Yang Kai continued to converse with the heart of the Divine Tree, helping it to perfect its consciousness.
After repeating this process many times, Yang Kai began treating the Divine Tree as a real, sentient being. It had its own emotions and judgements now and couldn’t be considered just a towering tree any longer.
As a result of their interactions, the Divine Tree became closer and closer to Yang Kai, completely opening its heart to him without any reservations.
Its current consciousness was still on the level of an ignorant and naughty baby. Every time Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar came to visit, it would show great joy, often grabbing him and dragging around inside its trunk, as if taking him on a tour of its body.
Its thoughts right now were quite simple; in short, it was a white sheet, unstained by anything, fully expressing its emotions innocently, without the slightest deception.
It would be happy when Yang Kai came, and sad and reluctant when he left. Many times, even if it was in a state of deep sleep, its Spiritual Energy would reach out and tightly wrapped itself around Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar, refusing to let go.
This made Yang Kai very happy as well, such purity causing him to feel somewhat ashamed of himself.
As it playfully communicated with Yang Kai, the Divine Tree’s awareness also grew rapidly.
One day, when Yang Kai sent his Soul Avatar into the Divine Tree’s heart, a thought so incredible was transmitted to him, welcoming him. Soon after, the Divine Tree’s consciousness rushed over, hovered in front of Yang Kai, and hugged him intimately.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by this sudden development and only tried to convey a message to the Divine Tree after quite some time.
He didn’t expect though that within a single breath, a response would be given to him. Although this thought was still somewhat unclear, at the very least, Yang Kai could figure out what the Divine Tree was trying to convey to him.
Yang Kai grinned happily. The consciousness of the Divine Tree had finally fully formed.
After such a long time feeding it with his Yang Liquid, the Divine Tree had successfully evolved into a sentient life form. Yang Kai had made great contributions to the birth of this life, and although it would have reached this point on its own, the time required would have undoubtedly been significantly longer.
A strong sense of accomplishment suddenly welled up in Yang Kai’s chest.
It was as if he was watching a child he had been taking care of finally stand up and take a stumbling step forward.
However, the Divine Tree still had much to learn.
Yang Kai immediately began sending his thoughts to the Divine Tree’s consciousness, teaching it how to better express its emotions and communicate properly with him. However, this little guy was too naughty, compared to studying these things, it seemed more interested in playing with Yang Kai, refusing to sit still and learn for any significant length of time.
After a long time chasing it around, Yang Kai took back his Soul Avatar from the Divine Tree and rubbed his somewhat sore forehead.
A moment later though, many branches suddenly curled towards Yang Kai and at the same time a message was passed to him in the form of a Spiritual Energy communication.
Yang Kai was stunned as he looked at the branches that were extended towards him, noticing that each of them had a golden fruit hanging from them.
“Are you giving these to me?” Yang Kai asked after thinking about it for a moment.
The branches trembled light in response, the Divine Tree’s way of nodding.
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head before replying, “I appreciate your intentions, but I can’t accept these fruits.”
He was still being monitored by the Sun Clan’s masters, if he was to accept these fruits now, it would only bring him trouble. Even though Yang Kai had constantly been drooling over these fruits filled with rich Yang Qi since the moment he laid eyes on them, he had never even tried to pick any of them.
But how could Yang Kai have known the Divine Tree would be so stubborn, continuously extending its branches towards him as if vowing to never give up unless he accepted its gift.
No matter how Yang Kai tried to persuade it, nothing worked, and in the end, the Divine Tree made the fruits fall from its branches before shoving them into his arms.
Yang Kai’s face immediately went black, unable to think up a way to explain away this situation.
As for the Divine Tree, like it had just accomplished something great, its branches swayed back and forth as if it was celebrating.
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he stared at the seven ripe fruits he could neither keep nor discard in his arms. After thinking about it, Yang Kai decided to take just take what came, jumped down from the trunk, and called out to the nearby Sun Clan masters.
Immediately, several Sun Clan powerhouses who had been monitoring Yang Kai came over to see what the matter was, but upon seeing their precious fruits in the hands of this little human brat, they immediately became enraged.
“Boy, you dare to steal the fruit of the Divine Tree, you must be seeking death!” One of them roared as his bristled with anger, looking as if he would attack in the next moment.
Yang Kai simply turned to this man and coldly replied, “I didn’t steal them, they just fell off.”
“Bullshit, even if the Divine Tree’s fruit full ripens, if it is not picked, it can remain hanging for a hundred years without issue! Your ability to spout nonsense is truly awe inspiring you little bastard!”
“I told you I didn’t steal anything, if I really had stolen them, I would have eaten them already,” Yang Kai was too lazy to explain anything to them and simply tossed the fruits over to the nearby masters.
The few Sun Clan clansmen hastily caught these fruits, gloomy expressions filling their faces.
The man who spoke just now quickly came to his sense though and coldly snorted, “Don’t think that you can escape punishment for your crime. We will report what happened here to Leader, what your fate will be will be decided by him!”
Yang Kai simply spat disdainfully, not caring in the slightest.
At that moment though, a horrifying energy suddenly welled up and an aura of hostility filled the air. Before anyone could understand what was going on, numerous golden whips lashed out towards all of the Sun Clan masters.
When they noticed the approaching crisis, each of the Sun Clan’s masters’ expressions changed greatly and they hastily tried to dodge.
Unfortunately for them, these attacks were not only fast, they were incredibly numerous, so none of them were able to escape, each of them being struck multiple times before they could even comprehend what was happening.
*Pa pa pa…* A series of sharp impacts rang out and all the Sun Clan masters were violently thrown back, blood leaking from their wounds. Facing these rapid attacks, none of them was able to put up any kind of resistance.
One of the less powerful Sun Clan cultivators was directly turned into a bloody fog, not even his bones remaining.
Yang Kai was startled by this sudden development while An Ling’er hastily hid behind him, her tender body trembling as she stared at this gruesome scene in utter shock.
The Sun Clan masters who had just been flung through the air didn’t even have enough time to pick themselves up before a second barrage of golden whips descended upon them, and even though they could see these attacks approaching them, they still weren’t able to resist this indiscriminate bombardment.
*Pa pa pa pa…*
The lashing sounds rang out endlessly and every Sun Clan cultivator received no less than a hundred strikes to his body. In the blink of an eye, all five of the remaining masters had been beaten to death.
Yang Kai turned back and stared at the huge Divine Tree behind him with astonishment.
At that moment, there was not the slightest wind, yet all of the Divine Tree’s leaves rustled madly, it’s thick and dense branches swaying back and forth as if in a fit of rage.
From the crown of the Divine Tree, a golden radiance so dense it could be seen with the naked eye appeared and then condensed into long, thick whips.
The dead Sun Clan cultivators were struck once more by these golden whips.
Broken bones and pieces of flesh were scattered about as a rich bloody smell filled the air.
Yang Kai clearly felt the Divine Tree’s violent, near hysterical anger; apparently it had become enraged because of these people’s attitude towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was completely dumbfounded, never having expected such a development to occur.
He had only handed those fruits over to the Sun Clan thinking he could spare himself some trouble; after all, he was still not sure he could escape from this place, he didn’t even know where the exit was.
Although he knew better than anyone that the Divine Tree had gained sentience and was now a completely different existence than before, he hadn’t anticipated it would launch such a vicious and powerful attack simply because he had been treated poorly.
The Divine Tree’s attacks lacked any kind of rhyme or reason and could only be described as it randomly lashing out with its enormous stores of energy; however, that was still more than enough.
“Yang Kai…” An Ling’er stuttered, shivering quite noticeably as she clutched his clothes tightly, he beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
Upon hearing An Ling’er call out to him, Yang Kai came to his senses and quickly conveyed his thoughts to the Divine Tree, soothing it’s raging anger.
Receiving this comforting, the golden energy whips which hung from the Divine Tree’s canopy finally stopped their assault, picked up the fruits which had fallen to the ground, and delivered them back to Yang Kai.
“Why does it look like… it has its own consciousness?” An Ling’er’s thoughts were in a state of chaos as she stared at the Divine Tree behind her.
“Where should I even begin?” Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
In the time it took for this brief exchange between Yang Kai and An Ling’er, the Divine Tree’s recalled all its golden whips, plucked every ripe fruit on its body, and angrily shoved them towards Yang Kai.
There were sixty or seventy in all, each one containing an unimaginable amount of Yang Attribute energy.
Yang Kai took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, feeling the situation was now beyond redemption.
The Divine Tree had acted purely out of goodwill towards Yang Kai just now and had not even hesitated to kill several people just to help him.
However, this violent attack had also given Yang Kai a big pleasant surprise. The Sun Clan cultivators who had been nearby just now were all Transcendents, but not one of them had been able to resist the indiscriminate bombardment of the Divine Tree.
His eyes flashing a cold, sharp light, Yang Kai’s mouth gradually curled into a grin.
This was, perhaps, an excellent chance!
“I’m going to destroy the seals binding you; after that, defend yourself!” Yang Kai quickly said to An Ling’er, swiftly sending his True Qi and Divine Sense into her body.
The seals in An Ling’er’s body were nothing in Yang Kai’s eyes, but he had not previously undone them to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. But now that the situation had developed to this point, there was no point in trying to remain low key anymore.
In the blink of an eye, An Ling’er felt that her long stagnant True Qi once again began to flow and the barrier around her Knowledge Sea shatter, completely restoring her freedom.
The next moment, from all directions, countless figures flew over. The rampage of the Divine Tree just now had obviously alarmed the Sun Clan, and they were now rushing over in order to investigate.
As soon as they arrived and saw the broken and bloodied bodies lying on the ground, the Sun Clan masters became infuriated. None of them bothered even asking what had happened and simply directed their murderous intent towards Yang Kai, their True Qi subsequently welling up in preparation to attack.
Seeing this, Yang Kai simply let out a light chuckled before storing all the Divine Tree’s fruits into the Black Book space and then releasing a powerful pulse of Spiritual Energy, which hid an innumerable number of Soul Devouring Insects in it.
During the Ice Sect incident, Yang Kai had already tested the power of the Soul Devouring Insects and knew that anyone below the Saint Realm would be unable to resist them!
The first group of Sun Clan cultivators to arrive were not weak and were significant in number, but there was no Saint Realm master amongst them.
The shockwave of Spiritual Energy impacted all of these newcomers and although it didn’t cause them any direct injuries, it allowed Yang Kai’s Soul Devouring Insects to silently penetrate the former’s Knowledge Seas. This meant that in the short term, Yang Kai could attack and destroy their Knowledge Seas as he pleased.
At the same time Yang Kai moved, the Divine Tree also launched a violent attack, tossing around its golden whips wildly, carving up the surrounding ground with its chaotic barrage.
Rumbling sounds rang out as the newly arrived Sun Clan cultivators suffered tremendous damage, none of them able to even approach Yang Kai before they were swept up by the Divine Tree’s attacks, the less fortunate ones dying instantly.
Taking in the situation around him, Yang Kai wore a dignified expression.
A tyrannical pressure suddenly spread from the distance and rapidly approached, the Sun Clan’s old leader and Elders appearing before Yang Kai a moment later.
“Leader, something is very wrong with the Divine Tree!” One of the cultivators who had survived the Divine Tree’s last assault quickly yelled.
The old leader wore a sullen expression as he observed the Divine Tree, a cold light flashing across his eyes as his gaze moved to the nearby Yang Kai, a trace of shock mixed in with his anger.
The other Sun Clan Elders’ performances were worse as they called out in amazement, “How can this be?”
They were all Saint Realm masters so with their powerful Divine Senses it was not difficult for them to detect the Soul fluctuations coming from inside the Divine Tree. On top of that, they could clearly feel this consciousness’ disgust towards their prying eyes; it seemed to harbour a strong hostility and was firmly rejecting them.
“The Divine Tree… it has a consciousness now?” The old leader’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Yang Kai’s face and asked in a solemn voice.
Yang Kai grinned back at him, “You guessed it.”
“Is this your doing?”
“I can’t take the credit here, I just helped it along,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“And because of that it treats you kindly yet rejects my clan?” The old leader was an experienced and worldly person, so although he didn’t know the full story, seeing the scene before him, he quickly inferred the truth of the matter.
A newly born consciousness would always be kind to the one whom it was familiar with.
“The Divine Tree is my clan’s sacred object, you damn thief!” The Sun Clan’s old leader roared angrily.
“I didn’t want to steal it, it just happened to grow close to me, what do you want me to say?”
“Back then, I should have just killed you!” As he spoke these words, the old leader felt a deep sense of regret while the other Sun Clan masters gnashed their teeth as they glared hatefully towards Yang Kai.
“En, you should have, but now you can’t!” Yang Kai declared, his face filled with confidence.
“If you really think so, you’re gravely mistaken,” The Sun Clan’s leader smiled grimly, “A trivial First Order Transcendent dares act so arrogantly in front of this old master, you simply don’t know how high the Heavens are!”
Saying so, a potent Spiritual Energy suddenly burst forth from his mind.
Yang Kai didn’t even have time to react before a sharp thorn pierced his Knowledge Sea, causing him an indescribable amount of pain as if his very Soul was being torn apart, his expression twisting in an instant as his body trembled and large drops of sweat rolled down his forehead.
What this old man’s true cultivation was had always been a mystery but at that moment, when Yang Kai suffered an attack from him, the pressure he felt was no less than when he faced Saintess Nan.
This old man was at least a Second Order Saint!
The Divine Sense attack from such a master was something even Yang Kai couldn’t ignore.
His Knowledge Sea tossing violently made Yang Kai feel nauseous and unsteady.
At the moment the old leader released his Divine Sense attack, several of the other Sun Clan Elders quickly launched their own killing blows towards Yang Kai.
The Divine Tree’s branches immediately fell from the sky and before these strikes managed to land, wrapped up Yang Kai and An Ling’er who was supporting the latter, bringing the pair to the top of its canopy.
An Ling’er cried out in shock but by the time she came to her senses, she and Yang Kai were already atop the Divine Tree’s trunk, shielded from the outside by a large number of tightly woven branches.
At the same time, the energy whips which hung down from the Divine Tree’s crown shot forward to intercept the approaching Sun Clan masters.
Facing this storm of attacks, the expressions on all the Sun Clan Elders’ faces changed dramatically. None of them had anticipated such a development. When they wanted to chase after and kill Yang Kai, they were blocked by the Divine Tree, and since they were concerned that they might damage the foundation of the Sun Clan they had no choice but to fall back.
“Leader, the Divine Tree seems to be sheltering him!” One of the masters said with an ugly look upon his face.
“I know,” The face of the old leader also clouded over and became especially complicated.
The Divine Tree was not only sheltering this thief but even attacking their clansmen. What was worse though was that the attacks from the Divine Tree were no less powerful than those of a Saint Realm master. Obviously, it wouldn’t be easy to break through its defence.
A great sense of shame and unwillingness filled the Sun Clan leader’s heart. This feeling was like watching the baby he had raised since birth for a lifetime suddenly being stolen away by a shameless thief, yet the baby happily accompanying him.
“It doesn’t matter, that brat shouldn’t live long after taking my attack!” The old Sun Clan leader coldly snorted, letting out a long breath.
With his cultivation, killing a young man like Yang Kai was as easy as pinching an ant, so he was convinced that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to withstand his previous blow.
As soon as said that that, low laughter resounded from the top of Divine Tree.
All of the Sun Clan Elders wore expressions of shock as they turned their gazes towards the source of the laughter only to see Yang Kai step out somewhat unsteadily from a sea of branches, his eyes red with rage.
“He didn’t die?” The Sun Clan leader’s brow furrowed as he muttered unconsciously, “Impossible!”
Even if this Human Race boy had an extremely high-grade Soul type artifact to assist him, such a young man couldn’t possibly have resisted the previous Divine Sense attack. Also, the old man saw that Yang Kai’s consciousness was somewhat blurry still so there was no doubt the latter’s Soul had suffered damage, yet somehow this boy was still alive.
*Dong dong…*
*Dong dong…*
A dull, rhythmic pulsing sound suddenly came from the Divine Tree, immediately gathering everyone’s attention. The Divine Tree’s newborn consciousness seemed to have nearly gone crazy because of the injuries Yang Kai had suffered and an aura filled with anger and hostility stronger than anyone had imagined possible began radiating out from it.
Even Yang Kai, whose head was still throbbing in pain and had even passed out for a brief moment froze up in shock, discovering he had still been underestimating the Divine Tree.
Centred around the roots of the Divine Tree, the earth began to crack open, and a rich and powerful Yang Attribute energy rushed out, incinerating everything in the surrounding.
Even the masters from the Sun Clan had to protect themselves with their True Qi in order to resist this aura, their skin soon turning a dark shade of red from the excessive heat.
The branches of the Divine Tree danced wildly through the air and the energy whips hanging from its canopy lashed about randomly, filling the air with crackling noises.
*Kacha…*
The huge Divine Tree swayed left then right then back again, gradually becoming faster and faster as it did.
After a few breaths of time, in front of everyone’s astounded eyes, the Divine Tree, which had been rooted here since before the Sun Clan’s ancestors arrived in this Mysterious Small World, actually split the earth and extended pillars of Yang Attribute energy similar to human legs from its trunk, lifting its huge body off the ground and stepping forward
Its roots, each glistening with a brilliant golden radiance, joined the energy whips hanging from its canopy and began attacking the surrounding dumbfounded Sun Clan masters.
“Ha ha ha ha!” Yang Kai hand held his forehead and laughed loudly towards the sky.
There had been so many things he hadn’t expected this time around, the Divine Tree actually possessing such ability was something he never even considered.
The wounds he had suffered to his Soul didn’t concern him much because with the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus’ assistance, it wouldn’t take long for them to heal.
As long as he didn’t suffer an attack that could instantly smash his Knowledge Sea and destroy his Soul, Yang Kai had nothing to fear, this was something the Sun Clan leader obviously didn’t know.
Unlike his carefree celebratory mood, all the Sun Clan masters felt as if they were losing their minds as they watched the Divine Tree lumber towards them while unscrupulously attacking, forcing all of them to hurriedly retreat.
After allowing the Divine Tree to vent its anger for a while, Yang Kai gently comforted it, “It’s alright now, you’ve given them enough of a lesson.”
Yang Kai saw that the Divine Tree’s actions were quite clumsy. Although it had incredible strength, it was somewhat unrealistic to expect it to actually kill the Sun Clan’s top-level masters, the latter only needed to withdraw a certain distance in order to ensure their safety.
Also, it was only because of the Divine Tree’s importance to the Sun Clan that these masters had not attacked Yang Kai, seemingly afraid of harming the former.
Now having the Divine Tree’s shelter, Yang Kai’s first thought was to quickly leave this place.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity.
After being soothed by Yang Kai, the Divine Tree calmed down and became much more stable; however, it still waved his golden whips around, as if warning the Sun Clan not to get any closer.
“Little thief, if you get down here and beg for mercy, I may still spare your life, but if you wait until my clan seizes you, you’ll have no such opportunity!” The Sun Clan’s old leader shouted as his face twisted with rage.
“Oh no, I’m so scared!” Yang Kai stood on the trunk and cried out in a frightened voice, doing his best to further antagonize the surrounding crowd.
“Do you think you can escape? Wishful thinking! You dare confuse my clan’s Divine Tree, even if I have to chase you to the ends of the world, I will shred your corpse into ten thousand pieces!”
“Stop farting out of your mouth already!” Yang Kai grinned defiantly.
An Ling’er, who was behind Yang Kai, still hadn’t quite adapted to their current situation and was in a state of confusion, but upon hearing Yang Kai’s words, she couldn’t help but laugh.
Yang Kai glanced back at her and smiled, obviously in a good mood, before turning back and shouting, “Old dog, do we fight or negotiate here?”
“Do you think you’re qualified to bargain with this old master?” The old leader of the Sun Clan stared at him with an enraged gaze, as if he couldn’t to cut Yang Kai to pieces, drink his blood, and eat his meat.
Although the Sun Clan was really somewhat hesitant to act here, none of them put Yang Kai’s cultivation in their eyes; they felt, as long as they could find the right opportunity, when the Divine Tree’s guard was lowered, they could instantly take Yang Kai’s life.
So after listening to Yang Kai’s question, the Sun Clan’s old leader refused without giving it a second thought.
Such great shame! In his own home, the Divine Tree, which was regarded as his clan’s greatest treasure and foundation, was seduced by a little foreign brat. Such shame for the Sun Clan could not be erased even if they killed Yang Kai ten thousand times over.
However, Yang Kai simply sneered, and from the protection of the Divine Tree’s branches, stared down at the old man and replied confidently, “Indeed, I do think I have the qualifications.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai sent out a faint pulse of Spiritual Energy.
This pulse didn’t contain any murderous intent, nor did it have the slightest attack power, but when it swept over several of the nearby Sun Clan clansmen, the latter collapsed to the ground, clutching their heads as they howled in agony.
Three breaths later, these people all went stiff, lying their without the slightest hint of vitality, blood leaking from their seven orifices.
The rest of the Sun Clan masters instantly went pale, the old leader included, sweeping his gaze around as cold light flashed across his eyes.
Even he had not realized what kind of trick Yang Kai had used just now. On top of that, the clansmen who had fallen were not weak, yet none of them seemed to have the slightest ability to resist this human boy’s strange attack.
A chill filled the air as the remaining Sun Clan masters turned to look at Yang Kai again, this time a hint of fear apparent in their stares.
“Boy… you’ve successfully enraged me.” The Sun Clan’s leader muttered in a low tone, his murderous intent so thick it was almost palpable.
Yang Kai remained indifferent and simply shook his head with a smile, “I’m just giving you proof I have the necessary capital to bargain with you.”
As he spoke, his voice suddenly became cold, “My patience is limited. Old dog, you’d best give me a reply as soon as possible, or else, besides your few precious Saints, everyone else will die!”
Hearing this, over eighty percent of the Sun Clan masters stumbled backwards in horror, as if doing so gave them a sense of security. What they didn’t know was that their Knowledge Seas had already been contaminated by Soul Devouring Insects, so no matter where they tried to run it was pointless.
The old leader of the Sun Clan seethed with anger as he glared towards Yang Kai, only managing to squeeze out a strained voice after a long silence, “What do you want?”
“Let us leave! That is my only requirement,” Yang Kai shouted.
“Leader, we can’t just let him go. Our clan’s losses are so heavy, allowing him to just walk away is unacceptable!” Someone immediately objected.
“En, if we don’t kill him my anger will never subside!”
“Kill him! We must kill him, even if we have to injure the Divine Tree to do it!”
Several Saint Realm masters shouted angrily, determined to put Yang Kai to death for his crimes, unwilling to accept any kind of negotiation.
In response to their clamouring, Yang Kai just laughed and shouted, “Your losses are indeed not small, but have you not thought about what you’ve gained? Your Divine Tree now has its own consciousness, which means it is a completely different life form from before. As long as I leave this place, you can slowly get closer to it and once you earn its favour, the benefits you’ll receive are unimaginable!”
Just as Yang Kai spoke these words, the huge Divine Tree shook noticeably, apparently quite dissatisfied and aggrieved, it seemed quite sad as it thought Yang Kai was trying to abandon it.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched and quickly used his Divine Sense to convey some comforting words to it while still negotiating with the Sun clan, “However, it’s a different story if you force me to remain. Because I helped the Divine Tree evolve into its current form, it is very close to me right now. As long as I’m given enough time, I’m confident I can make it only favour me, so that even if you try to win it over in the future you won’t be able to. This won’t take me long either, perhaps only a few days, so if I were you, the one thing I’d want to do is send me away as soon as possible!”
The brows of all the Sun Clan Elders wrinkled upon considering this.
Yang Kai’s words were spoken from their perspective, and although they were still quite suspicions of his claims, what he said was undeniable possible.
The Divine Tree undergoing such a huge change was a pleasant surprise to them, even taking into consideration the losses they had suffered, this change was undoubtedly a great thing for the entire Sun Clan.
The Divine Tree possessing its own Soul and being able to actively assist them was something the Sun Clan had never even dreamed of before.
“We could also just kill you and end these troubles once and for all!” The Sun Clan’s old leader obviously was something tempted but when he thought about how many of his clansmen had already been killed, he couldn’t bring himself to simply let Yang Kai go free like this, gritting his teeth as he declared, “As long as you are dead, the Divine Tree will still belong to my clan.”
“Fair enough!” Yang Kai smiled, “You guys really should have enough ability to kill me. I’m not arrogant enough to think I can escape from so many of you, but I can at least bury most of your clansmen along with me, you should ask yourselves if you can afford to pay such a price! In addition, if you want to kill me, you’ll have to damage the Divine Tree. If you hurt it now, will it ever accept you? This little guy’s thinking is quite simple, if you injure it, it will definitely remember for the rest of its life. Old dog, don’t try to steal a chicken only to lose your rice!”
Yang Kai’s shamelessness as well as his insulting tone caused the Sun Clan’s old leader to feel both rage and helplessness.
The Elders who had been calling for Yang Kai’s death also fell silent and frowned, feeling the situation had become somewhat tricky.
If the Divine Tree did not have its own consciousness, even if it meant damaging it, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill Yang Kai.
But now that the Divine Tree could think for itself, they didn’t dare act rashly, for fear of exactly what Yang Kai said would happen. If the Divine Tree came to hate them, and refused to give them any Yang Attribute energy from now on, the entire Sun Clan would be finished.
Turning their eyes towards their leader, all the Sun Clan clansmen waited for him to make a decision, none of them willing to offer their opinions anymore.
The Sun Clan leader pondered for a while before staring up at Yang Kai and asking, “Can you guarantee that the Divine Tree will recognize us when you leave?”
“Why do I have to guarantee you anything? It’ll all depend on your own hard work. For a start, you should speak more politely right now. You acting so hostile towards me makes this little guy quite unhappy.”
Seemingly in order to back up Yang Kai’s words, the branches of the Divine Tree swung more fiercely at that moment, as if trying to express its anger.
Many of Sun Clan’s masters couldn’t help frowning, their hearts filling with grief and indignation, quickly restraining their murderous intent while their expressions became even uglier than before.
“En, that’s right, smile. If fate decrees it so, the next time we meet we’ll all be good friends, right?”
“Little brat, don’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch!” The old Sun Clan leader’s face contorted, his extreme unhappiness apparent to all.
Yang Kai simply grinned happily in response.
“Good, I’ll let you leave, and I hope we will never meet again,” The Sun Clan leader shouted gloomily.
“Glad you understand!” Yang Kai nodded towards him approvingly and added, “Not only me, but my companion as well. Right, I’ll take those two Demon Race cultivators too.”
The Sun Clan leader frowned, “You want to take those two as well? They have nothing to do with you, right?”
“I have a good and generous heart. Helping others brings me the greatest joy, I simply can’t stand the thought of others suffering!”
An Ling’er, who was still hiding behind Yang Kai, heard these words and rolled her eyes.
“In any case, your Divine Tree has now evolved, obtaining wisdom and awareness. You have no need to offer it those Demon Race cultivators as blood sacrifices anymore,” Yang Kai continued to persuade.
The Sun Clan leader nodded lightly, turning to one of his subordinates and shouting, “Go bring the two demons here!”
The man hurried off towards Yang Kai’s old palace after receiving this order.
Yang Kai sat down and waiting atop the Divine Tree’s trunk and soon after the Sun Clan escorted Gou Che and the other Demon Race man over.
Gou Che’s face was gloomy and was constantly struggling, but his resistance was only counterproductive. When he arrived at the Divine Tree, his face was swollen and bloody, obviously having taken a harsh beating.
“Brother Gou Che!” Yang Kai stood up and shouted.
Gou Che frowned, his expression becoming somewhat awkward but still eventually nodding in response as he glanced around suspiciously.
Gou Che could feel that the atmosphere at the scene was odd, but he couldn’t understand what exactly had happened, so he figured it was best to keep silent for now, lest he say something wrong.
“Bring those two up,” Yang Kai patted the Divine Tree and whispered.
The next moment, two long, whip-like energy ropes stretched out towards Gou Che and his companion, wrapping them up and hauling them over to where Yang Kai was standing before the two of them could react.
Upon landing, Gou Che whispered in a low voice, “Brother, what is going on here?”
“I’m taking to two of you with me!” Yang Kai smiled.
“With you?” Gou Che’s face changed slightly, “Where?”
“Away from here.”
Gou Che was dumbfounded, quietly glancing at the crowd below as he whispered, “They agreed?”
“Whether they want to or not, they had to agree. Rest assured, I’ve already reached a deal with them.”
“Then why does it look like they all can’t wait to kill you? Are they really willing to let you go just like that?” Gou Che was completely lost.
Yang Kai nodded in response, not bothering to explain too much, simply calling out to the people bottom, “Where is the exit?”
The Sun Clan’s leader took a deep breath to calm his anger before coldly pointing in a certain direction.
Yang Kai looked over before gently patting the Divine Tree.
The next moment, the huge Divine Tree slowly began moving, the earth shuddering with each great step it took as it carried Yang Kai and the others towards that side.
Behind them, a large group of Sun Clan masters followed closely.
Gou Che’s eyes went wide as he stared at the big walking tree foolishly, muttering in a tone of disbelief, “Brother, what strange method is this? Why is this tree… walking on its own?”
“Heh hehe, the Divine Tree has gained sentience so it can understand my words.”
“Incredible…” Gou Che still couldn’t believe what he was seeing, even with it happening right before his eyes. Sweeping his eyes around, he quickly discovered that the Divine Tree really was walking on its own, supported by two golden pillars in the shape of human legs formed entirely of Yang Attribute energy.
In an instant, Gou Che felt his understand of the world undergo a drastic change, he and the other Demon Race cultivator unable to speak for quite some time after.
The Divine Tree’s movements were awkward and neither fast nor slow. It took half a day of walking before Yang Kai felt a faint trace of void energy coming from up ahead.
Void Energy was something that only appeared in the presence of a Void Corridor.
Since Yang Kai could sense Void Energy in front of him, it was safe to assume there was a Void Corridor up ahead.
A moment later, a pitch black hole appeared before everyone’s eyes in a spot a several dozen kilometers away from where the Sun Clan lived.
Yang Kai secretly nodded to himself, thinking it was obvious he hadn’t been able to detect this Void Corridor earlier given how far away it was from where he had been kept prisoner.
A moment later, the Divine Tree stopped in front of the Void Corridor.
This Void Corridor was about 3 meters in diameter and could allow several people to walk through it side by side; however, it was obviously not big enough to fit the Divine Tree through.
If the Divine Tree tried to enter it forcibly, there was a great chance that the Void Corridor would collapse and crush it into dust.
“Brother Gou Che, do you have any impression of this place?” Yang Kai asked in a serious tone.
Gou Che observed the area for a while before nodding lightly, “En, I remember seeing this place when we were first captured and brought here.”
“That’s good!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
Although he has already reached an agreement with the Sun Clan, Yang Kai had no idea if they would bring him to the appropriate Void Corridor. If the world on the other side of this corridor was not the Demon Land but instead a forbidden zone or dangerous region, all his efforts would be in vain.
“Boy, you’re certainly cautious enough,” The Sun Clan leader snorted, “Since this old master promised to let you go, I won’t play any tricks. There is only one exit to this place, there are no other Void Corridors!”
“One can never be too cautious!” Yang Kai didn’t pay the old man’s sarcasm any mind, instead wearing a serious expression as he spoke to Gou Che and the other Demon Race man, “You two enter with An Ling’er first, I’ll follow soon after.”
Gou Che and this Demon Race’s cultivator’s Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy were both still sealed, so they were currently no different from ordinary mortals with the exception of their great physical strength; remaining here would only be a burden for Yang Kai.
Hearing this, the two of them nodded, the other Demon Race cultivator not saying a word before stepping through the Void Corridor and disappearing while Gou Che shouted, “Brother, you must be careful. We’ll be waiting for you on the other side!”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Gou Che stepped into the Void Corridor, leaving only An Ling’er behind, the latter shooting a worried glance towards Yang Kai before she too evacuated.
After the three of them left, Yang Kai let out a light breath and then sat down atop the Divine Tree’s trunk, not immediately following after them.
All of the Sun Clan clansmen frowned as they stared at him vigilantly, worried he was up to some kind of mischief.
“Boy, why don’t you leave? We’ve met all your requests already!” The Sun Clan leader stared at him as if looking at a god of plague, hoping he would hurry up and disappear. This time, the Sun Clan had suffered a huge loss but had no choice but to choke it down, as long as they had the Divine Tree which had evolved into a sentient lifeform, they price they had paid would be worth it.
“No need to be so anxious, I’m just having a quick rest!” Yang Kai smiled as he began circulating his True Qi and controlling his breathing.
Meanwhile, he sent his consciousness into the trunk, his Soul Avatar manifesting itself inside the Divine Tree’s heart a moment later. Under the Divine Tree’s protection, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about the Sun Clan masters trying to harm him.
Sensing Yang Kai’s arrival, the Divine Tree immediately rejoiced and the flow of energy inside its trunk became faster.
“Calm down!” Yang Kai quickly communicated to it, “I need to ask you something. I’m about to leave this place, would you like to go with me?”
The Divine Tree’s Soul immediately began wrapping around Yang Kai, expressing its agreement and eagerness.
“Seems like you’re willing,” Yang Kai smiled happily, “Good, although I have never tried this before, this method should be feasible. Remember, if this doesn’t work, you’ll have to stay here for the time being. If that turns out to be the case, I promise you that before long I’ll come back to get you.”
Yang Kai’s message was a bit complicated and the Divine Tree didn’t seem to understand it for a while, but by feeling the emotions behind Yang Kai’s words, it still managed to somehow understand, becoming a bit sullen for a moment before quickly recovering, seemingly happy to receive the latter’s promise.
“Good, then first, I’ll leave my mark with you!” Yang Kai said quickly before consuming a massive amount of his Spiritual Energy to leave behind a mark on the Divine Tree’s Soul.
This way, even if he failed to take the Divine Tree away with him today, he would be able to subtly sense its existence no matter how far they were apart.
This was different from the time he ‘accepted’ An Ling’er’s Soul brand, one instance was Yang Kai receiving something, the other was him giving. In other words, if the Divine Tree’s Soul ever became damaged, Yang Kai’s Soul would also suffer harm. On the other hand, if An Ling’er’s Soul was to be injured, Yang Kai wouldn’t suffer any ill effects.
After he finished communicating with the Divine Tree, Yang Kai took back his consciousness and returned to his body.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai slowly got up swept his eyes over the Sun Clan masters indifferently, his gaze filled with a firmness that had not been there before, his body straight like a javelin, as if he had just made a serious decision.
The Sun Clan leader’s heart jumped as he quickly shouted, “It’s bad, this little brat lied to us, he’s up to something!”
Yang Kai let out a great laugh before calling out, “I’m not up to anything, I just thought I’ll give you all a surprise before leaving!”
Saying so, Spiritual Energy poured out from Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and immediately wrapped around the entire Divine Tree.
With a single through, from inside Yang Kai’s body, the Wordless Black Book began emitting a powerful suction.
*Dong…*
Yang Kai’s heart clenched tightly, thumping as if it had been struck by a hammer.
His face went white as his figure stumbled. In that instant, Yang Kai felt the aura of death close in on him.
However, no one paid any attention to him as they were focused on something much more astonishing. Right before their eyes, the huge Divine Tree turned into a stream of light and magically vanished.
Everyone from the Sun clan was dumbfounded, all of them standing in place with their jaws dropped, unable to process what had just happened.
Through sheer force of will, Yang Kai managed to maintain his consciousness and not faint on the spot, turning around rapidly and leaping into the Void Corridor, releasing a series of attacks he had prepared beforehand.
His True Qi surged up and the surrounding aura became chaotic.
*Hong long long…*
As the sound of explosions rang out, the Void Corridor warped and Void Energy began spewing out from it. A moment later, the Void Corridor suddenly shrank and disappeared.
At the same time, pitiful screams resounded from all directions.
As soon as Yang Kai had left, the Soul Devouring Insects which had infected the Sun Clan no longer had anything holding them back and immediately went wild, causing every cultivator before the Saint Realm to fall to the ground!
The Sun Clan’s old leader and Saint Realm Elders all stared blankly at their surroundings, unable to utter a single word!
The Divine Tree had disappeared, the only Void Corridor which linked them to the outside world was destroyed, and a massive number of their clansmen had inexplicably died… all these tragedies had occurred in the span of a few breaths, not giving them any time to process what was happening.
The Void Corridor being destroyed was within their expectations, the Sun Clan’s masters had long seen that Yang Kai had such a plan; however, they made no attempt to stop him from doing so. In any case, they had already lived inside this Mysterious Small World for generations and outside was the Demon Land. It wasn’t safe for them to come and go through it, so the Void Corridor being destroyed didn’t bother them too much.
Their clansmen suddenly falling down dead was probably the result of that little brat’s mysterious methods. He had silently killed a few of them earlier without any of them being able to stop him, so this was probably just a repeat of that.
However, what none of these powerful Saints could understand was how this weak Human Race boy had caused the Divine Tree to disappear.
The Void Corridor was not nearly stable enough to support the Divine Tree leaving, and even if it was, it was impossible for its giant form to simply vanish in front of their eyes.
“Little thief! I swear I’ll find you and chop your corpse into ten thousand pieces!” The Sun Clan’s old leader roared towards the Heavens, the fiery red hair on his head all standing on end.
The other Sun Clan Elders also made similar oaths, but it was already too late, the object of their mutual hatred had disappeared.
….
Amidst a sea of sand, Yang Kai’s body fell heavily to the ground, causing Gou Che and the others who had arrived early to rush over in surprise.
After seeing Yang Kai’s current state, An Ling’er couldn’t help panicking.
Yang Kai’s face had drained of all colour and his lips were a deep shade of purple. His True Qi flow was chaotic and his Spiritual Energy was essentially non-existent.
Although he didn’t appear to have suffered any external injuries, his body had already gone cold, as if he was on the verge of death, his heart beating loudly yet without any sense of rhythm, seemingly struggling to continue.
Ever after being chased by Saintess Nan last time, Yang Kai had not fallen into such a bleak situation.
An Ling’er didn’t know what happened in the Mysterious Small World after she had left, but seeing Yang Kai like this now made her feel incredibly anxious.
“Brother, brother…” Gou Che also hurried over and shook Yang Kai, but he did not receive any response no matter what he tried. After carefully inspecting Yang Kai, Gou Che found that the former’s Soul was fluctuating weakly and his Knowledge Sea had suffered a tremendous loss.
“He can’t be saved…” The other Demon Race man slowly shook his head, his expression somewhat low spirited.
Although he had no real connection to Yang Kai, regardless of anything else, this time, it was thanks to Yang Kai that he could survive. Seeing his saviour in such a state inevitably left a bad taste in his mouth.
Gou Che frowned and wanted to say something, but upon seeing the heart-wrenching look on An Ling’er’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
They had no pills or herbs on them currently, back in that Mysterious Small World, even their Universe Bags had been taken away by the Sun Clan. Currently, even though they wanted to help Yang Kai, there was really nothing they could do.
With their Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy sealed, they also had no way of even assisting Yang Kai’s vital functions.
“No, he won’t die,” An Ling’er kept shaking her head as she lifted Yang Kai’s upper body and placed his head on her laps, her hands trembling as she gently tried to brush the sand from his face, as if afraid she would use too much strength and injure him further, “The last time he suffered such serious injuries, he didn’t die, this time… for sure…”
*Dong…*
Another strange heartbeat was conveyed from Yang Kai’s chest after which his vitality seemed to become weaker once again.
An Ling’er burst into tears as her heart filled with pain.
“Junior Sister, don’t cry,” Gou Che stuffily said, “Your True Qi is not sealed, quickly try to support him.”
Hearing this, it was as if An Ling’er was woken from a dream, hurriedly using her Nine Heavens Holy Land’s mysterious Divine Skills on Yang Kai, trying to preserve his last remaining vitality, but no matter how hard she tried, the latter showed no signs of improvement.
“Haa…” Gou Che sighed heavily, feeling sorry for Yang Kai. Gou Che had wanted to find a chance to repay him, but had not anticipated that the moment they escaped from that accursed Mysterious Small World, Yang Kai would actually end up like this.
During the day, the heat that radiated from the sand was hard to endure, but when night fell, a deep chill filled the air, causing one to shiver unconsciously.
Beneath the full moon, burst of Cold Qi visible to the naked eye would occasionally leap from the sand, like ghosts.
Gazing around, it was as if the endless desert had been covered in a thin layer of ice that reflected the pale moonlight, creating a beautiful yet mysterious air.
At some indistinct location in this vast dessert, An Ling’er stared down at Yang Kai, her True Qi surging as she tried to warm his ice cold body.
Currently, Yang Kai seemed no different than a corpse. After escaping from the Mysterious Small World during the day, he hadn’t even opened his eyes. At the beginning, his body still had some warmth and his heart would beat occasionally, but as time passed, his body grew colder and colder as his vitality seemingly leaked out. He was like a candle in the wind, in danger of being snuffed out at any moment.
An Ling’er had guarded him carefully this whole time, never once leaving his side.
This was the future master of the Holy Land, even if he truly was dead, there was no way An Ling’er could allow any harm to come to him, a firm and resolute expression filling her face.
*Shashasha…*
Not far away, the sound of footsteps sounded, drawing An Ling’er’s attention. When she looked up, she saw Gou Che, who had left to scout the area earlier some time ago; even if he had great physical strength, he wasn’t able to resist the chill of the desert at night, shivering as he walked, his hair covered in frost.
An Ling’er’s eyes flashed as a vigilant look crept onto her face. Having spent so much time with Yang Kai, she had also had contact with Gou Che and knew that this Demon Race man was something of a lascivious delinquent. Now that it wasn’t certain Yang Kai was dead or alive, she felt she had to keep her guard up against Gou Che.
However, An Ling’er quickly relaxed when she remembered her opponent’s Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy were still sealed.
“How is he?” Gou Che came over to An Ling’er and hurriedly asked.
An Ling’er simply shook her head slowly in response.
“So, in the end, he really can’t be saved.”
“You! You’re not allowed to say that! He’ll live!” An Ling’er immediately became angry, a sharp light flickering across her apricot coloured eyes.
“Good good good, just pretend I didn’t say anything. But you should still prepare yourself, nothing in this world is permanent, haa… Brother Yang’s fate is truly quite cruel,” Gou Che sighed. Seeing Yang Kai suffer such misfortune in order to help them escape, Gou Che’s manner towards him became much friendlier, “If he can survive, that would be for the best. This master wanted to bring him to Qing Liao City to offer some hospitality.”
Saying so, Gou Che sat down on the cold sand a short distance away, a slight grin suddenly forming on his face as he commented, “I found that this human kid is quite interesting. I’ve captured a number of humans before, but none of them were anywhere near as impressive as Brother Yang. All of them put up an ugly display, immediately kowtowing and begging for mercy the moment they found themselves in danger. Brother Yang on the other hand has some real backbone, his temperament really fits well with my Demon Race, preferring to die fighting than live as a coward, a real man.”
Gou Che rambled on for a while, but what attracted An Ling’er’s attention was something he had said close to the beginning, quietly asking, “Those humans you caught, what did you do with them?”
Gou Che swung his hand down in a chopping motion, causing An Ling’er’s pretty face to go somewhat black. She immediately decided not to talk to him more than absolutely necessary.
At night, the vast desert was incredibly quiet, only some scorpion like creatures moved about. Gou Che caught a few of them and ate them with great relish.
As he ate, he gave a running commentary about their taste as well.
As the night dragged on, the desert became colder and colder.
Yang Kai’s only remaining vitality also rapidly faded, a point that both An Ling’er and Gou Che noticing, both of them secretly growing nervous as they carefully watched over him.
A half hour after the middle of the night, this last bit of vitality suddenly vanished.
The light in An Ling’er’s beautiful eyes suddenly went out, her tender body shuddering uncontrollably.
Gou Che also let out a heavy sigh, feeling that the Heavens were unjust.
The two of them were only immersed in their sadness for a moment though before a pulse of vitality erupted from Yang Kai’s body. This burst of vitality soon transformed into a raging flame, quickly heating up Yang Kai’s near frozen body. At the same time, True Qi began flowing through his meridians so quickly and violently it could be heard.
*Hu…*
With a light puff, Yang Kai entire figure was engulfed in flames as a translucent layer of golden True Qi burst forth from his body, transforming the nearby sand in a sea of magma.
An Ling’er was shocked and hurriedly retreated, almost burning herself in the process.
Gou Che was also stunned by Yang Kai’s current appearance, the poisonous tail of a big scorpion he had been eating slipping out of his mouth as his jaw went slack.
Yang Kai suddenly coughed up a dark blood fog before taking back the True Qi which had leaked from his body, quickly jumping to his feet as he glanced around vigilantly, only calming down a moment later when he laid eyes on a dumbstruck An Ling’er and Gou Che nearby, breathing a long sigh of relief while taking back his Divine Sense.
Slowly sitting back down on the ground, Yang Kai adjusted his breathing as the scene before he fell into a coma flashed before across his mind, allowing him to quickly grasp his current situation.
There were no abnormalities in his physical body, but his Knowledge Sea was still in a state of turmoil, causing Yang Kai to moan in pain as he held his head and trembled lightly.
Even after somehow managing to stabilizing his condition, Yang Kai couldn’t reduce the dull ache he felt in his head.
“Where are we?” Yang Kai opened his eyes and quietly asked, his face distorting from the near unbearable pain.
“The Demon Land’s desert,” Gou Che replied somewhat mechanically before quickly coming to his sense and asking hurriedly, “Brother Yang, are you… dead or alive?”
Yang Kai raised his eyes and glanced over at him tiredly, “What do you think?”
“Haha!” Gou Che laughed raucously, “I knew you wouldn’t die so easily!”
“Who was it that said he couldn’t be saved?” An Ling’er shot him a cold glance.
Gou Che suddenly choked, unable to say anything in response.
“How do you feel?” An Ling’er turned her attention to Yang Kai and asked nervously.
“Terrible,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, his Soul was currently in a state of turmoil and was somewhat unstable.
“Then you should quickly rest.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, no longer speaking. Sitting cross-legged on the ground and trying to steady himself, he sent his Soul Avatar into his Knowledge Sea to more carefully examine it.
Looking around, Yang Kai saw that his entire Knowledge Sea was in a desolate state, the rich burning flames and endless ocean water had all but disappeared, a sign that his Spiritual Energy had been severely overdrawn.
His Knowledge Sea was also somewhat chaotic; at times, great winds would blow, while at others, thunder and lightning rained down, the entire world shaking unsteadily as if it would soon collapse.
The reason for all this was because Yang Kai had forcefully brought the Divine Tree into the Black Book space.
Never had he thought that this one, seemingly simple act would bring him so close to the gates of death.
The things he normally stored into the Black Book space were small, the biggest one not even one percent the size of the Divine Tree, so even if it consumed some of his Spiritual Energy, it had only been a trifling amount.
But this time, Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy had been completely exhausted. Bringing the Divine Tree into the Black Book space had nearly caused his very Soul to collapse.
After all, the Divine Tree was very different from anything Yang Kai had stored in the Black Book space before, not only was it massive, it also contained an unimaginable amount of energy. It was understandable he had to pay such a price.
However, it was worth it!
Being able to take the Divine Tree away, Yang Kai felt that even if he had to pay such a steep price, it would be worth it. Now he didn’t have to worry about fulfilling his promise with the Divine Tree.
Yang Kai was a man of his word.
His lost Spiritual Energy could be re-cultivated and supplemented by the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, so it wouldn’t take too long for his Spiritual Energy to return to its peak.
Moreover, this time, the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus had played a vital role. If it had not protected Yang Kai’s Soul at the last moment, it was likely he really would be dead right now.
Considering all this, Yang Kai quietly rejoiced.
Withdrawing his Soul Avatar from his Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai next inspected the Black Book space. Just after arriving though, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar was embraced by a brilliant golden light.
The Divine Tree was now here, its golden roots and jade green leaves illuminating the once dull Black Book space.
Surrounded by this burning aura, the pain in Yang Kai’s Soul decreased noticeably and was replaced with a warm, comfortable sensation.
In response to Yang Kai’s arrival, the Divine Tree’s branches swayed back and forth, as if it was celebrating, a burst of eager calls emanating from its heart.
Yang Kai smiled as he sent his Soul Avatar into the heart of the Divine Tree, allowing the latter’s Soul to immediately wrap around him.
It was obviously aware that Yang Kai was currently in a very weak state and did not try to drag his Soul Avatar all over the place but instead carefully surrounded and comforted him.
The next moment, a powerful energy poured into Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar, quickly supplementing Yang Kai’s lost Spiritual Energy.
Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised and made no attempt to stop it, allowing the Divine Tree to display its capabilities.
After an hour or so, Yang Kai’s weakness had disappeared and he once again became energetic, his dried up Knowledge Sea reaching a state of saturation.
At the same time, all kinds of dark injuries Yang Kai had sustained were restored.
Yang Kai conversed with the Divine Tree for a while and explained that it might have to stay in this place for a while. After receiving a positive response, Yang Kai promised to come see it whenever he had time before taking back his consciousness.
Although the Divine Tree was reluctant to part, it didn’t try to stop him.
Opening his eyes again, Yang Kai discovered that the darkness of night was gradually receding, giving way to the morning sun.
Wrinkling his brow for a moment, Yang Kai let out a light sigh as he estimated he would at least need to break through to the Saint Realm if he wanted to take the Divine Tree out from the Black Book space. Only by reaching the Saint Realm would be able to do with while not harming himself.
However, he was not in a rush. Right now, he was still stuck in the Demon Land, even if Yang Kai could release the Divine Tree immediately, there was no place for it to settle.
It would be better to find a place for the Divine Tree to stay first, Soaring Heaven Sect’s Serene Resplendent Peak would be a good choice.
Seeing Yang Kai open his eyes, Gou Che and An Ling’er who had been monitoring him all night long finally relaxed.
“Brother, why does it seem like you’ve been completely restored already?” Gou Che asked curiously. An hour or so ago, Yang Kai was still in a state close to death, and even if his restorative abilities were better than most, this kind of recovery speed was too abnormal. On top of that, Gou Che didn’t see him take any kind of healing pill or medicine.
It was really inexplicable.
“No, I’ve only somewhat recovered,” Yang Kai smiled and replied.
Although he had saved Gou Che and the other Demon Race cultivator from the Sun Clan, he didn’t have any intention to really forge a friendship with Gou Che.
Rescuing them this time was a means to an end. Yang Kai hoped to take advantage of the other party’s status to move about freely in the Demon Land!
As such, Yang Kai didn’t tell Gou Che the whole truth. He was still somewhat wary of this Demon Race man, feeling that Gou Che didn’t actually treat him sincerely and wouldn’t care much about the fact that the former had saved his life.
“Brother Gou Che, you’re certain this desert is inside the Demon Land? Are you familiar with this region?” Yang Kai asked.
Gou Che frowned and shook his head, “This desert is a very dangerous area, even my Demon Race try to avoid traveling through here. In this place, no matter how strong you are, there are things you can’t easily overcome. I’m only certain we’re in the Demon Land, but as to which direction we should go to reach civilization, I’m also at a loss. All we can do is start walking and hope we’re going the right way, and that we don’t run into any of the more troublesome dangers lurking around. Pray we don’t get lost, once that happens… I’m afraid we won’t ever be able to leave this desert.”
Hearing Gou Che’s speech, Yang Kai and An Ling’er both felt somewhat gloomy, secretly thinking to themselves that their luck had really been quite bad recently. First they had been chased by Saintess Nan back in the archipelago, then forced to flee into an unexplored Void Corridor only to fall into the hands of the Sun Clan. Now, even after a death-defying escape, they had wound up in this seemingly endless desert in the middle of the Demon Land.
The ups and downs of life really made one feel helpless.
Soon after Gou Che finished explaining their situation, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he stared off in a certain direction, whispering quietly, “Someone’s approaching!”
Probing this newly appeared aura for a moment, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to Gou Che and said, “It’s your clansmen!”
“Oh?” Gou Che replied casually, “That guy didn’t die? He didn’t return last night so I thought must have fallen out here. Seems his luck wasn’t so bad.”
When Gou Che spoke his tone was light and carefree, apparently not showing any concern about his fellow clansman’s life, as if he didn’t care whether the latter lived or died one bit.
Realizing this, Yang Kai frowned slightly.
A short time later, the Demon Race man who Yang Kai had rescued from the Mysterious Small World returned with a delighted look upon his face, “I found a way out!”
Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed, Gou Che asking urgently, “Really?”
The man smiled and nodded, “I’m certain; I’ve explored this desert once before. At that time, I once encountered an oasis and made a distinctive mark on one of the trees. I came across that same oasis last night. It seems our luck isn’t bad, this place is on the periphery of the desert. We only need to travel a few days in that direction to leave.”
As this Demon Race man spoke, his expression became more and more excited, having some difficulty containing his joy.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like they had finally seen light after a long eternity in the abyss.
Only needing a few days to leave this place seemed lucky enough. When they went back, Yang Kai considered finding a place to enter secluded retreat for a while.
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and lead the way, I’m dying of thirst here!” Gou Che waved his hand and began running off in the direction the other Demon Race cultivator pointed.
The latter also didn’t speak any nonsense and quickly chased after Gou Che.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said to An Ling’er, the latter nodding slightly as she kept pace with Yang Kai, walking side by side with him.
As she observed the two Demon Race cultivators rushing forward in a jubilant mood, An Ling’er turned to the side and quietly whispered, “Yang Kai, you have to be careful about that Gou Che. If you trust him too much you’ll only end up suffering!”
“Do I need you to remind me?” Yang Kai chuckled, “I never had any intention to trust or make friends with him, but right now we’re in the Demon Land. If we want to leave here safely, our best bet is to take advantage of his status.”
An Ling’er nodded lightly as she said, “Fortunately he didn’t see much of your true ability back in that Mysterious Small World, otherwise things would be even more dangerous.”
“If he were to learn your true identity, it would also be bad,” Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he said, “Never reveal your status to him, and try to avoid using any of your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Divine Skills”
“I’m not some naive little girl, how could I possibly be so careless?” An Ling’er smiled confidently.
“Hurry up, Brother Yang, what are you doing?” Gou Che suddenly turned back and yelled at Yang Kai.
“We’re coming!” Yang Kai responded before turning back to An Ling’er, “Let’s pick up our pace.”
The other Demon Race man’s sense of direction was quite good, even walking through this vast sea of sand with next to no landmarks for reference, he was able to accurately lead the way. This was especially impressive seeing how his Demonic Qi and Divine Sense were both still sealed, meaning he was relying solely on his own skill and instincts right now.
After walking for roughly three hours or so, a faint speck of green appeared on the horizon.
An oasis!
In such a vast desert, only a few magical places like this one existed where one could find water and plants. Almost every desert had such places, but no one knew how they were formed or how they endured.
Big oases could remain for hundreds or even thousands of years without any change, providing invaluable places for travelers to stop and rest.
An oasis was often a life-saving place in the eyes of desert travelers.
Seeing the oasis appear up ahead, the two Demon Race men began running even faster, rushing forward as if they couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer.
After the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai and An Ling’er also arrived at the oasis’ edge. Unlike the outside desert’s blistering heat, this place was actually just slightly warm, huge cactus and broad leafed trees blowing in the breeze, creating a comfortable atmosphere.
A large, sparkling lake lay in the center of the oasis. This lake’s water was crystal clear, like a bottomless mountain spring, and had many strange and exotic plants growing along its shore.
When Yang Kai and An Ling’er arrived here, they found that Gou Che and the other Demon Race man had not entered the water or even approached it but had instead hidden themselves behind a big rock on the shore and were holding their breaths as they stared towards the lake, their expressions filled with a mix of caution and obscenity.
Sensing Yang Kai’s arrival, Gou Che quickly motioned to him, telling him to keep quiet, the look on his face quite strange.
Yang Kai frowned, not comprehending what was going on, quickly bringing An Ling’er over to the other to and peeking out from behind the rock; however, he didn’t see anything of note at first glance.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai asked quietly.
“Look over there!” Gou Che quietly pointed to a certain spot on the nearby shore.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er both turned their gazes in the direction he pointed and suddenly froze up.
On the shore, there were some neatly folded clothes, and from their style, it was obvious they belonged to a woman.
These clothes were here, but the person was nowhere in sight, so the obvious conclusion was that they were currently swimming at the bottom of the lake.
Yang Kai suddenly understood. Gou Che and the other Demon Race man hiding here was all so they could peek at this bathing beauty.
“Shameless!” An Ling’er’s cheeks immediately went red as she grit her teeth and a cold light flashed across her beautiful eyes, turning to Yang Kai and sharply saying, “Don’t you dare join them!”
Yang Kai curled his lips and firmly declared, “I’ve always been a paragon of virtue, I would never participate in this kind of dirty matter.”
Even as he spoke these words though, his eyes drifted back towards the lake.
Seeing this, Gou Che smiled towards Yang Kai and chuckled lowly, “I knew Brother Yang was a man of great culture.”
At that moment, Gou Che felt that Yang Kai was suddenly much more pleasing to the eye.
Yang Kai quickly said in a serious tone, “Perhaps this isn’t such a good idea, if you’re discovered by her…”
“Who does it matter if she discovers us? Is she going to eat me or something?” Gou Che snorted without any concern.
Although he couldn’t use any of his strength right now, in the end, he still had a distinguished identity. As the son of a Demon General, there were very few people who would dare to attack him, so even if he was caught peaking, he didn’t care.
“Brother Gou Che, surely you don’t lack women, why bother doing this?” Although Yang Kai also understood a man’s desire to seek out beauties, something about this particular situation caused him to feel uneasy so he quickly tried to persuade Gou Che to leave this place.
Gou Che sneered in response, “Naturally I’m not lacking in women, but such thrills are always welcome.”
The other Demon Race man next to him also nodded, obviously agreeing with Gou Che’s point of view. Their two pairs of eyes then continued to stare at the lake’s surface, both of them looking forward to the moment when the woman at the bottom of the lake would appear.
Seeing this, Yang Kai felt helpless and no longer wasted his breath.
At that moment, a ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the lake and the two Demon Race men’s breathes suddenly halted, their eyes opening wide in anticipation.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A burst of noise suddenly rang out and a series of sharp water arrows shot out from the surface of the lake.
Everyone’s expression changed dramatically. Yang Kai and An Ling’er reacted quickly and managed to avoid these attacks, but Gou Che and the other Demon Race man weren’t so lucky. For the sake of getting a better view, they had completely pushed themselves up against the rock, so by the time they noticed the incoming attack, it was too late for them to avoid it.
With a loud bang, the rock shattered and the sand flew up into the air. Stone debris shot forth, bringing with it a not weak force, cause Gou Che and the other Demon Race man to fly back, both of them unable to open their eyes as they howled miserably.
The two of them had instantly become battered and bruised.
Yang Kai caught a glimpse of a pure white form emerge from the lake, carrying with it a graceful and glamorous air.
But before he could get a good look at this figure, he lost track of it, a cold chill running up his spine as his eyes shot open in surprise.
After everything settled down, Gou Che roared angrily, “Fuck, damn whore, you dare attack this master?”
The moment he spoke these words though, Gou Che was struck by some invisible force and sent flying through the air again, hitting the ground hard and tumbling several times. When he stood up again, his cheek was swollen and a blazing anger filled his eyes. Having suffered such humiliation, the only thing on his mind right now was to fight this unknown attacker, his eyes darting around searching for his target.
He didn’t have to look long though. Standing a short distance in front of them was a beautiful woman who had just left the lake, her eyes coldly glaring at Yang Kai and his group. Her body was full of mature charm, with long shapely legs, which peaked in an out of her pale blue dress. Her twin peaks were a grand sight to see and her shoulders were half exposed. Perhaps because she had just been bathing, her clothes tightly clung to her body, highlighting her excellent style.
Just by standing there she exuded a sense of beauty difficult to ignore.
Unfortunately, at this moment, the woman’s pair of beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent and a dangerous aura pulsed from her body, causing everyone around to shiver unconsciously.
Yang Kai eyes narrowed, secretly cursing Gou Che, wondering why, of all people, he had to annoy such a dangerous woman.
When he arrived here, Yang Kai didn’t dare use his Divine Sense to examine the area, lest he annoy unnecessary trouble, so it was only after this woman attacked that he realized Gou Che had provoked a true master.
The other side clearly knew that someone had been peeking at her and had immediately took action upon leaving the lake.
Gou Che, who didn’t seem to know the meaning of fear, shouted out as he held his swollen face, “Damn woman, you dare hit me again?”
“So what if I hit you?” The woman glanced over at Gou Che coldly, “If you dare spew another disrespectful word from your mouth I’ll kill you!”
“Oh?” Gou Che snickered, “I’d like to see if you have the courage to lay one finger on me again!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a sharp blade of energy rushed towards Gou Che’s and instantly pierced his shoulder.
Blood gushed out from the wound like a fountain and Gou Che’s face went pale, staring dumbfounded at the woman in front of him.
He hadn’t expected this woman would really attack him the moment he spoke, the sharp pain coming from his shoulder finally causing him some panic.
Although he was a womanizer and a delinquent, Gou Che wasn’t a fool. From the methods this woman had shown so far, he knew that even if he was in peak condition, he wouldn’t be her match. With a bloody hole in his shoulder, Gou Chen became much more obedient, though the look of anger on his face didn’t fade, he at least stopped talking and simply glared at the woman instead.
“Humans?” The woman curiously sized up Yang Ling and An Ling’er, her brow furrowing slightly, “Since when did my Demon Race begin associating with humans? Interesting!”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he moved An Ling’er behind him and condensed his True Qi, preparing to act at a moment’s notice.
“Hmph!” The woman snorted disdainfully, stepping forward lightly as she flicked her wet hair, glancing over at Gou Che and the other Demon Race man, “Your Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy seemed to be sealed, was it these human brats who did that to you?”
Gou Che said nothing but the other Demon Race man shook his head slowly and explained, “It was not them. We accidentally fell into a Mysterious Small World some time ago and were captured by the natives. It was thanks to this human boy that we were able to escape.”
“Wastes!” The woman’s expression immediately became cold, “Members of my Demon Race actually needing to rely on the pity of humans to live on dishonourably? Do you think you still have the qualifications to live in this world!?”
Saying so, the woman lifted her slender finger and shot out a number of energy spikes.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
Instantly, the Demon Race man had a few bloody holes opened on his body, a pitiful grunt leaking from his lips as he sunk to the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes filled with shock and horror.
The woman did not intend to kill him, she was just dissatisfied with him relying on Yang Kai to survive and decided to give him some punishment.
“So, what kind of skill do you possess?” The woman turned her attention to Yang Kai, her Divine sense quickly sweeping him like a frigid gust of wind, examining him from head to toe.
“Another waste!” The woman lost interest immediately after she probed Yang Kai and learned what his current cultivation was.
A moment later, the woman sneered and declared, “Your courage isn’t small, daring to be impolite to me. For that I should teach you what the true meaning of suffering is, but today I am in a good mood, so I won’t immediately kill you. Come with me!”
Saying so, she waved her jade hand and a carriage-like artifact with a giant bed shrouded in a translucent pink canopy appeared out of thin air, a distinctly feminine fragrance wafting from it.
The woman gracefully stepped over to the carriage, parted the curtains, and stepped inside, casually releasing two bursts of energy towards Gou Che and the other Demon Race man as she did.
The next instant, the two of them felt all the seals in their bodies shatter, causing both of them to smile unconsciously.
“Little human girl, you also come up!” The woman reclined on the fragrant bed, her graceful curves on full display, putting on a relaxed and lazy appeared as she beckoned to An Ling’er.
An Ling’er was extremely wary and turned to Yang Kai to silently ask what she should do.
Yang Kai nodded lightly to her, so An Ling’er cautiously boarded the carriage and stood beside the bed nervously.
“You three carrying the carriage, don’t tell me you need me to teach you how to do even something so simple?” The woman said lazily in a voice extremely pleasant to the ear.
Yang Kai couldn’t help wrinkling his brow.
Gou Che roared angrily, “What thing are you? You actually want father here to be your carriage bearer? Do you have any idea who I am?”
“Why should I care who you are? If you don’t want to die, move your feet. If you don’t hurry I don’t mind finishing you off right now!” The woman’s beautiful eyes flashed a cold light, her Demonic Qi rumbling ominously, as if she really would execute him if Gou Che dared to refuse.
Gou Che ground his teeth but he had no choice but to act obediently in the face of absolute power, shutting his mouth, stepping forward, and hoisting the carriage onto his shoulders.
Yang Kai and the other Demon Race man shot each other a quick glance before also walking over helplessly.
After receiving directions from the woman, the three new coolies flew up into the sky at an extremely fast speed.
Atop the large bed, An Ling’er sat, her back as straight as a board, observing the surrounding environment as she followed the woman’s instructions to massage her shoulders.
The woman apparently had no intention to communicate further, simply lying there with her eyes closed, enjoying the service.
As the delicate fragrance wafted past his nose, Yang Kai grumbled in annoyance. Originally, he had wanted to safely leave the Demon Land with the help of Gou Che, but now it seemed like there was no chance of that, it wasn’t even certain this bastard would be able to protect himself. Yang Kai would have to figure out something on his own.
Half a day later, a huge city wall appeared in front of everyone’s eyes. This city was located quite near the desert and its walls were comprised entirely of stones harvested from there, giving the entire city a yellowish colour.
Inside the city, countless demons came and went.
When the city came into sight, Gou Che’s eyes suddenly bulged as he cried out in a hoarse voice, “Sand City? Then you are…”
“Shut your mouth!” The woman didn’t even open her eyes as she shouted lightly.
Gou Che’s hurriedly shrunk his neck, now seemingly terrified, all of his previous arrogance instantly vanishing without a trace.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s expression also changed.
Soon, the carriage arrived in the sky above Sand City. Following the woman’s instructions, the carriage quickly came to a huge palace at the centre of the city.
The palace was built in a very unique architectural style, as if it was a mountain range all on its own, the highest peaks reaching several hundred meters into the sky.
Flying to the front of the palace and standing before its highest point, looking down, it was possible to overlook the entire city, giving one a wondrous feeling.
However, the palace seemed somewhat out of place in this city. Its walls and grounds were all constructed of white jade stone and ornate carvings of dragons and phoenixes adorned its great pillars and halls.
Precious crystals were inlaid wherever one looked.
When the carriage arrived, a tyrannical looking Demon Race man quickly came over and respectfully said, “Mistress, you’ve returned?”
The woman nodded lightly and stepped down from the carriage.
“These people are…” The man glanced over at Yang Kai and others with a puzzled expression, only when his eyes landed on Gou Che did a glimmer of suspicion appear on his brow, staring at the latter that seemed somewhat familiar.
“Send someone to pass Gou Qiong a message, tell him if he wants to see is precious son in one piece, he needs to prepare enough ransom to exchange for him!” The woman glanced over at Gou Che before continuing, “En, also tell him that there are three others accompanying his son, whether he redeems them as well is up to him.”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed. This conversation clearly indicated that this woman had long ago seen through Gou Che’s identity. But even though she knew who he was, she still dared treat Gou Che like that, and from the way she so casually spoke Gou Qiong’s name, it was easy to infer just what this woman’s identity was!
Gou Qiong was one of the four Demon Generals, the only ones who dared not put Gou Qiong in their eyes were the other Demon Generals!
Amongst the four Demon Generals, there was only one female: Xue Li!
She bore a feminine name and was a charming lady. However, even her elegance could not overshadow her ruthless and cruel personality.
The woman who they accidentally met was actually a Demon General! And Gou Che, not knowing the immensity of Heaven and Earth, actually dared try to peek at her naked body!
Yang Kai couldn’t wait to beat Gou Che to a pulp in order to vent the rage in his heart.
“Mistress, I doubt that Gou Qiong will care about the lives of these three,” Xue Li’s subordinate smiled grimly, as if taking pleasure in others’ misfortune as he stared at Yang Kai and the other.
“Just pass the message to him anyways. Right, tell Gou Qiong that this little human brat is his son’s saviour,” Xue Li stressed, “I’d like to see how Gou Qiong will treat this matter.”
“Oh? How surprising, a Demon General’s heir actually owing his life to a human, interesting… Subordinate will go and deliver this message personally.”
“Go!” Xue Li waved her hand.
“Senior Xue, Senior Xue…” Gou Che called out hastily.
“What?” Xue Li gave him a faint look.
“Is it possible to discuss this matter? If you want a ransom, I can collect it on my own, there’s no need to bother my father over such trivial matters,” Gou Che pleaded with an awkward look upon his face, apparently afraid Gou Qiong would blame and punish him.
“This matter is beyond your ability to control,” Xue Li coldly snorted, no longer paying any attention to him, turning around and walking into the palace.
Immediately after, a group of Demon Race guards came over and escorted Yang Kai’s group of four into the palace.
The three men were brought to rooms in one wing of the palace while An Ling’er accommodations were arranged next to Xue Li.
Unlike back in the Sun Clan, no restrictions or seals were placed on them. Xue Li seemed quite confident that none of them could escape. Not only did she not limit their freedom in any way, she even had meals delivered to them three times a day, treating each of them more like guests than prisoners.
Although there wasn’t anyone guarding them, Yang Kai still behaved honestly, not making any attempt to escape.
In the presence of Xue Li, Yang Kai knew he wouldn’t be able to escape even if he tried; what’s more, he had been separated from An Ling’er. Yang Kai had no intention of abandoning An Ling’er here and escaping by himself.
Gou Che seemed to be aware of his blunder this time and was now behaving very docile, as if completely exhausted by the situation, no longer showing any hint of his former arrogance.
Xue Li had sent a messenger to Gou Qiong, not selling her fellow Demon General the slightest bit face and directly asking for a large ransom amount in exchange for his son. Yang Kai figured Gou Qiong wouldn’t care about his or An Ling’er’s death and at most would redeem Gou Che and the other Demon Race man.
Yang Kai had previously heard about the four Demon Generals, the top masters of the Demon Race, each of them possessing tyrannical strength and influence.
These four masters each governed territories in the north, east, west, and south corners of the Demon Land, guarding its borders and preserving order. Normally there was very little exchange between them, but apparently, the only woman among them, Xue Li, did not have a very harmonious relationship with the other three Demon Generals.
It was for that reason that the territory she governed was relatively desolate. Whether it was in terms of ambient World Energy density or the richness of the land’s resources, Xue Li’s territory was incomparable to the other three Demon Generals’.
Even the relatively uninformed Yang Kai had heard such rumors before, but upon seeing the situation for himself, he realized these rumors weren’t groundless.
Xue Li’s capital was Sand City, which was situated near the vast, uninhabitable dessert, and her relationship with Gou Qiong was obviously bad.
However, since she sat in the position of a Demon General, there was no doubt she had her own unique skills and means. Such a woman couldn’t be treated lightly, so Yang Kai doesn’t dare take any rash actions.
As such, Yang Kai spent his days in the palace quietly, without trying to stir up any kind of trouble.
Gou Che on the other hand apparently tried numerous times to escape, but each time his attempts were foiled by the masters serving under Xue Li and then beaten mercilessly as punishment.
After suffering like this for a month or so, Gou Che finally became resigned to his fate.
Learning from Gou Che’s mistakes, Yang Kai became even more cautious about his actions.
More than a month later, Yang Kai, who was meditating in his room, suddenly heard footsteps outside and opened his eyes, staring towards the door calmly.
After a while, the door was opened, and the Demon Race master who had sent the letter to Gou Qiong walked inside and said to Yang Kai, “Get out, Mistress wants to see you!”
Yang Kai stood up silently and followed after him.
The man turned and looked at Yang Kai a few times as they walked forward, each time snickering faintly, as if he was seeing something quite amusing, a taunting look in his eyes.
Yang Kai frowned and instinctively noticed something was wrong, but he did not ask anything because he knew this man wouldn’t reveal anything to him.
After walking for some time, the man led Yang Kai to a grand hall.
There was a grand and spacious chair at the front of this hall, covered in luxurious furs and blankets dyed a dark red colour, giving it a majestic appearance. Xue Li lay there silently, her shapely body with all its exquisite curves on full display, her eyes closed and hands folded as if she was in a meditative state.
In the center of the hall, a large incense burner released a pleasant scent which filled the room.
An Ling’er, dressed up as a maidservant, stood next to Xue Li with a somewhat tense posture.
Seeing Yang Kai arrive, An Ling’er’s beautiful eyes lit up briefly as she threw him a look of concern. In response, Yang Kai just slowly shook his head, signaling to her that he was fine.
After being captured and brought here, the two of them had not seen one another. Yang Kai had been confined in his own room while An Ling’er had been accompanying Xue Li. In this Sand City palace, the only humans were Yang Kai and her, so An Ling’er naturally placed all her hopes on him and was obviously concerned about his well being.
Seeing him safe and sound now, An Ling’er couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, smiling to Yang Kai slightly but not daring to make any unnecessary noise.
Yang Kai looked around and soon found that Gou Che and the other Demon Race man were also standing here, the expressions of both of them full of panic and fear, like a pair of mice that had seen a cat.
“Mistress, we’ve brought them,” Xue Li’s subordinate quietly reported.
Xue Li nodded lightly, slowly opening her pair of enchanting eyes and glanced down, slowly straightening herself up while stretching her waist lazily.
Her movements allowed the blouse she wore to rise up and reveal her flat white belly and delicate navel, filling the air with an intoxicating air.
No one dared to stare at her though; no one but Yang Kai that is.
Xue Li’s eyes immediately became sharp as she glanced towards Yang Kai. As if he had just been burned, Yang Kai felt a slight pain on the skin of his face, but he did not avert his gaze, remaining indifferent as always.
Xue Li didn’t seem to care about such trifles and instead got down to business, “Gou Qiong replied.”
Gou Che’s body trembled, wringing his hands nervously as he stared up at Xu li and asked in a half whisper, “What was his response?”
“Hehe… you are his son. After falling into my hands, what do you think his response was? En, your father paid enough ransom to redeem you.”
Hearing this, Gou Che’s expression changed to one that was an odd mix of happiness and depression.
Happiness because he could finally escape from Xue Li’s grasp, but depression over what kind of punishment he would suffer once he returned home. This contradictory mood was openly expressed on his face, making it particularly entertaining to see.
“What about me?” The other Demon Race man asked anxiously.
“You were also redeemed!” Xue Li nodded lightly, a teasing smile creeping onto her face as she next said to Yang Kai meaningfully, “You and this little human girl as well, Gou Qiong redeemed all of you.”
An Ling’er was first stunned, then happy, her furrowed brow relaxing somewhat.
On the other hand, Gou Che and the Demon Race man both wore strange looks upon hearing this, the two of them shooting a glance over towards Yang Kai before both of them lowered their heads, their expressions somewhat complicated.
Yang Kai simply frowned, not only not showing the slightest joy but instead looking quite gloomy as he asked boldly, “Are all you Demon Race people so generous?”
“Hm?” Xue Li’s brow rose as she looked at Yang Kai, smiling lightly as she replied, “Gou Qiong is not the generous type, this time was simply an exception!”
“Is the ransom you demanded a large amount?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Xue Li. Even facing one of the four Demon Generals, he didn’t show any signs of fear or cowardice, his expression always calm and composed.
“It wasn’t a lot, but it also wasn’t a small amount. It was just enough for Gou Qiong to be annoyed for a while!” Xue Li smiled as she stared at Yang Kai with interest and even some appreciation. In front of her, few people could remain as calm as Yang Kai. Even the son of Gou Qiong was acting like a timid rat, and contrasting the two, Xue Li suddenly felt that this human boy was more worthy of her attention.
At the very least, he had more backbone than many of the Demon Race men she had seen.
Yang Kai nodded gently before suddenly turning to look at Gou Che and asking, “Brother Gou Che, Senior Gou Qiong spending so much money this time, do you have any thoughts on the matter?”
“Ah?” Gou Che was startled and for some reason didn’t dare to return Yang Kai’s stare, his eyes darting about randomly as he somehow muttered, “I have no thoughts…”
As he spoke, his expression was incredibly awkward.
“Does Brother Gou Che really have nothing to say?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a sneer as he pressed the issue.
Gou Che slowly shook his head.
The other Demon Race man next to him also stared at the floor and held his tongue.
[So… it’s like that huh?] Yang Kai thought, aware that he was most likely jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
At the front of the hall, An Ling’er stared at this exchange suspiciously, unable to understand why Yang Kai’s attitude towards Gou Che had suddenly changed so much, becoming cold and aggressive.
Xue Li and her subordinate both made no attempt to interrupt this exchange, each of them just grinning, seemingly enjoying the show.
“Good!” Yang Kai grinned, “Then I suppose this is goodbye, Brother Gou Che. Heh, our friendship really was quite short…”
When Gou Che heard these words, his face became somewhat red with embarrassment.
Yang Kai ignored him and turned to look at Xue Li, asking her seriously, “Senior, if I said I want to refuse the ransom that Gou Qiong paid for me, will you immediately kill me?”
“Oh?” Hearing this, Xue Li’s beautiful eyes couldn’t help flickering with a touch of praise, asking lightly “Do you actually wish to refuse?”
“Yes, I refuse!”
“Hehe…” Xue Li suddenly wore an amused smile, giggling happily, her proud peaks trembling noticeably.
Her subordinate also wore an interested expression as he stared at Yang Kai, a touch of praise flashing across his eyes.
After taking a moment to calm herself, Xue Li softly spoke, “If you refuse Gou Qiong, that means I will lose a certain amount of benefits, so naturally I’d want to kill you. I have been holding on to you for so long, feeding and housing you, am I just supposed to accept such a loss? However… the ransom has already been delivered to my hands so I won’t be letting go of it so easily, I can also use this as a way to slap Gou Qiong’s face… Good, I can spare your life.”
Yang Kai’s face immediately went black as his mood became gloomy.
He realized that Xue Li’s insidious words were pushing the responsibility onto him and placing him in direct opposition to Gou Qiong. Although this was a trivial matter, how could a man of Gou Qiong’s status possibly bare being insulted so? He had kindly paid enough ransom to buy Yang Kai’s freedom yet the prisoner in question had actually rejected his offer. If word of this were to spread out, the world would no doubt treat Gou Qiong as a joke for being despised by Yang Kai.
A solemn Demon General being despised by a mere human boy would no doubt anger Gou Qiong.
Although all of that was nothing but a farce!
“I accept your request!” Xue Li smiled brilliantly, quickly waving to Gou Che and the Demon Race man, “Get out, if I can still find you with my Divine Sense within half an incense worth of time, don’t blame me for being impolite to you!”
As soon as she spoke these words, Gou Che and the Demon Race man immediately transformed into streaks of light, flying out of the palace without so much as a glance back, in the blink of an eye already flying several thousand meters away, obviously using their full strength to flee as fast as possible.
Xue Li wasn’t kidding, her Divine Sense had been locked onto Gou Che and the other Demon Race man. If they didn’t flee far enough fast enough, she really would kill them.
This woman was simply a vicious viper!
“You humans really are quite astute,” Xue Li said cynically, “But since you refused the ransom that Gou Qiong paid for you, you have to prove that you have enough value to me. My Sand City does not support wastes!”
“So you won’t just let me go?” Yang Kai asked mockingly.
“Let you go?” Xue Li sneered, “Humans who enter my Sand City can only leave one way: Death! But since you seem to be somewhat out of the ordinary, I don’t plan on killing you right away. En, don’t disappoint me, otherwise I’ll let you experience a life far worse than death.”
Saying so, she stood up and moved to leave the room.
“Senior…” An Ling’er hurriedly shouted, a look of desperation flashing across her beautiful eyes, “Can you give us a moment to talk?”
Xue Li frowned slightly but didn’t object, simply turning around and leaving, silently acquiescing.
After Xue Li left, one of her subordinates grinned and sharply said, “If you have anything to say, hurry and say it. Don’t make me wait, I don’t have much patience.”
Saying so, he too walked out of the hall.
Only Yang Kai and An Ling’er remained now.
The Nine Heavens Holy Land Saintess quickly came over and asked Yang Kai about his present condition, a thick meaning of concern and worry in her voice. Yang Kai repeatedly assured her he was fine and then asked her how she was doing.
An Ling’er smiled bitterly and replied, “Senior Xue hasn’t mistreated me so far, she only has me accompany her and take care of some minor tasks, so you don’t need to worry about me. More importantly… Why did you refuse Gou Qiong’s offer to redeem us?”
“Do you think I shouldn’t have refused?”
“I don’t know, but that Xue Li is not a good person, I’m afraid if we remain here we’ll encounter danger sooner or later.”
“She is not a good person, but neither is Gou Qiong,” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I refused because I want to keep control of my own life.”
“Ah? Why do you say that?” An Ling’er was lost.
Yang Kai explained carefully, “If I accepted his ransom, it that means I will owe him my life. No matter what kind of excessive demands he makes, I won’t be able to refuse.”
“But… you also saved Gou Che’s life. If you take that into consideration, shouldn’t the two things offset one another?”
“You’re still so silly,” Yang Kai knocked her head lightly, “That’s the biggest problem here.”
An Ling’er rubbed her forehead while staring at Yang Kai as if she had been greatly wronged, “I don’t get what you’re saying, explain it clearly.”
“Haa…” Yang Kai looked at her and shook his head, “You being able to grow up must not have been easy. You must thank your Nine Heavens Holy Land for keeping you inside the Sect all these years, if you had gone out on your own, I don’t know how many times you’d have died already.”
An Ling’er pursed her lips unhappily.
“I saved Gou Che, that life-saving grace should have become something we could rely on to leave the Demon Land, but now it’s actually a fatal problem. Think about the identity of Gou Che: His father is Gou Qiong, a Demon General. Didn’t Xue Li say this when we first met, ‘A solemn Demon General heir actually needing a human to save his life…’”
“The meaning of that statement was that he should not have been saved by me, or at the very least, he shouldn’t have been saved by a human. If I really accepted Gou Qiong’s ransom and allowed him to redeem us, within a few days, both you and I will wind up dead in some roadside ditch!”
“Ah!” An Ling’er yelped as she covered her mouth.
“The best way for Gou Qiong to not let news of this disgrace spread out is to silence all the witnesses to the crime. With no evidence, no one will know that his son had been saved by a mere human,” Yang Kai smiled coldly, a dangerous light flickering across his eyes.
“Isn’t all that just your speculations?” An Ling’er was somewhat unable to believe what she just heard.
“It’s not a guess, it’s a fact!” Yang Kai concluded, “Gou Qiong is not a generous man, so how could he suddenly be kind enough to redeem his son, a stranger, and two humans? You should know that the amount of ransom he paid was not small, clearly he has an ulterior motive… If my guess is right, on the way to Gou Che’s home, there are already masters waiting for us in ambush. Once we show up, all that will be waiting for us is death!”
An Ling’er tender body trembled as a sense of escaping from certain doom suddenly overcame her.
“This point, Xue Li was also well aware of! But she didn’t make any effort to inform us. That woman really is sinister…” Yang Kai gnashed his teeth.
“No wonder when you refused she smiled so weirdly, so it was like that,” An Ling’er suddenly realized; at the same time, she also felt a great sense of admiration for Yang Kai.
If it had been just her instead, she would likely have happily left with Gou Che, happily fantasizing about how Gou Qiong would thank her for saving his son, not realizing the hidden murderous intent behind all of this!
As a hint of fear flashed across her eyes, a sense of anger also welled up inside her, “Gou Che, that ungrateful dog, how could he not have known how his father thinks?”
“Hmph, he couldn’t be clearer,” Yang Kai sneered.
“You should have left him to rot in that Mysterious Small World!” An Ling’er cursed furiously.
“That was my mistake, I wanted to borrow his identity and status; unfortunately, it seems trying to be clever actually made me into a fool. Well, at least it wasn’t a total loss; he did bring us out of that desert. Without him, we might have been lost in that place for the rest of our lives. Even if we had made it out, we probably would have been chased down by other Demon Race cultivators instead of standing here comfortably in Sand City right now.”
Everything has its pros and cons, it all depends on how one thought about it.
Gou Che had truly acted cold and ruthless, but Yang Kai had never been sincere towards him either, so there was nothing to really be disappointed about.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Right now, we need to consider how to survive while still in Xue Li’s hands. Since you’re by her side, pay attention and observe her carefully, see if there’s something we can use, perhaps some casual discovery will prove to be a breakthrough point for us.”
“En,” An Ling’er nodded firmly, feeling a kind of solidarity and shared sense of destiny with Yang Kai.
As they were speaking, Xue Li’s subordinate called out to them from outside the hall, urging them to hurry up, so Yang Kai quickly said goodbye to An Ling’er and departed and was returned to his room again.
Time passed and everything was quiet.
Since Yang Kai rejected Gou Qiong’s ransom that day, he seemed to have been forgotten by Xue Li, and before he knew it, two months had gone by.
Yang Kai was also happy with the status quo for now; besides meditating and cultivating throughout the day, he spent his time communicating with the Divine Tree.
After several months, the Divine Tree’s consciousness had matured greatly, and it was now possible for Yang Kai to hold simple conversations with it.
From Yang Kai, the Divine Tree had learned a lot, and its wisdom was still growing rapidly. Today, it possessed ability equal to that of a six or seven-year-old child; besides being slightly mischievous, everything about it was excellent.
The Divine Tree was now rooted in the Black Book space and Yang Kai could supplement his own Yang Qi and Spiritual Energy from it any time or place. It was as if Yang Kai was carrying a massive storage space of energy with him which was extremely convenient to use.
After two months of dedicated cultivation, Yang Kai’s strength had increased significantly.
One day, when Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar dove into the Black Book space, he found something out of place.
The rare ores he had stored in the Black Book space seemed to have decreased in number somewhat.
These ores were collected from the last time Yang Kai entered the Starry Sky. After passing through the Starry Sky Storm, he had found many precious ores left behind from the Asteroid Sea. He wanted to use these ores to create some powerful artifacts, but had never had time to find a suitable Artifact Refiner.
Yang Kai wasn’t too clear about the exact quantity of these ores, but after checking it over a few times, there were indeed fewer than he remembered.
In the place where he had been keeping them, there was some scattered gravel remaining. These leftovers were completely composed of impurities. In other words, the essence of the original ores had been consumed, leaving only dregs behind.
Yang Kai was puzzled and quickly used brought his Soul Avatar into the Divine Tree’s core to ask it about it.
Yang Kai thought that the Divine Tree had secretly absorbed the essence from these ores but after hearing his question, the Divine Tree actually shook its head and said it had done no such thing.
Yang Kai laughed dumbly at this response and didn’t ask again.
The consciousness of the Divine Tree was only equivalent to that of a child, it was only normal for it to lie a little about such things at this age.
Yang Kai naturally didn’t have any intention to blame it, if the Divine Tree needed these ores, he would happily give all of them to it.
“Good, if these stones are useful to you, you can use as many as you want, you don’t need to ask me first. Right, there is also a pool of medicinal liquid over there, you can absorb one drop of it every day, it may help your growth.”
The Divine Tree rejoiced slightly and immediately reached out a branch towards the pool of Myriad Drug Liquid and took a drop, a moment later releasing a long, satisfied sigh.
Seeing this, Yang Kai smiled warmly, but soon after he noticed that someone was approaching his room so he quickly informed the Divine Tree before returning his consciousness back to his body.
Just as he opened his eyes, the door was pushed open and Xue Li’s subordinate waved towards Yang Kai indifferently, “Get out, Mistress wants to see you.”
Yang Kai frowned for a moment but refrained from asking anything and quickly followed the man out.
Yang Kai didn’t know what this man’s exact cultivation was, but from the pressure he felt and how highly Xue Li’s trusted the latter, it was likely this man was a Saint Realm master.
The Demon Race was generally longer lived than those of the Human Race, so from appearance alone, this person didn’t seem very old. He looked like a handsome thirty-year-old man who constantly had an arrogant expression on his face.
Only when he was in front of Xue Li would this man restrain himself, not daring to act prideful in the slightest.
“Friend, how should I address you?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
The man turned his head and stared at Yang Kai for a moment before chuckling, “Mistress said your courage wasn’t small, it seems she was right! Boy, you don’t seem to have the awareness a prisoner should have.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and replied casually, “Although I have indeed been confined by you, since you haven’t done anything to me after so long, it means that I still have some use to you. Why should I act anxiously for no reason?”
“Seems your head isn’t too bad either, good, I like it!” The man laughed before saying, “Call me Yu Mo.”
“The names of your Demon Race people are really weird…” Yang Kai shook his head.
“I think the names of your humans are the weird ones!” Yu Mo grinned.
“What does your Mistress want from me this time?” Yang Kai asked again.
“I don’t know, maybe she thinks you no longer have any value and has decided to kill you,” Yu Mo grinned as he took pleasure in Yang Kai’s misfortune, continuing scornfully, “You’d better prepare yourself, otherwise you may find yourself lacking a head without even knowing why.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly but he managed to maintain his indifferent expression somehow.
Seeing this, Yu Mo nodded secretly, feeling like this little brat was indeed somewhat different. Any average person would probably be panicking after hearing such words, but this boy actually still looked quite carefree.
In the same hall as before, Xue Li was waiting, but An Ling’er did not appear this time.
Yu Mo brought Yang Kai here, bowed respectfully, and then stood to the side, staring at the latter coldly.
Xue Li nodded lightly, lifted her eyes and swept Yang Kai, calmly saying, “I’ve kept you alive until today, are you ready to create some value for me?”
Yang Kai frowned, “What are you referring to?”
Xue Li laughed lightly before slowly standing up and continuing, “I told you before, my Sand City does not raise wastes! Since I allowed you to live, naturally I have a use for you. Good, a First Order Transcendent, it’s not easy to acquire such cultivation at your age. You should be a Core Disciple of some big force, yes?”
Yang Kai neither confirmed nor denied.
“Well that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care which force you are from, since you’ve fallen into my hands, you have no choice but to obey me. If you dare to defy my commands… you know the consequences…”
Saying so, her beautiful misty eyes flashed a cold light.
“What do you want me to do then?” Yang Kai asked calmly.
“Kill! Or being killed!” Xue Li giggled and said, “Yu Mo, explain to him carefully, it’s time for him to make his debut.”
Sitting her perfectly shaped bottom back down on her luxurious chair, Xue Li assumed a lazy positing while staring at Yang Kai faintly.
Yu Mo straightened his back and spoke to Yang Kai next, “The land around Sand City is barren, and the other places governed by Mistress Xue Li are not any more bountiful, even the World Energy is thin in her lands! Moreover, because this place is close to the vast desert, hardly any traders pass through here, so it is reasonable to say that General Xue Li’s territory should be very poor.”
“Could it be that it isn’t?” Yang Kai tilted his head and asked.
Yu Mo grinned and continued, “Not only is it not poor, on the contrary, the richness of Sand City is unmatched by any city in the Demon Land. The wealth that flows in and out of this place every year is simply incalculable.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, somewhat surprised.
Yu Mo looked at Yang Kai proudly, thinking this little brat would ask why, but after waiting for an awkward amount of time and seeing him not have any such intention, Yu Mo grew annoyed and said, “Because Sand City has something that can attract all of the Demon Land’s people. This one feature has made Sand City the most popular among all the Demon Land, even the other three Demon Generals have temporary residences here!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling somewhat interested, “What kind of place can attract so many people?”
“The Death Arena!” Yu Mo grinned, “Simply put, it is a stage that allows cultivator within the same round to engage in life or death contests. Masters from all over bet Crystal Stones or materials on the competitor they fancy, and if that person wins, they can gain a certain amount of income. The odds are all different for each contest and the gains are not fixed. If your luck is good enough, you can win a dozen times what you initially bet!”
“Isn’t that just gambling?”
“En!”
“And the banker is your Sand City? If that’s so, you will profit either way,” Yang Kai grinned.
“We also need to cultivate, and that requires materials and supplies, but this territory is too poor, so we can only find ways to gain profits from those wealthy people’s pockets.”
“So you want me to fight, right?”
“Good. Recently in the fights, we’ve had a string of bad luck and have lost quite a few Crystal Stones. You are a First Order Transcendent, so although you’re not much to look at, if you play your role right, we should still be able to recover some of our losses,” Yu Mo nodded slightly.
“Are there any benefits in it for me?” Yang Kai asked.
“You actually want benefits?” Yu Mo snorted.
“Of course, you want me to fight with my life on the line, don’t tell me there aren’t any benefits for me in this at all?” Yang Kai replied as if it were only natural.
“Interesting. Mistress, what do you think?” Yu Mo looked over at Xue Li and asked.
“Give him a little something.”
Yu Mo nodded his head in acknowledgement, turning back to Yang Kai and saying, “Since Mistress has said so, as long as you can let us win, we’ll give you a share of the profits.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Good.”
He then turned to Xue Li and asked, “If I can collect enough money this way, will you let me buy my freedom?”
Xue Li’s opened her eyes slightly, stared at Yang Kai coldly, and then closed them again before saying, “That will depend on my mood. If you behave well, I might consider it, but if you dare try to bargain back and forth or raise any fuss, I’ll immediately kill you. Yu Mo, test his ability. He better not just be trash that can only talk big.”
As soon as she spoke those words, a terrible pressure burst from Yu Mo’s body and engulfed Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s body bent and his knees sank, almost falling to the ground in that instant. Realizing the tyrannical force this aura contained, Yang Kai’s expression changed greatly as he madly circulated his True Qi to resist the pressure coming from Yu Mo.
“Hm?” Yu Mo was also greatly surprised by this development. From the moment he had laid eyes upon him, he had not liked Yang Kai, so he wanted to take this opportunity to teach this human boy a harsh lesson and have him beg for mercy. Yu Mo had wanted to let Yang Kai fall to the ground and eat dirt, crushing the always indifferent look on the latter’s face, so he was quite surprised when this little brat actually withstood the pressure he applied.
His eyes flashing a cold light, Yu Mo increased the pressure he was emitting again.
Yang Kai let out a grunt and his body once again began sinking, his knees bending further as his face turned red, clenching his teeth as he glared angrily towards Yu Mo.
*Kacha…*
The white jade floor suddenly shattered and cracks spread out from the position Yang Kai was standing, causing the hall’s walls to creak slightly from the load.
Xue Li also finally opened her eyes and stared deeply at Yang Kai, a look of anticipation appearing on her pretty face, as if she wanted to see just how the latter would resist Yu Mo.
Under Yu Mo’s terrifying aura, Yang Kai’s body quivered and blue veins began appearing on his skin, but after ten breaths of time, he seemed to have adapted to the pressure and his body slowly began straightening up again.
Yu Mo’s look changed upon seeing this. He was clearer than anyone about how much power he was using. Under such pressure, forget a First Order, even a strong Second Order Transcendent cultivator shouldn’t have been able to put up any kind of struggle, only a Third Order would barely be able to resist.
But this little brat had actually managed to do just that, although it was obvious it wasn’t easy for him to do so.
Coldly snorting, Yu Mo’s increased his power for the third time.
*Ka…*
Yang Kai’s legs sank into the ground all the way to his knees this time.
At that moment though, Yang Kai made a move, his body lifting off the ground like an arrow shot from a bow, True Yang Yuan Qi gathering in his hands as rapidly approached Yu Mo. The True Yang Yuan Qi conjugated to summon out a large golden sword in his hands, and before he could reach Yu Mo, Yang Kai had already swung it down.
Murderous intent flashed across Yu Mo’s eyes and his own Demonic Qi took on a dangerous aura.
“Enough!” Xue Li lightly said, her voice echoing throughout the hall.
Like an invisible shockwave hit him, Yang Kai’s body suddenly came to a halt and the Profound Heavenly Sword held in his hand shattered into pieces and disappeared into the wind.
Yu Mo’s quickly took back his strength before frowning towards Yang Kai who was standing nearby, coldly asking, “Boy, were you trying to kill me just now?”
Yang Kai only grinned back at him fiercely.
“Yang Qi, an annoying Qi as always!” Xue Li frowned, seemingly unhappy.
Although with her cultivation there was no way Yang Kai’s True Yang Yuan Qi could have any kind of suppressive effect on her, it was still repulsive to her, like fire and water. The Demonic Qi within her body was naturally rejecting Yang Kai’s True Yang Yuan Qi.
“Your strength isn’t bad, this King has apparently been looking down on you,” Xue Li nodded lightly. Being able to persist for so long under Yu Mo’s pressure and even daring to fight back at the last moment, trying to kill the latter, this human boy’s combat power and willpower far surpassed what his present cultivation realm suggested was possible!
As a Saint Realm master, Xue Li’s vision would not be mistaken on this point.
“Mistress, we can make good use of this,” Yu Mo swept Yang Kai indifferently, a sinister glint flashing across his eyes.
“Good, it’s time we made those bastards bleed,” Xue Li smiled coldly, “Arrange a match for him tomorrow, I want him to obtain victory after a difficult struggle!”
“Yes!” Yu Mo snickered as he looked at Yang Kai like a wild wolf eyeing a lamb.
“I have another request!” Yang Kai cracked his shoulders and quickly added before Xue Li could get angry, “This is the last one!”
“Say it!” Xue Li said unhappily.
“Give me an artifact that can change my appearance. I don’t want my true face to be seen by too many people, or there will be a lot of you demons chasing me in the future,” Yang Kai said.
Xue Li was startled for a moment but quickly recovered, grinning as she said, “You think quite far ahead.”
As long as Xue Li managed things properly, Yang Kai could bring her a great deal of wealth and all the Demon Race powerhouses she scammed wouldn’t dare direct their anger at her, so naturally their grievances would land on Yang Kai. That meant that even if he were to gain his freedom from Xue Li, he wouldn’t likely be able to escape the Demon Land alive.
Yang Kai already had such an artifact, the one Du Wan gave him.
However, he didn’t dare to use it; after all, that was the artifact he had used to change his appearance when he harvested the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower. Once someone recognized that, it would bring him even more trouble, so he could only ask Xue Li for something similar.
“I don’t have an artifact like that,” Xue Li shook her head, “But I can give you a mask, just use that to cover your face.”
“Good enough!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Take him away! Have a good rest tonight, you better not die tomorrow!” Xue Li laughed.
Yu Mo brought Yang Kai back to his room again but before leaving used several seals on his True Qi. In an instant, Yang Kai felt as if his True Qi flow had slowed several times over and even his movements were somewhat sluggish.
“Do you know why I did this?” Yu Mo asked.
Yang Kai gently nodded, not putting up any resistance. From what Xue Li had just said, it was easy to infer that she wanted him to fight a desperate battle tomorrow in order to fool the eyes of those rich Demon Race masters, causing them to misjudge his strength. That way, in the future, they underestimate Yang Kai’s strength, bet against him, and lose their money, allowing Xue Li to profit.
Without Yu Mo applying these seals, Yang Kai was likely to expose some of his strength mistakenly. The Demon Race powerhouses that were betting weren’t blind, so even a slight upsurge of strength would cause them to realize that something was amiss.