Outside the Dragon Valley, all of Dragon Phoenix Palace’s leadership had come together and were staring excitedly in the direction of the valley’s depths.
Palace Master Chen Zhou wore the most joyful look of them all, with a gigantic smile plastered on his face.
Dragon Phoenix Palace was a little different from other forces because it practiced Dual Cultivation Techniques. As a result, basically every master here had their own life partner.
At this moment, Yu Ting Yi, Palace Master Chen Zhou’s companion, was also together with him, holding his hand gently but actually unable to stop his stalwart body from trembling lightly.
Yu Ting Yi looked like a beautiful middle-aged woman with an outstanding figure, but because her aptitude was slightly worse, she had fallen behind Chen Zhou’s cultivation slightly and was now only a Third Order Transcendent. Seeing her husband so unable to control himself, she couldn’t help laughing lightly, “Good good, just because that inheritance has reappeared, is that a reason to become so excited?”
Chen Zhou took a deep breath, “You don’t understand! All previous Palace Masters have taken the restoration of this inheritance as their highest responsibility, but now, after so many years, it has finally appeared under my watch, how can I not be excited? The reappearance of this inheritance means our Dragon Phoenix Palace will once again have a Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress. As long as we have these two masters, we will be able to restore our past prosperity…”
Saying so, he suddenly called out, “Has Xiao Ling still not returned?”
Just as Chen Zhou shouted, a figure flew over from the distance, calling out before he even arrived, “Palace Master, subordinate is back.”
It was the Transcendent who was previously with Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou rushed forward anxiously and asked, “Have you inquired where that disciple is from? Is he a disciple of my Dragon Phoenix Palace or one of our subordinate forces?”
“Reporting to Palace Master, the boy is called Sun Yu and he is a disciple of Dragon Phoenix Palace, he was born and raised in the Sect,” Xiao Ling replied quickly.
Hearing this, Chen Zhou couldn’t help smiling and nodding, “Good good good! Very good!”
Although it wouldn’t be much of an issue if this Sun Yu had come from one of the affiliated forces, since he had grown up in Dragon Phoenix Palace, his feelings towards the Sect would definitely be deeper, relieving one of Chen Zhou’s concerns.
“Who is his teacher?”
“Elder Ling Jian!” Xiao Ling answered before yielding the way, “Elder Ling, please come!”
Chen Zhou looked up and saw Ling Jian flying over, letting out a hearty laugh.
When the two sides met, Chen Zhou solemnly said, “Elder Ling has worked hard, you have cultivated a good disciple.”
Ling Jian’s face filled with smiles as he shamelessly accepted this praise.
Although Ling Jian was indeed an Elder, he was still just a First Order Transcendent. He was essentially the last ranked amongst all the Elders and was not taken seriously by anyone in the Sect. On top of that, he was already quite old so these years he had basically just hung up the title of Elder while whiling away his remaining lifespan.
Never had he imagined he would encounter such a miracle today.
The disciple he taught had actually opened Dragon Phoenix Palace’s most core formation that had laid dormant for millennia, and if all went well, that disciple would obtain the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.
His disciple obtaining this inheritance meant his value as his master would also soar to untold heights.
In all likelihood, when the Dragon Emperor matured, Ling Jian’s status would probably be equal to the current Palace Master’s.
Usually, Chen Zhou wouldn’t even bother meeting with this old Elder, but today he didn’t dare act disrespectful, showing Ling Jian the utmost courtesy and politeness.
Ling Jian wasn’t able to adapt to this new reality so quickly, but that did not stop him from enjoying it.
All the higher-ups of Dragon Phoenix Palace were staring at him with intense envy, wondering why they had not been the ones to cultivate the disciple who obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.
If they had been the ones to train such a disciple, it would be them talking and laughing merrily with the Palace Master right now.
The scene was quite lively as Chen Zhou constantly inquired about Sun Yu’s situation and information. In response, Ling Jian freely told everything he knew about Sun Yu, right down to the trivial anecdotes that had occurred when he was a baby.
Chen Zhou listened attentively to all of this and never once grew bored, instead only becoming more enthusiastic as he showered praise upon the old man, saying that Sun Yu was a good seed and that, in the future, Dragon Phoenix Palace would be relying on him and Ling Jian.
Ling Jian was so happy that he thought that even if he were to die right now, he would have no regrets.
The lively scene continued on for many days without subsiding. Every day, people gathered outside Dragon Valley and gazed fervently towards the valley’s depths. Of course, none of them could see anything, but that did not dampen their enthusiasm. Dragon Valley was normally filled with mist which blocked out all of the sun’s rays, but now it was actually shrouded in golden light and pulsed with an astonishing amount of energy, causing everyone to not dare to approach.
Palace Master Chen Zhou also took some protective measures, deploying all the elites of Dragon Phoenix Palace around Dragon Valley to guard against Sun Yu being disturbed while accepting this inheritance.
Time passed by, but no matter how long they all waited, Sun Yu didn’t emerge from Dragon Valley, inevitably causing them to feel anxious.
…..
Inside the golden energy ocean-wrapped world, Yang Kai was busy manipulating his pill furnace, adding herbs to it while refining pills with his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, polishing his skills and knowledge of Alchemy.
He was currently only one step away from evolving his Alchemy, and since he was stuck in this place with nothing to do, Yang Kai decided to practice his Alchemy skill.
Sun Yu, who was caught up in this situation, also seemed to be a diligent youth. After spending two or three days together with Yang Kai and learning he was temporarily unable to leave, he immediately began cultivating.
The golden energy in this place with incredibly rich and potent, but was actually not of the Yang Attribute and instead had a sacred quality to it.
Yang Kai couldn’t tell what exactly this energy was, but using it for cultivation would not be an issue.
Moreover, the power contained within this golden energy was astonishing. Even if Sun Yu could only absorb a tiny fraction of it, it would be enough to benefit him for the rest of his life.
One cultivated, one practiced Alchemy, and the two essentially kept to themselves like this as the days flew by.
Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about running out of Alchemy materials as before he left Nine Heavens Holy Land, he had emptied the Holy Land’s Treasury into his Black Book space. He currently had enough herbs and spirit medicines to last for quite some time.
One day, after Yang Kai just finished refining a Saint Grade pill, he noticed that Sun Yu had stopped cultivating and was currently sitting nearby and observing his movements curiously.
“Understood anything?” Yang Kai smiled.
Sun Yu shook his head honestly and replied, “Senior, the way you perform Alchemy is quite strange; at least, it’s very different from the way I’ve seen anyone else perform Alchemy.”
“Oh, how so?” Yang Kai asked.
“You don’t use True Qi… All the Alchemists I’ve seen refining pills are constantly pushing their True Qi and their rate of consumption is quite fast, but when Senior performs Alchemy you don’t seem to use True Qi at all. Also, the speed at which Senior refines pills is much faster than those people… What grade of pill are you refining? Mysterious Grade?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s face went black, thinking this little brat really lacked vision, actually believing the Saint Grade pill he had just refined was a worthless Mysterious Grade pill.
Seeing his expression, Sun Yu wore a shocked look and gasped, “It wouldn’t be a Spirit Grade pill, would it?”
“En, that’s right,” Yang Kai didn’t want to explain too much to him.
“Senior is really fierce… Successfully refining a Spirit Grade pill in just one or two hours, if the Alchemists of our Sect were to learn of this I’m afraid they’d die of shame.”
As a man who had experienced many great storms and received no small amount of flattery in his life, Yang Kai was still somewhat pleased when he heard Sun Yu say this. Though, that was perhaps due to the pure look of admiration in this youth’s eyes.
“Why don’t you continue cultivating?” Yang Kai stored the Saint Grade pill away and asked.
Sun Yu smiled bitterly and replied, “I don’t know why but I can’t absorb the energy here… and the two Crystal Stones that I was carrying have also been used up.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, knowing what Sun Yu was saying was the truth. Although the energy here could be used, Sun Yu’s strength was still too low.
Furrowing his brow as he stared at this youth, Yang Kai suddenly asked, “Do you long for strength?”
Sun Yu gawked for a moment before nodding firmly.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a man!” Sun Yu spoke as if it was only obvious, “Of course I long for strength. Moreover, when one day I meet a woman I like, if I don’t have enough strength, how will I keep her safe?”
Yang Kai laughed at this response, “Very good!”
Men long for strength, there was no need for any complicated reason.
Sun Yu scratched his head as he observed Yang Kai reaction curiously.
Yang Kai suddenly wore a sincere and solemn look and said, “Kid, how about making a deal with me?”
“Senior need not act so polite, if you have any instructions, please tell me, this Sun Yu will do whatever he can to help,” Sun Yu replied earnestly.
However, Yang Kai shook his head and emphasized once more, “I’m only interested in making a deal with you.”
Sun Yu’s face also became serious, realizing that what Yang Kai was about to request of him was likely something important and not easy to handle. Contemplating for a moment, he still nodded eventually, “Many thanks for Senior’s consideration, please ask!”
“Since you want strength, I can give it to you!” Yang Kai grinned, “But you have to agree to my request… En, when we leave here, and you return to Dragon Phoenix Palace, don’t divulge anything about me.”
Sun Yu was stunned and couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
“I have my reasons,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Do you agree?”
“But Senior, since you can open the barrier here, you must have a deep relationship with my Sect… and Palace Master and the Elders of the Sect are surely looking forward to your…”
“For the time being, I don’t want them to know about me. When I have time, I will meet with your Palace Master to explain,” Yang Kai replied casually.
Yang Kai had still not finished dealing with Nine Heavens Holy Land’s mess, so if he were now get involved in Dragon Phoenix Palace’s affairs, he would likely no longer be able to rest due to overwork.
However, since the Phoenix Nest held the Phoenix Empress’ inheritance, he would definitely have to return here one day with Su Yan.
The people of Dragon Phoenix Palace must currently think that Sun Yu was the one who opened this formation and raising this youths strength would help Yang Kai conceal the truth, provided Sun Yu didn’t say anything.
Yang Kai appreciated this boy somewhat so he wasn’t willing to kill him to keep his secret.
With the resources Yang Kai had on hand, it would be simple to cultivate one youth. Even if Sun Yu’s aptitude was mediocre, Yang Kai had methods to improve it. What’s more, this boy cultivated a Yang Attribute Secret Art similar to Yang Kai’s so it could be said they shared a common source.
So long as Sun Yu nodded, he could obtain a wonderful opportunity that was simply unimaginable to others.
After thinking for some time, Sun Yu said, “Although I don’t know why Senior must do this, there is surely an important reason… I must only ask, does Senior have any hostile intent towards my Dragon Phoenix Palace?”
“Of course not.” Yang Kai laughed.
“Good, then I promise not to reveal your existence!”
“Very good!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
Two months passed by.
Sun Yu, who was staying with Yang Kai, had rapidly improved his strength. In just two months, he had reached the Peak True Element Boundary from the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage!
Sun Yu was ecstatic.
He was only fifteen this year and his aptitude was only slightly above average. If he had cultivated at his previous rate, reaching the Peak True Element Boundary would have taken him at least for a year or so.
But now, he had actually accomplished this feat in just two months.
He knew that all the credit for this belonged to the Senior surnamed Yang, causing Sun Yu to become even more respectful towards Yang Kai.
Over the past two months, all this Senior had done was provided Sun Yu with some Crystal Stones for cultivation and made him drink a drop of unknown medicinal liquid every day.
Sun Yu had no idea what kind of mysteries this medicinal liquid hid, but after taking it for two months, he actually felt like he had been reborn.
His physique had become both more powerful and flexible than before and he could tell that his meridians had been strengthened and expanded. However, the biggest and most important change was that the purity and richness of his True Qi was now double what it had been before. When his True Qi flowed through his meridians, Sun Yu could even hear some subtle rushing sounds.
These were all signs he had grown more powerful.
The most intuitive manifestation of all this was Sun Yu’s consumption of Crystal Stones when he cultivated.
In the past, it would take Sun Yu five or six days to absorb all the energy in a single piece of Crystal Stone.
But now, he didn’t even need a full day to absorb a piece of Crystal Stone, and this rate of consumption was still gradually getting faster.
Fortunately, this Senior Yang seemed to be extremely rich, so Sun Yu didn’t need to worry about his consumption of Crystal Stones. Every time, Senior Yang would give him a pile of Crystal Stones, and once Sun Yu ran out, Senior Yang would simply hand him more.
On top of all this, Senior Yang provided many different pills to assist Sun Yu in his cultivation. Whether it was Mysterious Grade pills or even Spirit Grade pills, it seemed like this Senior Yang had an endless supply of them.
Sun Yu couldn’t even describe the gratitude he felt.
Sun Yu understood that although this Senior didn’t teach him any powerful or profound Secret Arts or Martial Skills, he was actually fundamentally improving his body while enhancing his physique and aptitude. This kind of chance would benefit Sun Yu for the rest of his life.
[Is this one of those legendary fortuitous encounters?] Sun Yu thought to himself excitedly.
When he was back in Dragon Phoenix Palace, Sun Yu had often heard from the masters around him talk about these kinds of fortuitous encounters. They said that such things could not be sought out and were essentially chance occurrences, but those lucky enough to obtain one would be able to leap over the dragon’s gate and soar into the sky. Of course, Sun Yu had only thought that such things were the stuff of rumour and legend and never took his Seniors’ ramblings seriously.
After all, how could one come across such a good thing so casually?
But now, how else could Sun Yu describe everything that was happening to him, besides as a fortuitous encounter.
In Sun Yu’s heart he secretly rejoiced that he was fortunate enough to be the last disciple to enter Dragon Valley and then get dragged into this golden world by that inexplicable force. He was overjoyed he had met such a good person like Senior Yang.
Sun Yu seemed to be able to see his own bright future beckoning to himself!
As such, Sun Yu put even more effort into his cultivation, not daring to slack off for a moment. Such an opportunity was not something that everyone could meet, and Sun Yu was terrified he would fail to live up to the care Senior Yang had shown him.
Sun Yu wished for nothing more than to be able to clone himself so he could cultivate twice as fast while not sleeping or eating.
Yang Kai did not miss Sun Yu’s efforts and was very satisfied with what he saw.
This young boy had perseverance, determination, and most importantly obedience and endurance.
Yang Kai grew fonder of him as time passed.
Originally, Yang Kai had simply wanted to give Sun Yu some small benefits as payment for sealing his lips, but watching this boy put in so much effort to his cultivation, Yang Kai soon began sparing no effort to train him.
Every day, Yang Kai would give Sun Yu a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid as well as Crystal Stones and Mysterious Grade and Spirit Grade pills he had personally refined without any reservations.
Everyone who worked hard should have such opportunities.
Yang Kai often thought about all the hardships he had to endure on his path to acquire his current strength and couldn’t help wanting to lend this boy a helping hand.
What was rare was that, despite being just a young brat, Sun Yu actually understood that rest and relaxation were essential parts of cultivation. After he rushed to the Peak True Element Boundary and cultivated for a while, Sun Yu encountered a type of bottleneck and immediately took a step back instead of recklessly charging ahead. He spent time observing Yang Kai perform Alchemy as well as took the initiative to ask some questions about the Martial Dao.
A True Element Boundary cultivator breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary was indeed a great hurdle. Yang Kai himself had been stuck at this point in his cultivation for some time and was naturally very experienced in how to handle it. Passing some small insights on to Sun Yu immediately allowed the latter’s eyes to light up, often leading the youth to sit in contemplation for long periods of time before once again beginning to cultivate.
Time continued to pass by.
One day, while Yang Kai was immersed in Alchemy, he suddenly noticed that Sun Yu, next to him, was giving off a faint pulse of Spiritual Energy, and couldn’t help showing a faint smile, stopping the movement of his hands and observing the youth intently.
Now was the most critical moment for Sun Yu to open his Knowledge Sea. No one could help him. Everything depended on his own efforts.
The process of opening his Knowledge Sea lasted for a few days, allowing Yang Kai to fully comprehend Sun Yu’s determination and perseverance; each time he nearly failed, Sun Yu would push through with sheer force of will.
Suddenly, inside Sun Yu’s inner world, the infinite void was torn asunder and an invisible space appeared as his aura underwent some subtle changes.
Immortal Ascension Boundary! He had finally broken through.
Yang Kai breathed a light sigh of relief. He had been with this boy for so many days now, observing the efforts he had made. Naturally, Yang Kai hoped Sun Yu would succeed.
Fortunately, the boy had succeeded.
Sun Yu’s Knowledge Sea was empty, completely unlike Yang Kai’s when he first broke through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. Yang Kai had managed to cultivate out his Divine Sense while still at the True Element Boundary, so once he opened his Knowledge Sea, his was already abundant with Spiritual Energy, enough of which to form a vast sea.
Sun Yu, on the other hand, had to start gathering Spiritual Energy and form his Knowledge Sea from scratch.
“Senior…” Sun Yu’s face was filled with joy as he called out in excitement, speaking somewhat incoherently as he rejoiced, “I… I broke through… Immortal Ascension Boundary…”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “Have you realized the difference from how you used to be?”
“En, even when I close my eyes, I can still perceive everything around me.”
“Good, as your Soul becomes more powerful, the distance you’ll be able to sense things across, and how much detail you’ll be able to observe will also increase. Your present Soul is just like a candle in the wind, work hard to cultivate it.”
“Yes!” Sun Yu replied in a positive and respectful tone, quickly closing his eyes and beginning to meditate.
However, soon after, he awkwardly opened his eyes and stammered, “But Senior… I don’t know how to cultivate Spiritual Energy… Master never taught me this.”
When Sun Yu had entered Dragon Valley, he was only a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator. According to Ling Jian’s estimations, Sun Yu would need at least two more years before arriving at the Immortal Ascension Boundary, as such, he had yet to teach the youth anything about cultivating his Soul.
Hearing this, Yang Kai laughed in spite of trying not to. After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he then began passing on his own attainments and experiences in this field to the boy.
Sun Yu listened attentively to nodded repeatedly.
“Good, the best was to cultivate one’s Spiritual Energy is to refine a Soul type artifact, this not only improves your combat strength but also strengthens your Soul,” Yang Kai then smiled and said, “I happen to have a Soul type artifact quite suitable for you to use.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai opened his palm and summoned out a delicate little sword.
This little sword was an artifact Yang Kai had obtained when he participated in the Inheritance War and it had accompanied him for many years now. However, it was only a Heaven Grade Top-Rank artifact and along with the improvement of Yang Kai’s strength, fewer and fewer opportunities had arisen for it to be used.
Sun Yu quickly waved his hand, “Senior, you have already given me so much, this artifact…”
“It’s of no use to me, it’s only Heaven Grade Top-Rank, keeping it would just be a waste, but for you, it’s just right.”
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Sun Yu hesitated for a moment before composing himself, reaching out, and respectfully held out his hands, “Many Thanks for Senior’s gift, Sun Yu will work hard to not bring shame upon Senior’s name!”
Yang Kai chuckled, wiped his Soul mark from the sword, and said, “Refine it carefully. When you can take this artifact into your Knowledge Sea, you’ll basically be finished.”
“En!” Sun Yu nodded then quickly set about refining the small sword.
Yang Kai no longer paid attention to him and resumed refining pills.
After much long and painstaking effort, Yang Kai’s Alchemy’s proficiency had finally advanced once more and he was now able to consistently refine Saint Grade pills.
He had become a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist!
He was only one minor rank away from meeting the requirements to free the Ancient Demon Clan.
Even throughout the entire world, there weren’t many Saint Grade Alchemists.
Du Wan of Grand Boulder City had also reached such a level in Alchemy; he was received courteously wherever he went and currently served as the respected manager of the Alchemist Guild’s Grand Boulder City Branch. With Yang Kai’s current skills and means, as long as he was willing, he too would be able to receive similar treatment.
However, Alchemy had always been an auxiliary pursuit to Yang Kai, a way to broaden his comprehension of the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai’s only wish was to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao.
Through studying Alchemy, Yang Kai had discovered many insights regarding his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea as well as many questions he needed to ponder, allowing him to become more and more skillful in manipulating it.
Although he was now just a Saint Grade Low-Rank Alchemist, Yang Kai estimated that if he used the Myriad Drug Liquid and auxiliary Spirit Arrays, there was a chance he could refine Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills.
The world formed by the golden energy ocean was still solidly wrapped around Yang Kai and Sun Yu, and the small Golden Dragon which had manifested itself from the tattoo on Yang Kai’s back was still swallowing this energy, its body growing larger by the day. As this Golden Dragon consumed this golden energy, it also began giving off a majestic and awe inspiring aura.
Yang Kai was not in a rush and simply continued going about his own business.
Recently, Yang Kai hadn’t had any time to pursue his own cultivation, so this was actually a welcome opportunity.
Just like the Golden Dragon, Sun Yu also showed rapid growth. After his physique was improved by the Myriad Drug Liquid, cultivating became much smoother and easier for him.
The small sword Yang Kai delivered Sun Yu took the later roughly one month to refine and after experimenting with its power, he soon fell in love with it.
Sun Yu’s current Knowledge Sea had a good accumulation of Spiritual Energy now as well.
Every day, he consumed many Crystal Stones and precious pills, and whenever he encountered a problem in his cultivation he couldn’t solve, all he had to do was consult Senior Yang to obtain appropriate guidance. Sun Yu felt he was the luckiest person alive and he now considered Yang Kai his own honoured master and respected him as such.
Anyways, I opened up the link a minute from this post.
here is the link!
There will be 9 chapters this week.
Once again, for those interested to join the MP Patreon, do so after this week. Way more beneficial to you when you start next week.
One day, as he was refining a Saint Pill, Yang Kai suddenly frowned.
He had inadvertently noticed that the Yang Liquid he had stored in his own dantian was almost exhausted. The last time he re-supplied himself with Yang Liquid, Yang Kai had thought it would be sufficient to last him for a least a decade or so, but now he discovered that his estimations were wrong.
Every time he tore space it required a few drops of Yang Liquid, Yang Kai had apparently used too much in order to become familiar with this method.
It was time to supplement it.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had some sixty or seventy Divine Tree fruits in his Black Book space, each of which contained an amazing amount of Yang Attribute Energy. If he consumed all of them, he could fill his dantian again.
The Divine Tree was now residing in his Black Book space as well, and although cultivating these fruits was a long and difficult process, simply storing them away and not eating them would be a waste, so Yang Kai didn’t hesitate.
Taking out a fruit, Yang Kai began taking big bites of it.
The sound of Yang Kai snacking woke Sun Yu from his meditation, causing him to glance over, his eyes lighting up in the next instant.
Sun Yu was now an Immortal Ascension cultivator so he could naturally see just how extraordinary the Divine Tree fruit was; the seemingly overflowing Yang Attribute Energy it contained was particularly appealing to him.
However, Sun Yu also didn’t dare reveal any kind of covetous attitude in front of Yang Kai.
While preparing to close his eyes and continue his meditate, Yang Kai suddenly smiled towards him and tossed him a small piece of the fruit, “It’s not that I’m trying to be stingy, but you can’t eat too much of this thing.”
Sun Yu’s face blushed as he bashfully accepted the small piece of fruit before popping it into his mouth.
A moment later though, Sun Yu’s True Qi violently rioted and his skin became bright red, all his pores opening wide as they sprayed out excess heat and energy, making it seem like he was on the verge of exploding.
Yang Kai paid the boy no mind and simply allowed him to handle this crisis on his own.
Sun Yu didn’t dare neglect and immediately began circulating his Secret Art as quickly as he could in order to absorb the massive amount of energy now rampaging through his body.
Only after a long while did the violent aura gradually calm down. At this moment, Sun Yu was bursting with life and his aura was also noticeably stronger, even his complexion looked more radiant.
“Want some more?” Yang Kai asked.
Sun Yu quickly shook his head.
The small piece of pulp he had just eaten had nearly caused his dantian and meridians to rupture. Seeing Yang Kai eat them one after another like ordinary snacks without so much as blinking made him realizes just how huge the gap between them was once again.
Although this fruit was definitely a good thing, Sun Yu had enough self-knowledge and naturally didn’t dare ask for more.
Yang Kai swallowed down all sixty or seventy fruits in short order, causing the number of drops of Yang Liquid in his dantian to increase by several hundreds.
Just as he was smiling with satisfaction, Yang Kai’s brow suddenly wrinkled and he quickly sent his consciousness into the Black Book space.
“What happened?” Manifesting his Soul Avatar in front of the huge Divine Tree, Yang Kai asked.
“There are some strange changes happening over there,” The Divine Tree sent him a message.
It had been a long time since Yang Kai had acquired the Divine Tree and its consciousness had greatly matured since then. Now, it had no difficulty communicating with Yang Kai and could clearly express its thoughts and meaning.
“Where?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Follow me,” A wisp of golden light suddenly emerged from the Divine Tree and flew off in a certain direction, leading Yang Kai.
Following after it, Yang Kai soon came to a certain spot in the Black Book space and looking around, his brow wrinkled and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
“Here!” The Divine Tree sent him another message as the golden wisp circled the area.
Even without it telling him though, Yang Kai noticed something was wrong.
There were many scattered pieces of gravel here and some precious ores he had been keeping were now gone.
In particular, the quantity of rare minerals he had brought back from the Starry Sky had noticeably decreased.
Yang Kai remembered that after the Starry Sky Storm, he had collected a large number of precious ores and stored them here. Later, he had also piled up the ores he had taken from Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Treasury here.
However, now there seemed to be something that was absorbing the essence from these ores and leaving behind only some useless impurities.
Yang Kai couldn’t help glancing over at the Divine Tree curiously.
Some time ago, Yang Kai had accidentally discovered a similar occurrence. At the time, he had thought it was the doing of the Divine Tree, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.
But now it was fairly clear this wasn’t the doing of the Divine Tree because it didn’t seem like it was lying to him.
“You’ve been staying here the whole time, did you notice anything?” Yang Kai asked after being unable to glean any clues from the pile of ores in front of him.
“Nothing,” Divine Tree hesitantly replied, “I only felt something strange was happening here.”
“Help me keep an eye on this, if you find something, tell me immediately,” Yang Kai said.
Something so strange happening inside his Black Book space had confused Yang Kai greatly.
The essence contained within these ores wouldn’t just disappear for no reason, there must be something consuming them. But since the Divine Tree didn’t do it, the question was who, or what did?
Yang Kai would feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat so long as he couldn’t solve this mystery.
Receiving a nod from the Divine Tree, Yang Kai left the Black Book space and continued practicing his Alchemy.
Several peaceful days passed by before Yang Kai once again felt the call of the Divine Tree.
Without hesitation, he sent his Soul Avatar into the Black Book space and asked, “Did you discover something?”
“En,” The Divine Tree once again sent out a golden wisp and the two of them flew over to where the pile of ores lay before it pointed, “It’s them, I felt them slowly absorbing the essence of those stones, I’m certain of it.”
Following the direction it indicated, Yang Kai gawked for a moment at what he saw.
Although Yang Kai had just haphazardly piled the ore he had collected over the years here, he still recognized the two stones on the other end of his gaze and even clearly remember when and where he had obtained them.
Because these two stones were quite special compared to the others scattered around.
It was the two pitch-black round stones.
The first of these two stones had been found inside the secluded ancient cave which was home to the Soul Devouring Insects. At that time, Yang Kai was on his way to Soaring Heaven Sect for the first time and had taken a detour to explore this ancient cave mansion with Cang Yan and Fei Yu. His Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt had brought back a few treasure from the depths of the cave, one of which was this pitch-black round stone which had finally been collected by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai obtained the second pitch-black round stone back in Floating Clouds City. While waiting for the Thousand Year Demon Flower to bloom, he had been forced to participate in an Alchemy contest by Du Wan and Mi Na, ultimately winning first prize as well as the right to pick two treasures from Du Wan’s Saint Grade Alchemist colleagues’ Universe Bags.
Because the two pitch-black round stones were very similar, almost identical, they had caught Yang Kai’s attention and he had spent some time carefully examining them, unfortunately he had never learned anything useful about them despite his efforts.
Never had Yang Kai imagined that the culprit for this strange occurrence in the Black Book space was actually them.
What kind of strange stone absorbed the essence of other rare ores? Yang Kai thought about it for a long time but still ended up drawing a blank.
After carefully probing the two stones with his Divine Sense again for a while, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly.
He discovered that some beautiful patterns, like the meridians of a human body, had appeared on the surface of the two pitch-black round stones. Unfortunately, these patterns only appeared intermittently, as if they had been damaged or worn out somehow.
This discovery greatly surprised Yang Kai.
When he first obtained these two pitch-black round stones, he had performed a detailed examination of them, but at the time, no such patterns had appeared at all.
The delicate and somewhat unclear patterns that had now shown up were obviously related to the two pitch-black round stones absorbing the essence of the ores around them.
On top of that, it was only now that Yang Kai could detected that there was some unusual energy flowing through these patterns, akin to the True Qi in a cultivator’s meridians.
These two stones really hid some kind of mystery!
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai decided to set the matter aside for now. After knowing what was happening inside the Black Book space, he was no longer overly worried and simply asked the Divine Tree to continue monitoring the two stones before he took back his consciousness.
Yang Kai faintly felt that the two strange stones weren’t simple, and if he continued to allow them to absorb mineral essences some unexpected changes would eventually occur.
The two stones absorbing the essence of other minerals would no doubt make them stronger, which meant Yang Kai would be able to use them to refine an even stronger artifact in the future.
Opening his eyes, Yang Kai glanced around and saw the Golden Dragon was still consuming the surrounding golden energy and that it would not be done for a while yet. He also noticed Sun Yu still hard at work cultivating nearby.
And so, Yang Kai went back to practicing Alchemy.
Inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai had refined a drop of Demon God Golden Blood and acquired the Soul Fission Divine Ability Soul that once belonged to the Great Demon God. Since then, Yang Kai had been cultivating this Divine Ability and had made good progress thanks to his Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus constantly nourishing his Soul and Soul Clone.
At this moment, Yang Kai also clearly realized the benefits of cultivating Soul Fission.
When one cultivated this Divine Ability to the grand accomplishment stage, it would be as if they had two Souls and could thus cultivate Spiritual Energy twice as fast as others.
Yang Kai had never heard of any Secret Art that even remotely compared to such a boost in Spiritual Energy cultivation speed.
Although Yang Kai had not yet reached such a height, he could clearly feel that thanks to the existence of his Soul Clone, his Spiritual Energy was growing significantly faster than before.
As such, he had spared no effort to cultivate his Soul Clone in the hopes that one day it would be able to play its complete role.
Once he cultivated Soul Fission to its extreme, as long as he could find the right body for it, he could separate his Soul Clone from his Knowledge Sea and implant it into this second form, allowing him to essentially be in two places at once or explore some dangerous region without risking his life.
Yang Kai also began refining the Silver Leaf Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact which he had obtained from the previous Holy Master inside the Holy Tomb. This Silver Leaf was filled with a mysterious power and was extremely difficult to refine. Fortunately though, Yang Kai had plenty of time and was not in a hurry.
After confirming the source of the disturbance in the Black Book space, Yang Kai would check in on the two pitch-black round stones every few days to see what changes they were undergoing.
As time passed, the fine patterns on their surface became clearer and more coherent, the price paid though was that most of the minerals Yang Kai had collected had been reduced to dregs. Of the pile of ores he had harvested from the Starry Sky and Nine Heavens Holy Land, only about half remained.
If this kept up, within a year or so, the two stones would consume every last ore in the Black Book space.
Inside the golden energy ocean, whether it was Yang Kai or Sun Yu, both of them had lost track of the passage of time as they busied themselves with their own affairs. Occasionally, the two would stop what they were doing, relax, and chat, but after having rested themselves for a time, they would continue their work, neither one bothering the other.
The days that passed by were by no means wasted though, instead they were quite productive and meaningful. Both Yang Kai and Sun Yu obtained enormous growth and benefit from this unexpected accident.
Dragon Valley stretched and twisted like a real dragon laying on the ground. It was covered in a fog all year round and even the strongest of masters couldn’t see into its depths.
Initially, around Dragon Valley, many Dragon Phoenix Palace masters had hidden themselves and were constantly on guard, but as time passed, these masters had left one by one.
Now, only Palace Master Chen Zhou remained at the mouth of the valley.
At this moment, Chen Zhou stared towards the misty mountain valley with a worried look and sighed.
Two years ago, when the disciple named Sun Yu had managed to trigger the long dormant Dragon Valley’s barrier and summoned for the vision of the Golden Dragon head, all of Dragon Phoenix Palace celebrated.
The attention of all the top leaders of Dragon Phoenix Palace was constantly focused here, thinking that the Sect would soon enter into a new prosperous age and would one day stand at the summit of Tong Xuan Realm alongside its most powerful forces.
But after two years had passed, there was still no movement from inside the valley. Although everyone could detect the powerful energy fluctuations coming from within, the disciple name Sun Yu had never returned.
Gradually, people became disheartened, though none dared say so in front of Palace Master Chen. But in private, everyone had come to the conclusion that the disciple name Sun Yu had likely met with disaster.
He was only a boy at the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage. After not having appeared for so long, it was almost certain he had starved to death in the Dragon Valley.
Gazing at the golden light ocean, Chen Zhou sighed once more.
“Palace Master…” Chen Zhou’s companion, Yu Ting Yi, who was one of the few who still remained here, couldn’t help sighing and offering words of comfort, “The disciple who opened the barrier has obtained great fortune, he is surely alright.”
Chen Zhou did not respond, his expression simply becoming gloomier.
Yu Ting Yi reluctantly sighed again before turning to look at a nearby old man.
Besides Chen Zhou, the only other who had insisted on waiting here for the entire two year time was this old man.
It was Elder Ling Jian, Sun Yu’s master.
Elder Ling did not possess great strength or aptitude, his title as Elder more a formality due to his age than an indication of his status in Dragon Phoenix Palace. Before, he had no real power and was all but ignored by most.
Two years ago, when Sun Yu had suddenly opened the formation, Ling Jian’s status suddenly soared and almost every Elder who saw him would politely greet him, allowing him to enjoy almost unparalleled freedom and respect inside Dragon Phoenix Palace.
But now, no one treated him that way anymore.
Chen Zhou and Ling Jian stood next to each other as they stared into the mountain valley’s depths, sighing continuously as looks of sorrow filled their faces.
A figure quickly approached, and Elder Xiao Ling of Dragon Phoenix Palace soon appeared and quickly observed Chen Zhou’s expression before glancing over at Yu Ting Yi.
The latter slowly shook her head, her beautiful eyes filled with a helpless gloom.
Xiao Ling immediately understood; since the last time he came, no noticeable change had likely appeared in Dragon Valley. Shaking off these distracting thoughts, he respectfully cupped his fists and spoke, “Palace Master, the Elders request your presence to discuss some important matters.”
“Let them hold their discussion , just inform me of the result,” Chen Zhou Yi Xing waved his hand.
“Forgive me, Palace Master, but this matter must be decided by you personally, otherwise I would not have dared disturb you,” Xiao Ling replied awkwardly.
Chen Zhou frowned slightly, a look of annoyance appearing on his face.
Yu Ting Yi quickly said, “You should go, you have not asked about any of the Sect’s affairs for the past two years…”
“I must wait here for the Dragon Emperor to return!” Chen Zhou firmly declared, interrupting Yu Ting Yi before she could finish speaking.
Yu Ting Yi wore a forced smile in response.
“Do you think there is no hope left? Ignorance! The Dragon Emperor will return, we just do not know when!” Chen Zhou coldly snorted, his face showing a look filled with confidence.
Yu Ting Yi smiled and spoke, “If you say it will be so, it will be, but that also means there’s no need for you to be so anxious. The Elders are waiting for you, the sooner you take care of things the sooner you can return. Leave this place to Elder Ling and I, we will inform you immediately if anything happens.”
Chen Zhou glanced over at his wife for a moment before nodding lightly, “Then I’ll ask this of you, be sure you keep a close eye on this place.”
“En,” Yu Ting Yi nodded gently, feeling somewhat helpless in her heart.
Chen Zhou took one last long look towards the depths of the valley before turning around and preparing to leave with Xiao Ling.
At that moment though, Dragon Valley, which had remained silent for two whole years, suddenly pulsed, sending out a powerful energy fluctuation that blew away all the lingering mist, revealing itself in all its splendor.
Now, anyone standing at its mouth could see straight into its depths.
Chen Zhou’s steps immediately came to a halt and he began trembling with excitement, not daring to even breathe as he stared towards the valley.
The low-spirited Ling Jian also suddenly became excited as his old pair of eyes flashed with expectation, his wrinkled hands clenching tightly.
“There’s movement!” Chen Zhou couldn’t help shouting.
Xiao Ling, who had come to summon Chen Zhou, also couldn’t help stopping in place as he stared suspiciously towards the depths of the valley, his mood also becoming somewhat jubilant.
Although he and the other Elders were somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that Palace Master Zhou had cast aside all of the Sect’s affairs and had stubbornly remained at Dragon Valley’s mouth for the past two years, many of them even feeling that the disciple name Sun Yu had long ago perished, seeing this phenomenon still couldn’t help rousing Xiao Ling’s expectations.
After all, he too was a member of Dragon Phoenix Palace.
……
Inside the golden ocean at the end of Dragon Valley, the Golden Dragon had finally finished swallowing up all the ambient energy and its whole body was now emitting a dazzling light. It was as if it had become a true dragon and carried with it an aura of endless majesty.
Sun Yu, who had been meditating, was alarmed and awoke, instantly meeting the Golden Dragon’s eyes. In that instant, Sun Yu felt a sharp pain in his head and collapsed to the ground.
The moment he met eyes with the Golden Dragon, Sun Yu felt as if his Soul was being forcibly drawn out of his Knowledge Sea and crushed.
Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and shielded him from the Golden Dragon’s view, allowing Sun Yu to quickly close his eyes and steady his mind.
A resounding dragon’s roar rang out as the Golden Dragon soared up into the sky.
The sky seems to explode as a burst of light so bright erupted that everyone within a hundred kilometers was blinded.
It was as if the Golden Dragon had been trapped for thousands of years and had just broken free, rejoicing as it soared through the sky. After a while, the Golden Dragon suddenly swooped down and slammed into Yang Kai, bringing with it a devastating power.
Yang Kai let out a shout as the Golden Dragon sunk into his body, immediately feeling like something he had lost had returned.
Along with this feeling of reunion, the Golden Dragon also brought with it a phenomenal amount of pure energy.
All of Yang Kai’s clothes were blasted into dust as this energy burst forth.
Yang Kai quickly condensed several Grand Heavenly Shields around Sun Yu while summoning his Silver Leaf Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact.
The Silver Leaf pulsed vividly before rapidly expanding and wrapping Sun Yu in a second layer of protection.
If Yang Kai did not do this, Sun Yu wouldn’t be able to resist the fallout from the energy explosion and would be instantly vaporized.
After spending a great deal of time, Yang Kai had finally finished refining this artifact which had belonged to the previous Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. This Silver Leaf had the ability to transform into many shapes and sizes, giving it great flexibility whether it was used for attacking or defending, worthy of a Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact.
*Kacha…*
The sound of his bones dislocating crackled as Yang Kai’s flesh rippled, the True Qi in his meridians circulating as an unimaginable speed, exerting huge pressure on them.
A moment later, countless cracks appeared on Yang Kai’s skin and blood began pouring out, dying his surroundings a golden sheen. Fortunately, under the powerful restorative strength of the Demon God Golden Blood, the damaged areas were quickly repaired.
However, this didn’t mean that the energy rampaging through Yang Kai’s body had stopped. A cycle of damage and repair quickly formed.
During this process, Yang Kai not only didn’t show any signs of distress but instead wore an excited look upon his face.
When the Golden Dragon returned to his body and transformed back into a Golden Dragon tattoo, Yang Kai suddenly felt that the world around him had undergone some subtle changes.
The flow of energy between the Heavens and Earth had become clear and more distinct compared to before.
In the midst of all this, Yang Kai felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao. The insights and mysteries he had previously failed to grasp now seemed to be within reach of his fingertips!
Standing in place, Yang Kai calmed himself, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in this wondrous feeling.
Above Yang Kai’s head, wind and clouds swirled as the World Energy within a hundred kilometer radius began gathering, as if some great force was drawing it in.
These giant Heavenly Manifestations had naturally attracted the attention of all Dragon Phoenix Palace’s leadership, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and rushed towards Dragon Valley, each of them wearing looks of excitement.
Chen Zhou and Ling Jian, who had been standing guard here the whole time, stared bright eyed towards the depths of Dragon Valley, the latter even bursting into tears of joy.
Although none of them was able to detect Sun Yu’s aura, all of them knew that this scene must be related to the young boy. Perhaps he had successfully acquired the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance and was now facing some kind of final test.
“These violent energy fluctuations are signs of a breakthrough!” Xiao Ling muttered to himself.
Yu Ting Yi is also nodded lightly, “The momentum is not inferior to someone breaking through to the Saint Realm!”
When Chen Zhou had broken through to the Saint Realm, there had also been a grand Heavenly Manifestation, but compared to the scene that was playing out before their eyes, it was still somewhat dwarfed.
Was the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance really so amazing? When Sun Yu entered Dragon Valley two years ago, his cultivation had only reached the True Element Seventh Stage. Just what standard had he reached now? No matter what, it was impossible for him to have reached the Saint Realm, so how was he supposed to withstand such a violent energy storm?
Everyone couldn’t help suddenly feeling worried.
Chen Zhou suddenly shouted severely, “Relay my orders! Create a blockade twenty kilometers outside the Sect! No outsiders may enter! If anyone dares try to intrude, no matter who it is, kill them without mercy!”
With such a massive movement happening here, it was bound to attract nearby masters. If anyone who harboured malicious and covetous intentions towards the new Dragon Emperor, this would be an ideal time for them to interfere.
Especially in the nearby Frozen Nether Cave Heaven. Two years ago, after obtaining news about the occurrences in Dragon Valley through various means, they had shown signs of wanting to make trouble, but after two years of silence, and not knowing whether Sun Yu was dead or alive, they hadn’t made any rash moves.
But today, with this Heavenly Manifestation appearing, they would definitely act.
Feeling the thick murderous intent pulsing from Chen Zhou’s body, Xiao Ling also realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly began making arrangements.
“The Dragon Emperor’s legacy has finally reappeared, these two years… I haven’t waited in vain!” Chen Zhou’s eyes began to water up as he felt that a great weight had lifted from his shoulders.
In the depths of Dragon Valley, Yang Kai stood silently amidst a sea of World Energy, as if the two had somehow become one, an experience Yang Kai had never had before.
The power within his body rapidly increased and soon reached its peak level, but there was no sign of it stopping and it continued to soar, breaking through all boundaries and limits.
Yang Kai clearly knew he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
It had been several years since his last breakthrough, and while waiting for the Golden Dragon to finish swallowing the golden energy ocean, Yang Kai had not slacked on his own cultivation and had also obtained many insights while studying Alchemy.
It could be said that breaking through right now was completely natural and that he wouldn’t encounter any bottlenecks.
The storm of World Energy around Yang Kai tempered his already solid physique and True Qi. His flesh and blood pulsed with unimaginable power.
Yang Kai was ecstatic.
Lowering his guard and opening his stance, Yang Kai completely immersed himself in this intense World Energy baptism.
Most cultivators would use their True Qi or artifacts to protect themselves during a breakthrough so as not to be hurt by the rampaging World Energy that gathered around them during the process.
Although this approach was much safer, the benefits one could obtain were reduced correspondingly.
Yang Kai did the complete opposite of this, using his tyrannical physique to directly withstand this external bombardment, tempering his flesh and blood to the extreme, forming a never ending cycle of benefits. This was why every cultivator paid special attention to their foundation, the firmer it was, the more benefits they could obtain and the greater the height they could reach in the future.
Yang Kai’s foundation was incredibly solid.
Shooting a glance over at Sun Yu, who was guarded by Grand Heavenly Shields and the Silver Leaf artifact, Yang Kai confirmed the youth was unaffected and put down the last of his worries.
A wave of World Energy fell from the sky like a bolt of lightning, bringing with it an overwhelming pressure and momentum, causing everyone from Dragon Phoenix Palace standing at the mouth of Dragon Valley to change complexion in shock.
Seeing such a powerful destructive force, none of them could guarantee that Sun Yu would be able to return safely.
Chen Zhou and Ling Jian were both anxious like ants on a hot wok, wanting to immediately rush to the depths of the valley to have a closer look but simultaneously worried they would disturb Sun Yu if they did so, causing them no small amount of grief.
At this time, Xiao Ling, who had left to arrange the blockade of the Sect, sent word that the nearby Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had indeed been alarmed by this situation and that enemy masters, under the leadership of two First Order Saints, were now heading towards Dragon Valley.
Chen Zhou’s face went cold and a sharp light flashed across the depths of his eyes.
Ever since Dragon Phoenix Palace had begun to decline, Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had begun to rise. There was an obvious friction between the two forces, but with each of them possessing Saint Realm masters, despite constant small skirmishes breaking out, no major conflict had yet to erupt.
Everyone knew that once a major battle took place, neither side would be able to emerge unscathed.
Although Dragon Phoenix Palace only had one Saint Realm master, Chen Zhou, if it became a life of death fight, Frozen Nether Cave Heaven would no doubt sustain unacceptable amounts of damage.
Frozen Nether Cave Heaven suddenly mobilizing all its forces at this time was no surprise to Chen Zhou.
“Elder Ling, I leave all matters here in your hands. If Sun Yu can return safely… Take him away from Dragon Phoenix Palace and tell him that the revitalization of our Sect will depend on him.”
“Palace Master!” Ling Jian’s face paled when he realized what Chen Zhou wanted to do.
“Xiao Ling, Ting Yi, come meet the enemy with me! I’d like to see what kind of ability they think they possess to so brazenly invade my Dragon Phoenix Palace!” Chen Zhou shouted before soaring off.
Xiao Ling and Yu Ting Yi also rushed to keep up.
At the mouth of the mountain valley now, only Ling Jian remained.
Staring towards the depths of the valley, Ling Jian only grew more anxious, muttering under his breath, “Smelly brat, still unwilling to come out? You really know how to torture this old master’s heart.”
Deep in the depths of Dragon Valley, World Energy continued pouring down from the Heavens towards Yang Kai who openly accepted every last bit of it, his face filled with excitement.
This situation lasted for an hour or so before the swirling World Energy began to thin out and the terrifying aura that engulfed Dragon Valley gradually subsided.
An invisible wave of pressure centered on Yang Kai suddenly spread around.
At this moment, Yang Kai’s body felt incredibly light and a joyous sensation spread across every inch of his body. Clenching his fists silently, Yang Kai could feel just how much his strength had increased.
Spreading out his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found the range and clarity of his perception had also grown substantially.
Third Order Transcendent Realm!
Just one step away from the Saint Realm.
Several dozen kilometers away, Yang Kai sensed some people were fighting, and it was an intense battle at that. There were even three Saints involved, causing Yang Kai to frown slightly, not knowing what was going on.
Yang Kai took his attention back and began examining the changes in his body.
The Golden Dragon tattoo had returned to his back but was now far more lifelike and was actually constantly swimming across his skin, appearing quite strange to the outside observer.
Also, at this moment, the Golden Dragon tattoo seemed to contain a massive amount of energy that caused even Yang Kai to feel somewhat nervous.
It gave off a profound and majestic aura that was familiar to Yang Kai.
Monster Qi!
Having coming in contact with members of the Monster Race and talked directly to a Monster Race Great Senior, Yang Kai was very familiar with Monster Qi and at this moment the energy radiating from his Golden Dragon tattoo actually contained traces of Monster Yuan Qi.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai understood.
The inheritance hidden here was the real Dragon Emperor’s inheritance!
What he and Su Yan received back in the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave was just a primer, only after coming here and obtaining the hidden energy could they become the true Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress.
Yang Kai didn’t know why he suddenly understood all this, but he figured it had something to do with acquiring the true inheritance.
After carefully examining himself, Yang Kai felt extremely satisfied.
Taking out a set of clothes from the Black Book space and donning the, Yang Kai removed the protective layers around Sun Yu.
The Grand Heavenly Shields shattered and the Silver Leaf artifact was retrieved by him.
Sun Yu still appeared somewhat shaken by what had just happened but after seeing Yang Kai, he quickly cupped his fists, “Many thanks for rescuing me, Senior!”
He was well aware that if Yang Kai had not protected him at the critical moment, he would have long since departed for the next world. Even if he cultivated diligently for a few dozen years he might not be able to resist such a shocking display of power.
“A minor matter,” Yang Kai smiled faintly before turning his gaze towards the mouth of the valley, casually saying “There is a cultivator with a First Order Transcendent cultivation outside who seems to be waiting for you.”
“First Order Transcendent?” Sun Yu was surprised before immediately saying excitedly, “It must be Master. Oh no, we’ve been trapped here for so many days, Master has certainly become impatient waiting for me. Senior, do you know how long we’ve been staying here?”
“Probably about two years,” Yang Kai replied off-handedly.
“So long?” Sun Yu was dumbstruck; shocked that a whole two years had passed by, he had simply not felt the passage of time at all; following beside Yang Kai and reaping such enormous benefits had apparently diluted this feeling.
“Don’t be in such a rush,” Yang Kai smiled as he looked at the youth, “Do you remember the agreement between us?”
Sun Yu nodded solemnly, “I remember. To me, Senior is an honoured teacher, I will certainly not reveal your existence.”
“Very good.”
“But… if Palace Master and the other elders ask about the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, how should I answer them?”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, feeling like there wasn’t really a good answer to this question. Although he had been training Sun Yu for a while, and the youth’s aptitude had undergone earth-shaking changes, allowing him to one day certainly have some achievements. The matter about the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance really wasn’t so easy to explain away, “Let’s put this aside for the moment, your Dragon Phoenix Palace’s masters are fighting with another group of people right now, and they seem to be at a disadvantage.”
“Engaged in battle?” Sun Yu frowned, releasing his Divine Sense but unable to perceive anything.
His cultivation realm wasn’t high enough so he could only perceive things within a few kilometers of himself, but after a little contemplation, he concluded, “It must be the people from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven. Hateful! That group of bastards must have detected the movement from this place and decided to launch a full scale invasion of my Dragon Phoenix Palace.”
“Is there some kind of grudge between your two forces?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Sun Yu shook his head, “It’s just them looking for trouble. Their Sect specializes in Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills and my Dragon Phoenix Palace just happens to have something they greatly covet.”
Yang Kai frowned and suddenly understood, “The inheritance inside the Phoenix Nest?”
“Indeed,” Sun Yu nodded, “Since the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance has reappeared, the new Dragon Emperor will definitely need to find a favourable woman to inherit the Phoenix Empresses’ inheritance. That’s Frozen Nether Cave Heaven’s goal, once they succeed, perhaps they’ll completely annex our Dragon Phoenix Palace.”
Yang Kai let out a somewhat creepy laugh as he stared at the youth.
“Why are you laughing like that, Senior?” Sun Yu was confused.
“Looks like you’re in trouble,” Yang Kai said, clearly taking pleasure in the boy’s misfortune.
Sun Yu thought about it for a moment before his expression turned bitter, suddenly understanding. The leadership of Dragon Phoenix Palace currently thought he was the one who triggered the formation and received the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance and even if they had tightly controlled this information, it was likely Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had learned about his identity. The purpose of Frozen Nether Cave Heaven’s invasion this time was obviously Sun Yu.
Clearly they intended to capture him and force him to choose a woman from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven to become the new Phoenix Empress and obtain the inheritance from the Phoenix Nest.
“Senior…” Sun Yu’s face filled with unease as he stared over at Yang Kai, silently praying for rescue.
“Don’t worry, since I was the one who created this issue in the first place, I’ll help you handle it. This is also an opportunity to let your Dragon Phoenix Palace’s leaders confirm that you obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.”
Sun Yu breathed a sigh of relief, “Many thanks, Senior.”
“No problem!” Yang Kai smiled faintly, “You exit the valley, I’ll protect you from the shadows. Act bold and courageously.”
“Yes!” Having received this assurance from Yang Kai, Sun Yu felt greatly relieved and hurriedly rushed towards the mouth of the valley, as if he believed that with Senior Yang’s astonishing methods, repelling Frozen Nether Cave Heaven would be a simple task.
After Sun Yu left, Yang Kai turned his gaze in the direction of the nearby battle, his eyes flashing a gloomy light.
The inheritance hidden inside the Phoenix Nest belonged to Su Yan, yet this Frozen Nether Cave Heaven was actually looking to steal it, they must really be tired of living!
If not for this reason, Yang Kai would be unwilling to intervene in other forces’ disputes.
However, Dragon Phoenix Palace had a great many subtle connections with him so him taking action this time was simply like returning the favour for him obtaining the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance.
Do give me feedback on this one. The decision is kinda a grey zone for me.
Ling Jian stood at the mouth of the valley, anxiously waiting, muttering under his breath constantly, yet not seeing any traces of Sun Yu appearing.
Gradually, Ling Jian even began to think that his disciple had been killed in that terrifying World Energy storm.
Just as he was about to lose all hope, from the depths of Dragon Valley, a figure dashed out, causing Ling Jian to stare and tremble in shock.
This figure was quite similar to the Sun Yu in his memories but was somewhat taller and stronger. Ling Jian’s old dim eyes were somewhat lost for a moment as he stared fixedly towards the approaching youth.
After a while, the appearance of this figure finally appeared clearly in Ling Jian’s eyes, and upon confirming it really was Sun Yu, Ling Jian shed tears of joy and cried out, “Smelly brat, you are finally decided to come out. Do you know how much worry you’ve put me through!”
“Master!” Sun Yu also wore an excited expression, quickly rushing over Ling Jian and bowing politely to him, however, before Sun Yu could say anything, he was pulled by Ling Jian who hurriedly said, “Follow me! “
Seeing his old Master acting like this, Sun Yu suspiciously asked, “Where are we going?”
“Those Frozen Nether Cave Heaven bastards have launched in invasion. Palace Master and the other Elders have gone to confront the enemy but the other side has two Saint Realm masters. We can’t block them for long so Palace Master instructed me before he left that if you returned safely, I was to lead you away from here to safe location. Palace Master is entrusting the revitalization of the Sect to you.”
“Where is this safe location?” Sun Yu knit his brow.
“Twin Spirit Pavilion… My Dragon Phoenix Palace and Twin Spirit Pavilion have always been on good terms. If we go there, we can avoid this crisis and buy ourselves time for you to mature.”
Ling Jian had thoroughly considered this issue. His disciple Sun Yu had now accepted the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance and would definitely grow into a supreme expert one day. He also urgently needed to find a favoured woman to inherit the Phoenix Nest’s inheritance. If they divulged all of this to Twin Spirit Pavilion, the latter would definitely be willing to shelter them.
As long as they could receive this kindness, letting Sun Yu look for a Phoenix Empress from Twin Spirit Pavilion wouldn’t be beyond reason.
No matter what, they couldn’t let the Phoenix Empress’ inheritance fall into the hands of an enemy like Frozen Nether Cave Heaven.
“I won’t leave!” Sun Yu suddenly broke away from Ling Jian’s grip and stood firmly in place.
Ling Jian glanced back and looked at him and anxiously shouted, “You smelly brat, ignoring your Master’s words at a time like this, do you want to irritate this old master to death?”
Sun Yu coldly snorted said, “With the Sect facing mortal disaster, how can I simply run away? Since Frozen Nether Cave Heaven dares to violate your territory, they must pay an appropriate price!”
Ling Jian suddenly became somewhat absent-minded, staring blankly at his disciple, unable to understand the situation for a while.
Although his disciple had obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, that still couldn’t explain his current confidence, actually declaring he wanted Frozen Nether Cave Heaven to pay the price for their actions. What did he have to back up such rampant talk?
Releasing his Divine Sense, Ling Jian carefully probed Sun Yu, but upon realizing his disciple’s current cultivation, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he struggled to speak, “Y… you…”
“You want us to pay the price? Hahahaha, boy, you’re certainly arrogant enough!” A burst of laughter suddenly came from nearby.
Along with this taunting voice, a number of figures appeared like ghosts, each of them dressed in long, pure white robes.
Sun Yu’s expression changed and instinctually leapt back towards Ling Jian. Ling Jian also wore a dignified expression as he stepped forward to shield his disciple, sweeping his eyes coldly over these newcomers as he muttered under his breath, “Frozen Nether Cave Heaven dogs!”
The ones who had appeared were cultivators from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven. There were five of them in total, all of them Transcendents.
This quantity and grade of expert against the First Order Transcendent Ling Jian, the end result was obvious.
It was because of this that these five had boldly shown themselves and were even now directing taunting gazes towards this Master and disciple pair.
The middle-aged man who appeared to be the group’s leader stared at Sun Yu with a smirk and teased, “Little brat, was it you who just said you wanted my Frozen Nether Cave Heaven to pay the price?”
Sun Yu’s face had drained of all colour and he didn’t dare to answer back.
Although he had been cultivated vigorously by Yang Kai and his aptitude had undergone an earth-shaking change, in the end, he was still just a naive sixteen year old boy who had never weathered any great storms before. Now facing five Transcendents, he had lost all courage before the fight even began, and if it weren’t for his Master standing in front of him, he likely would have already fallen into despair.
Hiding behind Ling Jian, Sun Yu glanced around rapidly, as if desperately searching for something, a moment later a smile appearing on his face and his nerves quickly settling.
After the middle-aged man taunted them once, he no longer paid any attention to Ling Jian or Sun Yu; instead, he and the other four men turned their eyes towards the direction of Dragon Valley, pondering, “The Heavenly Manifestation originated from over there somewhere, right?”
“En, this is Dragon Phoenix Palace’s Dragon Valley, where the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance lays hidden. I’d never believed that old story, but now it appears I have to. For the past two years, that Chen Zhou has apparently been guarding this place.”
“If that’s so, then is it certain that Dragon Phoenix Palace disciple obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance?”
“En, I’ve already inquired about this. The one who obtained the inheritance was named Sun Yu, a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage brat!”
“That boy’s luck is quite good then. Let’s go in, we’ll see who grabs him first!”
The five Transcendents completely ignored Ling Jian and Sun Yu, as if they weren’t even there.
Ling Jian was still on edge until a moment ago, when he heard this group’s conversation and realized there was still an opportunity for him and his disciple to escape. These five didn’t seem to know that the teenager in front of them was actually the Sun Yu they were looking for.
None of them had ever seen Sun Yu before and the change in Sun Yu’s cultivation had been too dramatic so these five not associating Sun Yu with the one they were looking for was reasonable.
“Sirs…” Ling Jian called out hesitantly, “If you wish to go in, this old man will not stand in your way, but can you let us leave first?”
“You want to leave?” The middle-aged leader glanced over at Ling Jian and chuckled before nodding, “Good, make that little brat cut off his tongue first! Actually daring to say he wants my Frozen Nether Cave Heaven to pay the price, the longer he keeps his tongue the more trouble it will cause him, he should remove it now to avoid disaster later.”
Ling Jian’s complexion changed but he still managed to squeeze out an ugly smile, “My disciple is simply young and ignorant, so this old man was specifically accompanying him. I hope good sirs can find it in their hearts to overlook this incident.”
“Ha ha ha ha!” The five Frozen Nether Cave Heaven cultivators laughed mockingly, finding this whole situation somewhat entertaining.
The middle-aged leader soon sneered, “It’s not like we can’t let him off, young people inevitably stupid mistakes and we don’t want to be accused of bullying the weak… En, since he’s your disciple, you’ll have to accept his punishment on his behalf. Kneel down and kowtow a few times, then shout that your Dragon Phoenix Palace people are all inferior to pigs and dogs then we’ll consider letting him go, how about it?”
Saying so, the middle-aged leader grinned threateningly towards Ling Jian.
Ling Jian’s expression immediately froze over, although he was old, he was still a man who had reached the Transcendent Realm; he still had his own pride and insistences.
This middle-aged man so wantonly demeaning them, how could Ling Jian not become angry?
But remembering the great task Palace Master Chen Zhou had entrusted him with, Ling Jian choked down his anger and under the humiliating gaze of the middle-aged man slowly began kneeling down.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man’s eyes shone with a sly light and sneered.
“Master…” Ling Jian suddenly reached out to support Ling Jian, his immature face now filled with an eerie coldness, its former timidity and fear seemingly having vanished into thin air, replaced instead with a thick murderous intent.
“Smelly brat…” Ling Jian stared at him suspiciously.
Sun Yu just shook his head slowly before stepping forward, past Ling Jian, and arriving in front of the opposite five men, “You came here looking for Sun Yu, yes?”
“You can sure spout a lot of nonsense, boy,” The middle-aged man grumbled unhappily.
“You don’t need to enter the valley to find who you’re looking for, I am Sun Yu!”
The middle-aged man gawked at Sun Yu’s statement, for a moment, unable to believe what he was hearing, the other four Transcendents also not faring much better than him.
“There’s no need for you to doubt my words!” Sun Yu snorted, “When I went in, I indeed was only a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator, but that was naturally two years ago!”
“Two years to cross a whole Great Realm?” The middle-aged man exclaimed.
Sun Yu was now the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator. Compared to the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage, it really was an entire Great Realm of difference, if was because of this massive difference in strength that when the five of them had arrived here, none of them thought this boy was Sun Yu.
One of the other men’s eyes lit up, “Is this the so called power of the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance?”
“If you’d like to think so… you can!” Sun Yu snorted, his expression completely relaxed, facing these five Transcendent Realm masters without the slightest bit of fear, completely different from only a moment ago.
After listening and absorbing Sun Yu’s words, the five from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven suddenly stared towards him with excitement.
A cultivator using only two years of time to grow from the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, this was nothing short of a miracle! Instantly, these five realized just how formidable the hidden Dragon Emperor’s inheritance really was.
All of them were no staring greedily towards Sun Yu.
“You smelly brat!” Ling Jian was so mad he coughed up blood.
These five had eyes but failed to see, none of them recognizing Sun Yu’s true identity which had created an opportunity for the two of them to escape. As long as he could keep Sun Yu safe, Ling Jian was prepared to endure any kind of insult, but this foolish disciple of his had actually gone and exposed himself. What different from that and throwing oneself into a flaming pit was there?
Lian Jian really wanted to know what the hell was going through his discple’s head right now; before, he wasn’t so dumb. Although Sun Yu’s aptitude wasn’t good by any measure, he was at least level-headed enough, not a genius but at least not a fool.
After entering Dragon Valley, did something happen to drastically change his temperament?
Ling Jian wished he could slap his disciple’s unconscious to shut him up.
“Master… it’s alright!” Sun Yu smiled lightly, nodding his head to his master, his expression filled with confidence.
Looking at his disciple’s calm smile, Ling Jian didn’t know why but he too seemed to regain his composure, the pressure he felt from the five Transcendents before him seemingly melting away.
Letting out a laugh, he nodded, “Good, since that’s the case, Master will accompany you, whether we live or die will be up to the Heavens to decide.”
“We won’t die, the ones who are going to die… are them!” Sun Yu’s tone became cold as he glared sharply at the five men in front of him, sending an aggressive and intimidating aura towards them.
The five men all unconsciously took a step back at that moment, each of them wrinkling their brows as they narrowed their eyes.
Sun Yu staring them down made the five Transcendents from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven feel uncomfortable for some reason they couldn’t understand.
Although this little brat had crossed an entire Great Realm in two years, in the end he was still just an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator. By all rights, he shouldn’t be able to put up the slightest bit of resistance against any one of them, much less all five.
But then why did this brat seem completely unafraid of them? In fact, the way he was staring at them was as if he almost pitied them.
After hesitating for a moment, the lead middle-aged man shouted, “Damn brat! Trying to play cheap tricks with us, I’d like to see how you kill us!”
Saying so, he waved his hand and shouted, “Catch this little brat and kill this old fogey!”
The four masters standing behind him immediately went into action, all of them shooting out like lightning, rushing towards Ling Jian and Sun Yu.
One of them grabbed towards Sun Yu, planning to capture him alive, while the other three mercilessly sent attacks towards Ling Jian, planning to instantly reap his life.
Ling Jian didn’t even have time to react before the attacks of the three men appearing in front of him, his hair standing on end as he saw his life flash before his eyes!
But in the next moment, something strange happened.
The four men who had rushed out, whether it was the one trying to capture Sun Yu or the three Transcendents attacking Ling Jian’s, all seemed to be caught by some invisible force, their actions immediately coming to a halt. In the next instant, all of them grabbed their heads as they fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Spiritual Energy from each of their Knowledge Seas burst forth, as if they were trying to resist some invisible force which was destroying their Souls.
The lead middle-aged man’s eyes shrank as he called out to his comrades in alarm.
But none of them responded.
After a mere five breaths of time, the four men all lay silent on the ground, their body’s stiff, their vitality gone. They were all dead.
Ling Jian stared blankly at all of this, his eyes bulging.
Sun Yu also gulped and was breathing heavily, unable to steady himself for a time. A moment ago, the Frozen Nether Cave Heaven master had already caught his arm, yet now he was lying on the ground dead.
Sun Yu’s eyes filled with joy and excitement as he glanced around, understanding that all of this was because Senior Yang had taken action just now.
A move worthy of a powerful master!
These four Transcendent Realm masters, who had driven Sun Yu and Lian Jian to despair, had inexplicably died, and the lead middle-aged man standing only meters away hadn’t even seen how it happened.
Sun Yu put down the last of his worries and grinned fiercely towards the last remaining enemy.
Struck by this gaze, the middle-aged man couldn’t help retreating a few steps, a cold chill shooting up his spine.
“Boy, what did you do?” The middle-aged still couldn’t believe what he was seeing and shouted anxiously.
“What point is there in explaining to a dead man?” Sun Yu replied flatly, gently lifting his finger toward the middle-aged man.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man screamed in terror and hastily summoned his defensive artifact to protect himself while turning around and fleeing.
He had no idea what this boy named Sun Yu had done just now but whatever it was; it had killed four of his companions whose strength weren’t much different from his own. If he stayed here any longer, he would surely be the next to die.
Was this Dragon Emperor’s inheritance really so incomprehensible?
In any case, he had to warn the two Saint Realm Seniors of his Sect so they could take precautions.
“Death!” Sun Yu shouted.
As soon as his voice sounded, the middle-aged man, who had already flown over a hundred meters away, suddenly let out a pitiful scream and just like the other four, grabbed his head as he fell to the ground, struggling for a few breaths before going limp, his Soul erased from existence.
Five Transcendent Realm masters dying like this caused Sun Yu to flush with excitement as he constantly look around, his face filled with a look of praise and worship.
“Good job, keep up your performance,” The voice of Senior Yang sounded in his head, causing Sun Yu’s expression to fill with confidence and his body to brim with strength, like he couldn’t wait to fly straight to Frozen Nether Cave Heaven and launch and all out slaughter.
“Smelly brat…” Ling Jian’s lips trembled, his face still somewhat pale as he incoherently asked, “You… did you just kill five Transcendents?”
Even now, Ling Jian still couldn’t believe it. The scene in front of him was simply too ridiculous to be real.
He still remembered that two years ago his disciple couldn’t even beat a cultivator in the same realm, yet now he was actually able to handle five powerful enemies that even Ling Jian was no match against.
Ling Jian couldn’t help feeling like he was stuck in some kind of absurd dream.
“It’s not like that, Master, all of this is thanks to the power of the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance,” Sun Yu couldn’t bear to outright lie to his Master and replied vaguely.
Ling Jian was startled for a moment but soon burst into joyful tears, “The Heavens have eyes, the Heavens have eyes!”
“Master, I won’t flee to Twin Spirit Pavilion, I’m going to find Palace Master and help resolve the Sect’s crisis!”
“This…” After experience Sun Yu’s strange and inexplicable methods, Ling Jian was no longer as insistent as before, but he still had some lingering concerns, “There are two Saint Realm masters over there, although Palace Master can hold down one of them, but you……”
“Relax, Master, I have a sense of discretion!” Sun Yu smiled and glanced over towards Dragon Valley’s depths stealthily. Although he couldn’t see or perceive Yang Kai’s presence, he knew that Senior Yang was hiding nearby.
With this kind of backing, Sun Yu could freely act unscrupulous!
“Good, I’ll go with you. Leave explaining to Palace Master to me. The Sect is now facing a crisis, as disciples, we should be fighting for it, not thinking of how to escape!” Ling Jian declared imposingly, inspired by his disciple’s confidence and heroic demeanor.
And so, the Master and disciple pair flew off together to join the battle.
…..
Twenty kilometers or so outside Dragon Phoenix Palace, high up in the sky, a group of cultivators were engaged in a life or death struggle. Every moment someone being injured or dying, their corpses falling to the ground below.
Martial Skills and the artifact attacks lit up the sky as explosions boomed all around, vividly illustrating just how fierce this battle was.
Dragon Phoenix Palace and Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had a deep seeded enmity and this time Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had come fully prepared, turning out in full force, and with their advantage in terms of number of Saint Realm masters, they had quickly seized the initiative.
Less than half an hour after the battle began, Dragon Phoenix Palace had already suffered heavy losses.
Palace Master Chen Zhou and Yu Ting Yi stood side by side, numerous bloody scars covering their bodies, the two of them working together to somehow tie down the enemy’s two Saint Realm masters.
If not for them dreading Chen Zhou would launch a last, desperate struggle and drag one or more of them down with him, the two Frozen Nether Cave Heaven’s Saints would have already killed him.
“Bai Jing Chu, Yan Zhi, today, if my Dragon Phoenix Palace is not destroyed, I swear I will one day slaughter you and your entire Sect!” Chen Zhou roared, his voice booming like thunder, echoing throughout the sky, filled with anger, unwillingness, and remorse.
Yu Ting Yi stood shoulder to shoulder with her husband, panting for breath, her proud chest heaving up and down as blood dripped from her lower abdomen. She was only a Third Order Transcendent and had suffered no small injury in this high-intensity battle.
However, because of the Dual Cultivation Technique she and Chen Zhou practiced, when the two of them took action together, Chen Zhou’s strength would noticeably increase.
She had to go forth, for without her, Chen Zhou would not be able to fight two enemy Saints at once.
Bai Jing Chu and Yan Zhi of Frozen Nether Cave Heaven glanced at each other before jumping back out of the fight, the former laughing heartily as he shouted, “Chen Zhou, whether you are willing or now, since we have come here today, we are fully prepared to extinguish your Dragon Phoenix Palace. You need not worry about this point! As for you wanting to slaughter us, I’m afraid you’ll have no such opportunity.”
Chen Zhou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered as he said, “The Dragon Emperor’s inheritance has reappeared now, soon the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress will rise again, they will certainly avenge my Dragon Phoenix Palace.”
“Dragon Emperor inheritance?” Yan Zhi laughed mockingly as he quipped, “You mean that thing that was hidden in Dragon Valley? Good, my subordinates should have arrived by now, so I’m afraid your newfound Dragon Emperor is already our captive. Hahaha, rest assured, we’ll help cultivate your Dragon Emperor for you.”
“En, we won’t treat him poorly. It’s said that each Dragon Emperor needs to choose his own Phoenix Empress, my Frozen Nether Cave Heaven has a number of beautiful women he can pick from. Once he gets a taste of them, I’m afraid that little brat will completely forget about this waste of a Sect.”
The two enemy Saints casually taunting him caused Chen Zhou expression to change abruptly and his heart to sink.
Over at Dragon Valley, only Ling Jian was left. With just Ling Jian’s strength, there was no way he could resist too many masters. If Sun Yu was really captured, Dragon Phoenix Palace really would have no chance to rise again.
“Hateful!” Chen Zhou gnashed his teeth.
Yan Zhi’s eyes flashed in that instant as he sent out a burst of Spiritual Energy straight towards Yu Ting Yi beside Chen Zhou.
Having lost focus for an instant because of the enemy’s words, Chen Zhou was caught off guard and by the time he reacted, Yu Ting Yi had already been hit.
With a mournful wail, Yu Ting Yi flew backwards several dozen meters, as if she had been struck by a huge invisible force, her face draining of all colour as she fell to the ground below.
Chen Zhou eyes went bloodshot and desperately wanted to rescue her but Bai Jing Chu swiftly intercepted him and sneered, “Without your woman, I’d like to see how you plan on fighting with me!”
Dragon Phoenix Palace’s dual cultivation technique was profound, when a male and female pair who cultivated it fought together, their strength increased far more than the simple sum of their parts, so Yan Zhi had constantly been looking for an opportunity to knock Yu Ting Yi out in one fell swoop. Without her, neither he nor Bai Jing Chu feared Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou’s momentum flared up as he fought desperately against Bai Jing Chu, releasing one powerful move after another.
Yan Zhi didn’t intervene though, his eyes flashing a cold light as shot towards Yu Ting Yi, his murderous intent flaring up, obviously he wanted to take this opportunity to kill Yu Ting Yi.
“Get lost!” Chen Zhou saw that his companion was in imminent mortal danger and immediately became enraged, using the fan-like artifact in his hand to send out a thousand blades of wind, each as sharp as any treasured sword.
“Chen Zhou, it’s over. Don’t put up any useless resistance, just stand there and watch how your precious woman dies! Don’t worry; we’ll make sure to bury you along with her!” Bai Jing Chu didn’t flinch, summoning out his own cauldron shaped artifact and using it to send out a massive shockwave that blocked the wind blades as he constantly taunted Chen Zhou, trying to rile up his enemy.
In the next instant, Yan Zhi caught up to the unconscious Yu Ting Yi, snickered, and mercilessly struck towards her.
At that moment, a Silver Leaf shaped artifact flew out from somewhere, releasing a dazzling glow as it expanded and wrapped around Yu Ting Yi.
Yan Zhi’s palm strike landed squarely on this Silver Leaf, but upon impact, it was like all his strength sank into an endless ocean, as if he hadn’t struck a physical object at all.
On the other hand, the Silver Leaf sent out a brilliant flash and all the energy from Yan Zhi’s attack was reflected back, causing him to fly backwards miserably.
The Silver Leaf which wrapped Yu Ting Yi then flew off towards Dragon Phoenix Palace and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Chen Zhou couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief, all his anxiety and worries abating. At the same time though, his brow wrinkled slightly, wondering which powerful master had just rescued his wife.
Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, Chen Zhou didn’t find any other Saint Realm masters nearby and couldn’t help feeling confused. The Silver Leaf, which had wrapped up Yu Ting Yi and flown into the Dragon Phoenix Palace, quickly returned and once again transformed into a burst of light, revealing two figures, one old, one young.
This light halo was dazzling to behold and contained radiated strong energy fluctuations, seeming to contain enormous power.
Bai Jing Chu and Yan Zhi of Frozen Nether Cave Heaven both narrowed their eyes as they stared at this pair of newcomers suspiciously. They quickly discovered that these two people who had suddenly broke into the battlefield were not nearly as strong as they had anticipated.
The old man was only a First Order Transcendent and appeared to already have one foot in the grave, probably unable to put forward much battle strength.
The young one on the other hand was bursting with vitality, but was only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage kid, far weaker than even the dying old man.
Ordinarily, Bai Jing Chu and Yan Zhi wouldn’t even spare these two a second glance, but the intense light halo surrounding them was not something they could simply ignore.
After all, this halo was formed by an artifact that had just rescued Yu Ting Yi. Yan Zhi, who had made contact with this artifact, was well aware of its power.
At the very least, it was a Saint Grade Mid-Rank artifact!
This was a treasure even Yan Zhi would drool over. There were only two Saint Grade artifacts in Frozen Nether Cave Heaven and both of them were only Low-Rank. Yang Zhi and Bai Jing Chu had both paid an incredible price to have a Grandmaster refine them.
In order to refine these two artifacts, Bai Jing Chu and Yan Zhi had nearly emptied Frozen Nether Cave Heaven’s coffers and had only managing to restore the Sect’s finances recently after many years of saving.
What kind of background did this old and young pair have? With such poor cultivation levels they were actually using such tyrannical artifacts.
As Bai Jing Chu and Yan Zhi were both lost in thought, Chen Zhou’s eyes shrank as he unconsciously shouted, “Sun Yu?”
At a glance, he recognized the young boy as the disciple who had entered Dragon Valley two years ago, while the old man standing next to him was none other than Ling Jian who had been guarding the entrance to Dragon Valley.
But why had this Master and disciple pair come out from Dragon Valley and rush to this chaotic battlefield?
Chen Zhou was incredibly anxious, worried about the injury Yu Ting Yi had suffered and also about Sun Yu, who had suddenly appeared in front of a strong enemy. Because of these concerns, Chen Zhou’s movements became somewhat dull and suffered a hit from Bai Jing Chu whom he was engaged in battle with, in an instant finding himself somewhat suppressed.
“Sun Yu?” Yan Zhi beady eyes swept the boy in front of him and muttered, “I heard that the boy who entered Dragon Valley bore that name… Little brat, are you that person?”
“So what if I am, old dog?” Sun Yu replied unafraid, not only acknowledging his identity but also insulting Yan Zhi.
Yan Zhi wasn’t angered though and instead let out a burst of laughter, “Haha, you really wear out iron shoes while seeking one’s own feet. This old master was worried those people wouldn’t be able to find you, but unexpectedly you’ve come to deliver yourself to me, very good, very good.”
“You mean those five Transcendents you sent to Dragon Valley?” Sun Yu sneered.
“How do you know about them?” Yan Zhi’s eyes narrowed and suddenly felt that something about this situation was off. Facing a master like himself, this youngster was far too calm, rather it was the old First Order Transcendent beside him that couldn’t bear to look Yan Zhi in the eye, seemingly under great pressure.
“Of course I know about them,” Sun Yu grinned meaningfully, “Because they died… died at my hands!”
“Died at your hand?” Yan Zhi stared dumbfounded for a moment before smirking and slowly shaking his head, “Boy, do you think this old master will believe the nonsense you just spouted? Before trying to act tough you should first consider your own weight!”
Five Transcendents, each of them not weak, being killed by a mere Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage brat? Although the artifact protecting him wasn’t ordinary, Yan Zhi didn’t believe Sun Yu had such great ability.
“Believe what you like, but the next to die will be you,” Sun Yu coldly snorted.
“Kid…” Yan Zhi laughed dumbly and said in a mocking tone, “You shouldn’t anger this old master, angering me won’t bring you any advantage. Although this old master won’t kill you, making you suffer a little bitterness isn’t an issue. Now, obediently surrender yourself so this old master doesn’t have to act impolite!”
Chen Zhou, who was still fighting Bai Jing Chu, obviously overheard this conversation and couldn’t help coughing up blood in anger as he shouted, “Ling Jian, you old coot! How could you allow Sun Yu to come here!?”
Even going all out now, Chen Zhou could barely tie down Bai Jing Chu while Yan Zhi could essentially move about unchecked; now that Sun Yu had appeared here, wasn’t the conclusion to this struggle already set?
Sun Yu was Dragon Phoenix Palace’s last hope; Ling Jian was really too ignorant.
“Palace Master, there is no need to worry!” Ling Jian was too timid to answer back but Sun Yu was not, clearly shouting, “Today, since disciple dares to come here, he has full confidence in his ability to resist! Since Frozen Nether Cave Heaven dares to invade my Dragon Phoenix Palace, they must pay the price in blood so they understand once and for all that we are not to be trifled with!” Saying so, he turned a fierce stare towards Yang Zhi and declared, “Old dog, you’re first!”
Sun Yu was young and impetuous, fully believing in Yang Kai’s words, so when he spoke just now he had done so loudly and without any hesitation. After the youth’s words passed out, all the cultivators who were fighting came to a halt and turned their attention towards him.
A moment later, the masters from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven burst into laughter as they began shouting words of mockery and ridicule while those from Dragon Phoenix Palace averted their eyes in shame.
To all of them, it seemed like this youth who had appeared out of nowhere was simply ignorant of the immensity of Heaven and Earth.
Yan Zhi was also greatly amused, crossing his arms before himself and wearing a look of self-aggrandization, “Boy, I’d like to see how you intend to make me pay. This old master will even stand here and not move so show me what you’ve got.”
“Heh heh, those five Transcendents also said something similar, that is… until they died…” Sun Yu laughed.
At that moment, a thunderous dragon roar rang out and an awe-inspiring burst of golden light shot into the sky.
Every cultivator below the Saint Realm was instantly blinded. Simultaneously, a pressure so overwhelming descended upon the crowd that many found themselves unable to breath for fear that if they made the slightest move they would be met with a swift and merciless death.
Even Yan Zhi, who had just been facing Sun Yu with a calm and relaxed look, immediately became alarmed.
From amidst the dazzling golden radiance, he sensed a massive object rush towards himself. Not daring to hesitate, Yan Zhi hurriedly gathered his strength to defend himself while at the same time summoning out a Spirit Grade Mid-Rank Grade defensive artifact.
If he didn’t go so far, he feared he would instantly be killed by whatever was approaching.
*Hong…*
Space itself seemed to collapse as a burst of violent energy erupted, sending out a powerful shockwave that blew away the surrounding clouds and toppled nearby trees.
Yan Zhi coughed out all the air in his lungs as he was sent flying like a paper kite. In that instant, he felt as if he had been struck by some giant irresistible force that crushed the meager strength he had managed to gather to protect himself. Recovering his balance, Yan Zhi heard a loud crack and glanced down only to see the Spirit Grade Mid-Rank artifact he had summoned nearly break in half while losing all function. It would need to undergo extensive repairs before it could be used again.
What was he hit with? Whatever it was, it had destroyed his Spirit Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact with a single blow!
The golden radiance gradually began to subside and Yan Zhi finally saw what was attacking him.
His eyes shrank as he stared dumbfounded at the sight before him.
Hovering there midair was a hundred meter long Golden Dragon staring down at Yang Zhi. Its giant eyes were filled with contempt and disdain and under its gaze, Yang Zhi couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of humbleness and inferiority.
The Golden Dragon appeared sleek and agile and was covered in a layer of dazzling Golden Scales. These scales seemed impregnable, as if no attack could harm them. Its dragon claws also appeared extremely sharp and gave off a cold, murderous intent, making people not doubt that they weren’t inferior to even the highest-grade artifacts.
“An energy projection?” Yan Zhi frowned, but quickly denied his guess.
The Golden Dragon in front of him was too solid and too real, it was impossible for it to be a mere gathering of True Qi.
In other words, what stood before him, was a real dragon!
This was a king of the Monster Race, a legendary existence that could reach the Ninth-Order!
Yan Zhi had heard that the Monster Race had several Great Seniors, each of them Peak Eighth-Order Monster Beasts, and that one or two of them were distant descendants of True Dragons which was what had allowed them to reach such a height.
To the Monster Race, the True Dragon’s bloodline was the most noble of lineages.
Those Great Seniors were able to acquire strength equivalent to that of Peak Third Order Saints because of this pedigree, and now a real True Dragon was in front of Yan Zhi.
This was a legendary Ninth-Order Monster Emperor, an existence that far surpassed this world’s greatest experts.
Feeling the blazing energy pulsing from the Golden Dragon, Yan Zhi couldn’t stop himself from shivering.
Yan Zhi stood dumbly in place, Ling Jian who came with Sun Yu was also dumbstruck, his whole body trembling as he kept wiping his old dull eyes, seemingly trying to confirm if what he was seeing was some kind of hallucination.
Even Sun Yu wore a look of pure excitement, his eyes filled with worship as if he couldn’t wait to bow down and pay tribute to this majestic being.
“The power of the Dragon Emperor!” On the other hand, Chen Zhou couldn’t help shouting out as he stared absentmindedly towards the Golden Dragon. How couldn’t believe that a day had come where he could witness such a scene, nor could he believe that the young Sun Yu was actually capable of achieving this.
Two years ago, this common disciple was still unknown and only had a trivial True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation. Although he had then managed to obtain the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, Chen Zhou estimated that even if he was safe, Dragon Phoenix Palace would have to vigorously cultivate him for dozens of years before he really matured.
But unexpectedly, today, Sun Yu, who had just emerged from Dragon Valley, was capable of facing off against a genuine Saint Realm master and also summoning for the Dragon Emperor’s power.
Chen Zhou burst into a fit of joyous laughter, feeling like he wouldn’t mind even if he were to die right now because he had finally fulfilled his ancestors’ greatest wish.
Bai Jing Chu wasn’t in any mood to pester Chen Zhou, only capable of staring dumbly up towards the giant Golden Dragon, a sense of shock and awe filling his heart.
All the cultivators who had formerly been fighting with their lives on the line had completely stopped as they watched this sensational scene.
A huge panic and unease soon began to spread throughout the cultivator from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven, as if a great winter storm had suddenly descended upon them.
Twenty kilometres outside Dragon Phoenix Palace, a True Dragon appeared, bringing the heated battle to a halt.
Sun Yu, who was also in something of a trance, suddenly heard Yang Kai’s reminder in his mind and quickly composed himself, turning around and shouting towards Yan Zhi, “Today, this will be the burial place!”
As if responding to the young boy’s words, the dragon roared once more and shot forward like a great golden arrow straight towards Yan Zhi.
Yan Zhi didn’t dare to neglect and immediately summoned his Saint Grade Low-Rank artifact, the Profound Ice Sword!
When this artifact appeared in his hand, Yan Zhi’s momentum increased noticeably as an ice-cold chill pulsed from his body, matching the aura his Profound Ice Sword was giving off, the two seemingly merging into a single entity.
Before the Golden Dragon had even reached him, Yan Zhi swung his Profound Ice Sword, sending out a dazzling ray of frigid light from the Saint Grade longsword.
An ice-cold aura spread out from Yan Zhi’s location like a great winter storm had descended, causing the temperature within the surrounding thousand-meter radius to drop sharply.
The sword waves sent out from the Saint Grade Low-Rank artifact flew towards the Golden Dragon with imposing momentum.
The huge Golden Dragon did not make the slightest attempt to evade and crashed straight into the sword waves.
*Chi chi chi…*
Sparks flew as countless blades of icy Sword Qi landed on the dragon’s golden scales, but upon contact with the blazing hot aura, the Profound Ice Sword’s attacks all evaporated like droplets of water sinking into a raging inferno.
Seeing this, Yan Zhi’s eyes shrank as fear welled up in his heart.
Frozen Nether Cave Heaven specialized in Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skill, fighting a True Dragon which gave off such intense burning energy was like a mouse meeting a cat.
In this situation, Yan Zhi couldn’t even bring out eighty percent of the Profound Ice Sword’s full strength.
Yan Zhi also had other methods at his disposal but he didn’t dare to use them freely as, under the influence of the Golden Dragon’s burning aura, the power in his body no longer flowed smoothly, so the potential for backlash from failed execution of his techniques increased noticeably.
The True Dragon flew in front of him and opened its massive maw, causing Yan Zhi to shout and swing his long sword, sending out a giant blade of light towards the Golden Dragon.
His move just now had only been made in an attempt to buy himself enough time to escape. Facing a Ninth-Order Monster Emperor, Yan Zhi freely admitted he was not worthy to be its opponent; the majesty of the other party was simply inviolable, if he continued to entangle himself with it, he would definitely die.
In front of this monster, Yan Zhi felt like he was walking a fine line between life and death.
But how could he have imagined that his sword wave wouldn’t actually manage to block the charge of the Golden Dragon, or even freeze it in place for a moment?
Yan Zhi’s brow furrowed, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
If this Golden Dragon really was a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, it would have been impossible for him to block it.
After examining it more closely, Yan Zhi discovered that although this Golden Dragon’s aura and imposing manner were indeed overwhelming, the pure strength within its body didn’t seem to match it.
The energy fluctuations Yan Zhi felt coming from this Golden Dragon were basically on par with his own, possibly even somewhat weaker.
Narrowing his eyes, Yan Zhi no longer tried to escape and instead began displaying one method after another to fight with this Golden Dragon.
Seeing the Dragon Emperor’s power re-appear in all its glory, Chen Zhou, who had been at a disadvantage in his fight with Bai Jing Chu, also felt inspired and quickly turned the tables on his opponent.
All the masters from Dragon Phoenix Palace were similarly roused, the original gloom in their eyes replaced with a near-fanatical brilliance. It was as if they could already picture their Sect’s bright future and were now fearlessly fighting back against the Frozen Nether Cave Heaven invaders, forcing them to retreat again and again in defeat.
Sun Yu, who was still protected within the Silver Leaf’s light halo stared out at the battlefield, clenching his fists as he silently cheered on the Golden Dragon.
In his heart though, he was feeling some slight confusion, wondering why Senior Yang had chosen to not show up in person but instead use the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance to confront the enemy. In his mind, with Senior Yang’s true ability, if he were to make an appearance, he would be able to easily beat Yan Zhi and the other invaders senseless.
Sun Yu’s vision and experience weren’t high, so he didn’t understand that Yang Kai was actually just a newly promoted Third Order Transcendent!
After a brief but fierce battle, Yan Zhi suddenly burst into laughter, “It turns out this giant worm is just mediocre, hahaha!”
When the Golden Dragon first appeared, Yan Zhi had really been frightened; after all, he was facing a legendary Ninth-Order Monster Emperor, but now he had determined that this Golden Dragon’s true strength was at best, comparable to his own. This meant that he had the power to resist it so he no longer held back, sending out a flurry of attacks, bombarding the dragon’s golden scales.
This Golden Dragon had apparently not fully matured and could only display strength equal to an initial stage Eighth-Order Monster Beast! Making this judgement, Yan Zhi calmed down.
The Profound Ice Sword emitted a chilly aura that collided head-on with the hot aura from the Golden Dragon. The two offset each other, creating a burst of fog that shrouded the entire sky, making it difficult for those standing at a distance to see anything but flashes of light coming from the battle.
Inside the layer of fog, as Yan Zhi and the Golden Dragon collided with each other over and over again, the former saw the later begin to show almost human-like expressions on its face.
Since a while ago, Yan Zhi had felt that instead of fighting a Monster Beast, he was fighting with another person!
As the battle progressed, Yang Zhi also discovered that this Golden Dragon’s movements were becoming sharper and more refined, as if it was rapidly becoming stronger, exerting more and more pressure on him.
Every time the incomparably sharp dragon claws slashed towards him, Yan Zhi had a misconception that they were tearing through space, causing cold sweat to trickle down his forehead.
His eyes flashing a cold light, Yan Zhi forcefully calmed himself and channelled his strength into the Profound Ice Sword, causing it to release a brilliant glow. In the next instant, at the tip of his long sword, Yan Zhi condensed a gigantic ice spike and sent it flying towards the Golden Dragon.
Facing this incredibly powerful and unavoidable attack, the Golden Dragon showed no fear, opened its giant mouth, and sprayed out a blazing hot golden beam of energy.
*Hong…*
The two masses of opposite attribute energy collided with one another and exploded in a brilliant display of light, blinding everyone in the surrounding area.
The scorching hot energy beam won out in terms of purity and density though so after melting away the ice spike, its remaining momentum shot towards Yan Zhi unimpeded.
Yan Zhi’s look became flustered as he hastily tried to dodge when suddenly a taunting voice resounded in his mind. Startled by this unexpected communication, Yan Zhi’s movements stagnated as he turned a shocked look towards the Golden Dragon not far away.
By the time he came to his senses, it was too late for him to escape.
The beam of golden energy which was still powerful enough to cause the surrounding atmosphere to warp hit Yan Zhi head-on, causing the latter to release a pitiful scream. Hastily releasing a burst of Cold Qi from his body, Yan Zhi desperately tried to offset the damage caused by the burning energy.
A moment later, after leaping out from the golden energy beam, Yan Zhi’s breath was in disarray. Although he had not been fatally wounded, his beard and hair had been completely burnt away and he appeared distressed.
Turning his eyes back to the Golden Dragon, Yan Zhi glared at it with undisguised hatred.
The voice that had disturbed his concentration just now should have been transmitted to him by the Golden Dragon in front of him, causing him to suffer a blow he should have been able to avoid.
However, what bothered him the most was that the voice he heard was too human-like as though it was from a Monster Beast.
“I don’t care if you really are the Dragon Emperor! Since you dare injure me, today, you must die!” Yan Zhi shouted angrily as he tossed his Profound Ice Sword up into the air.
The long sword instantly transformed into a giant bizarre shaped Monster Beast in midair, comparable in size to the Golden Dragon itself, and launched itself towards and entangled the Golden Dragon.
A fierce dragon roar rang out as the hundred meter long Golden Dragon struggled violently, but was ultimately unable to escape the binding of the transformed Profound Ice Sword.
Yan Zhi took this opportunity to concentrate a bone chilling energy into his hands and close in, sending a vicious double strike towards the Golden Dragon’s belly.
The golden scales which had so far been impervious to any kind of attack could not prevent this and were directly broken, allowing Yan Zhi hands to sink deep into the Golden Dragon’s flesh before finally being.
When Yan Zhi pulled out his hands, a dark red blood mixed with golden radiance splashed out.
“Ha ha ha!” Yan Zhi laughed madly, since the battle had begun, this was the first time he had managed to hurt the other party, making him see hope of victory. Not waiting for the Golden Dragon to counterattack, he quickly fell back and taunted, “You think just because you have this massive build you’re invincible? Naive!”
Hearing these words, the Golden Dragon seemed to become completely irritated and its huge body actually began to twist and distort before rapidly shrinking down.
Upon doing so it immediately escaped from the Profound Ice Sword’s entanglement.
Yan Zhi was stunned once more; he had never heard of a Monster Beast being able to freely adjust the size of its body.
He knew about Monster Beasts that had achieved human form, but the scene in front of him exceeded his knowledge by far.
Not waiting for him to come to his senses, the now much smaller Golden Dragon shot towards Yan Zhi, swiping its razor-sharp claws towards him, causing his hair to stand on end.
Yan Zhi quickly discovered that although his opponent’s body size had shrunk, its imposing aura and momentum had not changed at all. What was worse though was after it had reduced its size, it had become faster and more agile.
Suddenly, a number of golden energy chains appeared beside the Golden Dragon before sealing the space around Yan Zhi, trapping him in place.
Simultaneously, a great golden spear appeared out of thin air, carrying with it a Heaven destroy power.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
In a blink of an eye, this spear seemed to leap across space and pierce towards Yan Zhi.
“Impossible!” Yan Zhi screamed, his vision was still quite good so he could naturally tell at a glance that whether it was the chains binding him or the imposing spear trying to impale him, both were extremely profound Martial Skills.
How could a Monster Beast display such exquisite Martial Skills?
With a great shout, Yan Zhi somehow managed to throw his body aside, narrowly avoiding the golden spear, but failing to escape from the chains surrounding him.
When he made his desperate dodge, Yan Zhi inadvertently contacted one of the golden chains and suddenly felt his body become heavy, as if a mountain was pressing down on top of his head; even his Soul showed signs of being imprisoned.
Although this feeling only lasted a brief moment, in a contest between two evenly matched masters, even the slightest of gaps could greatly affect the outcome of the fight.
If Yan Zhi had ever been to Nine Heavens Holy Land or had ever met the old Holy Master, he would have immediately recognized these two Martial Skills.
Imprisoning Heaven Chain and Heaven Punishing Spear.
Two of the Nine Heavens Divine Skills.
The former was not only capable of binding the physical but also the spiritual while the Heaven Punishing Spear was unmatched when it came to killing potential.
Yan Zhi had no idea just how fearful these two Divine Skills were and had thus not paid enough attention to the Imprisoning Heaven Chain surrounding him. When he unintentionally brushed it, his Soul received a jolt, causing his thoughts to become dulled and his movements to become sluggish.
Entangled by chains and pursued by the spear, Yan Zhi immediately found himself in a dangerous predicament.
Yan Zhi continued moving about, but he couldn’t escape from this encirclement and began growing anxious. Just as Yan Zhi was feeling pressured, the now shrunken Golden Dragon once again took action, sending out another beam of burning hot golden energy. Yan Zhi cried out as he quickly pushed his True Qi to resist. In an instant, Yan Zhi’s hastily constructed True Qi defences were broken through and burst open.
Two Golden Dragon claws stretched out suddenly, piercing into either side of Yan Zhi’s chest and immediately beginning to pull in opposite directions.
Yan Zhi’s eyes went bloodshot as he felt the aura of death approach, understanding that he would not be able to escape from this calamity and screaming, “Don’t think it’ll be that easy!”
Madly pushing his True Q, Yan Zhi abandoned all defence and sent out a flurry of attacks towards the Golden Dragon.
Seemingly having expended all of his energy in this last desperate attack, Yan Zhi snickered before his aura suddenly deflated and his body lost all strength.
Dark red blood mixed with golden radiance sprayed everywhere as a deafening dragon’s roar echoed throughout the sky.
*Hua…*
Yan Zhi body ripped in two and his blood and organs splattered out. A terrifying scene to behold.
The cultivators who heard the thunderous dragon roar looked up just in time to see this bloody picture.
“Sect Master died?” The masters from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven stared dumbly towards the scattered flesh and blood falling down from above, all of them instantly becoming absent-minded, as if they were unable to accept such a result.
Less than an hour ago, Yan Zhi had fearlessly led them to invade Dragon Phoenix Palace, declaring that they would seize the brat who had obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance and bring him back to Frozen Nether Cave Heaven to use for their own benefit.
But now, Yan Zhi had been literally torn in half by the Golden Dragon which had suddenly appeared.
A master who has reached the Saint Realm had actually died so miserably!
Throughout all of Tong Xuan Realm, there were not many masters who had reached such a height and each of them had cultivated diligently for at least one or two hundred years to have such achievements. Each of these masters possessed shocking methods and exceedingly high ability, not to mention various life saving cards, so over the years, there were very few Saints that actually died in combat.
At the very least, none of the cultivators from Dragon Phoenix Palace or Frozen Nether Cave Heaven had ever seen it in front of their eyes.
But now, such a scene that was hard to fathom, was playing out in front of them.
There were only two Saint Realm masters in Frozen Nether Cave Heaven; one of them had just died, and the other was currently being suppressed by Dragon Phoenix Palace’s Palace Master. Seeing this, the masters from Frozen Nether Cave Heaven all lost their fighting spirit, causing their momentum to plummet.
The dozen meter long Golden Dragon let out another great roar towards the Heavens, seemingly venting the pain from its wounds while also putting on a demonstration of its might.
Bai Jing Chu’s face went deathly pale and no longer dared to continue battling Chen Zhou.
Although he and Yan Zhi were both First Order Saints, he was still somewhat weaker than Yan Zhi. Witnessing Yan Zhi be killed by the Golden Dragon, Bai Jing Chu understood he had no chance of victory here.
“Retreat!” Bai Jing Chu shouted, hastily withdrawing from his fight before turning around and fleeing.
“You think my Dragon Phoenix Palace is some place you can come and go as you please?” Chen Zhou sneered, chasing after Bai Jing Chu and sending out a powerful slash.
Blood splashed out and Bai Jing Chu disappeared into the distance, leaving behind one of his arms that soon burst into a blood fog.
Chen Zhou came to a halt, abandoning his pursuit as he panted for breath.
He had suffered some minor injuries before but because of the appearance of the Dragon Emperor’s power, he had pushed through the pain and fought on, now he was an arrow at the end of its flight.
The remaining Frozen Nether Cave Heaven masters saw Bai Jing Chu flee and no longer dared to remain, all of them panicking as they scurried away like a pack of stray dogs.
It wasn’t until now that Chen Zhou had time to take a good look at the Golden Dragon that symbolized the Dragon Emperor, his gaze filling with a deep and solemn respect as he gazed upon it
However, Chen Zhou noticed something strange. After the Golden Dragon tore Yan Zhi in half, it became motionless, and its pair of giant eyes showed a thoughtful look, as if it was reflecting on the battle it had just fought, digesting the insights it had obtained.
Shaking his head, Chen Zhou convinced himself he was simply thinking too much.
A moment later, the Golden Dragon moved again, transforming into a stream of golden light as it shot towards Sun Yu then mysteriously disappeared.
At the same time, the light halo protecting Sun Yu and Ling Jian also withdrew.
Chen Zhou adjusted his expression and quickly dragged his tired body over to Sun Yu. But before he could say anything, Sun Yu respectfully cupped his fists and bowed, “Greetings, Palace Master!”
Ling Jian also hastily saluted.
Chen Zhou laughed heartily, “There’s no need for you to act so humble, you are now the Dragon Emperor of my Dragon Phoenix Palace, and it is I who should be saluting you. You acting so polite will only make things difficult for me.”
Sun Yu wore an awkward expression as he scratched his head, not knowing what he should say, causing his face to blush slightly.
Only he truly understood everything that had just transpired. A moment ago, he had only put in an appearance and said a few words, the one who actually killed Yan Zhi was Senior Yang, and it had nothing to do with him.
On top of that, Senior Yang had left his own artifact to protect him and his master during the fight.
Chen Zhou smiled brightly as he observed Sun Yu, liking him more with each passing moment, he was under the mistaken impression that this young Dragon Emperor was simply being humble.
“I must also thank Lord Dragon Emperor for rescuing this humble one’s life. If not for your prompt actions, I fear Ting Yi would have already…” Chen Zhou’s face showed a look of lingering fear. If not for the Silver Leaf protecting her at the last moment, Yu Ting Yi would definitely have been killed by Yan Zhi.
To Chen Zhou, Yu Ting Yi was his other half, the woman he shared life and death with, each of them regarded the other as more important than their own existence.
Sun Yu saving Yu Ting Yi had earned Chen Zhou’s heartfelt gratitude.
“It was only what I should have done…” Sun Yu kept waving his hand, the awkwardness and helplessness he felt only growing stronger.
Seeing the young boy’s shy appearance, Chen Zhou smiled and nodded, “Lord Dragon Emperor has just experienced a difficult battle and must be very tired. Elder Ling, escort Lord Dragon Emperor back to the Sect so he may rest, I will remain here to finish processing the battle’s aftermath.”
“Yes!” Ling Jian quickly and respectfully responded before leading Sun Yu back towards Dragon Phoenix Palace.
As he flew forward, Sun Yu kept glancing around, his expression cramping up slightly.
“Heh, Heh heh heh heh…” Ling Jian suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.
“Master, what are you laughing about?” Sun Yu asked in a puzzled tone.
“Smelly brat, you’ve got good prospects… You actually managed to kill that Saint Realm master. I thought we were dead for sure this time,” Ling Jian didn’t treat Sun Yu nearly as respectfully as Chen Zhou had; after all, the two of them had a Master, disciple relationship. Ling Jian had essentially watched Sun Yu grow from infancy to today.
“Master… Let’s not discuss this matter anymore,” Sun Yu blushed.
“Good,” Ling Jian nodded quickly before solemnly muttering, “But the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance is really shocking. You can kill a First Order Saint Realm already, if you were to fully mature and become a Saint yourself, wouldn’t that mean you’d be unmatched in this world? By that time, my Dragon Phoenix Palace would be the most powerful force in Tong Xuan Realm. When that day comes, as your master I can definitely benefit from your fame.”
Ling Jian was essentially talking to himself out loud, his face showing a youthful exuberance unsuited to his age, as if he could already picture the wonderful picture Sun Yu would open up.
Sun Yu on the other hand just lowered his head and remained silent as he flew back towards the Sect with his shameless Master.
Back inside Dragon Phoenix Palace, the tense atmosphere had yet to fade. All of the Sect’s masters had gone out to meet the enemy so the only ones left were the young disciples and weaker cultivators. After seeing Sun Yu and Ling Jian return, these people quickly swarmed them and began asking what was happening.
Even Sun Yu’s suddenly emergence from Dragon Valley had been long forgotten by most.
Ling Jian immediately took advantage of his seniority and told the various disciples to disperse, only informing them that the Sect had achieved a great victory and that of the two Frozen Nether Cave Heaven Saint Realm masters, one was killed while the other had lost an arm before fleeing.
The disciples of Dragon Phoenix Palace grinned wryly at this story, none of them taking Ling Jian’s words seriously.
Although they weren’t very strong, they understood the gap between their own Sect and Frozen Nether Cave Heaven. The other side had two Saints while theirs only had one, how could such a result be possible?
Ling Jian didn’t bother explaining and simply brought Sun Yu back to their original residence and settled him in.
After Ling Jian left, Sun Yu breathed a sigh of relief, finally relaxing his strained nerves as he glanced around and called out, “Senior, Senior Yang…”
“Don’t shout, I’ve been following you the whole time,” A familiar voice came from Sun Yu’s side.
Sun Yu turned towards the source of the voice and quickly saw Yang Kai sitting on a nearby bed. Having not even noticed when Senior Yang had come in, Sun Yu was once again impressed by his powerful means.
Quickly getting up, Sun Yu respectfully bowed, “The great graciousness of Senior Yang rescuing my Sect today will never be forgotten by this Sun Yu. In the future, I will definitely repay this favour!”
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and replied somewhat lethargically, “So long as you don’t reveal my existence its fine.”
Sun Yu was startled upon discovering that Yang Kai was covered in cuts and bruises and that his clothes were filled with blood stains. Especially prominent was a great wound on Yang Kai’s lower abdomen where a faint cold aura still lingered, causing the blood which flowed out to quickly freeze.
However, what puzzled Sun Yu the most was the faint golden hue that came from Yang Kai’s blood.
“Was Senior injured?” Sun Yu asked with concern.
“Just some minor scratches!” Yang Kai shook his head, “As long as I rest for a while these injuries won’t be a problem.”
“How was Senior hurt?” Sun Yu was greatly confused. From beginning to end, he had not seen Yang Kai take action, all the young boy saw was the giant Golden Dragon fighting with Yan Zhi. Although the Golden Dragon suffered numerous wounds in the battle with Yan Zhi, what relationship did that have with Senior Yang?
Also, the big injury on Senior Yang’s lower abdomen corresponded to the injury the Golden Dragon had suffered.
Sun Yu had clearly seen when Yan Zhi condensed all of his Ice Qi into his arms and inserted them into that position on the Golden Dragon’s body.