them putting their guards up and monitoring their surroundings while signalling to their respective Alchemists to begin condensing the medicinal liquid.
Unfortunately, though, none of these Alchemists knew where to start, the True Qi they sent out towards the blossomed flower was able to wrap up its petals but that was all, no sign of refining or condensing occurred.
This discovery made everyone’s expression sink.
All of them had scrambled madly to be here, many of their teams having suffered heavy injuries or even deaths, but now they couldn’t make any progress at all, what was the point in all of this then?
By the time Yang Kai’s group arrived, the Thousand Year Demon Flower floating in the sky had already been surrounded with almost no free space for them to settle down on.
“Go to the position where the centre of the flower is!” Di Yao suddenly whispered.
As they had no idea what else to do, upon hearing this, Cang Yan led everyone towards the indicated spot.
The centre of the flower (the pistil) was naturally a very eye-catching position, and at this moment it was already occupied by two powerful teams, each of them searching for a way to condense the medicinal liquid.
The arrival of Yang Kai’s team had immediately aroused their attention and vigilance.
The two competing teams both turned to face their new opponents, their attitudes surprisingly consistent.
Perceiving the number and cultivation of the other party, Cang Yan’s brow furrowed, quickly summoning his Saint Grade sword and pushing his Flame Attribute True Qi to condense a giant flame sword, his momentum rising to its peak as he stared towards his opponents.
“There’s no need to settle this with violence,” Di Yao said before immediately calling out the two other teams, “How about you open up a spot for us and in return I tell you how to refine the Thousand Year Demon Flower.”
“Do you know how?” The eyes of the opposite groups all flashed upon hearing Di Yao’s words.
“Probably,” Di Yao smiled lightly, “But if you don’t agree, we can only fight it out.”
Di Yao used a perfect mix of courtesy and force, his expression calm the whole time.
Hearing his words, the other side’s expressions all became solemn. When they scanned this group of newcomers, they realized that the situation was not good; although their numbers and cultivations were more or less even, in the end, their side was still made up of two different teams so acting in unison would be difficult. On the other hand, Cang Yan’s side were one whole, so if a fight were to really start, their side would clearly be at a disadvantage and would likely be the ones ultimately forced to withdraw.
The masters from the two teams glanced at each other and quickly reached a consensus.
The two teams merged together, opening up a spot for Yang Kai’s group.
Di Yao’s expression brightened, appearing somewhat pleasantly surprised. He had just been speaking casually before and had not anticipated things would go so smoothly, quickly saying, “Thank you!”
As he spoke, their team settled into the open space.
Stepping onto the broad petal, Yang Kai had a strange feeling.
Although the Thousand Year Demon Flower was purely composed of energy and had no physical substance to it, the energy itself was so rich it was no different from a solid form.
“We’ve given you a spot as agreed, now why don’t you tell us how to condense the medicinal liquid?” Once of the masters from the other two teams stared at Cang Yan vigilantly while asking Di Yao.
“Just wait,” Di Yao smiled and didn’t answer.
The masters from the other two teams suddenly looked uncomfortable, silently circulating their True Qi and raising their guard, preparing to take action at any moment.
After about ten breaths of time though, at the very pistil petals, a ripple of energy visible to the naked eye appeared, attracting everyone’s attention and causing them to become even more alert.
Di Yao suddenly leaned over to Yang Kai and whispered something into his ear; Yang Kai nodded silently in response.
Immediately after, Di Yao went around to all the others in the group and told each of them something.
This little action didn’t go unnoticed by the other two teams of course, and one of their masters soon angrily called out, “What are you doing? If you dare try to deceive us, we’ll make you pay a steep price!”
Di Yao just laughed however and casually said, “Rest assured, I will tell you how to condense the Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid, I won’t deceive you.”
“You better!”
As the two were speaking, the ripples from the pistil became more and more pronounced, as if small stones were constantly being thrown into a calm lake.
From the pistil, where the ripples were originating, a mysterious energy began appearing and spreading out.
“Go!” Di Yao suddenly shouted and together with Yang Kai, rushed towards the epicentre.
The two’s speed instantly reached an extreme and in the blink of an eye they had already arrived at the centre of the ripples.
In the next instant, a shocking scene took place; the two young men dove into the ripples and, as if they had fallen into a deep pool of water, completely disappeared.
Although the masters from the other two teams had been on full alert, none of them had anticipated such a strange and sudden development, and by the time they came to their senses were too late to stop it.
These masters instantly became furious and were just about to attack when Cang Yan suddenly said, “Wait a moment.”
“You group of lying bastards, what do you want to say at this point!?”
“I can let your Alchemists go in, only on the other side is it possible to condense the medicinal liquid, but all of you must stay behind and help us guard this entrance. You don’t want any other opponents to break in, right?” Cang Yan said calmly while still holding his Saint Grade sword covered in flames, exerting an invisible pressure on them.
All of the other teams’ masters were somewhat stunned by this proposal but with no time to think it through, they simply nodded, “Good!”
“Thank you!” Cang Yan gestured.
The Spirit Grade Alchemists from the two teams quickly followed after Di Yao and Yang Kai and dove into the pistil, their figures disappearing in the next moment.
Four Spirit Grade Alchemists suddenly disappearing into the flower had naturally attracted a lot of attention from the surrounding teams.
Although none of them understood what was happening, all of them were keenly aware of what needed to be done and faintly felt that this occurrence was related to how to condense the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid.
Dozens of sharp gazes focused on the pistil and in the next instant, countless teams rushed over.
Cang Yan grinned fiercely and the Saint Grade sword in his hand suddenly transformed into a roaring Fire Dragon that shot towards the incoming crowd.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Fei Jian pulled open his bow and shot out a barrage of powerful, yet invisible arrows skewering several of the incoming opponents.
Li Wan’s short body suddenly radiated a dazzling golden radiance and in an instant, his barely adult-sized body transformed into a massive giant towering over everyone else.
Fei Yu’s red lips parted as she blew a watery mist from her seemingly delicate mouth. This mist morphed into a giant serpent that bore its fangs and struck like lightning towards nearby cultivators. Each of its victims immediately became red faced and disoriented, as if they were completely drunk and incapable of even standing up straight.
In the air, there was suddenly a strong smell of wine which was both fragrant and intoxicating.
The four masters from Soaring Heaven Sect suddenly bursting out their complete strength sent a cold chill down the backs of the other Transcendents beside them guarding the Demon Flower’s pistil.
None of them dared hold back either, whether it was the Transcendents from the other two teams or the six guards sent by the City Lord’s Mansion, they also displayed their most formidable Martial Skills and artifacts.
In an instant, Martial Skills and artifact strikes flew out atop the petals of the Thousand Year Demon Flower and an earth-shaking battle began.
Although the Soaring Heaven Sect Protectors, City Lord’s Mansion guards, and the masters from the two unfamiliar teams totalled eighteen masters altogether, and each of their individual strengths was no low, a few fierce tigers were still unable to beat back a massive pack of wolves. Facing hundreds of Transcendent Realm masters, they quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
After less than twenty breaths, all of them had suffered varying degrees of injury. Li Wan, who was at the forefront, had already been beaten bloody by the countless attacks he had endured.
Cang Yan’s expression was incredibly solemn as he fought while keeping a thread of Divine Sense locked on the pistil, making sure not to miss any changes that occurred.
After the four Spirit Grade Alchemists entered, the ripples spreading from the centre of the petals began slowing, and as time passed they began fading.
Soon, the ripples stopped propagating at all.
“Retreat!” Cang Yan shouted, no longer daring to stick around, grabbing Li Wan and fleeing as swift as the wind and quick as lightly.
Fei Yu, Fei Jian, and the six guards from the City Lord’s Mansion were close behind.
The remaining two teams were stunned, unable to understand why their allies had suddenly abandoned their position, but without Cang Yan and the others, it was impossible for them to continue guarding this place so they too hurriedly escaped.
At the pistil, the guards had left and the door was wide open.
The cultivators who had just arrived were overjoyed and hurriedly tried to escort their own Alchemists forward in order to have them follow after Yang Kai and Di Yao.
But to their dismay, now that the ripples had ceased, no matter how hard they tried, no one else was able to enter the flower.
For a time, countless shouts and curses rang out.
Meanwhile, Cang Yan and the others had already returned to the base of the mountain, each of them bathed in blood and panting heavily for breath, even the beautiful Fei Yu was a complete mess as a tinge of fear still gripped her heart.
Fortunately, all of them had only needed to guard the entrance for about thirty breaths of time, if they had to remain any longer, it was possible none of them would have survived.
All of them had received quite heavy injuries with Li Wan being the most severely wounded. After dispelling his golden giant form, he immediately collapsed to the ground.
Old Man Li quickly stepped forward and gave everyone a pill.
Cang Yan and the others expressed their gratitude before hurriedly swallowing the healing pills.
A short time later, all of them felt significantly better and Li Wan’s injuries had also been stabilized, at least, there was no immediate threat to his life.
“Old Man Li, is this all right?” Cang Yan opened his eyes and turned to look at the Thousand Year Demon Flower which was still floating gently in the sky. Even now, atop its giant petals, there were countless masters looking for a method to enter.
“En,” Old Man Li nodded lightly, “The rest will depend on their own good fortune.”
“Two other Alchemists also managed to go in, we were powerless to stop them,” Cang Yan muttered somewhat dissatisfied.
“No problem, even though they went in, they won’t be able to obtain anything,” Old Man Li laughed, obviously he had great confidence in Di Yao.
“Fair enough,” Cang Yan nodded lightly. With Yang Kai there, those two Alchemists obviously wouldn’t be able to make any waves, that kid had even been able to kill Second Order Transcendents.
“We really must thank Old Man Li for everything,” Fei Yu said, still somewhat distressed, “If it weren’t Old Man Li’s instructions, we would be no better than headless flies like everyone else.”
Who could have thought it would be so difficult to condense the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower. All of them had originally thought that when the flowers blossomed, the nearby Alchemists would simply need to refine it and that would be it. If it weren’t for some lucky coincidences causing Yang Kai and Di Yao to meet and befriend one another, thus allowing them to obtain Old Man Li’s advice, the four Protectors were certainly they wouldn’t have been able to complete their task here so smoothly.
“Hoho, I’ve just lived a little longer than all of you, nothing more,” Old Man Li laughed lightly, “Good, there’s no need for us to wait here, let’s head back to Floating Clouds City, it will be more than a few days before they come out again.”
Everyone nodded and turned towards Floating Clouds City with Old Man Li.
Along the way, Cang Yan found that Old Man Li seemed to be quite interested in his Little Martial Nephew and asked a lot about him. Although there were outsiders present, in the face of Old Man Li’s inquiries, Cang Yan answered as much as possible.
“Oh, so you say he is from a very remote place?” Old Man Li suddenly smiled, “I see.”
“We were also quite surprised, never had I thought such an amazing talent like that kid would emerge from such a small place,” Cang Yan smiled and shook his head. Compared with Yang Kai’s performance, the so called Elite Disciples of Soaring Heaven Sect were mediocre at best.
“You should not underestimate those who are born in lower levels of our world. There are many talented people from all places, but because of various constraints, their development is limited; however, if any of them manage to rise up even in such a harsh environment, they can often ascend to great heights,” Old Man Li lightly said.
“What Old Man Li says is absolutely right,” Cang Yan smiled and nodded, “I would never have believed so before, but after seeing Little Martial Nephew, I am thoroughly convinced. I even heard Little Martial Nephew say he has two Senior Sisters who came out from his homeland who are no worse than him, possibly even better in certain aspects.”
“He has two Senior Sisters?” Old Man Li raised his eyebrows.
“En, Little Martial Nephew has been looking for them, but unfortunately he has no clue where to start. Haa… it truly is difficult to find two individuals in such a vast sea of people.”
Amidst the void, Yang Kai and Di Yao suddenly appeared. The moment they emerged, Di Yao quickly summoned a defensive artifact and a beige light curtain wrapped both him and Yang Kai. With a solemn expression, he hastily called out, “Brother Yang, don’t leave the scope of my artifact, or you’ll be in grave danger.”
Yang Kai didn’t answer though as he was completely focused on the scene in front of him.
Up and down, left and right, there was absolutely nothing but a seemingly endless abyss.
All around there were bright stars while slightly closer by there was a great sun that gave off waves of heat and a pale moon that radiated a cold light, making Yang Kai wonder if he was dreaming.
Although this void was not completely pitch black, have essentially no point of reference and not being able to see where it began or where it ended caused a type of uneasiness to well up in Yang Kai’s heart.
There was no ground beneath his feet and no force pulling him down, he was simply drifting about randomly. The Ascending Heaven Cliff and the Thousand Year Demon Flower had vanished and all Yang Kai could see in his immediate surroundings was something that resembled a dark cave entrance.
Naturally, this was a Void Corridor.
The Thousand Year Demon Flower’s pistil seemed to be an entrance to a Void Corridor and Yang Kai currently didn’t know where it had sent him.
“Where are we?” Yang Kai asked quickly.
“The Starry Sky!” Di Yao took a deep breath and said with an excited expression, gazing around at his surroundings in wonder.
“The Starry Sky?” Yang Kai’s brows jumped as he couldn’t help asking, “Are the legends really true?”
“Of course they’re true,” Di Yao nodded repeatedly, “Most of the world’s masters have heard rumours about the Starry Sky, and there are also many products from the Starry Sky in Tong Xuan Realm, but no one has ever arrived at the Starry Sky or knows what it truly looks like; but who would have ever thought that the Thousand Year Demon Flower was actually a doorway to the Starry Sky?”
“Is this really the Starry Sky and not just some Mysterious Small World?” Yang Kai was still unable to believe it; he was more inclined to believe this was some magical Mysterious Small World.
“Why would I need to lie to you?” Di Yao smiled, “Master told me this place is indeed the Starry Sky; see the large star over there bursting with vitality? That is our Tong Xuan Realm!”
Yang Kai turned in the direction Di Yao pointed and indeed saw a huge star; of course, from where he was standing, this star only appeared about the size of a fist, as if he could hold out his hand and tightly grasp it.
His mood was hard to describe.
“Why is it round?” Yang Kai frowned, he had never expected the so-called Tong Xuan Realm to be spherical in shape.
Wouldn’t the people on the backside fall off? Yang Kai felt deeply worried.
“I don’t know why,” Di Yao shrugged his shoulders.
As the two were talking, their expressions suddenly changed and they quickly turned their gazes to the Void Corridor behind them.
Di Yao manipulated his defensive artifact and brought Yang Kai back a short distance.
The next moment, from the Void Corridor, two more people appeared.
The two men were the Alchemists from the other two teams they had been collaborating with, and as soon as they stepped out of the Void Corridor, the two Alchemists assumed a fighting stance.
Obviously, they also knew that in order to obtain the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower they would have to first defeat Yang Kai and Di Yao.
These two Spirit Grade Top-Rank Alchemists weren’t young and their cultivations weren’t low, both of them First Order Transcendents; however, because they specialized in Alchemy, their combat power was only slightly higher than that of Peak Immortal Ascension cultivators, incomparable with true Transcendents.
But facing two kids like Yang Kai and Di Yao, they showed no fear and firmly believed they would be the ultimate winners.
Yang Kai snickered and was about to respond to their provocation when Di Yao reached out and stopped him, slowly shaking his head and grinning, “There’s no need to fight with them.”
“Huh? Why?” Yang Kai was confused.
Di Yao just laughed in response, “Because they’re already dead.”
Saying so, he turned to the other party and shouted, “Friends, you should summon your own defensive artifacts or your deaths will be quite miserable.”
The two men were stunned by these words and were quite doubtful but after noticing their current situation and location, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Obviously, they had never anticipated that after entering the Thousand Year Demon Flower they would arrive at the Starry Sky.
This vast and endless abyss greatly frightened them.
Worse though, before they could compose themselves, the two of them felt a powerful destructive force tearing at their bodies.
Their faces changing drastically, neither of them hesitated to summon their most powerful defensive artifacts to protect themselves from this strange energy.
Alchemists were never poor, so their artifacts weren’t bad, the two of them both possessing Spirit Grade Mid-Rank or Top-Rank grade defensive artifacts. This level of the defensive artifact was enough to withstand the full blow of a Third Order Transcendent master.
Unfortunately for them though, in the Starry Sky, such artifacts could only slightly delay their time of death.
The strange energy in their surroundings continuously impacted their defensive artifacts, causing their radiance to quickly flicker and dim like candles in the wind that could be snuffed out in the next instant.
“Where is this?” One of them cried out.
“Who knows,” Di Yao wouldn’t kindly dispel their doubts and simply waved goodbye to them before gradually drifting away with Yang Kai.
The two men were stunned but quickly recovered and immediately took action, not daring to remain a moment longer. But when they prepared to return the way they came, they noticed that the Void Corridor behind them had already closed. Turning around once more, wanting to seek Di Yao and Yang Kai’s help, they noticed that this pair of youngsters had also disappeared. Their eyes went dull as their minds were overcome with terror.
Vaguely, Yang Kai thought he heard some miserable screams in the distance and upon looking back, he saw the two men disintegrate, not leaving behind any bones. Even the two Alchemist’s defensive artifacts broke down into dust and were quickly scattered.
“Does some kind of powerful destructive energy permeate the entire Starry Sky?” Yang Kai quickly realized the seriousness of the problem. The light barrier created by the defensive artifact that Di Yao had summoned also showed traces of being attacked, but this artifact’s grade was obviously incredibly high so there was no need to worry about it collapsing.
“En, the power flowing through the Starry Sky is not something we can resist. Master almost died here a thousand years ago; if it wasn’t for him coincidentally having a powerful defensive artifact at the time, there would be no Old Man of Heaven’s Keep. Master said that in order to withstand the destructive force of the Starry Sky, one’s physique needs to be at least on par with that of a Second Order Saint or have a comparable defensive artifact.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, now quite curious about the Starry Sky.
He had never known that the legendary Starry Sky would be so dangerous, even just standing in it was life-threatening.
As he spoke, Di Yao’s movement suddenly stopped and he grinned, “Found it.”
As he spoke, he pointed his finger forward.
Yang Kai turned to look in the direction Di Yao pointed and his eyes couldn’t help flashing, “The Thousand Year Demon Flower?”
A short distance away, there was a flower that looked exactly the same as the Thousand Year Demon Flower Yang Kai had seen before floating in the sky, the only difference was that this Thousand Year Demon Flower was countless times smaller
“En, this is the real Thousand Year Demon Flower!” Di Yao nodded lightly, “In fact, the Thousand Year Demon Flower we saw atop Ascending Heaven Cliff is just a projection. The real Thousand Year Demon Flower and Tong Xuan Realm have some kind of inexplicable connection, and through it, the Demon Flower can absorb energy from Tong Xuan Realm. During this process of absorption, its image will be magnified many times and appear atop Ascending Heaven Cliff, but the World Energy it absorbs actually flows here.”
At this moment, the Thousand Year Demon Flower appeared a vibrant green colour and in the centre of its blooming petals, there were a few drops of crystal clear, jewel-like liquid that gave off an intoxicating fragrance, calming the minds of anyone who smelt it.
“Brother Yang, go ahead and take them, condensing this medicinal liquid doesn’t require any special method, as long as one can find the real body of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, they can take it away. These drops of liquid are the essence of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, the wondrous medicine that can greatly enhance a Transcendent’s chances of breaking through to the Saint Realm!” Di Yao explained.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and moved in front of the Thousand Year Demon Flower before carefully counting, soon revealing a happy smile because he found a whole six drops of crystal liquid.
“There are a lot of them, it seems Brother Yang’s luck is quite good,” Di Yao smiled, “Last time, when Master came here, there were only three drops. I was originally worried there wouldn’t be enough for your Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt to use but now it seems there are actually two extra drops.”
“You take these two drops,” Yang Kai said as he took out a jade bottle and carefully collected the medicinal liquid.
“I don’t need them,” Di Yao shook his head, “We made an agreement before that all of the medicinal liquid would belong to you and to me it really isn’t something important. Master is already a Saint, and with regards to myself… En, I want to break through to the Saint Realm through my own efforts and not by external factors.”
Yang Kai looked at him for a moment before nodding, “Then I won’t be polite.”
Di Yao was obviously confident in himself and believed that with his natural aptitude, even if he had no external assistance, he would one day successfully become a Saint.
This was exactly the same as Yang Kai!
When Yang Kai broke through each Great Realm, he never used external forces and relied solely on his own sentiments and efforts. In doing so, his foundation would be more stable. On the contrary, if he relied on external forces, he might actually limit his future potential.
However, unlike Di Yao, who only had Old Man Li, Yang Kai had many friends and family members, so these extra two drops would definitely come in handy one day.
After collecting the six drops of medicinal liquid, Yang Kai was in a good mood and asked, “How do we go back now?”
“There is another Void Corridor nearby which leads back to Tong Xuan Realm, as long as we find it we can go back, but Master didn’t mention anything about its location and told me to seek for it myself,” Di Yao suddenly grinned, “But even if I find it, I’m in no hurry to go back.”
“Why is that?” Yang Kai couldn’t help asking.
“This is an incredibly rare opportunity Brother Yang,” Di Yao said in an excited voice, “This is the Starry Sky, and we are currently surrounded by the power of the Starry Sky which contains countless traces of Heavenly Dao Laws. Cultivating here for a single day is equivalent to cultivating back on Tong Xuan Realm for half a year, and if you can comprehend anything while in this place, it will bring you a lifetime worth of benefits!”
Hearing all this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he eagerly asked, “Is that true?”
Di Yao nodded firmly.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Yang Kai was impatient to get started and quickly sat down before circulating his Secret Art.
Seeing this, Di Yao was dumbfounded and couldn’t help chuckling, “There’s no need to rush, right now my Saint Grade artifact is blocking the ambient energy of the Starry Sky, wait a moment and I’ll let some of it inside so we can cultivate.”
Saying so, Di Yao’s expression suddenly became dignified as he controlled his defensive artifact and opened a small crack in its light barrier.
Amidst the endless Starry Sky, the beige coloured light curtain that was surrounding Yang Kai and Di Yao thinned slightly and allowed in a wave of violent energy that tore at their bodies.
Immediately, both of the young men showed pained expressions, their bodies trembling as countless small, bloody wounds appeared on their skin.
Although Di Yao had the face of a gigolo and was prettier than most women, his physique was actually quite strong, far surpassing what an ordinary Alchemist would normally possess. It could be said that Di Yao was the same similar to Yang Kai in that not only was he proficient in Alchemy, but also in combat.
Both of them sat within the protection of the defensive artifacts and while they tempered their physiques they also tried to perceive the mysteries of the Starry Sky’s energies, trying to glean some benefits from it.
Quickly, two days passed since they first came to the Starry Sky. For the past two days, Di Yao had been occasionally weakening the power of his defensive artifacts to allow the Starry Sky’s ambient energies to leak in, each time increasing the amount slightly. For him, the harvest was not small.
These two days worth of tempering had made his body a lot stronger.
However, Yang Kai gradually felt somewhat dissatisfied. The Starry Sky energy which was allowed into the defensive shield now had essentially no effect on him at all while Di Yao was obviously being pushed to his limit.
If Yang Kai were to continue cultivating here, it would be impossible for him to make any significant progress.
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai suddenly said, “Brother Di, let’s act separately. I can see that maintaining this artifact consumes a great deal of your True Qi, but if you don’t need to protect me as well, your expenditure should decrease significantly.”
These past two days, Di Yao had been constantly taking pills to supplement his True Qi, otherwise, it would have been impossible to maintain this artifact’s shield.
Fortunately, he had apparently brought many high-quality pills, obviously in preparation for this situation.
Hearing this, Di Yao frowned, “Acting separately is fine, but do you have a Saint Grade defensive artifact? It can’t be Saint Grade Low-Rank either, it has to at least be Mid-Rank to withstand the ambient energy here.”
“I think… I probably don’t need to use an artifact,” Yang Kai replied hesitantly.
“…what?” Di Yao apparently thought he had heard wrong, “You want to resist the strength of this Starry Sky energy directly with your flesh?”
“Let me try it first, if I can’t then I’ll think of something else,” Yang Kai suggested.
Di Yao’s brow wrinkled and only after a long silence did he nod slightly, “Then you be careful, although I also think that your physique is stronger than mine, this is no joking matter. This is the Starry Sky, if one’s physique is not strong enough, the only result will be death, even Saint Realm masters are no exception to this!”
“I know,” Yang Kai smiled, “I’m heading out.”
As soon as he said so, Yang Kai left the scope of Di Yao’s artifact.
Now fully exposed to the Starry Sky, Yang Kai immediately felt a drastic difference. From all directions, indescribable energy surged towards him, as if he was surrounded by an invisible enemy that was mercilessly attacking every inch of his body.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Atop his firm muscles, countless small wounds appeared and blood began flowing out, but Yang Kai not only felt pain, but excitement as well.
Sure enough, with just his body alone, he was able to withstand the destructive energy of the Starry Sky; in fact, not only did he not have to worry about his life, if he continued tempering himself like this, the benefits he would obtain were simply unimaginable.
Di Yao’s face went blue in an instant, his expression twitching violently for a while before he let out a long and envious sigh, “Monster!”
He did not dare to leave the scope of his artifact’s protection. Although his physique was indeed above average, it was far from the freakish level of Yang Kai.
Even if he were to take a few more years and dedicate them to tempering his physical form, he may not be able to achieve such a standard.
“How do you feel?” Di Yao quickly calmed down and asked curiously.
“Terrible,” Yang Kai’s face made a pained expression as shot a grin towards Di You, “Would you like to come out and try?”
“Yeah right, I still have some self-knowledge!” Di Yao quickly refused, “Good, since you don’t need the assistance of my defensive artifact, we’ll act separately and see who finds the Void Corridor back to Tong Xuan Realm first.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.
“It’s not convenient for us to contact one another here if I find the Void Corridor and reach my limit but you still have yet to appear, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Brother Di doesn’t have to worry about me, when I’ve had enough, I’ll leave here on my own.”
“Then be careful not to die out here,” Di Yao reminded, “Keep in mind that the ambient energy of the Starry Sky is not evenly distributed, there may be some places where it is far more concentrated and violent, you should avoid such places at all cost or you really will die without any chance of burial!”
“There are such places?” Yang Kai’s showed an expression of eagerness and excitement.
Seeing this, Di Yao rubbed his forehead and felt a big headache coming on. He found that Yang Kai indeed had a similar personality to his own but there was one big difference between them. When faced with great danger, he was the type that liked to approach it from a stable position while Yang Kai was the type that liked to dive in and take risks.
“Good, I’ve said what I needed to say if you still die then that’s your own fault. Goodbye, let’s meet again in Floating Clouds City!” Di Yao was too lazy to care about Yang Kai’s recklessness any further and simply cupped his fists, turned around, and prepared to leave.
“Take this with you,” Yang Kai threw something out to Di Yao.
“What is it?”
“Something good,” Yang Kai smiled, “If you suffer any grievous wounds, apply this to them and they’ll soon be healed.”
“Thanks,” Di Yao smiled and nodded before quickly drifting off into the Starry Sky.
Staring at his disappearing back, Yang Kai smiled.
Yang Kai was quite fond of Di Yao, he had received a great deal of help from the latter regarding this time’s quest to obtain the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid. Without Di Yao, Yang Kai knew it would have been impossible for things to have gone so smoothly.
So before they parted, Yang Kai had gifted Di Yao some Myriad Drug Milk.
The Yang Kai from before, who had not delved into the Alchemic Way, could not tell the grade or preciousness of various high-quality medicinal herbs, but now that he was an experienced Alchemist, his vision had become much more refined.
He could now somewhat identify the various grades of the Myriad Drug Liquid series.
The lowest level Myriad Drug Liquid could be considered Spirit Grade while the Myriad Drug Milk was Saint Grade. As for the small amount of Myriad Drug Cream he possessed, Yang Kai was still unable to completely classify it but he always felt it was somewhat different and beyond the scope of Saint Grade.
Giving Di Yao some Myriad Drug Milk was just a simple exchange of gifts between friends.
After quietly standing in place for a moment, Yang Kai turned around and flew off in the opposite direction of Di Yao.
In this endless Starry Sky, the only point of reference he could count on was the first sized Tong Xuan Realm, so Yang Kai has to keep an eye on it while simultaneously searching for the Void Corridor and quenching his body.
The power of the Starry Sky was constantly tearing at his flesh and although this tearing was not life-threatening to Yang Kai, it was enough to cause him significant pain.
In the fresh blood that flowed from his wounds, there was a faint golden radiance.
This was the blood of the Demon God.
Li Rong and Han Fei also said that one day, when Yang Kai’s blood turned completely golden, he would have the same ability as the legendary Great Demon God.
Yang Kai was greatly looking forward to that day.
Time flowed by and Yang Kai lost track of just how long he had been wandering around the Starry Sky. In the beginning, the power of the Starry Sky could wound his body, but gradually, as his flesh became tougher, this destructive energy could only leave behind small scratches on him.
As for the Void Corridor, Yang Kai had still yet to catch even a glimpse of it, so he concluded he was searching in the wrong direction. Apparently, the way Di Yao went was the correct one.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to find the Void Corridor; shuttling freely through the Starry Sky, he continued looking for places to temper his flesh and comprehend the Heavenly Way.
As Di Yao had said, amongst the Starry Sky, the distribution of the mysterious destructive energy was very uneven; there were places where it was dense and places where it was sparse.
Now, places, where this energy was thick, had become Yang Kai’s goal, only such regions of the Starry sky could effectively temper his physique now.
In this long and boundless journey, Yang Kai’s mood underwent some invisible changes and his Divine Sense became more and more acute.
One day, Yang Kai was sitting in an energy-filled region, quenching his flesh, and allowing his Divine Sense to explore the mysteries of the Starry Sky, when he suddenly felt something was not quite right.
Quickly immersing his consciousness into himself, after a careful inspection, he finally discovered the source of this strange sensation.
It was actually coming from his Wordless Black Book.
Or rather, it was coming from the Black Book space.
The ambient power of the Starry Sky was very slowly pouring into the Black Book space and disappearing without a trace as if it was being absorbed by something inside.
Examining the objects inside the Black Book space for a while, Yang Kai was amazed to discover that the power of the Starry Sky was actually being absorbed by the two strange black stones.
As energy flowed into them, the two dark stones actually shimmered with a dim light and suddenly felt as if they were full of vitality.
Yang Kai was stunned.
He quickly realized that if he wanted to understand what these black stones really were, the power of the Starry Sky was the key!
The old friend of Old Man Du who obtained one of these black stones several decades ago had never managed to learn anything about them because he had never been to the Starry Sky.
This was really a big coincidence, Yang Kai secretly thought, unable to concentrate again on his cultivation as he focused on the changes the two stones were undergoing.
However, after quite some time had passed, Yang Kai slowly gave up.
Because the two black stones seemingly did not change at all from beginning to end, they simply continued to draw in the energy of the Starry Sky while emitting dim light, other than that, nothing else happened.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai no longer wasted his time paying attention to them. Standing up and glancing around casually, he eventually decided on a direction and once again travelled across the Starry Sky.
Any time he sat in one spot, quenching his flesh, the power of the Starry Sky in the vicinity would be consumed and eventually could no longer be used to temper himself.
Time after time Yang Kai changed location, each time seeking out places with increasingly dense Starry Sky; in this way, the intensity of his physique soared upwards.
The wounds he suffered layered against one another. Each time a wound healed and left a scar, another wound would tear open in its place. The ongoing process left his body tattered with horrendous marks. However, this did not bother him. He understood the benefits of this act and continued to suffer the agonising pain, looking forward to the benefits later on.
Gradually though, Yang Kai was unable to find places suitable for his cultivation and regions that had once almost brought him to the edge of death could now be strolled through without suffering any harm.
Although Yang Kai believed there would be more violent energy further out into the Starry Sky, he was worried that if he went any further, he would be unable to find his way back.
If Yang Kai lost his way in the endless Starry Sky, he would definitely die.
Feeling that his harvest was big enough, Yang Kai turned around and returned the way he came. Although the Starry Sky was vast and empty, by using the Tong Xuan Realm as a point of reference he could still make his way back.
Moving forward day by day, although his speed was extremely fast, there was still a long way to go, but Yang Kai was not in a rush and instead was doing his best to relax both physically and mentally in order to obtain the maximum benefit he could from this trip to the Starry Sky.
At some point though, he suddenly paused and frowned.
The power of the Starry Sky flowing around him seemed to have suddenly undergone a strange mutation, something he had never experience before.
Yang Kai immediately became alert and quickly turned around, all the colour draining from his face in the next instant.
As far as Yang Kai could see, across the entire expanse of the Starry Sky, a churning storm like phenomenon had appeared and was approaching his position.
What’s more, its speed of approach was incredibly fast!
Yang Kai was terrified, although he had been searching for places where the ambient destructive energy of the Starry Sky was stronger in order to temper he physique, he had never anticipated such a massive, violent, storm front would instead find him.
Even though this storm was still quite far from him, from the vague energy fluctuations he could sense, Yang Kai felt that an aura of death was moving towards him.
[I can’t withstand it!] In an instant, Yang Kai understood this simple fact. With the current strength of his physique, once the storm caught up with him, it would only take a short time for even his bones to be smashed into dust!
The Starry Sky was filled with danger.
Di Yao and Old Man Li did not know much about the mysteries of the Starry Sky, and had never seen such a Starry Sky storm, so obviously, they had not provided Yang Kai with any information regarding this phenomenon.
Realizing all this, all the hair on Yang Kai’s body stood on end and without any hesitation, he removed the Primordial Shackles which were still on his ankles even now and fled as quickly as possible.
Since Fei Yu gave him the Primordial Shackles, Yang Kai had always been wearing them, but now, in order to increase his chances of surviving even a bit, he had decisively removed them.
Like a bolt of lightning, Yang Kai soared across the Starry Sky, covering great distance in the blink of an eye.
However, Yang Kai still felt his speed was inadequate. Opening his Wind and Thunder Wings behind him, Yang Kai once again rapidly accelerated, reaching his absolute maximum speed a moment later.
The wind was nimble and the thunder was swift. After being completely refined, the Wind and Thunder Wings and merged perfectly with Yang Kai’s Flaming Yang Wings and greatly boosted Yang Kai’s movement speed and agility.
Yang Kai had no idea how long he had been escaping, but he didn’t dare stop nor look back, because he knew that not only had he not opened up any distance between him and the Starry Sky storm, it was instead gaining on him rapidly.
The range of the storm was further than Yang Kai could see, so there was no way he could avoid it, if he couldn’t find some way to outpace it, then there was no way he could escape.
Maintaining his current speed consumed a massive amount of Yang Kai’s True Qi but with the Starry Sky storm behind him closing in, he had no time to care about such consumption. As the storm approached, Yang Kai felt like the sky itself was collapsing on him, leaving him nowhere to run.
As the pressure behind him increased, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn and he suddenly came to a stop. Retracting his Wind and Thunder Wings back into his body, he turned around and stared at the Starry Sky storm that was approaching.
[I can’t escape! It’s impossible to outrun it!]
[Since I can’t escape, I can only resist it directly!]
Yang Kai wasn’t confident he could face this storm head on, but right now he did not have any other choice.
As the Starry Sky storm got closer and closer, Yang Kai was surprised to find that instead of being nervous, he instead felt a sense of anticipation and a desire to compete with this storm made his blood boil. His eyes shining brightly, his spirit was roused and a fierce fighting spirit overwhelmed all of Yang Kai’s other thoughts.
The ambient power of the Starry Sky was filled with violence and destruction, but that was simply incomparable to this Starry Sky storm.
Not far in front of Yang Kai, there was a small Asteroid Sea, where hundreds of thousands of large and small asteroids were floating. Some of them were only the size of a fist while others were bigger than mountains.
Yang Kai had just passed through this Asteroid Sea.
Soon, the Starry Sky storm’s destructive aura reached this Asteroid Sea and, the instant any of the asteroids was touched, it would be ground into dust, regardless of its size.
Hundreds of thousands of asteroids that were spread out over tens of thousands of kilometres were vaporized within a short three breaths of time, leaving behind only a cloud of dust in the Starry Sky.
Seeing this, Yang Kai grinned fiercely.
In the next moment, the Starry Sky storm swallowed him too.
“Devil Transformation!” Whispering in a low voice, a dark Demonic Qi explodes out from Yang Kai’s body as black Demon Crests covered his entire form, disappearing in the next instant into his skin.
Yang Kai’s Blood Force rose madly and the strength of his physique increased rapidly.
Yang Kai next summoned out his Bone Shield and set it up in front of him.
However, this Mysterious Grade Top-Rank defensive artifact only lasted two breaths of time before it shattered in Yang Kai’s hand, unable to play the slightest role.
Devastating energy surrounded Yang Kai, tearing his clothes to shreds and ripping apart his flesh and blood. Yang Kai gritted his teeth and roar in alternation, pushing his True Qi to its limits to form a protective barrier around him.
The moment his True Qi appeared though, it melted away like snow in the early spring.
Yang Kai’s face sank upon realizing that his True Qi couldn’t provide him with any protection.
The only thing he could use to resist this wanton destructive energy was his body.
Understanding this, Yang Kai no longer wasted his True Qi and instead concentrated on the changes in his flesh while doing his best to move in the opposite direction of the storm!
He was like a lonely boat in a violent storm, the waves tossing him back and forth, constantly in danger of being torn apart.
What was truly astonishing though was despite having basically lost control of his own body, he was somehow still alive.
The omnipresent energy of the Starry Sky surged into Yang Kai’s bodies through his innumerable wounds, wreaking havoc both inside and outside his physique.
His five viscera and six organs all suffered grave injuries and every part of Yang Kai’s body was dyed gold as his blood flowed freely. If anyone were to see him right now, he would appear like a man stripped of all his skin, his torn muscles and tendons exposed, a truly terrifying sight to behold.
Even after using his Demon God Transformation, Yang Kai’s tough and powerful body was still incapable of resisting this Starry Sky storm. His body suffering near-fatal damage, his Soul also began to tremble and the Spiritual Energy that comprised his Knowledge Sea was on the verge of being blown apart.
Not daring to hesitate, Yang Kai hastily took out some Myriad Drug Milk and smeared it over his body while swallowing down one Saint Grade herb after another.
The powerful medicinal properties in these raw herbs, combined with his own enhanced Blood Force after the Demon God Transformation allowed Yang Kai’s damaged body to rapidly be repaired, but as quickly as his flesh and blood were restored, they were again torn apart by the Starry Sky Storm.
As time passed, the destructive energy in Yang Kai’s surroundings became richer and more violent as he approached the centre of the Starry Sky storm.
Flesh and muscle were quickly ripped apart, exposing golden bones within.
Naturally, it was the Unyielding Golden Skeleton, the remains of the Great Demon God!
Even in the face of the devastating Starry Sky storm, these bones remained completely unscathed.
By now, Yang Kai had become completely numb to pain and the only thing driving him forward was his stubborn will to survive, he understood that if he were to admit defeat here, he would undoubtedly die.
Although he was still not sure whether he could survive this disaster, while there was still a glimmer of hope, he refused to give up.
Time had never passed so slowly for Yang Kai. Since he had been enveloped by the Starry Sky storm, only the time it would take for half of stick of incense to burn had elapsed, yet to Yang Kai it felt like years had gone by, every single moment was filled with suffering and torture the likes of which he had never even imagined possible before now.
Myriad Drug Milk was constantly being consumed and Yang Kai had no time to care about just how many Saint Grade herbs he had wasted by swallowing them raw.
The cycle of destruction and repair his physique was undergoing continued without end, becoming tougher, stronger, and more able to withstand damage from the Starry Sky storm each time.
After what seemed like an eternity to Yang Kai, the violent energy around him finally began to weaken.
Yang Kai’s very soul shook as he carefully examined his surroundings and discovered that he had already passed through the center of the storm and was now approaching its tail end.
Realizing the most difficult time had passed, Yang Kai was ecstatic, feeling that he really had hope of surviving this tragedy and sparing no effort towards that end.
The violent energy continued growing weaker and gradually, Yang Kai emerged from the Starry Sky storm.
Dizzy and disoriented, it took Yang Kai quite some time to stabilize himself; turning around to stare at the slowly disappearing Starry Sky storm, he couldn’t help letting out a laugh.
His voice was hoarse, but despite its weakness, it was filled with joy.
The next moment, Yang Kai trembled fiercely and weakness overcame him, his consciousness quickly swallowed by the darkness as he fainted on the spot.
…
Amidst the endless void, Yang Kai lay motionless, lacking the strength to even wiggle his fingers, his body and Soul relaxed to the extreme, completely unaware of the changes his physique was undergoing.
He didn’t know how long he had been in a coma, but the dull pain from radiating from his entire body eventually woke him up.
Although he couldn’t see what he looked like right now, Yang Kai knew his appearance must be miserable because he could tell that much of his flesh and blood was missing.
The blood of the Demon God, which radiated a pale golden light, was constantly being generated inside Yang Kai though, circulating through his veins, bringing magical energy and rich vitality to every corner of his body, repairing his damaged flesh.
His Unyielding Golden Skeleton was the source of Yang Kai’s Demon God Blood and after experiencing this disaster, the Unyielding Golden Skeleton seemed to have been stimulated and was now producing pure Demon God Blood slowly. Each drop it generated quickly transforming into Yang Kai’s vitality.
Inside Demon God Citadel, Yang Kai had witnessed the astonishing resilience of the Ancient Demon Clan, their physical prowess was several times stronger than that of Human cultivators.
And the primary reason for this was because they had an excellent bloodline, within their bodies flowed a trace of the Great Demon God’s blood.
But Yang Kai, as the legitimate successor to the Great Demon God, had an even more astounding resilience than the Ancient Demon Clan.
His tough veins and physique squirmed and under the influence of the Demon God’s blood, the damaged areas of his body emitted a faint golden radiance. Broken tendons connected together and become tougher and more flexible while his flesh and blood were slowly regenerated, stronger than ever before.
In this disaster, with the exception of his bones, every inch of Yang Kai’s body had suffered varying degrees of damage.
The bones of the Great Demon God were unscathed by the ravages of the Starry Sky storm because they were tougher than a Saint Grade Top-Rank defensive artifact.
This made Yang Kai pleasantly surprised.
Right now, Yang Kai’s entire physique was no covered in a faint golden aura, even his damaged five viscera and six organs were giving off a golden glow as a staggering vitality gradually rebuilding his flesh and blood.
The Myriad Drug Milk’s medicinal efficacies were still playing their role and complimented Yang Kai’s newly formed Demon God Blood.
Floating in the void, Yang Kai let go of all his thoughts and completely relaxed his mind and body while silently allowing the Demon God Blood to transform his physique and mend his body.
If an outsider were to come across him now, all they would be able to see would be a human-shaped figure shrouded in golden light. This golden light gave off a pure and vigorous vitality that was slowly blending into the hidden figure.
All of Yang Kai’s fatigue and pain gradually disappeared under the influence of the Demon God Blood while his strength also began recovering.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Yang Kai’s eyes began to brighten. At that moment, he felt a few strange energies well up inside his body.
Naturally, these were the energies that had poured into his body while he was enveloped by the Starry Sky storm.
From the various broken parts of his physique, the inexhaustible Starry Sky energy flooded out and after their initial rampage, they gradually settled down, as if they were very satisfied with Yang Kai’s current body and decided to take up residence, becoming a part of his strength.
These Starry Sky energies contained all kinds of profound and mysterious elements and in the blink of an eye, they circulated throughout Yang Kai’s entire body and were quickly absorbed into his physique.
However, all this meant was that Yang Kai had taken in this Starry Sky energy, he still needed to slowly comprehend its mysteries before it could truly be considered his own strength.
Not daring to neglect, Yang Kai immediately calmed himself and immersed his consciousness inside his body.
An invisible door seemed to be slowly opening in front of him, allowing Yang Kai to catch a glimpse of a whole new world he had never seen before.
Faintly, Yang Kai felt as though he was standing atop the clouds, overlooking the mortal beings below.
At that instant, he felt as if he had broken free from the bonds of mortality and arrived at a higher realm of existence.
As his flesh and blood squirmed and regenerated, impurities Yang Kai never knew existed slowly began discharging from his body, purifying his physique while increasing its formidability. At the same time, these impurities were being expunged, an invisible layer of shackles that had been binding Yang Kai was slowly broken and he took a great step forward on his path to the peak of the Martial Dao!
This feeling became clearer and clearer as time passed and gradually Yang Kai’s entire consciousness became immersed in it, his mood becoming calm and steady.
Amongst the endless Starry Sky, Yang Kai lay quietly, his mind lost in this ethereal state, feeling the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way, his Soul undergoing a profound sublimation.
Although his body’s restoration was somewhat slow, not only was it regenerating, it was also undergoing a transformational quenching.
Both Yang Kai’s body and Soul were experiencing rapid improvements; surviving the Starry Sky storm disaster had brought him unimaginably huge benefits.
As his physique was restored and his Soul became stable, Yang Kai soon forgot about the passage of time.
At this moment, he even forgot he was adrift in the Starry Sky as no one was there to bother him.
It wasn’t until after a great amount of time passed that Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly shot opened and flashed brilliantly. Cracking his bones as he inspected himself, Yang Kai quickly noticed the various changes his flesh and blood had undergone.
The mysterious energies in the surrounding Starry Sky were seemingly being drawn into his physique by some kind of invisible force.
After the baptism of the Starry Sky storm, these Starry Sky energies could no longer damage Yang Kai and instead, after pouring into his body, were assimilated and became part of his strength.
An invisible momentum spread out and became stronger and stronger, creating a kind of small storm with Yang Kai at its centre.
His body and soul reached a kind of critical point as every inch of his physique gave off a joyful aura, causing Yang Kai to throw back his head and roar towards the Heavens.
Halos of light suddenly burst from his body and spread out rapidly towards the surrounding Starry Sky.
Then, all of sudden, everything became incomparably calm.
Yang Kai quietly stood in place and felt enormous power course through his body. Gently gripping his fist, he felt like he could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky and move the moon with his hands, the strength he possessed at this moment was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
[Transcendent Realm!]
The moment his body was fully restored, Yang Kai successfully broke through to the Transcendent Realm. From now on, he had truly left behind the mortal plane.
Yang Kai quickly realized the difference between his current realm and the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Whether it was his physical strength or Spiritual Energy, both had achieved astonishing growth and his combat power had improved dramatically.
If he were to fight with Xu Qi and Duan Hai of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion, Yang Kai was confident he could thrash both of them so hard they wouldn’t be able to tell what direction up. It was unlike last time where he had to rely on the power of the Wind Eye to kill them.
Breaking through to a new Great Realm was very difficult, but once one succeeded, they would undergo fundamental changes, which was why all cultivators pursued higher realms with a burning desire that could never be satisfied.
After calming down, Yang Kai began inspecting his body.
What he was most surprised to find though, was that there were no scars left on his body and all the broken parts of his physique had perfectly healed and were even much stronger than before.
Not only that, Yang Kai could feel that the blood flowing through his veins was very different from before. Approximately one-third of his blood no contained devastating power.
This was definitely the Demon God’s Blood.
Moreover, the Unyielding Golden Skeleton had also experienced some kind of awakening; from now on, his bones would continue to produce Demon God’s Blood, slowly replacing Yang Kai’s original blood. It probably would not be long before all the blood in his body completely held a golden hue.
When that time came, his strength would probably experience another dramatic growth.
Closing his eyes and silently contemplating his current circumstances, a grin slowly formed on Yang Kai’s lips and he began to laugh. At first, it was just a small, quiet chuckle, but soon it grew louder until finally it was a riotous uproar that could be heard far off into the Starry Sky.
His journey through the Starry Sky had, for the most part, been arid and boring, but Yang Kai felt it was truly worthwhile.
The benefits he gained from the Starry Sky were unfathomable.
Unfortunately, that kind of Starry Sky storm was probably a very rare phenomenon, so it was unrealistic to want to use it to quench his flesh again. Thus, it was time to go back!
With that idea in mind, Yang Kai took a deep breath before sweeping his gaze around to gain his bearings. Suddenly though, he caught sight of some faint glowing objects in the distance.
He quickly flew over to investigate.
These glowing objects were actually some small pieces of precious ore.
Yang Kai’s expression became puzzled, wondering how these ores would suddenly appear here but after giving it some thought, he realized that there must be leftovers from the Asteroid Sea that was destroyed by the Starry Sky storm.
That Asteroid Sea was composed of hundreds of thousands of large and small rocks so it was not odd there would be some precious minerals in them. After the outer rocks were crushed, the precious ores inside were all that remained as they were the only materials tough enough to withstand the force of the Starry Sky.
This meant, at the very least, these ores were Saint Grade Mid-Rank materials!
If he collected these ores and used them to refine artifacts, Yang Kai should be able to obtain a number of Saint Grade artifacts, provided he could find an Artifact Refiner capable of crafting such artifacts of course.
Yang Kai quickly collected these ores. His Bone Shield had been ground into dust earlier so collecting these materials was quite important to him. If he ever got the chance, he could ask an Artifact Refiner to help him refine a new, better artifact.
Yang Kai’s harvest was quite rich as he managed to obtain hundreds of large and small chunks of ore in the end, most of which, to his embarrassment, Yang Kai could not identify.
However, since all of these were products of the Starry Sky, not being able to recognize them was actually a given.
After stuffing all of these ores into his Black Book space, the feeling of regret Yang Kai had over his lost Bone Shield dissipated.
Taking a moment to find the right direction, Yang Kai embarked on the journey back home.
He didn’t know how long he had spent in the Starry Sky, only that it was definitely not short as it had been at least two or three months alone for his wounds to heal from the Starry Sky storm.
In other words, it had taken him two or three months of uninterrupted meditation and to break through to the Transcendent Realm, the hardship of reaching this realm could easily be imagined.
Him not returning for so long would definitely cause his Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt to grow somewhat anxious.
Time flew by and just when Yang Kai thought he had become completely lost, he finally spotted a green flower bud emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance.
The Thousand Year Demon Flower!
It wasn’t in bloom at the moment but had instead restored its original flower bud form as it gently floated in the voice.
Upon finding this place, a great weight was lifted from Yang Kai’s heart. Many days ago, he and Di Yao appeared near this place and according to Old Man Li, the Void Corridor leading back to Tong Xuan Realm would certainly not be far away.
Circling around the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s location, Yang Kai shuttled back and forth several times until he finally found the Void Corridor.
There was no trace of Di Yao nearby so it was likely he had already gone back.
Both of them had agreed before that they need not worry about the other. If either of them found the Void Corridor and needed to return ahead of the other, they should simply do so. Yang Kai felt that after such a long time had passed, Di Yao should have left the Starry Sky.
Not hesitating for an instant, Yang Kai plunged into the dark corridor and disappeared.
After experiencing familiar dizziness, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by a beautiful and refreshing mountain forest on a warm spring day.
Gazing around, Yang Kai couldn’t help scratching his head as he didn’t recognize where he was.
Releasing his Divine Sense and sweeping the area though, he soon smiled.
In a place a few dozen kilometres away, there were some life auras that should be cultivators.
Using his movement skill, Yang Kai rapidly flew towards this group, arriving nearby a short time later.
After a glance though, Yang Kai’s look became somewhat strange as he found these people to be somewhat interesting.
They were all members of the Human Race, but they were actually grouped in male, female pairs. There were three pairs in total and every one of them was an Immortal Ascension cultivator, their strength neither high nor low.
At the moment, they were fighting a fierce Monster Beast.
From the way they fought, and the way their True Qi was flowing, these men and women pairs seemed to be of one mind and body, in other words, they have all practised some kind of dual cultivation Secret Art.
When two of them acted together, they could bring out strength beyond the sum of their individual cultivations.
Actual Title- Transcendent Realm
When Yang Kai appeared, he did not conceal his aura so naturally, he was noticed by this group.
Although they were in combat, the six people of this group did not forget to maintain vigilance during their battle. Obviously, they immediately realized Yang Kai’s approach and even though they did not feel any hostility from him, they still had one of their pairs break off from the fight and monitor his movements lest this newcomer makes any sudden moves against them.
Yang Kai smiled and didn’t mind their attitude, when one met strangers outside, especially when one was fighting, maintaining a healthy degree of suspicion was undoubtedly correct.
The Monster Beast they were dealing with wasn’t particularly strong, only around a mid-Sixth-Order level, so under the joined attack of the remaining four people, it was quickly killed.
After waiting for them to process the aftermath of their battle and restoring themselves, Yang Kai approached and greeted them in a friendly manner and asked them for directions.
“The way to Floating Clouds City?” One of the women wrinkled her brow and looked at Yang Kai suspiciously before pointing in a certain direction, “Floating Clouds City is that way, if you just travel in that direction you should arriving in three to five days.”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was really worried that the place he returned to would be a great distance from Floating Clouds City. Tong Xuan Realm was too big after all, if the Void Corridor in the Starry Sky had sent him to some far off place, it wouldn’t be unthinkable for him to need to fly for a year simply to get back.
“This friend, might I ask why you want to travel to Floating Clouds City now? The battle for the Thousand Year Demon Flower ended a year ago, did you not receive news about that yet?” One of the men asked.
“A year ago?” Yang Kai’s face went black, obviously, he had greatly underestimated the passage of time, he had thought he had spent at most half a year in the Starry Sky but apparently, it had been twice that long.
Seeing the look on Yang Kai’s face, the members of the group misunderstood him and thought he really intended to visit Floating Clouds City to compete for the Thousand Year Demon Flower but had made a grave miscalculation in timing.
The three women all stifled their laughter as they stared at Yang Kai like he was a fool.
“En, it ended a year ago. It was said that it the winners of the competition was actually a couple of young kids, but that they’ve now gone missing. Many people are now looking for them, hoping to buy the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid from them,” One of the men with a burly build smiled and explained, “Friend, I’m afraid it’s a bit late for you to be rushing there.”
“Haa… I really had no idea,” Yang Kai said while immediately becoming vigilant in his heart, thinking he should quickly remove the disguising artifact on his face lest someone recognize him and try to ‘buy’ the medicinal liquid from him.
“Where is this friend from? How could you have not received news of such a big event after so long?” The big man asked lightly.
“I come from a remote countryside region, news is a bit slow to reach there,” Yang Kai casually answered, not waiting for them to speak again, cupping his fists and saying, “In any case, you have my thanks, goodbye!”
After saying so, he shot off in the direction the woman had pointed.
“That guy is really interesting, even knowing he’s a year late he’s still in such a rush,” The woman next to the big man smiled and commented.
“That’s his business, in any case, let’s first take a look at the quality of this Monster Beast’s core.”
The group of six suddenly wore excited looks after these words were spoken.
Yang Kai was as swift as wind and quick as lightly as he sped forward, removing the disguising artifact on his face and revealing his original appearance shortly after he parted with the former group of six.
This artifact that Old Man Du had given him was really useful. If he hadn’t had such an artifact at the time, Yang Kai estimated that he would now be facing the pursuit of Transcendents from across the continent.
When he thought about Di Yao and the difficulties the boy toy would encounter, Yang Kai couldn’t help grinning, taking some pleasure in his misfortune.
Of course, with the protection of Old Man Li, even if Di Yao was found, no one should be daring enough to provoke him.
…
Floating Clouds City, City Lord’s Mansion.
Old Man Li and Di Yao had already been here for a year now, making the Three Clans Saint Realm masters, the City Lord and the Vice City Lords, extremely happy.
Although these three masters didn’t know why Old Man Li had lingered here for so long, the latter’s mere presence was a kind of glory all on its own. Every day they would respectfully greet him, completely putting on the appearance of respectful juniors, while taking special care of Di Yao.
At this moment, Di Yao was listening to Old Man Li’s lecture on the Alchemic Way.
Nine months ago, Di Yao had returned after spending three whole months in the Starry Sky and obtaining unimaginable benefits. This had made Old Man Li very satisfied.
He had originally thought that Di Yao would only be able to stay in the Starry Sky for a month, so his Apprentice’s performance far exceeding his expectations had been a pleasant surprise.
As he was lecturing though, Old Man Li suddenly found that Di Yao was a little absent-minded, smiled lightly, and paused to ask, “Are you worried about the little boy surnamed Yang?”
“En,” Di Yao nodded, “At that time if I had only insisted on moving together with him… It’s been more than a year since then yet he’s still not back, Master, you don’t think…”
“If that truly is the case, that is his fate!” Old Man Li sat down and took a sip of tea, placing the cup down after a moment of reflection, “After a year in the Starry Sky, I can hardly imagine him surviving.”
If it weren’t for Di Yao insisting that Yang Kai would return, Old Man Li would have already taken him out from the City Lord’s Mansion to continue their journey around the world. Although Di Yao had an agreement with Yang Kai to meet here, considering the honourable status of Old Man Li, waiting for an entire year was showing more than enough respect.
“Brother Yang shouldn’t have died,” Di Yao’s brows wrinkled, and though his words were firm, his tone showed that even he was somewhat uncertain.
“It looks like you have quite a bit of confidence in him.” Old Man Li chuckled lightly.
“En, I witnessed firsthand the absurdity of his physical strength in the Starry Sky!” Di Yao’s eyes shimmered brilliantly, “Even after spending three months tempering myself in the Starry Sky, I still wouldn’t dare compare my current self with him from that time. I just can’t believe such a monster would die so easily.”
“A year of time is really too long though, it’s possible he lost his way or encountered some kind of unexpected accident,” Old Man Li sighed slightly, “I also don’t want to see a young man like him die, but if that is the case, there is nothing we can do to change it. Yao’er, we should leave here, staying in this place for too long is not good for your education.”
“Master… let’s wait another ten days. If he doesn’t come back after ten days, then let’s leave!” Di Yao asked on last time.
“Good, we’ll wait another ten days to see if he can create a miracle!” Old Man Li nodded lightly, but just as he spoke these words, his face suddenly cramped up and his expression became awkward.
“Master? What happened?” Di Yao asked curiously, he had rarely seen his Master show such an expression, it seemed something truly beyond the latter’s comprehension had happened.
“The miracle you’ve been waiting for seems to have really appeared,” Old Man Li quickly regained his composure and smiled towards his apprentice.
“You mean…” Di Yao suddenly understood and couldn’t help feeling pleasantly surprised.
“En,” Old Man Li nodded lightly.
“Hahaha, I knew that guy wouldn’t die so easily! Where is he now?” Di Yao laughed and asked.
“In that inn.”
“I’ll go find him then! I really want to see what kind of transformation he went through after all this time,” Di Yao said and flew out.
“Remember to bring him over, this old master has something to say to him,” The voice of Old Man Li came from behind to which Di Yao quickly responded.
After his apprentice left, Old Man Li couldn’t help showing some shock on his face as he muttered, “An entire year, did that boy really remain in the Starry Sky this whole time? How did he manage to survive?”
The dangers of the Starry Sky was something Old Man Li had also experienced firsthand, although it was a thousand years ago, even after so long, the Starry Sky was still the Starry Sky, not a place ordinary people could set foot into and return safely.
Half a year ago, Old Man Li determined that Yang Kai would probably never come back, but seeing Di Yao insistence, he had not said anything so as not to discourage his young apprentice.
In this world, it was quite rare to find a person of the same generation who could compete with Di Yao in Alchemy. His apprentice already saw that boy surnamed Yang his life’s greatest rival, regarding these thoughts, Old Man Li was very clear.
But now, Old Man Li found he himself was wrong, incredibly wrong at that!
An old master like him had his own unique vision that had been tempered by many, many years of experience, so there were very few places where his judgment would be so off the mark. Yang Kai’s miraculous return was once such instance though and it even Old Man Li the vague impression it was somehow fated so.
Slowly shaking his head, Old Man Li pondered over this for some time as he smiled temperately.
Inside the inn, the return of Yang Kai surprised Cang Yan and Fei Yu.
Over the past year, his Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt had been waiting in Floating Clouds City, and although Di Yao invited them to the City Lord’s Mansion, both of them had politely turned down his offer.
The entire reason Ao Gu was so open and welcoming to Old Man Li and Di Yao was because of Old Man Li’s status, Cang Yan and Fei Yu obviously couldn’t expect similar treatment.
If Cang Yan and Fei Yu really had gone, Ao Gu would most likely treat them no different to air.
“You little brat, you finally decided to come back!” Cang Yan laughed, putting down a big stone that had weighed on his heart.
Fei Yu’s beautiful eyes also shimmered and were slightly wet, her face dyed slightly red as she stared at Yang Kai, as if she couldn’t quite believe all of this was real.
“Martial Aunt, you’ve been drinking again,” Yang Kai obviously saw through her appearance and was speechless, of course, the strong fragrance of alcohol in the room was a dead giveaway as well so it wasn’t difficult for him to understand what was going on.
“So what if I drink a little wine? What’s it to you?” Fei Yu’s red lips pursed as she glared at Yang Kai for a moment before bursting out into a smile.
“Thank goodness you’re back! Fei Yu was worried to death about you and had constantly been drowning her sorrows in alcohol, it was really suffocating,” Cang Yan quickly complained.
“Martial Uncle Li Wan and Martial Uncle Fei Jian?” Yang Kai looked around and didn’t see the two of them, nor did he discover their auras anywhere inside the inn.
“They’ve already gone back,” Cang Yan explained, “Do you know how long you’ve been gone?”
“I know,” Yang Kai nodded.
“En, the Sect can’t be left empty for so long so they went back in advance while Fei Yu and I stayed behind. Old Man Du and Mi Na also returned to the Alchemist Guild branch in Grand Boulder City with those two. Now that you’re back though, we can also get going.”
“I’ve let Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt worry,” Yang Kai said somewhat guiltily. Even after disappearing for an entire year, there was no look of doubt or suspicion on the faces of Yang Kai’s two Seniors, only some worry about his safety and relaxation after knowing he was fine.
If it had been anyone else who was simply in a cooperative relationship with Yang Kai, they would likely have thought the latter had taken the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower for himself and escaped.
But obviously, his Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt had no such thoughts.
“I was also very worried about you, Brother Yang, why are you not mentioning me as well?” Suddenly, a burst of loud laughter came from outside the room and before it had faded, Di Yao strode inside.
After looking around the room though, Di Yao scratched his head and asked, “Brother Yang? Didn’t I hear his voice a moment ago? Who is this guy?”
As he said so, he swept his eyes over Yang Kai with a puzzled look upon his face.
: /
I’ll see myself out.
Di Yao had never seen Yang Kai’s real face before, so him being confused at this moment wasn’t unwarranted.
Yang Kai smiled at this and said hello.
Hearing the sound of his voice, Di Yao immediately understood, shaking his head wryly as he commented, “It turns out that you were in disguise the whole time, you’re certainly quite vigilant.”
After saying this, Di Yao stared at Yang Kai for a moment before light flashed across his eyes and a look of shock appeared on his face, quickly asking, “Brother Yang seems somewhat different from before, did you break through to the Transcendent Realm?”
Di Yao’s eyes were quite sinister and he quickly noticed what was off.
“I was lucky,” Yang Kai smiled modestly, not bothering to conceal his breakthrough.
Both Cang Yan and Fei Yu were also shocked, it was only after Di Yao mentioned this that they too noticed Yang Kai had reached the Transcendent Realm. Just now, as they were celebrating Yang Kai’s safe return, neither of them had realized this.
This was a big pleasant surprise for them.
“You little brat, in another ten or twenty years, I’m afraid you’ll catch up with your Martial Uncle,” Cang Yan laughed, patting Yang Kai’s shoulder, a look saying Soaring Heaven Sect wasn’t lacking successors plastered on his face.
“Brother Yang, did you really stay an entire year in the Starry Sky?” Di Yao asked curiously, even though he had witnessed the strength of Yang Kai’s physique, he still found it difficult to believe Yang Kai could safely spend such a long time in the Starry Sky.
However, if this wasn’t the case, how could Yang Kai’s cultivation have broken through to the next Great Realm in such a short period of time?
“En, I ran into some trouble up there and only found my way back a few days ago,” Yang Kai admitted.
Di Yao’s face twitched as he was struck speechless.
He had persisted for three months in the Starry Sky but ultimately could not endure any longer and returned to Tong Xuan Realm through the Void Corridor, but even that had earned him great praise from his Master.
Di Yao also felt quite proud of his achievement at the time.
But now, compared with Yang Kai, the difference was simply too great!
“The Starry Sky?” Cang Yan and Fei Yu both heard what the two youths were talking about and couldn’t help showing looks of amazement and disbelief, “Did you just say Starry Sky? Did you really travel to that place?”
“Everyone sit down, I’ll explain everything,” Yang Kai smiled.
Everyone wanted to know about the mysteries of the Starry Sky, and Cang Yan and Fei Yu were no exception.
After the four of them took a seat, Yang Kai began narrating his adventures in the Starry Sky. Not only were Cang Yan and Fei Yu fascinated by this tale, even Di Yao, who had also been to the Starry Sky, was captivated.
Yang Kai had encountered far more wondrous and shocking things than he had after all.
During the three months, he had stayed in the Starry Sky, Di Yao spent most of his time beside the Void Corridor, tempering his body while constantly being ready to evacuate. Yang Kai, on the other hand, had roamed around a great distance and even encountered a devastating Starry Sky storm.
When they heard about how the Starry Sky storm had shattered hundreds of thousands of meteorites, some of which were even larger than a mountain, in a matter of breaths, all of their faces went pale.
They couldn’t even imagine how Yang Kai managed to survive that kind that kind of disaster. From what he told them, they estimated that such a Starry Sky storm would be fatal even for Saint Realm masters.
However, not only did Yang Kai survive, he even became stronger afterwards.
As for how he survived the Starry Sky storm, Yang Kai did not elaborate, only saying he had just brushed the edge of the storm and suffered some lighter injuries as a result. After all, the truth was related to the body of the Great Demon God and the Demon God’s Blood. Yang Kai did not dare disclose too much.
Next, Yang Kai took out a jade bottle containing four drops of medicinal liquid from the Thousand Year Demon Flower and handed it to Cang Yan.
Even the calm and steady Cang Yan, when accepting these four drops of medicinal liquid, could not stop his hands from trembling slightly, a look of excitement appearing on his face.
With these four drops of medicinal liquid, their four Protectors of Soaring Heaven Sect all had a great chance of breaking through to the Saint Realm!
The Saint Realm and Transcendent Realm only differed by one layer but the gap between them was much, much wider than the one between the Transcendent Realm and Immortal Ascension Boundary.
On Tong Xuan Realm, there was no shortage of Transcendents, but Saints were few and far between. Every Saint Realm master was a pillar of their Sect, a rare treasure.
Even the mighty Soaring Heaven Sect only had two Saint Realm masters. In addition to the Martial Ancestor, Chu Ling Xiao, there was another Ancestral Martial Uncle who was currently in a long term secluded retreat. Forces like Bright Thunder Spirit Religion did not have a single Saint Realm master.
“Since Little Martial Nephew is back and we’ve obtained the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower, we should head back,” Fei Yu suggested. She too could not wait to return to Serene Resplendent Peak, enter retreat, and attempt the greatest breakthrough of her life.
“Indeed,” Cang Yan obviously agreed, “But before that, Little Martial Nephew, you have to go see Old Man Li. This time, if not for Old Man Li’s assistance, things would not have gone so smoothly.”
“I was thinking so too,” Yang Kai nodded. Cang Yan didn’t have to remind him to go see Old Man Li; after all, the two of them were probably the only Alchemists with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas in Tong Xuan Realm. Yang Kai felt he could learn a lot of useful knowledge from Old Man Li and wasn’t about to pass up such an opportunity.
“Master also asked me to bring you over,” Di Yao smiled, “Let’s go, we shouldn’t keep Master waiting. Do two Seniors want to come as well?”
“There’s no need,” Cang Yan shook his head, “Please give your honoured Master our sincere thanks.”
“En!” Di Yao nodded before taking Yang Kai and leaving the inn, heading off towards the City Lord’s Mansion.
A short time later, the two youths arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion, and under the leadership of Di Yao, casually strolled inside.
In front of a small house in the back courtyard of the City Lord’s Mansion, Di Yao stopped and called out respectfully, “Master, I’ve brought Brother Yang to see you.”
“Come in,” The voice of Old Man Li drifted over.
Yang Kai adjusted his expression and smoothed his robes before quickly following behind Di Yao.
After seeing the true face of Yang Kai, Old Man Li did not show much surprise, obviously, he had been aware of certain things from the start, simply smiling as he said, “Sit.”
“Many thanks for Old Man Li’s hospitality!” Yang Kai cupped his hands and bowed before taking a seat.
Di Yao personally poured tea for the two before also sitting down next to Yang Kai.
The scented tea filled the house with a calming, fragrant aroma; Old Man Li didn’t talk, and neither did Yang Kai, in front of him was an almost sage-like existence, after all, a man admired and respected by all sentient beings in the world.
Only after a long silence did Old Man Li wave his hand suddenly. Yang Kai immediately noticed that an invisible force had wrapped up the whole room and although he could still see the outside world, anyone trying to peek in from beyond this barrier would be unable to notice anything.
Seeing this, Yang Kai suddenly realized that this white-haired old man in front of him was not just a top-ranked Alchemist, but also an incredibly powerful master.
“I heard from Yao’er that little brother is a disciple of Soaring Heaven Sect, correct?” Old Man Li asked.
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Then this old master must take the liberty to ask, has little friend been a disciple of Soaring Heaven Sect from birth or did you only join the Sect within the last few years?” Old Man Li suddenly asked a seemingly random question.
Yang Kai stared blankly at Old Man Li before replying somewhat in shock, “How did Senior know? I really only pledged allegiance to Soaring Heaven Sect recently, probably about a year and a half ago.”
“Sure enough!” Old Man Li nodded lightly, “Good, as for the specific reason I asked you this, I will explain shortly. First of all though, this old master must ask little brother something again; do you really have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?”
As soon as this statement came out, Di Yao’s expression was filled with shock as he turned to stare at Yang Kai in horror.
Yang Kai let out a laugh, “Senior’s vision is indeed sharp when Senior first saw this Junior, Senior had already noticed, right?”
“En, those with Conflagrated Knowledge Seas are more sensitive to others who are the same. The higher one’s strength, the stronger this induction is, so this old master was able to notice, but little brother does not need to be worried, as long as you don’t use your Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, it won’t be easy even for top-ranked Saint Realm masters to notice it.”
“Do you really have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Di Yao’s eyes bulged wide.
Yang Kai nodded.
“Why you… your luck is really quite enviable,” Di Yao said with a bitter smile. A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was something he dreamed of possessing, because he has seen the profound mysteries of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea from his Master. For an Alchemist, a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and Conflagrated Divine Sense could provide significant assistance; as an Alchemist with exceptional aptitude, how could Di Yao not want one?
But this was not something one could acquire simply by desiring it. A Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was a type of rare mutation that could not be cultivated; it was basically only through luck and coincidence that one could acquire one.
Over the years, Old Man Li had done much research and put in significant effort to help Di Yao regarding this, but the latter’s Knowledge Sea had never undergone any change.
“What is little brother capable of doing with your Conflagrated Knowledge Sea now?” Old Man Li asked again.
Yang Kai scratched his cheeks awkwardly and replied in a somewhat embarrassed tone, “Sneak attacking others who are off guard.”
Old Man Li simply laughed and nodded happily to this though and said, “En, not bad, this is really one of the wondrous uses of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. The attack from a mutated Divine Sense is far more lethal than one from an ordinary Divine Sense, even if your opponent is stronger than you, if they don’t have a strong defense around their Knowledge Sea, you can cause them a significant loss, even possibly incinerating their Soul, something fatal to anyone. However… this is just one of its uses, do you know that a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea’s most profound use is in Alchemy or Artifact Refining?”
“Junior has speculated as such but has no idea how to go about using it so,” Yang Kai said with a sigh, adjusting his expression and respectfully asking, “Junior hopes Senior will offer him some guidance!”
Old Man Li smiled and nodded, apparently Yang Kai’s eagerness to learn made him very satisfied.
“This time, I asked you to come so I could pass on to you my experiences regarding this, let loose your Knowledge Sea’s defense,” Old Man Li said lightly.
Yang Kai eyes brightened, quickly calming his breath and lowering his Knowledge Sea’s defences.
Old Man Li’s expression also became serious as he slowly extended his finger, a burst of mystical energy gathering at its tip.
The moment Old Man Li’s finger gently touched Yang Kai’s forehead, a pure and intense Spiritual Energy filled with a massive amount of information poured into his mind.
Not daring to hesitate, Yang Kai hastily began studying this information.
This was the knowledge and experiences Old Man Li had accumulated over many years regarding his own Conflagrated Knowledge Sea including how to use it for Alchemy and other aspects.
All of these experiences and pieces of information were incomparably precious.
Yang Kai soon became completely immersed in his studies as his understanding of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and how to use it to perform Alchemy rapidly grew.
Wanting to sort through such a vast amount of information in a short time was impossible; after all, this was the sum total of Old Man Li’s experience for the past few hundred years. The latter had imparted all of it to Yang Kai without reservation.
The house was silent as time passed by, neither Old Man Li nor Di Yao spoke to disturb Yang Kai, both of them simply waiting quietly.