If An Ling’er had asked him to stay when she had first discovered him, Yang Kai would have left without any hesitation.
But instead she had actually encouraged him to go!
Obviously, she had done this completely out of consideration for him. An Ling’er being willing to go so far for him made Yang Kai reluctant to just abandon her.
After all, it appeared as if Nine Heavens Holy Land had suffered some kind of calamity!
Seeing Yang Kai take the initiative to stay, An Ling’er was particularly happy, hurriedly explaining what had transpired after he had entered the Holy Tomb.
Only now did Yang Kai learn that it had been nine whole months since he entered the Holy Tomb.
For the first six of those months, nothing of note had happened.
However, on a certain day roughly three months ago, the barrier around the periphery of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s nine spirit peaks had suddenly ceased functioning, catching all the Elders and Protectors somewhat unprepared.
No matter how they investigated though, they couldn’t discover what had gone wrong much less repair and re-activate the various Spirit Arrays which formed the barrier.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Saintess Nan, who noticed the disappearance of the barrier, attacked the Holy Land.
Together, the various Elders and Protectors managed to successfully repel Saintess Nan but the Holy Land suffered terrible damage in the process, many disciples suffering injuries or falling in the battle.
Immediately after that incident, foreign enemies appeared.
“Foreign enemies?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“En, my Holy Land has been a peak force for many years, but what force doesn’t have enemies? When the old Holy Masters was alive, we could still deter these foes, but after his passing two years ago, and with no new Holy Master succeeding his position, these enemies saw an opportunity. My Holy Land’s nine peaks is an excellent territory for cultivating, causing many people to secretly covet it.”
“So these enemies of yours decided to hit you while you’re down?” Yang Kai snickered.
“En,” An Ling’er nodded in agreement, looking somewhat low-spirited, “But it’s not like we have no blame in this matter. When the old Holy Master was alive, we held a dominant position, so it’s only natural they have some grievances with us…”
“Hmph, if it was just some trivial small forces, my Holy Land still wouldn’t even put them in our eyes, but…” Yu Ying followed up, frowning deeply as she lamented, “But for the past while, Saintess Nan has stirred up a great deal of trouble outside, so a few forces that have grudges against us took the opportunity to gather a large number of masters to pressure my Holy Land. These masters were either harmed directly by Saintess Nan, or had their loved ones killed by her, causing them to resent my Holy Land.”
“Seems like when it rains, it pours!” Yang Kai frowned and understood why the atmosphere inside Nine Heavens Holy Land was so bleak.
However, Nine Heavens Holy Land’s barrier failing three months ago coincided with when he obtained the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
[Could it be related to that?] Yang Kai secretly pondered, not entirely sure.
“Half a month ago, those people came to complain, demanding we turn over the previous generation’s Saintess to them, but in the battle three months ago, Saintess Nan was injured and fled far away. How are we supposed to find her now? Great Elder tried to explain the situation, but it didn’t help at all. The few forces coveting our nine spirit peaks continued to inflame the situation eventually leading to a fight. Both sides suffered multiple dead and wounded in that battle, worsening the situation, so not it is almost impossible to resolve this matter peacefully, haa…”
“Which forces are stirring up trouble?” Yang Kai asked.
“The ringleaders are the three nearby forces, Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect!” Yu Ying said with a look of disgust and anger appearing on her pretty face, “These three forces are the main culprits. If it was just one of them, even though my Holy Land’s strength has declined greatly, we wouldn’t even bother paying attention to them, but the three of them are now working together and have simultaneously drawn in a large number of outside masters. Now, my Holy Land is facing almost half the world’s forces!”
“Is the situation really that bad?” Yang Kai was also taken aback.
However, upon remember what Saintess Nan had been doing these past two years, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility for things to have reached such a point.
Wherever Saintess Nan went, death and destruction would follow, causing a huge problem for Nine Heavens Holy Land. As a Second Order Saint, Saintess Nan’s base strength was incredible; add to that her mastery of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, only a Third Order Saint Realm master would be able to subdue her. In this world, there weren’t many such masters!
Yang Kai wasn’t even sure if Soaring Heaven Sect’s Chu Ling Xiao had reached such a level.
“It’s even worse than you think!” Yu Ying’s expression became cold, “These three forces aren’t just coveting the Holy Land’s resources and land, what they’re most interested in is Ling’er!”
Saying so, she unconsciously glanced over at An Ling’er.
Yang Kai’s thoughts turned quickly and suddenly understood, “They want to force you to join one of their Sects’ disciples together with her in order to obtain the inheritance of your Holy Master, right?”
Once they acquired the Holy Master’s inheritance, they could reach the sky in a single leap, it was a huge benefit that even if they struggled for a few hundred years they couldn’t obtain.
“Exactly!” Yu Ying nodded sternly, “When they drew back half a month ago, they gave us an ultimatum, hand over Saintess Nan one month later, or they would flatten our nine peaks! But later that day, the Great Elder received a secret letter saying that if the previous generation’s Saintess couldn’t be delivered, the current Saintess would be acceptable as a substitute!”
“They’ve thought this out quite well…” Yang Kai was genuine impressed with these force’s scheme. After pausing for a moment to absorb all he had just heard, he then asked, “So, are you planning to just sit here and wait for death?”
Yu Ying’s mood became depressed as she replied, “What else can we do? Although this world is vast, we have nowhere else to go. And there’s still half a month left until the deadline, Great Elder is even now trying to convince the forces who were roped to take a step back and negotiate. If only the three local forces remain, they won’t be able to cause any waves, and once my Holy Land recovers, we can slowly deal with them.”
“Your old Holy Master has really harmed you,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head. “Why didn’t he treat those three forces better before he died, at least to the point where they won’t come to cause trouble for you?”
“Hey! Which side are you on?” Yu Ying glanced over at Yang Kai somewhat disgruntled.
“I’m just telling the truth,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“When the old Holy Master was alive, although he did treat them somewhat overbearingly and demanded they pay a certain amount of tribute each year in the form of cultivation materials, it was because of the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s shelter that their three forces could remain safe and sound,” An Ling’ Er explained, “Now they choose to repay that kindness with enmity, they’re nothing more than ungrateful wolves.”
“What do you mean? How did your old Holy Master shelter them?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
“I didn’t tell you? Our Holy Land is at the edge of the Human Territory, just over that mountain range is the Beast Sea Jungle which is the territory of the Monster Race. If it weren’t for the old Holy Master’s presence here, the Monster Race’s Great Senior over there would have already brought his forces to occupy this land.”
“Monster Race?” Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “You mean to say that over there is the Monster Domain?”
“Yes!”
“Then why haven’t they taken action as well?”
Since the old Holy Master had fallen, the Monster Race making a move should have been given. The Three Clans all had irreconcilable enmity between them to the point where fights broke out simply by meeting one another. The Monster Race not taking advantage of such a superb opportunity didn’t make sense. Given this, Yang Kai keenly realized that there should be something more to this story than meets the eye.
An Ling’er glanced over at Yu Ying, seemingly seeking her opinion. Yu Ying’s pretty face wore a complex expression as she contemplated for a while before finally nodding lightly.
Only then did An Ling’er continue, quietly explaining, “The old Holy Master and that side’s Monster Race Great Senior seem to have some friendship… them not moving is probably for this reason.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai showed an interested look, sneering as he ridiculed, “Then it seems the Monster Race is actually more humane… That Monster Race Great Senior’s strength must not be weak, right?”
“We’ve never met him, but it’s more than likely that’s the case,” Yu Ying nodded.
“And that’s the current situation,” An Ling’er said, looking straight at Yang Kai, seemingly waiting for him to state his opinion. Yu Ying also looking at him anxiously, as if she was worried he would immediately leave after learning how dire things were.
If that were to really happen, Yu Ying would probably break down and cry.
Yang Kai being able to safely return from the Holy Tomb meant he must have passed its test. That meant that as of right now, he was essentially the Holy Land’s Holy Master. With him assuming command, it would be possible to stabilize the mood of the Holy Land’s disciples and it would become more convenient to handle various large and small affairs.
Two beautiful women, one young, one old, staring at him so fixedly made Yang Kai feel a certain helplessness, eventually forcing him to ask, “Where are Xu Hui and the others?”
Hearing him ask this, both An Ling’er and Yu Ying smiled joyfully, Yu Ying quickly replying, “I’ll take you to them!”
Saying so, she immediately turned around and led the way.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er followed close behind.
“Does… does this mean you’re willing to become the new Holy Master?” An Ling’er suddenly whispered.
“I didn’t say that, so don’t misunderstand. Right now… I can make some effort, as for if it will make any difference, I can’t guarantee. I can only say that I’ll do my best. If your Holy Land is still destroyed by this catastrophe, at least you won’t be able to complain about me not trying.”
“En, en,” An Ling’er smiled brightly, “I knew you were a good person, we really are friends, right?”
“En,” Yang Kai grinned, a mischievous glint flashing across his eyes, “So you’d best not fall in love with me. If you do, I’ll leave, and we won’t be friends anymore.”
“Hmph, don’t be so arrogant!” An Ling’er blushed bright red, hitting Yang Kai a few times, grinding her teeth as she muttered, “You really think that all the women in the world will be attracted to you? Although you’re not bad, you’re not my type at all.”
“Oh? What kind of man is your type then?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Someone older than me, tall and handsome, kind and caring…” An Ling’er suddenly fell into a fantasy, quickly firing off a long list traits her dream man should have.
“Your vision is really lacking!” Yang Kai kept shaking his head, wearing an expression seemingly bloated with arrogance, causing An Ling’er to giggling.
As they flew forward, Yang Kai saw numerous broken buildings and traces of blood left behind from battle.
The busy Holy Land disciples who saw Yu Ying and An Ling’er all stopped and saluted respectfully, but when they noticed Yang Kai who was walking together with An Ling’er, they all, without exception, showed looks of shock, none of them able to believe their own eyes.
Up ahead, Xu Hui was busy directing people. Yu Ying shouted out to him, causing him to turn his head to answer her, but before he could utter a single word, his eyes suddenly bulged. It was like he had seen a ghost, causing his jaw to drop, rendering him speechless for quite some time.
In front of a collapsed building, Xu Hui stood there staring at Yang Kai dumbly, hardly able to believe his eyes.
Shi Kun, Cheng Yue Tong, and the other Elders also wore similar expressions.
“Don’t look so surprised. Or what, did you think I already died inside that tomb?” Yang Kai quipped.
Xu Hui finally came back to his senses, a trail of tears soon streaming down his face as he wore a joyful expression, trembling greatly as he cupped his fists and bowed deeply, “Greetings, Holy Master!”
“Congratulations on returning, Holy Master!” The other Elders also respectfully called out.
It seemed like Yang Kai appearing here now was equivalent to seeing hope, the haze and depression on their faces were instantly swept away.
Even the Holy Land disciples who were gathered nearby all turned fervent looks towards Yang Kai, regarding him as some kind of saviour.
In response, Yang Kai frowned and raised his hand, “Don’t be in such a rush to address me so…. Let’s put such matters aside for now; I’ve heard about the general situation from Elder Yu Ying and An Ling’er. Is there anything I can do to help? Speak freely, if I it’s within my ability, I’ll try my best to assist you.”
Xu Hui was startled, immediately understanding the meaning of Yang Kai’s words, quickly adjusting his tone as he cautiously said, “Of course, of course. The things we’re dealing with here are just minor matters such as comforting the disciples and treating the injured, there’s no need for you to intervene.”
As he spoke, Xu Hui’s eyes unconsciously glanced towards Yang Kai’s hand, a look of disappointment soon appearing on his face.
“Are you looking for this?” Yang Kai flipped his hand and summoned out the Holy Master Spirit Ring.
Everyone gathered around trembled when they saw this small ring appear. Xu Hui nodded repeatedly as his mood recovered, excitedly shouting, “Little Brother, you really brought the Holy Master Spirit Ring out!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, putting the ring on his finger in front of everyone and casually saying, “I had wanted to deliver this ring to you when I came out, but… something unexpected came up so before I reach the Saint Realm I’ll have to keep it with me. I’ll return it to you when the time comes.”
Yang Kai estimated that when he broke through to the Saint Realm he would be able to take back his Soul brand from this ring.
“No, no, this Spirit Ring is yours now, it doesn’t matter how long you want to wear it,” Xu Hui smiled, the other Elders also nodding in agreement.
“However… now that we have the Holy Master Spirit Ring, things will really be much easier,” Xu Hui said in a relieved tone, “Little brother, this old master needs to ask you to do a few things.”
“Go ahead, Great Elder,” Yang Kai nodded.
“There are a large number of injured disciples and there aren’t enough healing pills and herbs available, you I’d like to ask little brother to go to the Sect’s main Treasury to take some things out.”
“Good, lead the way.”
Xu Hui quickly nodded, issuing some instructions to the other Elders before leading Yang Kai off in a certain direction.
After they left, the shocked expressions returned to the other Elders’ faces.
“He really came out of the Holy Tomb? It’s already been nine months. How did he do it?” Shi Kun kept shaking his head, unable to understand.
“This has broken all records for the longest time spent in the Holy Tomb by far, right? I remember that the previous record was only two months.”
“Taking so long to pass the Holy Tomb’s test, could it be this new Holy Master’s ability is that poor? Did we perhaps look too highly upon him?”
“None of that matters, the most important thing is that he brought out the Holy Master Spirit Ring, so the Spirit Arrays that form the barrier around the nine peaks can be reactivated and we can prevent those bastards’ invasion.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Only Yu Ying’s eyes flashed an extremely complex light.
She had yet to figure out how Yang Kai had just fooled her senses and silently appeared beside her. Even if he had mastered the Nine Heavens Divine Skills, he still shouldn’t have been able to accomplish such a feat.
Had they looked too highly upon him, or were they actually still underestimating him?
“Yu Ying, what’s wrong?” Cheng Yue Tong saw her friend acting somewhat unsettled and quickly came over to ask.
“Nothing, I was just thinking that this future Holy Master is very different.”
“Different how?” Cheng Yue Tong asked curiously.
“I’m not sure,” Yu Ying slowly shook her head before turning around and shouting, “What are you staring at? Don’t you have things to do?”
The disciples who had gathered around were suddenly awoken from their daze and quickly scattered like frightened birds, returning to their own individual tasks.
However, word of the new Holy Master successfully passing the Holy Tomb’s test still spread rapidly, causing all the Holy Land disciples who heard the news to rejoice, feeling the Holy Land now had hope.
At the same time, Yang Kai and Xu Hui arrived in front of the Holy Land’s main Treasury.
After a quick inspection, Yang Kai was quite surprised; he didn’t know what material this Treasury was made from but even with his unusually powerful Divine Sense he couldn’t even penetrate its outer layer much less see what was stored inside. On top of that, this Treasury was obviously incredibly sturdy, essentially impregnable to outside attacks.
On the way over, Xu Hui had also given Yang Kai a quick explanation of the situation.
The materials collected by Nine Heavens Holy Land that weren’t immediately needed were usually sent to this Treasury for preservation. Over the years, the amount of rare and precious material stockpiled in this vault was considerable.
However, since the fall of the old Holy Master, this place had become inaccessibly.
Over the past two years, the remaining materials in the Holy Land had slowly been used up, and after experiencing this most recent disaster, the last remnants had been consumed clean, leaving many of the injured disciples without any healing pills, let alone pills used to cultivate.
So right now the highest priority was to open the Treasury so the supplies inside could be used.
But the only key to open the Treasury was the Holy Master Spirit Ring brought out by Yang Kai.
Following Xu Hui’s instructions, Yang Kai poured his True Qi into the Holy Master Spirit Ring and then pushed the ring on his finger into a slot in the center of the Treasury’s door.
A flash of light appeared and the heavy door slowly slid open.
A huge underground warehouse appeared in front of Yang Kai’s eyes that were lined with all kinds of commodities such as herbs for Alchemy, metals for Artifact Refining, jade bottles filled with finished pills, and countless artifacts.
Yang Kai was dazzled and even somewhat shocked by this sight.
After all, this was the storage space for the accumulated wealth of an apex level force; the amount of wealth in this place was simply beyond Yang Kai’s imagination.
“Little brother, have a look around for yourself, if there is anything you need, feel free to take it, I will go call some disciples right now to help bring out the materials we need!” Xu Hui said to Yang Kai before turning around to leave.
Yang Kai was immediately overjoyed.
The materials here were diverse and abundant, enough to supply the needs of ten thousand disciples for quite some time. It was no wonder that the three nearby forces had taken the risk of attacking Nine Heavens Holy Land. Without even mentioning how good the surrounding nine spirit peaks were for cultivating, just the wealth stored in this vault was enough to make them salivate.
Whether in good times or in bad times, what ultimately moved people were benefits, this was an unchanging truth.
Yang Kai didn’t have the slightest reservations and immediately began wantonly stuffing herbs used for Alchemy into the Black Book space in preparation for whatever the future held.
Yang Kai still needed to increase his Alchemy skill. Although he could currently refine Saint Grade Low-Rank pills, he was not very adept at it yet. Only when he became capable of refining Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills could he return to the endless Snow Mountain Range to find Coffin Slave Senior, enter the Mysterious Small World, and free the Ancient Demon Clan from their captivity.
Compared with Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai valued Li Rong and Han Fei more.
It was also because of his complicated relationship with the Ancient Demon Clan that Yang Kai didn’t want to have much to do with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Humans and Demons were irreconcilable enemies, if he were to become both the Holy Master and leader of the Ancient Demon Clan, if a conflict were to erupt between the two, Yang Kai would find himself caught in the middle.
In no time at all, Yang Kai had swept away a lot of precious spirit herbs, even acquiring materials necessary for the Saint Pill the Ancient Demon Clan needed.
Finally, Yang Kai had collected all the materials needed for that Saint Pill!
Yang Kai’s was in utter joy. Even after collecting numerous materials already, it seemed that none of the supply has diminished in the slightest. It was only when he started collecting some Crystal Stones for cultivating, that he stopped.
Xu Hui bustled about inside, stuffing a large number of Universe Bags with herbs before handing them to the disciples waiting outside and instructing them to deliver them to the Holy Land’s Alchemists.
Half a day later, this work slowly came to an end.
“Little brother, did you not find anything you needed?” Xu Hui saw Yang Kai empty-handed, without even a single Universe Bag, and misunderstood that he had returned empty handed.
However, Xu Hui was also keenly aware that besides the things he had taken, a large amount of supplies, especially high grade Alchemy’s material, were now missing, puzzling him greatly.
“I’m fine,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
“Let’s go then, if you want, you can come back here anytime,” Xu Hui laughed, no longer raising the issue.
After leaving the Treasury, Xu Hui then said, “I’ll have to trouble little brother to follow this old master again so that the Nine Peak barrier can be opened again.”
Yang Kai nodded, indicating to him to lead the way.
The Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier were profound, the culmination of all the previous Holy Masters’ countless years of effort. Once opened, this barrier could withstand the indiscriminate attacks of a Saint Realm master undamaged for some time.
Although every Holy Master was a peak Third Order Saint, but there were always times when the Holy Master had to leave the Holy Land. When he left, it was this barrier that kept the Holy Land safe.
Yang Kai wasn’t proficient in barrier type Spirit Arrays as he had almost never been involved in arranging them before; however, it is not necessary for him to spend a lot of time learning about the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, all he had to do was use the Holy Master Spirit Ring in accordance with Xu Hui’s instructions to re-activate it.
Traveling back and forth among the nine spirit peaks, stopping from time to time, Yang Kai consumed a massive amount of True Qi until half a day later the Spirit Array was successfully re-started.
World Energy once again began to rapidly flow towards the Holy Land while at the same time a thin energy membrane barely visible to the naked eye enveloped Nine Heavens Holy Land, protecting it from the outside world.
Xu Hui was completely shocked!
He was well aware of just how much True Qi it took to activate this Spirit Array; even the previous generation’s Holy Master couldn’t re-start after it shut down it within half a day.
It was a Spirit Array that covered the entire Holy Land.
However, Yang Kai did just that, and even after activating the Spirit Array, his face wasn’t the slightest bit flushed, as if he hadn’t exerted any effort at all.
Xu Hui couldn’t even begin to speculate how massive the amount of True Qi hidden inside Yang Kai’s body was, causing him to be deeply astonished.
Realizing this, Xu Hui’s attitude became even more respectful.
He knew that although his current cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, in a short time, this young man would definitely ascend to a height that he would forever be unable to reach. At that time, the entire Holy Land would have to rely on Yang Kai.
After hurrying about for an entire day, most of the Holy Land’s immediate concerns had been dealt with.
As night fell, clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the starlight, causing a heavy aura to cover the sky above the Holy Land.
The various Protectors and Elders of Nine Heavens Holy Land gathered to discuss how to deal with the crisis which would befall them half a month later.
The various masters, led by the Holy Land’s neighbouring three forces, had already declared that after half a month, they either surrender the previous generation’s Saintess or hand over current generation’s Saintess, otherwise it would be war.
The three forces who had been suppressed by Nine Heavens Holy Land, daring to make such a bold statement obviously indicated how great their confidence was, otherwise their attitude wouldn’t have been so intractable.
Handing over the previous generation’s Saintess was impossible for Xu Hui and the other Elders, they didn’t even know where Saintess Nan was right now. Likewise, it was impossible for them to hand over the current generation’s Saintess. A battle half a month later was essentially inevitable.
Not even knowing what this meeting was about or what intentions this group of Elders had, Yang Kai was dragged over and forced to attend by An Ling’er.
As the various Elders were discussing matters, Yang Kai remained silent, showing no intention to express his own opinion.
Yang Kai had enough self-knowledge. Although this group of Saints continuously expressed their expectation that he inherit the Holy Master’s position, at this critical juncture, he had no decision-making power. In all of their opinions, Yang Kai was still too young.
Therefore, Yang Kai just chose to remain silent.
After listening for a while, Yang Kai was surprised to discover that no one here had any thoughts of escaping, they were all determined and stay behind and fight to defend the honour of the Holy Land.
Yang Kai shook his head secretly, deciding not to pass judgement on this decision.
Although he also knew that by fleeing to the mountains one didn’t need to worry about having firewood to burn, Yang Kai was also aware that a large force like Nine Heavens Holy Land wanting to migrate was not an easy task. Even if Xu Hui and the other Elders could safely evacuate, the common disciples would likely be abandoned.
Right now, the most crucial thing was how to console the foreign masters that were gathered together by Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect. As long as they could make these masters withdraw, even with its current weakened strength, the Holy Land could easily repel the three local forces.
After discussing this matter at length yet not reaching any kind of consensus, everyone’s eyes suddenly turned to Yang Kai who was sitting to the side drinking his tea.
“What are you looking at me for? I’m used to wandering freely, I don’t have any experience about such matters. You talk, I’ll just listen.”
“Heh heh…” Xu Hui let out a hollow laugh and calmly said, “Though that may be the case, surely little brother has some opinions of his own, yes? Please share them with us, perhaps a fresh perspective will help us find a solution.”
The other Elders in the room all turned looks of anticipation towards Yang Kai as well, seeming curious about what he would say.
Yang Kai wrinkled his brow, and although he was somewhat unwilling to contribute, he still reluctantly asked, “How many Saint Realm masters are there among the three forces stirring up trouble?”
Xu Hui’s expression brightened as he quickly replied, “These three forces are not very powerful, each of them only possessing two Saint Realm masters, all of which as basically First Order. The only one we need to pay attention to is Zhang Ao from Shattering Mystical Palace, that old bastard’s cultivation is the same as mine, Second Order Saint. If the two of us were to really fight, it’s not certain who would win.”
Yang Kai expression moved slightly. Each of the three local forces possessing two Saints meant there was a total of six Saint Realm opponents, five of which were First Order while one of them was Second Order.
This lineup was the same in terms of number and cultivation as the current Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Right now, Nine Heavens Holy Land had one Second Order Saint and five First Order Saints.
This was not counting the forces which had been roped in by the three forces though; there were surely a number of powerhouses among this group. Having just suffered an attack from Saintess Nan, Nine Heavens Holy Land wanting to repel such a force was indeed unrealistic.
Moreover, if it really came down to a fight, even if Nine Heavens Holy Land survive, it might never be able to rise up again.
There were simply too many forces involved in this matter.
They had never wanted to become enemies with so many forces, but the trouble caused by Saintess Nan was undeniable so naturally Nine Heavens Holy Land’s had to take some responsibility.
“Haven’t you thought about asking for help? Nine Heavens Holy Land has existed for so many years so shouldn’t you have some allies?” Yang Kai suggested hesitantly, “Can’t you ask your allies for help during this crisis in exchange for a favour down the road?”
When Yang Kai spoke these words though, everyone else in the room wore an awkward embarrassed.
Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately understood. Nine Heavens Holy Land really had no allies! When the old Holy Master was alive, they were conceited, thinking that no force in the world could stand on the same level as their Holy Land, but as a result, now that their Sect had encountered a crisis, obviously no one would come to their aid.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead for a while, rendered absolutely speechless by this fact.
He could ask Soaring Heaven Sect for help. His three Marital Uncles and his Martial Aunt would definitely respond, but there simply wasn’t enough time for that. By the time Yang Kai returned to Soaring Heaven Sect, Nine Heavens Holy Land would likely already be destroyed.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, solemnly saying, “That Monster Race Great Senior… Have you ever thought about asking him for help?”
“The Monster Race Great Senior?” Xu Hui’s complexion changed.
“En, since he is a Great Senior, his strength and the strength of his subordinates is certainly not weak.”
“You must be joking,” Shi Kun frowned, “Those Monster Race powerhouses only regard us humans as eyesores. If we were to ask for help from them and they accepted, once word of it spread out, Nine Heavens Holy Land would immediately become an enemy of the entire human race and never be able to rise again.”
“Exactly,” Yu Ying gently nodded, agreeing with Shi Kun’s statement, “No matter how bad the situation becomes, it is impossible for us to ask for reinforcements from the Monster Race. In addition, none of us have ever met with that Monster Race Great Senior, only the old Holy Master has some friendship with him, there’s very little chance we could convince him to help even if we did ask.”
Yang Kai was stunned, never having expected his proposal to be so firmly rejected; only not understanding that he had greatly underestimated the degree of hatred between the different races.
He was not a native of Tong Xuan Realm and although he had been in this world for a number of years now, the deep-rooted prejudices of this world had not affected him much.
Before coming here, Yang Kai hadn’t even known about the existence of difference races like the Demon Race and Monster Race.
“There is a person who, if he can be found, may be able to easily resolve the Holy Land’s crisis,” Xu Hui suddenly fell into contemplation and whispered softly.
“Does Great Elder mean that man?” Cheng Yue Tong seems to remember something and immediately asked.
“En.”
“What man?” Yang Kai was curious, not knowing who they were talking about, but surmising he was some extraordinary master.
“An old man with mysterious origins, we don’t know anything specific about him, but he should be an old friend of the previous Holy Master. Half a year before the old Holy Master fell, that old man suddenly came to visit him and stayed a few days in the Holy Land. During that time, the old Holy Master was very courteous towards him, so the relationship between them shouldn’t be just a casual one. If we can find him, he would surely help us.”
“En, that old man had a profound aura around him, as if he was impossible to see through. Moreover, I have never seen the old Holy Master act so politely towards another individual before, so he obviously isn’t some average person,” Yu Ying followed up.
“An old man with mysterious origins?” Yang Kai was stunned, “Do you have any idea where he is now?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“However, he should return to the Holy Land again at some point,” Xu Hui suddenly said confidently.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because when he came to my Holy Land, the little girl accompanying him left something behind on one of the nine peaks. After he left, the old Holy Master told me to pay special attention to that place and not allow anyone to approach or damage it. I assume after a certain period of time that old man and little girl will come back here and retrieve whatever it is they deposited there.”
“En, after that little girl set up some kind of array in that place, I had a casual look once,” Meng Tian Fei nodded, somewhat helplessly confessing, “Whatever it is she did though, has made the place uninhabitable. If one stays there too long, they’ll freeze, even I couldn’t stand being there for very long.”
Listening to their words, Yang Kai suddenly understood what they were talking about.
When he was opening the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier with Xu Hui during the day, he indeed came across an odd place. That region was particularly cold, and not just in a temperature sense. There was some kind of unusual chill in the air that caused one to feel quite uncomfortable.
At the time, Yang Kai thought it was a natural occurrence, some kind of restricted zone in Nine Heavens Holy Land, but apparently that was not the case.
However, suddenly hearing about an old man accompanied by a little girl, a certain familiar pair emerged in Yang Kai’s mind.
Chuckling to himself, Yang Kai shook his head, thinking there was no way such a coincidence could possible happen.
With a smile on his face, he asked casually, “That old guy you mentioned, he wouldn’t happen to be a geezer that tries to put on a sagely appearance yet has a wandering obscene gaze?”
Xu Hui didn’t have time to respond before Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both nodded, Yu Ying even gritting her teeth as she grumbled, “Exactly! That old bastard’s eyes were always staring at places they shouldn’t be.”
Cheng Yue Tong also chimed in, “En, en, at his age yet still acting so wantonly, Yu Ying and I somehow managed to treat him politely, but in truth we couldn’t wait to dig out his eyes!”
The breathing of the two beautiful women both became rough, seemingly still quite angry with that old man.
Xu Hui, on the other hand, smiled dumbly, “Aren’t you two perhaps mistaken? When one reaches a certain height, their eyes are naturally filled with ‘life’.”
Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong both glared coldly at Xu Hui at the same time.
“Ahem, just pretend I never said anything,” Xu Hui’s immediately retreated.
Yang Kai’s expression, on the other hand, became cramped, his pulse slightly accelerating as a sense of excitement and expectation filled his chest, continuing to ask, “Was that little girl wearing a veil, making people unable to see her true appearance, but still giving off a pure, and innocent aura?”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Yang Kai with amazement, Xu Hui asking in a shocked tone, “Holy Master, you… *ahem*, little brother, how did you know?”
“Seriously?” Yang Kai suddenly felt a little dumbfounded, quickly confirming his suspicions, “Did she also wear a light blue gem on her forehead?”
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, everyone nodded, Yu Ying adding, “Although that old guy was somewhat hateful, the little girl who was accompanying him was another story entirely. Although we couldn’t see her true appearance, I don’t think she was any less beautiful than our Saintesses, and… her cultivation was also incredible, no worse than yours. Before meeting you, she was the greatest genius of the younger generation I’d ever seen.”
“That was two or three years ago, her current cultivation is probably higher than mine!” Yang Kai declared, his mood suddenly become somewhat complicated.
Meng Wu Ya and Xia Ning Chang!
There were not many people who the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land would treat with courtesy, but Meng Wu Ya was one of them. Coupled with the fact he was followed by a little girl similar to Xia Ning Chang… The people Xu Hui and the other Elders were talking about could only be them.
They had actually come to Nine Heavens Holy Land, a fact that surprised Yang Kai greatly.
“Does little brother know them?” Xu Hui and the others glanced around at each other after noticing Yang Kai’s unusual state, the meaningful smile on his face that was somewhat absentminded, as if he was lost in his memories, making them realize that this new Holy Master might be old friends with that pair.
“How should I put this…? I’m acquainted with them,” Yang Kai smiled.
Xu Hui’s mood brightened and was just about to ask but Yang Kai cut him off before he had the chance, “Unfortunately I haven’t seen them for a number of years and I don’t know where they are right now.”
“Ah…” Xu Hui showed a disappointing look, but quickly recovered, “Since we can’t find someone to help us, we can only rely on our own strength now. Fortunately, little brother has retrieved the Holy Master Spirit Ring so if those people dare to attack, they will certainly pay a heavy price!”
“Good!” The crowd nodded, continuing their discussion.
Yang Kai found an opportunity and sneak away.
Following his memories from earlier that day, he soon came to a certain spot on one of the nine peaks.
This mountain was not much different from the other eight, standing tens of thousands of meters high, towering up into the sky, a magnificent scene to behold.
However, halfway up the mountain, a frigid aura appeared. The higher one climbed, the more intense this aura became and close to the summit, countless icicles hung from the rocky ridges, like sharp spears.
During the day, when Yang Kai was reactivating the Nine Peaks Spirit Array, he had found this place somewhat odd, but had not given it much thought at the time.
Now he wanted to see just what his Little Senior Sister had set up and left behind here.
Flying upwards, it only took a moment to reach the summit where the chill in the air was so strong it seemed to penetrate into the depths of the soul and freeze one’s thoughts.
Yang Kai began probing the area but soon paled slightly. He found that even with his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, he had to exert his full strength in order to stop his Soul from being affected by the chill in the air.
As for his body, even circulating his True Qi at full speed Yang Kai couldn’t completely dispel the cold which penetrated his skin.
[How strange!]
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, but with great confidence in his ability still boldly went forward.
After a while, a clear and deep pond suddenly appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes, the chill seemingly emanating from its depths. Around its perimeter was small depression, which seemed to have been left by people. [It seemed that not everyone from the Nine Heavens Holy Land has completely avoided coming here.]
Around the deep pond, there were some subtle energy fluctuations, arranged in a mysterious and profound manner.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to probe these fluctuations and soon a smile of delight appeared on his face.
This was definitely his Little Senior Sister’s handiwork. Yang Kai could tell because the Spirit Arrays which were giving off the energy fluctuations contained many traces of the Spirit Arrays he had taught Xia Ning Chang.
Why had she done this though? From what Yang Kai heard from Xu Hui, Xian Ning Chang and Treasurer Meng did not take anything away from this place, probably because the time was not right, which also indicated that they’d likely return at some point.
What secrets were hidden in the depths of this frigid pond? Was it related to breaking the seal placed on Meng Wu Ya?
Yang Kai secretly guessed but couldn’t say for certain.
Chu Ling Xiao said that Meng Wu Ya had fought with the Demon Commander and was hit by the latter’s Profound Heavenly Seal, suppressing his cultivation to the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary. This led to Treasurer Meng to seek refuge in Yang Kai’s homeland. Searching for someone with a Sacred Spirit Medicine Body might also have been a reason Meng Wu Ya traveled to the other world.
Beneath the Central Capital, Meng Wu Ya managed to lift the first layer of the seal and restore his strength to the Second Order Transcendent Realm. After not seeing him for so many years though, Yang Kai couldn’t be sure what his current situation was.
Yang Kai had always been very curious about Treasurer Meng’s true cultivation.
That old man knew Chu Ling Xiao and was friends with Ice Sect’s Sect Master, Qing Ya, he even knew the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land…
Which one of these three was not a top level master? Being able to associate with such people must mean Treasurer Meng’s true strength couldn’t be much worse than theirs.
On top of that, everywhere he went, he seemed to leave behind a profound impression on others.
“Why did you come to see the Reflecting Moon Pond?” A voice suddenly called out from behind. Yang Kai was in deep thought and hadn’t even detected this newcomer’s approach, so when he heard these words he immediately condensed his True Qi, but in the next instant he calmed down and turned to look at An Ling’er and said, “I just wanted to take a look around. This place is called Reflecting Moon Pond?”
“En,” An Ling’er smiled as she looked up into the sky, “There’s no moon tonight, if there were, the view would have been even more beautiful. What kind of secret the Reflecting Moon Pond holds, no one knows, but it can show a near perfect reflection of the moon and stars above, indistinguishable from the real thing. I used to come here to play with Xiao Lian frequently…”
Seeming remembering about her three sisters who were killed by Saintess Nan, An Ling’er’s mood suddenly dampened.
“Is it really so mysterious?” Yang Kai quickly changed the subject to avoid An Ling’er dwelling on her sadness, “Even though it’s inside your territory, your Nine Heavens Holy Land doesn’t know what’s hidden here?”
An Ling’er shook her head slowly, “Great Elder and the other Elders don’t dare explore its depths. No one knows how deep this Reflecting Moon Pond is. The old Holy Master once went down to try to uncover its mysteries but returned empty handed; after he came out, he forbade anyone else from entering though, so what is hidden inside, no one knows. Moreover, originally, this peak didn’t have this pervasive chill, only when one dove into the Reflecting Moon Pond would they feel cold. I don’t know how it became like this but it should be related to the Spirit Array that little girl arranged here.”
After she finished explaining, An Ling’er apparently couldn’t take it anymore, shivering as she hastily said, “Let’s go back, it’s too cold here.”
Yang Kai nodded, not insisting on staying any longer, and flew down with her.
Yang Kai spent the rest of the night in contemplation and reflection, eventually coming to a decision about his next course of action.
The next day, he went to find Xu Hui and directly said, “Great Elder, I want to meet that Monster Race Great Senior!”
Upon hearing this, Xu Hui couldn’t help doing a double-take, hurriedly asking, “Why does little brother want to see him? Do you still want to ask him for help?”
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “He might have had a relationship with the old Holy Master but no friendship exists between him and I, even if I ask him for help, the answer will obviously be no.”
“Then why do you…” Xu Hui somewhat couldn’t understand.
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became solemn and he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Great Elder, have you ever thought about abandoning the Holy Land’s territory?”
“You mean escaping?” Xu Hui frowned.
“Yes, escaping, of course, only temporarily,” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “As the saying goes, by staying in the azure mountains, one need not fear having wood to burn. Now, surrounded by foreign enemies, the Holy Land has no way to resist. If the situation really breaks down and turns into a fight, I’m afraid Nine Heavens Holy Land will really be destroyed in your generation. When things reach that point, how many of you will be able to escape? Perhaps you Elders and Protectors with your profound strength and deep cultivation will be able to flee, but what about the remaining disciples?”
Xu Hui expression became gloomy as he sighed deeply, “this is something we all understand, but the Holy Land’s disciples number between six and seven thousand, where could we possible go with so many people? Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect have all chosen to thoroughly offend my Holy Land; naturally they won’t give up easily now. They also understand the concept of beating a snake to death to avoid future calamities. I’m afraid that if we try to stage a mass evacuation, they will immediately chase after and attack us. Since that’s the case, we might as well stay and fight where we have the territorial advantage.”
“So, you have considered it?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
Xu Hui nodded somewhat awkwardly, “Although doing so is a great humiliation to our ancestors, right now what’s most important is to preserve the blood of the Holy Land. When we have accumulated enough strength, we can stage a comeback and make those who desecrated the Holy Land pay a steep price!”
As he spoke these words, Xu Hui’s face filled with determination and anger.
“Good good, since you’ve already thought about it, I don’t need to worry about convincing you,” Yang Kai laughed sinisterly, continuing a moment later, “I have a place to safely house all the Holy Land’s people. As long as we move there, no one will have any way of harming you.”
“Oh?” Xu Hui’s eyes lit up, asking somewhat curiously, “Little brother is referring to…”
“It’s not convenient to tell you now; just wait, when the time comes I’ll inform you. Of course, the premise is that you believe me!” Yang Kai said vaguely.
“I believe, naturally I believe!” Xu Hui nodded repeatedly, soon becoming confused though, “What does any of this have to do with you going to see that Monster Race Great Senior?”
“These two matters really have nothing to do with each other, at least not directly, but if you really agree to give up the Holy Land’s territory for a while, I think seeing that Monster Race Great Senior is a necessary,” Yang Kai grinned fiercely, “The Holy Land’s foundation can’t simply be handed over to those three forces freely; in that case… if that Monster Race Great Senior learned that Holy Land was now empty, what do you think he would do?”
Xu Hui knit his brow slightly and quickly muttered, “The World Energy aura inside the Monster Race’s territory isn’t nearly as rich as my Holy Land’s. They have also coveted this place for a long time. If they were to learn that the Holy Land had been deserted, I’m afraid they would immediately invade and occupy the nine peaks…”
As he spoke, Xu Hui suddenly understood what Yang Kai wanted to do, a look of shock filling his eyes as his face twitched slightly. He had never expected that this new, young Holy Master actually had such a sinister and devious side.
Yang Kai smiled villainously as he spoke in a frightful tone, “My mother taught me, those who respect me one step, I should respect ten steps, but those who wrong me, I should beat three times over!”
Xu Hui couldn’t help feeling a chill run up his spine, as if he had just been thrown out into a frigid blizzard, only able to mutter somewhat haltingly after a long time, “Your mother is a true hero…”
“Good, I know that you can’t take responsibility for such a decision alone, go discuss it with the other Elders now, if they all agree, let me know.”
Xu Hui’s eyes flashed as he cupped his fists and said, “Although I can’t take responsibility for such a decision by myself, if little brother were to promise to inherit…”
“Scram!” Yang Kai didn’t wait for Xu Hui to finish before bluntly cutting him off.
The corner of Xu Hui’s lips twitched for a moment before he let out a sigh and flew off.
The Patreon changed, so I wanted to reschedule everything to be 9 Chapters this week. Do enjoy ~
Yang Kai hated being led around by others, his fate could only be forged with his own hands.
It was for this reason that he had always been extremely opposed to the idea of inheriting the position of Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, because this was not something he sought on his own. No matter how friendly the people of the Holy Land were to him, his intentions were simply incompatible.
However, when Yang Kai learned that Xia Ning Chang and Meng Wu Ya came here and arranged something around the Reflecting Moon Pond, Yang Kai’s resistance to Nine Heavens Holy Land noticeably decreased.
By preserving the foundation of Nine Heavens Holy Land, perhaps he could meet his Little Senior Sister again in the future!
He had already found Su Yan who was now staying in Ice Sect, concentrating on cultivation. As for Old Demon, Yang Kai wasn’t worried, that old Devil Lord was not someone good to provoke. It was only his Little Senior Sister that he would often worry about.
Now that he had found a concrete method to reunite with her, Yang Kai naturally didn’t want to see this hope dashed by some foreign enemies’ invasion.
Therefore he had taken the initiative to make this proposal to Xu Hui’s.
Soon, Xu Hui sent word and, just as Yang Kai had expected, after learning that there was a place that could safely house the Holy Land’s disciples, the various Elders and Protectors all expressed their willingness to temporarily evacuate in order to preserve their strength in anticipation of retaliating one day.
However, regarding this place which could house six or seven thousand disciples, they were obviously curious and repeatedly inquired about. However, Yang Kai was unwilling to inform them and the issue was only resolved when An Ling’er stepped forward to mediate the situation, convincing the Elders to temporarily back off.
“Since you’ve decided to follow my suggestion, let’s move on to other matters. Tell me everything you know about that Monster Race Great Senior,” Inside a grand hall, Yang Kai looked across at the Elders and quickly said, “The more detailed the better.”
After coming to Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had only ever met a single member of the Monster Race.
The Charm Monster!
That devilish woman could use her Spiritual Energy toxin to stimulate the basest desires buried inside a human’s heart. But aside from that, Yang Kai essentially knew nothing about the Monster Race. Now that he was planning to go see a Monster Race Great Senior, naturally he had to prepare himself.
“None of us have met that Monster Race Great Senior, but from what the old Holy Master told us, he is an Eighth-Order Monster Beast. What’s more, he is naturally capable of cultivating two different elemental attributes. His strength is quite impressive and he has a number of powerful inborn Divine Abilities.”
“An Eighth-Order Monster Beast…” Yang Kai frowned. In the past he had speculated that a Sixth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a human Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, while a Seventh-Order was equivalent to a Transcendent. So, an Eighth-Order was essentially a Saint.
In other words, the Monster Race Great Senior had strength on par with a Second Order Saint Realm master at least, most likely a Third Order!
“That Monster Race Great Senior also has a number of Eighth-Order Monster Beast subordinates who, while not as strong as him, are by no means weak. There are also a large number of Seventh-Order and Sixth-Order Monster Beasts who serve under him but those who have achieved human form only number around twenty.”
“Twenty or so, all of them at least equivalent to Transcendent, Seventh-Order and above…”
“They are naturally gifted in combat as well, so although they have not cultivated any Martial Skills, their strength in battle should not be underestimated.”
“They also don’t understand Spirit Arrays, so the World Energy where they live is not very rich and is completely determined by nature.”
Everyone began explaining what little information they knew to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai listened carefully to them, only asking curiously once they had finished, “The hatred between the two races is not shallow, so how did your old Holy Master manage to befriend that Monster Race Great Senior?”
Xu Hui chuckled and explained, “The Monster Race’s territory doesn’t have many Crystal Stone mines but it has an abundance of spirit grasses and spirit medicines. Once, the old Holy Master went out to search for a certain herb and coincidentally ran into that Monster Race Great Senior. The two of them fought for a while but neither of them could triumph over the other. After exchanging blows for a while, they apparently gained a kind of mutual respect for one another and negotiated a kind of trade deal. From then on, the old Holy Master would occasionally bring a large number of Crystal Stones with him to exchange for spirit grasses, spirit herbs, and some rare ores and materials from that side. They aren’t very proficient in Alchemy or Artifact Refining, so the artifacts and pills they use were basically supplied to them by the old Holy Masters.”
“So it’s like that…” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Then, if that Monster Race Great Senior still respects that old friendship, I shouldn’t encounter any danger this time… En, that should be the case!”
“Why do you think so?” Xu Hui asked curiously.
“The old Holy Master fell almost two years ago. The Monster Race must have gotten word of such a big development a long time ago yet they haven’t taken any action. The only explanation is because the Monster Race Great Senior doesn’t plan on hitting Nine Heavens Holy Land while it’s down. If that weren’t the case, your Holy Land’s current situation would be far worse than it is now!”
Listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, everyone only thought about it slightly before nodding in agreement.
“I heard that the Monster Race has a magical ground called the Beast Transformation Pond, yes?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“En,” Xu Hui nodded, “The Beast Transformation Pond is the foundation of the Monster Race. I don’t know how it was created, but every place that has a Beast Transformation Pond has a large gathering of Monster Race powerhouses living nearby. On that side, whenever a Monster Beast breaks through to the Seventh-Order, it is eligible to enter the Beast Transformation Pond, and if it’s luck and opportunity is good enough, it can transform into human form. If not, those Monster Beasts can only forever remain in their beast form.”
“Something like that really exists?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested, unable to help himself from wanting to see one of these mysterious ponds.
Xu Hui however shook his head, “Not every Monster Beast that enters it can successfully obtain a human form, I’ve heard that many Monster Beasts fail in their attempt. But even if they manage to obtain a human form, many of the Monster Races chose to remain in their true form most of the time. As such, even though we only see around twenty of them at a time, it is quite likely that there are more members of the Monster Race, possibly even double that number.”
“Impressive!” Yang Kai praised liberally.
The entire Nine Heavens Holy Land only had about that many Transcendents, which meant that the strength of the Monster Race group just across the mountains was basically on par with the Holy Land even at its peak.
“Prepare some Crystal Stones first,” Yang Kai ordered, “Since I will be meeting the Monster Race Great Senior for the first time, as a Junior, it is only natural I bring some gifts, or else I probably won’t even be able to see him.”
“Good, I will arrange it,” Xu Hui responded and immediately went out.
An hour or so later, everything was prepared. Yang Kai took two Universe Bags filled with Crystal Stones and left the nine peaks in the direction of the jungle.
The Protectors and Elders of the Holy Land all watched him leave, complicated looks upon their faces.
“Great Elder, why does it feel like the attitude of the new Holy Master has suddenly changed a lot?” Shi Kun frowned.
“En, it’s as if he has become enthusiastic about protecting the Holy Land. He used to have an indifferent attitude, but now…” Cheng Yue Tong also wrinkled her brow.
“I don’t know,” Xu Hui slowly shook his head, “But whatever the cause, it is a good thing. Him being concerned about the Holy Land today means he is more likely to succeed the position of Holy Master tomorrow.”
“Perhaps it’s related to the Reflecting Moon Pond,” An Ling’er muttered.
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Just a guess,” An Ling’er smiled, but couldn’t explain any further.
“Ling’er, can we really believe him? He said he knows of a place where so many Holy Land disciples can take shelter and has now suddenly left to meet with a Monster Race Great Senior, I can’t comprehend what he is thinking!” Yu Ying said worriedly.
“Weren’t we all prepared to fight to the death against the enemies outside our gates? If he succeeds, the situation may turn for the better, if not, we will simply have to act in accordance with our previous plans. Since that’s the case, what does it matter if we believe in him or not?”
“True,” Yu Ying smiled, feeling slightly relieved.
“But… if you’re asking me personally, I believe him,” An Ling’er’s face suddenly became solemn. “He is someone who can always survive through. Regardless of how hopeless the situation he is thrown into. Turning danger into safety, I think he can do so again this time.”
“If that’s the case, when all of this is over, whether he agrees or not, this old master will regard him as Holy Master!” Xu Hui firmly declared.
“It is exactly as Great Elder says,” The crowd nodded, their gazes filled with anticipation.
…..
Yang Kai had only just left the nine peaks before he suddenly felt he was being watched.
Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect had gathered a great many masters together and attacked Nine Heavens Holy Land half a month ago. Although they were forced to retreat, they had certainly not gone far and had obviously set up patrols nearby in order to monitor Nine Heavens Holy Land’s movements while they waited for the deadline they set to come.
Anyone who left the Holy Land’s territory would definitely be spotted by them.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t the slightest bit flustered. With his powerful Divine Sense, the cultivation levels of his pursuers were clear to him.
A single First Order Transcendent, and a dozen Immortal Ascension cultivators!
Such a team wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between Yang Kai’s teeth.
After chasing him for an hour through the mountains, those people lost Yang Kai’s trail.
The Transcendent Realm leader’s expression became solemn as he came to a halt and signaled his Immortal Ascension Boundary subordinates to gather around and carefully probe their surroundings; however, no matter how they searched, none of them could perceive Yang Kai’s position.
“Senior, where did that little brat go?” From amongst the team, a young man with a square head asked.
The Transcendent Realm master slowly shook his head, his expression becoming even more dignified as he said, “This boy is somewhat strange, we should fall back.”
“He didn’t look very old so his strength shouldn’t be too high, right?” The young man sneered, thinking this Senior was being too cautious.
“What do you know? Do you think that all young people in this world are as useless as you? That boy might look younger than you, but since he can escape from my perception, it’s obvious his strength is not to be trifled with. Perhaps… he already noticed us and was simply trying to lead us into a trap up ahead.”
The youth who had been scolded and slandered seemed to be slightly dissatisfied, grumbling under his breath, “I don’t think he’s that strong.”
The Transcendent Realm master sneered and no longer spoke any nonsense, simply saying, “If you think you’re stronger than him, go chase him yourself, I’d like to see if you can come back alive.”
Saying so, he turned around to leave.
This team was made up of cultivators from a number of forces. Because the region around Nine Heavens Holy Land they needed to monitor was vast, a large number of people were required so the groupings had become somewhat messy. After the youth was reprimanded by someone from a different Sect, he was naturally unhappy, but although his words were somewhat impertinent, since this Senior planned to leave, naturally he wouldn’t stay behind by himself. And so, with a sullen expression, the youth also followed behind the crowd silently.
The moment the youth turned around though, he saw the First Order Transcendent who was leading their team suddenly come to a stop again. Glancing at this Senior’s face, the youth noticed the former had a terrified expression and was shivering in fright.
“What happened?” The young man who had been reprimanded before couldn’t help muttering, glancing towards where his Transcendent team leader was staring. What he saw there caused him to become dumbstruck.
Down below, under the shade of a big tree, the young man who had flown out of Nine Heavens Holy Land had at some point unknown to them appeared behind them. He was just standing there smiling casually towards their group.
Everyone realized they were in a critical situation and hurriedly pushed their True Qi as they stared towards Yang Kai vigilantly.
The method this youth had used to evade their senses and approach them was enough to demonstrate his extraordinary ability. Everyone in this patrol team had some degree of vision, so they immediately understood that Yang Kai was not someone good to provoke.
In particular, the lead Transcendent, who was the closest to Yang Kai, had constantly been trying to probe the latter’s depths but no matter how he used his Divine Sense, it was like he was staring into a bottomless sea, unable to determine anything, causing him to feel extremely shocked.
“I’ll stall him, the rest of you split up!” The Transcendent Realm leader shouted to everyone.
Yang Kai simply maintained his smile, turning a deaf ear to this man’s words as he walked towards them.
As Yang Kai approached them, everyone in this patrol team felt as if a huge pressure had descended upon them from the sky, as if they were standing in the path of an avalanche, incapable of resisting.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators couldn’t help feeling like collapsing to the ground, as if under this pressure they would soon be ground into dust, bones and all.
“Run!” The Transcendent screamed, forcefully circulating his True Qi as he soared into the sky.
“You think you can run?” Yang Kai coldly snorted as his Spiritual Energy condensed into a sharp blade and shot towards the Transcendent’s forehead, in the next instant tearing apart the latter’s Knowledge Sea defences.
A small piece of jade that was worn around this Transcendent’s neck flashed brilliantly before immediately shattering.
This jade pendant was a Soul defensive artifact designed to protect against enemy Divine Sense attacks and its grade was not bad, at least Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank.
But even so, this artifact was completely destroyed by Yang Kai’s Divine Sense attack.
The man, who had just flown up into the sky, came crashing down, his eyes losing all semblance of light. The First Order Transcendent slammed head first into the ground as he let out a piercing howl, the sound passing into the ears of the surrounding Immortal Ascension cultivators, sending cold chills up their spines.
The young man with the square head realized just how massive the gap in strength between him and Yang Kai was in that instant and understood that the Senior who led his team had not made the slightest exaggeration.
The young man didn’t know what method Yang Kai had used just now, but to reduce a First Order Transcendent to such a miserable state, how deep would this youth’s cultivation have to be?
The miserable cries only lasted for ten breaths before gradually weakening and eventually stopping all together, the Transcendent Realm cultivators now lying stiffly on the ground, not moving.
Dead!
The remaining dozen or so Immortal Ascension cultivators all shuddered and the sound of their teeth chattering was audible, each and every one of them staring towards Yang Kai in horror, none of them know what to do now.
Yang Kai glanced around at them faintly, all of them quickly turning their heads as he did, none of them having the courage to meet eyes with him.
A dozen Immortal Ascension cultivators… Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling wryly at this sight. Back when he was in the Central Capital, this kind of lineup would be considered quite formidable, but only a few years later, Yang Kai could actually completely disregard their combat strength.
These people were now no different from ants before him.
“I have some questions to ask you, who can answer me?” Yang Kai suddenly said.
These people were all scared stiff, each of them thinking they were going to die soon, so none of them reacted immediately; however, the square headed youth was actually able to compose himself somewhat quicker than the others and shouted, “I can!”
Yang Kai shot a glance towards this youth and nodded lightly, “Tell me, where are you guys stationed?”
“We have a camp set up at the base of a mountain roughly fifty kilometers from your noble sect!” The young man was afraid that if he answered too slowly it would annoy Yang Kai so he blurted out a response as quickly as he could.
“How many of you are there?”
“At least three thousand…”
“That’s certainly a lot, how many Saints?” Yang Kai continued questioning. Three thousand was less than half the number of people Nine Heavens Holy Land had, but if a fight really broke out, what was important was the number of masters each side had. If one side’s masters emerged victorious, that side would win the war.
Only those with Transcendent or Saint Realm cultivations mattered. No matter how many cultivators below the Transcendent Realm there were, their combat strength would make no difference.
“Liu Gui, if you dare reveal information to the enemy, once we return, your head will fly from your neck!” One of the Immortal Ascension cultivators in the crowd with some backbone shouted after coming to his senses.
The others in the group also turned angry and disdainful looks towards the young man named Liu Gui.
Liu Gui immediately became nervous and he didn’t dare continue speaking, only able to turn a timid and anxious look towards Yang Kai, as if worried about annoying him with this indecisive attitude.
However, Yang Kai just smiled softly and nodded, “You can rest assured that no one will ever learn you told me this information, so speak freely!”
Saying so, Yang Kai waved his hand towards the surrounding Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators causing them all to lose strength and kneel on the ground, none of them able to move or even speak, each of them sweating profusely as they shivered in fear.
Having received Yang Kai’s assurance, Liu Gui seemed to be relieved and quickly revealed everything he knew.
As he listened, Yang Kai’s expression became gloomier and gloomier.
It seemed this time Nine Heavens Holy Land was truly facing a great disaster.
Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple, and Netherworld Sect had not only managed to rally their own allies and friends again Nine Heavens Holy Land, but taking advantage of the destruction Saintess Nan had wrought outside, they had even managed to rope in another dozen forces to their cause.
None of these dozen or so forces were too strong, each of them possessing a single Saint Realm master at most, some not even having such a powerhouse among their ranks.
However, counting the six Saints the three Sects had between them, the total number of Saints Nine Heavens Holy Land was currently facing was twelve.
In terms of numbers, the enemy had twice as many top level masters as Nine Heavens Holy Land; as for Transcendents, the difference was even greater.
If it became a fight, Nine Heavens Holy Land had no chance of winning, even with the help of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array and barrier; they would only be able to resist the enemy for a short time.
As Xu Hui had said, since the three Sects had chosen to thoroughly offend the Holy Land, they had spared no effort to ensure their victory. There was no chance they would give Holy Land an opportunity to make a comeback.
There had been no attacks since their first offensive not only because they had delivered the Holy Land an ultimatum, but also because they were waiting for more reinforcements to arrive.
Half a month later, they would no doubt invade in masse, destroy Nine Heavens Holy Land and plunder the wealth this colossus had accumulated over thousands of years before carving up its territory.
Besides the three Sects, the other forces had basically gathered here because of Saintess Nan and had no deep hatred with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Liu Gui was born with a square head but he was also a clever person. Even under the hate filled glares of his companions, he told Yang Kai various pieces of valuable information.
After listening to Liu Gui’s words, Yang Kai had a fairly good idea of his enemy’s situation.
Nodding lightly with a satisfied expression, Yang Kai patted Liu Gui’s shoulder in a friendly manner and praised, “Young man, you have a promising future, be sure to keep on living.”
“Yes yes… many thanks for young master’s praise,” Liu Gui responded with an awkward smile, his expression suddenly changing as he stared at Yang Kai suspiciously.
A moment ago, he felt something go missing from his Knowledge Sea, but after briefly inspecting himself, he couldn’t find anything wrong.
Yang Kai smiled and explained, “As insurance, I’ll be keeping your Soul brand with me. Don’t divulge anything that happened here after you go back; otherwise, even if we are separated by thousands of kilometers, I can easily put you to death.”
Liu Gui’s face went white and he couldn’t help stumbling backwards a few steps, fumbling for his words as he shouted, “Sou… Soul brand?”
“En. Also, don’t even think of running away, with your Soul brand in hand I can sense your location, if you dare act disloyal in any way… you know the consequences.”
“Yes yes yes, I understand!” Liu Gui nodded his head rapidly. Although he wasn’t sure what Yang Kai had just done to him, he did have a vague feeling he was no longer in control of his own fate.
“Good, I’ll take my leave then!” Yang Kai grinned, his figure flickering and disappearing before Liu Gui could blink.
Liu Gui was once again stunned but soon regained his senses and pointed to his companions who were still unable to move and shouted, “What about them?”
However, he didn’t receive any response.
Liu Gui’s expression fluctuated, becoming somewhat strained.
A moment later, Yang Kai, who was heading towards the Monster Domain, heard a faint series of screams and curses from behind him. Obviously Liu Gui had started ‘processing’ his former compatriots.
Liu Gui was not a good person. That was judged when Yang Kai had seen how he acted. He was clearly the type that would use underhanded schemes and cunning to accomplish his goals. As such, in order to protect his secrets from being leaked out, Liu Gui would naturally silence the witnesses to his crimes. This kind of person was always despicable and shameless.
However, Yang Kai needed to arrange a game piece in the enemy’s camp, so he could monitor their movements, and this kind of person who greatly feared death and would do whatever it took to survive was undoubtedly a good candidate.
As for how Liu Gui would explain how he alone survived when the rest of his team was wiped out, that was his problem.
Flying forward, Yang Kai moved as fast a lightning as he followed the directions Xu Hui had given him.
After crossing the great mountain range, Yang Kai quickly felt that he had arrived in a completely different land.
The World Energy that permeated the atmosphere was a bit strange.
Just like in the Demon Land, where the World Energy was mixed with a faint Demonic Qi, a faint Monster Qi filled the Monster Domain’s World Energy aura.
However, regardless of whether it was the Monster Qi or Demonic Qi within the World Energy of either territory, it only existed because the race which lived there had subtly influenced the world around them, causing slight changes in the natural aura.
Beyond the vast mountain range lay an expansive forest.
This place was known as the Beast Sea Jungle and it was the territory of the Monster Race.
Trees which would take several people to surround were everywhere, creating shelter from the hot sun.
Yang Kai had only just entered this place before he noticed a Monster Beast staring at him. Examining it slightly, Yang Kai discovered that this Monster Beast had only reached the Sixth-Order and thus didn’t pay it any mind, continuing forward in hopes he could find a Monster Race person he could communicate with.
But soon, Yang Kai noticed that the Monster Beast he had come across earlier was different from any he had ever encountered before.
It was actually trailing him from a short distance, not rashly launching an attack but instead seemingly monitoring him.
As Yang Kai continued forward, he ran into several other Monster Beasts, all of which began following along with him just like the first one he had come across.
On top of that, this group of Monster Beasts was well organized and disciplined, obviously having a certain degree of sentience even if it wasn’t that high.
Perceiving this, Yang Kai stopped for a moment and attempted to communicate with these Monster Beasts.
Yang Kai actually had a fair amount of experience in this area as he had spent many months communicating with the Divine Tree, allowing him to convey his thoughts relatively clearly to these creatures.
The most important thing to do now was the patiently communicate with these Monster Beasts that he bore them no malicious intent. Only after Yang Kai managed to accomplish this would the other party not act vigilantly towards him and actively engage in conversation.
During this process, showing any kind of urgency would only stimulate the other party’s wariness which would be counterproductive.
Somewhere inside the jungle, Yang Kai stood quietly, restraining his aura while integrating himself into the environment, constantly releasing his Divine Sense towards his surroundings, trying to convey his goodwill.
The nearby Monster Beasts silently hid themselves while staring fiercely towards Yang Kai’s position.
Time flowed by but Yang Kai didn’t become anxious.
After half a day’s effort, Yang Kai finally heard the sound of rustling nearby and when he turned his head he saw a giant tiger-like Monster Beast slowly emerge from its hiding place.
*Sha sha sha…*
After the first Monster Beast emerged, the others quickly followed suit and soon Yang Kai found himself surrounded.
Yang Kai swept his eyes around and couldn’t help smiling brightly.
These Monster Beasts came in all shapes and sizes but each of them had a grand an imposing appearance and aura.
When they had approached to within a dozen meters or so of Yang Kai, they all stopped and sent out low roars. At the same time, Yang Kai felt that they were trying to communicate something to him.
Unfortunately, these Monster Beasts’ intelligence was not fully developed so they couldn’t perfectly express their thoughts.
Yang Kai smiled and then passed a message back to them which went something like, “Hello everyone, I have no ill intentions in coming here today, you don’t have to worry, I just wish to see your Great Senior. If it is convenient, could you show me the way?”
After sending out this message, the giant tiger-like Monster Beast let out a growl, seemingly asking why Yang Kai wanted to see the Great Senior.
“I have something to discuss with him,” Yang Kai patiently answered.
The Monster Beasts fell into silence, each of them glance around at each other, seemingly unable to make a decision.
After a while, the tiger-like Monster Beast tilted its head back and let out a thunderous roar.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly but he didn’t make any attempt to stop it, simply standing there quietly and waiting.
Yang Kai had no idea where the Monster Race Great Senior lived, so right now his only option was to try to get these lower level Monster Beasts to help him.
Immediately after the tiger Monster Beast roared, a second roar deeper into the jungle resounded, then a third, then a fourth, each one getting farther and farther away, as if the message was being relayed over and over again.
Yang Kai blinked at this sight but quickly understood, sitting down next to a big tree and taking out a few bottles of pills from his pocket before tossing their contents out towards the nearby Monster Beasts.
These pills were all made by Yang Kai himself and were for improving the flow of one’s True Qi, allowing them to cultivate more easily.
The surrounding Monster Beasts saw these pills and carefully leaned down to smell them.
Monster Beasts had sharp instincts which allowed them to inherently avoid danger while seeking out opportunity. So, although the grade of these pills weren’t very high, the medicinal aura which leaked from them naturally drew their interest.
Within a few breaths, the pills were snatched up by the Monster Beasts and swallowed down like beans before all of them turned looks of anticipation towards Yang Kai.
Smiling and shaking his head wryly, Yang Kai could only pull out a few more bottles of pills.
Roughly half an hour later, Yang Kai, who had been sitting casually, suddenly wore a solemn expression and looked up towards a certain direction.
From the direction he was staring, Yang Kai sensed an unruly aura rapidly approaching.
On top of that, the strength of this newcomer was definitely not low, at least equivalent to a Third Order Transcendent, or in terms of Monster Beasts, a Peak Seventh-Order!
*Hong…*
A burly figure descended from the sky like a meteor, landing directly in front of Yang Kai, throwing up a cloud of dust and causing a shockwave that caused all the giant trees in the surrounding to sway wildly.
The Monster Beasts, who had been quietly waiting with Yang Kai, were frightened and quickly dispersed.
Yang Kai blinked as he stared forward, soon discovering a middle-aged male with a massive build about forty years old standing there. The man was looking down at him with eyes filled with scorn and disdain.
This man’s appearance was also quite eye-catching, wearing only some rough animal skins and having thick, messy black hair that blew about in the wind freely.
At first glance, this person appeared like a mad lion, everything about him screaming the word ‘wild’.
[A Monster Race Cultivator!]
Yang Kai immediately determined this man’s identity. After receiving the relayed message the Monster Beasts had sent out, this Monster Race powerhouse had obviously immediately rushed over.
This burly man’s eyes were filled with aggression and blood-thirst; what’s more, the once calm and friendly Monster Beasts that had been lying down next to Yang Kai seemed to be infected by this man’s aura and were now baring their fangs while letting out low growls.
Yang Kai didn’t mind however, simply grinning and standing up calmly.
“Human, you dare intrude into the Beast Sea Jungle, your courage is not small!” The middle-aged Monster Race man roared, his Monster Qi condensing as he directed a menacing intent towards Yang Kai. .
“I have some things to do here and would like to ask this friend to give me a moment to explain,” Yang Kai replied with a genial smile.
“Who is your friend!?” The burly Monster Race man shouted, turning his face and spitting before continuing to yell, “Despicable human, my Monster Race can never be friends with you!”
“Ah…” Yang Kai was speechless.
The other party was obviously completely opposed to interacting with him, causing Yang Kai to feel somewhat helpless.
“May I ask Your Excellency’s honoured name?” Yang Kai cupped his fists and asked, not giving up.
“Great Senior has bestowed me the name Kuang Shi (Wild Tiger)!” The Monster Race man’s face seemed to glow with pride as he spoke these words, as if it was a great honour for him to have received his name from the Great Senior, coldly snorting in the next instant, “Got it?”
“En, I remember,” Yang Kai nodded seriously.
“Hateful human,” Kuang Shi shook his head before asking, “What did you do to my compatriots? Why did them seem so close to you a moment ago?”
“I didn’t do anything to them, I simply gave them some pills,” Yang Kai explained casually, “Don’t worry, they’re just pills that assist one cultivate, they don’t have any harmful side effects.”
“Pills?” Kuang Shi’s eyes lit up, apparently quite sensitive to this word.
Yang Kai smiled and asked, “I have some more of those pills here, does Brother Wild want them? As this is our first meeting, consider them a small gift from me!”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out a few bottles of pills and handed them over.
Kuang Shi expression clearly showed he wanted to accept, but there were clear signs of struggle between his brows as well. After smelling the pill fragrance directly though, his desire immediately won out over his reason, reaching out and accepting the pill bottles before grumbling, “Despicable, hateful human, don’t think you can win my approval with these things… En, although, now that I take a closer look, you don’t seem to be too annoying.”
Yang Kai chuckled dumbly despite trying not to; secretly thinking this guy was a bit too pure and innocent.
If everyone from the Monster Race was like this Kuang Shi, perhaps dealing with them would be easier than Yang Kai anticipated.
Checking the bottles of pills, Kuang Shi was apparently quite satisfied and carefully put them into his pant pockets, apparently treasuring them greatly.
Curling his lips fiercely, Kuang Shi swept his eyes over Yang Kai once and asked, “I heard that you want to see Great Senior?”
He had not asked Yang Kai anything since arriving here so obviously he had received this bit of information from the message the Monster Beasts had passed along.
“Good, could Brother Wild possibly introduce me?”
Kuang Shi just laughed in response though, “Boy, what do you think my Beast Sea Jungle is? You think you can just casually meet our Monster Race Great Senior? Seeing how respectful you’ve acted so far, I won’t kill you immediately. Quickly go back to wherever you came from. I’ll give you until sunset tonight, if you dare remain here after that, tonight will be the night of your death!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled slightly as he patiently explained, “Brother Wild, I wish to see your Great Senior in order to discuss some important matters, is there any way you can stretch the rules?”
“Don’t test my patience; you humans never know when to back down. If you irritate me, your end will be very miserable. The Beast Sea Jungle never allows humans to enter, me not attacking you immediately is already a great mercy,” Kuang Shi coldly snorted.
Yang Kai just laughed though, “That’s not entirely true, Brother Wild, I’ve heard that a man used to come to your Beast Sea Jungle every now and then to chat and drink with your Great Senior, correct?”
Kuang Shi’s expression changed greatly as he shouted, “Where did you hear that? Ah… that ring on your hand, why does it look somewhat familiar?”
“Because the man who used to come here wore this ring,” Yang Kai raised his hand and clearly showed the ring on his finger to Kuang Shi, “You should have heard about the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land falling, yes? In a sense, I am his successor! The old Holy Master and your Great Senior shared some friendship, it was for that reason I came here to discuss something with your Great Senior.”
“You are his successor?” Kuang Shi couldn’t help widening his eyes as he stared at Yang Kai with amazement, “That guy was very powerful, even able to fight on par with Great Senior, how could his successor be so weak?”
Obviously he looked down on Yang Kai greatly, as if he thought one finger would be enough for him to crush the latter.
Yang Kai didn’t mind though and just continued, “You should know that the old Holy Master brought a lot of Crystal Stones and pills with him each time he came… But now two years have passed without any new supplies being brought here, yes? Since I’ve inherited the position of the old Holy Master, in the future, I also plan to bring a number of things here to trade, such as…”
“Such as?” Kuang Shi couldn’t help being attracted to this idea.
“For example, those few bottles of pills I just gave you,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Those are already mine!” Kuang Shi hastily covered his pocket and stared at Yang Kai vigilantly, fearing he would ask for them back.
“En, naturally those are yours,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “But if you want any more of those, I first need to speak with your Great Senior. Only after I reach an agreement with your Great Senior can I continue to bring such things here. Aren’t you interested in that?”
Kuang Shi lifted his head and stared off into the distance, his brow wrinkling tightly as if he was deep in thought.
After thinking for a while, he scratched his and sighed, “Why do I feel that your words are only half true… Boy, are you trying to deceive me?”
Saying so, he glared directly into Yang Kai’s eyes.
Yang Kai returned his stare, not revealing any signs of anxiety.
After some brief interaction, Yang Kai understood that although this Kuang Shi had achieved a high degree of sentience, like many of the Monster Race, he still mainly relied on his instincts.
After all, having evolved from Monster Beasts, this was understandable.
This kind of person showed everything they were thinking on their face and would change between happy and angry in an instant. If they felt that you were a good person, they would open up to you and trust you, if you weren’t pleasing to the eye though, they would not hesitate to attack.
Yang Kai actually felt that dealing with this kind of person was quite interesting.
So when he faced Kuang Shi, he didn’t try to put up any kind of front.
“Good, I’ll lead you to the Thunder Tree Palace, but whether Great Senior will see you is not something I can guarantee,” Kuang Shi hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai sighed with relief and knew that it was the approval of the other party.
Thunder Tree Palace… Although Yang Kai wasn’t familiar with this place, he simply assumed it was where the Monster Race Great Senior lived.
It was an imposing sounding name.
After agreeing to lead Yang Kai, Kuang Shi didn’t waste any time and immediately set off. Along the way he constantly warned Yang Kai to not play any tricks otherwise he would make him suffer.
Each time the subject came up, Yang Kai would promise to not cause trouble.
It wasn’t until now that Yang Kai realized just how vast the Beast Sea Jungle was, and as he flew forward he saw tens of thousands of Monster Beasts living here, from newborn cubs to the Monster Race masters that had achieved human form.
There were only a few Monster Race gatherings of this size throughout the entire Monster Domain and each one had their own Great Senior assuming command.
The Human Territory, Monster Domain, and Demon Land, were not equal in size. The Human Territory was the most extensive, followed by the Demon Land, then finally the Monster Domain.
This Beast Sea Jungle was a whole one-tenth of the entire Monster Domain.
If Yang Kai wanted to travel to Thunder Tree Palace from here, it would take at least three days.
Three days one way meant a six day round trip. While this wasn’t a short amount of time but it also wasn’t too long, so Yang Kai didn’t rush, calmly flying forward, following behind Kuang Shi as he appreciated to sights of the Beast Sea Jungle.
Under his Divine Sense’s exploration, Yang Kai discovered numerous types of rare ores, spirit grass, and spirit medicines which were simply growing wildly in the jungle, no one even attempting to mine or harvest them. Occasionally, some Monster Beasts would directly eat some of the spirit herbs like a cow chewing on grass. Seeing this, Yang Kai felt an impulse to spit blood.
If he could get his hands on these materials and refine them into pills, their efficacies could be multiplied several times over compared to simple swallowing them.
However, Yang Kai knew this was not the time to pursue such matters and simply praised the richness of the Beast Sea Jungle instead.
Of course, the only one around to share these words of praise with was Kuang Shi. After traveling together for a day, Kuang Shi discovered that this human was actually quite easy to get along with and began speaking more opening with him.
After Yang Kai gifted him an artifact that was quite suitable for him to use, Kuang Shi immediately became friendly with him.
Giving away a Saint Grade artifact he obtained from the Holy Tomb was naturally impossible; each of them was worth as much as a city and could be called a rare treasure under the Heavens.
Even if Yang Kai was to gift one of these to another, it would have to be someone very close to him.
However, Yang Kai had a number of lower grade artifacts on hand. When he had gone to explore the Ancient Ruins deep below the sea with An Ling’er last time, he had collected quite a few, so giving one away here to acquire some favour was no burden to him.
With a new artifact in hand and a few bottles of pills in his pocket, Kuang Shi was all smiles.
Now, when Yang Kai called him Brother Kuang or friend, Kuang Shi didn’t raise any objections.
As they traversed the Beast Sea Jungle, with Kuang Shi leading the way, although they were stopped every now and then by other Monster Race masters, upon hearing that Yang Kai was the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, all of them simply cast him curious glances before allowing them to pass.
Perhaps, to these Monster Race masters, Nine Heavens Holy Land disappearing was not something they wanted to see.
In the past, the old Holy Master had brought a lot of Crystal Stones, pills, and artifacts which had enriched their lives greatly, so after going two years without any of these, these Monster Race masters were quite anxious to see trade resume.
Three days later, a massive tree that towered higher than any he had ever seen before appeared before Yang Kai’s eyes.
This ancient tree was like a mountain, soaring into the sky, innumerable giant branches growing from its immense trunk, and its massive canopy casting a shadow more than a dozen kilometers in length.
Yang Kai suddenly came to a halt.
When he first saw this ancient tree, he actually thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after carefully examining the scene in front of him, he realized it really was a tree.
It’s just that this tree was too enormous.
The world was truly filled with wonders. Compared to this giant tree, the Divine Tree in Yang Kai’s Black Book space was like a three-year-old baby.
Kuang Shi saw the shocked look on Yang Kai’s face and couldn’t help smiling smugly, “What you’re seeing is the Thunder Tree Palace, the place where Great Senior and the various members of my clan live. Great Senior’s residence is at the very top.”
“Why is it called Thunder Tree Palace?” Yang Kai asked with genuine curiosity.
Kuang Shi snorted gruffly and explained, “Thunder Tree Palace is actually a tens of thousands of years old Thunder Swallowing Wood. It is capable of naturally attracting Heavenly Thunder and refining it within its trunk. You must have heard that Great Senior’s original form is the noble Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon. Great Senior’s cultivation requires the power of thunder and lightning so this is the perfect place for him to live.”
“It can attract the power of thunder and lightning?” Yang Kai was shocked, “If that’s so, how can others live there?”
“Great Senior’s methods are not something you can comprehend. The power of Heavenly Thunder is absorbed by Great Senior and will thus not affect others who live down below,” Kuang Shi proudly explained, “Of course, there are a few others among my clan who need the power of thunder and lightning to cultivate so Great Senior will give a portion to them.”
On the road here, Yang Kai learned that Kuang Shi deeply admired this Monster Race Great Senior, any time his name came up in conversation, Kuang Shi would show a look of worship.
So seeing the abundance of pride on his Kuang Shi’s face right now didn’t even faze Yang Kai anymore, simply nodding and replying, “So that’s how it is, your Great Senior is truly impressive.”
“Naturally,” Kuang Shi laughed heartily, “I wonder if I, Kuang Shi, will be able to reach Great Senior’s height in this life. Good, let’s not discuss this anymore, come with me, we’ll be there soon.”
Yang Kai nodded and quickly followed.
A short time later, the two arrived below the huge ancient tree.
As soon as arrived, from all directions, Yang Kai felt numerous Divine Senses probing him, like a raging torrent, washing over every inch of his body, seemingly want to inspect him inside and out.
Yang Kai’s expression remained calm, allowing them to scan him all they wanted, not putting up any kind of resistance, and simply staring around indifferently.
Beneath the ancient tree there were many Monster Beasts, each and every one of them possessing a sturdy body.
Purple-backed blood spider, golden-striped steel turtle, phosphorous green leopard, red-flowered pheasant… all sorts of rare Monster Beasts Yang Kai couldn’t identify had gathered around.
As if awoken by Yang Kai’s appearance, these Monster Beasts all stood up and glared towards him menacingly, their eyes darting back and forth, seemingly communicating with each other.
Yang Kai immediately understood that these Monster Beasts couldn’t be compared to the ones he encountered in the Beast Sea Jungle.
These Monster Beasts all undoubtedly possessed a high degree of intelligence, no worse than Kuang Shi, and their strengths were also not low, at minimum having reached the Seventh-Order.
Yang Kai secretly guessed that they might not be able to assume human form or were members of the Monster Race who simply preferred remaining in beast form.
Under the gaze of so many eyes, Yang Kai remained calm and composed, further attracting the attention of these Monster Beasts.
On the other hand, after arriving here, Kuang Shi became slightly more restrained, quickly greeting some of his acquaintances here before hurriedly saying to Yang Kai, “You wait here, I’m going to report to Senior Cai Die (Bright Butterfly); whether or not you can meet Great Senior will be up to her.”
Yang Kai gently nodded.
Kuang Shi then leapt up into the ancient tree, quickly disappearing into its branches.
Yang Kai stood in place like he was told while the surrounding powerful Monster Beasts eyed him like an uninvited guest, obviously not pleased with his appearance.
However, all of this was within Yang Kai’s expectations so he was psychologically prepared.
*Sha sha sha…*
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from above his head and a moment later several figures fell down onto some of the lower branches, each of them directing curious and condescending looks towards Yang Kai.
When he heard this movement, Yang Kai unconsciously lifted his eyes and couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Naturally, these figures were Monster Race masters who had achieved human form. Each of them was dressed similarly to Kuang Shi and gave off a wild aura, all of them still retaining some of their original beast characteristics.
The middle-aged man on the left had a furry tail behind him and a somewhat long neck and beady eyes. It was apparent his original form was some kind of ape.
The woman on the right had a graceful figure and snow white slender legs, her flat belly exposed to the air and some small, sharp tiger teeth showing from the side of her mouth. On top of her head there were also two fluffy triangular ears, indicating her original form was some kind of tiger or a cat.
Yang Kai couldn’t help staring curiously.
These Monster Race masters simply stood atop the nearby branches and observed Yang Kai, seemingly having no intention of causing trouble for him. Each and every one of them remained silent, only the young woman with the cat ears showing an extremely interested look, muttering under her breath, exposing her sharp teeth.
When he met eyes with any of them, Yang Kai would gently nod while the Monster Race masters would simply sneer lightly.
Suddenly, a pitiful yell came from high up in the ancient tree. When he heard this yell though, Yang Kai immediately frowned.
Because the one shouting was clearly Kuang Shi who had led him here. It seemed like he had been beaten ruthlessly and was now falling.
With a burst of snapping sounds, Kuang Shi’s burly body broke numerous branches and ripped off countless leaves before smashing into the ground in front of Yang Kai, directly opening up a large pit.
“You dare bring a human to my clan’s Thunder Tree Palace, Kuang Shi, are you tired of living? If so, I’ll send you to the afterlife right now!” A tender yet ice cold voice suddenly called out from above. In the next instant, in a flash of multi-coloured light, a pretty figure appeared in front of Yang Kai and gently floated mid-air. Although this woman was clearly reprimanding Kuang Shi, her beautiful eyes were actually fixed on Yang Kai, a sharp light flashing across them.
With this posted, it will still be 9 chapters a week. Though, there might have been some broken-hearted readers.
At the same time as the voice called out, a dangerous aura flared up, causing all the hair on Yang Kai’s neck to stand on end. It was only after he furiously circulated his True Qi that he was able to resist this invisible pressure.
The other party was a woman, a young and very beautiful woman.
She wore a clean, moon-white dress that lightly wrapped around her enchanting figure and was embroidered with floral patterns, giving her a dainty and petite look, but the momentum pulsing from her small body was anything but cute.
Moreover, behind her was a pair of seven coloured wings. The wings were very different from Yang Kai’s Wind and Thunder Wings; they were thin and nearly transparent, almost like the wings of a butterfly. They were spread wide but seemed incredibly flexible and gave of a light, intoxicating fragrance.
This pair of wings looked sleek and fragile, but had obviously been cultivated by this woman into an artifact-like existence, their edges giving off a sharp, cold light. Yang Kai had no doubt that this pair of wings was comparable to the sharpest of blades, capable of easily slicing through stone or metal.
As soon as this woman appeared, the Monster Race masters who had been casually observing Yang Kai all turned and bowed to her respectfully.
Saint Realm! Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he immediately judged the cultivation of this petite woman with her pair of seven coloured wings. On top of that, she was no ordinary Saint.
The tremendous pressure Yang Kai felt from her indicated that this woman’s strength was at least comparable to a Second Order Saint.
“That’s not right! Senior Cai Die, please let me explain!” Kuang Shi, who had been knocked into the ground, leaped up and shouted anxiously, his face beaten black and blue yet not daring to show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
“What is there to explain?” Cai Die shifted her eyes to Kuang Shi and coldly spoke, an invisible strength suddenly emerging from her hand and drawing out the artifact and pills in Kuang Shi’s pockets.
“After receiving a bribe from this human you then brought him to Thunder Tree Palace? Kuang Shi, your courage is not small!” Cai Die shouted menacingly, her wings beating slight faster as a cold murderous intent flashed across her eyes.
Kuang Shi’s face went pale as he waved his arms frantically, “It’s not like that, it’s… well, it is like that… this human did give this Kuang Shi some things in exchange for bringing him here, but… but there’s a deeper reason for this!”
“I don’t care what your ‘deeper reason’ is, since you dare to break the rules set by Great Senior, you will die today!” Cai Die coldly snorted, staring towards Kuang Shi like he was a dead man.
Yang Kai quickly tried to step forward, but the moment his foot left the ground, it seemed to touch the nerves of many of the gathered Monster Race masters, their countless pairs of eyes fixed on him in the next moment as they exerted a great pressure towards him from all sides.
Yang Kai’s physique squirmed slightly but quickly shrugged off this pressure, which would ordinarily be enough to paralyze someone of his cultivation, and gently took a step forward.
The Monster Race masters who saw this showed startled looks, as if they hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be able to achieve such a feat.
“Senior Cai Die, is it?” Yang Kai cupped his fists, showing neither fear nor nervousness, “This Junior is Nine Heavens Holy Land’s new Holy Master, Yang Kai. I requested Brother Kuang here to lead me to Thunder Tree Palace in order to meet your Great Senior and discuss some business with him.”
“Nine Heavens Holy Land’s new Holy Master?” Cai Die’s brow furrowed deeply, seemingly skeptical.
“Yes, yes! Senior Cai Die, it was because he is from Nine Heavens Holy Land that I agreed to bring him here. If that was not the cause, I would never have done so. Please understand, Senior Cai Die!” Kuang Shi bobbed his head; cold sweat pouring dripping down his forehead, thinking to himself he had really made a mistake this time. If he had known Senior Cai Die would be so angry he wouldn’t have dared bring Yang Kai to Thunder Tree Palace.
“If you say you are, you are?” Cai Die shouted coldly, “What proof do you have?”
“The Holy Master Spirit Ring is the best proof,” Yang Kai raised his hand and showed the ring to her.
The Monster Race masters all stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter.
Cai Die coldly snorted, “How can a ring prove your identity? That ring was indeed worn by the person who used to come to my Thunder Tree Palace, but how do I know where you obtained it from?”
“Then how does Senior Cai Die want me to prove my identity?” Yang Kai stared back at her calmly.
Cai Die curled her lips fiercely as she flapped her wings gently and floated up to a nearby branch, sitting down beside the young cat eared girl before faintly replying, “There’s no need for you to prove anything. Since you dared to come here, you must die! Kuang Shi, you brought him here, so he is your responsibility, understand?”
Kuang Shi shot a complicated look over towards Yang Kai before nodding lightly, “I understand.”
“Kuang Shi, do it right, don’t lose to this human.”
“Come on, dig out his heart, the heart of the human cultivators is amazing.”
“If you lose, we’ll all look down on you.”
Up in the branches, the several Monster Race masters who had assembled began shouting excitedly, all of them sitting down and preparing to watch the show.
Kuang Shi grumbled silently to himself for a moment. Although he was some reluctance, since Cai Die had ordered him to, he had no choice in the matter. Helplessly, he turning to Yang Kai and saying, “Boy, I apologize in advance, if you die here, don’t blame this Kuang Shi for being too ruthless.”
“Please act freely, Brother Kuang,” Yang Kai smiled as he shot a glance over towards Cai Die before continuing, “I’m also quite interested to see how the Monster Race fights.”
“Big Sister, this guy is quite interesting, it’s like he’s not afraid at all,” The cat eared young girl stared at Yang Kai with great interest.
“Hmph, human men like him most like acting mysterious. Just wait, he’ll show you his pathetic side soon enough,” Cai Die coldly muttered, as if she had a very good understanding of humans.
“En, en, Kuang Shi will definitely tear him to pieces!” The cat eared young girl also nodded.
Down below, a great roar suddenly rang out and Kuang Shi charged forward straight towards Yang Kai.
Although he did not use any profound movement skill or any kind of special ability, the mere force behind his charge was enough to shake a mountain.
In this initial clash, Yang Kai wanted to test the other party’s strength, so he intentionally did not dodge and instead tightened his muscles and stretched out his arms to meet Kuang Shi head on.
*Hong…*
A violent explosion burst out and Yang Kai felt an irresistible force smash into him, sending his body flying out uncontrollably.
From this brief exchange, Yang Kai realized he had greatly underestimated the raw strength of Kuang Shi.
This brute force alone was enough to make Kuang Shi a difficult opponent for any ordinary cultivator in the same realm.
Flipping mid-air, Yang Kai quickly stabilized himself and landing on the ground, retreating a few steps before finally coming to a stop.
“So weak…” The cat eared young girl spat disdainfully, feeling a little disappointed in this outcome. On the other hand, Cai Die’s eyes narrowed slightly, a look of surprise briefly appearing on her face.
Originally, she had thought Yang Kai wasn’t very strong; the energy fluctuations coming from his body allowed her to instantly grasp his true cultivation which was obviously lower than Kuang Shi’s.
But after this initial clash, Cai Die discovered that although this human wasn’t able to withstand Kuang Shi’s blow, he had also not suffered any trace of injury.
She had estimated that Yang Kai would have at least ended up with a pair of broken arms.
[Interesting, this boy seems to have some skill,] Cai Die thought to herself, suddenly paying more attention to the fight.
Although he had sent Yang Kai flying, Kuang Shi seemed quiet dissatisfied with this result. Not giving Yang Kai any time to breath, Kuang Shi once again roared and charged forward, his Monster Qi bursting out and a bloodthirsty aura pulsing from his body.
“Brother Kuang, defend yourself!” Yang Kai’s gaze became cold as he lifted his hand towards the sky, gripped something invisible, and swung it down.
In that instant, a huge sword of golden light appeared, carrying with it a terrifying might as it slashed towards Kuang Shi.
This giant sword had an unstoppable momentum, seemingly cutting space apart as it fell.
Seeing this, Kuang Shi’s complexion changed greatly, immediately halting his charge, planting his feet, and crossing both his arms in front of his body to defend himself just as the giant sword was about to strike him.
*Keng…*
The Profound Heavenly Sword landed on Kuang Shi’s arms, sending out a grating sound as if it had struck a wall of iron, its golden body shattering as it sent its target tumbling through the air, leaving behind a shallow wound that oozed red blood.
“Hm?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he stared at this result.
Kuang Shi had actually blocked a strike from his Profound Heavenly Sword with just his bare arms, showing that his physique was at least as strong as a high-grade artifact.
The Monster Race’s methods were quite impressive!
Kuang Shi completely ignored the injuries to his arms and immediately went back on the attack. After the Profound Heavenly Sword shattered, Kuang Shi’s burly body flickered and, taking advantage of Yang Kai’s moment of confusion, managed to arrive behind him. Monster Qi condensing in his hand, Kuang Shi claw towards Yang Kai’s seemingly unguarded back.
In one swipe, Yang Kai’s body was split in two.
Kuang Shi was stunned and felt that something was wrong because when he struck Yang Kai, it was as if he hit thin air and there was no trace of blood anywhere.
“Kuang Shi, behind you!” The cat eared young girl anxiously shouted.
Just as she shouted, Yang Kai re-appeared wearing a light smile upon his face and threw out a golden spear towards Kuang Shi before the latter could even turn around.
Heaven Punishing Spear!
Kuang Shi’s reaction though was still extremely quick. As soon as he heard the cat eared young girl’s warning, he immediately leapt up into the air, flipping over as he used him Monster Qi to seal off the area around Yang Kai, blocking any path of retreat.
However, just as Kuang Shi did so, a giant golden palm appeared before his eyes, flying towards him and rapidly enlarging until it was the only thing he could see.
Heaven Covering Hand!
*Hong…*
Kuang Shi was struck head on and tumbled through the air more than a dozen times before pounding into the ground.
Up on the giant ancient tree’s branches, the Monster Race powerhouses all stared in amazement at this development.
Each of their strengths and insights were quite refined, so they were all clear that Yang Kai’s true cultivation realm was lower than Kuang Shi’s, but in this fight, it was actually Kuang Shi who was being suppressed, and quite badly at that. There was essentially no opportunity for him to even counterattack.
This reality was somewhat difficult for them to accept.
As they were lost in thought, Kuang Shi climbed up from the ground and roared angrily, as if he had finally become enraged. At this moment, the Monster Qi in his body began pulsing rapidly as his eyes became blood red, as if he wouldn’t rest until he tore Yang Kai limb from limb.
Yang Kai wasn’t intimidated though, and instead was quite relaxed, using one Nine Heavens Divine Skill after another to suppress the enemy before him.
From beginning to the end, Yang Kai did not use his full strength, diverting a part of his attention towards the pair of eyes that were staring down at him from above as he fought with Kuang Shi.
If Yang Kai wasn’t mistaken, the owner of this gaze was the Monster Race’s Great Senior which ruled over this place.
Yang Kai had achieved a comprehensive understanding of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills back in the Holy Tomb, all he lacked now was real experience using them. Kuang Shi, a master with strength equal to a Third Order Transcendent, was just right for him to practice on. Yang Kai couldn’t have asked for more.
During the battle, Yang Kai continuously displayed the various Nine Heavens Divine Skills, becoming more skillful with them each time he did.
The Monster Race masters sitting up in the ancient tree also soon noticed that something wasn’t right. Kuang Shi wasn’t this human boy’s opponent at all, yet the fight was still continuing, obviously this human boy wasn’t taking this seriously!
“Big Sister Cai Die, this human is really interesting! How can he have so many different ways of fighting?” The cat eared young girl asked, her eyes shining brilliantly as if she had just witness a brand new world.
Cai Die gently nodded and patiently explained, “The Human Race doesn’t have a beast core or naturally strong physique like our Monster Race, but instead, by molding the True Qi in their bodies in special ways, they can display techniques called Martial Skills. Many Human Race martial skills are actually imitations of our Monster Race’s innate abilities. If you fight against human cultivators in the future, be sure not to judge them solely based on their appearance and physical strength. If you underestimate them, you’ll be the one to suffer a loss.”
“Good, I’ll remember,” The cat eared young girl nodded, suddenly excitedly saying, “Big Sister Cai Die, can you catch this human so I can play with him? He can use so many different tricks, I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun to play with!”
Cai Die was stunned by this innocent request, soon rubbing her forehead with a forced smile on her face, “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Cai Die stops her words there and turned her eyes towards the top of Thunder Tree Palace, seemingly receiving some kind of instructions, and nodding firmly, “Understood!”
Saying so, she calmly turned her eyes to the battle down below and shouted, “Enough!”
Hearing this order, Kuang Shi immediately retreated from Yang Kai and directed a somewhat awkward look towards him, shaking his head wryly after a moment, “You brat, you’re quite fierce, fortunately I didn’t rashly attack you a few days ago when we first met, or I’m afraid I would have embarrassed myself!”
“Brother Kuang is too polite; your strength is by no means bad!” Yang Kai laughed back freely.
“Of cou…” Kuang Shi suddenly became proud, but upon noticing Cai Die’s cold eyes staring at him, he quickly swallowed back his words, turned around, and dashed into the jungle, his voice calling out from afar a moment later, “I’m off to patrol the area. Recently, the jungle hasn’t been peaceful!”
After he left, Yang Kai turned his attention to Cai Die and smiled lightly, “Have I passed your test?”
“Hmph, you think you’re so smart!” Cai Die grumbled under her breath, a clear look of disgust showing on her face, coldly shouting in the next moment, “Come with me, Great Senior wants to see you!”
Saying so, the wings behind the back flapped and she soared up into the canopy.
Yang Kai nodded and quickly followed after her as the Monster Race masters resting on the branches stood by and watched, many of them wearing unsatisfied expressions on their faces, as if the battle just now hadn’t been exciting enough for them.
The cat eared young girl simply pursed her lips as she stared at Yang Kai’s disappearing back reluctantly.
Flying higher and higher, Yang Kai realized just how enormous this ancient tree really was. Passing through the various wide and dense branches, as he followed after Cai Die, Yang Kai saw a number of Monster Race masters playing around as well as a large number of tree houses built right into the ancient tree’s trunk.
The entire ancient tree was like a giant family home with traces of Monster Beast activity everywhere one looked.
Seeing this, Yang Kai inexplicably felt a unique sense of cohesion and unity!
There was an incalculable number of Monster Beasts living throughout Tong Xuan Realm, but the number of Monster Race masters that had managed to assume human form was quite limited. As such, the Monster Race was far more united than the Human or Demon Race. The ones beneath each Monster Race Great Senior were closer to brothers and sisters than subordinates.
When Kuang Shi was being stared down by Cai Die, although he appeared quite scared, he didn’t once display a formal attitude. Amongst the Monster Race, everything that did not relate to survival and power, was apparently superfluous.
The human form Monster Race masters were few in number in the first place, and most of them chose to remain in their original forms; as a result, since entering the Beast Sea Jungle, Yang Kai had only seen ten or so such human form masters.
However, each of them was a true powerhouse.
The higher he flew, the denser the World Aura became, and Yang Kai was also keenly aware that the trunk of the ancient tree contained Thunder Attribute energy.
Probably because this ancient tree had bathed in Heavenly Thunder for over ten thousand years, it had taken on a powerful Thunder Attribute aura.
After a long upward flight, Yang Kai and Cai Die passed into a layer of clouds and became surrounded by a soft white mist that was almost like wisps of cotton one could grasp with their fingers. It was a rare and beautiful sight to behold. Amongst these white clouds stood a charming wooden house built right into the trunk of the ancient tree.
A powerful dragon’s breath pulsed from this wooden house, immediately drawing Yang Kai’s attention.
Feeling this powerful aura, Yang Kai secretly gulped.
“Go in, Great Senior is waiting for you inside!” Cai Die stopped in front of the wooden house and motioned Yang Kai inside.
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded to her lightly before calmly stepping forward.
The first thing Yang Kai saw upon entering the wooden house was a middle-aged man sitting at a table quietly. This middle-aged man was quite handsome and wore a plain robes, appearing harmless to humans and animals. The only distinguishing feature he had were two horns only about as long as one’s finger sticking out from either side of his head.
The two horns were dyed a mix of red and blue and seemed to contain rich Fire Attribute and Thunder Attribute energy, flashing a dull light from time to time.
This was a true Peak Eighth-Order Monster Beast, the Monster Race’s Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon Great Senior!
Yang Kai couldn’t help admiring this man silently.
The Great Senior slowly opened his eyes and stared at Yang Kai faintly, not showing the slightest aggression or probing intent, but under this gaze, Yang Kai felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if the man in front of him could see through all of his secrets.
Yang Kai quickly composed himself, sealed off his Knowledge Sea, and restrained his aura.
The Great Senior smiled lightly, his expression both handsome and imposing as he calmly asked, “Are you the successor of that guy?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, knowing the ‘guy’ this Great Senior referred to was the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
“Your cultivation isn’t as high as his, but your aptitude is good.”
“Great Senior is too polite!”
“So, why have you come here?” The Great Senior continued, “The Beast Sea Jungle generally does not allow human cultivators to enter, those who do soon become food for my clansmen. Seeing as you are that guy’s successor, I gave him some face and didn’t let them immediately attack you, but if you dare displease me, I promise you your end will be very miserable. I had some friendship with that guy, but that doesn’t mean I have any friendship with his Sect, so… you’d best think carefully before you answer my question.”
Although his tone was light, Yang Kai could still tell there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Perhaps this Great Senior felt Yang Kai was too young or too weak to be worthy enough to see and speak with him.
Yang Kai however just laughed fearlessly before pulling out the two Universe Bags he had brought with him, placing them on the table as he said, “I heard the old Holy Master and Great Senior were on good terms, as his successor, naturally I must visit Great Senior to pay my respects. After all, I may have business dealings with you in the future.”
The Monster Race Great Senior chuckled and didn’t even glance at the two Universe Bags, dismissively saying, “I was on good terms with that guy because I respected his strength. What do you have that can earn my respect? Perhaps you’ll have such qualifications a hundred years from now, but the current you… is insufficient.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “A hundred years? It won’t be that long, in at most twenty or thirty years… I’ll have such qualifications.”
The Monster Race Great Senior gently sneered and shook his head, “You’re certainly crazy enough… Since that’s the case, come here twenty or thirty years from now, that is, if you can live that long!”
His not so subtle meaning that Yang Kai appeared like the type to die young. This of course made Yang Kai somewhat unhappy.
Knitting his brow further, Yang Kai got to the main point, “Great Senior, do you have any interest in making a business investment?”
“An investment?” Great Senior squinted at Yang Kai before smiling lightly, “Invest in you? Why should I do that? If I can’t see any advantage in that, of course I won’t.”
Not waiting for Yang Kai to answer, the Great Senior pointedly asked, “Your days must not be feeling good about now, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, curiously asking, “Did Great Senior receive news about the Holy Land’s current state?”
The Great Senior slowly shook his head though, “I have no interest in inquiring about your side, but that guy, before he died, came here once and predicted this situation.”
“The old Holy Master predicted this situation?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“En, he knew he wouldn’t live much longer and told me that before he died he should properly handle the woman next to him, but after all, she was a companion he had spent his entire life together with so he couldn’t bring himself to discard her so even though he knew that after he died she would surely stir up a great storm… If my guess is right, you should currently be besieged by many people right now, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “Since Great Senior knows that much, you must also know the purpose of my trip.”
The Great Senior snickered as he slowly sat up in his chair, “I indeed know why you’ve come, but unfortunately for you, I refuse to lend you any help, no matter how many supplies you bring me. Why do you think the Monster Race has endured so long? It’s not because of the few masters we possess, but because we don’t intervene in outsider’s affairs. Once I leave the Beast Sea Jungle and enter your Human Territory, I can no longer control the situation. Don’t you humans have a saying, sticking one’s neck out makes it easier to chop off? Putting my entire clan in grave danger for some meager benefits, do you think I, a Monster Race Great Senior, would do something so short sighted?”
As he spoke, his eyes flashed a sharp light.
Yang Kai wore a forced smile as he replied, “Since Great Senior knows all this, I won’t speak any more nonsense. In truth, even if you don’t help me, the Holy Land’s people won’t be in any danger, moreover, we have we decided to temporarily abandon the Holy Land’s territory and wait for a day when we’ve accumulated enough strength to stage a comeback. However, during that time, I’d prefer the resources located within our nine spirit peaks not fall into the hands of those invaders; on the other hand, since Great Senior had some friendship with the old Holy Master, I thought it would be alright to let you take care of it for a while. It would also be an opportunity for you to improve your clan’s strength.”
Hearing these words, the Monster Race Great Senior frowned as he directed a cold stare towards Yang Kai, as if trying to see through his real thoughts at this moment.
After hesitating for a moment, the Great Senior said, “That Spirit Array of yours is very powerful and the World Energy aura is truly quite rich. If my clansmen were allowed to cultivate there, their strength would definitely improve rapidly, but that alone is not enough to make us leave the Beast Sea Jungle.”
“Then what if I leave you all the Holy Land’s Alchemist to help you refine pills as well?” Yang Kai suddenly suggested, “As far as I know, there is no one among the Monster Race who is proficient in Alchemy. On top of that, I can let the Holy Land’s Artifact Refiners stay behind as well. Before we come back, they can refine a large number of pills and artifacts for you. Of course, you’ll have to provide the materials, but I don’t think that should be too difficult for you.”