After watching this scene for a while, Yang Kai suddenly asked, “Are there still people here?”
Among the buildings of War Spirit Temple, a small number of cultivators were wandering around, seemingly looking for something.
“Oh, those are the disciple of my Netherworld Sect along with some disciples originally from War Spirit Temple, they are searching for anything of value we may have missed,” Wu Jie explained with a smile.
Yang Kai nodded before pointing down, “I want this place. After Sect Master Wu goes back, inform your disciples and subordinates to pay attention not to destroy it.”
“Yes,” Wu Jie nodded. Although he didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to do with this abandoned Sect, he knew well enough not to ask.
Speaking less and observing more was the reason Wu Jie better understood the reality of his situation than Zhang Ao and Cao Guan.
“Let’s head to Shattering Mystical Palace.” Since there was nothing special of note here, Yang Kai immediately decided to leave.
Wu Jie once again led the way.
A moment later, nearly three hundred kilometres away, the three came to Shattering Mystical Palace.
“This was Zhang Ao’s site,” Wu Jie pointed to the ground below, “It is a better location than both War Spirit Temple and my Netherworld Sect.”
Yang Kai observed calmly and discovered that this place was truly quite good. Although nothing compared to the Holy Land’s nine peaks, it was still a rare cultivation paradise.
Shattering Mystical Palace establishing itself here was understandable.
“Sir Holy Master, this Wu still has many things to attend to, so I will take my leave now,” Wu Jie suddenly said after a moment of silence.
“En, feel free, Sect Master Wu,” Yang Kai nodded.
Bidding farewell, Wu Jie quickly left.
Looking at his disappearing back, Li Rong grinned, “Although this fellow looks a bit gloomy and evil, he’s actually quite good. But why was he so anxious to leave? It almost looked like he was trying to escape.”
“Because he knows what I want to do next…” Yang Kai chuckled, “If he wants to avoid learning too many secrets, naturally he has to leave.”
Li Rong was stunned.
“Let’s go have a look!” Yang Kai said casually before flying down.
Shattering Mystical Palace was spread out across a large area. Yang Kai and Li Rong landed in a stone forest in a slightly remote corner of the grounds. There were many stone pillars here, some high, some low, all of them scattered about seemingly randomly.
“Li Rong, where is that Blood Essence Stone?” Yang Kai turned and asked.
“I have it here,” Li Rong quickly took out the Blood Essence Stone and handed it over.
Previously, the Blood Essence Stone had absorbed a large amount of fresh blood, converting it into a kind of Blood Qi, but after healing all of the severely injured Ancient Demon clansmen, this Blood Qi had been exhausted so the Blood Essence Stone was no longer giving off any discernible energy fluctuations.
Holding this Blood Essence Stone, Yang Kai began looking around.
“Master, what are you looking for?” Li Rong observed for a while as well before thoughtfully asking.
“I’m looking for the gateway to the Starry Sky!” Yang Kai replied seriously.
“The gateway to the Starry Sky?” Li Rong gawked for a moment before quickly recalling the words Zhang Ao had said a few months ago just before he died, immediately understanding, “Does Master mean to say, there is a gateway to the Starry Sky hidden here?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “I managed to spy on a few of Zhang Ao’s memories. He found this Blood Essence Stone in this stone forest, but I don’t know specifically where. Help me search this place and see if there is anything out of the ordinary, pay special attention to anywhere exotic ores appears.”
“Does Master really believe it is possible to enter the Starry Sky? Isn’t it just a legend…?”
“What do you think?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“I don’t know,” Li Rong slowly shook her head, “I was born and have spent my entire life inside that Mysterious Small World and until a few months ago had never even seen the sun, moon, or stars, but even so, I’ve always thought that the Starry Sky’s existence was a bit unrealistic.”
“Oh? Why?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Because even the most powerful masters can only fly to around a height of fifty kilometres before an invisible force stops them from proceeding and pulls them back down towards the ground. Since no one can leave this realm, how would they get to the Starry Sky? Shouldn’t all the stories about travelling the Starry Sky just be legends?”
Yang Kai didn’t offer any objections to her argument, just grinning as he said, “Help me take a look. If we can find the door, I’ll take you to see that so-called legend.”
Li Rong’s eyes flashed, feeling like Yang Kai wasn’t cracking a joke and immediately nodded, “En!”
The two split up and began carefully combing through the stone forest.
This stone forest should have been regarded as a restricted area in Shattering Mystical Palace because Yang Kai was aware of many concealed arrays and barriers. These arrays were actually traps which, when triggered, would cause anyone caught in their radius a lot of trouble.
These Spirit Arrays should have all been arranged here by Zhang Ao.
However, with his extremely powerful Divine Sense, Yang Kai was easily able to find these hidden barriers, allowing him to move around unhindered.
After about the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai, who had so far not had any gains, knit his brow as he glanced around again; but just as he was coming to his wit’s end, he heard Li Rong call out from somewhere nearby.
His spirits arousing, Yang Kai quickly rushed over.
A moment later, he appeared next to Li Rong.
“Master, there’s something a bit strange about this place!” Li Rong pointed to a particularly large stone pillar which stood out from the rest, “I also found these things close by!”
Saying so, she handed over some loose gravel she was holding.
Yang Kai took these rocks and carefully observed them for a moment before smiling brightly and nodding, “It should be here.”
The gravel that Li Rong had found resembled something from the Starry Sky, and the shape and arrangement of the pillars in this place also looked somewhat similar to the blurry images Yang Kai had observed in Zhang Ao’s memory.
“However, there doesn’t seem to be anything special here,” Li Rong knit her brow in confusion.
“If it was so easy to see through, Zhang Ao wouldn’t have only inadvertently noticed the mystery here,” Yang Kai said as he walked up and began examining the largest stone pillar.
At first glance, aside from its larger size, this pillar looked no different from the others around it, but if one observed carefully, this particular stone pillar was much more solid than the ones in its surroundings. It was difficult to tell what material it was made of but it definitely not just ordinary stone.
After carefully recalling the scenes he had seen in Zhang Ao’s memory, Yang Kai reached out, placed his hand on the large stone pillar, and began pouring his True Qi into it.
Yang Kai’s True Qi disappeared as quickly as he poured it out, seemingly being swallowed up by the large stone pillar.
Yang Kai continued what he was doing for a while but the stone pillar remained unresponsive. Just as he was beginning to get impatient though, a faint humming sound rang out.
Yang Kai immediately leapt backwards and stood beside Li Rong, paying close attention to the scene in front of him.
*Weng weng weng…*
The large stone pillar trembled as if some invisible force was rocking it back and forth, soon causing the surrounding ground to rumble unstably.
A series of ripples visible to the naked eye began propagating across the surface of the large pillar.
These ripples intensified for and eventually concentrated at the centre of the large pillar, causing some unexpected changes to occur.
A glossy sheen which resembled a mirror began to spread out from the centre of the pillar as these ripples intensified.
When this mirror-like surface expanded to a certain limit, it shattered and a jet black hole, like the entrance to a deep cave, appeared in front of Yang Kai and Li Rong. It was like some giant beast had opened its maw, threatening to swallow them whole.
Li Rong couldn’t help feeling her hair stand on end.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was very excited. He could feel the unique aura belonging to the Starry Sky from this cave!
“Let’s go!” Without hesitation, Yang Kai pulled Li Rong and leapt into the black portal.
In the next instant, a huge pressure like a surging tide appeared from every direction, causing Yang Kai’s bones to creak and his physique to tense up as he hastily resisted this destructive force.
Li Rong also exclaimed upon feeling the intensity of this pressure and immediately used her Demon God Transformation.
Demon Crests surfaced on her pretty face, giving her a kind of wild beauty.
“Don’t be anxious!” Yang Kai chuckled, comforting her.
Li Rong’s pretty face blushed red as she gradually relaxed, her beautiful eyes only now sweeping around her surroundings, a look of utter shock filling her face as she did so.
Around here, there was only a vast black emptiness illuminated by distant twinkling stars. Even when she looked down, there was no ground beneath her feet, and all she could see was the same starry scene.
It was obvious that she was no longer in Tong Xuan Realm.
“Is this the Starry Sky?” Li Rong exclaimed.
“En, wonderful, isn’t it?” Yang Kai nodded lightly, withstanding the oppressive power of the Starry Sky in an extremely relaxed manner.
“From your current look, Master, it seems you have been to the Starry Sky before, yes?”
“I have been here once before. It was in the Starry Sky that I broke through to the Transcendent Realm!”
Li Rong’s eyes couldn’t help widening.
From the words Yang Kai had just casually spoken, she realized something important.
When her Master had come here, he had only been a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, so how was he able to withstand this strange Starry Sky force?
Li Rong estimated that without using her Demon God Transformation, under the ambient pressure of this place, even she would have difficulty supporting herself, while an ordinary Peak Immortal Ascension cultivator would be instantly ground into dust.
“However, the place I came last time seems to not be here,” Yang Kai looked around and concluded.
The last time he came to the Starry Sky, beneath his feet was a small blue sphere that, according to Di Yao, was actually Tong Xuan Realm.
But this time there was no such sphere. Without it as a reference, Yang Kai couldn’t tell where the portal in the stone forest had sent them.
Looking back, the Void Corridor to the Stone Forest was still there and from the aura fluctuations Yang Kai felt from it, he estimated it should be able to remain for a few days.
Relaxing upon confirming this, Yang Kai waved to Li Rong, “Follow me!”
Li Rong quickly kept up while maintaining her Demon God Transformation, inspecting her surroundings.
The legendary Starry Sky was a place only a few could set foot on, so Li Rong was naturally very curious.
Both of them were constantly releasing their Divine Senses, investigating everything in the hundred-kilometre radius around them.
“What is it that Master is searching for?” Li Rong asked after following behind Yang Kai’s aimless for a while.
“I’m looking for some asteroids,” Yang Kai explained, “The asteroids in the Starry Sky sometimes contain precious and exotic minerals and ores. This is a rare opportunity, so I want to see if we can reap some unexpected gains. Perhaps we might even find something as precious as that Blood Essence Stone.”
“Oh!” After knowing the goal of this trip, Li Rong also became quite enthusiastic.
We have hit the goal and there will be 17 Chapters this week. :O
Among the Starry Sky, there were many asteroids flying about. Where they came from and where they were headed, no one knew. They seemed to have existed since before ancient times, drifting through Starry Sky, waiting to be discovered.
Yang Kai even suspected that Tong Xuan Realm itself was nothing more an incredibly enormous asteroid.
After searching around the Starry Sky for an hour or two, Yang Kai and Li Rong had already found several asteroids of different sizes.
Some were as small as washbasins while others were as big as mountains.
After finding and shattering these asteroids, Yang Kai had naturally managed to harvest some rare ores, but the quantity and grade were not that high.
This time he had come to the Starry Sky first and foremost to verify whether the information in Zhang Ao’s memory was accurate or not.
However, since he was already here, naturally he didn’t want to return empty-handed.
Since the ores in the Black Book space had been exhausted, this was the perfect opportunity to collect some more.
Yang Kai was really quite curious about what would happen to the two pitch-black round stones after they absorbed enough mineral essence.
“Master, there seems to be a large asteroid flying over there!” Li Rong said via a Divine Sense message as she indicated a certain spot in the distance.
“I’ll be right over!” Yang Kai immediately flew in the direction she indicated.
Not long after, a house-sized asteroid came into view, its surface filled with scars and craters, seemingly having been worn and battered for many, many years.
Li Rong nodded to greet him before sending a light palm thrust towards the asteroid.
Her lush jade-white hand burst with a sensational power and instantly caused the huge asteroid to disintegrate into a cloud of dust, sending countless pieces of debris scattering in all directions.
Yang Kai’s eyes darted around quickly and soon caught sight of one piece of debris that was dark in colour than the others. Rushing over, Yang Kai caught this dark stone and after a quick investigation, sent it into the Black Book space, placing it next to the two pitch-black round stones.
Inside these asteroids there were many rare ores, all of which were incredibly hard and wouldn’t be destroyed even if some force was applied to them.
As such, breaking an asteroid was undoubtedly the most convenient and efficient way of finding treasures inside them.
Li Rong also collected one or two pieces of ore before flying over and handing them to Yang Kai.
“Is master collecting these in order to refine some artifacts?” Li Rong asked with a smile.
Although they couldn’t identify most of the ores they collected from the Starry Sky, simply judging from their innate properties, it was obvious none of them were below Spirit Grade, while many of them had reached the Saint Grade.
Any artifact refined with such materials would be excellent.
Li Rong seeing Yang Kai work so hard to collect so many of these ores naturally led her to believe he wanted to refine some powerful artifacts.
“En,” Yang Kai didn’t bother explaining, observing the surrounding area with his Divine Sense for a moment before his expression suddenly changed and he turned to squint in a certain direction.
In the tinkling starlight, Yang Kai vaguely made out a number of small black spots floating about a few dozen kilometers away in the direction he was staring.
“An Asteroid Sea?” After observing for a while, Yang Kai became overjoyed and quickly motioned to Li Rong to follow him over.
A moment later, a massive number of asteroids appeared before the two of them.
These asteroids appeared like a giant flowing river that stretched from one side of the vast Starry Sky to the other.
The number of asteroids in this Asteroid Sea was simply uncountable and varied in size from as small as a fist to as large as ten mountains.
Drifting through the Starry Sky silently, it was an impressive sight to behold.
“So many asteroids?” Li Rong was also stunned by this scene.
Yang Kai let out a great laugh, “Now there’s no need for us to search aimlessly.”
Saying so, he immediately flew into the Asteroid Sea while Li Rong smiled lightly and hurriedly kept up.
The two of them did not restrain themselves and quickly began breaking apart one asteroid after another. A strange fact about the Starry Sky was that there was no way to produce sound, so all communication had to be done via Divine Sense transmission. Therefore, even though they were wantonly destroying these asteroids, not a single noise was actually made.
Ores of all different shapes and sizes were collected by Yang Kai and stuffed into the Black Book space, each one of them an extremely rare and precious treasure that would be almost impossible to come across in Tong Xuan Realm.
If an Artifact Refiners were to be here to witness this scene, they would likely have already gone insane from excitement.
In order to find rare ores likes these ones, outstanding Artifact Refiners would sometimes travel all over the world simply to seek out a single piece.
Yet here, in the Starry Sky, there were so many of these rare ores just waiting to be harvested.
This kind of phenomenal wealth was now only made available to Yang Kai.
Li Rong was also seemingly infected by Yang Kai’s enthusiasm, a big smile appearing on her pretty face as she busied herself.
Most of the asteroids contained nothing of value, and after being broken simply dispersed in a cloud of dust, but with so many asteroids in this Asteroid Sea, even if the chances any individual one contained a rare ore was small, Yang Kai and Li Rong were still able to gain a large number in short order.
Amidst the dense sea of asteroids, Yang Kai and Li Rong flew back and forth leisurely.
Eventually, after an unknown amount of time, the pair arrived at the end of the Asteroid Sea.
“That should be enough for now,” Yang Kai said, preparing to head back.
In any case, the Void Corridor to the Starry Sky was inside Shattering Mystical Palace, so Yang Kai could return here any time he wanted to. There was no need to only harvest these materials only once.
“En,” Li Rong nodded, flying over and handing Yang Kai the last piece of ore she had just obtained.
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt a faint energy fluctuations come from somewhere nearby inside the Asteroid Sea.
This energy fluctuation was quite unlike that of some ore and immediately caught Yang Kai’s attention.
Glancing over in the direction he sensed these fluctuations coming from, Yang Kai saw a dim flicker of light.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as his body flickered and disappeared, a moment later appearing next to where he saw the strange light. After seeing what the source of this faint glow was though, his expression couldn’t help becoming confused.
Reaching out and grabbing the object in front of him, Yang Kai quickly returned to where Li Rong was waiting.
“What did you find, Master?” Li Rong asked.
“This…” Yang Kai handed over what was found in the Asteroid Sea.
Li Rong took it and after carefully examining it, also revealed a look of amazement as she muttered, “Is this… an artifact?”
The object Yang Kai found amidst the Asteroid Sea was only about the size of a palm, its overall shape smooth, just like a long shuttle. It resembled a miniature boat and gave of a mysterious energy fluctuation.
Possibly because it had been left idle for so long, the energy fluctuations were both faint and intermittent, almost as if whatever was powering them had been nearly completely drained.
“I also think it is an artifact,” Yang Kai said with a serious expression, casting his eyes back towards the drifting Asteroid Sea, his brow furrowing deeply.
“But… how can there be an artifact here?” Li Rong asked, unable to understand what was going on.
The Starry Sky was a legendary domain that no one had ever been able to set foot into much less explore.
If not for the Void Corridor in the Shattering Mystical Palace, she and Yang Kai would never have been able to arrive here.
However, an artifact like this one appearing in a Starry Sky Asteroid Sea, and the implications that came with such a reality, were really quite thought provoking!
“The presence of artifacts means that there were once cultivators here… Which means it’s possible that there are people who have already explored the Starry Sky,” Yang Kai solemnly said.
“Is that even possible?” Li Rong shouted, “Even Great Demon God only yearned to achieve such a feat, he never actually accomplished it.”
“What if there are cultivators out there stronger than Great Demon God?” Yang Kai said faintly.
Li Rong beautiful face changed dramatically, filling with a look of shock, rendering her totally speechless.
Since ancient times, Great Demon God had been hailed as the world’s greatest master, never once surpassed! A character stronger than Great Demon God was something Li Rong really couldn’t even imagine.
Yang Kai gently let out a sigh, “I just spoke thoughtlessly, you don’t need to think too much about it; however, from the energy fluctuations inside this artifact, it’s quite obvious it is very old. Even if that supreme powerhouse existed, I’m sure he or she died long ago.”
“En,” Li Rong relaxed noticeably, letting out a sigh as she handed the long shuttle-like artifact back to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai continued examining this strange artifact for a while but was unable to determine much about it, “Can you see what grade it is?”
Li Rong shook her head, “I can’t, there is some strange energy inside it that, although seems like it will disappear at any moment, is actually blocking my attempts to investigate it. Master might as well take it back and study it; that should be the best way to figure out what exactly its function is.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded and stored the long shuttle-like artifact away, preparing to refine it once they returned.
The only artifact Yang Kai had currently refined and had some form of use left was the Silver Leaf artifact!
This Silver Leaf had been owned by Nine Heavens Holy Land’s previous generation Holy Master and was actually a genuine Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact. It was extremely useful for both attacking and defending. Refining this strange long shuttle wouldn’t be excessive.
An average cultivator would have at least two or three artifacts on them, with those possessing high status, wealth, and strength often possessing more.
Speaking of artifacts, Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and asked, “Do you and Han Fei have any artifacts?”
Li Rong smiled lightly, “Our Ancient Demon Clan originally had some artifacts, and their grades were not low, but over the years they have degraded quite severely. In any case, our clan’s biggest advantage is our physical strength, so we normally don’t use artifacts when fighting.”
“That said, having good artifacts is better than not; there’s always a possibility they may come in handy,” Saying so, Yang Kai took out several different artifacts from the Black Book space and handed them over to Li Rong, “Take these with you and have Han Fei, Hua Mo, and yourself refine whatever ones you find useful.”
“So many? And all of them are Saint Grade?” Li Rong was amazed.
Saint Grade artifacts were incredibly rare, each one worth more than an average city.
All of Tong Xuan Realm’s Saint Realm masters wished to possess a Saint Grade artifact, but only a minority of them actually did.
Most Saints still used Spirit Grade artifacts.
Saint Grade artifacts were similar to Saint Pills, the materials required to forge one were quite difficult to obtain.
However, the biggest challenge was finding an Artifact Refiner who was capable of refining Saint Grade artifact! On top of that, even if such an Artifact Refiner could be found, there was still a chance of failure.
Saint Grade Artifact Refiners were all famous figures in Tong Xuan Realm, each one highly respected and admired, but each of their schedules was also always full because there was a never ending stream of people begging them to refine Saint Grade artifacts.
Why did the First Under Heaven Alchemist, The Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, always conceal his movements and wander about aimlessly?
It was because there were too many people trying to find him in order to request Alchemy of him. If he didn’t hide his whereabouts, he would never have a moment of peace from these annoying people. If that was a case, how could he spend any time teaching his young disciple?
However, Yang Kai had just casually taken out a few of these Saint Grade artifacts, each one capable of starting wars, and haphazardly handed them over to Li Rong, causing the latter to calm up in shock.
Li Rong couldn’t help wondering if Yang Kai had looted the Treasuries of several great Sects…
How else could he have collected so many Saint Grade artifacts?
Recovering from her shock a moment later, Li Rong did not stand on ceremony and accepted the artifacts from Yang Kai, carefully storing them away.
She knew better than anyone that the stronger the Ancient Demon Clan was, the more help they could provide to Yang Kai! These artifacts would greatly enhance her and the other Great Commander’s combat power.
“En, let’s head back!” Yang Kai quickly determined his bearings and began flying back the way they had come.
Although there was nothing to use as a reference in the Starry Sky, Yang Kai’s senses were very keen so he did not become lost.
After some unknown length of time, the pair once again arrived at the entrance to the Void Corridor and dove in. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai and Li Rong reappeared in the stone forest inside Shattering Mystical Palace.
The surrounding pillars still pulsed with mysterious energy and the ripples on the large pillar were still pulsing regularly around the entrance to the Starry Sky.
Reaching out his hand, Yang Kai disrupted the ripples of energy and the Void Corridor quickly faded, sealing the entrance to the Starry Sky once more.
The world around them was once again restored to silence!
“Master, this place is very important, should we put up some kind of barrier around it to avoid others accidentally discovering or damaging it?” Li Rong asked.
“You’re skilled in setting up Spirit Arrays?” Yang Kai looked at her with surprise.
Li Rong smiled lightly, “I have some small knowledge of the field, although it won’t compare to a Grandmaster’s work, I can at least arrange something better than the original barrier which was placed here.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded. A moment ago, he was debating whether to send some people to guard this place, so Li Rong’s proposal was just what he needed.
Receiving Yang Kai’s permission, Li Rong immediately got to work arranging a Spirit Array around this place.
Aside from those related to Alchemy, Yang Kai had next to no experience with arranging Spirit Arrays or barriers. The most he knew about them was how to break them open by force.
Li Rong setting up this kind of Spirit Array was an opportunity for him to learn something new, so Yang Kai paid special attention to her as she worked.
Noticing this, Li Rong made no attempt to hide what she was doing and even spent some time explaining to Yang Kai the steps she was taking, allowing him to benefit greatly.
A few hours later, a concealing and barrier type Spirit Array had been arranged around the stone pillar formation, hiding it so well that even standing right in front of it, Yang Kai was unable to sense anything with his powerful Divine Sense.
“Fierce! If you have time, I’d like to learn some more from you about this field,” Yang Kai praised liberally.
Receiving such praise, Li Rong seemed to smile more radiantly than before as she nodded, “Master is too polite, this is just some trivial skill.”
“Let’s go back first,” Yang Kai chuckled. He was quite curious about the strange long shuttle-like artifact and was eager to refine it as soon as possible so he could discover its purpose.
The pair immediately flew off in the direction of the Holy Land.
Yang Kai and Li Rong returned to the nine peaks from Shattering Mystical Palace in short order, but before they could enter the Holy Land, Yang Kai noticed a large gathering of cultivators who were making a lot of noise in a certain nearby location.
Frowning, Yang Kai let Li Rong over to see what was going on.
As the pair approached closer, the voices became clearer.
It seemed like a crowd of people were shouting, an obvious tone of resentment apparent in their voices.
All of them seemed to be accusing Nine Heavens Holy Land of bullying and oppressing with the occasional personal insult being hurled towards Holy Land Elder Shi Kun.
Realizing what was going on, Yang Kai picked up his pace, arriving beside the disturbance a moment later, his brow furrowing as he called out, “What’s going on here?”
When he heard Yang Kai’s voice, Shi Kun quickly turned around and saw Yang Kai walking over together with Li Rong. Shi Kun’s expression immediately became serious as he cupped his fists shouted, “Greeting, Holy Master!”
“Holy Master?” The cultivators who were making noise just now suddenly went silent, all of them turning their eyes towards Yang Kai, wanting to see just what this new Holy Master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land looked like.
However, the instant they turned their heads around, all of their eyes were immediately drawn towards Li Rong.
Excellent style, noble aura, a true beauty with not only a majestic air but also an enchanting figure.
Her skin as white as snow, like the purest of jade, exuded a porcelain-like lustre; when these people saw Li Rong, all of them couldn’t help staring.
Suddenly, they weren’t interested in making noise or complaining, simply standing there dumbly as if their souls had been stolen.
Li Rong’s brow furrowed slightly as she coldly swept her eyes over this crowd of boorish men and let out a snort.
An invisible pressure was released along with the noise Li Rong made, causing everyone to pale as they suddenly felt like the beautiful woman in front of their eyes had suddenly transformed into a terrifying beast baring its fangs towards them.
All of these cultivators involuntarily averted their eyes and trembled as cold sweat began dripping down their backs.
Yang Kai glanced over at Li Rong and chuckled wryly.
If she always took such great offence to such looks being directed towards her, her future would likely be extremely tiring.
All the world’s people, whether they were male or female, were naturally drawn towards beauty. Stealing a few glances towards a beautiful woman couldn’t be more natural a reaction.
Li Rong had lived her entire life in Demon God Citadel where all her clansmen treated her with the highest level of respect, never daring to reveal any kind of impropriety; however, now that she had come to the outside world, she was bound to experience situations similar to the one just now more and more frequently.
“You should try to get used to it,” Yang Kai quietly comforted, Li Rong’s face blushing slightly as she too realized she had acted a bit over the top, gently nodding her understanding.
With her cultivation and identity, it really wasn’t appropriate for her to lower herself to deal with such a group of people.
“What’s the situation here?” Yang Kai asked Shi Kun again.
Quickly composing himself, Shi Kun replied, “Reporting to Holy Master, these people are cultivators who have been loitering outside our Holy Land’s nine peaks recently. I had informed them of the three-day reprieve Great Elder had granted them to withdraw from our territory and had just come to remind them that the deadline was fast approaching; however, they have so far refused to leave and have instead been accusing us of abusing our strength to bully them. Subordinate tried reasoning with them otherwise but was helpless to convince them.”
Yang Kai nodded and asked, “What about Xu Hui?”
“Great Elder has something to attend to and left this matter to me to process.”
As the two of them talked, the group of foreign cultivators gradually recovered from the terror Li Rong had inflicted upon them and one man in a yellow robe suddenly called out, “So you are the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
Follow his voice, Yang Kai did not show any great reaction, nodding lightly as he replied, “Yes, what advice do you have?”
“I wouldn’t dare offer advice!” The yellow-robed man snickered sullenly and continued, “It’s just that we are only here to search for treasure and have no done anything to provoke your Nine Heavens Holy Land, so why must insist on driving us away?”
“Why?” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “This is my Holy Land’s nine peaks, and you want to know why I want to drive you away?”
“We have not entered the nine peaks yet and have clearly remained outside your territory yet you still claim this land as your own? Aren’t you being too unreasonable?” The yellow-robed man sneered, “Although our cultivations are not high, do you think you can just bully us at will? I’ll tell you right now, no matter how lowly we may seem to you, we will not be intimidated by anyone!”
Saying so, the yellow robe man stepped forward and puffed up his chest, as if trying to make a grand display of his bravery.
His words provoked a lot of the surrounding people as well, causing the once quieted crowd to once again become rowdy, all of them denouncing Nine Heavens Holy Land’s tyranny and oppression.
Shi Kun shouted angrily, “If you don’t want to die, shut your mouths! How dare you act dissolute in front of the Holy Master?”
His words, unfortunately, were just like oil being poured onto a fire, causing the man in the yellow to shout even louder, “Do you see? This Elder of Nine Heavens Holy Land wants to kill us! Since ancient times, Nine Heavens Holy Land has always been a pillar of my Human Race’s forces. All the stories tell of the generosity and righteousness of Nine Heavens Holy Land, but now it seems those stories are nothing but lies! Unlike the recently passed old Holy Master, this new generation’s Holy Master’s disposition is cruel and unreasonable! If the upper beam is crooked, how could the lower beam not be too?”
“That’s right, I heard the new Holy Master colludes with Demons and has even brought a flock of those evil creatures into the nine peaks!”
These words caused another uproar as everyone began calling out and criticising Nine Heavens Holy Land, the looks they were directing towards Yang Kai turning more and more hostile.
The yellow robe man stood amongst the crowd and stared towards Yang Kai with a triumphant smirk upon his face.
Li Rong pretty face slowly filled with anger as she softly whispered, “Master, he seems to be challenging you!”
“Then he’s made a terrible miscalculation,” Yang Kai snickered before asking Shi Kun, “How long until the deadline Great Elder gave them?”
Shi Kun looked up at the sky and quickly said, “At most the time it would take to brew a cup of tea.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly before addressing the crowd, “I won’t speak any nonsense with you. If you don’t leave before the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, you die!”
See Yang Kai’s smiling face which didn’t look like he was cracking a joke, many people became afraid and couldn’t help retreating a few steps.
“What are you afraid of?” The yellow robed man shouted again, “They won’t dare to kill us! We haven’t done anything to harm their Nine Heavens Holy Land. Just because we’re nearby their territory they’ll kill us? If they really dare act so overbearing, the world will surely seek justice for us!”
“Good, this world is governed by principals and righteousness is on our side. How could they dare to kill us?” Someone echoed.
“If we retreat now, we will forever miss the opportunity to obtain those treasures! Clearly they want to drive us away so they can swallow all those treasures for themselves!”
…..
Yang Kai really didn’t speak any more nonsense and simply stood there with a calm smile upon his face, letting these people shout whatever they wanted to.
The cultivators who had originally intended to leave immediately fell into confusion, many of them halting in their tracks, preparing to wait and see what would happen before deciding their next course of action.
Subconsciously, many of them didn’t believe that a great force like Nine Heavens Holy Land would kill people without any justifiable reason, especially with the new Holy Master present.
“Holy Master, time is up!” Shi Kun suddenly said.
Yang Kai nodded and turned a teasing look towards the yellow-robed man as if he was staring at an imbecile.
Being stared at like this, the man in yellow robes couldn’t help feeling a chill shoot up his spine, feeling like he was under the gaze of a poisonous snake. Although fear was now creeping into his heart, he still tried to act strong and shouted, “What are you looking as you little brat? Don’t think that just because you are the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land you can do whatever you want, the only thing you have going for you is your luck! If father here had been taken a liking to by those Saintesses, he would no doubt be better than you!”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a strange smile as she continued to observe this man for a moment before asking, “You seem to be quite certain I won’t kill you. I wonder, just who gave you such confidence that was the case?”
The man in yellow robes face changed as he shouted, “If you kill us here, what difference is that between those Demons of yours killing us? Once that happens, will there even be a place for you Nine Heavens Holy Land in this world?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “That person told you that and you, like an idiot, just believed them?”
Saying so, Yang Kai suddenly showed an impatient expression as a cold chill flashed across his eyes, “A trivial First Order Transcendent, so what if you die? Do you think anyone will seek justice for a piece of trash like you?”
Yang Kai’s anger rang in his ear like booming thunder, causing the yellow-robed man’s body to tremble and making him hurriedly try to hide among the crowd as if instinctively seeking some sense of security.
But wherever he hid, the feeling that a sword was hanging above his neck and the aura of death followed him.
“If you dare attack me, you will regret it in the future!”
The yellow-robed man shouted hysterically.
“Are you threatening me?” Yang Kai grinned disdainfully, “Those who dare threaten me all have miserable ends!”
*Chi…*
The sound of something piercing through the air rang out and the yellow-robed man who was still trying to hide amongst the crowd suddenly felt like some strange force had drilled into his body. In the next instant, his body began to swell up like a balloon, his entire figure quickly inflating to an unnatural size.
His face dyed a bright shade of red, the yellow-robed man could clearly feel his five viscera, six organs, flesh, and bones all being crushed because of this strange force.
Unimaginable pain filled his entire body as blood overflowed from every one of his orifices.
In a state of pure panic, the yellow robed man had never felt more clearly that he was on the verge of death.
“Save… save me…” The man in yellow robes managed to squeeze out just those words before his eyes rolled back and became pure white as his figure twitched uncontrollably.
*Peng…*
A muffled sound rang out as the man in the yellow robe suddenly burst in an explosion of blood.
His flesh and organs flew out and dyed the cultivators nearby him a deep shade of crimson.
Having just witnessed this terrifying scene, all the foreign cultivators present shivered in fear, terror gripping their hearts.
The cultivators who had been loudly screaming just a moment ago now no longer opened their mouths or even looked towards Yang Kai, for fear that he would suddenly kill them too.
“This is the fate of those who dare to threaten me!” Yang Kai smiled lightly, as if his actions just now were not even worth mentioning.
Suddenly, Yang Kai expression became cold and gloomy, “If you came here solely to play, my Nine Heavens Holy Land will warmly welcome you, but if you’ve come here with ulterior, nefarious motives, don’t blame me for not showing any mercy.”
*Chi chi chi…*
Golden streaks of True Qi suddenly flew out, darting through the crowd and piercing several cultivators, sinking into the bodies in the blink of an eye.
Just like the yellow-robed man, these cultivators all began inflating, and when they reached their limit they burst, absolute fear penetrating all the way to their souls as they died miserably.
Seeing Yang Kai so decisively kill people, and seeing no signs of him planning to stop, none of the foreign cultivators who had gathered here dared to remain, all of them screaming in panic as they went all out to flee.
None of them wanted to remain anywhere near the nine peaks anymore.
Yang Kai waved his hand and a chain comprised of True Qi flew out, wrapping around a middle-aged man who was also doing his best to escape, quickly dragging him back.
The middle-aged man was shuddering uncontrollably and his face had long ago drained of all colour. He watched helplessly as everyone else besides him made their escape and immediately began kowtowing and begging for mercy.
“Just now, you were calling out quite loudly,” Yang Kai stared at him with an evil smirk.
“Sir Holy Master, forgive me! I won’t dare do this again, I’ll never disturb Nine Heavens Holy Land again! I beg of you, forgive me, Sir Holy Master!”
Yang Kai stared down at him disdainful and snorted, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you this time, but you must help me deliver a message!”
Hearing this, the man rapidly nodded, “Please say it, Sir Holy Master!”
“No matter who it was that incited you to do all this, go back and tell him, if he dares use such despicable means to irritate me again, I will definitely pay his Sect a visit and extinguish his entire family. No chicken or dog will be spared!”
The man’s expression became dull, immediately realizing that Yang Kai had long ago seen through their little play and quickly nodded, “I will definitely deliver Sir Holy Master’s message!”
“Get out!” Yang Kai scoffed.
The middle-aged man kowtowed once more before fleeing as quickly as he could.
Looking at the figure that the man fleeing, Shi Kun’s expression became somewhat dignified, “Holy Master, will this cause any trouble?”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a few clumsy mischief-doers. If they die, they die,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Next time you discover someone harbouring ill intentions towards the Holy Land outside our borders, once you’ve verified their purpose, kill them directly. There’s no need to act reasonable with them.”
“Yes!” Shi Kun quickly responded, his eyes gradually filling with excitement as he looked towards Yang Kai.
Shi Kun suddenly discovered that this Holy Master and the old Holy Master had very different personalities. The old Holy Master always acted prudently, taking the big picture into consideration before anything else, never doing anything that might bring the slightest harm to the Holy Land.
But this new Holy Master was different. He acted decisively and ruthlessly.
This kind of temperament very much suited Shi Kun’s appetite!
Sure enough, young people were more hot blooded; Shi Kun only hoped the Holy Land would also become full of vigor like this new Holy Master in the future.
The cultivators that were wandering around outside the nine peaks were just a bunch of rabble; Yang Kai didn’t even put them in his eyes. If he hadn’t coincidentally come across this scene, he would have even intervened.
After leaving instructions for Shi Kun, Yang Kai returned to the nine peaks.
Li Rong also asked to be excused, saying she had to distribute the Saint Grade artifacts Yang Kai had given her to her clansmen, allowing them to enhance their strength.
Holy Master Court!
This was the residence where the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land lived.
All previous Holy Masters had lived in this exquisite and magnificent palace complex, enjoying the best scenery and richest World Energy aura among the nine peaks.
Now that Yang Kai had assumed command of the Nine Heavens Holy Land, this place naturally became his residence.
In addition to him, there was only one other person who lived here, the Saintess An Ling’er.
According to the traditions of Nine Heavens Holy Land, the Saintesses would live together with the Holy Master. Everything about each Saintess was prepared for the Holy Master, even their strength and lives were all fostered for the Holy Master’s benefit.
Every Saintess was instilled with such thoughts from early childhood.
When Yang Kai came back here, he saw An Ling’er sitting outside in her private courtyard, her head resting listlessly on her hands, her eyes slightly red as they gazed off absentmindedly.
Yang Kai looked at her for a while but she didn’t seem to notice his presence.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai sat down across from her that An Ling’er awoke and quickly bowed, “Has Holy Master just returned?”
“Can you not act so politely?” Yang Kai smiled and poured a cup of tea for himself before looking at her, “Saintess Nan… how is she?”
Hearing Yang Kai mention this topic, An Ling’er seemed to become more low-spirited as she whispered, “There’s been no change…”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I want to try to resolve the obsession in her heart, but I have no idea how to go about doing so!”
Saintess Nan was a living corpse. The only reason she was still moving about was because of the powerful obsession she held; once this was resolved though, her body would naturally stop acting and she could finally be laid to rest.
According to what Yang Kai knew, the easiest solution to this issue was to directly destroy Saintess Nan’s body ending all troubles, but An Ling’er had deep feelings towards Saintess Nan so obviously she was unwilling to do this.
“Is there any precedent for that in the Holy Land’s history?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.
“There are!” An Ling’er dried her eyes, “The Holy Land’s ancient records have examples of it being done before.”
“Then have some patience. If you persist you should be able to find a solution.” Yang Kai comforted.
An Ling’er gently nodded, “I think so too…”
After a while, Yang Kai suddenly noticed that An Ling’er’s expression had become somewhat strained, as if there was something else she wanted to say but was hesitating.
Smiling, Yang Kai said, “You don’t have to act reserved around me. If there’s something you want to say, feel free, I’ll do my best to help you.”
An Ling’er’s face blushed slightly as she pursed her lips and whispered, “It’s just, the Elders, they’ve been asking…”
“Asking about what?”
“About… us,” An Ling’er’s face blushed even brighter as she managed to squeeze these words out, her eyes becoming somewhat watery as she wore a look of helplessness.
Yang Kai was stunned and took a moment to recover, soon putting on a bitter smile, “Why are they so concerned about that?”
“Naturally because they’re anxious…” An Ling’er laughed wryly, “You are the Holy Master of the Holy Land. All of them hope you can mature as quickly as possible to become a true peak powerhouse.”
Each generation’s Holy Master matured at an incredible speed by cultivating together with his Saintesses.
On top of that, every Holy Master eventually became a peak Third Order Saint.
The reason Nine Heavens Holy Land was able to endure for so many years and had such a resounding reputation in Tong Xuan Realm was closely tied to this fact.
“What are your thoughts?” Yang Kai stared at An Ling’er seriously
An Ling’er lowered her head, her hands gently clenching her dress as she whispered somewhat awkwardly, “We Saintesses were taught from young to obey all commands of the Holy Master, and to dedicate our everything to him. So, regarding these matters… whatever you decide, I’ll accept.”
An Ling’er’s reserved and obedient appearance was quite difficult for Yang Kai to simply brush off.
Each Saintess was a rare, one in a million beauty, and now that she was putting on such an expression and saying such words, it would be odd for any man’s heart not to be moved.
Even Yang Kai felt that in this moment, An Ling’er was quite charming.
Sighing slightly, Yang Kai quickly adjusted his face and said, “You told me before that we’re friends, right?”
An Ling’er nodded lightly.
“Then because we are friends, I will tell you the truth…” Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he continued, “From the various encounters I had inside the Holy Tomb, I learned the secret behind why all the Holy Masters of the Holy Land were able to improve strength so rapidly.”
“What is it?” An Ling’er couldn’t help but become somewhat curious, although she was a Saintess of Nine Heavens Holy Land, this was one secret she really knew very little about.
“Each Holy Master can improve so quickly and always reach the peak of the Third Order Saint Realm by consuming his and his Saintesses’ vitality in exchange.”
“Consume their vitality?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded and explained carefully, “Everyone has a different degree of vitality or life essence. Those with strong vitality can live longer than those with weak vitality. Additionally, as one’s cultivation improves, so too does their vitality. The Holy Master’s core cultivation method, however, sacrifices that vitality and the vitality of his life companions in exchange for enhanced cultivation speed. That’s why every Holy Master, despite having amazing strength, is always short lived!”
An Ling’er couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock after hearing this secret.
“I’m not going to cultivate such a detrimental Secret Art. Neither will I allow you to cultivate it!” Yang Kai looked at her seriously, “Because I want to live a long life and because you are one of my friends, I don’t want to see you die young.”
An Ling’er’s beautiful eyes shimmered, seemingly quite moved.
“I don’t have many friends here, but you are definitely one of them, so I hope that in the future our relationships can remain the same. Holy Master and Saintess are just our external identities, but in private, I hope we can still interact freely like this. How about it?”
An Ling’er didn’t hesitate to nod.
Yang Kai truly wasn’t interested in the Secret Art the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land cultivated.
Enhancing one’s strength at the expense of their own lifespan was a complete mismatch of priorities. This was not how Yang Kai intended to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao.
As such, he had never planned to follow in the footsteps of the previous Holy Masters.
He had his own goals to pursue and methods to pursue them with.
However, in order to accomplish this, he had to obtain An Ling’er’s cooperation, so seeing her nod to his proposal, Yang Kai genuinely felt happy and relieved.
“But… what if the Elders ask about it?” An Ling’er couldn’t help worrying, “They seem quite anxious.”
“That old fogey really likes sticking his nose into other people’s business…” Yang Kai muttered without restraint. There was no need for him to even ask to know that it was that old fart, Xu Hui, was the source of this issue. Most likely he had been subtly urging An Ling’er to quickly begin cultivating with Yang Kai.
Listening to him say this, An Ling’er couldn’t stop herself from letting out a burst of laughter, brightening the serious atmosphere.
“There’s nothing else to do about it, if they ask, just tell them we’ve already begun cultivating together.”
“I’m fine with that… but we won’t be able to conceal the truth forever!” An Ling’er narrowed her eyes slightly, “You won’t have any problems. With your aptitude, even if you don’t cultivate that Secret Art, your growth will still be extremely rapid, but if I don’t break through for a long time, the Elders will begin to have doubts…”
“I can help with that!” Yang Kai grinned.
“How can you help me?” An Ling’er asked in confusion.
Yang Kai flipped his hand and summoned out a delicate jade bottle which he handed to An Ling’er as he explained, “Inside this is some special Spirit Liquid. Taking a drop of it every day will improve your constitution and allow your aptitude and strength to gradually increase.”
An Ling’er accepted the bottle somewhat suspiciously but upon opening the bottle and sniffing its contents, she suddenly felt as if her entire body was being refreshed, shocking her greatly as she stared brightly towards Yang Kai, “Is this really useful?”
“Of course it’s useful,” Yang Kai nodded, quickly adding, “Once you’ve used it all up, just find me and I’ll give you more.”
“Then I’ll gratefully try it. Thank you,” An Ling’er smiled, her short talk with Yang Kai lifting her spirits greatly.
After a little more idle chatter, An Ling’er left.
Yang Kai sent a Divine Sense message to Xu Hui and Li Rong saying that he was going to enter retreat for a while and not to disturb him.
After receiving their replies, Yang Kai left the Holy Master Court and went to the Holy Tomb.
The Holy Tomb was an excellent place to enter secluded cultivation. Besides Yang Kai, who possessed the Holy Master Spirit Ring, no one else could enter it so he wouldn’t need to worry about others disturbing him.
Arriving in front of the giant stone slab, Yang Kai pressed the Holy Master Spirit Ring into its specific slot, opened the Holy Tomb, and stepped inside.
The Holy Tomb was as dark and gloomy as always, with traces of the Nine Heavens Holy Land disciples still scattered about here and there. Although the environment wasn’t very good, the World Energy aura here was incomparably rich.
Looking around for a moment, Yang Kai soon chose a spot and sat down cross-legged.
Taking out the long shuttle artifact he obtained back in the Starry Sky, Yang Kai began examining it carefully.
He could feel that there was a mysterious power inside this artifact and that there were many intricate Spirit Arrays carved inside it, but without refining it, he wouldn’t be able to tell what this artifact’s purpose really was.
Focusing his attention, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and began proving the surface of the long shuttle artifact, studying its structure and composition, looking for a place to break through its shell and begin refining it.
In order to refine an artifact, the first step was to leave one’s Soul mark on it, only after accomplishing this could one begin to refine it.
After leaving behind a Soul mark on an artifact, a cultivator would be able to take it into their body and begin nourishing it with their own True Qi and Spiritual Energy.
Once it had received enough moisturizing, the artifact would begin to resonate with its user and would then become usable.
Even after taking an artifact into one’s body, it would still take some time before they could use its full power.
The reason cultivators would not easily change the artifacts they used was not only because of the long time it took to refine one but also because, over a long period of nourishing an artifact, a subtle connection between it and its user would form. Artifacts that had this kind of connection to their user could display more power in battle, promoting a cultivator’s overall combat strength.
Switching to a new, unfamiliar artifact, would eliminate this effect.
Therefore, unless their strength grew far beyond the level of artifacts they had refined, a cultivator would not choose to replace them.
Even if they chose to replace them, most cultivators would look for artifacts that matched well with their Secret Art and Martial Skills to refine.
Many cultivators would even look for materials and ask an Artifact Refiners to tailor-make an artifact for them.
Excellent Artifact Refiners could refine artifacts that perfectly complimented a cultivator’s unique characteristics.
Yang Kai had never concerned himself much with these matters though, mainly because he did not rely on the power of artifacts, only refining anything which he conveniently came across. He had never looked for materials to custom refine one from scratch to suit him.
This long shuttle artifact obviously had a master a long time ago, but that master most likely lost his way among the Starry Sky or had some kind of accident and perished, leaving it to drift aimlessly for who knows how long until it eventually found its way into the Asteroid Sea Yang Kai inadvertently discovered it in.
Sweeping his Divine Sense over it meticulously, Yang Kai soon found a very faint Soul aura inside the long shuttle artifact.
This was the Soul mark left behind by its previous owner.
Yang Kai first had to erase this in order to engrave his own Soul mark.
Examining this Soul aura for a moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling some slight amazement.
Although after so many years, the Soul aura inside the long shuttle artifact had become quite faint, Yang Kai could tell that its signature was actually still quite powerful.
The original owner of this artifact was no doubt at least a Third Order Saint Realm master.
Such a powerhouse actually falling in the Starry Sky caused Yang Kai to sigh.
Yang Kai once again realized just how terrifying the Starry Sky was. He had visited the Starry Sky twice now, but what he had seen was only equivalent to a grain of sand in a vast desert. He likely had not seen any of its real dangers at all.
Those dangers obviously included disasters even Third Order Saints were unable to withstand.
Focusing his thoughts, Yang Kai sent out a burst of Conflagrated Spiritual Energy into the long shuttle artifact..
*Chi…*
The faint Soul mark which remained inside the artifact was instantly erased.
Yang Kai then pushed his True Qi and Spiritual Energy, injecting them into the long shuttle.
This process was very time consuming and could not be rushed, so Yang Kai simply sat in place and steadily released his True Qi and Spiritual Energy to allow the long shuttle to become familiar with his own aura.
Gradually, Yang Kai’s True Qi and Spiritual Energy began to seep into the long shuttle, a sign it was starting to accept him.
Yang Kai felt a weight lift from his heart now that he knew this artifact was compatible with his True Qi. If it had instead repelled his aura, there was no way he would be able to refine it, no matter how hard he tried.
Yang Kai slowly took back his attention from the long shuttle artifact, allowing his True Qi and Spiritual Energy to continue automatically refining it while he sent his consciousness into the Black Book space.
Aware of Yang Kai’s arrival, the Divine Tree sent him a faint greeting, its mood seemingly somewhat gloomy.
“What happened?” Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling some concern and quickly asked.
“It’s nothing, I just feel somewhat lonely,” the Divine Tree responded, “It is just me here all the time, so when you’re not here I find myself spending my time in a daze.”
“Lonely…” Yang Kai’s face went black, suddenly realizing that the Divine Tree’s consciousness had grown to an extent he had not anticipated.
Before now, it would never say something like this.
“Sorry,” Yang Kai apologized, “I can’t bring anything with flesh and blood into this place or I would find a few companions for you… En, there actually used to be a Yin Yang Monster Ginseng here but it disappeared many years ago.”
“Yin Yang Monster Ginseng? What’s that?”
“A kind of World Spirit Treasure!” Yang Kai explained, his eyes lighting up as he said so, “Right, World Spirit Treasures have their own consciousnesses, I can look for some to accompany you.”
The Divine Tree was overjoyed hearing this and hurriedly said, “What are you waiting for? Please help me find a few.”
“Don’t be so anxious,” Yang Kai chuckled, “I have a small matter to handle right now and am currently in retreat, but I promise you that when I exit I’ll look for some companions for you. I’ll warn you now though; World Spirit Treasures are quite rare so it may take some time to find some.”
“Oh,” the Divine Tree couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed, but quickly recovered and cheerfully said, “I can wait.”
Yang Kai nodded and sincerely said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find a few for you.”
“I trust you!”
“Have there been any changes in those two stones?” Yang Kai asked.
“No, they’re still the same, just absorbing the essence from the other ores, although their appetites seem to have grown quite a bit recently!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai was surprised and quickly arrived in front of the two pitch-black round stones and found that, as the Divine Tree said, since Li Rong and he found a large number of ores in the Starry Sky and placed them here the two pitch-black round stones had indeed increased the rate at which they were extracting mineral essences.
In just a few days, the pair of stones had already consumed as much as they had in the previous month.
Nearby there was a lot of gravel and dust impurities scattered about.
Examining them, Yang Kai could clearly see the mineral essences flowing out of the ores and into the two pitch-black round stones before disappearing.
As they absorbed these ore essences, the hue the two pitch-black round stones gave off grew in intensity and the meridian like lines on their surface became clearer and more coherent with a great deal more energy flowing through them.
“What are they? Why do they eat stones?” The Divine Tree asked curiously.
“Even if you ask me, I don’t know.” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “However, there’ll always come a day when we find out. Continue watching over them. If you notice any changes, remember to inform me promptly.”
“En,”
After chatting with the Divine Tree for a while longer, Yang Kai took back his consciousness from the Black Book space.
Time flew by and soon half a month had passed.
During this half a month, Yang Kai had been constantly sending his True Qi and Spiritual Energy into the Long Shuttle artifact, branding it with his own Soul mark. Slowly but surely, he making progress.
Yang Kai couldn’t tell what grade of artifact this long shuttle was but he knew it was not ordinary since it was taking longer for him to mark it than when he refined the Silver Leaf Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact.
However, after half a month, Yang Kai finally succeeded in portraying his Soul mark onto it, and with a single thought he took it into his body.
The next step was the long nourishing phase.
Only after he managed to produce a resonance with this long shuttle artifact would Yang Kai be able to figure out its purpose and utilize it in combat.
Fortunately, this nourishing process didn’t require Yang Kai to consciously act, all he needed to do was wait and after some time, the long shuttle would naturally resonate with him.
After taking the long shuttle artifact into his body, Yang Kai exited the Holy Tomb to see what the Holy Land’s situation was, soon finding everything just as he left it.
The Holy Land’s disciple, after the last incident, had all been working hard on their cultivation and even some of the Elders had made great progress.
The Ancient Demon clansmen were also coexisting peacefully with the original Nine Heavens Holy Land’s inhabitants under the constraints of Li Rong and the other Great Commanders.
The only thing that was of concern was cultivation materials.
Although Wu Jie had delivered a massive amount of supplies the last time he came, the thousands of cultivators in the Holy Land were consuming them at a rate faster than they could be replenished, so it was inevitable that at some point their supplies would be exhausted.
In the past, Nine Heavens Holy Land’s cultivation materials were all sought out by its disciples or given as tribute from the three nearby forces. The old Holy Master would also obtain some from the Monster Domain in exchange for Crystal Stones.
But now that the Crystal Stone mineral lodes had been unscrupulously mined by the Monster Race for three years, they had almost been exhausted and could no longer even supply the Holy Land’s own needs, so how could they take them to exchange for other necessary commodities?
Yang Kai took out everything he had no use for from the Black Book space but that would only ease the situation temporarily.
The Holy Land’s Elders spent every day recently worrying about this issue.
Seeing their appearances, Yang Kai couldn’t bring himself to ask them to help him seek out World Spirit Treasure.
All World Spirit Treasures, regardless of whether they had any use or not, were incredibly rare and valuable. With the dire state of their finances, how could the Holy Land purchase such items?
Yang Kai couldn’t come up with any good ideas so he simply tossed this issue to Xu Hui and the other Elders and secluded himself in the Holy Tomb again to cultivate.
Inside the Holy Tomb, the days flew by as Yang Kai immersed himself in studying the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
Occasionally, when he grew weary of cultivating, Yang Kai would refine some pills to ease his mind and body.
Yang Kai’s original purpose in studying Alchemy was simply to cultivate his Spiritual Energy.
Because the True Alchemic Way, which contained an enormous amount of information, had been branded into Yang Kai’s consciousness, in order to study and decipher it, he had to consume massive amounts of Spiritual Energy.
Gradually though, after absorbing a great deal of Alchemy knowledge and experience, he also embarked on this path.
Yang Kai never expected to travel far down this path but through numerous twists of fate, he was now a genuine Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, one of the most powerful in the entire world.
All of this was thanks to the True Alchemic Way!
However, the deciding factor in why Yang Kai continued to pursue Alchemy was because as he comprehended the Alchemic Way, it also helped him deeper his understanding of the Martial Dao as well as assisted him in developing his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai had managed to use Alchemy as an auxiliary to comprehend the Martial Dao!
Therefore, while improving his cultivation and comprehension, Yang Kai also spared no effort to improve his Alchemy proficiency as well.
Unfortunately, after refining the Saint Grade Mid-Rank pill to release the Ancient Demon Clan, Yang Kai didn’t have many Saint Grade materials left to use.
At his current level, without refining Saint Grade pills, it was impossible for Yang Kai to improve his Alchemy technical and attainments.
After refining a few Saint Pills inside the Holy Tomb, Yang Kai used up all his remaining Saint Grade herbs, leaving him helpless.
Cultivation knew no years and when Yang Kai once again exited his retreat, three months had already passed.
The air around the nine peaks had undergone some subtle changes in this time though.
Inside the main hall, the Elders were holding a serious discussion, the atmosphere in the room quite solemn, so it wasn’t until Yang Kai physically entered the room that they noticed his presence, all of them quickly standing up and saluting.
“Please sit, I just exited today to have a look around, there’s no need for all these formalities,” Yang Kai gestured.
Everyone nodded lightly and sat down again.
“Holy Master has come at just the right time actually,” Xu Hui began, “We were debating whether to sell some of the valuables the Holy Land isn’t currently using and would like to get Holy Master’s opinion.”
“What are you trying to sell?” Yang Kai was surprised by this sudden proposal.
“There are some artifacts that are not being used as well as some Secret Arts and Martial Skills that belong to our Nine Heavens Holy Land,” Xu Hui replied.
“Why do you want to sell those?” Yang Kai swept his eyes around.
The Elders all blushed with embarrassment, none of them speaking up.
Yang Kai knit his brows, even more puzzled by their reaction.
Xu Hui smiled bitterly and explained, “The main reason is that many of the disciples who cultivated inside the Holy Tomb some time ago obtained various harvests and breakthroughs. In order to consolidate their current cultivations, they require a large number of resources. Unfortunately, the Holy Land’s foundation and heritage have taken a great deal of damage, so… There is currently a lack of materials. If we sell some of the treasures we are not actively using, we can alleviate the Holy Land’s financial situation greatly.”
“Holy Master, you must help us persuade Great Elder to stop, he actually wants to sell the Saint Grade Low-Rank artifact the old Holy Master bestowed him!” Yu Ying called out.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, “Is the Holy Land’s situation actually that critical?”
“It is we subordinates’ incompetence!” Xu Hui said awkwardly, “However, as long as we can weather these difficult times, the situation will slowly improve.”
“No, this isn’t your fault,” Yang Kai shook his head and thoughtfully said, “A big part of this is related to the Demons I brought back with me. You’ve given them a lot of cultivation resources, haven’t you?”
Although Xu Hui never said anything about this, Yang Kai wasn’t blind.
Since the Ancient Demon Clan arrived in the Holy Land, they had never once lacked for supplies. Obviously, they had obtained them from Xu Hui.
The Holy Land could be self-sufficient, but the Ancient Demon Clan couldn’t.
They were unable to leave the nine peaks at all. Once they were discovered, it would cause a great deal of trouble. A thousand Demons, many of whom were incredibly powerful masters, obviously consumed a lot of the Holy Land’s resources.
Hearing Yang Kai say this, Xu Hui did not make any attempt to deny it and simply nodded silently.
“This is ultimately my responsibility.” Yang Kai gently nodded, admitting his fault in the matter, “I had not considered this issue clearly enough.”
After sinking into thought for a while, Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly flashed as he asked, “Great Elder, I have something I need to ask you. After you and the other Elders reached the Saint Realm, did you acquire a habit of collecting various Saint Grade materials?”
Though slightly confused by this sudden question, Xu Hui nodded, “En, ever since entering the late stages of the Transcendent Realm, subordinate has been purposefully collecting some materials for refining pills and artifacts… All of that was in preparation for the day when I had gathered enough materials to request an Alchemist or Artifact Refiners to refine them into something useful.”
“I also have some collected materials,” Cheng Yue Tong nodded.
All of the other Elders gathered in the main hall nodded as well.
Because acquiring enough Saint Grade materials to refine something useful was not easy and generally took a very long time, most Transcendents would have a habit of collecting materials they needed whenever an opportunity arose.
“The materials all of us had collected over the years have been consumed already though… Unfortunately, even the full set of materials that took Elder Yu Ying ten whole years to collect in order to refine an Azure Cloud Pill were sold recently,” Xu Hui said.
“What’s the point in dwelling on that?” Yu Ying smiled lightly, “Which one of you hasn’t sold items from your collections?”
“It’s different for us….” Luo Sheng sighed, “None of us had a full set of materials collect, but you only needed to find an excellent Alchemist and as long as your luck wasn’t too bad you’d be able to obtain that Azure Cloud Pill which could have greatly enhanced your strength.”
“Exactly!”
“Don’t discuss such things in front of the Holy Master,” Yu Ying smiled wryly and said, “It only sounds like we’re whining about how poor we’ve become.”
The other Elders let out hollow laughs hearing her say this.
“Holy Master, why do you ask this?” Xu Hui asked curiously.
Yang Kai eyes shimmered brilliantly as he confidently said, “That is to say, most Transcendent Realm and above cultivators of this world have the habit of collecting materials, yes?”
“You could say that,” Xu Hui nodded lightly, still not understanding what this had to do with the Holy Land’s current situation, pausing briefly before saying, “However, it is useless to simply collect the appropriate materials since it is also necessary to find someone capable of refining them into a useful product. Elder Yu Ying hadn’t used up her set of materials because she had yet to find an appropriate master to refine that Azure Cloud Pill. High-grade Alchemists and Artifact Refiners are not easy to find and even if one does find one, there is always a risk of failure.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai grinned and declared confidently, “Since that’s the case, I have a way to alleviate the Holy Land’s current predicament…”
“Ah?” All of the Elder couldn’t help showing looks of surprise as they stared in confusion towards Yang Kai.
“Elder Yu Ying, I’ll be sure to get you that Azure Cloud Pill one day!” Yang Kai looked at her and smiled.
Yu Ying shivered slightly, her beautiful eyes filling with a look of anticipating.
Yang Kai suddenly announced, “Great Elder, use all the channels and relationships our Holy Land possesses to distribute an announcement saying that my Holy Land will be providing Alchemy services to anyone who needs to refine Spirit Grade Top-Rank and above pills. En, Saint Grade Top-Rank pills aren’t possible though, be sure to clearly state this point. Remuneration for every successfully refined pill must be Crystal Stones or spirit herbs of equal value to the refined pill. If the refining is a failure though, my Holy Land will provide compensation equal in value to the pill’s materials!”
Inside the main hall, all the Elders stared at Yang Kai with dropped jaws, all of them wondering what the Holy Master was talking about.
Seeing the reaction of Xu Hui and the others, Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown, “Is the cost too high?”
Xu Hui hastily recovered and smiled bitterly, “If you can guarantee the pill is refined successfully, such a price is not high at all! Many people spend a lot of time, energy, and money to collect a full set of materials only to have the person they ask to refine them fail once or twice. As such, it is not unreasonable to ask for Crystal Stones or herbs of the same value as the requested pill; on the contrary, such a price would be quite easy to accept for most.”
“Then why do all of you have such dumbfounded faces?” Yang Kai glanced around at the crowd.
“Holy Master…” Xu Hui’s face twitched slightly, “Our Holy Land does not have a Saint Grade Alchemist…”
Xu Hui even began to suspect that after spending so much time in retreat recently; Yang Kai had become somewhat confused, even forgetting such a basic fact.
Although Nine Heavens Holy Land was by no means a weak force in Tong Xuan Realm, it still didn’t have a dedicated Saint Grade Alchemist.
The main reasons were that such characters were simply too rare and that the Alchemist Guild generally did not allow such high-grade Alchemists formally join a single Sect.
Unless it was an Alchemist that the force themselves cultivated, only then would such an Alchemist not fall under the Alchemist Guild’s jurisdiction!
Unfortunately, Nine Heavens Holy Land had not been able to cultivate a Saint Grade Alchemist for many years.
“Just because we didn’t before, doesn’t mean we don’t now! Just begin spreading the word!” Yang Kai chuckled, not bothering to explain any further.
Xu Hui’s body shivered, seemingly thinking of something, “Does Holy Master mean that among those Demons…”
But soon he frowned, the Demon Race were not proficient in Alchemy because of the Demonic Qi in their bodies.
“The identity of the Alchemist isn’t something you need to concern yourselves with, just follow my orders.”
“Yes!” Seeing Yang Kai act so confidently, Xu Hui no longer asked anything and began making arrangements with the other Elders.
The last time Nine Heavens Holy Land fell into a crisis, no one stepped forward to help. Even now, they were the target of public criticism for colluding with Demons. However, neither of these points hindered them from disseminating information to the outside.
Each of the Elders had their own personal connections they had built up over the many years. Though they were not necessarily allies, spreading a simple message was nothing short of a breeze.
In the Holy Master Courtyard, Yang Kai was quietly feeling the various designs of the internal structure of the long shuttle artifact, trying to determine its function and purpose.
This artifact was quite unusual. Not only had it been quite difficult to refine and nourish, but it was also taking a long time to produce a resonance with.
It had already been four months since Yang Kai had become capable of taking it into his body, and since that day he had not stopped nourishing it with his True Qi and Spiritual Energy yet there was still not the slightest response from it.
The artifact itself had now been dyed with Yang Kai’s aura but it still refused to resonate with him, leaving him quite helpless.
Yang Kai suddenly sensed someone approaching and a moment later, Xu Hui’s voice came over, “Holy Master, subordinate seeks an audience!”
“Come in!” Yang Kai called out.
With hurried footsteps, Xu Hui quickly walked inside, a slightly strained look upon his face as he cupped his fists and reported, “Holy Master, there is someone here to request Alchemy from our Holy Land…”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s lips curled into a grin, “Someone finally came?”
“En… finally indeed,” Xu Hui smiled bitterly.
Since the day Yang Kai made the Elders use their various relationships and communication channels to release the news, an entire month had actually passed, yet today was the first time anyone had actually come seeking Alchemy from the Holy Land.
The main cause of all this was that, although Nine Heavens Holy Land was truly world-famous, no news about them possessing a Saint Grade Alchemist had previous existed, so when people heard Yang Kai’s bold announcement no one believed it. To make matters worse, Xu Hui and the others had done as Yang Kai asked and announced that even Saint Grade Mid- Rank pills could be refined, making the whole thing sound even more questionable.
Such a proclamation was basically the same as saying there was at least one Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist in Nine Heavens Holy Land!
Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemists were incredibly rare in Tong Xuan Realm, their number countable with one hand. Each of these Grandmasters had world-shaking fame and it was well known that none of them had anything to do with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
To put it simply, no one believed an Alchemist capable of refining such high-grade pills exited in the Holy Land.
After an entire month, only one person had even shown up.
“Where is our first guest then?” Yang Kai rolled up his sleeves, appearing unusually motivated.
“We have brought him to the main palace’s reception room,” Xu Hui replied quickly.
“Good. Since it’s our first customer, I’ll handle the matter personally,” Yang Kai said, getting up and flying off together with Xu Hui towards the mentioned reception room.
“Did that person say what pill he wants refined?” Yang Kai asked along the way
“A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Soul Solidifying Pill…”
“Spirit Grade Top-Rank?” Yang Kai was slightly stunned, he had thought someone coming here specifically to ask for Alchemy services would at least want to refine a Saint Grade pill, but it turns out they only wanted a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill.
Yang Kai was inevitably somewhat disappointed.
However, when he thought about it, the Holy Land had yet to establish any kind of reputation in the field of Alchemy, so having someone come to make a request at all was a good sign. Immediately cheering up, Yang Kai prepared to welcome this first guest with the best hospitality possible.
One month ago, when Yang Kai learned of the financial predicament the Holy Land found itself in, he had this flash of inspiration.
If this was handled properly, not only would he be able to alleviate the Holy Land’s resource crisis, he would also be able to sweep away all the negative rumours about Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Most importantly though, Yang Kai could make use of this situation to help improve his Alchemy level!
This was his true goal!
It was truly too difficult to find and collect Saint Grade materials. By just relying on his own efforts, who knows how long it would take him to further improve his Alchemy skills.
However, most of the high-level cultivators of the world had a habit of collecting various herbs to refine high-grade pills they wanted. Inviting these masters to the Holy Land by offering Alchemy services was simply a win-win situation.
Since he had begun studying the Alchemic Way, with the exception of when he first started out, Yang Kai had almost never failed to refine a pill, which was why he made Xu Hui and the others release the bold statement that if the refining failed, the Holy Land would offer full compensation for the wasted materials. All of this was to attract customers to the Holy Land.
“A Soul Solidifying Pill…” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully, “This customer must have a friend or loved one whose Soul suffered a severe wound.”
“Has Holy Master also studied about various pills?” Xu Hui looked at him in amazement. Determining the purpose of a pill after only hearing its name was not something Xu Hui could do.
“Just a little,” Yang Kai chuckled.
A moment later, the pair arrived at the reception room.
Inside the room sat a middle-aged man wearing a grey robe, seemingly somewhat nervous as he maintained a somewhat rigid posture.
To the side of the room, several pretty maids stood by.
The man had already been served a fragrant cup of tea, but it was obvious he had not touched it, his face conveying some anxiety as his brow furrowed with concern.
Yang Kai swept his eyes over the middle-aged man and quickly determined he was only a First Order Transcendent, immediately understanding why he had come to Nine Heavens Holy Land for Alchemy.
This cultivator’s strength was not too high and he did not wear any high-end artifacts on his body, it seems he was from some small family or Sect.
Such a cultivator wanting to collect the materials for a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill must have experienced a great deal of frustration and trouble as well as expended a great deal of his wealth.
If he were to use an unreliable Alchemist to refine the pill he wanted, once it failed, he would have to start this arduous process all over again.
However, Nine Heavens Holy Land was different. Xu Hui had already announced that even if the refinement failed, a full compensation would be offered, so there was much less to worry about.
It was mainly this promise of full compensation after a failure that attracted this man to the Holy Land.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, the middle-aged man quickly got up and turned towards the approaching Yang Kai and Xu Hui, releasing an awkward laugh as he cupped his fists and bowed, “It is an honour to meet you, Great Elder Xu Hui.”
“En, there’s no need to act so politely. Please, sit,” Xu Hui behaved quite approachably. As a Second-Order Saint Realm master, speaking to a First Order Transcendent in such a manner was already extremely flattering.
His face flushing slightly with excitement, the man quickly sat back down before turning a curious glance towards the young Yang Kai.
Xu Hui hurriedly spoke, “All me to introduce you: This is the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai!”
The middle-aged man jumped back off the chair he had just stat on and with a look of shock and awe hastily exclaimed, “So it is Holy Master Yang… this one has heard so much about you.”
“All of it bad, yes?” Yang Kai joking spoke.
Some time ago, a lot of rumours about the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land colluding with the Demon Race and Monster Race had been maliciously spread out, so the Holy Land’s current reputation in the Human Territory was actually quite poor, with Yang Kai’s personal image being even worse.
The middle-aged man never dreamed Yang Kai would speak such words, a stunned look appearing on his face for a moment before he waved his hands in a flurry, “This one wouldn’t dare to…”
“It’s fine, I know well what kind of rumours are circulating outside… Good, let’s not discuss such things, we’re here to talk about Alchemy! How should I address this friend?”
“This humble one’s name is Lu Qing!”
“I heard that you want to refine a Soul Solidifying Pill. Have you brought all the required herbs?”
“Yes,” Lu Qing replied quickly, pulling out a small package from his bag and placing it on the table.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai was even surer of his previous guess, this man was truly not very well off.
It was easy to tell because he didn’t even have a Universe Bag, the herbs were actually carried on his person.
Yang Kai motioned to Xu Hui who quickly picked up the package and delivered it to Yang Kai.
Opening the package and carefully checking the herbs inside, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “These spirit herbs are not bad. They’ve obviously been handled carefully so their medical efficacies have not deteriorated too seriously; using them for Alchemy is possible. However, in the future, they should not be stored like this; at the very least some separate containers used to preserve their freshness should be prepared.”
Lu Qing smiled awkwardly, “What Holy Master Yang said is quite right, this Lu will pay more attention to this in the future.”
“However… the set of herbs you’ve brought is not complete…” Yang Kai calmly smiled, “There is no Solidifying Soul Grass, so if you rely solely on these materials, the Alchemy success rate will be greatly reduced. At most, there is only a thirty percent chance a usable pill can be refined.”
“Ah?” Lu Qing was shocked and looked confused, “That’s can’t be…”
“The person who gave you the list of herbs required for this pill must not have a very high Alchemy level,” Yang Kai said unceremoniously.
Lu Qing nodded, “It was a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist…”
“No wonder. Refining with these materials, even if you are lucky enough to acquire a usable pill, its efficacy may not be enough to cure your loved one or friend.”
“How did Holy Master Yang know…” Lu Qing directed a stunned look towards Yang Kai, shivering slightly as he stared.
“This pill has the effect of stabilizing and repairing one’s Soul,” Yang Kai said lightly, “Anyone who is familiar with such a pill will know what it is intended for. If I am not mistaken, one of your family members or close friends suffered severe trauma during a battle and is still unconscious, yes?”
A look of admiration and respect filled Lu Qing’s face as he nodded, “It is as Holy Master Yang said, the one who was injured was my son…. It has been almost half a year yet he remains in a coma. This Lu has spent every moment since then collecting these herbs and only recently managed to acquire them all. I was looking for an Alchemist to help refine them when I heard rumours about Nine Heavens Holy Land offering Alchemy services so I rushed over.”
“En, if you had sought out any other Alchemist, forget about success of failure in refining, he would most likely not even accept your request until you sought out a stalk of Solidifying Soul Grass…”
Lu Qing looked at Yang Kai nervously, for fear that he too would say this.
After all, it would only be a matter of course.
An Alchemist was only responsible for performing Alchemy, searching for the required ingredients was the responsibility of the one requesting for Alchemy.
“My Holy Land has Solidifying Soul Grass, there’s no need for you to search for one.”
Hearing this, Lu Qing was overjoyed and bowed his head once more, “Many thanks, Holy Master Yang, many thanks, Holy Master Yang!”
“A minor matter. Good, wait here for a moment, I will help you refine the pill you need. If there is no accident, half an hour to an hour will be enough,” Yang Kai declared before holding the package of herbs and leaving the reception room.
Now, there was only Lu Qing, Xu Hui and the maids who were standing off the side left in the room.
Xu Hui wore a doubtful expression.
Although he didn’t know much about Alchemy as he had never studied this particular field, he was experienced enough to know how hard refining a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill was.
Was it really possible to finish refining one in half an hour to an hour?
Where did the Holy Master find such a fierce Alchemist? On top of that, the Holy Master had declared with full confidence that there was no chance of failure. Was there really an Alchemist who had a 100% success rate of refining pills?
Xu Hui simply couldn’t understand.
As for Lu Qing, he was even more restless. He sat right at the edge of his chair as if he wanted to stand up and pace to ease the anxiety in his heart, but in front of Xu Hui he didn’t dare act so loosely.
Seeing his appearance, Xu Hui smiled and said, “There’s no need to be so nervous. Since my Holy Land released such a statement, even if the refining fails, we will certainly compensate for your loss so you can ask another Alchemist to help you. My Holy Land won’t go back on its word for a few spirit herbs.”
“No, Great Elder, this Lu didn’t mean…” Lu Qing quickly waved his hand to deny having such thoughts but he still failed to conceal the relief that appeared on his face after hearing Xu Hui’s words.
Knowing that even if this refining failed, he wouldn’t suffer any loss, he not so secretly felt that his decision to come to Nine Heavens Holy Land was indeed right.
Anxiously waiting, Lu Qing did his best to steady himself as he snuck a peek towards the room’s entrance every now and then.
Xu Hui no longer said anything and just silently sat.
Just over half an hour later, Yang Kai strode back into the reception room, an air of confidence swirling about him.
Seeing this appearance, Lu Qing and Xu Hui both wore excited looks, knowing that the Soul Solidifying Pill had been refined successfully.
“Holy Master Yang…” Lu Qing respectfully stood up and spoke, his voice still quavering slightly.
Yang Kai chuckled and calmly said, “No need to worry, the refining was successful, although there was a small surprise in the process.”
“A surprise?” Lu Qing’s expression immediately tightened, wondering just what this surprise Yang Kai was talking about was.
“Have a look yourself, I believe you’ll be quite satisfied,” Yang Kai handed over a jade bottle.
Respectfully accepting the bottle, Lu Qing opened it and instantly caught a whiff of an incredibly refreshing fragrance, his body and mind unconsciously relaxing somewhat.
“Hm?” Xu Hui was also surprised as he came over to take a look. He felt that this Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill seemed to be somewhat out of the ordinary.
For one, the fragrance it gave off was far richer than any Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill he had smelt before…
Looking inside the bottle, Lu Qing’s eyes suddenly bulged as his hands began trembling, gasping as he exclaimed, “This… this is…”
“Pill Veins!?” Xu Hui shouted, the pitch of his voice significantly higher than normal.
The two of them both lifted their eyes and exchanged a glance, each of them seeing the shock in the other’s gaze.
A Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill which had Pill Veins was no less valuable than a Saint Pill!
Still unable to believe his eyes, Lu Qing hastily poured out the pill from the jade bottle and placed it on top of his palm.
It was easy to tell that this Soul Solidifying Pill contained a medicinal efficacy that was extremely potent and all across its glossy, perfectly round surface were delicate, human like meridians, genuine Pill Veins which gave off a faint fluorescence.
On top of that, it was still warm, so Lu Qing was certain this pill had just been refined.
“Holy Master Yang, I… this… but… wha… ” Lu Qing flapped his mouth and spoke incoherently. He thought that simply being able to successfully obtain the Soul Solidifying Pill would be a stroke of good fortune, but now he had actually obtained such a pill with Pill Veins!
This result had greatly exceeded his expectations, causing him to be so excited he was unable to speak properly.
“It was just good luck that Pill Veins appeared,” Yang Kai chuckled, casually waving his hand.
“My son can certainly be saved!” Lu Qing shouted, tears leaking from his eyes.
“En, not only can your son be saved, as long as you get him to carefully refine this pill, in addition to his wounded Soul being healed, it’s quite possible he will experience some promotion in strength as well… En, if your son’s cultivation isn’t high though you must assist him in refining this pill as it contains the same amount of medicinal efficacy as a pill bordering a Saint Pill, so its effects will be quite potent!”
“This Lu will certainly take Holy Master Yang’s advice to heart!” Lu Qing beamed radiantly, seemingly already able to see his son recover while simultaneously strengthening his Spiritual Energy.
“Congratulations Brother Lu,” Xu Hui also offered his congratulations.
“Many thanks, Great Elder, many thanks, Holy Master Yang…” Lu Qing bowed deeply as he shouted.
A moment later though, Lu Qing’s expression became cramped as he stuttered, “This Lu only brought with him enough remuneration for a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill, I never anticipated that this pill would give birth to Pill Veins…”
His expression turning serious, he quickly followed up, “Holy Master Yang, Great Elder Xu Hui, this Lu swears to you that after curing my son, I will quickly gather the appropriate amount of compensation for this pill and return here!”
As he spoke, he took out the payment he had originally prepared.
Unsurprisingly, it was just some Crystal Stones.
Xu Hui shot a glance towards Yang Kai, deferring to his opinion.
Yang Kai smiled heartily and shook his head, “You are the very first guest to request Alchemy services of my Nine Heavens Holy Land. Instead of additional compensation, how about we strike a little deal?”
Lu Qing wore a respectful look and replied firmly, “If Holy Master Yang has anything to ask of this Lu, please feel free to speak, as long as it is within this humble one’s power, I will not hesitate to agree.”
“Relax, it’s nothing so serious. En, in fact, you don’t need to pay us anything, you can just take this pill…”
“Ah?” Lu Qing was dumbstruck.
Xu Hui also didn’t quite understand why Yang Kai was being so generous all of a sudden, but after thinking of something, a slight, knowing smile crept onto his face.
“Instead of payment, I have a favour to ask of you,” Yang Kai did not keep Lu Qing guessing, “After you leave my Nine Heavens Holy Land, I hope you can spread the news that my Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster helped you refine a Spirit Grade pill with Pill Veins. How about it?”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all!”
Lu Qing quickly adjusted his shocked expression and wore a serious look, “It would be my honour! Please rest assured Holy Master Yang, Great Elder, this Lu will do his utmost to spread word of this!”
“Very good, you should return quickly then so you can heal your son,” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
Lu Qing was ecstatic, bowing deeply once more before swiftly departing.
Watching him leave, Xu Hui also nodded strongly, “A good start!”
“En, although a month late, it’s not a bad start,” Yang Kai agreed.
“However this time we’ve taken quite a loss. A Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill with Pill Veins… It’s a rare treasure. If we could have sold it instead, it would have been worth a lot more Crystal Stones,” Xu Hui said somewhat remorsefully.
A Soul Solidifying Pill was a relatively high-end Soul healing pill, many cultivators would be eager to obtain one because in battle, accidental damage to one’s Soul was not uncommon. If suffered such a wound, they would need such a pill to heal themselves.
There would have been no trouble selling such a pill; in fact, various cultivators would compete just for a chance to obtain it.
“Don’t be so short-sighted…” Yang Kai chuckled, “Once word of this spreads out, it will attract a lot of people here.”
“That’s also true. Holy Master is far-sighted, this subordinate is deeply impressed.”
“No need to flatter!” Yang Kai grinned.
Xu Hui also grinned meaningfully, his voice lowering in the next instant as he asked, “Holy Master… those Pill Veins, was it really just luck that they were born?”
“What do you think?” Yang Kai shot him a meaningful glance.
“Since Holy Master says it was, then it was,” Xu Hui knew not to ask any further, but that did not stop him from growing even more curious about the identity of the Alchemy Grandmaster hidden inside the Holy Land.
Actually only taking half an hour to refine such a pill, such attainments in the Alchemic Way were simply astonishing.
Xu Hui knew and had dealt with a great many skilled Alchemists, some of them even Saint Grade, but he still felt that none of these so-called famous Alchemists could achieve such a feat.
[Who exactly is this Grandmaster?]
Xu Hui wondered.
Five days later, another man came to Holy Land to ask for Alchemy services. Xu Hui learned from him that after hearing about Lu Qing’s experience, this man had come to the Holy Land to try his luck.
Surprisingly, his Alchemy request was quite consistent with Lu Qing’s, hoping to obtain a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill.
However, this time it was not a Soul Solidifying Pill but a life-saving Scarlet Blood Pill instead.
Xu Hui showed him to the same reception room in the Holy Land before sending the spirit herbs to Yang Kai.
Once again, after just half an hour, the pill was successfully refined.
The man departed in high spirits.
Yang Kai did not accept any compensation from him again this time, instead giving it to him with the same conditions as Lu Qing.
Three days later, a third person came to request Alchemy services from the Holy Land.
After refining the pill this man requested, one that gave birth to Pill Veins once more, Yang Kai offered him the same deal as the two who came before him, causing this customer to shout excitedly, claiming he had never even heard of such a high-quality pill with Pill Veins before.
Once again, another happy customer departed and began advertising for Nine Heavens Holy Land.
…..
A few days later, Yang Kai was sitting in a hall on the peak where the Ancient Demon Clan had settled, discussing some matters with Li Rong.
Suddenly, the sound of flapping clothes resounded and after turning to look in the direction of the noise, Yang Kai saw Great Elder Xu Hui rushing over. Before he even arrived, Xu Hui excitedly shouted, “Holy Master, some people have come to request Alchemy services!”
“Is that enough of a reason for you to act so excited?” Yang Kai was speechless.
Li Rong, who was next to him, also couldn’t help giggling lightly.
“Many people have come this time, five altogether and… there are actually two Saints among them. Those two seem to be here to request for Saint Pills,” Xu Hui hurriedly reported.
“Oh? Is there finally someone asking to refine a Saint Pill?” Yang Kai grinned.
The three pills he had previously refined for free, were all Spirit Grade Top-Rank. Two of those three pills had also given birth to Pill Veins, so his reputation was also quite resounding right now.
“Have they all been brought to the reception room?”
“Yes,” Xu Hui nodded.
“Good, let’s go see them,” Yang Kai smiled before bidding farewell to Li Rong and flying off with Xu Hui.
Inside the reception room, five cultivators were sitting on prepared chairs, each of them with a fragrant cup of tea placed on the table in front of them.
There were both men and women among this group of people, their strengths varying greatly as well. Two of them were First Order Saints, one was a Third Order Transcendent, and the final two were First Order Transcendents.
As they waited, the five people exchanged glances with one another, most of them seemingly strangers. Only the two First Order Saints seemed to recognize one another and exchanged greetings.
One of the two said, “Why did Brother Wen decide to come to this Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
The man addressed as Brother Wen smiled lightly and replied, “Naturally for the same reason as Brother Shang Guan.”
“So Brother Wen also heard those rumours and decided to come try his luck?”
“Of course! It is said that three people who needed to refine Spirit Grade Top-Ranks pill came here and that two of them actually obtained pills that gave birth to Pill Veins, while the other man obtained a pill of extremely high quality. Even the man who’s pill did not have Pill Veins apparently claimed that it had greater efficacy than one an ordinary Alchemist could refine! If such news is true, perhaps the Alchemist here can meet my requirements!”
“That news is certainly not fake…” Among the three people off to the side who were listening, a middle-aged woman suddenly spoke up.
The two Saint Realm masters turned their eyes to her and asked curiously, “How do you know?”
“Because the third person who came to ask for Alchemy services was my Senior Brother…” The woman grinned, “I even got to see the pill with Pill Veins he had obtained.”
The faces of the other four people in the room instantly filled with interest as they quickly asked for more details.
The middle-aged woman did not conceal anything and told them everything she could.
After listening to her, the two Saint Realm masters looked at each other, the one surnamed Wen thoughtfully muttering, “Then, is there really an extremely powerful Alchemy Grandmaster hidden here?”
“Three pills, two of them giving birth to Pill Veins. If it’s not just good luck, then it must be high skill, I just don’t know which it is. I wonder if this hidden Grandmaster will be capable of refining the Saint Pill I want…”
Yang Kai and Xu Hui soon arrived at the reception room where the five people were waiting.
The five people hurriedly got up, the two Saint Realm masters constantly looking towards Yang Kai, apparently not having expected the new, world-famous Holy Master, would be such a young man, a slight look of contempt flashing across their eyes; however, when they saw Xu Hui, their expression tightened up.
Xu Hui’s cultivation was higher than their own by a Minor Realm, a seemingly small gap but one they might never be able to cross in their lives; naturally they dared not act dissolute.
All five of them quickly offered greetings.
Yang Kai returned the gesture and motioned for them to sit back down before asking, “Are several friends here to request Alchemy services?”
The five nodded in unison.
“Good, kindly hand over the herbs you’ve prepared and report the name of the pill you need refined. The refinement will take a few hours.”
Seeing Yang Kai’s oh so casual expression, the five people couldn’t help narrowing their eyes slightly, none of them willing to make the first move.
Yang Kai glanced around at them and smiled, “What’s wrong? Since all of you have come here to request Alchemy, it can’t be that you haven’t even prepared the necessary herbs, right?”
“Naturally we have prepared the required ingredients, but… dare I ask Holy Master Yang, what kind of success rate does your honoured Sect’s Alchemy Grandmaster have when it comes to refining Saint Pills?” One of the Saints frowned.
“Would you believe me if I promise you a 100% success rate?” Yang Kai grinned.
The five people’s expression cramped up slightly, apparently not convinced. Even the middle-aged woman who had seen one of the Pill Vein pills was so.
No Alchemist in this world could guarantee a 100% chance of successfully refining a pill, regardless of how skilled they were.
This was simply the natural risk that came with Alchemy.
Unless these words came from the Old Man of Heaven’s Keep’s mouth, no one would dare believe them.
Was this new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land… just too young and frivolous? Believing so, several of the five guests present began to have second thoughts.
“What?” Xu Hui could see the looks of distrust and hesitation on the faces of these five and was inevitably somewhat dissatisfied, “Do you doubt the Alchemist of my Holy Land can refine the Saint Pill you wish to request?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” The man’s face changed, quickly forming into a frown, “It is just that gathering these Saint Grade materials was a long and difficult process, so if the refining were to fail, collecting them again will not be simple! Acting cautiously is only reasonable; please don’t take offence, Holy Master Yang, Great Elder.”
Yang Kai faintly nodded, “Acting cautiously is indeed understandable, but when you request an Alchemist to refine a Saint Pill, there is always a risk of failure. Naturally, that is true even here. However, I can assure you, asking my Holy Land for Alchemy carries the lowest amount of risk, and there is even a chance you may acquire some unexpected gains.”
“Pill Veins?” Hearing him, the five people’s eyes flashed brilliantly.
The middle-aged woman was the most decisive and quickly stood up, “Since no one else is willing to go first, I will. I’m not here to request a Saint Pill, just a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill, even if it fails, collecting the necessary materials isn’t too difficult. On top of that, since compensation for losses has been promised, there truly is no risk.”
Saying so, she took out the spirit herbs she brought.
The other four still seemed to be hesitating, apparently wishing to see what kind of skill this Nine Heavens Holy Land Alchemist possessed before making a decision.
Understanding their thoughts, Yang Kai didn’t pay them any mind, simply nodding and leaving together with Xu Hui.
The five people continued to wait in the reception room.
After half an hour, Xu Hui reappeared with an obvious look of pride on his face.
Seeing this look, the five prospective customers all quickly stood up and stared at him, wondering what the outcome was.
Xu Hui immediately tossed out a jade bottle and haughtily said, “See for yourself just what kind of level my Holy Land’s Alchemist possesses!”
Catching the bottle, the middle-aged woman hurriedly opened it and poured out a small navy blue pill.
In the next instant, exclamations sounded all around.
“Pill Veins!”
Pill Veins again!
This Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill really had Pill Veins, instantly increasing its value several-fold.
The middle-aged woman couldn’t help breaking out into a wide grin as she tightly held the pill in her hand.
The two Saint Realm masters also exchanged a glance, the look of shock apparent in each other’s eyes.
If the rumours were all true, then including this pill, the Alchemy Grandmaster hidden in Nine Heavens Holy Land had only publicly refined four pills.
All four of them were Spirit Grade Top-Rank.
Most importantly though, three of them had given birth to Pill Veins, something that was supposedly only obtainable by luck.
That meant that the chance of Pill Veins appearing here was almost eighty percent!
Ordinarily, even those world-famous Saint Grade Alchemists would have to spend a decade constantly refining pills for even one such pill to appear.
Yet here, in Nine Heavens Holy Land, pills with Pill Veins actually seemed to be the norm; how was this not a sensational matter?
“Hmph, Holy Master said that today the Grandmaster is in a good mood so if you’d like to request pills from him you should hurry. After a few hours, if the Grandmaster’s mood sours, he may not be inclined to refine anything,” Xu Hui ambiguously explained, a trace of smugness apparent in his voice.
“Great Elder, please ask your Sect’s honoured Grandmaster to help this humble one!” The four men no longer hesitated, each of them scrambling to hand over the herbs in their possession, fearful that the mysterious Grandmaster really would have a change of mood and suddenly refuse to refine any pills.
If this Grandmaster could so quickly and easily refine Spirit Grade Top-Rank pills that gave birth to Pill Veins, surely he could refine Saint Pills as well.
Xu Hui did not bother needling them anymore and simply accepted their herbs and the reward the middle-aged woman had prepared before calmly leaving the room again.
The Holy Land couldn’t continue working for free; now that they had advertised enough, it was time to begin collecting some compensation.
The middle-aged woman had honestly prepared an appropriate amount of remuneration, just enough to equal the value of the pill she had requested.
After an hour, Xu Hui returned again, this time bringing back two jade bottles with him and handing them over to the two Transcendents.
Although neither of these two pills had Pill Veins, the quality was still superb, so despite some slight regrets, the two Transcendents were both satisfied and paid the required rewards before taking their leave.
Only the two Saint Realm masters remained inside the room, both of them waiting anxiously. The two currently felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, each of them unable to help themselves from getting up and pacing back and forth from time to time, praying silently for Xu Hui to return quickly with the Saint Pills they requested.
However, they understood that refining Saint Pills was fundamentally different from refining Spirit Grade pills. There was a magnitude of difference in time and energy consumed to refine such pills, so acting anxiously was useless.
Still, restlessness was not something so easily dismissed.
A while later, inside the Holy Master Court, Yang Kai summoned in Xu Hui who had been waiting outside.
Walking into Yang Kai’s palace, Xu Hui immediately smelled a rich pill fragrance and couldn’t help looking around curiously.
He too wanted to know the identity of this mysterious Alchemy Grandmaster who was helping the Holy Land.
Unfortunately, no matter how he searched, he couldn’t find a third person anywhere.
“The pills have been refined, take them with you for now; however, don’t be in a rush to hand them over. Wait until tomorrow morning at least.”
Hearing this, Xu Hui paused to think for a moment before nodding lightly, picking up the two jade bottles while he asked, “Does Holy Master wants them to know refining Saint Pills is not so simple?”
Yang Kai just glanced over at him and grinned meaningfully, “I just want to let them know that doubting the level of my Holy Land’s Alchemist has consequences!”
Xu Hui couldn’t help smiling wryly but said nothing more, his eyes still darting back and forth across the room.
Seeing him not immediately leave but instead glance around as if searching for something, Yang Kai smiled and said, “Are you looking for the Alchemy Grandmaster?”
Xu Hui grinned sheepishly and replied, “If I may ask, Holy Master, since when did my Holy Land come to possess such a Grandmaster? Why is it that he is putting in so much effort to help my Holy Land tide over these troubled times? Regardless of anything else, as the Great Elder of the Holy Land, the least I should do is offer him my thanks.”
“Do you want to know who he is?” Yang Kai looked at him with a smile.
Xu Hui nodded firmly.
“Would you believe me if I told you the one who refined those pills was me?”
“Please do not joke like this, Holy Master…” Xu Hui said with a firm look of disbelief, “Holy Master is so young yet already a Third Order Transcendent, a true dragon among men with limitless future potential. Of this, this old master is thoroughly convinced. But if Holy Master says he is also proficient in Alchemy… Heh, this old master will certainly not believe. Every Grandmaster who is capable of refining Saint Pills has immersed his or herself in the Alchemic Way for at least a hundred years. Holy Master is far too young; even if you began studying Alchemy in your mother’s womb, it would be impossible for you to possess such Heaven defying means.”
“If you don’t believe me then get out!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, not bothering to explain.
“Eh… ah, en,” Xu Hui was stunned, becoming even more curious about the identity of this hidden Alchemy Grandmaster, but seeing Yang Kai not want to explain, he did not push his luck and simply left.
The following morning, Xu Hui strode into the reception room.
The two First Order Saints who, from their red eyes, had obviously spent the entire night worrying, saw Xu Hui and immediately rushed up to him, eagerly asking, “Great Elder… how is it?”
As they spoke haltingly, looks of fear and nervousness filled their faces, deeply afraid that Xu Hui would deliver bad news.
Masters at their level of strength and status were generally well-off so they didn’t care so much about mere Crystal Stones.
But as one of them had said before, collecting so many Saint Grade materials was no easy task. Some of them weren’t purchasable no matter how much money one had and had required them to trek through mountains and rivers, combing the wilderness to find.
In fact, being able to collect a full set of materials was in no small part due to good luck.
If the refining failed, the Holy Land would compensate them, but that didn’t mean they’d give them an exact copy of the herbs they brought. The compensation spoken of would no doubt be in the form of Crystal Stones.
If they wanted to try again, they’d have to personally collect a new set of herbs first.
Seeing the looks of these two’s faces, Xu Hui inexplicably felt a hint of pleasure as he smugly declared, “My Holy Land Grandmaster’s took action personally, how could it possibly be anything but a success? I really don’t know what you two were so worried about.”
“That means……”
“Take it!” Xu Hui handed over the two jade bottles before brushing off his hands in an aloof manner, “If you ever need any other Saint Pills refined, come straight to my Holy Land, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”
The two Saint Realm masters hurriedly opened the jade bottles and poured out the pills inside, a look of shock and awe appearing on their faces as they liberally praised, “Your honourable Sect’s Grandmaster’s means are astonishing! The next time I require Alchemy services, I will definitely come here! Right, I have a number of friends who are currently in need of an Alchemy Grandmaster’s services, I wonder if it would be possible for the Holy Land to assist them?”
The other Saint also chimed in, saying he would recommend Nine Heavens Holy Land to all his friends and relatives.
Saint Grade Alchemists were too rare, and almost every one of them was the Manager of an Alchemist Guild branch in some major city. There were simply too many people who wanted to request such Alchemy services, so it was quite normal to have to wait several years before even being seen by one of these Grandmasters.
However, the situation around Nine Heavens Holy Land was completely different. Because the mysterious Grandmaster in the Holy Land was essentially unknown to the world, very few people had actually come to request Alchemy services from him, so as long as one did come, there was basically no need to wait at all.
Hearing that these two Saint Realm masters would recommend all their friends and family to come to the Holy Land to request Alchemy services, Xu Hui suddenly felt they were much more pleasing to the eye; putting on a hearty smile, he nodded, “Good, as long as they bring enough compensation, my Holy Land’s Grandmaster will happily accept their requests.”
“We will certainly spread the word,” The two men nodded, both of them carefully stowing away their respective Saint Pills before hurriedly flying off to tell the good news to their loved ones about this wondrous place.
Time flew by and one month had already passed.
Outside the nine peaks, a large crowded bustled about, creating a lively atmosphere.
All these Transcendent and Saint Realm cultivators lined up in a long queue, anxiously awaiting their turn as they curiously stared at the nine peaks, various different expressions filling their faces.
These cultivators had all heard about the mysterious Grandmasters in Nine Heavens Holy Land and had come here to request Alchemy from him.
Over the past month, more and more people had rushed to the nine peaks. In the beginning, only a few scattered groups of cultivators came to try their luck, perhaps only one or two people every three to five days showing up, but as these cultivators left with high-quality Spirit Grade and Saint Grade pills in hand, more and more people were drawn in.
Gradually, people began showing up every day, sometimes alone, sometimes in small groups.
The frequency of people arriving only increased after that until it finally became the current situation.
Now, outside the nine peaks, there were a few dozen Transcendent and Saint Realm masters waiting in line, forcing Elders Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei to lead a group of Holy Land disciples out in order to maintain order.
The Holy Land’s disciples were as courteous and welcoming as possible, setting up places for these guests from afar to sit and rest and providing some simple refreshments while they waited for their turn to receive Alchemy services inside the Holy Land.
However, if anyone dared act rowdy or fail to follow the rules the Holy Land had set out, no matter what kind of exalted status they possessed, they would be driven off without exception.
This was the policy Yang Kai had personally set and was one the two Holy Land Elders did their best to implement.
“How can it not be our turn yet,” One of the cultivators near the head of the line couldn’t help grumbling.
“Relax, we’ll be up next,” One of the man’s companion comforted, a look of anticipation on his face.
“En, don’t be so anxious! It’s just a few days wait here. If you went anywhere else, you may have to wait for several years!” A third person added.
“Fair enough,” The man who first called out nodded, his mood visibly improving as he chatted with a few people nearby, “I heard that Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster has not failed once since he began offering Alchemy services! Whether it was a Spirit Grade or Saint Grade pill, it would be refined successfully. Everyone who has come here has left greatly satisfied.”
“That’s not all, there were many who came here for Alchemy services that left with Pill Vein pills.”
“Is that true? Have some people really obtained pills that gave birth to Pill Veins here?”
“I also heard that there were many pills that gave birth to Pill Veins refined by this Grandmaster.”
“What about the payment then… did they ask for more when Pill Veins appeared?”
“Nine Heavens Holy Land seems to only ask for remuneration equal to the value of an ordinary pill, but if you offer them more, they won’t refuse!”
“Naturally we should offer more compensation to leave a good impression! That way, next time we come to ask for Alchemy services this will be smoother. Heh heh, I’ve specially prepared some extra Crystal Stones just in case my luck is good and I get a pill with Pill Veins.”
“This mysterious grandmaster is a true powerhouse… in order to achieve all this, he must at least be a Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, right? I’d reckon that besides the Old Man of Heaven’s Keep, he is this world’s greatest Alchemist.”
“I’d say there’s actually more than one Saint Grade Alchemist here…”
“Why do you say that?”
“Haven’t you noticed that the pace of Alchemy here is too fast? In a single day there are always at least ten pills which are refined, all of which are at least Spirit Grade Top-Rank with many of them actually being Saint Grade… can a single Alchemy Grandmaster really do that?”
“Do you mean to say that there are several such Grandmasters in this Nine Heavens Holy Land?”
When they thought about what this statement meant, everyone couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Saint Grade Alchemists were extremely rare, and every force in this world was desperate to have even one in their employ; however, very few forces were capable of cultivating such a Grandmaster. Even for these few forces though, their Saint Grade Alchemists normally had venerated statuses and would only work for their own Sect, never offering services to outsiders. What’s more, such Grandmasters would normally only take action once every few months, sometimes even going a year or two without refining a single pill, spending most of their time indulging in their own interests and studies.
On the other hand, for the past month, the Alchemy Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land probably didn’t even have enough time to have a sip of water much less enjoy the beauties of nature; it would not be an exaggeration to say he was a supreme benefactor to the world’s common people, worthy of worship and respect.
Such discussions actually happened frequently amongst the cultivators waiting outside the nine peaks, causing all of them to be thoroughly shocked by the immense heritage of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The only thing that was regrettable was that the Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land would only refine a single pill per person.
However, it was ordinary for such Grandmasters to have some strange personality quirks so such a small thing wasn’t of much concern to most.
After a few more hours passed, a group of people suddenly emerged from the nine peaks. They weren’t many in number, exactly ten in total. These ten had varying cultivations, ages, and genders, but without exception, all of them wore bright, satisfied expressions on their faces.
“They came out, the group who went in yesterday came out!” Someone near the head of the line shouted.
Another man quickly called out to this group and asked, “How was it? How are the pills you asked for?”
Among the ten people who came out, one old man let out a hearty laugh unsuited for his age and proclaimed, “The Grandmaster of Nine Heavens Holy Land is truly worthy of his name! All ten of my friends here obtained the pills they asked for; there was not one failure! On top of that, the Saint Grade Low-Rank pill this old master requested actually gave birth to Pill Veins, hahahaha!”
Throwing his balding head back, the old man laughed riotously towards the Heavens without any trace of embarrassment.
The other nine people in the old man’s group couldn’t help directing envious looks towards him.
The ones waiting in line were all stunned by the old man’s words and after a brief moment of shock, all of them wished they could rush up to him and snatch this Saint Pill from him.
A Saint Pill which had given birth to Pill Veins was an extremely rare treasure that might not be seen once in a hundred years, its value was simply immeasurable.
However, upon noticing the old man’s cultivation standard, all these hot-headed ideas were instantly dispelled.
This old man was at least a Second-Order Saint Realm powerhouse.
“Good good, I wish all of you the same good fortune. This old master will take his leave now!” The old man was clearly in a very good mood as he called out to the crowd in a warm and friendly manner. Ordinarily, a master like him would not even spare the cultivators here a glance, much less speak to them, but today, it was as if he couldn’t help chattering on and on.
Saying so, the old man politely cupped his fists to Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei who were frantically trying to maintain the crowd’s order before quickly departing.
After the old man left, the people waiting in line seemed to wake from their daze, an even greater enthusiasm soon filling their faces.
“Elders, can you let us go in now? We have been waiting here for a few days for it to finally be our turn,” The man at the front of the line anxiously yet politely called out.
Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei exchanged a glance before nodding lightly, Luo Sheng quickly announcing in a serious tone, “The ten friends at the front of the line, please follow my Holy Land’s disciples to the reception room inside my Holy Land. When you get there, someone will be there to accept your Alchemy request as well as provide you with some small hospitality. The next ten, please move up and continue waiting!”
“This way please!” A Holy Land disciple at the front of the line politely gestured.
The ten cultivators at the head of the line suddenly felt their pulses race as blood rushed to their heads, pushing and shoving each other in their rush to enter the Holy Land, all of them disappearing into the nine peaks a moment later.
As for the rest of the people outside, they could only continue to wait anxiously.
The two Holy Land Elders also stood side by side, overlooking this exciting scene with great happiness.
“Brother Meng, do you have any idea where Holy Master found such an astonishing Alchemy Grandmaster? Also, don’t you think his level somewhat unbelievable?”
Meng Tian Fei shook his head wryly, “If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask? I also discussed this matter with Great Elder but even he has no idea where this mysterious Grandmaster came from or what he even looks like. The only thing we know is that he was a friend Holy Master made while wandering around outside.”
“Fierce… even able to make such a profound Grandmaster work for our Holy Land, the Holy Master’s methods are truly extraordinary!”
“Yes, thanks to the remuneration the Holy Land receives in exchange for Alchemy services, our finances have also been steadily improving; the disciples no longer have to worry about having enough cultivation materials. Heh, if the Grandmaster could help you and I refine some Saint Pills, it would be even better.”
“We shouldn’t worry about that, when the time comes, all we need to do is speak to Holy Master and I’m sure there won’t be any problems.”
“That said, from the looks of things here, I really don’t know when the Grandmaster will have time to spare for us…”
As they spoke, the two Elders turned their eyes towards the horizon, where they saw yet another batch of people flying towards Nine Heavens Holy Land.
There was no doubt in their minds that this group had also come to request Alchemy services.
After this group appeared, another would soon follow, and so on and so forth, causing the number of people waiting in line to increase faster than it decreased…
While the two Elders were both happy to see this, they also couldn’t help feeling a bit of distress as well.
There were a lot of people in this latest group, five people in total, but before they could even arrive, Luo Sheng had come forward to inform them of the rules and politely had them line up at the end of the queue.
Every day now, Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei, both of whom were genuine Saint Realm Elders, had actually had to personally welcome two or three waves of guests each, and as time passed by, this number only increased.
Just after they finished arranging this new group of arrivals, from the nine peaks, the two Elders saw Great Elder Xu Hui fly out.
Immediately, the two of them turned and greeted him.
A moment later, Great Elder Xu Hui arrived in front of the two Elders and cast his eyes towards the ever-growing lineup of people, a touch of amazement apparent in his voice as he muttered, “So many have come?”
“Yes, Great Elder, the Holy Land’s Alchemy Grandmaster’s reputation resounds louder with each passing day,” Luo Sheng said with a slightly tired smile.
“That is a matter of course! A 100% refinement success rate is on the level of a legendary tale! In this world, besides my Holy Land’s Grandmaster, no one can boast of such a feat!” Xu Hui’s boasted proudly.
“What matter does Great Elder have to announce?” Meng Tian Fei asked.
“Good, I’m here to deliver a message from Holy Master!” Xu Hui nodded before turning and yelling towards the gathered crowd, “Friends, this old master is Nine Heavens Holy Land Great Elder Xu Hui. I offer you all kind greetings!”
Everyone quickly returned the courtesy, none daring to act the slightest bit dissolute.
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Xu Hui’s expression brightened even further; never before had he felt so high-spirited as today, not even when the old Holy Master was alive.
Continuing on, Xu Hui announced, “In accordance with the command of the Holy Master, dare I ask if any of you possess World Spirit Treasures?”
Most people in line shook their heads, indicating they did not own such treasures, some of them soon whispering to each other, wondering why the new Holy Master was asking such a question.